Two Game Boy Classics Join Nintendo Switch Online Today

Fresh from starring in the new Super Mario Galaxy Movie trailer, Yoshi is headed to Nintendo Switch Online today.

Mario’s ridable dinosaur pal arrives via Switch Online in the form of his item-matching Game Boy puzzle title that’s simply named “Yoshi.” Originally released in 1991, the classic game is available again today for Switch Online subscribers.

Also available today is Balloon Kid, the side-scrolling platformer where you can collect balloons to aid in your jumping and hovering. It was first available in 1990, some 36 years ago.

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If you have access to the Japanese Nintendo Switch Online app, it’s worth noting that the addition of Balloon Kid is substituted with the arrival of Balloon Fight GB — a separate title with a more obscure history. Released only in Japan for the Game Boy Color, this title is a souped-up version of the original NES Balloon Fight that never made it across to the West. The game then later arrived on 3DS via its Virtual Console, though again only in Japan.

Nintendo recently featured Yoshi as the star of its latest Super Mario Galaxy Movie trailer, which showed Mario and Luigi befriending the dinosaur and quickly welcoming it to their gang of heroes. Yoshi is expected to play a major role in the upcoming Super Mario Movie sequel following a cameo appearance (really, just Yoshi’s egg) at the end of the prior film.

While The Super Mario Galaxy Movie launches in theaters on April 1, Yoshi’s retro appearance on Game Boy is available to play again via Switch and Switch 2 now.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social