The latest Nintendo Switch Online update introduced several improvements to the app's Game Boy Advance catalog, including support for remapping buttons. The move continues the tidy-up of the Nintendo Switch Online classic libraries that started in summer 2025.
Game Boy Advance games have been available on Nintendo Switch Online since February 2023. Nintendo has gradually been expanding its subscription catalog with new GBA titles in the years that followed.
Latest Switch Online Addition Lends Credibility to Exciting N64 Leak
The latest addition to the Nintendo Switch Online's Nintendo Classics library lends credibility to an old leak about upcoming N64 games.
NSO Adds Support for Remapping Controls in GBA Games
The latest update for the service materialized on September 3, adding N64 classic Forsaken 64 to Nintendo Switch Online. While it did not include any GBA titles (in the West), the latest version of the NSO GBA app improved its existing offerings by adding support for remapping buttons. The app also underwent a minor rebranding, as it no longer displays the "Switch Online" logo when booting, instead replacing it with a "Nintendo Classics" graphic, Nintendo Everything reports. The new screen matches the app's official name, Game Boy Advance – Nintendo Classics.
GBA Games Now Support 1080p Resolution in Switch 2 Handheld Mode
The early September 2025 update also introduces support for 1080p resolution in handheld mode. This particular change is only relevant to Nintendo's latest console, meant to take advantage of the Switch 2's Full HD display. Meanwhile, button remapping is also available on the original Switch, which sports a 720p screen. Moreover, both consoles received access to a new secret boot screen, which can be seen by pushing and holding the left analog stick in any direction immediately after launching the app. This will result in it displaying the original GBA boot screen playing the Super Mario Advance coin collection sound. The GameCube Classics app already supports a similar retro Easter Egg.
Beyond convenience, the 1080p handheld mode should clean up scaling on the Switch 2's screen, while button remapping brings the GBA catalog in line with the other Classics apps for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. Taken together, these changes signal that Nintendo is settling on a new baseline set of features for its retro libraries.
The latest iteration of the GBA app is identified by version number 3.0.0 and should be downloaded automatically as soon as the console is connected to the internet. In Japan, this update coincided with the addition of Magical Vacation to the NSO GBA lineup. A 2001 RPG from Brownie Brown (now 1-Up Studio), the game supports both local and online play via Nintendo Switch Online. While Japan exclusives have been a thing on NSO since its 2018 beginnings, there's still a chance the new version of Magical Vacation makes its way to the West eventually.
