NES Zelda-Like “The Mysterious Murasame Castle” Released on Nintendo Switch Online
Posted on November 02 2023 by Rod Lloyd
With The Minish Cap and the Oracle games coming to Nintendo Switch Online (and its Expansion Pack) this year, Nintendo is running out of classic Zelda titles to add to their online service. In fact, of the mainline Zelda games originally released on NSO’s current set of supported systems, the Game Boy Advance release of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords is the only one left out. So, while we wait for the fateful day more systems are brought to Switch Online, Nintendo will just have to give us our Zelda fix with games of a similar flavor.
Earlier this week, Nintendo announced that three classic titles, two from the Nintendo Entertainment System and one from the Game Boy, had come to Nintendo Switch Online. While 1984’s Devil World — Shigeru Miyamoto’s first console-only game — and 1998’s Castlevania Legends are certainly exciting additions to the service, it’s the re-release of The Mysterious Murasame Castle that should most interest Zelda fans.
Three classic titles are now live for #NintendoSwitchOnline members!#NES:
☑️ The Mysterious Murasame Castle
☑️ DEVIL WORLD#GameBoy:
☑️ Castlevania Legends pic.twitter.com/e8SnsA9a2m— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) October 31, 2023
The Mysterious Murasame Castle, released exclusively in Japan for Nintendo’s Family Computer Disk System in 1986, was actually born from experiments by the original Legend of Zelda development team and was built on that game’s engine. A faster, more linear, and more action-focused take on the adventure game formula, The Mysterious Murasame Castle has been described as “an action-oriented ‘sister’ game to the original Zelda.” The title remained a Japan-exclusive until 2014, when it was finally made available in other regions as part of the 3DS Virtual Console.
If you want a great primer on The Mysterious Murasame Castle, I recommend this episode of the web series Region Locked by the YouTube channel Did You Know Gaming.
The Mysterious Murasame Castle, as well as Devil World and Castlevania Legends, is available to Nintendo Switch Online members right now.
Have you played The Mysterious Murasame Castle before? Did it scratch your Zelda itch? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: Nintendo of America (via Nintendo Life)
Rod Lloyd is the Editor-In-Chief at Zelda Dungeon, overseeing the news and feature content for the site. Rod is considered the veteran of the writing team, having started writing for Zelda Informer in 2014 as a Junior Editor. After ZD and ZI officially merged in 2017, he stepped into the Managing Editor role and has helped steer the ship ever since. He stepped up to lead the writing team as Editor-In-Chief in 2023.
You can reach Rod at: rod.lloyd@zeldadungeon.net
