There are a whopping total of 27 games you can play right now on Nintendo Switch Online that you can only play if you download the Japanese NSO apps.
Note that many of these games require Japanese knowledge to play well. Here is a list of all of the games you can play and how well you need to understand Japanese in order to play them.
Famicom
Adventures of Lolo 2
- Japanese required: None
- Note: This game was released in North America and Europe as "Adventures of Lolo 2." The game titled "Adventures of Lolo" in North America and Europe was not released at all in Japan, so in Japan this is simply titled "Adventures of Lolo."
Clu Clu Land: Welcome to New Clu Clu Land
- Japanese required: None
- Note: This is an updated version of Clu Clu Land that was released for the Famicom Disk System.
Famicom Mukashibanashi: Shin Onigashima
- Japanese required: Story based, lots of text.
- Note: A two-part long adventure game for Famicom Disk System.
Famicom Wars
- Japanese required: Lots of menus
- Note: The first game in the "Advance Wars" series.
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light
- Japanese required: Story based, lots of text
- Note: The first in the Fire Emblem series, an official translation was released but is no longer available for sale.
Gomoku Narabe Renju
- Japanese required: None
- Note: A Famicom interpretation of the board game Gomoku Narabe
Mahjong
- Japanese required: Mahjong knowledge and terminology required
- Note: Nintendo's first Mahjong game for a home console, very basic.
Route-16 Turbo)
- Japanese required: None
- Note: A remake of a 1981 arcade game. Very simple but fun driving maze chase game.
Smash Ping Pong
- Japanese required: None
- Note: Released in Europe previously as Konami's Ping Pong.
Tsuppari Oozumou
- Japanese required: Some, mainly just menus
- Note: A sumo game that's very famous in Japan.
Yie Ar Kung-Fu
- Japanese required: None
- Note: Never officially released in the west but a staple of pirate cartridges and systems.
Super Famicom
Angelique
- Japanese required: Story based dating sim, lots of text
- Note: A dating sim from KOEI. Known as the first "Otome game" ever.
Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War
- Japanese required: Story based, lots of text
- Note: The fourth game in the Fire Emblem series.
Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem
- Japanese required: Story based, lots of text
- Note: The third game in the Fire Emblem series.
Marvelous: Mōhitotsu no Takarajima
- Japanese required: Story based, lots of text.
- Note: Adventure roleplaying game. First game directed by Eiji Aonuma.
Shin Megami Tensei
- Japanese required: Story based, lots of text
- Note: The first game in the Shin Megami Tensei series.
Shin Megami Tensei II
- Japanese required: Story based, lots of text
- Note: The second game in the Shin Megami Tensei series.
Shin Megami Tensei if…
- Japanese required: Story based, lots of text
- Note: A spinoff of the Shin Megami Tensei series, often considered to be a precursor to the Persona series.
Sugoi Hebereke
- Japanese required: Some, mainly just menus
- Notes: A top-down vs. fighting game staring the characters from the Hebereke game series.
Umihara Kawase
- Japanese required: None
- Notes: The first game in the Umihara Kawase series, a puzzle platformer where you play as a girl with a fishing rod.
Nintendo 64
Custom Robo
- Japanese required: Story based, lots of text
- Notes: The first game in the Custom Robo series. The game released in the West as Custom Robo is Custom Robo 3.
Custom Robo V2
- Japanese required: Story based, lots of text
- Notes: The second game in the Custom Robo series.
___
Game Boy
Donkey Kong GB: Dinky Kong & Dixie Kong
- Japanese required: Almost none, just level names.
- Note: The Japanese release of Donkey Kong Land III, which is a Game Boy Color release rather than a Game Boy release.
Yakuman
- Japanese required: Mahjong knowledge and terminology required
- Notes: A Game Boy launch title in Japan, play mahjong either against the computer or with other players.
Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru
- Japanese required: Story based, lots of text
- Notes: A precursor to The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. Known as The Frog For Whom the Bell Tolls.
Game Boy Advance
Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade
- Japanese required: Story based, lots of text
- Notes: The sixth game in the Fire Emblem series.
Mother 3
- Japanese required: Story based, lots of text.
- Notes: What can I say, it's Mother 3
by razorbeamz
14 Comments
Come on Atlus, localize the SMTs already (They’ll be ported for $60 with rereleases and dlc 8 bit persona costumes)
The FE and SMT games are ones that absolutely should get a full translation/localisation. Especially because the newer games in both series are releasing globally.
Mother 3 as well of course should get the same treatment. The other two games in the series are available fully translated/localised.
terrific info, thank you. do you need to pay the online fee separately for each region, or how does that work?
I can’t see Adventures of Lolo without thinking about Nirvana the Band The Show’s Wii Shop Wednesday song
Do they have Plurm?
Sugoi Hebereke is already on the western NSO apps under the name Amazing Hebereke
Right now I can’t play any of these games. I’m not subscribed to NSO, neither the NA or JP one.
I’m not one of those people that thinks Mother 3 is never being released here. In hindsight, its really obvious that Nintendo wasn’t gonna release it as either a way too late GBA game or a way too late Wii U virtual console game. Let’s not doom it to the same fate of obscurity Earthbound itself had at first. It’ll probably come out here eventually, now that its on a service that will continue into the next gen. I hope.
But I’m worried we’re never gonna get localizations of most of these other games. The ones that would require it to fully enjoy at least. Custom Robo, Fire Emblem games barring a remake. It feels like they should put in the effort, but I’m not sure they will. Either that or we’ll have to pay for them separately.
You’ve unlocked a memory.
I spent a lot of time playing Yie Air Kung Fu as a child, my parents were very technophobes though, they swear we didn’t have a pirated system as they don’t know what that means. Guessing they must have been sold a knock off SNES at some point if it wasn’t available locally
Angelique? Isn’t that the name of the tree topper girl from Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas?
How do you download the Japanese apps?
I seem to be able to download all these NSO apps with a Japanese account, except for the Famicon App. Here I get the error message, that this product is not available in my region:
この商品は、お客様がお住まいの国/地域ではご利用になれません。ご了承いただきますよう、お願いいたします。
This is such a helpful post. So you happen to know if the Genesis app has exclusives in Japan?
I didn’t know about the Japanese Donkey Kong Land 3 release being a GBC game. That’s interesting; thanks for the info. I have a JPN account but never downloaded any of the NSO apps. I’ll give it a try.