Leak shows these GBA games may soon be on your Nintendo Switch

Steven Rondina Published 19/04/2022

Nintendo fans are rejoicing over leaked data that suggests a Game Boy Advance emulator has been unearthed within hidden Nintendo Switch files.

Rumors of Nintendo Switch Online’s service expanding to include Game Boy games have lingered for months now. Reports circulated in September 2021 saying that a Game Boy emulator was set to launch on Nintendo Switch “soon.” This didn’t materialize at the time, but Nintendo did announce and released the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service that included Sega Genesis and Nintendo 64 games shortly thereafter.

Rumors of the Nintendo Switch supporting Game Boy games continued to swirl. It may be that these rumors are now finally materializing.

According to numerous leaks on social media, files have been discovered suggesting that there’s a long list of Game Boy Advance games that have been used in a yet-to-be-released emulator for the system. This would likely be released as a GBA expansion to Nintendo Switch Online and it includes a long list of prominent first-party and third-party games for the platform.

https://twitter.com/trashbandatcoot/status/1516111117642252288

List of Game Boy Advance games leaked on Nintendo Switch

A long list of games were leaked in files related to this Nintendo Switch Game Boy Advance emulator. They were also referenced in a variety of different ways including a straightforward list of ROMs, media assets such as screenshots, and scenario lists related to multiplayer support. Mondo_Mega on Twitter discovered a list of games that were tested and was able to leak that list of GBA titles. Not all were included in the discovered build.

The list of games includes in the built emulator includes:

Astro Boy: Omega Factor
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Drill Dozer
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
F-Zero: Maximum Velocity
Game and Watch Gallery 4
Golden Sun
Golden Sun: The Lost Age
Gunstar Super Heroes
Kirby and the Amazing Mirror
Kuru Kuru Kururin
Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga
Mario Golf: Advance Tour
Mario Kart: Super Circuit
Mario Tennis: Power Tour
Mario vs. Donkey Kong
Mega Man Battle Network 2
Mega Man Zero 3
Metroid Fusion
Metroid: Zero Mission
Mr. Driller 2
Ninja Five-O
Pokemon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation
Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis
Wario Land 4
WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames!
Yoshi’s Island: Super Mario Advance 3
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

Alongside these are several other games that were tested but not included in the build. This list includes Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team, and more.

According to Mondo_Mega, there are also separate apps for four games for older Game Boy hardware including The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX, Tetris, Super Mario Land, and Qix. Alongside these games listed are screenshots for several other games, most notably what appears to be a screenshot from Pokemon Ruby or Sapphire.

https://twitter.com/Mondo_Mega/status/1516150997630201856

There are several significant omissions from the list including Advance Wars, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, and Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, but the list of GBA games is still quite long. It also boasts a number of big third-party titles including Tactics Ogre, Astro Boy, and Harvest Moon.

Unfortunately, fans shouldn’t expect all these games to actually launch.

Though many of these games are classics, the fact that there are multiple games involving licensed characters suggests that developers were testing a broad number of titles. Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories was one of the games listed as being a part of the testing process and it’s unlikely that Nintendo would be able to rope both Square Enix and Disney into giving over games for somebody else’s subscription service.

Steven Rondina

About Steven Rondina

Steven Rondina is a true lifelong gamer. His earliest memories are of playing video games, and he has continued playing them throughout his life with no plans to stop any time soon. Steven’s favorite franchises in gaming include Pokemon, Dark Souls, and Counter-Strike. He has previously published with Bleacher Report and other gaming outlets.

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