James is a veteran games journalist, co-founder and designer at Tigertron, and co-founder and creative director for BitSummit, Japan's premier indie gamedev festival.
Feature Nintendo NY Got A Royal Makeover For The 'Princess Peach Showtime!' Meet & Greet
It’s showtime for Peaches Peaches, Peaches Peaches Peaches
As they often do for tentpole characters, Nintendo —at their flagship store at Rockefeller Center in New York City— held a special launch event for their leading lady, Princess Peach. Having recently (as of The Super Mario Bros. Movie) stepped out of Mario’s portly shadow and into...
Soapbox Fire Emblem Engage's Nintendo NYC Launch Felt Pretty Unengaging
The red carpet stayed rolled up
It was Fire Emblem Engage launch day and Nintendo Life had boots on the ground in New York City to document the launch of Intelligent Systems’ latest entry in the series, at Nintendo NYC in Rockefeller Center. Nintendo fans in New York City are spoiled. We have Nintendo’s flagship retail shop, replete with Marios...
Soapbox Splatoon 3's Midnight Launch Felt A Bit Different
Veteran video game journalist James Mielke camps out
Ah, the venerable midnight launch. The once-expected tradition of camping out for midnight game launches — so timed as to technically adhere to official game street dates while still capitalising on gamer obsessions and enthusiasm — is, at least in New York City, on the verge of extinction...
Review Metal Max Xeno: Reborn (Switch) - A Welcome Rebirth Despite Its Flaws
Don't get mad, Max
Editor's note: This review, originally published on Saturday 14th May 2022, was based on the imported Japanese version of the game. However, you can find updated comments relating specifically to the English language release at the bottom of the page. Metal Max fans in the West are not what you’d call spoiled for choice,...
Review Touken Ranbu Warriors (Switch) - A 'My First Musou' That Adds Little To The Formula
The way of the Warriors
At first blush, Koei Tecmo’s Touken Ranbu Warriors appears to be something of a "My First Dynasty Warriors", or a "Diet" Musou. It’s based on DMM’s (popular in Japan) free-to-play browser-based collectable card game, targeted at Japanese women — specifically a subculture of otaku known as “katana women” – ladies...
News Pokémon Legends: Arceus' NYC Launch Was Unusually Subdued, But That's Fine
No camping out required
The times they are a-changin' and in this instance, seemingly for the better. Unlike past launches of Nintendo first-party properties at the flagship Nintendo NY store located in New York City’s fabled Rockefeller Center — which often saw hundreds of people queued up overnight to be the first to buy the Switch, or...
Review Megaton Musashi (Switch) - Level-5's Import-Only Mecha Monster Deserves A Localisation
Domo arigatou, Mr. Roboto
It’s been a while since renowned Japanese developer Level-5 launched an IP that didn’t come complete with accompanying merchandise lines, manga, and anime to complement its latest game property. Professor Layton, Ni No Kuni, Inazuma Eleven, Snack World, and of course,
