Latest Features
Feature Memorable Games of 2017 - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
A mammoth adventure I will never forget
In this series of features Nintendo Life writers will share thoughts on their most memorable games of 2017. This first article by Dave Letcavage focuses on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on both Switch and Wii U. Later entries will also focus on lesser known games that have entertained and enthralled...
Editorial Trying to Play Monster Hunter XX in Japanese on the Nintendo Switch
When the World beta isn't an option
It's fair to say that a group of Switch gamers are rather annoyed at Capcom, even as the company has recently reversed course from minimal support to offering more backing for the popular system. Many are likely Monster Hunter fans that have been used to the series gracing Nintendo hardware and now face a harsh...
Feature Homebrew Experts Mega Cat Studios On Surviving A Coffee Crisis And Coming Out Stronger
"We're really, really excited to be part of this retro renaissance"
Mega Cat Studios might not be a household name at present, but the company has been doing some incredible work in the realm of homebrew games development and has produced multiple physical NES carts over the past few years. We say down with Zack Manko, Mega Cat co-founder, to...
Feature Going Deeper Into the Incredible Design of Gorogoa
"There were points where I decided to break my own rules"
Though the eShop has been bombarded with new titles in December, one that has stood out is Gorogoa, earning praise for its elegance and smart design. It takes a unique approach to puzzle-solving along with a beautiful aesthetic and artful storytelling - we loved it in our Gorogoa review...
Feature Vote For Your 2017 Nintendo Life Game of the Year
The big choice
Earlier this week we closed voting on four major categories in the Nintendo Life community Game of the Year awards. Thousands of you took part in the polls and via email submissions, but there is one prize left - that of overall Game of the Year. As promised, then, we've taken the top five from each of the four categories - Switch...
Feature Tiny Metal Director Hiroaki Yura On Reviving The Spirit Of Advance Wars For Switch
"We worked hard under very limited resources"
Tiny Metal sure looks a lot like Advance Wars, and that's no bad thing when you consider how beloved that particular series is. If Nintendo and Intelligent Systems aren't going to give us a new entry, then we should perhaps be thankful that newcomer Area35 is doing it instead; formed by Hiroaki Yura,...
Video It's Time to Look at the 31 Best Nintendo 3DS Games of All Time
21 is so last week
The 3DS has been a stalwart system, holding on beyond the bitter end even with the monolith that is the Nintendo Switch looming over it. It's had at least seven different hardware iterations, and that's without going into the limited editions, and countless fantastic games. So to celebrate our underpowered workhorse, we...
Feature nDreams Talks About Reanimating Bloody Zombies for a Festive Switch Release
"We hope gamers receive it with open arms and a bloody fist!"
For some gamers of a certain age, the beat 'em up genre is a rather important part of the gaming scene. There may not be many major titles that ask you to walk through an area crudely punching and kicking the snot out of foes, but it still has a certain appeal. This...
Poll Surprise! A New Zelda Is In Development, But What Do You Want From It?
Another open-world adventure, or a return to the classic roots?
To the surprise of absolutely nobody at all, Nintendo has recently confirmed that work has already begun on the next instalment in the Zelda franchise. The blindingly obvious announcement came in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: Master Works, a book which has recently...
Feature Chatting to 10tons About Its Prolific First Year on the Switch eShop
Heavy hitters
The Nintendo Switch has been a notable success this year, and its eShop is attracting more and more indie developers and publishers. One of the most prolific has been Finnish team 10tons, with top down shooters such as JYDGE and Time Recoil, as well as puzzlers and physics-based games including King Oddball and Tennis in the Face...
Feature Testing The Best RGB SCART Cables Known To Humanity
These ones pack-a-punch
Not all retro gaming AV cables are created equal, despite what you may have read or heard. Unlike HDMI – which is a digital signal – the analogue realm is subject to wild variances when it comes to quality, and the pursuit of the perfect audio visual setup has become the lifelong objective of many a retro gamer. Some will...
Feature Throwing Shapes With Floor Kids' JonJon And Kid Koala
"Pure, uninhibited (funky) joy"
There are plenty of dance-based games out there - with the likes of Just Dance 2017 and Just Dance 2018 having already moonwalked their way onto Switch - but the classic art of breakdancing is yet to have its proper time in the virtual spotlight. Well, one little indie is about to change all that, and with style, too...
Feature It's Time to Vote for Your 2017 Nintendo Life Game of the Year Awards
Good luck choosing from all these great games!
As a fantastic 2017 draws to a close it's that time once again - Game of the Year Awards. We're continuing with tradition in having both Staff and Community awards; the latter are entirely in your hands. As in previous years you can vote through a series of polls. In each category we've created...
Guide The Best Nintendo Christmas Gifts For 2017 - US Edition
'Tis the season to be jolly
It's that time of year when we look forward to the Holidays on the one hand, and suffer sweaty brows on the other as we fret over late gift purchases. What to get your Nintendo-obsessed loved one this festive season? What gift will be good enough? Well, don't fret, we've looked around the web to find a range of gifts...
Guide The Best Nintendo Christmas Gifts For 2017 - UK Edition
Tis the season to be generous
It's that time of year when we look forward to the Holidays on the one hand, and suffer sweaty brows on the other as we fret over late gift purchases. What to get your Nintendo-obsessed loved one this festive season? What gift will be good enough? Well, don't panic, we've looked around the web to find a range of gifts...
Feature Five Reasons You Should Play Zelda: Breath of the Wild's DLC Pack 2
Not that you should need them, but just in case...
Well, it's here, the Champions' Ballad DLC / Pack 2 for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on Wii U and Switch. It's an exciting release, especially as Nintendo went all Hollywood with an 'out tonight' announcement during The Game Awards - it was a great moment. If, for some reason,...
Hardware Review Retro-Bit Super Retro-Cade: A Treasure Trove Of Vintage Gaming Goodness
Finally, a legal way to play Boogie Wings in your home
It's fair to say they we weren't all that impressed by the Retro-Bit Generations, 2016's attempt to bring a selection of classic Data East, Capcom and Jaleco titles to the home. An odd library, terrible emulation and general sloppiness made it a product to avoid, despite the tantalising promise...
Editorial Wii Remote Pointer vs. Switch Gyro Controls - The Resident Evil Test
Revelations brings to mind the glorious Resi 4 Wii Edition
If you mention 'motion controls' to some gamers they'll instantly recoil - "good grief no, I want the immersion that only buttons and sticks can bring". Oh ok, I'm exaggerating a little, but there is a contingent of eager gamers that shun motion controls at every turn. In some cases they...
Poll Capcom is Finally Bringing Mega Man Back - Are You Excited?
Mega Man 11! Legacy Collections! X Series!
Capcom is often the target of exasperation and mockery among video game followers. Its treatment of the Mega Man series is a case in point, with high profile instances of cancelled games and the disappointing disappearance of the franchise after Mega Man 10. Then the company confirmed projects for a cartoon...
Feature Nodding Heads Games and the Quest to Bring Ancient India to Consoles
"Our aim is to provide a fresh and unique universe"
Nodding Head Games is a console developer based in India, with a talented team that has experience with companies like Rockstar, Ubisoft, EA and Zynga. It's aiming to be one of the first studios out of India to release a high profile game on consoles, and to do so with a tale rooted in ancient...
Talking Point What Games Are You Playing This Weekend - Countdown to the Holidays
Yep, it's December
Over the past couple of months we've brought back WGAYPTW™, in which a number of our team talk about the games they'll be playing over the weekend. With Switch and 3DS releases we haven't exactly been short of options, and as we head into December there's plenty to play. The big arrival this week is certainly Xenoblade...
Feature Figment - A Switch eShop Game With Imagination and a Mind Of Its Own
"It feels so right on the Switch"
In this era of accessibility for development studios of all sizes, games are more varied than ever. If you divert your gaze away from retail outlets and towards download stores you're met with a dizzying array of experiences. We may still be in the first year of the Switch eShop, but it's contributing a lot to that...
Random You've Seen The NES Classic, Now Check Out The CoolBaby HDMI HD Video Game
Cool, baby!
While Nintendo's U-turn on discontinuing the NES Classic Edition means that the thousands of people who missed out last year will now get a better chance of owning one, for a time it seemed like the Japanese company really was going to walk away from a profitable revenue stream. In that void came the clones; cheap knock-off replicas of...
Feature Yooka-Laylee Jumps Onto Switch in December - We Learn All About It
Resolution, unique features and hopes for the future
Yooka-Laylee was one of the most high profile and successful Kickstarter campaigns of 2016, but its path to Nintendo systems has been a little troubled. The planned Wii U version eventually bit the dust, with confirmation coming after it was already suspected, and the game had a mixed critical...
Feature Take A Look At The Awesome NES Splatoon We Never Got To Play
"I caught them when they were probably very busy finishing the game"
Splatoon is fantastic in 3D, but what exactly would it look like in 2D? That's what former Vitei (Steel Diver, Tank Troopers) staffer Nathan Heckel pondered last year. "While I was at Vitei wrapping up work on Tank Troopers as a gameplay programmer, I wanted to start my...
Deals Upcoming Nintendo Switch Games And Accessories For December
Jingle bells!
It's time for our regular 'Deals' article, but we're a little early this month - you can blame Xenoblade Chronicles and its release date, though we're not actually complaining... Can you believe it's nearly December already? It's a great time to be a Switch owner; we've recently seen the release of Super...
Talking Point The Dust Settles on a Giddy Retail Period for Nintendo Switch - What's Next?
Looking ahead with the hybrid delight
We are, slowly and surely, exiting the 'silly season' of game releases. From late September to mid/late November each year all of the biggest companies push out their premium games, hoping to capitalise on the tendencies of many to spend big ahead of the festive period. It works, too, and every year we see...
Hardware Review 8Bitdo SN30 Pro Gamepad: The Best Switch Pro Controller?
One pad to rule them all
If you take your video game controllers seriously, then chances are you won't need any introduction to 8bitdo. This peripheral maker has been crafting superb pads and accessories for some time now, many of which take more than a little inspiration from Nintendo's own controllers. Over the years we've seen excellent...
Soapbox It Took Nintendo To Turn Me Into A Smartphone Gamer
Oh, the irony
I love smartphones. From the very first moment I scooped up my T-Mobile G1 (AKA: the HTC Dream) way back in 2008, I knew this piece of technology would change my life forever. Over the years I've changed smartphones more often than I have my socks (that's not actually an exaggeration, which is why my wife and kids find it so hard to...
Poll Have Your Say on the Best Main Series 3D Mario and Zelda Games
Red or green? We hate to do this to you...
It’s hard to deny that the Nintendo Switch has been a monumental success since its launch back in March of this year, and that’s not only due to the console’s innovative design and functionality, but also thanks to some of the tremendous software we’ve received on the system. Two notable entries,...
Hardware Review Hamy NES And SNES HD Classic
The best of both worlds?
Love them or loathe them, clones of retro systems are here to stay. Over the past few years we've seen numerous unofficial attempts to replicate the performance of vintage systems, some more successful than others. In recent years the arrival of authentic takes on this concept – such as the NES and SNES Classic Editions...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Black Friday 2017 Deals In The US
Give thanks for these awesome deals
It's that time, once again, when shoppers around the world prepare to brave the crowds in search of bargains. The Black Friday festivities are mostly based in crowded stores, though plenty of deals can also be hunted down online. For gamers, it's often a time of year for stocking up on goodies ahead of the festive...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Black Friday 2017 Deals In The UK
Grab yourself a bargain!
It's that time, once again, for Black Friday, when shoppers around the world prepare to brave the crowds in search of bargains. Though originally an American tradition, like Big Macs and over-sized soft drinks it's been exported around the world, for better and worse. UK retailers have had a mixed relationship with the...
Feature Revisiting Symphony Of The Goddesses With Its New Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Music
A breath of fresh air?
The hugely successful Symphony of the Goddesses orchestral tour is entering the final stretch of its 2017 run, so regular attendee Arjun Joshi went along to check out the amended version with Breath of the Wild content. As you may know by now, The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses (SotG) events utilise extremely...
Guide Essential Tips to Reach Level 100 in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon
Time to evolve
Levelling up Pokémon can always be such a pain. While battles will often bring your Pokémon down to Level 50 or up to Level 100, there are many reasons to get your Pokémon to higher levels. Some Pokémon, such as Zweilous, don't evolve until they hit Level 64. Although the Move Reminder can also teach your Pokémon moves late in...
Soapbox Celebrating The Second Chance Saloon That Is The Nintendo Switch
Round two’s alright
Cole Phelps is one of the most unlikeable video game protagonists I’ve ever had the pleasure of vaulting over a wall in pursuit of a fleeing perp, or accidentally propelling into the back of a parked Buick while at the wheel of a siren-wailing Nash Super. The leading man of Rockstar’s L.A. Noire, developed by the...
Guide The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Top Tips And Tricks
And things we wish we knew before playing
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has finally arrived on a Nintendo console for the first time and, for many of you reading this, this could well be the first time that the vast land of Skyrim has been on your screens. The pure size of games like Skyrim can be rather overwhelming and you may well be wondering how...
Talking Point What Games Are You Playing This Weekend? - There Are So Many...
Get some gaming in before the debt collectors arrive
Let's be truthful, 2016 was quite a quiet year for Nintendo gaming. This year's been rather different, however, which helped inspire the return of WGAYPTW™, in which we all talk about our weekend gaming plans. Last time out we had a Halloween edition where, to be completely honest, most people...
Feature Two Tribes on RIVE, the Switch eShop and Keeping Its Promise to Nintendo Gamers
Launch discount from old Nindies@Home promo also confirmed
Two Tribes has been a familiar name among Nintendo download fans, well known for its Toki Tori mascot and for publishing some excellent titles on 3DS and Wii U, in particular. There were tougher times, however, and sadness when the company co-founders Collin van Ginkel and Martijn...
Preview Returning to a Strange Universe in Xenoblade Chronicles 2
It's time, but without Reyn
A number of years ago this scribe was sitting playing Xenoblade Chronicles when a relative walked into the room - what they saw was weird characters and a jumble of text, icons and assorted madness. As we tried to explain what was going on it became clear that it was a doomed task - "it's a quirky RPG" was the...
Feature 13AM Games on Runbow for Switch and Its Hopes for the Future
"I wanna use that silly little IR camera. Like, what even is that?"
It's easy to get drawn into the Switch eShop's current surge in momentum and get a little carried away, declaring it as a bright new dawn for the download store. That does a disservice to the early efforts of the Wii and DSi stores, and the notable improvements and variety of...
Talking Point Nintendo Has Embraced DLC, But Must Resist The Worst Industry Norms
Easy does it, Nintendo
If you follow multi-platform websites or other systems on social media, one term will be familiar - loot boxes. After a few years where they've crept into games, plenty of gamers have decided that recent examples take things too far. A recent tipping point seemed to be Middle-earth: Shadow of War, a single player...
Feature Diggin' In The Carts Host Nick Dwyer On How Video Game Music Has Come Of Age
"Cool things have been happening within the sphere of video game music"
While video game music has always had its fans, the appreciation for game soundtracks and the people who create them has arguably never been higher. Part of this is due to the incredible nostalgia attached to some of gaming's most iconic tunes, but it's also because video game...
Feature SFB Games on Going Back for More in Snipperclips Plus: Cut it out, together!
"I don’t think the game would have done as well on any other platform"
When the Nintendo Switch launched many early adopters turned to a few trusted early releases - at retail there was The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and on the eShop there was a cute Nintendo-published co-op puzzler, Snipperclips - Cut it out, together!. As it...
Movie Review Pokémon The Movie: I Choose You!
Ash turns 10…again!
For the first time in over a decade (for many in the West, at least), Pokémon has hit our cinema screens again with Pokémon The Movie: I Choose You!, and I was lucky enough to attend one of its few screenings in the UK (though “due to popular demand”, two more dates have been added on the 11th and 14th of this month)...
Feature What We Expect From the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Nintendo Direct
Along with every British dialect imaginable
The Nintendo Direct broadcasts keep coming, with a Xenoblade Chronicles 2 special just hours away. It's not necessarily surprising that we're getting this particular presentation - Xenoblade Chronicles X had its own Direct in 2015 - and there's plenty of scope for Nintendo to keep us intrigued with the...
Talking Point The Case for Super Mario Odyssey as the Greatest Mario Game
Breaking boundaries
Super Mario Odyssey has been out in the wild for a week, and it's safe to say that its launch couldn't have gone much better. Critically acclaimed, to the sort of levels seen with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, it's also been a notable commercial success. Switch owners have rushed to buy it, breaking sales
Feature Ripstone On Making the Right Moves With Chess Ultra on Nintendo Switch
Chess on Switch is "the perfect hybrid of technology and tradition"
With over 200 games already available on the Switch eShop we're seeing most genres and game styles covered, to varying degrees. Platformers, puzzle games, shooters, FPS, racing - they have been catered to in one form or another. A welcome recent addition is Chess Ultra by Ripstone,...
Poll Which is the Best Super Mario Game?
Choose the best 2D, 3D and overall winners
With all of the buzz and excitement around the recent release of Super Mario Odyssey, a question doing the rounds is whether it's the 'best' Mario game. If you happen to be sharing a beverage with a group of gamers anytime soon drop that question and let the cards fall where they may. We have some thoughts...
Book Review Neo Geo: A Visual History
The future is now
We'll spare you the traditional spiel about how the Neo Geo was the pinnacle of gaming back in the '90s – if you own a Switch then chances are you're already intimately familiar with the amazing library of this beast, thanks to the fact that Japanese firm Hamster has been pumping out a stream of Neo Geo titles on the Switch eShop...