Nintendo has revealed that the next N64 game to come to Nintendo Switch Online's Expansion Pack will be the original Mario Golf. This was one of the N64 games promised for Nintendo Switch Online when the Expansion Pack was first announced. Now, it finally has a release date, as it's set to be added to the service in April.
The Mario Golf series technically debuted on the NES, as the game localized as NES Open Tournament Golf in English-speaking territories was originally called Mario Open Golf in Japan. This was followed by two Mario Golf titles released in '99 that shared a strange connection. The first was Mario Golf on the N64, and the second was Mario Golf on the Game Boy Color.
It was possible to use the N64 Transfer Pak (which was commonly used to bring Pokémon into the Pokémon Stadium titles for battle) with both games, as characters from the Game Boy Color version could be brought to the N64 version. In March, F-Zero X came to Nintendo Switch Online, and it will soon be followed by another N64 classic. The official Nintendo of America Twitter page has announced that Mario Golf will be coming to Nintendo Switch Online's Expansion Pack on April 15, 2022.
One obvious omission from the Nintendo Switch Online version of Mario Golf is that there will be no Transfer Pak functionality. As of the time of writing, there are no Game Boy or Game Boy Color apps for Nintendo Switch Online, which means there is no way to access the other version of Mario Golf. There's a good chance that Mario Golf will come to Nintendo Switch Online once Game Boy and Game Boy Color games are added, but it's doubtful that Transfer Pak functionality will be added between the apps. This is assuming that Game Boy games come to Nintendo Switch Online at all in the future.
Once Mario Golf is added to Nintendo Switch Online, there will only be two more games announced for the service: Pokémon Snap and Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. This means the original line-up of games should all be on the service in June, assuming Nintendo sticks to adding one game a month. There are still plenty of N64 games missing from the service, including the original Super Smash Bros. and several Mario Party games, so it's not the end for the Expansion Pack just yet. The N64 Expansion Pack app datamine suggested that 38 games will be on the service in the future, which means there could be lots more N64 titles on the way.
Mario Golf is coming to the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack on April 15, 2022.
Source: Nintendo of America/Twitter