RetroVision – NES Golf Hidden Within Every Nintendo Switch

The Virtual Console may not be live yet, but that hasn’t stopped Nintendo hiding a Famicom / NES classic inside every single console. No it’s not The Legend of Zelda or Super Mario Bros., but rather the 8-bit sporting classic and NES launch title, NES Golf. What’s more, there’s even a NES emulator hidden within every Switch system too.

This revelation comes by way of SwitchBrew, who after digging deep within the console’s firmware, came across a pre-installed NES emulator wrapped around the iconic NES Golf. These files are identified within the main binary under the name “flog”. Which you may notice is golf backwards.

NES Golf Nintendo Switch 3

That’s not all though, as the surprises don’t end with the discovery of the game. You see, once fans found a way to launch the game, they discovered that Nintendo have also updated the controls. Namely, they’ve taken a leaf out of Wii Sports, and added Joy-Con motion controls to this 8-bit classic that was first released all the way back in 1984.

Given the existence of the NES emulator, and even the updated motion controls, many are viewing this as an initial test for Nintendo’s upcoming Virtual Console classics. This certainly would explain the motion controls, as Nintendo did point to updates to retro titles such as online multiplayer, in the build up to the launch of the Switch. This would also explain plans to possibly include the Virtual Console at launch, plans that had to sadly be pushed back to the latter end of 2017.

NES Golf Nintendo Switch 4

So how exactly do you unlock NES Golf then? Well that is a complicated process, and one that may point to a deeper meaning behind the existence of this title within the very make up of the Nintendo Switch. You see, turns out that all this is more than likely a touching tribute to the late President of Nintendo Satoru Iwata.

Interested to find out more? Well we’ll soon be detailing all you need to know about the link between this hidden NES Golf game and the late video game legend, and personal hero of mine, Satoru Iwata.

Sophia Aubrey Drake

A lifelong gamer with a fanatical love of all things Nintendo and Japan. So much so that she's written a thesis on one and lived in the other. Currently on a quest to catch every last Pokémon. Follow me on twitter via @DivaXChill or @RingsandCoins.

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