Pokémon Puzzle League will become the 17th Nintendo 64 game available on Switch when it arrives on July 15.
Announced on Nintendo's YouTube channel, players can enjoy the classic puzzle game steeped in Pokémon nostalgia as part of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack – which costs $49.99 and is the only way to play N64 games on the console.
Re-join the gang of Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu as they head to Puzzle Village and take part in a whole new type of Pokémon battle. Though the puzzle format is fairly common now, Pokémon Puzzle League took inspiration from NES title Panel de Pon where players must align blocks of the same colour in order to gain points.
The game recreates not only the look of the classic Pokémon anime, however, but also the different encounters Ash has with other Pokémon trainers. Players will take on gym leaders such as Lt. Surge and even Team Rocket. IGN named it among the ten best Pokémon games and in our 8/10 review said we "highly recommend this game to any child, teenager, or adult who likes the puzzle genre."
Pokémon Puzzle League joins 16 other N64 games already available on the Expansion Pass including F-Zero X and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.
The full range of N64 titles currently available on Switch is Banjo-Kazooie, Dr. Mario 64, F-Zero X, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, Mario Kart 64, Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Paper Mario, Pokémon Snap, Sin & Punishment, Star Fox 64, Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Win Back: Covert Operations, and Yoshi’s Story.
The Expansion Pass also grants access to SEGA Genesis games alongside DLC for Nintendo titles including Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Happy Home Paradise and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's Booster Course Pass, which doubles the number of tracks eventually available in the game from 48 to 96.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer whose coverage of day-to-day news means he writes about everything from Thanos's butt to political movements within the industry, but mostly about video games. Ryan has six years of journalism experience and before IGN wrote mostly for national newspapers in the UK including The Times, i, and The Scotsman. Find him on Twitter @thelastdinsdale.