Nintendo unveiled Monday's latest features in its Nintendo Switch Online subscription. Sega Genesis and Nintendo 64 games were included in an Expansion Pack.
Players immediately took to Twitter to express their disgust at the sub-par emulation quality as soon as they had the chance to spend $30 more.
Speedrunner ZFG1 posted a fascinating collection of images to Twitter, comparing the Water Temple on N64, Wii Virtual Console and Switch. This was a very hot topic today. The Switch version had a noticeable lack of fog and revealed water-like textures.
For a quick test, I launched Mario 64 and StarFox 64. Mario 64 and StarFox 64 were both fast, but Zelda displayed a noticeable input delay in movement (portable mode).
The tweet's images of the cloudy fog caused a storm of dismay towards Nintendo. However, Jon Riesenbach, a games producer, posted on Twitter to show how the fog-free look is more like the Japanese Zelda: Ocarina of Time. People who have written news articles about this will not notice, but the last screenshot shows how JP Ocarina's water looks. After ZFG1 confirmed that both images were of Japanese versions, Reisenbach deleted the tweet. Both versions look very similar, which is to be expected given the six-year-old Wii U version that runs much smoother than today's Switch release.
The Nintendo library is one of the most extensive and frequently re-visited in the gaming industry. Fans often compare ports to original releases, down to the scan lines from old CRT TVs. Companies such as Analogue and EON Gaming have made efforts to restore retro gaming to its purest form.
There seems to be enough demand for the ultimate nostalgic experience. Nintendo should work harder to refine each game and possibly even offer different regions versions for new generations. A world without a subscription or virtual console would be better for fans. You can buy multiple collections from different game publishers (think Mega Man Legacy Collection). This allows you to provide a more nostalgic fan service.
Nintendo is credited with recognising that the controller you use can make or break the nostalgia of classic games. Nintendo launched versions of its Super Nintendo and Nintendo controllers in 2018; now, the Sega Genesis and Nintendo 64 controllers are available (though they are currently out of stock).
Nintendo Switch Online subscriptions cost $19.99 per year for individuals and $34.99 per family. It includes Super Nintendo and Nintendo games. It costs $30 per person or $45 per family of 8. To unlock the expansion packs, it costs an additional $30.
