Nintendo Switch Online N64 games may be coming in the near future according to a new leak of Super Mario 3D All-Stars. We may soon be able to play classics like Perfect Dark, Pokemon Snap, Kirby 64, and more, although some notable titles are missing from the list so far.
Earlier this month, Super Mario 3D All-Stars was announced as part of Mario’s 35th-anniversary celebration. This Nintendo Switch game would pack Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy together into one package. While this package is a limited-edition purchase, fans were nonetheless happy to see some Nintendo classics finally come to the company’s modern console. Now, a new leak reveals that other N64 classics may be on the way as well.
It all began earlier today with a leak of Super Mario 3D All-Stars onto the Internet. According to the dataminer @OatmealDome, it appears that all three games make use of Nintendo-developed emulators. Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy run on a Wii and GameCube emulator code-named “Hagi.” Super Mario 64, meanwhile, runs on an unnamed N64 emulator.
It is within that N64 emulator where the most interesting information was discovered: it appears that there may be testing for some other Nintendo 64 games going on. This could mean that Nintendo Switch Online N64 games might be coming soon.
As Twitter user @IbDashing reports (via ResetEra), bits of data for six other titles were discovered buried in the same N64 emulator used to run Super Mario 64 on the Nintendo Switch. This may mean that these games are in active development for an eventual release on Nintendo’s newest console.
Here are the strings reportedly discovered as part of today’s leak:
- 6738 │ ;18n64Kirby64Renderer – Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
- 6739 │ 20n64MarioGolfRenderer – Mario Golf
- 6740 │ 21n64MarioStoryRenderer — Mario Story, a.k.a. the original Paper Mario
- 6741 │ 22n64MarioTennisRenderer – Mario Tennis
- 6742 │ 22n64PerfectDarkRenderer – Perfect Dark
- 6743 │ 22n64PokemonSnapRenderer – Pokemon Snap
It’s important to note that the existence of these strings of code is not a firm confirmation that Nintendo is actually developing these games for the Nintendo Switch in any capacity. These titles may have been used as a way to test out the capabilities of the N64 emulator that’s used for Super Mario 64.
That said, Nintendo has a penchant for porting its older games to newer consoles. Many of these titles were made available for the Wii or Wii U, and some of the games have modern equivalents; for example, a new Pokemon Snap game is in the works and coming sometime in the future.
Will we see Nintendo Switch Online N64 games? It’s a possibility, but this information is still based on leaks — as always, take it with a grain of salt. It’s also entirely possible that we may see similar collections to Super Mario 3D All-Stars that bundle together several classic titles in a premium package. Either way, the possibility for playing some N64 classics on a Nintendo Switch is undeniably exciting.
