On February 3, Nintendo Switch Online shadow dropped two more titles for the Game Boy: Nintendo Classics app, as Yoshi and Balloon Kid were made available for subscribers to enjoy. The latest Game Boy update from Nintendo Switch Online is the first one for the app in 2026, with the previous drop happening in the Fall of 2025.
As a perk of the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service, users can play through a growing catalog of games via the Nintendo Classics app lineup. Although some apps like the Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo 64 are locked behind the Expansion Pack upgrade, access to the Game Boy: Nintendo Classics app simply requires the base Switch Online subscription, priced at $20 per year. The previous Nintendo Switch Online game update took place in early January, and saw the arrival of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance to the GameCube app for Switch 2.
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Nintendo Switch Online Users Can Now Play Yoshi and Balloon Kid
Months after Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters and Bionic Commando appeared on the Game Boy app, Nintendo surprised fans by adding two first-party titles for subscribers to play. Balloon Kid and Yoshi were originally released in 1990 and 1991, respectively. Yoshi is an action puzzle game that sees Mario controlling vertical stacks of trays. Waves of Mario series monsters like Goombas and Piranha Plants will fall from the top of the screen, and Mario must match two or more of them in each stack to clear them out. Periodically, eggshells will fall from the top, which can be used to sandwich some monster tiles. If too many monsters fall on a stack and cross the black line at the top of the screen, the game is over. Yoshi has both single-player and two-player game modes for users to enjoy.
By comparison, Balloon Kid is a 2D side-scrolling platformer. As the sequel to the classic NES platforming game Balloon Fight, Balloon Kid‘s main gameplay mode is inspired by Balloon Fight‘s Balloon Trip mode, where the screen moves toward the left. The player character, Alice, must avoid obstacles while traveling toward the end of each level. Along with hovering and flying on two balloons, Alice can jump and stomp on enemies from above, which allows her to defeat some of the game’s enemies. Balloon Kid also has a two-player mode, where the goal for each player is to collect more balloons than their opponent while navigating through different stages. However, to play Yoshi and Balloon Kid, Switch Online users must first connect to the Internet and update the Game Boy: Nintendo Classics app to the latest version. With the arrival of Yoshi and Balloon Kid, the Game Boy: Nintendo Classics repertoire now consists of 43 games.
Games Available On the Game Boy: Nintendo Classics App (February 3, 2026)
- Alleyway
- Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare
- Balloon Kid
- Baseball
- Bionic Commando
- Blaster Master: Enemy Below
- BurgerTime Deluxe
- Castlevania Legends
- Donkey Kong
- Donkey Kong Land
- Donkey Kong Land 2
- Donkey Kong Land 3
- Dr. Mario
- Game & Watch Gallery 3
- Gargoyle’s Quest
- Gradius: The Interstellar Assault
- Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters
- Kirby Tilt ‘n’ Tumble
- Kirby’s Dream Land
- Kirby’s Dream Land 2
- Kirby’s Star Stackers
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX
- The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
- The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
- Mario Golf
- Mario Tennis
- Mario’s Picross
- Mega Man 2
- Mega Man 3
- Mega Man 4
- Mega Man 5
- Mega Man: Dr. Wily’s Revenge
- Metroid 2: Return of Samus
- Pokemon Trading Card Game
- Quest for Camelot
- Super Mario Land
- Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
- Survival Kids
- The Sword of Hope
- Tetris
- Tetris DX
- Wario Land 3
- Yoshi
February Will Be Busy For Fans of Nintendo’s Older Products
Nintendo Switch Online subscribers still have more to look forward to throughout February. The Virtual Boy: Nintendo Classics app will go live on February 17, with seven games for players to peruse, such as Virtual Boy Wario Land. Two more Virtual Boy titles, D-Hopper and Zero Racer, will arrive at later dates. However, the Virtual Boy app requires both an active Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription and an external Virtual Boy attachment that connects to the Switch 2 console. Despite being the worst-rated Nintendo system of all time, the Virtual Boy carved a niche as Nintendo’s first attempt at making a VR headset.
Click or tap on the games that match the category
Although Yoshi and Balloon Kid are first-party Nintendo titles, the app is still missing some of the Game Boy’s best-selling titles. With the Pokemon franchise celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, fans remain hopeful that older mainline Pokemon games like Pokemon Red and Blue will eventually make their way to the Nintendo Classics lineup. Currently, Pokemon Trading Card Game is available on the Game Boy app, and both Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness and Pokemon Colosseum are confirmed to launch on the GameCube app sometime in the future.
- Released
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October 1, 1990
- ESRB
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everyone e10+
- Developer(s)
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Nintendo, Nintendo R&D1
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo
