Latest Features
Review Go-tcha Evolve - The Pokémon GO Plus Killer
Auto-catching and step tracking
Accessory maker Datel has had two attempts at making the ultimate Pokémon GO companion device: the Go-tcha and the Go-tcha Ranger. Both mimic the functionality of the Pokémon GO Plus (and the later
Feature Just Who The Heck Is Terry Bogard, Smash Bros. Ultimate's New DLC Fighter?
Update: Terry comes to Smash today - but do you know who he is?
The news that Terry Bogard has joined Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has triggered some rather polarising responses from Nintendo fans. For gamers of a certain vintage, Bogard's name is synonymous with SNK's superb lineage of one-on-one fighting games, stretching all the way back to 1991's
Feature Nintendo Life eShop Selects - October 2019
October's best Switch eShop games!
With Halloween now safely out of the way, we've somehow stumbled right into November - seriously, where does the time go? The good news is, however, that the end of the month means it's time to dig out the ol' Nintendo Life eShop Select Awards! These awards aim to celebrate the best of Nintendo's digital store,...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (November 2nd)
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
After a week full of disappointed Pokémon shoppers and a whole lot of Reggie-based news, we're suddenly sensing the light at the end of the tunnel and a chance to actually sit down with a game or two. It must be the weekend! As always, members of team Nintendo Life have gathered together to discuss their...
Feature The Most Memorable Ghosts In Nintendo Games
Spooks, spectres and ghosts that stuck around
It's close to midnight, and something evil's lurking in the dark... Well, perhaps. Yes, Nintendo Switch has its fair share of true horrors, but there's a fair chance that any ghost you happen across on Nintendo platforms could be a Casper-like friendly phantom. With Halloween almost upon us and Luigi up...
Feature All Aboard The Sega Bus, A Relic From A Time When Sonic And Mario Were Sworn Enemies
Who said public transport isn't fun?
It might not mean much to people outside of the UK, but the Sega Bus has been part of video game folklore for decades. Back when Nintendo and Sega were fighting tooth and nail for dominance of living rooms all over the world, Sega's UK arm – which had enjoyed tremendous success thanks to the fact that the...
Feature Luigi And Video Gaming's Other Palette Swap Heroes
Clones that became stars
Luigi’s Mansion 3 releases in just a couple of days and rounds out a trilogy of excellent games featuring gaming's most famous sidekick in the starring role. Over the years Luigi has grown from mere clone to become a beloved Nintendo character and developed something of a cult following along the way. Perhaps his cowardice...
Gallery The Art Of Super Mario Odyssey Is A Lush Journey Through The Design Of A Switch Classic
Luigi's Mansion who?
We know what you're thinking. Super Mario Odyssey – great game that it is – came out ages ago. Surely, releasing an art book based on the game now would be a silly idea, especially when the spotlight has fallen on Mario's sibling and his latest adventure? Putting aside any debates on launch timing, Dark Horse's latest tome...
Exclusive Check Out These Never-Before-Seen New Super Lucky's Tale Levels On Switch
How does the fox play?
Lucky's Tale has had quite an interesting journey over the years. First appearing on Oculus, then moving to the Xbox One and now finding his new home on Nintendo Switch. It's like a match made in heaven for the little platforming fox as developers, Playful, aren't just porting over an old version; they're completely...
Feature How Fangamer Changed The World Of Video Game Merchandise Forever
"We created the merchandise that Nintendo never made for us"
Before the turn of the century brought with it online communities, before the standard for monetary transactions became digital, and not to mention, before good old-fashioned globalism, being able to officially declare your super fandom for almost anything you can think of meant frequent...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (October 26th)
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
Here we are once again, seven days later, as if by magic. It's been a week game-packed with video games of all shapes and sizes. This week we've seen Black Friday 'leaks' which were too good to be true, news of a Nintendo Store opening in Tokyo (no, amazingly there wasn't one already) and Nintendo President
Hardware Review Retro-Bit's Bluetooth Sega Pads Are Perfect For Retro On Your Switch
Remote control
Not a week seems to pass without news of yet another new wired or wireless controller for the Switch. We've had SNES-themed ones, Sega-styled ones and even ones that try to offer the perfect platform for one-on-one fighters. There's cle
Talking Point Shuntaro Furukawa Understands, As Iwata Did, The Value Of Experimentation To Nintendo
He's following in grand traditions
Taking over the reigns and responsibility of a treasured company like Nintendo must be daunting at the best of times, but when you're stepping into the shoes of a fan-favourite executive who's built up a cult of personality that inspired multiple memes, it must be particularly nerve-wracking. Just ask Doug Bowser,...
Feature How Switch Brings Back Game Boy Multiplayer Memories
A link (cable) to the past
Quite apart from the huge number of great games coming to the system every week, one result of Switch’s success that we’ve really enjoyed is how it has brought back a focus on local multiplayer gaming not seen since the N64 days. Online is still king, of course, but we’d argue there’s nothing quite like the rush of...
Feature Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Rescue-Palooza! Is The Turtles Game You've Always Wanted
"I’ve wanted to see every NES and Game Boy game get a SNES do-over"
From the silver screen to the small screen to the even smaller screen on your Game Boy, the world’s favourite comic book pizza-lovers have featured on displays of all dimensions. But, while the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles originated in pen and ink, many people remember them...
Feature The Hall Of Shame – Games Or Series We Never Got Around To Playing
Personal confessions from Team NL
It’s a perennial problem for gaming enthusiasts, young or old: how can I play all the video games? With so many across all the systems, it’s nigh-on impossible to play them all and there’ll always be revered classics or entire series that pass you by completely simply because you never owned a particular...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (October 19th)
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
Here we are once again, safely in the loving embrace of another weekend. This week saw all sorts of censorship shenanigans and even a cheeky new game for the Wii U, but now we can sit down, relax, and enjoy some game time. As ever, Team Nintendo Life has gathered to discuss our weekend plans and we'd love for...
Talking Point Could Nintendo's Game Design Prowess Solve Discoverability Problems On Switch eShop?
Catchy menu music could be just the start
We don’t know about you, but our visits to the Switch eShop have turned into a monotonous routine that goes something like this: hit the ‘Great Deals’ tab, scroll down while eyeing fodder for the backlog, wait for more games to load, scroll, repeat, scroll, repeat. Sound familiar? There's a gloriously...
Feature Little Town Hero Director On Stepping Out Of Pokémon's Shadow
"RPGs are really time-consuming"
You could say that developer Game Freak has form when it comes to turn-based battlers - the makers of the Pokémon games have stewarded the largest RPG franchise on the planet for over two decades. Nice work if you can get it, although a never-ending cycle of Pocket Monster development can take its toll on a team...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (October 12th)
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
Here we are then, folks! The end of yet another week. This one brought with it a Fortnite lawsuit and a ridiculous Mario Kart Tour microtransaction pack, but with all that anger out of the way, it's time to chill with some of our favourite games. The Nintendo Life team have shared what we'll be g
Feature Pokémon, Zelda, Mario, Metroid... Nintendo’s Biggest Bugs, Glitches And Errors
It’s a bug feature
Of all the developers putting out games today, Nintendo has possibly the best reputation for delivering rock-solid, glitch-free and glorious gaming experiences. The patented ‘Nintendo polish’ is something of a given when you fire up a first-party game - we expect an assuredly smooth, jank-less time where in games from...
Feature "Nintendo Killed My Son!" - Pulling Apart A Tragic Headline More Than Two Decades On
How a single story rocked the games industry
Video games have often been blamed for many of society's ills, and only this week has the news broken that a Canadian family intends to take Epic Games to court over the addictive nature of Fortnite, which, they claim, has "ruined" the lives of their children. The case cites the classification of 'video...
Feature Nintendo Life eShop Selects - September 2019
September's best Switch eShop games!
Yet another month has flown by, and wow what a month it was. We often reach the end of each month wondering how so many great games have made it to Switch, but September really was something else. So, as is now tradition, it's time for the Nintendo Life eShop Selects! These awards aim to celebrate the best of...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (October 5th)
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
We've made it to the end of yet another week, this time full of new Switch updates and more Switch Lite drift talk, so now it's time to put all that behind us and relax with our favourite games. The Nintendo Life team have gathered to chat about our gaming plans for the next couple of days, and we'd love for...
Talking Point We're Actually Quite Looking Forward To Brain Training On Switch
Assuming it arrives before 2025
Ah, Dr Kawashima. It’s been a while since we’ve seen your endearingly polygonal face adorn our handheld screens, but seeing you again filled us with a warm fuzzy feeling that, if we’re honest, caught us by surprise. Yes, according to a Japanese trailer released on Monday, the doctor will be on call again this...
Hardware Review Big Hands, Meet The Hori Split Pad Pro for Switch
Not just for Daemon X Machina
The Switch’s Joy-Con controllers are incredible pieces of hardware. Packing a Gyro Sensor, NFC Reader, HD Rumble, IR Camera and a battery into such a tiny device – while keeping portability in mind – couldn’t have been an easy feat. However, some find the Switch’s Joy-Con a little too small and cramped for...
Everything that has been confirmed (so far)
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is looking better and better each time we see it, and while it only had a relatively small cameo in the big September Nintendo Direct, the show did give us a good look at some of the games and modes you'll be able to enjoy. As such, we though
Feature Digging Through Nintendo Patents
Ideas that surfaced or sank without trace
The recent discovery of a patent for Joy-Con controllers with hinges set tongues wagging with speculation as to what it could mean for Switch and potential future directions for the platform. Will Switch ‘Pro’ feature a curved screen? Is the angle of the two parts measured and translated into the game?...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (September 28th)
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
Yet another week has been and gone, this time bringing with it all sorts of confusion surrounding the possibility of stick drift on the new Switch Lite and a bizarre case of an eShop game being removed against the developer's wishes, but we've finally reached the weekend. And it's time to get in some game...
Talking Point Mario Kart Tour Is Certainly Dividing Opinion, But Why?
Lover or fighter?
A brief glance through the comments section in our review for Mario Kart Tour is enough to suggest that the reception of the world's premier karting series on mobile has been polarising, to say the least. Our view, as you'll know from the review, is that it's a fun mobile interpretation of the series once you acclimatise to the...
Feature The Worst Box Art Of All Time - 10 Terrible Game Covers
Our picks for the lowest of the low
You may be familiar with our weekend Box Art Brawl series where we pit regional versions of the same game against each other in a gladiatorial poll to find out which has the best cover art. That's all well and good, but there are a great many terrible examples that will never experience the glory of combat in our...
Talking Point Mario Kart Tour Promises World Travel And A Nostalgia Trip To Boot
Tapping into your memories
Some games transcend mere consoles. While multiplayer classics like GoldenEye 007 remain forever trapped in the amber of their original system, others hop between hardware and grow into something uncontainable and unbounded by numbers and subtitles. Mario Kart is one such series. When someone asks if you fancy some...
Feature One Man's Quest To Catalogue Every Moai In Video Games
"Why do this? It's the thrill of the chase!"
Video games of all flavours are filled with real-world items that pop up time and again all over the place. Coins, rings, stars - these things are part of the vocabulary of games to the point that we don't really notice them any more, and it's usually the same with level furniture and background features...
Feature How Significant Is Britain's Influence On Pokémon Sword And Shield?
United Kingdom of Great Litten and Noivern Ireland
We’re only a couple of months away from the release of Pokémon Sword and Shield and the games’ trailers have given us plenty to get excited about. For us, the very best thing about Sword and Shield is that they’re set in the UK-inspired Galar Region. As a British site, we've always imagined...
Feature 10 Strangest Moments In Captain N: The Game Master
Celebrating the cult Saturday morning Nintendo cartoon’s 30th birthday
Super Smash Bros.? Pffft, garbage. The Marvel Cinematic Universe? Complete trash. Project X Zone? Hmmm, we appreciate your thinking but even so, nope. The greatest crossover of all time turned 30 years old this month and none of you selfish sods even noticed. We’re talking,...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (September 21st)
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
It's the weekend! After a long week of unhappy Super Smash Bros. players and excitement surrounding an uppity, overly-English Pokémon bird, we've finally reached the point where we can sit down and have a good old gaming session or two. Some of the hardworking Nintendo Life team have shared their thoughts...
Feature A Look To The Past - All The Legend Of Zelda Remasters And Remakes
Wielding the Remaster Sword
From the moment of its first reveal the Switch remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening captured Zelda fans’ attention with its eye-catching diorama aesthetic and reimagining of a classic. The Game Boy original transposed the top-down style of A Link to the Past on Su
Gallery Unboxing Zelda: Link's Awakening Limited Edition On Switch
Ta Da Da Da!
Nintendo is really spoiling us with these limited editions lately. Astral Chain had a pretty special packaging (and one that was sadly exclusive to Europe) and Zelda: Link's Awakening is getting similar treatment. Inside the limited edition package for this Switch remake you get a steelbook case shaped like a Game Boy (complete with...
Feature Getting Reacquainted With Zelda: Link's Awakening, An Irreverent And Silly Classic
"It was like we were making a parody of Zelda"
The Switch is getting its second Zelda game, but it perhaps wasn't one that people were expecting. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening was the franchise's first serious foray into the handheld arena (if you don't include the 1989 Game & Watch release, that is) and remains a beloved entry in the...
Feature Uncovering The Unlikely Story Of The World's Worst Controller In The Power Of Glove
"It's so bad"
To a complete outsider, the notion of creating a documentary about a failed video game peripheral from 30 years ago might seem pointless, if not downright silly. But the Power Glove is so much more than a device which simply struggled to find its audience and meekly withdrew into the night; it has become an iconic piece of gaming...
Hardware Nintendo Switch Lite Review - Half A Switch, But That's More Than Enough For Some
Smaller, brighter, slimmer, stronger?
Given its penchant for iterating and refreshing its hardware, the arrival of Nintendo's Switch Lite feels inevitable rather than surprising. What's perhaps a little more unexpected is how this new machine gleefully jettisons the key element that the original console was arguably sold on – its ability to...
Feature How A Joke Hatched Gaming's Most Horrible Goose
"Geese are just funny"
Ever since it was first announced, Untitled Goose Game has enjoyed hugely positive reaction from all quarters - it's a rare thing to get excited about merch for a game we hadn't even played at the time, but there's something about this obnoxious goose and his stealthy slapstick antics which strikes a chord with us (and, it...
Guide Pokémon GO Type Chart: Advantages And Weaknesses Explained For All 18 Types
Your best options for super effective attacks & maximum resistance (also applies to mainline games)
Rock, paper, scissors. The idea that certain player choices are more or less effective against others has been a cornerstone of game design for generations. But what if your hand could also turn into a dragon, or a tsunami, or a formless supernatural...
Feature The Best Nintendo Switch Games Of PAX West 2019
Luigi's Mansion 3! Super Meat Boy Forever! Haven! Windjammers 2!
The Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle is one of the biggest expositions of gaming on the planet, and we were there, hunting out the best Nintendo-related games for your viewing pleasure. The only stipulations were that it couldn’t have already been released before PAX, and it had to be...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (September 14th)
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
Yet another week has flown by, this time full of Switch controller LED light revelations and stories of what might just be the very first time anyone has managed to reach the Switch's maximum playtime for a single game. We're feeling more than ready to sit down for some gaming over the weekend, and as usual,...
Feature Twirlbound On Pine's Open World And The Inevitable Zelda Comparisons
"Our game world and game structure is vastly different"
Now confirmed to arrive on Switch on 10th October, open world adventure Pine puts you in control of a young human named Hue and pits you against tribes and animals in an emergent simulation where territory is constantly shifting, survival is a struggle and there's always something new to...
Hands On Overland Is A Game Where You Don't Always Get To Save The Dog
"We broke most strategy game rules"
Overland has been in development for a long time now. Developer Finji – which began life back in 2006 when it was founded by Adam and Rebekah Saltsman – has been involved in several major releases over the years, including (deep breath) Canabalt, Gravity Hook, Hundreds, Feist, Panoramical, Runaway Toad and...
Hands On The More We Play Streets Of Rage 4, The More We Like It
Dust off your knuckles
Boy, the streets sure have been quiet the last 25 years. That’s roughly the length of time since Axel Stone, Blaze Fielding, and Big McLargehuge roamed the streets taming, titulary speaking, the “rage”. Streets of Rage 4, similar to retro franchise revivals like Mega Man 9 and Sonic Mania before it,
Hardware Review Exlene GameCube Controllers For Nintendo Switch
What makes them so special?
People love to play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with GameCube-style controllers, and that's a fact that hasn't been lost on third-party peripheral makers. Exlene is one such manufacturer, and it has come up with two GameCube-style pads for Switch that aim to scratch that itch for people who are in the market for a decent...
Hands On The Most Fun Game At PAX Was About Helping People Move Out
Making the move
Here are the most dreaded five words in the English language: “Can you help me move?” So hey, why not make a video game about it? Australian developer SMG is doing just that with its upcoming Switch game, titled Moving Out. It takes the concept of helping people move and puts it on its head... and its side, and its face, and...