No, it wasn't an April Fools joke, Nintendo really did add three more classic games to their Nintendo Switch Online service. And best of all, you don't even need to own the Expansion Pack. This newest dump brings Nintendo Entertainment System sequels Dig Dug II and Mappy-Land, plus the Super NES version of Earthworm Jim 2. I love that we're finally getting more 8-bit games, but are these three titles worth downloading? Today we're going to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Nintendo Power, Super Play and more to see what critics said when these classic games were first released. Join me for another action-packed episode of Nintendo Switch Online Review Crew.


Coming only two years after the landmark success of Pac-Man, Namco returned to arcades with yet another memorable maze game -- Dig Dug. With a simple premise of burrowing below and use the air pump to blow up anything that gets in the way, Dig Dug not only spawned a number of sequels, but also inspired subterranean dig-fests like Mr. Do and Mr. Driller. Dig Dug II was the largely ignored follow-up, which ended up coming to the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1989, seven years after the first game hit arcades. By this point, the entire gaming landscape had changed and evolved, leaving a lot of these simple arcade games feeling out of place on home consoles.

This helps to explain that middling score you saw from Nintendo Power, the only magazine I could find that reviewed Dig Dug II back at its debut. "In this new version of the arcade classic, Dig Dug, the action is now seen from an overhead view. The same enemies are back, though, and your weapon is again an air hose that you must use to inflate and pop the enemies before they reach you. You can easily walk over the cracks in the ground and, as your enemies float slowly over the cracks, hose them." That's obviously more of a description than a critical review, but that's par for the course when it comes to early Nintendo Power. With a score of 3 out of 5, Dig Dug II is a so-so follow-up to a true arcade great.

The other Nintendo Entertainment System title released for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers is yet another sequel to a classic Namco arcade game. Mappy-Land is the follow-up to the 1983 hit Mappy, and it's a side-scrolling action game starring a police officer mouse going up a group of literal fat cats. When Nintendo Power reviewed it in their fifth issue, they gave it a 3 out of 5 and described it this way: "Mappy is having a bad day. It's Mappy's girlfriend Mapico's birthday and the Guchi Gang has stolen and hidden the presents that Mappy had brought for her. Guide Mappy through the eight areas where the presents are hidden, while the Guchi Gang chase you and try to prevent you from finding your treasure." Wait ... the enemies are the ...

Over at Electronic Gaming Monthly, Mappy-Land was one of the very first games they reviewed using a four-person team. Ed made a weird argument that I'm not sure holds up: "There's just no such thing as a kiddie game. While Mappy-Land may have characters, settings and tunes geared toward younger players, it is not a game that will be fully appreciated by anyone under 16." While Ed was underwhelmed, Steve ended up recommending Mappy-Land, calling it "a great sequel" and explaining that "the new scrolling and multi-level features really make this game shine. It's very easy to play, but loaded with things to discover and ways to increase your score. It may not look like a revolutionary game, but it plays better than most." Now you can see if that's still the case when you download Mappy-Land onto the Nintendo Switch.

The 16-bit era was all about cartoony characters with a lot of attitude, and no cartoony character had more attitude than Earthworm Jim. This was celebrity developer David Perry's most iconic creation, and the excitement for the sequel was real. In fact, people were so excited for Earthworm Jim 2, that its launch threatened to overshadow the release of both the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation. Forget about 3D titles like Jumping Flash and Panzer Dragoon, because Shiny was here to prove that you could still do a lot with 2D games.

For the most part, the critics were just as into the sequel as they were the 1994 original. It had only been one year since the first Earthworm Jim, yet many outlets were not afraid to call the sequel a masterpiece. "If it wasn't for Yoshi's Island, this would be platform game of the year. Period. I am very pleased this isn't just 'more levels of Jim,' but there are actually play mechanic improvements. I can't get enough of the creativity of Shiny; the extent of weirdness in this game can't even be matched by 4 am writing binges in the offices of GameFan. Nonstop humor, nonstop puzzles, precise jumping, swinging, bosses, etc. The whole package you loved last year, only bigger, bigger, more." You saw a similar review over at GamePro, who concluded that Earthworm Jim 2 is "loaded with humor, awesome graphics and incredibly diverse level. Fans of the original will eat some serious dirt if they miss this one."

The lowest score I could find for the Super NES version was over at Nintendo Power, who gave it a 3.9 out of 5 and didn't like it as much as the original. However, the more critical review came from Super Play, who took issue with some of the humor: "The result is a game that's as much fun to play as the very best Monty Python film. Which would be great if it was a Monty Python film, available at 12 pound from all good video stockists. But it's not. It's a 50 pound video game. Delicious graphics, amusing jokes and chucklesome sub-games aside, Earthworm Jim 2 is actually no more exciting of compelling than any other competently-produced platform game, and I've already got lots of them. Encountering the jokes and eye-popping level designs is highly entertaining the first time around -- I laughed until the man in the flat downstairs came round and complained -- but they'll start to wear thin after you've played it through a few times." That may be true, but let me tell you, that first time through is glorious. This is a no-brainer download for those who have never played it, and even if you were a big fan of Earthworm Jim 2 back in the day, chances are you've forgotten most of the gags found in this classic action game. I say, give it a download as soon as possible, it's one of the best games released on the Nintendo Switch Online service this year.