Nintendo updated its Switch Online service this week to include three 1989 Game Boy games – Super Mario Land, Alleyway, and Baseball – but in Japan, an extra game was added to the service.
Action-adventure title Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru (The Frog For Whom the Bell Tolls) was developed by Nintendo R&D1 and Intelligent Systems, and hit Japanese store shelves in 1992.
The story involves Prince Richard of the Custard Kingdom and the Prince of the Sablé Kingdom, who are friendly rivals at the start of the adventure. When Princess Tiramisu of the Mille-Feuille Kingdom gets captured by the malevolent King Delarin, Richard sets off to rescue her in order to claim bragging rights over the Prince of Sablé – who predictably accepts the challenge and follows him.
Directed by Toru Osawa and written by Yoshio "Metroid" Sakamoto, Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru has a 'link' with the Zelda series; several of its characters (including Prince Richard) and themes appear in Zelda: Link's Awakening, which launched on the handheld a year later.
Nintendo announced that Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru was coming to the service early last year, so it's taken quite some time to arrive.
The catch is that it's exclusive to the Japanese Nintendo Switch Online service and entirely in Japanese, as no official English translation exists (a fan-made one if available online).
You can still try it out if you have access to a Japanese Nintendo Switch Online account, however, and it's well worth a look.
"Unique quirks coupled with Zelda-like overworld exploration come together beautifully to create a game that feels both familiar and fresh all at the same time," said our pals over at Nintendo Life back in 2014. "Even though the game is a one-off, it still manages to fill its world with memorable moments and places, and the puzzle-platforming is satisfying without ever becoming frustrating. Straightforward gamers will find an expertly crafted adventure here, and those that like to explore every nook and cranny aren't forgotten either – finding plenty of helpful items lurking underground and at the end of tricky leaps."