Virtual Console Dreaming: Pokemon Day 2026
Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness by The Pokemon Company, Nintendo, and Genius Sonority
Another Pokemon Day, another showcase primarily dedicated to live service games I don’t interact with (and Trading Card Game Pocket which I interact with too much). I’m mostly kidding, it was a solid presentation overall. The water in Wind and Waves looks very nice and I would have loved to listen in on the meeting where they decided to make that Game Boy music collection. Pop Lavender Town in and you’ll be good to go.
The only relevant piece of news to come out of today’s presentations for this series of articles is that Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness will be added to the Classics Catalog in March. Originally released on the GameCube, Gale of Darkness tasks the player with capturing shadow Pokemon. It features a quaint collection of JRPG style towns and environments. Honestly, I can’t wait to check this one out. Thorhighheels did an excellent video on it a couple years back.
One other bit of info to come out a week ago is that FireRed and LeafGreen are getting Switch ports but not as part of Nintendo Online. This understandably caused some light outrage on social media (are we supposed to be angry we’re buying them or angry that we don’t own games? It’s hard to keep up). I’m tempted to dive in–Pokemon Red was my first and I’ve never attempted a Nuzlocke.
Here is my wish list for the service. I removed Gale of Darkness, but otherwise everything else is the same. I’ve added dozens to my personal list and I’m trying to decide whether or not to gradually migrate them over here. At a certain point it gets ridiculous–but we celebrate excess at Tactical Reload.
SNES
Pocky and Rocky 2
Secret of Mana
GBC/GBA
Mario Golf: Advance Tour
Metal Gear: Ghost Babel
Mother 3
Onimusha Tactics
Pokemon Pinball
Tony Hawk misc.
Nintendo 64
Beetle Adventure Racing
Bomberman 64
Bomberman 64: The Second Attack!
Bomberman Hero
Castlevania 64/Legacy of Darkness
Goemon’s Great Adventure
Mischief Makers
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
Quest 64
Resident Evil 2
Road Rash 64
Snowboard Kids
Snowboard Kids 2
GameCube
1080 Avalanche
Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance
Battalion Wars
Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg
Cubivore:: Survival of the Fittest
Donkey Konga 1-3 (rerelease the bongos!)
Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat
Eternal Darkness
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
Geist
GoldenEye: Rogue Agent
James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire
James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing
James Bond 007: From Russia with Love
James Bond 007: Nightfire
Killer 7 (if we’re not getting a port of the Steam version)
Kirby Air Ride
Lost Kingdoms
Lost Kingdoms II
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
Mario Kart: Double Dash
Mario Party 4-7
Metroid Prime 2 (if we don’t get a proper remaster)
P.N.03
Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 & 2
Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness
Resident Evil 2, 3, and Code Veronica
Skies of Arcadia Legends (I think this is the one I want the most)
SSX 3
Starfox Adventures
Starfox: Assault
Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
Super Smash Bros. Melee
TimeSplitters 2
TimeSplitters: Future Perfect
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4
Tony Hawk’s Underground, Underground 2, and American Wasteland (if we don’t get remakes)
Turok: Evolution (if Nightdive doesn’t do its thing)
Viewtiful Joe 1 and 2
Wave Race: Blue Storm
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Falsebound Kingdom
I’m helping publish an indie in less than two weeks so I’ve been spending more and more time in the email mines.
Have a great weekend and go play every single game in your backlog–or else.