Mario Previews
April2024
Round Up The Previews Are In For Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Switch)
How are things stacking up?
We are still a little way off the release of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door on Switch on 23rd May, but today we have had our first indication of how things are stacking up as the game's previews have begun to appear online. Here at Nintendo Life, our experience with the game so far has been joyous. From what we have...
January2024
Round Up The Previews Are In For Mario Vs. Donkey Kong
Returning next month
Nintendo's upcoming release Mario vs. Donkey Kong will revive the 2004 Game Boy Advance title next month on the Switch. If you haven't already seen our own "hands on" here on Nintendo Life, we mentioned how "psyched" we were for the full release, as the Switch version is a game filled with meaningful changes, new modes, and a...
September2022
Video Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope Talks Your Ear Off, But Has Fun In Spades
Our hands-on impressions after three hours
Recently we were invited down to Nintendo's UK headquarters by Ubisoft – we can only assume they got permission first – to have a bash at the upcoming strategy bwaaah-athon that is Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope. We sat down and were able to play around three hours of the turn-based tactical crossover...
June2019
Preview Things We've Learned Playing Super Mario Maker 2
Five tidbits from our time with the game so far
Super Mario Maker 2 is a game we've hardly been quiet about, except maybe during that whole 'E3' thing. Well, now we can say with confidence that we actually have the game in our collective hands, and we've been digging right ruddy deep into it and learning as much as we can. In short (and before the...
June2018
Hands On Getting On The Go In Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker On Switch
Time for adventure! On Switch!
The reasons for future retro collectors to pick up a Wii U are shrinking ever further with Nintendo’s plans for the Switch. Next on that list of games that didn’t deserve exclusivity to a commercial flop of a console is Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, a spinoff from Super Mario 3D World that stunned audiences for...
June2015
First Impressions Celebrating a Gaming Icon With Super Mario Maker
Let's Super Mario!
Super Mario Maker, recently powered-up from its initial moniker of 'Mario Maker', was a huge part of Nintendo's E3 presence both this year and last. Just a few months ahead of its September release it still had plenty of new surprises in store for this year's show, and still managed to captivate attendees' imaginations. The...
October2013
A brave new world
Some things in life are unavoidable. Death, taxes, and disappointing Wii U sales in its first nine months of life. Nintendo has a plan for the rest of 2013, however, which is encouraging for its fans — we've had the enthusiast's favourite The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, and soon we'll have the return of styles and...
August2013
First Impressions Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games
2014th time’s the charm
Believe it or not, nearly four years have already passed since the 2010 Winter Olympics hit Vancouver, Canada. That means, as you probably already know, the 2014 Winter Olympics are just around the corner, this time settling comfortably in Sochi, Russia. The occurrence of the worldwide games also means that, you guessed it,...
June2013
First Impressions Mario Kart 8
Turning things upside down
Imagine the Mario Kart series as an enormous living being made out of adorable cars, happy drivers, delightful loops passing through volcanoes and haunted houses and vicious blue shells. Envision this being, this body of Kartdom, and now answer this simple question: where is its heart? What is the thumping engine within...
First Impressions Super Mario 3D World
Stranger things have happened
Sometimes it’s easy to forget how weird Mario games are. Think about it: A pudgy plumber in overalls who can jump ridiculously high, throw fireballs when he touches flowers, get huge when he eats mushrooms and make it with a princess provided he kicks the seven shades of crap out of a giant turtle dragon. That is the...
October2012
First Impressions Paper Mario Sticker Star
Stuck on you
Tucked away on the roof of the ZombiU building in the Nintendo booth at the EB Expo were a few hidden 3DS gems. Among them was Paper Mario: Sticker Star, and as you can imagine we eagerly wrestled the closest copy from the display unit and dove right in. The version available to us appeared to be very close to the final build, as we...
July2012
First Impressions New Super Mario Bros. 2
Master of coin
New Super Mario Bros. 2 feels like any of the other games in the New sub-series. The look of it, the audio, the themes of the worlds – they're all safe, familiar comfort blankets that hit the same beats as the rest of the family. That is, until you encounter the central focus that Nintendo is betting its coin on: this time, Mario...
June2012
First Impressions New Super Mario Bros. U
Mushroom magic?
It's OK to say you were disappointed that New Super Mario Bros. U is Wii U's first Super Mario game. You may have wanted something groundbreaking like Super Mario 64, and Nintendo revealed a shinier, sharper version of a Wii game from 2009. You're entitled to be disappointed. Your excitement for Mario's next home adventure all...
October2011
It's all about perspective
The last time we played Super Mario 3D Land, we came away confident that Nintendo was taking its mascot forward, as our preview explained. That was based on a four level demo but we've since played the game's opening two worlds, so does that first impression still hold true? Well, it all depends on your point of view...
June2011
First Impressions Super Mario 3D (3DS)
Super Mario comes to life in full 3D
After the mammoth success of the two Super Mario Galaxy titles on the Wii, we had to know that a new Super Mario title was in the works for Nintendo's new 3DS system. While we received very little in the way of information when the game was first announced, Nintendo wasn't the least bit shy when it came time to...
February2010
First Impressions Super Mario Galaxy 2
Truly spacial
Super Mario Galaxy 2 had by far the biggest queues of the day, with a cordoned area showcasing the plumber's latest adventure. Our crafty writers, however, took advantage of everyone else's hunger by striking when most other journalists were stopping for lunch, managing to get a good half an hour of hands-on time. With such high hopes...
October2009
First Impressions New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Plumbing new heights
Now we've had chance to play the final version of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, it's time to tell you the hard truth about Nintendo's latest plumbing escapades. Well, the hard truth is, it's a lot of fun and impossible to play without a smile on your face. Although a lot of emphasis has been put on the series-first multiplayer,...
May2009
First Impressions Mario & Luigi RPG 3
Mario and Luigi return to the DS in their third humorous adventure.
Mario and Luigi have been to some pretty bizarre places, but none as weird as where they end up in Mario and Luigi RPG 3. You see, a mysterious epidemic is raging through the Mushroom Kingdom, causing people to inflate many times their normal size. The residents of the kingdom...
