The Switch is getting a couple of great F-Zero games next week

F-Zero Climax was never released outside of Japan

Nintendo

Every month or so, give or take, Nintendo releases a new retro game on its Nintendo Switch Online (NSO) service. There’s no telling what games will come ahead of time, and we often don’t even hear about them until they’re live, but every now and then, Nintendo tells us ahead of time. The next batch of games coming is a big one, too, with two incredible F-Zero games coming next week. 

Nintendo has announced that next week, on October 11, 2024, two GBA F-Zero games will be available in the Game Boy Advance - Nintendo Switch Online for NSO + Expansion Pack subscribers. The first is F-Zero Climax, and the second is F-Zero GP Legend, both of which are fantastic games. 

F-Zero Climax, in particular, is a pretty special case, because it was never released outside of Japan. The game was released in Japan in October 2004, 20 years ago at this point, making it the last game in the series prior to F-Zero 99, but for some reason never got localized for Western markets. 

The game will be available for subscribers of Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, the higher-cost tier of the service that also includes Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games, as well as DLC for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Splatoon 2. It also includes all the benefits of the lower tier, simply labeled Nintendo Switch Online, that offers online play and retro games from the NES, SNES, and Game Boy. 

The news comes as the gaming world awaits the announcement of the Nintendo Switch 2, as most have taken to calling it. Nintendo said earlier in the year that it plans to announce a Switch successor before April 1, 2025, putting the entire world on edge in anticipation. 

Last month, though, a series of rumored Switch 2 leaks poured fuel on the fire, with a device that looked a lot like a bigger Nintendo Switch appearing on social media sites. As of yet, all of these alleged leaks are unconfirmed.