Retro News
February2016
Review Gundam Wing: Endless Duel (SNES)
Bringing a Gundam to a fist fight
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing made quite an impact in the West, with the forty-nine episode anime series getting aired by Cartoon Network which would ensure it became one of the most recognizable entries in the iconic Japanese science fiction mecha series in our part of the planet. Predictably, video game adaptations...
Video Meet The Early Sega Mascots That Time Forgot
Say hello to Professor Asobin and Dr. Games
Yesterday, we reported on the news that the limited edition version of SEGA 3D Classics Collection would come with a sheet of decals comprised of logos and other old-school Sega imagery. One of these stickers stood out from the rest as it featured a character who is practically unknown to modern Sega fans:...
Review Crystal Beans From Dungeon Explorer (SNES)
Do NOT shoot the food
Gauntlet remains a dear memory among many retro gamers. After all, Atari's revolutionary dungeon crawler was one of the best co-op arcade games ever produced and it certainly was no stranger to Nintendo owners with several conversions making their way to NES, Game Boy, Nintendo 64 and GameCube. You will notice a strange...
That's not effective
Well-known Pokémon fan project Pokémon Reorchestrated - a channel dedicated to orchestral covers of music across the Pokémon games - has had its full Kanto Symphony playlist removed from YouTube by The Pokémon Company. Channel creator Braxton Burks covers this in detail via the video below, but the key notes to take away...
Review Mega Man Battle Network 6: Cybeast Falzar / Gregar (Wii U eShop / GBA)
One last network battle
Mega Man Battle Network 5 changed a few things around for this series, but was mostly quite similar to its predecessor. Deciding to go for one last hurrah on the Game Boy Advance, Capcom created a sixth Battle Network game. Don't expect any big surprises though; it's still quite similar to its peers. After spending the...
Review Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Tactical Fantasy Action
It wasn't that long ago that things were going so well. With just one member of the opposing clan left against the three on your team, wrapping up this mission seemed to be straightforward enough. Then he took out your mighty Bangaa warrior and is now causing your sword guy plenty of trouble on account of the fact he returns...
Random Don't Forget to Celebrate Mewtwo's Birthday
For he's a jolly good genetically engineered lifeform
February 27th is a big day for Pokémon, marking the series' 20th anniversary since its début games in 1996. However, information contained within those games mentions another special day too - February 6th is Mewtwo's birthday! Players of Pokémon Red/Green/Blue/Yellow/FireRed/LeafGreen will...
Video Reliving the Memories of the Original Announcement for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Out of time, into Twilight
With the release of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD just around the corner we thought it was about time we looked back at the fantastic reveal that the original game received. Much controversy surrounded the art direction of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and many people wanted a more realistic Zelda game...
News Overheating Computers Almost Cost The World The Original Pokémon Games
"I sure am glad I fixed those computers back then"
Pokémon turns 20 this year, and to mark the occassion Game Freak's Junichi Masuda has posted a video online in which he shares some of his strongest memories regarding the creation of this iconic series. Masuda - who served as a programmer on Pokémon Red and Green and created the music and sound...
Video Check Out This Amazing Blindfolded Completion of Super Mario Bros.
Three months of practice, cleared in less than 15 minutes
We've seen some hugely impressive speedruns and game clearance feats in recent times, whether it's beating games with unconventional controllers, clearing multiple games at once or setting record times. Blindfolded runs are also fantastic to watch, and Japanese YouTuber...
Review Super Mario 64 DS (Wii U eShop / DS)
D-Pad D-Bate
Super Mario 64 is undeniably one of the most influential games in the industry's history, so it's only natural that Nintendo would attempt to capitalise on its success with a re-release. What nobody expected at the time was for it to not only arrive on a portable console, but also feature Yoshi as the initial protagonist. Super Mario 64...
Heaven and Hell
There are hundreds of amazing games for the Super Famicom that remain a mystery to Western gamers. Dark Half is one such game, published by Enix in 1996. It is a late generation Super Famicom title that at first glance seems to be your typical JRPG, with the player taking control of Falco, the Paladin (not to be confused with the...
January2016
Video Catch Up on Yet More Legend of Zelda Easter Eggs
Linking to the past
The Legend of Zelda is one of Nintendo's most important franchises and celebrates its 30th Anniversary this year. It's going to get a lot of focus, then, including plenty of fan-created content to celebrate its history and idiosyncrasies. It's taken a little while, but Did You Know Gaming has continued its series that looks at a...
Hardware Classics Bit Corp Gamate
From Taiwan with love
Given that we've covered pretty much every retro console of note in our Hardware Classics series, it was almost inevitable that we'd be forced to investigate systems which could hardly be considered noteworthy from a commercial or critical standpoint. That's certainly the case with Bit Corp Gamate, a handheld console...
Video Behind the Scenes of Battletoads with David Wise
Blast from the past
Rare is a studio that's known for putting out multiple classics on Nintendo's older hardware. Though the studio is arguably best known for its Nintendo 64 games and its work on the Donkey Kong series, it also put out Battletoads way back on the NES. Known for being a great example of 'Nintendo Hard' gameplay – especially with...
News It Looks Like Michael Jackson Did Write Some Of Sonic 3's Soundtrack After All
Doesn't matter if you're black or white (or blue)
Back in the early '90s when Michael Jackson was arguably the most famous person on the face of the planet, he started working with Nintendo's rival Sega on a series of video game projects. Sega was quick to exploit Jackson's natural love of video games with Moonwalker being perhaps the most...
Review Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (Wii U eShop / GBA)
It's a'me, Mario 3! (again)
We all know about Super Mario Bros. 3 for the NES. It was a fantastic game worthy of all the praise that it received, and that remains true to this day. So, this review won't discuss all the merits of the original game. Instead, it will focus on the unique features of Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, released...
Ninterview The History of Gaming, In Oil Paint
We have a chat with Randy Gallegos about his gaming art
If you've ever seen our Instagram account you'll know we love a bit of gaming art here at Nintendo Life. The majority of the art we come across is digital, however we recently came across the work of an American artist who does things a little differently. Artist Randy Gallegos has been...
Video Check Out the Introduction to the Jet Force Gemini Game That Never Was
What could've been...
Some of you may remember Jet Force Gemini, a Nintendo 64 classic from the golden days of Rare. Though Banjo-Kazooie and Goldeneye 007 may be games that are mentioned more, Jet Force Gemini was nonetheless a lovely third person shooter that positively oozed of Rare's charm and quality. It was also a one-off game, though...
Weirdness Super Mario 64 Expert Collects a Star in 0.5 'A' Button Presses
"We need to talk about parallel universes..."
The recent Awesome Games Done Quick marathon served as a fantastic example of speedrunners demonstrating their practiced skill with impressive results. In the wake of its conclusion earlier this month, we've got just the video for anyone still needing their fix of game-breaking talent on display. While...
Feature Why We're Still Playing... GoldenEye 007
Steven Smith revives the laser watch on N64
In the latest entry in this series we have Nintendo Life newcomer Steven Smith (@N64Memories) talking about GoldenEye 007; no, not that one on Wii, but the N64 original. GoldenEye 007 was my first true experience of a first-person shooter (FPS). Yes, I had played Doom – a classic, o
Hardware Review We Look at a Definitive GameCube HDMI Mod
Crystal quality
Long-time fans of Nintendo have often harped on about the GameCube controller being one of the best controllers in gaming history, and the console it attached to first was certainly not shy of some spectacular releases. It's a shame that we have to have a television the size of Snowdonia just to be able to appreciate the system...
News Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time Gets CD Quality Audio Hack
Cowabunga doesn't even begin to cover it
Prolific hacker DarkShock strikes again, increasing his already impressive list of similar enhancement hacks in the past, this time adding MSU-1 high quality PCM audio support for Konami's stellar SNES title Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time. In place of the already quite impressive SPC music,...
Video See the GameCube HDMI Mod Thrash Cheaper HDMI Converters in Video & Audio Quality
Goodbye lag, goodbye blur
We've been raving about the GCVideo HDMI mod for the GameCube for a little bit now, but what we haven't yet done it compare the quality to that of your average AV to HDMI converter; a common option for those trying to get older systems and games onto modern screens. These cheap devices present all sorts of issues with...
News Hardcore Gaming 101's Next Book Focuses On Taito's Arcade Legacy
From Elevator Action to Liquid Kids
Video game site Hardcore Gaming 101 has become something of a goldmine for retro gamers, with its staff tirelessly uncovering gems from the past that everyone else has all but forgotten about. The site also produces a line of excellent books which feature both new and re-written content, and the latest offering...
Video Check Out Super Smash Bros. Melee Running Through a GameCube HDMI Mod
Modded hardware with practically zero input lag
While many work on emulators to boost resolutions of retro systems, genuine hardware mods are arguably the truest way to enjoy older games with a crisper, clearer picture. With that in mind we're always interested in mods that can apply a digital HDMI output to retro consoles and, as a result, improve...
Review The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (Wii U eShop / DS)
Choo-choo-choose the original format
No doubt partly driven by necessity as much as strategy, Nintendo's Virtual Console efforts on Wii U have been notable for including not only Game Boy Advance titles, but also various releases from the DS library. With the latter only possible courtesy of the Wii U GamePad questions of practicality are fairly...
Hardware Classics Nintendo Super Scope
In your sights
Despite their ingenious nature and futuristic feel, light guns have been part of the video game landscape since the industry began - in fact, crude examples of the tech can be found as far back as the 1930s. In the 8-bit era both Nintendo and Sega produced their own pistol-like light guns in the form of the NES Zapper and Master...
Video These Teenagers Show Good Taste and Enjoy Classic Retro Game Music
They even know the biggest Ninty classics by name
We all like talking about games, otherwise we wouldn't be here, but not everyone actively pays attention to and discusses video game music. We're often aware of it when it's so fantastic that it's impossible to ignore, but it can often be overlooked just how important audio is to any gaming...
News Natsume Is Selling Vintage Factory Sealed Stock Via Its eBay Store
Sealed copy of Pocky & Rocky recently sold for $1,691.66
Buying vintage games on eBay is a tricky business these days, as collectors have pushed the value of many sought-after titles to eye-watering levels. You'll find a robust market for factory-sealed releases too, some of which can sell for many times more than their original retail price...
News New NES Game "Germ Squashers" Aims to Benefit Children's Miracle Network
Making everyone feel better
It's not every day that you see a new game release for an old console, but it does happen from time to time. Though these releases will typically launch on a modern digital storefront simultaneously with the physical cartridge, it's still a great way to make a new game as retro as it can possibly get. The next new NES...
News Rare Wanted To Do amiibo-Style Toys During The N64 Era
Ahead of the curve
UK studio Rare has always had a habit of being ahead of the curve. The company - founded by Tim and Chris Stamper in the '80s - was one of the first western developers to work on the NES hardware, and in the '90s the firm would pioneer the use of CGI graphics in 2D games with the likes of Donkey Kong Country and Killer Instinct...
Video Catch Up With the Super Metroid Fundraising Bonanza from Awesome Games Done Quick
Or you can browse through the whole week's videos
Earlier this week we shared the final fundraising total from 2016's Awesome Games Done Quick event, with it reaching a hugely impressive $1.2 million. In that post we mentioned that the "Save or Kill the Animals" Super Metroid vote had raised $311,603.16 all on its own, so we thought it'd be worth...
News Oculus Founder Palmer Luckey Believes Virtual Boy "Hurt" the VR Industry, But It's Not All Bad
"Not really a VR device, IMO"
The Virtual Boy is well known among keen Nintendo followers - it was a quirky device that flopped commercially and, for quite some time, was effectively ignored by Nintendo. It was also a major early dalliance with 3D technology from the company, though the name and form factor makes some consider it to be a virtual...
Review Drill Dozer (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Not likely to make you doze off
Game Freak is a developer known for its work on titles such as Pokémon Red and Blue, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire and Pokémon Black and White. It does occasionally put out games that don't feature the pocket monsters, however, and one of those is Drill Dozer, a Game Boy Advance action platformer set across six...
Will you Save or Kill the Animals?
Awesome Games Done Quick is about to wrap up for another year, hoping to gain momentum in its final hours to take its fundraising total past one million dollars. If past years are anything to go by the odds are decent, especially with the iconic final playthrough of Super Metroid being one of the event's most...
Weirdness Conceptual Artist Attempts Tetris World Record as a Metaphor of Capitalism
"Eventually they fall so fast that you can’t keep up and you die"
Conceptual and performance artists find meaning - or try to - in the unlikeliest of places, often taking mundane or obsessive aspects of life and applying an artistic different vision. One artist doing this is Rutherford Chang, who's based in New York and has previous works that...
Ninterview Retro Video Gaming's Heidi stopXwhispering On Building The Ultimate Game Room
"Retro games are filled with 'spelglädje' for me!"
Nintendo Life: Can you tell us a little about yourself? Heidi stopXwhispering: My name is Heidi, I was born in 1984 and I'm from Sweden. I grew up in Sweden, but lived abroad during my college years - in the UK, Germany and Japan. Now I'm back in Sweden. When did you get into gaming? I always...
Random Wall Mounting Old Games Has Never Been Better
Kickstarter project aims to give you a reason to dust off those cartridges
There's nothing quite like the sensation of looking at a fully stocked wall or shelf of games and remembering the experiences had with each one. However, most gamers that have been playing games for several years will likely have amassed quite a pile over time, but who...
News Let's Debunk Some Of Pokémon's Biggest Myths Ahead Of This Year's Virtual Console Resurrection
No, you can't capture Pikablu
Nintendo is finally launching the first-gen Pokémon games on the 3DS Virtual Console, and this event has gotten the peeps over at Red Bull thinking about all of the classic myths which grew up around the games back in the late '90s - before the internet came along and made it easy to debunk such nonsense. No, you...
Review Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Wii U eShop / SNES)
The Mario RPG that started it all
There are very few areas of life the Mario franchise hasn't at some point explored. Mario himself has been a doctor, an amateur kart racer and later on in his career was recognised as a professional athlete when he competed at the Olympic Games in the 100 metre dash against Sonic. Quite simply – he's a jack of all...
News Masato Maegawa Talks Shoot 'em Up Designs and Sin and Punishment
A blast from the past
The shoot 'em up genre is one that's seemingly been around for nearly as long as video games have. While they do certainly have a limited appeal, these types of games offer up what could certainly be argued as the purest arcade experiences, with lightning fast reflexes and pattern recognition being absolute musts. Treasure is...
Four hours of Nintendo goodness
We're big fans of Awesome Games Done Quick, which features runs of great games and raises a lot of money for charity. In this block we can check out Metroid Fusion, Metroid Prime and The Legend of Zelda across a four hour block. Enjoy! [liveblog=]#AGDQ2016
News Eiji Aonuma's First Game Recieves A Fresh English Language Patch
It's time to revisit Another Treasure Island
Back in late 1996, with the Nintendo 64 fresh on Japanese store shelves and Super Mario 64 thrilling gamers, Nintendo pushed out a unique title on the aging Super Famicom called Marvelous: Mouhitotsu no Takarajima, which translates as Marvelous: Another Treasure Island. Notable for being the design debut...
Video See What it's Like to Play Super Metroid on its Side
What will they think of next?
As one of the standout games in its genre, Super Metroid has been played and beaten countless times by fans throughout the years. It's a particular favorite due to how it's very friendly to speedrunners and sequence breakers, who discover new ways to get around obstacles and barriers that should technically be...
Video Catch Up With the Early Nintendo Goodness from Awesome Games Done Quick
Splatoon, Diddy Kong Racing, Super Mario 64 and more
During the Holidays we pointed your attention to Awesome Games Done Quick 2016, which will be live all week to raise huge sums of money for charity. It achieves admirable results every year, in addition to showing off impressive speedruns and gameplay from skilful and passionate gamers; naturally,...
Review Game & Watch Gallery Advance (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Nintendo's Portable Hits: The Early Years
In the 1980's (before the Game Boy was released), Nintendo's series of Game & Watch handhelds provided people with portable gaming excitement. As LCD games they provided a stripped down gaming experience that Cranky Kong would approve of - basic sounds, none of those pointless fancy graphics and only a...
Video Hudson's Abandoned R&D Lab Still Has Its Miniature Train Track In Place
All aboard the depression train
Those of you who have been gaming since the 8-bit era will no doubt be very familiar with the name Hudson Soft. A prolific developer during the Famicom / NES, PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16 and Super Famicom / SNES eras, the firm was responsible for titles such as Bomberman, Adventure Island, Bonk, Star Soldier and many...
News Super Famicom: The Box Art Collection Is Getting A Collector's Edition With Art By Wil Overton
Pre-orders open today
Those of you looking for the perfect coffee table accompaniment will no doubt have already earmarked some cash for the purchase of Super Famicom: The Box Art Collection, a lavishly-produced tome we've featured on the site a few times in the past. Penned by Stu Bre
December2015
News Tsunekazu Ishihara on How Iwata Helped Bring the Pokémon Series to the West
Good guy Iwata
Though it seems to have levelled out somewhat in recent years, there's no denying that Pokémon is one of the most recognised and prolific Nintendo brands around. It seems that this almost wasn't the case, though, as Tsunekazu Ishihara recently revealed in an interview with 4Gamer. Apparently, Pokémon was initially going to stay...
Weirdness Gamer Keeps Super Famicom On For 20 Years To Preserve Umihara Kawase Save Data
That's over 180,000 hours
Back in the days when cartridges used batteries to store save data, your precious save files would only remain in existence as long as the battery itself had juice - when the power ran out, the data was lost forever. Collectors of retro games will know this fact all too well; many RPGs from the '80s and '90s are now...
Random Here's Where All the Koopalings Got Their Names
Another mystery solved
The Koopalings are a colorful and varied cast of characters that add a nice layer of personality to the Super Mario series. The seven characters are all wacky in their own way and, oddly enough, they technically aren't Bowser's children. Nonetheless, they have nothing but mischief on their minds and they offer up some pretty...
Feature Why We're Still Playing... Metroid Fusion
Mitch Vogel on how this portable title improved upon its predecessor
This is a series of features focussed on games that we keep playing again and again, either over an unhealthy number of hours or those that keep getting return visits long after they first graced our systems. After the release of Super Metroid on the SNES, it seemed that the...
Video Check Out This Substantial Breakdown of The Legend of Zelda
Delving into the detail
Though we didn't have a full new Legend of Zelda adventure to enjoy this festive season - unless you just started Tri Force Heroes - such is the depth and history of the franchise that there are plenty of titles to take on when on holiday. It's one of Nintendo's most treasured IPs, and a definitive part of pop-culture around...
Review Polarium Advance (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Black + white = fun exercise for the old grey matter
Draw a line. OK, you'll have to give it a bit more thought than that as you won't be passing through all the squares on screen, but Polarium Advance is a simple game to play. Each puzzle consists of white and black tiles and once you've picked a start point you must draw a single line, moving...
News Super Famicom: The Box Art Collection Pre-Orders Go Live Next Month
Starting 2016 with a bang
Back in October, we delivered the happy news that Stuart "Super Famicom Guy" Brett's Super Famicom: The Box Art Collection had found a publisher and would be coming to store shelves in the near future. Bitmap Books has now revealed that pre-orders will open on January 2nd, giving you something to look forward to early in...
Video Ghostbusters, Batman, Police Academy Toys And Nintendo - Say Hello To Christmas, 1989 Style
iretrogamer.com's Tyler Esposito shares another home movie
1989 was a vintage year. Not only did it give the world Tim Burton's Batman and Ghostbusters II, it saw the release of the Sega Genesis and Game Boy in North America. It was also a big year for iretrogamer.com founder and occassional Nintendo Life contributor Tyler Esposito - then a...
Video Rare Shows Off Footage of Dream, The Banjo-Kazooie Predecessor That Never Saw Release
No, you're not dreaming
Though it's now owned by Microsoft and far removed from its days of dominance developing exclusives for SNES and Nintendo 64, Rare has a special place in the hearts of many Nintendo fans. It's an iconic studio and, as a result, its story has various facets and mysteries that remain the talk of retro gamers. One game that's...
Video Fans List Their Favourite Star Wars Games, Nintendo Titles Feature Heavily
Memories from the premiere
Those of you who have been living under a rock for the past month might be shocked to learn that a new Star Wars movie has just hit cinemas. Our friends over at iretrogamer.com attended a special showing at the Alamo Drafthouse in Houston, and decided to ask some fans which Star Wars video games they held closest to their...
Review Trauma Team (Wii U eShop / Wii)
Trauma Drama
Back in the early days of the Nintendo DS, Trauma Center: Under the Knife was a standout example of how the then-new touch screen controls could provide a fresh experience on the go. Atlus would then take its anime-pumped surgery games to the Wii, translating touch controls to motion controls, and found a winning combination there as...
Video Behind The Scenes On The GameCube Star Wars Rogue Leader Games
Stay on target
The world is going Star Wars-mad at the moment, what with The Force Awakens hitting cinemas this week. To mark the event, Nintendo Life contributor Gonçalo Lopes has uploaded the behind-the-scenes documentaries which were included on Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader and Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike as...
Review Animal Crossing: Wild World (Wii U eShop / DS)
Why this world?
The very idea of a portable version of Animal Crossing filled this reviewer with glee when he first read about it back in the days of magazines and routers without wi-fi as standard. Animal Crossing: Wild World has always been a very special game to fans as it expanded upon the original GameCube title (for this region at least) but...
Review Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom (Wii U eShop / NES)
Nice videogame, shame about the plot
After dealing with that dark sword business Ryu Hayabusa might have hoped to put his feet up, but more evil schemes are in motion and so he must do his ninja thing once more. The powerup from the previous game that could provide duplicates to help in his quest has gone, but it turns out there is still another Ryu...
Random Turok Remaster on PC Opts for a Prehistoric Look
More fog required
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter on the Nintendo 64 is an interesting title in the history of the FPS genre; it played its part, alongside much-loved contemporaries like GoldenEye 007, in pushing first-person shooters onto another level. It arrived early on the system - when its library was still tiny - and generated a lot of buzz. Modern...
Video Your Washed-Up Parent Can't Handle Modern Games So Get Them A NES This Christmas, Says eBay
"THIS is a video game!"
eBay may primarily be about the buying and selling of second hand goods, but that doesn't mean the company is going to sit back and miss out on the retailing frenzy that is Christmas. With that in mind, the firm has published a commercial which focuses on how it can enliven the festive period of gamers, but in our eyes it's a...
Video Check Out the Super Mario Bros. 3 Port That Never Was
What could've been...
For those of you that have been playing video games for several decades, you probably remember the glory days of id Software. Beginning its work on the PC, the studio is arguably responsible for the modern shooter genre, with games such as Quake, Wolfenstein, and Doom all being products to emerge from the studio. While shooters...
Feature Wrestling On The Cube: A Complete History
From WWE to Ultimate Muscle, and Beyond
Ah, wrestling… one of our oldest guilty pleasures. That peculiar sport / reality show / soap opera is filled with ups and downs and this pattern is somewhat mirrored by its video game counterparts. After dusting off the trusty GameCube and taking a look at the extensive number of wrestling games of its...
Review Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (Wii U eShop / NES)
Tough but fun Ninja action - Part 2
For the first NES Ninja Gaiden game, Tecmo created a tough but fun action platformer. It was very different to the scrolling beat 'em up action of the arcade game, but people liked it; sales must have been good too, because Ryu Hayabusa returned for a second NES outing. Gameplay in Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword...
Video Take a Look at the Famicom 3D System
Surprisingly cool for the time
The 3DS has now been on the market for over four years, in that time making use of auto-stereoscopic 3D in a lot of games. After the original models suffered from a narrow viewing angle the New 3DS has delivered more stable 3D, so in this time of Nintendo's improved and solidified the technology it can be interesting...
Review Medabots AX: Metabee & Rokusho (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Medaboring
The previous Medabots game was an RPG which had some cool ideas and stayed quite true to the source material, but ultimately was undermined by a handful of major annoyances. Medabots AX, strangely enough, was actually originally released shortly before it, but this time around has seen the light of day second. Surprisingly, this game is...
Review Kirby Mass Attack (Wii U eShop / DS)
Safety in numbers
Known in Japan as Atsumete! Kirby, Kirby Mass Attack is the final title in the long-running HAL Laboratory series for the Nintendo DS. Originally released in 2011, Mass Attack moves away from traditional platform game design in preference of a completely touch-driven experience. Thankfully, unlike the original 2005 entry for DS –...
Review Kirby: Power Paintbrush (Wii U eShop / DS)
Time has passed
Kirby: Power Paintbrush – also known as Canvas Curse in North America – was originally released on the Nintendo DS in 2005. Following the trend of many other franchises during this new generation of handheld gaming, the HAL Laboratory-developed title moved away from traditional platform game conventions by utilising the defining...
Random Disney Engineers Play NES Classics In Innovative Fashion
8-bit, 8-player, 8-projector madness!
Disney has always been known for its innovative flare, including within the videogame industry through its licenses and Disney Infinity titles. However, Disney Infinity is not the topic of discussion here, for the Disney Research team has revolutionised a way of revisiting NES classics in the form of...
Hardware Review Cyber Gadget Retro Freak
Freakishly good?
You should never underestimate the power of old games. When the Retro Freak was announced earlier in the year it triggered quite a stir online - a remarkable feat when you consider that the company behind it, Cyber Gadget, is a tiny and largely unknown Japanese outfit. The system's retro-gaming potential ensured that it set many...
Review Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Contra-ry to popular opinion...
The Contra series of games includes some of the run-and-gun genre's greatest titles; along with the Metal Slug series you won't find a finer bunch of ridiculously tough, immaculately designed platform action experiences. We've already been blessed with a Wii U Virtual Console port of Konami's 1992 SNES masterpiece...
Video Catch Up on Some Glitches, Trivia and Easter Eggs for Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda
Some may even surprise you
As another weekend draws to a close it can be nice to catch up with some retro classics and fascinating facts. With Super Mario having its 30th Anniversary this year and The Legend of Zelda due to hit the same landmark in 2016, they seem like good topics. Once again the Did You Know Gaming? YouTube channel has been...
Review Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team Colonel & Protoman (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Playing it safe once more
While many would argue that Mega Man Battle Network 4 brought with it some unwelcome changes, Capcom did not seem to pay much heed to fan complaints. Indeed, the fifth (!) entry is a fairly by-the-numbers sequel, featuring little in the way of changes or additions and is mostly similar to its predecessor. Mega Man villains...
Review Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones (Wii U eShop / NES)
A tough but enjoyable adventure for Bimmy and friends
Bimmy. If there's one thing people know about Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones, it's Bimmy – a typo during the game's (multiplayer) intro that humorously renames the main protagonist. There's more to this third NES entry in the Double Dragon series than a small chuckle however. There's a...
Review The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Wii U eShop / DS)
An epic sail
When thinking about the best games from the Legend of Zelda series, many automatically jump straight in at the deep end with the big, home console releases; games such as Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker always seem to make it to the top of peoples' lists. Games often overlooked are those that have appeared on Nintendo's portable...
Random The Super Mario Bros. Ground Theme Has Actual Lyrics
You don't have to just hum it anymore!
Super Mario Bros. was a trailblazer for video games in numerous ways, one of which was the iconic soundtrack that backed the whole game. Particularly, the original "World 1-1" theme has passed on into legend at this point; arguably one of the most recognizable tunes in gaming and one that has been remixed...
News Console Modder Zoki64 Is Back With Another Super Mario-Themed SNES
To mark 25 years of Super Mario World
This year marks 3 decades of Super Mario goodness, and famed console modder Zoki64 decided to celebrate that fact with a gorgeous custom SNES system. This year is also the 25th birthday of Super Mario W
November2015
News Music Producer Hardwell to Perform a Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remix at The Game Awards
"There are similarities between dance music and video games"
The Game Awards are coming up this week, and in addition to world premieres - of which we're hoping there'll be some for Nintendo fans to enjoy - there'll be the actual giving of awards and some musical performances. Prior to now both CHVRCHES and deadmau5 have been confirmed, and now we...
News Shigesato Itoi on the Mother Series' Popularity, Denies Mother 4
Apparently, making Mother 4 would be like running a marathon with no breath
The Mother series is perhaps most notable for breaking from JRPG tradition by telling a tale led by children in the modern day. The quirky humor present is an additional bonus, setting the whole experience in a rather bizarre and somewhat dry tone. At any rate, there are...
News This Limited Edition Luigi's Mansion Game Boy Horror Has Been Reanimated For A Good Cause
"Hello...?"
If you're a fan of collectable custom hardware and like the idea of helping a worthy cause, then you might be interested in purchasing one of ten limited edition "Game Boy Horror" handhelds from 8-Bit Evolution - the same talented people who created the fantastic Smash Bros. N64 we featured a while back. Mimicking the handhe
Review The Adventures of Bayou Billy (Wii U eShop / NES)
Billy's swampland slog
In 2014 Nintendo suddenly realised that it could recreate the experience of a light gun game by using the pointer controls of the Wii Remote. Duck Hunt arrived on the Wii U eShop that Christmas and a few other NES Zapper games have followed since. Now we have Konami's The Adventures of Bayou Billy, although it should be noted...
Video Did You Know Gaming? Covers Golden Sun
Still waiting on part 4, Camelot
As a few of you are likely aware, Nintendo has a small JRPG franchise called Golden Sun that's actually pretty good. It's developed by Camelot, a studio that also works with Mario sports spinoffs. Though there's only three entries in Golden Sun (technically two, due to how the first two were initially one game), the...
News 8 Bit Music Power is a New Famicom Release, Due Out 31st January
The first release in 21 years
The Famicom was a trailblazing console in many ways, virtually paving the way for a successful game industry after many thought it would fade away. Nonetheless, the console is a product of the early 80's and has since been succeeded by numerous consoles that have gone on to achieve bigger and better things. Although the...
Weirdness Someone Has Created A Real-World HUD For Super Mario 64
Just because they can
The rebirth of Virtual Reality in the games industry is blurring the lines between the real world and fantasy, offering an immersive experience which - as time goes on - could become indistinguishable from reality. But that's not the only way that video games and real-life can mix with one another - electronics hacker James...
Video This Is What An All-3D Version Of Chrono Trigger Could Look Like
Fan-made in Unreal Engine 4
Chrono Trigger is one of the most beloved RPGs of all time, but aside from DS and smartphone re-releases, Square Enix has been curiously reluctant to leverage the popularity of the game. The prospect of a totally remastered edition of the time-travelling fantasy epic will have most fans drooling with anticipation, and...
Review Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Waka-waka, or just plain wak?
If you were to download recent Virtual Console release Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures to your Wii U with no prior knowledge of what to expect, you'd be forgiven for anticipating a spot of maze-based pill-munching entertainment. In reality, this 'sequel' to arcade classic Pac-Man is a bizarre take on the point-and-click...
Video Hands On With The Revo K101 Plus, The Ultimate Game Boy Advance Clone
Clone in the dark
Veteran members of the site may recall that we reviewed the Revo K101 Plus a few months back, and found it to be an excellent means of playing old and dusty Game Boy Advance software on more recent hardware. The system has been tinkered with and improved of late, with better controls and a fancy new transparent case design - so we...
News The NES Joins The High Definition Era With This Awesome HDMI Mod
Back to the future
A HDMI mod is already in the works for the N64, and allows you to get the best possible picture out of the vintage system. However, that's not the only modification which brings retro hardware bang up to date - there's a similar mod available for the older NES which performs the same trick. Available via Game-Tech, the Hi-Def NES...
"Oh, what, Mega Man 3's out? Yeah, we don't have that one yet."
Before the internet came along and made sure that every possible hint, tip and cheat was just a Google search away, players relied on magazines and telephone lines for their gaming wisdom. In North America, Nintendo's Powerline game play counselors became almost God-like thanks to their...
News The Super Famicom is 25 Years Old
16-bit beauty
The 21st of November, 1990, was a day of commotion in parts of Japan; namely those that were around electronics shops. This was the day Nintendo launched the Super Famicom, a 16-bit system that has since found its place within gaming history and atop many's lists of greatest consoles. Only two games launched with the Super Famicom,...
Retro Classic NES, SNES And N64 Controllers Get Stripped Down For Inspection
The evolution of play
Nintendo's story could be seen as the story of the games industry as a whole, certainly from an interface perspective. The company's NES console introduced domestic players to the D-Pad (first used on the 1982 Game & Watch Donkey Kong) and more than one action button, while the SNES a
Video Remembering Bubsy The Bobcat, The 16-bit Mascot Nobody Asked For
"What could possibly go wrong?"
Remember Aero the Acrobat? Awesome Possum? How about Wonderdog? The 16-bit era was flooded with such me-too mascots from a wide range of publishers, largely spurred on by the incredible success of Sonic and Mario. As is the case when a single idea takes over the market, there simply wasn't enough of an audience to...
Art If Nintendo Did Resurrect The Game Boy, We'd Want It To Look Like This
Past and present
The Game Boy line may be effectively retired in Nintendo's eyes, but the name itself still carries a lot of weight with gamers all over the world - including German designer Florian Renner, who has put together a cool concept which resurrects the classic brand for the modern era. The Game Boy 1up is of course nothing more than a fe
Review The Mysterious Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (DSiWare)
"Cor blimey, gu'vnor"
The Mysterious Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde takes us right back to a London morning in 1886. A body is discovered – a wealthy man who was highly regarded by everyone. Why was he murdered? How? What is going to happen next? Your job is to step into the shoes of an inspector, looking for clues and talking to important...
Hardware Review Gamepad Digital GPD XD
That design reminds us of something
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but when you're creating mass-market electronic devices, slavishly cloning the work of others usually lands you in costly lawsuit - just ask Samsung and Apple. However, there are a multitude of hardware makers working out of China which are small enough to operate...
Video Learn a Little More About Chrono Trigger
Courtesy of Did You Know Gaming?
When any conversation turns to the 16-bit era and classic RPGs, Chrono Trigger naturally gets mentioned. It's a stone-cold classic, undoubtedly, and turned 20 years old this year. As a fondly regarded SNES title - which also had a DS release - it's now been given the treatment by Did You Know Gaming?, the YouTube...
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