Wherein I get my start and pick on the local wildlife
In the first part of a regular series, Karen takes on Fantasy Life in a variety of 'lives' and documents her adventures. One of Fantasy Life's most notable features — the upcoming life sim/action RPG from Level-5 and Brownie Brown — is that it has twelve jobs, or Lives, that players can...
The Walking Dead! Guardians of the Galaxy! Deadpool! Doctor Strange!
It's tough for comic book fans these days – movies based on superhero comics are more popular than ever, but the comic books themselves are often lost in the shuffle. Everyone loved The Dark Knight, but have you been reading Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's fantastic run on...
The 3DS brawler is given a chance to shine
With around 24 hours passed since its announcement, we can't help but be slightly amused by the understated nature of Nintendo of America's announcement of a Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS demo. Two of the Nintendo Treehouse staff stood outside their venerated department and, with a mixture of...
Will Nintendo's portable brawler smash it out of the park?
It may be less than a month to go until Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS is finally released in North America and Europe, but that doesn’t change the fact that the wait over the next few weeks is going to be unbearable for its most ardent fans. The game — which at the time of writing...
Smash hit, or a (Ninten)dog?
In our first video with the retail version from Japan, Kerry jumps straight into Classic Mode, completing a run and tackling a recently leaked new character. Don't watch if you want to avoid spoilers. The latest version of Nintendo's epic brawler finally hits 3DS — in Japan. Luckily Nintendo Life is on the case and...
Charting the life of Dale DeSharone
The Legend of Zelda series is home to some of the most critically-acclaimed video games ever made, and the franchise is without a doubt one of the most important in Nintendo's illustrious catalogue. However, there a few titles within the lineage which stick out like a sore thumb — the trio of Zelda games...
Which one will you choose?
Hyrule Warriors isn't your typical Zelda title — the name should be a dead give-away — and nowhere is this more obvious than in the massive roster of playable characters. There are plenty of fan-favourites, not-so-fan-favourites and totally new characters to master here, with each one boasting their own play style...
A human touch
It's not so long ago that The Treehouse at Nintendo of America's HQ was a mystery, a department with a rather charming door behind which delights could be found. It was tempting to think of it as a smaller game-related version of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, with Oompa Loompas in Mario hats singing songs and playing games. Of...
Gotta live 'em all!
Originally released in Japan in late December 2012, Level-5 and Brownie Brown’s part life sim, part action RPG Fantasy Life was announced for the West at this past E3 and will see release in Europe on 26th September and on 24th October in North America for the Nintendo 3DS. Selling over 300,000 copies in its native Japan and...
All-Star Mode! Outfit Colours! Smash Run running! More!
Super Smash Bros. on Nintendo 3DS is now just days away in Japan, so it's a short matter of time before full — official — details around the roster, stages and modes are available. Masahiro Sakurai is likely to remain the source of some final reveals, with the Director's Room Miiverse...
Nintendo's mascots have never been so deadly
Bayonetta 2, one of the highest profile third-party exclusives on Wii U — albeit published by Nintendo — is getting close to release. The Platinum Games extravaganza is all set to deliver high-intensity action to the system, and we've been impressed so far; we said as much in our preview. Nintendo's...
The three-handled situation
The Nintendo 64 controller is one that has fallen out of favour with some gamers – its outdated control stick and limited number of buttons leaves it and its parent system in a state of being old but without necessarily being seen by the general public as 'retro'. You could easily say the same for Sony's original...
We talk melding franchises and defining Zelda with those that know best
As the Wii U moves into a hugely significant period of releases over the remainder of 2014, it'll be Hyrule Warriors that will, appropriately considering its genre, lead the charge of major retail releases. Already released in Japan and arriving soon in North America and...
"We believe there is great potential for Nintendo's Wii U"
Kickstarter remains a source of multiple titles — current and on the way — for Nintendo's eShop platforms. Another that's potentially coming to the system, having just launched its own crowdfunding campaign, is Six Miles Under, which is shaping up to be a rather moody action brawler...
Adding diversity and a little weirdness to the franchise
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS will be the biggest entries in the franchise in a number of ways, with a daunting range of stages, trophies and extras promised. One area that looks all set to be more sizeable than ever before is the roster, with recent leaks suggesting that the...
Lots of close calls
In the past few weeks we've produced some Kickstarter summary articles highlighting intriguing projects that are recent successes and currently seeking funding. The Wii U in particular is still, it seems, a relatively popular target for developers on the crowdfunding platform. As before we are showing projects with attainable...
The new 'New'
The dust is now starting to settle on Nintendo's surprise reveal of the New Nintendo 3DS in a Japanese Nintendo Direct. Due in Nintendo's homeland this October and other regions in 2015, it adds a healthy dose of new features and improvements to — potentially — invigorate the 3DS family of systems in the coming years. Its...
Spectator Mode! Customisation! Shulk! More Stuff!
The buzz around Super Smash Bros. remains strong, with the last week being relatively dramatic for the upcoming Wii U and 3DS blockbusters. Masahiro Sakurai contributed to the commotion with his Director's Room Miiverse community posts, particularly with a new character reveal
Why being able to take the fight with you is a good thing
This year sees a number of landmark moments for the Super Smash Bros. series: it’s now 15 years old, two games are being released within mere months of each other and one of them will feature glorious high-definition graphics. However, even more significant than all of these notable...
The nitty-gritty around Nintendo's new hardware
Unless you spent the latter part of the week completely isolated from the world, you'll be aware that Nintendo unveiled new 3DS hardware, which will be rather simply called the New Nintendo 3DS and the New Nintendo 3DS LL, the latter of which is the XL in the West. We've endeavoured to provide plenty...
Game changer
When Nintendo announced a Japan-only 3DS Direct, one phrase immediately came to mind — RPGs. Yet what happened was entirely unexpected. Not only was new 3DS hardware announced, but it's a substantial change that can — perceivably — extend the life of the portable a fair amount. We've discussed, here in the office and briefly in...
Tom and Damien chew the fat over today's shock reveal
Earlier today, Nintendo shocked the video gaming world by announcing the impending launch of not one but two revised 3DS models. The New 3DS and New 3DS XL take the core template of the original model and add in NFC, a nipple-like C-Stick, additional shoulder buttons and an improved screen...
How Nintendo's crossover fighting series smashed its way to fame and glory
Despite its immense popularity — not to mention the frenzied hype and anticipation that comes during the lead-up to each new instalment — the origins of the Super Smash Bros. series are in fact remarkably humble. When its creator, Masahiro Sakurai, initially came up...
A vehicle that could be vital in future
It's safe to say that Nintendo caught us off guard with its recent DLC announcement for Mario Kart 8, with these extras bringing new franchises into the MK world and, just as importantly, serving up a significant dose of content. Once both packs arrive the number of courses will have doubled, which is...
Preserving the past, or exploiting it?
As technology has advanced over the years, we've seen massive strides being taken in the realm of retro gaming, and one of the most important events to occur recently is the emergence of flash carts that allow gamers to potentially store every single game ever made for a single platform on an SD card and run...
