Retro News
September2014
Celebrating 64 Nintendo 64 games over 64 days in 64 words
Today we bring you something a little different, Nintendo 64x64 - a collaboration project between @N64Memories and Nintendo Life. Now, if you've been a reader of Nintendo Life for a while you'll no doubt be aware that some of our team are huge Nintendo 64 fans, so you can imagine their...
Weirdness Hear Nintendo's Classic Themes Played on Kazoos
Marginally too cool for school
Nintendo has arguably some of the best music in the gaming world, causing different groups of people to take the music from the games they love and perform it themselves. It's no surprise that certain individuals take it upon themselves to somewhat reinvent tracks in order to give them a fresh and interesting feel...
News Trust Us, You Need This Super Famicom Box Art Collection Book In Your Life
Update: Kickstarter now cancelled
Update: The Kickstarter has now been cancelled for the reasons explained by Stuart here: Hey folks. Firstly, I’d like to say a huge heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported this Kickstarter project. I’ve had a whirlwind of a weekend with my inbox literally breaking with messages of support from fans...
The most sublime platformer and yet considered Nintendo / Mario's peak; Mario games never really replicating that unparalleled innovation again. Free-roaming worlds to explore truly gave the gamer control over the game's destiny. A perfect control system and camera demonstrated the console's capabilities from its release, setting the bar...
August2014
Review Life Force (Wii U eShop / NES)
Forcefully fun
Konami's 1985 hit Gradius is one of the most influential scrolling shooters of all time, so it was pretty tough to follow up. Rather than make Gradius II right away, the company decided to create a spin-off; Life Force — originally known in Japan as Salamander — hit arcades in 1986 and the NES two years later. Space shooters were...
Feature The History of Super Smash Bros.
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 with...
News EarthBound Celebrates 20 Very Strange Years of Existence
Proving that fighting piles of puke only gets better with age
It's almost hard to believe that EarthBound (Mother 2) is 20 years old with the way it continues to pop up nowadays. The 27th of August marks the RPG's 1994 release in Japan, however, and paved the way for its strange journey through other parts of the world. Brought to North America in...
The road less traveled
DSiWare releases are becoming fewer and far between, but there are still some interesting titles to be found for the service, and they're all accessible thanks to the 3DS eShop. Collavier Corporation's Amida's Path is a creative, fun game that combines strategy, action and light role-playing to create an experience that feels...
Talking Point The Argument For And Against Retro Flash Carts
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...
News Monopoly: Pokémon Kanto Edition is Bringing Ruthless Landlord Gaming to a New Generation
Gotta bankrupt 'em all
As a board game representation of cold-blooded capitalism, Monopoly is rather brutal — up to six entrepreneurs start with the same level of capital and acquire land as quickly as possible, before then applying hefty rent charges for merely standing on the land. The goal is to bankrupt the other players; it's a cruel world...
News Check Out these Remastered Metroid and Super Smash Bros. Themes
A treat for the old eardrums
Music from video games is something that not many people outside the gaming circle really recognise or appreciate, so it's all the more encouraging when groups of people – be they large or small – band together in order to create a new experience from established melodies. Many of the classic themes from the Metroid...
Review Mega Man Battle Chip Challenge (Wii U eShop / GBA)
The chips are bringing us down
Adding RPG elements to a beloved side-scrolling franchise may seem like a stroke of insanity, but Mega Man has enjoyed more than a few titles that play off this idea while still retaining the atmosphere and challenge of the core series. Even a certain red plumber has proved that the transition can pay off, fleshing out...
Weirdness Two Fish Duke it Out in Street Fighter II
Get PETA on the line!
Not so long ago we shared the humorous and slightly goofy spectacle of a Fish playing Pokémon, in which its often lazy swims around its tank would be converted into D-pad and button inputs. Like any Twitch phenomenon there'll be others that use that original as a source of inspiration, and we reckon this particular spin-off is...
Video Turns Out Former James Bond Pierce Brosnan Isn't Very Good At GoldenEye 007
The Spy Who Karate-Chopped Me
GoldenEye 007 is arguably one of the finest video games ever made, and was a massive seller on its host platform, the N64. It recreated the events of the iconic 1995 James Bond movie of the same name, and starred a digital likeness of Pierce Brosnan (and a "square" Sean Bean, lest we forget). Just in case you're...
Review Double Dragon II: The Revenge (Wii U eShop / NES)
Double draggin'
There was a period from the late-'80s to the early-'90s when side-scrolling beat 'em up games were all the (streets of?) rage – from Double Dragon to Final Fight to Streets of Rage, we just couldn't get enough of punching hooligans in the face down long straight paths. Perhaps the most fun aspect of these titles was the multiplayer...
Review Mysterious Stars: The Samurai (DSiWare)
Bushi-no.
The DSi’s touchscreen-and-stylus setup has inspired an impressive array of pen-and-paper puzzle conversions over the years, and this trend seems set to continue right into DSiWare’s twilight days. Collavier’s Mysterious Stars trilogy, as the most recent example, pairs classic connect-the-dots puzzles with children’s stories. It’s...
Weirdness Check Out this LEGO Bob-Omb Battlefield Reconstruction
In more than 64 bits
Everybody likes to celebrate their passion in different ways, and one intrepid gamer has recreated the entirety of Bob-Omb Battlefield from Super Mario 64 entirely from LEGO bricks. The detail is phenomenal, the enormous Chain-Chomp taking centre place, and King Bob-Omb in his rightful place perched atop the hill. Goombas,...
Review Cybernator (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Run-n-gun in space
Konami's Cybernator isn't as well-known as run-and-gun titles such as Contra, but this SNES game is a quality offering with plenty of challenge, personality and replay value. The Virtual Console exists to let gamers relive (and experience for the first time) classic games, and Cybernator will be a breath of fresh air for anyone...
News Clever Flower Pot Lets You Plant a Pokémon Among Your Home Décor
B-b-b-bulba! The pottery that evolves!
Collections vary among fans according to taste, but for some nothing is better than displaying a nice "covert" piece. This is the type of item that unknowing folk can appreciate on their own merits, but other fans will instantly recognize and blather over its coolness. These "Succulent Monster" ceramic pots...
Review Xtreme Sports (3DS eShop / GBC)
Like, totally awesome
While WayForward is busy cooking up the latest instalment in the wonderful Shantae franchise, fans are sure to get a little bit impatient for more of that half-genie action. Although the original is available now on the 3DS Virtual Console, we’ve also recently been treated to something completely different in the form of the...
Weirdness Tetris Played With Pillows is Oddly Entertaining
We've had Kirby as yarn and Yoshi as wool, after all
As it's the end of a frantic week, and the main talking point going around right now is on a slightly obvious rumour about a Wii U HD Remaster — we'll get to that in our own way shortly — we thought we'd take the chance to relax and simply look at something cool. This video certainly qualifies...
News The Sega Genesis is Now 25 Years Old
How many of you are feeling old?
It's a day of hardware anniversaries, with the 19 year old Virtual Boy being joined by the 25th Anniversary of the Sega Genesis; as the name should have tipped you off, it's the North American anniversary of Sega's 16-bit beast. Known as the Mega Drive in PAL regions, the Genesis arrived before the Super NES and...
News The Virtual Boy is 19 Years Old, Probably Hasn't Received a Celebratory Cake
We still love it
The Virtual Boy is 19 years old in North America today, having arrived in the region on 14th August 1995. It doesn't have a European anniversary to celebrate, as it never had a release in the region. It's a system that shows us a few aspects of Nintendo that remain today, in some ways representing its key strengths. Nintendo...
Weirdness How to Order Earthbound-Themed Japanese Old Folks' Undergarments
Headline may be somewhat misleading
They may not be a must-have item for Lolita fashion, but the uniquely Japanese undergarment called haramaki has shed its reputation of being for grandparents only and enjoyed a resurgence of popularity among the young and fashionable in the last decade or so. A haramaki, or belly warmer, is a sweater-like garment...
Review Mega Man Battle Network (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Net neutrality
While the Mega Man series is mostly known for its action platformer instalments, in a move to perhaps appeal to more audiences Capcom decided to try pairing the Blue Bomber with some other genres, first in the form of Mega Man Legends, an action RPG, and then again with this title, Mega Man Battle Network. Released on Game Boy...
Weirdness Ocarina of Time is a Lot Less Legendary With Waluigi as the Hero
The horror!
Poor old Waluigi. While Wario's obesity and capitalist greed nevertheless enables him to be relatively popular with a series of his own games, Waluigi's fate is to be a rather unloved member of the Nintendo family. He's just there, and those that declare themselves supporters of the purple one are relatively few in number. Thanks to...
Weirdness Pikmin on GameCube Can Be Run in Windows
With extra bugs included
Game development is a complicated business, even if modern tools and engines do much to ease the burden and the level of tricky coding required. Nintendo, of course, utilises its own engines and techniques, meaning that there are a lot of coders in its shiny new development building and others besides busily doing some...
News Coleco Mini Arcades Set to Sit Proudly On Shelves Once Again
Fingers crossed for the Donkey Kong version
Just recently we shared the news that Coleco wants to bring back its version of Donkey Kong, with the planned ColecoVision Flashback in the works and the company hoping to re-release the version of the DK arcade title that graced the original console. When we say 'company', it's worth observing that the...
Video Behold the Sheer Majesty Of The Backlit And Biverted Game Boy DMG-001
Now you can play anywhere, even in darkened rooms
Not so long ago, we spoke to Shaun Jones of GameBoyMods.co.uk about the services he offers to Game Boy owners looking to breathe some new life into their ageing handhelds. Shaun was kind enough to perform some surgery on our trusty old DMG-001, and we thought you might like to see the results in...
Review Mysterious Stars: A Fairy Tale (DSiWare)
Missed connections
From sudoku and crosswords to mazes and more, pen-and-paper puzzle games have found a happy home on Nintendo’s recent dual-screened systems, especially as part of smaller, downloadable offerings. One of the latest examples of this trend is the Mysterious Stars trilogy, a set of DSiWare games that couple classic connect-the-dots...
News Super Mario Kart SNES World Championships Race Onto The Grid on 12th August
Watch the event live on Twitch
The Mario Kart franchise continues to thrive since the release of Mario Kart 8, but now it is time again for its eldest brother, Super Mario Kart, to hold the annual World Championships this week between 12th – 17th August at La Suze-sur-Sarthe in France. The original game actually has this huge event held every year...
News Princess Zelda A "Heroine in Her Own Right", Lucky to Escape a Bungling Rescue From Link
Ganondorf has been compared to the "business end of a skunk"
Earlier this week we brought you a slightly silly update on Yoshi's real name, in which 60 of you voted in our poll to suggest that the T in T. Yoshisaur Munchakoopas stood for Tupac; over a hundred of you instead decided it was "the greatest mystery of our times". Not the most serious...
News Super Mario 64 Has a Mystery Goomba That Can Never Be Killed
Nor its coin claimed
While most gamers have a particular title that they'll play over and over again to a borderline unhealthy degree, not many of us have the fortitude and familiarity with any game to find its deepest, darkest secrets. Some do just that, however, often sharing their ultimately fascinating discoveries with the rest of us. One...
Video Nintendo's Wild Gunman And Sega's Bank Panic Face Off In A Deadly Shootout
Which one is the quickest on the draw?
Back in the '80s, it wasn't uncommon to see Sega and Nintendo launch games with similar themes in order to compete with one another, and a good example of this rivalry is the similarity between the NES light gun title Wild Gunman and the Sega Master System outing Bank Panic. Both had their origins in the...
Video Hyperkin RetroN 5 Review - King Of The Clone Consoles?
Tom and Damien put the wonder machine through its paces
The Hyperkin RetroN 5 has been with us for a while now, and we've had ample time to really get to know the system inside out. With that in mind, we present to you a video review of this talented piece of tech, which is capable of running games from a wide range of retro platforms, including the...
News Cult Classic Plok Transcends from Video Game to eBook
Beyond the pixel'd realm
Those who are well-versed in their SNES heritage should be aware of a sadly overlooked game from 1993 or 1994, depending where you were at the time. The name of the game in question is Plok - a platforming game where the titular character can remove and launch his limbs wherever he pleases in a style that's thankfully more...
News Coleco Wants to Bring Back Their Version of Donkey Kong
Might also be interested in ColecoVision on Virtual Console
Who's up for a quick history lesson? While Donkey Kong is purely Nintendo's furry, banana-breathed baby, the company originally granted Coleco rights to produce console and tabletop versions of the hit arcade game. Coleco bundled Donkey Kong with their new ColecoVision in 1982, then ported...
Weirdness There's a Fish That Plays Pokémon
Magikarp breathes a sigh of relief (at least we think that was a sigh)
Today's entrant in the annals of human achievement comes courtesy of Twitch TV, in the form of a motion-tracked fantail betta playing Pokémon Red/Blue using virtualised Game Boy controls. The fish, one Grayson Hopper, has apparently been playing (or "swimming aimlessly in his...
Review Anne's Doll Studio: Antique Collection (DSiWare)
Antique? Try "aged"
Gamebridge's Anne's Doll Studio: Antique Collection is one of several titles in the Anne's Doll Studio "series," and like the other entries is a complete waste of time and money. A simple application in which you can dress up a doll and save it as an image file, users will find all there is to discover in Anne's Doll Studio as...
News Sean Bean Declares His Head is 'A Bit Square' in GoldenEye on N64
But he's Bean a fan for a long time
In a recent 'ask me anything' (AMA) on Reddit, Sean Bean confessed his admiration for the N64 classic Goldeneye 007, but also made reference to how polygonally-handicapped his head appeared. Oh, it's good, it's great! Especially because it's so popular, it's like, quite unique really. It was such a big hit. But...
News Nintendo's At It Again With Another Majora's Mask Tease
No Majora hype implied
Nintendo has been placing sly references to its off-the-wall cult classic The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask a number of years now – the most notable recent example was the presence of the titular mask on a wall of Link's house in The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds for the 3DS. Not to be flogging a dead horse or...
Weirdness Yoshi's Real Name Is Both Silly and Scientific
Will re-open the "is he a dinosaur" debate
We were once told by Nintendo that Yoshi is not a dinosaur, as we'd stated in a feature, but that he was simply a Yoshi. Once we'd dusted ourselves down from the polite but firm telling off, we felt indignant. He is a dinosaur, with boots, what's so wrong about that? It is possible that down the road of...
Art Controller Evolution Photo Series Hammers Home The Nintendo Factor
A visual record of how Nintendo has pushed the industry forward
Nintendo has been responsible for some major innovations when it comes to controllers — the NES D-pad, the N64 analogue stick, the Wii Remote — and Spanish artist Javier Laspiur has put together a photographic whistle-stop tour of the evolution of the game pad which shows just how...
Review Anne's Doll Studio: Lolita Collection (DSiWare)
Don't touch Lolita
Gamebridge's Anne's Doll Studio: Lolita Collection is one of several titles in the Anne's Doll Studio "series," and like the other entries, is a complete waste of time and money. A simple application in which you can dress up a doll and save it as an image file, users will find all there is to discover in Anne's Doll Studio as...
Review Pop'n TwinBee: Rainbow Bell Adventures (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Jump'n TwinBee
Although the TwinBee series is mostly remembered as a shoot 'em up franchise, it might come as a surprise that there were actually a few games which took on different genres. Rainbow Bell Adventures — which is coincidentally also the last game released outside Japan — tries its hand at platforming, bringing its own unique little...
Review Anne's Doll Studio: Princess Collection (DSiWare)
Evil princess
Gamebridge's Anne's Doll Studio: Princess Collection is one of several titles in the Anne's Doll Studio "series," and like the other entries is a complete waste of time and money. A simple application in which you can dress up a doll and save it as an image file, users will find all there is to discover as soon as the title menu is...
Feature Ten Must Play Titles on the Game Boy
25 years young
In this past week the venerable Game Boy celebrated its 25th Anniversary in North America, which means we've had a quarter century of monochrome gaming goodness. The iconic system established Nintendo's leadership of the dedicated gaming handheld market, a position it still holds in the 3DS generation. It's not just nostalgia that...
Review Ufouria: The Saga (Wii U eShop / NES)
A Ufouric experience
Retro-style indie platformers are all the rage these days, so you'd be forgiven for thinking Sunsoft's Ufouria: The Saga is simply another in the long line of 2D NES-inspired modern titles on the eShop like Shovel Knight, 1001 Spikes, and Insanity's Blade. Released in 19
News Mega Man Soundtrack Volumes 1-10 Announced for the West
Not a Japanese exclusive anymore
Capcom and Sumthing Else Music Works have announced the release of Mega Man Soundtracks in ten delicious volumes. The first four volumes are already available, and the subsequent six will be released at the rate of two per month. The classic chiptune tracks have been heralded as some of the best in the business, so...
July2014
Video This Pixel-Powered Chiptune Tale, Pulse Fighter, Shows The Power of Game Boy
This'll pummel your senses
As you may have read earlier today, it's the 25th anniversary of the Game Boy in North America, another welcome landmark for the venerable portable console. This dramatic three-minute tale is perfect for the occasion, as a result. The video, entitled "Pulse Fighter", is the work of m7kenji (visuals) and chiptune artist...
News The Game Boy is 25 Years Old in North America
Happy Birthday, Old Boy
The Game Boy recently celebrated the 25th anniversary for its release in Japan, a reminder of the enduring legacy of one of Nintendo's greatest creations. Its role in transforming the games industry and popularising portable systems can't be overlooked, not to mention the various franchises and classic games that define it...
News Ocarina Of Time Began Life As A Remake Of Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link
With a focus on samurai swordplay, no less
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is arguably one of the best entries in the entire series, but it might surprise you to learn that it has its origins in a remake of one of the franchise's least popular instalments: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. Nintendo worked on bringing the game to the Super NES...
Video Check Out the Full Console Wars Panel From Comic-Con
Representatives from Sega and Nintendo were in attendance
While Nintendo and Sega are now often partners, with exclusive Sonic games on big N systems, in particular, gamers of a certain age or with some awareness of gaming history will know very well that things used to be very different. During the late '80s and '90s the two companies were the core...
News This Master Arts Metroid Prime 2 Light Suit From First 4 Figures Has Lit Up Our Day
A pricey treat
When it comes to premium collectible Nintendo-themed statues, First 4 Figures has often provided some of the most memorable releases. Its latest product is sure to excite Samus fans, as it's opened pre-orders for the Master Arts Metroid Prime 2 Light Suit. This is from the excellent Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, of course, and will come...
Review Mega Man 6 (Wii U eShop / NES)
Let battle commence. Awooga!
Arriving on the same day as Mega Man 5 on the Wii U Virtual Console, Capcom has decided to grace us with the final NES entry to wrap up that era of the franchise. Released in 1993, when the SNES was already out and Mega Man X was on the verge of release, Capcom just couldn't let itself say goodbye to the NES and made one...
Hardware Review AtGames Arcade Gamer Portable
Sega's Master System and Game Gear hardware gets cloned
Nintendo may be fiercely protective of its vintage games and retro hardware, but former rival Sega isn't quite so precious about where its former classics end up these days. We've already seen the likes of Sonic, Golden Axe and Streets of Rage migrate to practically every modern format under...
News This Majora's Mask Cake is Legendary
Yep, slow news day
When it comes to The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Nintendo's successfully kept demand for a remake at bay — speculation and iffy-looking shop 'listings' will continue until the end of time, or until a fresh release is announced. In any case, the fanbase for the N64 classic will continue to find ways to honour its status in...
Review Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Full of promise, or just hot air?
Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land is in fact a remake of Kirby's Adventure, Kirby's first outing on the NES from 1993. While it isn't his original adventure (that honour goes to Kirby's Dream Land), it is the first instance in which he was able to use his now classic copy ability. The remake — which originally...
Review Mega Man 5 (Wii U eShop / NES)
Proto Man problems
Over a year ago, the first four Mega Man games were released on Wii U Virtual Console in quick succession. We don't know exactly what took so long for the remainder, but the fifth entry is finally here. As you might expect, Mega Man 5 is quite similar to the four games before it; eight new Robot Masters have appeared, and it's up...
Review Bases Loaded (Wii U eShop / NES)
America’s 8-bit pastime
Is there anything more American than hotdogs and apple pie? Yes. Yes there is. It’s baseball. The answer is baseball. It’s a game that has permeated the American culture and inserted itself firmly into so many of our lives. As such, it comes as no surprise that there are a plethora of video games available based on the...
Review Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (Wii U eShop / NES)
Blood relative
After the success of the original Castlevania title on the NES system, Konami decided to change things up quite a bit for Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. Gone was the straight-ahead platforming action of the original, replaced with a much more rpg-flavored approach that placed more emphasis on item collection and exploration. While...
News NES30 GamePad Brings Old School Control To iOS, Android, Mac, Windows And Wii
Let's party like it's 1985
If you're fed up of using the Wiimote for games like New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Donkey Kong Country Returns, then you might want to take a look at 8Bitdo's new NES30 GamePad controller. A near-perfect replication of the original 1985 Nintendo Entertainment System joypad, this controller brings the concept up to date by...
Review Bases Loaded (3DS eShop / NES)
Can this old timer still make contact?
Back in the mid-to-late 80s, when the NES was the dominant force in video games, cyber sporting wasn’t exactly the complex affair that it is now. With modern controllers having about a dozen buttons and joysticks to manage, it’s common for every one of those to be utilized for numerous functions —...
News Donkey Kong, Pac-Man And Q*Bert Cast Alongside Game Of Thrones Star Peter Dinklage In Pixels
Based on the web short of the same name
Remember Pixels? It was a short film made by Patrick Jean back in 2010, and showed New York city being invaded by characters from famous retro games. The short is being turned into a fully-fledged movie helmed by Home Alone and Harry Potter director Chris Columbus and starring Peter Dinklage (Game of...
Hardware Classics Sega Master System
Everyone's favourite underdog
If you're reading this outside of Europe, then there's a very good chance that your perception of the Sega Master System is one of complete and utter failure. The 8-bit system wasn't even close to contesting the might of the NES in North America or the Famicom in Japan; although Sega at that point was a well-known...
An extraordinary run
In the past we've told you about Cosmo Wright, who continually sets new world record completion times for the iconic The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. He's even explained how it's done, in terms of manipulating gaps in the code through increasingly complicated mov
Review Pop'n TwinBee (Wii U eShop / SNES)
WinBee
It's not particularly well known outside Japan, but for a while TwinBee was one of Konami's main shoot 'em up series. A lot more cutesy than Gradius and the like, its colourful graphics and characters were its biggest appeal. A while back the original TwinBee was remade as a 3D Classic, but now here we have Pop'n Twinbee, one of the few...
Video Here are Plenty of Awesome Super Mario Bros. 3 Glitches to Try Yourself
Including a particularly tricky but cool way to skip to the end
Whenever gamers argue over which 2D Mario platformer is the best of them all, Super Mario Bros. 3 is normally included in the debate. It pushed the capabilities of the NES and blew a lot of minds when originally released, and still stands up as a terrific title by modern standards. The...
Review Anonymous Notes Chapter 4 - From the Abyss (DSiWare)
Four-ev-urrr
The Anonymous Notes series is pretty meta, in a way. For games about eternally slaying monsters in dungeons, they never seem to stop emerging from the eShop themselves. If you’ve been following along with our reviews, it probably won’t surprise you to know that Anonymous Notes Chapter 4 - From the Abyss is very much like Chapter 3,
Review Mario Power Tennis (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Raising a racquet
Originally released on Game Boy Advance in 2005, Mario Power Tennis is unusual in that it takes the tennis simulation genre and embeds it into a role-playing game experience. It’s a combination that works surprisingly well, with the biggest success being a player progression system which allows you to level up your character and...
News The NES Story Began On This Day 31 Years Ago
We are Family (Computer)
31 years ago today, Nintendo Co., Ltd. released the Famicom console in Japan, an event which would herald the beginning of the firm's wildly successful relationship with home video games. Hitting store shelves at 14,800 Yen (around $145 / £84 / 107 Euros), the system wasn't an instant hit with the Japanese public. Sales...
News Here's What Metroid's Samus Aran Would Look Like As A Saturday Morning Cartoon Character
You'll want to hang Wil Overton's awesome art on your wall
Ever wondered what kind of appearance famed bounty hunter Samus Aran would sport if she'd been designed by Hanna-Barbera instead of Nintendo? Allow famed UK artist Wil Overton — formerly of Super Play and Rare fame — to show you. He's produced this amazing piece of artwork which is now...
Video Hear The Link To The Past Dark World Theme In a Whole New Banjo Style
It’s dangerous to go alone. Take the mandolin, too
Time-travelling and dimension-hopping hero to video game characters, Ollie Longz, has apparently returned from his little jaunt to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past’s Dark World with a most interesting artifact. What was originally thought to be an innocuous piece of parchment stuck to the...
Watch Super Smash Bros. Melee Evo 2014 Finals - Live!
Time for the winners to step up
Yesterday brought us the knockout stages of Super Smash Bros. Melee at Evo 2014. It now comes down to a final two hours in the tournament finals, at the end of which a champion will have brawled their way to glory. It's all happening from 1:30pm Pacific / 4:30pm Eastern / 9:30pm UK / 10:30am CET until 3:30pm Pacific...
Watch Super Smash Bros. Melee Evo 2014 Knockout Stages - Live!
It's getting serious
Yesterday brought us the pool stages of Super Smash Bros. Melee at Evo 2014. Today there'll be four hours of quarter- and semi-finals as the world's top players battle for a place in the finals. This time around all of the action will be on one channel, taking place between 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK / 7pm CET and 2pm...
Review Adventure Island (Wii U eShop / NES)
Skate and die
Adventure Island started life as the SEGA-produced arcade title Wonder Boy, which itself was ported to several different home consoles and spawned a popular series of sequels with show-stealing box art. NES-owners missed out on the title, and would have to wait until Hudson Soft teamed up with original developer Escape to release a...
Watch Super Smash Bros. Melee Evo 2014 Pool Matches - Live!
It begins...
Earlier this week we brought you the Evo 2014 schedule, as the Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament will play a prominent role in the event. So much so that it's actually kicking off proceedings on the main channel. Today brings us 12 hours of Melee mayhem, if we're reading the chart correctly, as the pool matches will be completed in...
Video This Retro-Styled Shovel Knight 'VHS' Guide is a Thing of Beauty
Entertaining and helpful
Shovel Knight isn't just a terrific game, but part of its appeal is its ability to prompt nostalgia for the 8-bit era. Its visuals are too sharp and detailed to actually be a game on the NES, yet it represents how we remember that era — with retro rose-tinted eyeballs, in other words. It's that combination of excellent...
Video Learn How to Pull Off the Newly Discovered Cloud Glitch in Super Mario World
Lakitu won't be happy about this
As if we needed more evidence of the complexities that run beneath many of our favorite games, a code digger by the name of Masterjun3 has unearthed a glitch in Super Mario World that provides the player a Lakitu cloud in the game's item box. The stunt is executable in the Yoshi's Island 2 stage with just a Yoshi, a...
News If You Want To Follow Super Smash Bros. Melee at Evo 2014, These Are The Details You Need
Jump between streams like a pro
Evo 2014 is just days away, bringing together the best competitive fighting game players from around the world to compete across multiple titles. After a briefly troubled history last year, Super Smash Bros. Melee has long been confirmed for this year's event. Evo will be streamed fully online, and there's so much...
News EarthBound 20th Anniversary Figures Seeing Release in Japan
The third coolest set of figures you can buy
While the Famicom RPG Mother is celebrating its 25th anniversary (a fact Starmen.net is honoring throughout the month), its Super Famicom/SNES sibling Mother 2, known as EarthBound in the West, is turning the big 2-0 this year in Japan as well. To commemorate two decades of EarthBound, toy company Takara...
Weirdness 3D-Printed Game Boy-Themed Case Covers Raspberry Pi
Far more sensible than whipped cream
The credit-card sized educational computer Raspberry Pi encourages electronics hobbyists to find interesting and fun ways to extend the machine’s capabilities; to celebrate the Game Boy’s 25th anniversary Adafruit user Noe Ruiz has posted an extensive tutorial on how to build a 3D-printed Game Boy-themed case...
News Four Students Set New Mario Kart Marathon World Record
"As a matter of fact this was an incredibly difficult thing to achieve"
Many of us have had some excessively long gaming sessions, after which we may look back and think "what was I doing?!". They can be fun, though, and there are often teams of people that use gaming marathons to raise money for charity, among other things, taking what is an...
Review Mysterious Stars: The Singer (DSiWare)
Only connect...
Connect the dots, dot to dot, join the dots...whatever you called it growing up, the odds are pretty good you didn't think the game would be improved by a storyline. That's unfortunate, because that's the one thing Mysterious Stars: The Singer has to differentiate itself from an inexpensive book of similar puzzles. Well, no, that's...
Video You Really Don't Want To Know What Kids These Days Think Of The Game Boy
"You don't just turn it on and get the app?"
Technology has moved at an incredible pace over the past 25 years. Back in 1989, mobile phones were massive and so expensive that only Wall Street businessmen could afford to own one without having to sell a kidney, and portable gaming was considerably less advanced than it is now. The monochrome Game...
Video DJ Jazzy Jeff, Jeremy Ellis and The Roots Perform an Awesome Super Mario Bros. Remix
Which DJ wins?
With the recent Independence Day celebrations in the US, there were plenty of events and concerts taking place around the country. One of these was the 2014 Philly Jam, and for those watching there was a bit of a retro Mario treat to enjoy. In the clip below DJ Jazzy Jeff — who most may know as Will Smith's buddy and musical...
News Buck Rogers SNES Prototype Materializes
From the 20th and 9/10 Century
Licensing can be a fickle playground for developers. The rights that were secured for a brand may suddenly change or be revoked entirely, calling for a change in plans at any time. More evidence of this fact has arrived in an alleged ROM of a prototype Buck Rogers SNES game made by French developer Loriciel in 1993...
Review My Aquarium: Seven Oceans (DSiWare)
Fishing for something more
Back in the heyday of the WiiWare service, an application titled My Aquarium was made available to all Wii owners through the digital distribution platform. It was so well received — as is evidenced by our review — that a second version was soon developed, appropriately and unsurprisingly titled My Aquarium 2. Now,...
News You May Need This Super Famicom or SNES Game Boy Advance System in Your Life
Deep breath...
Well constructed mods of retro systems are among our favourite things here at Nintendo Life, and we recently featured GameBoyMods.uk's Shaun Jones, who unsurprisingly specialises in modding the original 'brick' system. We also interviewed Matthew "Wiggy" Wiggins of Rose Colored Gaming last year, a company that specialises in gorgeous...
Feature Breathing New Life Into The Original Monochrome Game Boy
We speak to GameBoyMods.uk's Shaun Jones about the iconic brick
Despite being one of Nintendo's oldest systems, the humble Game Boy continues to bring joy and entertainment to dedicated players all over the world. We've already spoken to Joe Heaton about the Game Boy and its appeal to chiptune composers, and recently we got the chance to catch up...
Wearing shades indoors, naturally
Unless you're really keen on Japanese rock music, the name Gackt might not mean that much to you, but take it from us — he's a big name in his own country. Gackt — real name Kamui Gakuto — found fame as a member of the band Malice Mizer, and since going it alone has gained the male soloist record for most top...
News Guess What, The Original Mortal Kombat Cast Had A Reunion
Flawless victory
Mortal Kombat may have gained notorious headlines for its blood and gore, but it's important to remember that it made excellent use of digitised live actors — something which gave it a unique edge in the battle against Capcom's Street Fighter II. Last weekend, some of those very same actors — including Lia Montelongo (Sindel),...
Matters of Import Genso Suikoden Card Stories - Konami's Other Trading Card Game
Suikoden 2 on GBA? Sort of
Konami is certainly comfortable with the popular and profitable Trading Card Game genre, their Yu-Gi-Oh series reportedly selling in excess of twenty-two billion cards all over the world since it was first launched. The digital equivalents have always been warmly welcomed on Nintendo hardware too, stretching all the way...
News Mother 25th Anniversary Fanfest Teleports in this 5th July
Celebrating the Zero fans have always wanted
Many of us caught the bus with Shigesato Itoi's quirky RPG series through EarthBound, but well before that came his first game, Mother. Also known as EarthBound Zero, Mother was released July 1989 in Japan and, unfortunately, nowhere else officially since. Not one to dismiss a reason to celebrate their...
June2014
News Don't Fancy Sonic Boom? No Problem, The Sonic 2 HD Fan Remake Is Back On Track
"It's good to be back!"
Back in 2012, we followed the progress made on Sonic 2 HD — a fan project to remake Sega's classic platformer — with great interest. However, for personal reasons development work ground to a halt and we never heard anything more about the project. That is until now. The team's Facebook page was recently updated to let...
News Someone Has Beaten The Super Mario Bros. Speedrun World Record
Game completed in less than five minutes
Think you're a pretty hot Super Mario Bros. player? You're probably not as good as speedrunner Blubbler, who has just finished the game in 4:57.69, beating the previous record of 4:58.09. Blubber is clearly a talented individual, and in the video below you can see just how perfect this particular run is —...
News The Unreleased Super Mario 64 DD Edition Appears to Have Been Uncovered
Awesome collectable, but imperfect version of the classic
Super Mario 64 is one of the most iconic, important games ever produced, and is treasured by many gamers. It's safe to say that it's in most collections of those rocking a Nintendo 64, so while it's much-loved it's not exactly collectable gold. The unreleased Nintendo 64 DD version, however,...
News Culture Cal Hopes to Celebrate The Holidays With This Majora's Mask Advent Calendar
A wooden board with an etched map of Termina and 24 'mask tokens'
Our dreams of a remake reveal for The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask may have gone unfulfilled during E3, but the iconic Nintendo 64 title still lives on in various fan projects and products. One example is currently seeking crowdfunding support — it's a rather charming advent...
News An Iconic Super Mario Bros. 3 Overworld Theme Gets the Smooth McGroove Treatment
Who can resist that?
We imagine many of you are already familiar with Smooth McGroove, a hugely popular presence on YouTube that's highly regarded for his weekly Acapella music videos. His rise to prominence has been particularly impressive, with his focus on retro titles also helping to establish a dedicated audience. While all of his videos are...
News The Nintendo 64 is Now 18 Years Old in Japan
Finally old enough to run Conker's Bad Fur Day
Time flies when you're having fun, especially for those of us who grew up spending excessive amounts of time playing GoldenEye 007 and Mario Kart 64. That's because the Nintendo 64 was released a whopping 18 years ago today in its native territory of Japan. Released on 23 June 1996, the N64 served as a...
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