Dataminer Finds Metroid: Zero Mission Screenshots on Nintendo Switch Online; Hints at Link Functionality

With the announcement of Game Boy Advance games coming to Nintendo Switch Online and the recent release of Metroid Fusion to the online service, smart money would dictate that it’s only a matter of time before the second GBA Metroid game, Metroid: Zero Mission, debuts on NSO, and if recent datamining is any indication, that seems like a smarter bet than ever. Yakumono, aka @LuigiBlood on Twitter, dug into the file folders of Metroid Fusion and found some interesting screenshots – namely, unused shots from Zero Mission that instruct players on how to link your Metroid Fusion game with your Metroid: Zero Mission game.

Japanese GBA NSO 1.1.0 is interesting… they accidentally left these screenshots about link functionality in Metroid Fusion folder. pic.twitter.com/aJ0q3STmGt

— Yakumono (@LuigiBlood) March 9, 2023

While that may be exciting to Metroid fans, it’s far from a confirmation that Zero Mission is an absolute lock to join the NSO roster. More interestingly is that these screenshots seem to infer than link cable functionality could be utilized in Nintendo’s online services. Fusion and Zero Mission are far from the only games that show evidence of this feature being used. Yakumoto breaks down in detail what all this information could mean and what games could potentially utilize this feature in this thread here, so make sure to give it a read.

Again, the screenshots don’t necessarily mean anything concrete, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on, and perhaps even worth getting excited about! Here’s hoping that Zero Mission makes its way to NSO sooner rather than later.

Source: Yakumono (via Nintendo Life)

Andy Spiteri

Andy Spiteri is the Webmaster of Omega Metroid and Host of the Omega Metroid Podcast, The Zelda Cast, and Virtual Theater. Probably drinking a Tim Horton’s Double Double as you read this.