Latest Features
Feature How One Man Is Turning Dead DS Lites Into Gorgeous Game Boy Advance Systems
Say hello to the Neon Advance
Humanity has been troubled by many great questions during its time on Earth. Why are we here? What is the meaning of life? Where do all those bloody odd socks go? However, none of these perplexing quandaries is more troubling than the ultimate question: which is the best Nintendo handheld for playing Game Boy Advance...
Feature Lumines Remastered Is Music To Our Ears At BitSummit
Maestro Tetsuya Mizuguchi revisits a classic number
At last weekend's Bitsummit indie games event in Kyoto, Japan, Tetsuya Mizuguchi of REZ and Child of Eden fame showed off his latest project - a remaster of beloved music-puzzle game, Lumines. As advocates for using the interaction between music and games in pioneering ways, it was great to play...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend?
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
The weekend has arrived, just in time to rescue us all from the dread and gloom of the working week. Even if you've got to work a little more this weekend, hopefully you'll have the time to play some new (or old) games on your Nintendo console of choice. The team at Nintendo Life certainly are, so here are our...
Feature PixelJunk Monsters 2 Developer Q-Games On Nintendo-Like Design And Future Switch Projects
"The amazing thing about the Switch is the simplicity"
In the heart of Japan's former capital Kyoto, Q-Games founder and former Argonaut programmer Dylan Cuthbert and his team are putting the finishing touches to the sequel to popular tower defence game PixelJunk Monsters. Ten years since the original title and several ‘canon’ games later,...
Feature Hands-On With Playdough Platform Puzzler Semblance At BitSummit 2018
Make yourself
At Kyoto's Bitsummit indie games festival, we had the chance to have some hands-on time and chat to the developers of ‘playdough’ platform puzzle game Semblance, from South African developer Nyamakop. The demo was all about the realisation of what was possible from one puzzle to the next, as the world and various platforms...
Feature Waxing Apocalyptic With The Makers Of Dillon's Dead-Heat Breakers
A dystopian 'dillo
Remember Dillon, Nintendo's rock-smashing armadillo? Nintendo hasn't forgotten him, and he's poised to return to the 3DS soon. Before that, we had the opportunity to talk about his new adventure with Kensuke Tanabe of Nintendo, the producer on the latest title, Dillon's Dead-Heat Breakers, as well as Risa Tabata, the...
Feature Having A Sneaky Word About FRAMED Collection With Developer Loveshack
"It fitted perfectly with our style, mechanics and overall theme"
Stylish and multi-award-winning noir puzzle games FRAMED and FRAMED 2 sneak on to the eShop this week as part of the FRAMED Collection, and while visiting Kyoto's BitSummit indie game show over the weekend, we had the chance to talk to the game's director and designer, Joshua Boggs...
Feature Nintendo Of Japan Stamps Its Mark On BitSummit 2018
Popular Japanese hobby crosses over to unite indies on Switch
As previously reported by the lovely Alex, many games from western indie developers are coming not only to Switch, but also to make their mark in Japan, which came to fruition under the new Nintendo umbrella 'Indie World'. A cute pixellated world exhibiting both existing hits and upcoming...
Feature Hollow Knight On Switch "At The Finish Line" Says Developer Team Cherry
"We feel we share 'The Nintendo philosophy'"
Team Cherry made a big name for itself with its atmospheric yet adorable Metroidvania platformer Hollow Knight when it realised on Steam in February last year. The game has since generated a huge amount of publicity, not only since its initial Switch reveal, but also since its delay and unfortunate...
Talking Point Could Sony Or Microsoft Release Their Own Nintendo Switch-Style Hybrids?
Digital Foundry pops the question, and comes up with some amazing data
Some of the Nintendo Life team were lucky enough to pop down to sunny Brighton a few weeks back, base of Gamer Network - the group of gaming sites with which Nintendo Life and Push Square are affiliated. While we were down there dodging vegan food stalls and resisting the urge to...
Hardware Review SwitchCharge Boosts Your Nintendo Switch Battery Life Fourfold
It's had a somewhat troubled path to market, but is it worth the wait?
It's fair to say that like so many amazing crowdfunded ideas, the SwitchCharge hasn't had the most comfortable routes to market. After comprehensively smashing its funding goal back in 2017, the accessory – which contains a 10,000mAh b
Soapbox Let's Give Nintendo Switch Online A Chance Before We Throw It To The Wolves
Every online service has to start somewhere
Soapbox features enable our individual writers to voice their own opinions on hot topics, opinions that may not necessarily be the voice of the site. In today's article, editor Dom discusses the hot topic that is Nintendo Switch Online and why every online service starts out with a few teething problems...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend?
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
The weekend is here, so to celebrate the end of the week, team Nintendo Life has covered together its collective opinions on what we'll be playing over the coming days. As always, be sure to drop a vote or two in the poll and a comment below with what you'll be playing in your spare time. Have a great weekend!...
Hands On Shantae: Half-Genie Hero - Ultimate Edition
Worth the double dip?
About a year ago, WayForward released Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, the fourth entry in the studio’s popular platforming franchise. Since then, the developer has been busy working on various side campaigns that were promised during the original Kickstarter run, releasing a new one every few months. Now, WayForward has bundled...
Catch 'em all with our help!
Pokémon Quest is a brand new free to play RPG on Nintendo Switch that challenges you to collect your favourite Pokémon and send them out on adventures. During these, they'll battle other Pokémon and gather items you can use to increase their power or discover new Pokémon. It's a simple affair that hides an...
Feature Up The Wall With Etherborn Developer Altered Matter
"We wanted to stimulate curiosity and a 'sense of wonder'"
Etherborn is a beautiful exploration platformer from developer Altered Matter, and is coming to Nintendo Switch this year. With a combination of environment-based puzzles and gravity-defying traversal, Etherborn looks very promising. We talked to Samuel Cohen and Carles Massó from...
Guide Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition - How To Unlock All Costumes
Get dressed
There's a bunch of different characters to unlock in Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition and each of them has various different costumes they can wear. These are often based on outfits from previous The Legend of Zelda games. In this guide, we're going to help you unlock all costumes for each character in the game. We'll list all of...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend?
These are our picks, but what are yours?
The weekend is here, so we've got a lovely Talking Point to get that much-needed break going. Team Nintendo Life has plenty of titles on its collective 'to-do' list, with everything from sports sims and paint-addled shooters to music creation suites and vibrant RPGs. We're an eclectic bunch. Be sure to leave...
Feature Battling The Viking Horde With Bad North Dev, Plausible Concept
"We want people to get attached to their heroes and squads..."
Over the last year, Nintendo Switch has collected a number of titles that place you in the reaving shoes of a Viking, but not many have tasked you with keeping that bloodthirsty horde at bay. Well, upcoming real-time battle sim Bad North does just that, so to celebrate its war-torn...
Feature Reanimating The Roguelike With Dead Cells Developer, MotionTwin
"We're excited to bring this game to Switch and its audience"
In 2018, it's safe to say Nintendo Switch has its fair share of roguelike titles and pixel art platformers, but there's always room for games willing to marry the two in new and exciting ways. Dead Cells, the latest creation from French indie studio MotionTwin has all the hallmarks of a...
Feature Wishing Upon A Star With Pode Developer Henchman & Goon
"We really feel Pode belongs on Nintendo Switch"
Nintendo Switch has become the new home for independently-developed games. Not just as a new platform for ports of existing ones, but as a fresh space for developers to build titles with its handheld qualities and unique Nintendo magic in mind. Pode, the first game from Norwegian outfit Henchman...
Soapbox What Pokémon GO And The Pokémon Main Series Could Learn From Each Other
Serebii's Joe Merrick shares his opinion
Soapbox features enable our individual writers to voice their own opinions on hot topics, opinions that may not necessarily be the voice of the site. In today's article, resident Pokémon expert and webmaster of Serebii Joe Merrick ponders if Pokémon GO and the mainline Pokémon games can...
Feature Hands-On With Raging Justice, The Streets Of Rage Successor Your Switch Deserves
We talk to Nic Makin ahead of the game's May launch
Once the toast of the video game arena, the humble side-scrolling fighter has fallen from grace in recent years. While we've seen notable titles that have tried to resurrect the genre - such as the brilliant Wulverblade - it remains a relic from a bygone era; a style of game that was arguably most...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend?
These are our picks, but what are yours?
The weekend is here so it's (hopefully) time to sit down, grab a few quiet minutes and enjoy some time with your favourite Nintendo console. The Nintendo Life are right in the thick of it this weekend, with Nintendo Labo, Splatoon 2, NBA 2K18 and even some classic retro titles getting a bit of love. We'd love...
Feature Scratching Beneath The Surface Of The Floor Kids Soundtrack With DJ Kid Koala
"It's all part of this scene that continues to inspire us"
Rhythm action game Floor Kids floored us in December of last year with its trendy hand-drawn art style, expressive freedom and incredible soundtrack. You check out our review right here. With its amazing soundtrack set for release on 27th April on vinyl, DJ and musical maestro Kid Koala took...
Feature The Making Of Night Trap, The World's Most Famous Video Game Nasty
"I thought the whole witch hunt was ridiculous"
Nintendo of America's Howard Lincoln makes an example out of Night Trap during the 1993 Senate Hearings on Video Game Violence Ever since its inception, the video game industry and controversy have gone hand in hand. Custer’s Revenge, Death Race, Grand Theft Auto, Sam Fox’s Strip Poker… these...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend?
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
With the week drawing to a close, it's finally time to kick back and play some games on your console of choice. Here at Nintendo Life, our time of intrepid writers, editors and video producers will be delving into our backlogs (and covering plenty of things for review), so expect a diverse melting pot of...
Feature It's Time For Former Tetris Champion Steve Wozniak To Reclaim His Throne
The best there is, the best there Woz, and the best there ever will be
There’s been a lot of news as of late about some famous high scores and the shaky stories behind them. While we're on the topic, we thought it might be a good idea to take the headwinds and revisit another famous video game record, perhaps the most famous Nintendo-related...
Feature Exploring Japan's Undying Love For Arcade 'Candy' Cabinets
Sweet stuff
Arcades may have all but died out in the west, but in Japan they remain big business. I write a website about arcades in Tokyo, and sometimes forget it’s not normal to live in an arcade daydream. I‘m prone to using obscure arcade terminology and I neglect readers who don’t click joysticks in the noise so often. I’m frequently...
Feature Taking To The Skies With Rogue Aces Developer Infinite State
"Empowering the player is key to us"
Nintendo fans have always been partial to a good dogfight or two. From the barrel-rolling shootouts of Star Fox 64 to the trench-running action of Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, we've always been up for leaping into a virtual cockpit. However, the skies have been unusually quiet on that front as of late, but a slew...
Feature Which Retro Classics Do You Want To See Come To Sega AGES On Switch?
To be this good...
Sega's confirmation that it is bringing its classic games to Switch as part of the AGES range was pretty incredible, if only for the sheer potential of such a move; Nintendo's erstwhile rival may be a very different company to the one that launched the Mega Drive, Saturn and Dreamcast these days, but it sits on an astonishing...
Interview Suda51 On Travis Strikes Again, Nintendo Switch And The Future Of No More Heroes
"We want Travis to go on for many more years"
Goichi "Suda51" Suda is arguably one of Japan's most famous game developers, and has been behind some of the most unique and compelling Japanese games of the past few decades, including Killer7, The Silver Case and - of course - No More Heroes. This franchise - along with its mouthy hero Travis...
Talking Point Does Sega's AGES Announcement Mean The Virtual Console Is Dead?
And if it is, does it really matter?
It's fair to say that the Virtual Console was quite a significant part of Nintendo's plans back when the Wii launched; it was certainly significant in the development of the site you're reading now, which some of you may remember as Virtual Console Reviews prior to the triumphant merger with Nintendo Life in...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend?
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
Another weekend is upon us, and that means making time - be it five precious minutes or a whole 48 hours - of quality 'you' time on your Nintendo platform of choice. This week we've got plenty of love for Nintendo Switch with some slices of retro goodness, some newly released indies and the usual devotion to...
Feature Chatting To Fishing Cactus About Shift Quantum Ahead of EGX Rezzed
"We can’t wait to see the crazy and arty levels players will make"
With a combination of mind-bending puzzles and an intriguing cyber noir setting, Belgian developer Fishing Cactus’ second title Shift Quantum has been on our radar for a while. By transforming barriers into escape routes and manipulating negative space in the monochromatic...
Hardware Classics Unpacking The 32X, Sega's Most Catastrophic Console Failure
"It was like watching the death of the Hindenburg in slow motion"
How do you take half a decade’s worth of critical and commercial success and flush it down the toilet? Easy – you release a device like the Sega 32X. At the start of the 1990s Sega was arguably at the height of its powers; the dawn of the decade saw the western launch of the...
Preview Getting Funky in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze on Switch
We've got the funk
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a Wii U game in possession of great critical acclaim, must be in want of a port. And cor ruddy blimey does Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze fall into line with that as well. One of the more forgotten gems of 2014, if only for the fact that it was on Wii U, is also the titular...
Feature Here's What Pro Players Want From Super Smash Bros On Switch
Making the proper leap to eSports
If you’re a casual Super Smash Bros. player like most of us, it can be pretty interesting to see how the Smash Bros. franchise operates from the vantage point of the best players in the world. Yes, the announcement of Super Smash Bros. on Nintendo Switch is still fresh in our minds, but that’s more than enough...
Feature Escaping An Alien Invasion Any Way We Can With Mugsters Developer Reinkout
'You'll be running away and go 'Nope. it's time to start exploding things'.
Mugsters is a quirky action puzzler focused on 'saving everything' from a robot alien invasion. We had some hands-on time with the title, and suffice to say it's shaping up to be a very interesting experience. As a tasty little extra, Finnish developer Reinkout sat down with...
Feature Game Bar Space Station - Osaka's Gaming Paradise
Cocktails and controllers to cater for all tastes
While Tokyo may be the first stop on many gamers' lists due to its numerous arcades and the famous Akihabara area, other parts of Japan also have their own little pockets of gaming heaven for locals and tourists alike. Located in Amemura - just a few minutes walk from the Dotonbori river and...
Feature A Memorial For Hidenori Shibao
Game historian John Szczepaniak pays tribute to a talent taken too soon
Arcade clerk, translator, book author, game design educator, manga collaborator, magazine journalist, prolific strategy guide writer, movie script writer, and developer of numerous games including Paladin's Quest, its sequel Lennus II, Legend of Legaia, and the FEAR. Hidenori...
Feature Seeking Shelter Generations With Developer Might And Delight
"There’s certainly a portion of mysticism that accompanies the realism"
Pan-Pan developer Might And Delight will be bringing animal adventure Shelter Generations to Nintendo Switch on 12th April. Combining a rich, emotional story focusing on themes of survival and family with artistic, natural environments, the collection - which includes Shelter...
Preview Getting Gruesome In Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus On Switch
Taking down Nazis on the go
As we played through the Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus demo at PAX East this weekend, two showgoers stopped to catch a glimpse of what we were playing. “Let’s head over to the Nintendo booth next,” says one. “This is the Nintendo booth,” says the other. What followed were comments and genuine shock that such...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend?
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
The weekend is finally here, so it's time to grab a few precious moments of free time and fire up your favourite Nintendo console for a little R&R. This week, Team Nintendo Life are playing action-RPGs, cutesy detective sims, virtual pinball tables, retro shmups, horror romps and, of course, Splatoon 2. As...
Feature Barking Up The First Tree With Indie Developer David Wehle
"I wanted to tell a personal story that was juxtaposed with the epic"
The First Tree is a beautiful and touching adventure centred around two parallel stories of hope and family. The game was recently announced for Nintendo Switch, so we took the chance to speak to creator David Wehle. We talk exploring the game's emotional themes, building a unique...
Hardware Review GameCube HDMI Adapter - GC Video Plug 'n Play 3.0
So long, component cable
You might think that when Nintendo started offering games from classic systems on its various Virtual Console platforms that interest in original hardware might fall away. However, over a decade later we're instead seeing a strong reassurance of new products supporting ageing original hardware, often aimed at getting the...
Feature The Biggest Retail Games Hitting Nintendo Switch This Spring
All your games are belong to us
How time flies, eh? We're already more than three months into 2018 and that can only mean one thing - E3 2018 is only around the corner. The centerpiece of the gaming calendar is where everyone will be looking come June, but that doesn't mean the release schedule is barren in the lead-up. In fact, Nintendo Switch has...
Talking Point What Games Are You Playing This Weekend?
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
Easter is upon us, so that must mean it's time for an extended Bank Holiday weekend. For those with a little free time to spare over the next few days, it's time to jump back into best of past times - a good game or two! This weekend, Team Nintendo Life is playing some Neo Geo classics, an N64 throwback,...
Hardware Review The Hyperkin SupaBoy SFC Is A Portable SNES For Under £100
Third time lucky?
It's fair to say that the SupaBoy handheld is one of Hyperkin's most successful products; it initially hit the market in 2012 and has been revised once already in the form of the SupaBoy S. We're now on the third iteration of the same model, and we can imagine this fresh SKU will do the business just as well as its forerunners did...
Soapbox With Microsoft Playing Ball, It’s Finally Time For Banjo-Kazooie To Return To Nintendo
And we know just the studio that could pull it off...
Soapbox features enable our individual writers to voice their own opinions on hot topics, opinions that may not necessarily be the voice of the site. In today's article, editor Dom tackles a subject very close to his heart - his rabid love for a certain seminal platformer from Rare, and...