In just a relatively short period of time, hackers have already hacked the Nintendo Switch Online's NES emulator to add more games into the existing library.
Nintendo Switch Online, an online subscription service that was launched just yesterday, features a NES emulator that allows players to play classic Nintendo games such as "Super Mario Bros," "Excitebike," "Ice Climber," "Double Dragon," "Gradius," and "River City Ransom." Nintendo says there are 20 titles at launch, and more will be added over time.
Hackers, however, have found a way to add more games to the list. According to a report from Polygon, players have found a way to play with their own ROMs, which means they can play with other classic NES games not yet included in the official list of titles.
The flaw, discovered by a certain guy who goes by the name Kapu, told Polygon that the emulation for the NES games Nintendo included in the online service are very easy to manipulate, since they appear to be direct ports of the software used in Nintendo's mini-console, the NES Classic Edition.
Using a program called "hakchi," players, even those without hacking experience, can add games to the NES Classic Edition. The same goes for adding games to the Switch Online's NES library.
Adding to or swapping ROMs to Nintendo Switch Online might be quite difficult for those without prior experience, but if instructions are followed properly, it won't be as hard. After the initial setup, however, it will be very easy to add more ROMs, Kapu said.
So how does the finished product look like? According to a video uploaded to YouTube by a certain DevRin, titles look the same way, with the only difference being that the game is played on a Switch, and the game isn't included in the official list.
The video showed how the user chose to play Super Mario Bros, but after choosing the game, a different game loaded: "Battletoads." This is what Kapu meant by "swapping out ROMs."
For those who might want to try this hack, there are some things that need to be considered. A modder who goes by the name KapuccinoHeck told Kotaku that NES titles can only be added to hacked Switches.
Hacking Switches, the modder said, is not that easy to do. Additionally, there's the risk of having Nintendo ban the Switch user's account, so it's not entirely safe to do.
Nevertheless, those who want to play classic NES games on the Switch without having to wait for uncertain periods of time before a favorite title is added might try this anyway.
