Wario Land, the 1994 Game Boy title that gave Nintendo's greedy antihero his first solo outing, is now playable on Switch and Switch 2 through Nintendo Switch Online.
Released July 8 as part of the monthly Nintendo Classics update, Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 joins three other retro titles added to the service. It's the headliner of a batch that also includes the dungeon-crawling RPG The Sword of Hope II, the top-down shooter Fortified Zone, and Dr. Mario & Puzzle League for Expansion Pack subscribers.
Wario's debut is the real draw. After first appearing as a villain in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, this 1994 game let him step out of Mario's shadow entirely.
Mario barely appears. Instead, Wario brawls, shoulder-barges, and hoards treasure through side-scrolling levels, using unique abilities that set the template for every Wario Land sequel that followed. The game also laid the groundwork for the WarioWare series, proving Nintendo's greedy rival could sustain an entire franchise on his own.
The other Game Boy additions offer variety. The Sword of Hope II, a first-person dungeon-crawler from Kemco, arrived in the Classics Library about 14 months after its predecessor landed on the service in May 2025.
The original got a mixed reception, but the sequel reportedly irons out many of the flaws, earning cult-classic status among retro RPG fans. Fortified Zone, a Jaleco top-down shooter from the early 1990s, offers arcade-style action with a reputation for punishing difficulty spikes.
Expansion Pack members get Dr. Mario & Puzzle League, a Game Boy Advance compilation that bundles a Dr. Mario remake with the block-matching Puzzle League. It's a solid value add for the premium tier.
The July update follows Donkey Kong 64, which hit the service on June 4. Japanese subscribers also received the AlphaDream-developed RPG Tomato Adventure on Game Boy Advance.
None of the four new titles require the Expansion Pack except Dr. Mario & Puzzle League. Standard Nintendo Switch Online subscribers can play all three Game Boy games immediately.
