Retro News
March2021
Feature Playing With Power: The Nintendo Story Is A Fun Documentary With Some Critical Flaws
An entertaining mini-series that misses some key beats
"When you think of video games, the very first thing that comes to your mind is Nintendo." Minutes in, Tommy Tallarico sums it up perfectly. Anyone who’s ever heard relatives calling a random console "The Nintendo" can attest to this statement. Nintendo’s history is well recorded but, for...
News Store Your SNES Games In Style With These Rather Fetching Book-Like Cases
"No more shoeboxes or shady repros"
Ah, the SNES. What a machine, eh? Home to some of the greatest video games of all time, this legendary 16-bit console still gets plenty of action in the Nintendo Life office – but, after more than 30 years, we have to admit that many of the games we load up are loose carts, largely because SNES software...
Video We Take A Look At The Hidden Mario Golf Game That Didn't Star Mario
Does Mario Golf need Mario to be good?
Camelot Software Planning has been in the business for decades. Initially known as Sonic! Software Planning, it delivered the seminal Shining Force series. The company would later split from Sega and land a deal with Sony to develop the very first Everybody's Golf. With both sports and RPGs under its hat,...
February2021
Feature After Fire Emblem And Famicom Detective Club, What Comes Next From Nintendo's Vault?
Raiders Of The Lost Games
Between the eclectic selection of NES and SNES games served up as part of everyone’s Nintendo Switch Online subscription, Fire Emblem's long-awaited (if time-limited) English language release thirty years after its Japanese debut, and the upcoming remake of their Disc System adventure game Famicom Detective Club, it
Feature Hyperkin Explains How The RetroN Sq Is Bringing The Game Boy To Your Living Room
Update: Pre-orders go live on Amazon
Update: Pre-orders are now available! Original Story [Wed 22nd Jan, 2020 14:00 GMT]: Hyperkin has been one of the biggest names in 'new' retro products for quite some time now, thanks to products like the RetroN 5 and Supa Boy. The company is back with a new device – the
Random This Unused DS Lite Feature Would've Effectively Turned The Console Into A Switch
Nintendo may have been planning the hybrid concept for over a decade
The Nintendo DS Lite was a necessary refinement back in 2006. Contributing to around 94 million of the DS family's 154 million sales, this slimline variant proved highly successful, but 15 years later, we didn't expect to still be finding out about unused features. Outlined by the...
News Analogue Explains How It's Going To Deal With Scalping Amid Concerns Over Pocket Pre-Orders
"We have taken careful action to address bots"
Thanks to the current pandemic, more of us are relying on online retailers than ever, and whilst we can't always use traditional retailers, scalping has gotten worse. Between recent drama surrounding the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S launches,
Random Talented Hacker Bumps The Frame Rate Of SNES Race Drivin' From 4fps To 30
A significantly improved experience
Race Drivin' is considered an arcade classic in some quarters, which made its SNES port extremely disappointing back in 1992. Offering a meagre 4 frames-per-second, that edition was widely slated, but now, one software engineer has reverse-engineered it to run at a significantly enhanced 30fps. This comes from...
Feature 8 NES Games That Were Better On Famicom Disk System
Saves + Synth > Passwords
The Famicom Disk System (or the Family Computer Disk System to give its full title) released in Japan — and Japan only — on 21st February 1986. This Famicom add-on came with a wave of new games on bespoke Nintendo-branded floppy discs which had several advantages over cartridges at the time, plus one or two drawbacks...
Feature The Legend Of Zelda Is The Robinson Crusoe Of Video Games
We start our 35th anniversary feature series at the beginning... and the end?
To celebrate the 35th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda, we're running a series of features looking at a specific aspect — a theme, character, mechanic, location, memory or something else entirely — from each of the mainline Zelda games. Today, Alan looks back at the...
News Controversial Rising Sun Design Removed From Street Fighter II's Re-Release
E. Honda's bathhouse gets a new look
Capcom Arcade Stadium came to Switch yesterday, and people are already finding new secrets and updates in the various arcade games within. In the latest discovery, Twitter user @pomegd (h/t Kotaku) noticed that part of the E. Honda bathhouse stage has been removed for the
Mini Review Prehistorik Man (SNES) - The Stone-Age Platformer That Time Forgot
You're in real Barney Rubble now
For a brief, shining period, the video game industry seemed to become obsessed with cavemen. We’re not sure why this is – the Flintstones remake can’t have accounted for all of it. Bonk’s Adventure, Caveman Games, BC Racers, Joe & Mac, Bignose the Caveman and more absolutely flooded the market with...
Mini Review Fire 'N Ice (NES) - A Fine Puzzler That's Worthy Of Rediscovery On Switch
I've got the (Solomon's) key, I've got the secret
Sokoban, initially released in 1982 for Japanese home computers, is the first “block-pushing” puzzle game that challenged players to move around boxes to accomplish some kind of goal. Of the numerous similar games it inspired, one of the most popular was Tecmo’s Solomon’s Key, released for...
Mini Review Doomsday Warrior (SNES) - A Street Fighter II Clone That's Doomed From The Start
Welcome to your doom
The Super Famicom port of Street Fighter II was released in June 1992. Telenet’s Doomsday Warrior then hit the market later that year in November. It’s unknown how long it was in development, but based on the final product, one could easily surmise that it was slapped together as quickly as possible to capitalize on the...
Review Psycho Dream (SNES) - The Flawed Yet Fascinating Cult Classic Finally Comes To The West
Import Inception
To best understand Psycho Dream – which has finally come to the west thanks to its addition to the Nintendo Switch Online SNES line-up – you first need to understand Nihon Telenet. It was a prolific company throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, and while its games often had some interesting concepts (and some legitimately...
News UK Magazine Retro Gamer Is Celebrating Capcom's Legacy With Eight Collectable Covers
Final Fight! Strider! Street Fighter II!
UK magazine Retro Gamer is no stranger to amazing cover artwork, and regularly offers an exclusive "subscriber" cover each month which has different imagery to the one which is sold in newsagents. However, the magazine is doing something a little different this month; issue 217 will offer eight (count 'em)...
News Irem's SNES Brawler Undercover Cops Is Getting A New Physical Release
And it comes with loads of goodies, too
One of Irem's 1990s classics is getting a fresh physical release this year, thanks to American company Retro-Bit. Undercover Cops originally launched in arcades in 1992, and built upon the legacy of Kung-Fu Master, which Irem had released way back in 1984. Set in a post-apocalyptic 2043, it's a...
Thanks to the legendary Dale Baer
A classic '90s commercial for Nintendo has surfaced online, giving us an insight into how the company won the hearts, minds and wallets of an entire generation of players. The commercial was issued by Roses Discount Stores for its "World of Nintendo" range, which not only included video games but a whole host of...
Guide How To Spot Fake Nintendo Video Games
Keepin' it real fake
Bootleg video games have been plaguing the industry for a while, but as time goes on it's become increasingly difficult to tell the difference between an official cartridge released by Nintendo and a fake. Take these copies of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen on Game Boy Advance. To the naked eye, they look strikingly authentic,...
Feature Five SNK Neo Geo Pocket Games We Want To See On Switch
More than a fighting chance
With excellent ports of Fatal Fury First Contact, King of Fighters R-2, Samurai Shodown! 2, Gals' Fighters and The Last Blade soon to be joined by the magnificent
Hardware The Retro-Bit Prism HD Review - Another Great GameCube HDMI Adapter
With an added bonus...
HDMI output on the GameCube has been around for a while. Back in 2018, we got the rather rough-and-ready GC Video Plug 'n Play 3.0, which did the job but came in a rather ugly 3D-printed case. Shortly afterwards there came the EON GCHD adapter (and, not long afterwards, its
News Konami Shmup Thunder Cross Joins The Arcade Archives This Week
Take to the skies
This week's Arcade Archives release is the 1988 Konami side-scrolling shoot 'em up, Thunder Cross. As the player, you'll take control of the "Blue Thunder M-45" and fight against the Mechanikon hordes. Multiple versions of the game are in this release - including the "Old Japanese Version" and the "New Japanese Version" - both...
News The Konami Code Unlocks A Hidden Castlevania Tribute In Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night
Taking us back to 1986
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has witnessed significant post-launch support since arriving in 2019. It's most recent update was rather hefty, bringing us a crossover with Kingdom: Two Crowns alongside Classic Mode, the latter featuring an 8-bit retro aesthetic
News Former Nintendo Employee Howard Phillips Is Launching A "Tell-All" Book About The Company
And "Brawl In The Family" artist Matthew Taranto is involved, too
Retro fans will likely remember Howard "Gamemaster" Phillips. Having worked for Nintendo of America between 1981-1991, he became their spokesperson and was widely known for his vast knowledge of NES games. Now, he's back with a new book, launching Gamemaster Classified: An Insider's...
Random No, This Isn't A New Colour Of Famicom - It's Just Really Dirty
The years have not been kind to these bits of plastic
This image could be a PSA warning about the dangers of smoking... at least when it comes to your consoles. In a tweet by @arare_wansaka, these two consoles - a Famicom and a Super Famicom - look like a rare colour variant, with the more common white, grey, and red plastic replaced with a sexy...
Random Super Mario 64 Gets A Ray Tracing Makeover Thanks To Fan Mod
Fan support continues on
You may recall that before Super Mario 3D All-Stars was formally announced, Super Mario 64's source code was reverse engineered and released on PC. Offering greater modding possibilities than emulation for the platforming classic, naturally, Nintendo tried shutting this down.
News Street Fighter II Turned 30 At The Weekend
Go home and be a middle-aged family man
Capcom's seminal Street Fighter II turned 30 last weekend – a fact that makes us feel very, very old indeed. Originally launched in arcades on February 6th, 1991, the game triggered a flood of imitators throughout the early part of the decade, and spawned several 'update' variants in the form of Street...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel #77 - Super Mario 64 DS
Where's my DS wrist strap thumb nub thing?
Welcome back to Box Art Brawl, our poll series to find out which of two or more regional retro box art variants is the most pleasing to our modern sensibilities. Last time we observed SNES brawler Final Fight 3 as it engaged in a fierce duel between East and West. It seems that ganging up was a smart plan...
News New Windjammers 2 Trailer Reveals Arcade Mode And The Return Of Steve Miller
Steve, darling, aren't you a bit old for frisbee
Following the slightly disappointing news that Windjammers 2 was delayed to 2021, we're getting a ton of news, new trailers, and even a demo on Steam, which makes us think that maybe the frisbee-throwing game isn't as far off as we thought. This latest trailer reveals the addition of Arcade Mode, in...
Gallery Geeks Line's NES/Famicom Anthology Is The Most Exhaustive Look At The Console Yet
No stone left unturned
French publisher Geeks Line is no stranger to a good book – it has already given us the superb N64, SNES and GameCube anthologies – and it's rounding off this Nintendo-themed selection with an exhaustive look at the machine that started it all, the NES (or Famicom if you're of the Japanese persuasion). Penned by Math...
Random Dataminers Use Original Uncompressed Samples To Restore Super Mario World's Soundtrack
And it sounds glorious!
The Super Nintendo game Super Mario World is already amazing, but what might have changed if there were no file size limitations back then? For starters, the iconic music might have been even better. The truth is, we've been listening to "heavily compressed" music in this game for many years now. Today, though, we can...
Gügle Legend
Game developers are notoriously bad at archiving. In fact, Kotaku wrote a whole piece about how some games are in danger of disappearing forever, partly because of just how bad game developers are at archiving. Nintendo loses code. Floppy disks decay and crumble. Long-lost prototypes lie in dusty drawers of filing cabinets sent to...
Random These 3D-Printed Stands Allow The GameCube To Be Treated As The Work Of Art It Is
We're absolutely here for this
We know the GameCube didn't get the love it deserved when released, and these days, many players going back to Nintendo's older library use their Nintendo Wii instead. Criticised for being "gimmicky" due to its shape, we'd argue the GameCube's appearance is nothing short of high art. So, if we may offer a suggestion,...
News Jaleco's Ninja Kazan Is This Week's Arcade Archives Release
Become a "master of the ninja arts"
Hamster is bringing some old-school ninja action to the Switch eShop this week, with its Arcade Archives release Ninja Kazan. This side-scrolling action game was originally released by Jaleco in 1988 and requires the player to set out on a journey across the world and reclaim the 5 lost secrets, in order to...
News Narita Boy Is A Neo-Retro Homage To The '80s, Coming To Switch This Spring
Grab your Betamax tapes and boot up your Sega Mega Drives
If Ready Player One left you craving more of that shameless '80s nostalgia, then Narita Boy is probably right up your alley. With elements of Tron, Star Wars, and various retro consoles sprinkled throughout its pixel art graphics, Narita Boy is bound to tickle that memory gland of yours in...
News NES DuckTales Originally Had An Option For Scrooge To Give Up His Fortune
"I love that fans found out about the original ending"
It's been quite the week for retro discoveries. Alongside GoldenEye 007's cancelled remake resurfacing online, DuckTales has been in the news after an unearthed prototype build made its way online, revealing a previously unreleased song called "Map". As it turns o
Video 5 Special Wii U Virtual Console Games Not on Switch
These games went above and beyond simple preservation
For years the Virtual Console allowed us to relive our fondest memories in gaming. Being able to download The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and play it in its original untouched state held a tremendous amount of value...but sometimes the service went above and beyond. Did you know Super Mario...
News DuckTales NES Prototype Unearthed, Features An Unused Song
That's no moon (theme)...
Capcom brought us a remastered edition of DuckTales several years back, but we still hold a lot of love for the original NES version. Offering us a unqiue platforming adventure, DuckTales was widely noted for its excellent soundtrack – the Moon Theme most prominently – though it only featured a dozen tracks. Within the...
News Remember The Brawler64 Controller? It's Now Available Without A Wire
And in four colours
When we reviewed the Retro Fighters Brawler64 controller for the N64 back in 2019, we came away suitably impressed. Described as a "next-generation" N64 pad replacement, it's comfortable to use and very responsive. While it has serious competition in the form of the Tribute64, it's still an excellent option for th
News Here's Why The Cover To F-Zero Is So Special
Well, the Japanese one, at least
F-Zero may not be on Nintendo's radar at present, but it's a series which is close to the heart of many a Nintendo fan – and part of its appeal is the colourful cast of comic book characters which have populated the franchise since it made its debut on the Super Famicom / SNES way back in November 1990. Takaya...
News Pixel FX's N64Digital Promises "Crystal-Clear HDMI Video" For Your Nintendo 64
New device offers lag-free HDMI output up to 1080p
Much as we love the Nintendo 64, it's a known issue that HD TVs don't always play nice with our favourite 24-year-old console. When plugged into newer units, the N64's composite and S-Video outputs look washed out, meaning you'll need an HDMI upscaler to make them playable. Pixel FX is the latest...
January2021
Quiz Can You Name All This Nintendo Hardware?
Zoom, just one look
In the last four decades, Nintendo has produced some of the most ubiquitous and iconic video game hardware and peripherals on the planet. Even if you don't have a stash of retro consoles and peripheral goodies tucked away somewhere, Nintendo's range of home and handheld consoles and the games and accessories that went along with...
News The NES Is Getting A New Game That's All About Putting Out Fires
Flame on
Karu_gamo, the developer behind Japanese cult classics Protect Me Knight, Gotta Protectors and Amazon's Running Diet, is bringing a new game to the NES / Famicom. Blazing Rang
Random Twitch Streamer Takes On Super Mario World Using Voice Commands Only
And things get tense
We've all seen bizarre gaming setups streamed online before – like that time someone played Super Smash Bros. Ultimate using a bunch of bananas as a controller, or Cadence of Hyrule being played on a dance mat – and the latest effort to catch our eye takes us back to the wonderous levels found within Super Mario W
News Scrolling Shooter Halley's Comet Is Hamster's Latest Arcade Archives Release
Save the solar system
Hamster's latest Arcade Archives release on the Switch eShop this week is Halley's Comet. This vertically scrolling shooter was originally released in arcades in 1986 by Taito. The Switch eShop release will set you back $7.99 or your regional equivalent. Here's a bit about the game along with some screenshots: "HALLEY'S...
News Mega Man Historians Just Bought A Load Of Unreleased Mega Man Art From The '90s
And they're going to upload it all to the internet for free!
Back on the 5th January, a Twitter user and self-proclaimed "unofficial Mega Man brand ambassador" named Brian put out a call for donations. He wasn't raising money for a medical procedure or a political campaign, though - he wanted to buy a "rare and unusual piece of Mega Man animation...
Random Someone's Made A Fully-Functioning Game Playable On The Game Boy Camera
'Attack of the Fluff Monster'
The Game Boy Camera is a surprisingly cool piece of kit – did you know that you can use it as a webcam or that it can be used to photograph the moon? – but we didn't ever think we'd see a fully-functioning, fan-made game playable on the Camera's software itself. Amazingly, though, that
News It's A Real Shame This "Lemon Yellow" Game Boy Advance Was Never Released
And it was all yellow
Many of us remember the bright yellow Game Boy Color units. It's a good colour choice, but we never saw an official lemon yellow unit for the original Game Boy Advance – however, a new prototype unit has been uncovered with that exact colour scheme. This reveal comes via Developer Jeff on Twitter, who often showcases...
News New Letter Details Why Donkey Kong 64's Innovative "Stop 'N' Swop" Feature Was Removed
"We must ask that you remove this feature"
Stop 'N' Swop was undoubtedly one of the N64's biggest mysteries, and even now, we're still learning new things about it decades later. With six coloured eggs and an ice key scattered across Banjo-Kazooie, it was designed as a means of unlocking special content in the sequel, Banjo-Tooie. It was never used...
Video 7 Legacy Sonic Games That Were Never Rereleased
When you run fast sometimes you outrun a second chance
There was a time where Sega made a significant effort to preserve their legacy titles which would allowed new fans to experience games even if they're predate by them. Fast forward to modern day and the company only seems interested in rereleasing Sonic 1 & 2 on every platform imaginable...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel #76 - Final Fight 3
'Final' my foot!
Welcome once again to Box Art Brawl, our contest to find out which retro gaming cover is best from two or more global variants of the same game. Last time we enjoyed the silence of Resident Evil: Deadly Silence on the fifteenth anniversary of the DS port. Japan took just over one third of the vote — and Europe grabbed almost a...
Video Ever Wondered What It Was Like To Work At Nintendo In 1990? Here's A Look
"It's a lot of fun"
A rare look at Nintendo of America in 1990 was recently uploaded to YouTube by the channel 'btm0815ma'. This "raw" footage was filmed at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington as part of a news report. Apart from a look at the assembly of NES, there's an interview where one guy says it's a fun place to work and even a look at...
Video 27 Years Later, Early Donkey Kong Country Concept Sketches Are Revealed To The World
Rambi, Kremlings, and other characters also shown
Back in the '90s, Rare had quite a reputation for being secretive about its internal practices. Though it has opened up significantly since being acquired by Microsoft, it's one of the reasons why we get interesting stories still
News Early Build Of Zelda 64 Discovered Inside F-Zero X Development Cartridge
A truly amazing find!
If you're fascinated with pre-release builds of classic games like Zelda: Ocarina of Time, then it might be worth reading on... An early beta build of Link's iconic action-adventure title from the Nintendo 64 generation has been discovered. It's believed to possibly pre-date Space World '97 and was actually found on a...
Video We "Opened" An Original Nintendo Game Boy From 1989
Off the shelf, 30 years later
Unboxing something old brand new in box is something many of us dream of. Well, that's why our very own Zion leapt at the opportunity to buy a "sealed" original DMG Game Boy for, in his words, too much money. The problem arises when you learn that there was no one reliable method of 'sealing' an original Game Boy; some...
News The Artists Behind Streets Of Rage 4 Show Off What Garou: Mark Of The Wolves 2 Could Look Like
Please, SNK, please
Lizardcube – the French studio which worked on both the Wonder Boy: Dragon's Trap remake and Streets of Rage 4 – has an uncanny talent for making classic games really sing in HD, and two of its artists, Ben Fiquet and Julian Nguyen-You, have spent a little time imagining what a sequel to SNK's classic Garou: Mark of the...
News The Game Boy Lives On Once More As The Shapeshifter Closes In On Kickstarter Target
NES port listed as stretch goal
Kickstarter has brought us some of the current generation's more interesting experiences. From spiritual successors like Yooka-Laylee to original hits like CrossCode, many projects have tapped into our nostalgia for retro gaming – though not always for the better. Bringing us an 8-bit fantasy adventure, The...
Poll Box Art Brawl #75 - Resident Evil: Deadly Silence
Damn Straight
Welcome back to Box Art Brawl, our regular poll to find out which region got the best cover art for a particular retro release. Last time, we looked at Capcom's DS gem Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective in honour of its 10th anniversary (in the West). The North American cover stormed it with over 60% of the vote, leaving Japan with a...
Random This Zoomed-Out Speedrun Of Snake Rattle 'N' Roll Shows Cool Behind-The-Scenes Secrets
A Rare pleasure
We've all played classic NES platformer Snake Rattle 'N' Roll, haven't we? Of course we have. But, just in case, here's some background. As one of the earliest games developed by Nintendo superstars (and makers of Banjo-Kazooie), Rare, Snake Rattle 'N' Roll is all about getting two snakes - named Rattle and Roll - to eat enough...
News The SNES Almost Got A Zelda-Style Back To The Future II RPG
Great Scott!
The Back To The Future movie franchise is one of Hollywood's most famous products of the '80s, and it should come as no surprise to find that it had its fair share of licenced video games. The original movie got a home computer adaptation in 1985 for the likes of the C64 and ZX Spectrum – as well as a later NES game in 1989 – and...
Gallery Check Out Bitmap Books' Game Boy: The Box Art Collection
We're game if you are
UK publisher Bitmap Books is famous for its high-quality tomes, and we've got an office packed with them here at Nintendo Life. The company has previously covered the likes of the SNES and NES, and even did a book dedicated to the amazing artwork seen on Super Famico
Poll Box Art Brawl #74 - Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Sissel: real
Welcome to the first 2021 edition of Box Art Brawl. This is our weekly-ish look at two or more retro gaming cover variants from around the globe, and we've got another three contenders lined up to duke it out for your vote. Last time, we took to the slopes for some festive 1080° Snowboarding on N64. Ultimately, it was North America...
Feature Ten Arcade Games We'd Love To See On Switch
Potentially portable ports
As we mentioned in our recent feature, the Switch's extensive and ever-growing list of retro arcade re-releases has given fans of this cozy niche plenty to celebrate — but there's always room for improvement, and there are plenty more arcade classics that haven't yet arrived on Switch (or any console, for that matter)...
News Top-Down Horror Adventure Deadeus Is Coming To Game Boy This Year
The handheld that keeps on giving
The Game Boy is truly the handheld which refuses to die. We've seen several new releases for the legendary portable crop up recently, and there's another on the way in the shape of Deadeus. Developed by independent studio -IZMA- and published by Spacebot Interactive (the latter also being involved with
Random Surely This Is The Smallest N64 Console Ever?
And yes, it uses real N64 internals
The N64 is a chunky monkey, of that there is little doubt. Compared to the sleek lines of its biggest rival, the Sony PlayStation, it looks positively bulky – which is perhaps why so many attempts have been made over the years to create portable versions of the legendary console which are a little less...
News How One Man Is Fixing The SNES' Biggest Weakness
Slowdown, be gone
The SNES is a legendary console, of that there can be absolutely no doubt. However, it did have one considerable weakness when compared to its main rival, the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis: the clock speed of its CPU. The Ricoh 5A22 which powers the console runs at 3.58 MHz, while Sega's 16-bit system has a Motorola 68000 running at...
News After 25 Years, A New Cheat Code Has Been Discovered For Street Fighter Alpha 2 On The SNES
You can finally play as Shin Akuma!
Street Fighter II is one of those games that will forever be linked with the SNES, thanks to the fact that Nintendo's 16-bit console was the first home system to get a port of the arcade sensation. Who knows how many gamers cut their teeth on this edition rather than the coin-op? It's a pretty legendary conversion...
Feature Banjo-Tooie Turns 20 - The Rare Team Tells The Story Of Bombs, Bugs And Bottles
"Bottles got what was coming to him"
Nowadays, there's nary a game that doesn't finish with a post-credits tease to tee up a sequel or spin-off. There's always a tantalisingly loose thread or Easter Egg hidden in the DLC hinting at a further instalment. It would be a very bold move, though, to name your sequel and directly reference it in a game...
Feature Switch Puts The Arcade Of Your Dreams In The Palm Of Your Hand
Insert coin?
The Switch can be anything anyone wants it to be. It has all the big Nintendo-magic hits you could hope for from the Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon series (we all continue to mourn the extended hibernation of Metroid and F-Zero), a slew of high profile cross-platform gems old and new to suit any budget and taste, and even quirky not-games...
Feature How Nintendo's Game & Watch Took "Withered Technology" And Turned It Into A Million-Seller
We take a look at the LCD range that sparked a portable revolution
This legacy feature was originally published in 2010 and revisited in September 2020 when Nintendo celebrated Mario's 35th birthday with a wide range of products, including the brand-new Game & Watch handheld based on the iconic LCD range from the '80s. Enjoy! When you look...
Feature How Nintendo, Pokémon And Japanese Culture Shaped Global Tastes Through Pure Invention
Author and translator Matt Alt discusses his recent book
The Back to the Future movies might be best known for their seat-of-your-pants time-hopping sense of adventure, whip-smart structure and American nostalgia, but they also serve as a socio-economic lens on the time in which they were made. Marty McFly, for example, might not return to exactly...
December2020
Feature All Hail The Game Boy Micro, The Sexiest And Most Impractical Game Boy Ever
15 years of hand cramps
Before we dive in, let's begin with a few words on the topic at hand when it was raised in the Nintendo Life office: "Such a neat little machine." "I've always wanted one." "Somehow I ended up with two." "The most enjoyable way to get carpal tunnel." We were, of course, discussing the lovely Game Boy Micro. The diminutive...
Feature 1995's Nintendo Was Arrogant And Ahead Of Its Time All At Once
"Nintendo does not have any rivals"
25 years ago, Nintendo was at something of a crossroads. 1995 saw the company in a dominant position in its homeland, where the Super Famicom was still the most popular video game console with over 90 per cent of the domestic market. However, the launch of the 32-bit Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn at the...
Soapbox Mario And Zelda Were Great, But GoldenEye Really Switched Me On To Nintendo
It caught my 'Eye
These days, I'm very much living the Nintendo life, but rewind thirty years and I was a SEGA Mega Drive kid. I enjoyed Super Mario Bros. 3, Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers, Duck Hunt and of course the seminal Rareware classic, Battletoads & Double Dragon on my brother's NES, but given the choice between Mario or Sonic back then,...
Feature 10 Of The Most Blatant Snack Sponsorships In Retro Gaming History
Don't read this on an empty stomach
Last month the Philippines arm of KFC grabbed the headlines (well, our headlines at least) when it created its own KFC restaurant in Animal Crossing: New Horizons and invited its Twitter followers to visit its island, with the hope of finding Colonel Sanders and getting a voucher code for free chicken in real...
Feature 8 Games That Could Really Benefit From A Modern Remake On Switch
How about revisiting and repairing some flawed gems?
Ever since the rumour that several 3D Super Mario remasters may be coming to Switch, we've been champing at the bit to experience those classics again on Switch. Say what you like about Switch ports but if they're treated with the care and respect they deserve, we're all for bringing...
Feature The Unsung Genius Who Tempted Nintendo's President To Pick Up A Joypad
"He could see the Promised Land, but wasn't allowed to enter it"
The world of video games, like any other, is full of seemingly inconsequential moments which cause ripples that become shockwaves that can determine not just the course of a single company, but the entire industry. With Nintendo, there are numerous moments like this; Gunpei Yokoi's...
Feature Creating The Ultimate Game Boy
"I don't like anything less than perfect and I am always striving for that"
Nintendo's Game Boy family of consoles has, in total, sold around 200 million units during its lifespan, which stretched from the release of the original monochrome system in 1989 all the way up to 2005's Game Boy Micro, the final console to showcase the name. While...
Poll Box Art Brawl #73 - 1080° Snowboarding
What's the ALT key shortcut for degrees again?
Welcome to the Box Art Brawl, our weekly (well, most of the time) vote to decide which of two or more regional retro box art variants is the best. Last time, we sized up Tuff E Nuff, one of the latest additions to the Nintendo Switch Online SNES catalogue. The
Video Uncovering The WorkBoy - The Long Lost Nintendo Game Boy Add-On
"Found after 28 years"
Video game historian and Nintendo Life contributor Liam Robertson has uncovered the long-lost peripheral and unreleased device known as the WorkBoy. The WorkBoy - for those that don't know - was an add-on for the Game Boy that turned Nintendo's famous handheld device into a PDA - essentially a small personal computer...
Feature How Nintendo And A Band Of Teenage High Score Obsessives Created The Idea Of The Pro Gamer
Investigating Nintendo's surprising role in the birth of esports
Esports is old. Its origins stretch back to the very first days of video games as a medium. Was competitive gaming born with the invention of Tennis for Two in 1958, the very first video game? Or in 1972 when Rolling Stone hosted the first Space War! competition in a university...
Feature Perfect Dark Turns 20 - The Definitive Story Behind The N64 Hit That Outclassed James Bond
"We had a lot of ideas, and lots of clever people working out how to do them"
How do you follow GoldenEye 007? In the summer of 2000 – that's 20 years ago this month – Rare presented its answer: Perfect Dark, a sci-fi spy shooter centred around an alien conspiracy. It delivered a cool, competent heroine, a single-player campaign bursting with...
Feature The Game That Starred Mickey Mouse, Ghostbusters Or Garfield, Depending On Your Region
Navigating Kemco's Crazy Castle series
Three huge licences. One average game. Every weekend here at Nintendo Life we take a look at regional box art variants for retro video games and run a poll on which one is best. It's a fun, light-hearted exercise; really just an excuse to look at fantastic (and some not-so-fantastic) old-school cover art,...
Feature Nintendo Console Codenames And Product Codes
Do you know your DMGs from your DOLs?
If you happen to have any official Nintendo console or peripheral to hand, turn it over and hidden in the legalese and small print on the underside you'll find a code which typically begins with three letters. Flip over your Switch, for example, and you'll find the code HAC-001, with an extra (-01) if you've got...
Feature How Nintendo Killed The Best Version Of Tetris
"Heartbroken is a good summary"
Ed Logg knew a thing or two about lines. He’d co-created Asteroids at Atari, a game where players piloted a ship and blasted the eponymous space rocks into smaller and smaller bits. Released in 1979, Asteroids was in black and white, but the animation was slick and fluid thanks to vector graphics, a technique that...
Feature Now Is A Great Time To Support Your Local Retro Computer Museum
Preserve And Protect
In 2020, the majority of our interactions with video games is virtual – games are easily accessible and available online 24/7. However, there are plenty of people who have fond memories of the more physical side of games, whether that be browsing racks in dedicated video game shops, visiting sensory-overload arcades or getting...
Feature NES Creator Masayuki Uemura On Building The Console That Made Nintendo A Household Name
"Back then, we didn’t know if it was going to be popular or not"
There's no denying that the NES – or Famicom as it was known in its native Japan – is one of the most important pieces of video game hardware ever made. Not only did it turn Nintendo from an outsider player to industry leader, it laid down the foundations of an industry which...
News This New Game Boy Game Is 21 Years In The Making
All it took was a global pandemic to finish it
2020 has changed things for a lot of people. While the video game industry has generally done well out of the fact that everyone has had to remain indoors for most of the year, the coronavirus outbreak has had a massively negative effect on other business sectors, with many companies having to lay off...
Feature 10 Nintendo Games We'd Love To See Finally Come To The West
Nintendo games that never officially left Japan
These days there are very few first-party or Nintendo-published titles that don't get an international release, but back in the day it was common for games to remain in their Japanese homeland for months or even years, if they ever came overseas at all. No, we're not just talking about the countless...
Poll Box Art Brawl #72 - Tuff E Nuff
Had E Nuff yet?
Welcome all to the Box Art Brawl, our regular contest where we vote on regional cover art variants from the dim and distant past when you could only buy games in physical form. Last time, we observed an old-fashioned Pokémon battle with Pokémon Stadium 2 for the N64 in honour of its
Feature No Anime Please, We're Westerners - When Anime Was Taboo In Western Games
A time when anime and western games didn't mix
Japanese animation – or 'anime' as many call it – is huge business these days. While it is naturally most popular in its homeland, we've seen numerous anime properties cross over to the west and find the kind of success that is usually reserved for home-grown cartoons and media franchises. Series...
News Super Mario RPG Character Designer Shares Original Concept Art For Geno
To celebrate the return of his Mii Fighter costume in Smash
Geno, as you've likely heard by now, has returned to the Smash Bros. series once again as a Mii Fighter costume. It might not necessarily be the news every Geno fan wanted to hear, but hey - some acknowledgment is arguably better than nothing. To celebrate this special occasion, Super...
Random Watch Out Next-Gen, Real-Time Ray Tracing Is Now On The SNES
Well, with a little bit of extra help...
Ray tracing is more than a buzzword, it's actually a big deal for next-generation gaming. Although we likely won't be seeing it on a Nintendo platform any time soon, game developer and software engineer Ben Carter has at least found an unofficial way to get this rendering technique up and running on Super...
News Just When You Thought 2020 Couldn't Get Any Weirder, WaterMelon's Paprium Is Finally Finished
And now it wants you to buy its next game without even seeing it
Despite its rough edges, we're still fans of WaterMelon Games' faux-retro RPG Pier Solar here at Nintendo Life, having followed the development of the game from its release on the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive all the way up to its eventual launch on the Wii
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel #71 - Pokémon Stadium 2
Ho-Oh ho!
Welcome back to Box Art Brawl, the contest where we pit regional box art from around the globe against each other in a deadly fight for your vote. We exaggerate — it isn't deadly in any way, shape or form, it's just a box art poll. We love a bit of drama. Last time, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts fought a battle between East and West...
Feature Why Open A Video Game Shop During A Global Pandemic?
How one man is bucking the trend
2020 may have been a bumper year for video game sales, but it's impacted other businesses in a very negative way. Cinemas and restaurants have been forced to close to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and while video game sales have been buoyant thanks digital and online purchases, physical retail stores with no means...
News Yuzo Koshiro's Sumptuous ActRaiser Soundtrack Is Getting A Vinyl And CD Release
Includes previously unreleased tracks
The gorgeous soundtrack for Quintet's ActRaiser – one of the SNES' most unique and iconic third-party releases – is getting a special re-release on vinyl and CD, courtesy of Paris-based Wayô Records. Composed by the legendary Yuzo Koshiro, who has also created the music for Streets of Rage,
News Upcoming Documentary Seeks To Explore The Incredible Legacy Of Street Fighter II
Update: Kickstarter is now live
Update: The Kickstarter is now live, with a goal of £25,000. If you've got a spare £1,500, you can secure yourself an Executive Producer credit on the final film. For £500, an Associate Producer credit awaits – we imagine the £28 tier will be the most popular, which will get you a digital copy of the movie, its...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel #70 - Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts
Demon souls
Welcome back to Box Art Brawl, our regular vote to see which box art variant from around the globe wins your approval. Last time, we went all modern and looked at the two covers The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild received. We thought it would be a much closer contest than it was, but the result is crystal clear: North American and...
Poll Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & The Blade Of Light Is Out Today, Are You Getting It?
Experience a slice of Nintendo history
There are a lot of big releases this week, but one that stands out on the Nintendo front is Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light. Sure, it might not be a new release, but it is a slice of Nintendo history - marking the first time the 1990 8-bit Famicom title by Intelligent Systems has ever been...
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