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Nintendo has added three more Sega Mega Drive / Genesis titles to its Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack.
The three games are Alisia Dragoon, Beyond Oasis (AKA The Story of Thor) and Earthworm Jim. This trio is also available for Japanese subscribers.
Released in 1992 and coded by Game Arts, Alisia Dragoon features artwork by the legendary Japanese animation studio Gainax, and is widely regarded as one of the best action platformers on Sega's 16-bit system. It wasn't a commercial success at the time of release and this has led to second-hand prices hitting silly heights (especially for the Japanese version, which has far superior cover artwork), but it has become a cult classic, and its inclusion here will make it accessible to millions more people.
Beyond Oasis is a wonderful action RPG from Ancient, the studio founded by Yuzo Koshiro. Boasting bold, colourful visuals, challenging puzzles and great combat, it's one of the stand-out releases on the Mega Drive / Genesis. A sequel followed on Saturn a few years later.
Finally, Earthworm Jim surely needs no introduction. Released towards the end of the console's lifespan, it became a critical and commercial smash, turning developer Shiny into one of the hottest studios on the planet.
Earthworm Jim isn't all that hard to find today, but Alisia Dragoon and Beyond Oasis are pretty expensive on the secondary market, so getting them on Switch is a real bonus. To play these games on your Nintendo Switch, you'll need to have a Nintendo Switch Online membership and a subscription to the higher-priced 'Expansion Pack' tier.
[source nintendolife.com]
Comments 2
Great that more people now have access to these rare games, notwithstanding that they appeared on the megadrive mini. Still access to a wider audience has to be a good thi mg, right?
Hell, I just stumbled into Alisia Dragoon looking around on YouTube (on random retro stuff of Genesis vs SNES games and the like) and I got to say this is a quality game as I think what partially makes it, besides it having a good feel to it (although it took me a while to get used to jumping and attack) it's a bit unique to.
I am playing it on the PC through RetroArch with my 8BitDo Ultimate 2C wired controller. in about 3.5hrs of playtime, as this was my first time playing, I got to the end of Level 4 boss so far playing straight up. but after dying a fair amount, I ended up creating a save state just before the boss to learn it a bit more (by playing it over and over) and then proceeded to get past Level 5 and it's boss (I think that Level 5 boss is probably easier than Level 4 based on my limited experience so far). I am currently trying to take out 'Level 6' etc, which that level is weird (given you are on a weird angle and it's tricky to figure out how not to get hit and do damage etc) as I am going to have to learn how to play it more. but I 'hope' to eventually get good enough so then I can make a proper run to beat it straight up without a save state. but the save state stuff is good for practicing. but without the save state the furthest I can claim is to have gotten to the boss on Level 4.
p.s. but I don't get the overpraised box art on the Japanese version compared to what's shown there which is better if you ask me.
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