Nintendo will be adding another Nintendo 64 classic, Jet Force Gemini, to the Nintendo Switch’s online subscription service, but anyone living in Japan will need to download a separate app to play it.
This app, according to VGC on Nov. 22, is designed for adults only and is scheduled to launch on Nov. 30 alongside Jet Force Gemini. This is because the game is classified as a Z-rated game in Japan, which is the highest age rating in the country.
Z-rated games are for adults only, meaning they’re banned from sale to anyone under the age of 18. Ergo, Nintendo isn’t allowed to offer it on the Switch’s usual service since children can access it. This is why another N64 game, Goldeneye 007, was never added to the service in Japan when it arrived at the beginning of the year.
This adult-only app is essentially Nintendo’s way of distributing both Jet Force Gemini and Goldeneye 007 in its home country. While effective, there is something funny about adult Switch owners in Japan needing to download a separate app just to play two games. Coincidentally enough, both of them were made by the same studio, Rare.
Jet Force Gemini will arrive in the West in December though all you’ll need to play it is a subscription to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. Originally released in 1999, it’s a third-person shooter that has you explore 15 worlds like an action-adventure game to save a race of aliens from an evil insectoid army. It also features a deathmatch multiplayer mode that will ideally come with online support just like Goldeneye 007.
Since Rare is owned by Microsoft, the Xbox company needs to approve any of the studio’s games being added to the Switch’s online service, but it’s clear Microsoft and Nintendo have a good working relationship. Other Rare games like Goldeneye 007 and Banjo-Kazooie have made it onto the service so it’s nice to see the trend continuing, with fans remaining hopeful that the likes of Banjo-Tooie and Diddy Kong Racing will follow suit someday.
Published: Nov 22, 2023 08:00 am