Nintendo announced plans for its Expansion Pack last year, launching it a short while after. The Pack includes access to a library of N64 and Sega Genesis games Nintendo has been adding to since the service launched. The N64 games have been added at a rate of one per month throughout 2022, and today the next game from the classic console to be added to NSO has been revealed.
As revealed by Nintendo on Twitter, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards will be the next N64 game added to NSO's Expansion Pack. While the far more recent Kirby and The Forgotten Land was actually the pink puffball's first fully 3D game, Kirby 64 marked the first polygonal game in the series. It was still technically a sidescroller, and also not the first time Kirby had appeared in this form as he had already made his debut in Super Smash Bros. on the same console.
Adding new dimensions to Kirby's world isn't the only way Crystal Shards and The Forgotten Land share similarities. The two games also reimagined the way Kirby uses his copy ability. While the Switch game introduced Mouthul Mode, allowing Kirby to wrap himself around things like cars and vending machines, Crystal Shards limited Kirby to just seven copy abilities. However, the protagonist could carry two at a time, allowing him to combine them into unique new powers.
Kirby 64 will join NSO's Expansion Pack on May 20, bringing the total number of N64 games available through the subscription service to 15. Mario Golf was added to the list last month, and F-Zero the month before that. Other N64 games already added to the Expansion Pack include Yoshi's Story, Super Mario 64, and Ocarina Of Time which was recently added to the Video Game Hall of Fame.
Other than the growing Genesis library also available to Expansion Pack subscribers, Nintendo continues to add other perks in an attempt to coax more players into signing up. The monthly fee also includes access to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's new tracks and additional Animal Crossing: New Horizons content, among other things. The early issues with the quality of emulation with the Expansion Pack's N64 games appear to have been dealt with too.
Source: Read Full Article