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But would it be playable?

It's a favourite hobby of some gamers to fantasize over "what ifs"; maybe "what if Mario had worn green and been the easily frightened taller brother?" Or "what if Mega Man had been a middle aged man with a pistol, like on the box art?" Another may well be, what if Sonic the Hedgehog wasn't a 2D platformer, but a...

Industry veteran speaks exclusively to Nintendo Life

Codemasters is one of the UK's long-running video game studios and was founded by brothers David and Richard Darling way back in 1986. Although both have since parted company with the firm, they've left an incredible legacy which covers a variety of platforms, including the 8-bit Nintendo...

The mind boggles

Some YouTube videos dedicated to Nintendo games and franchises cross the boundary from happy enthusiast's amateur efforts to downright impressive, professional-level work. This stop-motion Donkey Kong video certainly fits in the latter category, with a lot of skill and hours no doubt needed to put it all together. We're not sure...

All those hours on Rad Racer might come in handy after all

Security experts Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek have demonstrated a method which allows hackers to control a car using a laptop and NES joypad. The pair have created a system which enables them to connect to a car's electronic control unit (ECU) via the on-board diagnostics port and...

"I couldn't even beat Glass f****** Joe"

While some games, particularly in the '80s and '90s, proudly showed off a celebrity likeness or name to sell copies, that doesn't mean that those famous people even liked those games. In the case of Mike Tyson, he was so hopeless at his own part of NES history that it seems irrelevant whether he actually...

The impossible level

While some fan culture based on Nintendo is relatively light-hearted, full of parody or off-the-cuff, there are examples where artistic skill is employed to be both serious and irreverent at once. We think this may be a rather good example of that. YouTube group AweMeChannel has produced a video inspired by the work of...

"It’s really a glass half full kind of game"

With EarthBound's arrival on the Wii U Virtual Console last week, many gamers can finally gain an insight into why the SNES title has accumulated such a vocal fan-base, despite its modest Western sales — it didn't even reach Europe — when it was originally released. It's a game lauded for its...

Fit for Commander Bond himself

N64 classic GoldenEye 007 is responsible for stealing away countless hours of our time here at the Nintendo Life office — we still crack out the dusty old console from time to time to indulge in a spot of remote mine-related tomfoolery. Bearing that in mind, you can imagine how pleased we were to see that some...

"Different games will be offered at different prices"

As you're probably aware, EarthBound hit the Wii U Virtual Console last week. This SNES classic was one of the most-requested titles during the Wii era, and many believed it would never see the light of day in the west. Thankfully Nintendo surprised us all, and not only that, they produced a...

"We purely didn’t have the opportunity"

The upcoming 3DS release of Super Smash Bros. has — despite its HD brethren being lined up for Wii U — been attracting plenty of attention. Not only does it mean that the latest entry in the hugely attractive franchise will be available to owners of both of Nintendo's current gaming systems, but it'll...

Tom feels that enjoying both retro and modern games is vital

This week we've published a few features to celebrate the Famicom's 30th Anniversary. It's an extraordinary landmark, particularly because so many games from the 8-bit machine are still treasured to this day, many of which are deserving because they're enormous fun. I think there's...

Oh, the memories

This week we've written some features and re-published some select reviews to celebrate the Famicom's 30th Anniversary, this particular landmark reflecting the Japanese release of the iconic original design. Naturally, not many of us in the Nintendo Life team have played that original system, but we have all indulged in the NES in...

Heart-warming and awesome

While many of us may be lucky enough to have all of the entertainment we want right at our fingertips, what do you do when you have to make your own fun? You could inadvertently dabble in 2D platform design, for one. Reddit user Juankestein has posted images of a paper "Game Boy" that he made when he was nine years old...

Some "pretty big surprises" in store for Pirate's Curse this Fall

With the release of Shantae (originally a Game Boy Color title) this week we touched base with WayForward's Creative Director and founding member, Matt Bozon, and he kindly agreed to a quick-fire interview before he jetted off to Comic-Con. This is a series that, despite being just...

As Nintendo's iconic console turns 30, we chart the rise of a legend

Nintendo may be a company with a history that stretches back over a hundred years, but it has only enjoyed its current level of fame for the past thirty or so — and that’s largely thanks to a remarkable 8-bit console which launched in its native Japan three decades ago this...

Solid building blocks

We recently shared the landmark news that the Famicom has celebrated its 30th Anniversary, having launched in Japan on 15th July 1983, over two years before the NES made its way West. The latter version is that best known and most commonly cited, yet it was the original model's release — Nintendo's first dalliance with a...

130,000 were watching

While the EVO tournament is always a popular event, the issues surrounding the inclusion of Super Smash Bros. Melee grabbed a lot of headlines. The Nintendo legal team denied permission for the game to be live streamed, and then Nintendo of America rapidly retracted that decision, so that the brawler's contest could go ahead...

Is a new game on the way?

Capcom is rolling like a tank at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, and will showcase a wide range of its forthcoming titles — including Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies and DuckTales Remastered. However, it's the tantalising promise of fresh information regarding Mega Man's 25th Anniversary that caught our...

The system that started it all

At the time of writing it may still be 14th July in many countries, but it's 15th July in Japan — that means that the Famicom has now turned 30 years old in its homeland. It would eventually make its way to the West, redesigned, as the iconic NES. Of course, Nintendo had been a Playing Card company in its earliest...

The N64 launch title which soared to new heights

In recent years Nintendo has made a habit of aligning itself with external studios in order to complete notable projects. We've seen fruitful unions with the likes of Sega (F-Zero GX), Capcom (The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap) and more recently Team Ninja (Metroid: Other M), Next Level Games (

Quite a lot, if you're fussy like us

The latest major 3DS release to hit Europe is Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Bros., except in our review we took to calling it by its North American name, just plain-old Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. It arrives Stateside around a month after Europe, but the shorter title seems like a better fit; that "Bros."...

Pick me!

Pokémon is a gaming culture phenomenon, with legions of fans that can readily recite 'mon names and abilities without a pause for breath. For newcomers or those that haven't been there and seen it all, however, picking a starter 'mon can be a tough call. Sure, they're different types and have varying strengths and weaknesses, but how do...

The little peripheral that shook things up in a big way

Nintendo has always been a video game manufacturer renowned for innovation. From revitalising the video game console industry with the NES back in 1985 right through to opening it up to the mainstream with its Wii and DS systems in the mid-2000s, the Japanese company has continued to have a...

It wasn't just the stream

We know that Nintendo, in recent months, has been attempting to assert greater control over its image and any representation of its IPs. It started claiming the advert money from monetized videos featuring its properties on YouTube, before subsequently backing down in some cases; it wouldn't be surprising if this was due...