Once again, Nintendo Switch Online users are being rewarded with freebies based on a classic video game. This time around, subscribers can get profile icons featuring characters from the NES game Yoshi. As we’ve seen with a lot of profile icons based on older games, there is a requirement that subscribers must clear before they can obtain these icons. The requirement is that they must first play Yoshi on the NES app. Once the user has booted up the game just once, they’ll be eligible to claim five different icons: three based on Yoshi, and one icon each for a Goomba and a Piranha Plant.
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While some subscribers get irritated by the play requirements for these types of Nintendo Switch Online icons, Yoshi only needs to be launched from the NES app; there’s no requirement in terms of time spent with the game. As soon as that’s done, the profile icons are unlocked. The user will also automatically receive 50 Platinum points for doing so, which is enough to get the entire Yoshi set. It’s a pretty sweet deal, and it might convince subscribers to try a game they might not have otherwise. These icons will be available to claim through February 3rd.
Yoshi first appeared in Super Mario World, which was a launch title on the SNES. Those that hadn’t yet upgraded from Nintendo’s original console didn’t get to play a Mario platformer featuring his dinosaur companion. However, Yoshi proved popular enough to get a starring role in one of the later games released in the NES era. Yoshi’s first solo title was an eponymous puzzle game developed by a studio called Game Freak. Yoshi was one of the first games developed by the team, but they would later go on to create a little monster catching franchise that proved popular on Game Boy and later Nintendo systems.
In Yoshi, images of classic Mario foes fall from the top of the screen, similar to puzzle games like Tetris and Dr. Mario. Players act as Mario on the bottom of the screen, shifting the tiles to make enemies match and clear. However, two halves of Yoshi’s egg shells are also dropping, and by matching them up on a line, players can clear out any enemies that have accumulated between them. Oddly, the profile icons offered through Nintendo Switch Online do not include the Boo enemies that appear alongside the Goombas and Piranha Plants.
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In addition to the new profile icons, Nintendo Switch Online subscribers were also treated to a new soundtrack on the Nintendo Music app. Music from Donkey Kong Country 3 is now available, completing the full trilogy of SNES games. Nintendo Switch Online has seen a big focus on Donkey Kong content over the last couple of months, between the Country soundtracks being added to Nintendo Music on mobile, and the Donkey Kong Land games joining the Game Boy app on Switch. This is all clearly an effort to build hype for the release of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, which will be coming to Nintendo Switch next week.
Do you plan on claiming any of these freebies based on Yoshi? Have you ever played this NES game before? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
