1993’s Mario & Wario Finally Comes West As Nintendo Switch Online Adds Three SNES Games

Nintendo has updated the library of games in its SNES portion of Nintendo Switch Online, but one addition is more significant than most. Mario & Wario, a 1993 puzzle spin-off of both the Mario and Wario series has come west for the first time in history. It’s joined by two other games, Bubsy in: Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind and Fatal Fury Special, and you can check out all three in the video below.

Mario & Wario was developed by Game Freak, a studio primarily known for its world-famous Pokémon series. In fact, much of the team behind Pokémon Red, Blue, and Green is credited on Mario & Wario as well; both games are directed by Satoshi Tajiri, feature art from Ken Sugimori, and include music from Junichi Masuda. In the game, you control a fairy named Wanda who helps Mario navigate various obstacles while his eyes are covered with Wario’s various traps, including barrels and giant eggshells.

Like Mario Paint, Mario & Wario uses a mouse peripheral as its main controller, and the player clicks the screen to manipulate the environment and safely bring Mario to his goal. On Switch 2, you can use a Joy-Con 2 to play, but for Switch 1, you’ll need a USB mouse plugged into the console.

Meanwhile, Bubsy in: Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind is the first in the Bubsy series, a mascot platformer from 1993. While modern attempts to revive the character have been largely unsuccessful, this first outing was received very well, with Game Informer’s staff at the time giving it an average score of 8.75 and putting it on the cover of our ninth issue. 

Fatal Fury Special, on the other hand, is an enhanced version of Fatal Fury II, including more characters and faster animations. All three games are available on Nintendo Switch Online for Switch 1 and 2 starting today. For more NSO games, check out our complete list of the games currently on the service.