The Switch 2’s GameCube Library Is Finally Getting A New Addition

Hello everyone. Strap in, because the latest Nintendo Switch 2 update is a masterclass in delivering big announcements with the kind of slow drip-feed you’d expect from a medieval bloodletting session. Yes, the GameCube library for Nintendo Switch Online has been updated. Again. And by “updated,” I mean they’ve added a single game. A single one. Not a treasure trove you could drown in, but more like a tiny ice cube in an empty drink. This time, it’s Chibi-Robo! – that quirky little action-puzzle-chores simulator from 2005 that probably half the current player base has never even heard of.

The Setup: From Wind Waker to Wiping Up Spills

Let’s review how we arrived here. Nintendo opened the GameCube vault for Switch 2 with three absolute bangers: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, and Mario Smash Football. Then they graced us with Super Mario Strikers, which was… fine. About as exciting as finding out your doctor is prescribing you “more hydration” for the tenth time in a row. Now they’re giving us Chibi-Robo! A game where you, a four-inch-tall robot, run around tidying up a house like the world’s cutest Roomba, while desperately managing battery life like it’s a Dark Souls stamina bar.

Back in 2005, Chibi-Robo! Plug Into Adventure (the full title no one cared to keep) was a strange beast. Developed by Skip, Ltd., it challenged you to aid the chaotic Sanderson family and a host of sentient toys, earning “Happy Points” in exchange for menial tasks. Think Animal Crossing meets actual chores. You clear messes, fix problems, assist with soap opera-level family drama, and make sure your battery doesn’t die mid-mop. Critically speaking, it’s one of those titles that sits awkwardly between charming and weirdly tedious – like holding a conversation with someone enthusiastic about tax law.

Reviewers at launch were all over the place – EDGE hailed it with a solid 8/10, while A.V. Club treated it more like an unfortunate medical diagnosis. Most people landed somewhere in the middle: a game worth trying, but no messiah of gaming it was not.

The Dev Studio: From Skip to Tiny Wonder

Skip, Ltd., the developers, apparently vanished around 2019 or 2020 without so much as a note left on the fridge. A core crew splintered off to form Tiny Wonder Studio, which poked its head up again last year. Whether this Chibi-Robo! re-release is Nintendo dipping a stethoscope to check if the franchise still has a pulse, or just a lazy attempt to fill a calendar gap, remains to be seen.

The Others Waiting in the Wings

Beyond Chibi-Robo!, Nintendo has teased some upcoming GameCube heavyweights that they apparently plan to deliver on their own glacial timetable:

• Super Mario Sunshine
• Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
• Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness
• Luigi’s Mansion
• Pokémon Colosseum

Meanwhile, the current library stands at:

• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
• F-ZERO GX
• Soul Calibur II
• Mario Smash Football

The Verdict: A Fun Nostalgia Nibble, Not a Feast

Here’s the thing: I genuinely like Chibi-Robo! It’s bright, weird, and deceptively stressful in that way only Japanese game design can pull off. But for Nintendo to trickle this out as the big GameCube update for Switch 2 feels, frankly, like a filler episode in a JRPG. You’re standing there with your ultimate sword, itching to fight the final boss, and the game makes you go fetch potatoes for someone’s soup.

Will I play it? Absolutely. Will I have fun? Probably more than I should. But let’s not pretend this is the glorious expansion of the GameCube library we were waiting for. Give us the Sunshine, the Pokémon, the Luigi’s Mansion – give us the main quest, Nintendo. This side quest is fine, but we’ve been grinding for decades already.

Overall impression: Good game, lazy rollout. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is entirely my opinion.

Article source: The Switch 2’s GameCube Library Is Finally Getting A New Addition, https://kotaku.com/nintendo-switch-2-online-robo-chibi-gamecube-2000617438