Nintendo Switch Online services offer players a chance to play a variety of games. You can play modern games online and revisit classic games with the help of emulation. The consoles currently available for emulation include the Nintendo Entertainment System, NES, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, SNES, Nintendo 64, and SEGA Genesis.
Now it seems we can add Game Boy Advance emulation to that list as well. Nintendo’s official GBA emulator for Switch has leaked on 4Chan. It would appear that a Switch dev kit was dumped and the files were posted on 4Chan, revealing a previously unknown GBA emulator developed for NERD(Nintendo Europe Research & Development) . The emulator is named “Sloop”, likely developed for Nintendo Switch Online.
Some notable games were tested on the kit, tested being the keyword here, as it doesn’t mean they’ll be available right away or if they will function properly. Some of the major games on that list include, Castlevania Aria of Sorrow, Golden sun, Harvest Moon, Mario Kart, Mario Golf, and Fire Emblem Sacred Stones.
It is unknown if the GBA emulator would be available for the basic online subscription or the more premium “Expansion Pack”. It is worth noting as well that we haven’t even gotten access to the original GameBoy or GameBoy Color. Nintendo is more than like;y treating Switch as a long term investment and will drip feed additional retro consoles to keep fans coming back for more.
All this falls in line with Nintendo’s other legal actions over the past few years. They sued a fan who hosted GameBoy roms on his site and even went as far to take down GBA music from YT. Nintendo wants the only way to play their classic games on their $50 USD yearly subscription.
If newer Nintendo games are what you are after, Mario Strikers: Battle League comes to the console 6/10/2022.
