Once again, the secret best Nintendo Direct announcement was purely for retro sickos like me: The Virtual Console dream isn't dead on Switch 2

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Once again, the secret best Nintendo Direct announcement was purely for retro sickos like me: The Virtual Console dream isn't dead on Switch 2 News By Dustin Bailey published 5 February 2026

NES classic Ninja Gaiden 2 busts free of Nintendo Switch Online jail with a standalone release

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It feels like Nintendo Direct presentations are squarely targeted at the sickos these days, and if you happen to be a fellow retro sicko, today's presentation brought the goods. The highlight was the reveal of Hamster's Console Archives line of emulated re-releases, which seem to be the one thing keeping the Virtual Console dream alive on Switch 2.

For years, Japanese publisher Hamster Corporation has been putting out classic arcade titles on modern platforms under the Arcade Archives banner. The line includes hundreds of games, ranging from household names like Pac-Man and Space Invaders to much more obscure, but historically significant gems.

Now, Hamster is expanding to console games. The first two Console Archives titles are available today in the form of 1996 extreme sports game Cool Boarders and 1990 action platformer Ninja Gaiden 2. The respective store pages amusingly only make vague references to "a 32-bit home console" and "an 8-bit home console," but make no mistake – these are the PS1 and NES games you remember.

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Console Archives and Arcade Archives 2 – Announcement Trailer – Nintendo Switch 2 - YouTube Watch On

Ninja Gaiden 2 is particularly notable, since that game just came to the Nintendo Switch Online Classics library in November. That subscription-only library has been the primary way of getting hold of classic games on the modern eShop, and retro fans have been practically begging for Nintendo to introduce a way to just straight-up purchase these games for ages.

In a roundabout way, Console Archives looks like the proper successor to the Wii Virtual Console – a lineup of classic games that you can just buy access to without having to worry about keeping a subscription going.

The question now is simply what console games Hamster will be able to license. The Arcade Archives series is already pretty far-ranging, and even includes Nintendo titles like the coin-op versions of Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong. If Nintendo OKs a third-party dev to release first-party NES games on its own eShop, we'll well and truly be in a new era.

These are the best NES games of all time.

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Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. CATEGORIES Nintendo Switch 2 Platforms Nintendo Dustin BaileySocial Links NavigationStaff Writer

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.

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