Nintendo and Sega brought three new additions to the Sega Genesis lineup for Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers on Thursday, including the addition of Earthworm Jim, a silly, well-animated side-scrolling platformer starring a space worm that you can enjoy if you’re able to separate the art from the artist.
Joining Earthworm Jim are two arguably better, more overlooked games:
- Alisia Dragoon, a side-scrolling action-adventure game from Grandia and Lunar developer Game Arts. As the young sorceress Alisia, players embark on a quest of revenge to destroy Baldoure, unleashing lightning bolts on foes and summoning four pets — OK three pets and one ball of fire — in battle.
- Beyond Oasis, a top-down role-playing game from Ancient, the studio founded by Yuzo Koshiro, whose music powered the Streets of Rage games. Like Alisia Dragoon, it features large, impressive sprite work and a summoning system of its own. Sega released a sequel/prequel, The Legend of Oasis, for Sega Saturn.
Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack is the premium tier of Nintendo’s online subscription service, and offers access to online multiplayer for Switch games, a variety of expansions and downloadable content, and a library of Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games (in addition to NES and Super NES games). With the addition of Earthworm Jim, Alisia Dragoon, and Beyond Oasis, Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers now have access to 32 Sega Genesis games.
Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack costs $49.99 annually for an individual user, and $79.99 annually for a family plan (for up to eight users).