Nintendo Switch Online’s early list of Game Boy Advance titles features some excellent options, but the lineup may already have one big mistake. The service’s small list of announced titles was expected, since it is a brand-new addition to the service. Even so, that does not explain one prominent anomaly in the announced lineup that could potentially raise a problem for players.
The first announcements for the GBA add-on to Nintendo Switch Online features a small but strong selection of games. It includes the GBA remake of Super Mario Bros. 3, the first WarioWare game, and The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, among others. Even with the service having just been announced, players have a number of classics readily available as long as they have NSO’s Expansion Pack tier. Further Game Boy games have been confirmed for NSO and will be rolled out in the coming months, including a few other big names, continuing to make Nintendo Switch Online a better deal.
Golden Sun Will Join Switch Online Seemingly Without The Lost Age
One of the games planned to be added to NSO’s GBA library soon is Golden Sun. Golden Sun earned a reputation as one of the better RPGs on the Game Boy Advance with its excellent presentation and fun gameplay elements. It also featured a unique Djinn system, where characters could benefit from stat boosts from equipped Djinn, or expend them to perform special moves, adding an extra element of strategy. Golden Sun was an obvious pick for adding value to Nintendo Switch Online’s Expansion Pack worth, but it has one big problem: the original Golden Sun doesn’t include the full story of the game’s events.
Golden Sun Only Tells Half Of Its Own Story
Golden Sun‘s sequel, The Lost Age, begins in the immediate aftermath of the first game’s finale, and follows Felix, one of the original game’s antagonists. The story flows perfectly from where the original left off, and it plays just as well to boot. As it turns out, the reason why Golden Sun and The Lost Age fit together so well is that they were originally supposed to be a single game. However, the Game Boy Advance’s cartridge storage space limitations required it to be split into two separate releases. Golden Sun is one of the first GBA games that should come to NSO, but something is missing without The Lost Age.
If Golden Sun comes to Nintendo Switch Online without The Lost Age, players will not be able to play the game’s full story. Even though the games can be played separately, the fact that they were designed to be a single story makes only having one part available feel incomplete. Hopefully The Lost Age will also become available on NSO at some point. With all three Donkey Kong Country SNES games on the service, there’s a precedent for including whole series. Having The Lost Age accompany Golden Sun would make more sense than most of the obscure games on Nintendo Switch Online.
Nintendo Switch Online’s Game Boy Advance library is looking promising, but announcing Golden Sun without its sequel is baffling. Alone, it’s the equivalent of only offering players half of a whole game, with no easy way to get the other half. Hopefully The Lost Age will soon follow Golden Sun to Nintendo Switch Online, otherwise players won’t be getting the full story.
Source: Nintendo Of America/YouTube