News Reggie: N64 Classic Mini Is "Not In Our Planning Horizon", But Wouldn't Ever Rule It Out
NES and SNES were "limited time opportunities"
News EON Is Launching A Successor To Its Popular GameCube HD Adapter
And it's got the blessing of Smash champ Juan “Hungrybox” DeBiedma
News Brush Up On Your Gaming Music Knowledge With A Diggin' In The Carts Radio Marathon This Weekend
Final episode airs this week
Retro - News
February2015
News Speedrunner Unexpectedly Collects New Super Mario 64 World Record in Duel
Powered up
Super Mario 64 has long been a popular game for speedrunning, and the title has had many world records attached to its name. Another has just been added, and it was rather unexpected. On 26th February two speedrunners known as Nero and Puncayshun raced to see who could collect the game's 120 power stars first. Despite saving and quitting...
News Look On In Despair At The Hardest Super Mario World Level Ever Made
Three years in the making, and breaking
The ROM hack scene can be an endlessly entertaining place. Offering up creative, fan-made content, one can never really know what to expect from the community. More often than not, fans will create more challenging levels after completing a game in a quest for additional prestige and for a true test of skills...
Feature Say Hello To The CPS Changer, Capcom's First And Only Attempt At A Home Console
One of the most obscure systems ever made
Although today's gaming landscape is dominated by Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft, there have been plenty of other companies which have tried - or at least considered - producing their own gaming hardware in the past few decades. Nintendo's former rival Sega and industry trailblazer Atari are perhaps the most...
News Yes, People Are Still Making NES Games In 2015
Just because they can
The NES is one of the most iconic gaming systems of all time, but it hasn't been on Nintendo's radar - at least from a hardware perspective - for quite some time. That hasn't stopped homebrew developers from continuing to support the vintage console, and as a result 2015 will see the release of The Mad Wizard: A Candelabra...
News The Nintendo Game Plan - How the NES Slowly Won Over the USA
A Tale of Two Cities
Lots has been written on the video game crash of 1983; needless to say after events with Atari, North American retailers were left with their hands burnt, so launching a new console was a risky proposition. We recently took a look at the baby steps which Nintendo took at CES in 1984, which provided usefu
Weirdness Pokémon Fan Finds a Way to Trade First Generation Pocket Monsters With Himself
No retro-loving friends required
Most Pokémon fans have friends, but they may not have buddies that are still rocking a Game Boy, link cable and a copy of Pokémon Red and / or Blue. After all, millions of fans have moved on to online trading and match-ups in the latest 3DS releases. If you still like to go retro, though, a 'mon fan called Pepijn...
News Twitch Plays Pokémon Celebrates Anniversary With Return to Pokémon Red - Live!
Wants to catch 'em all
In early 2014 Twitch Plays Pokémon was a phenomenon, taking audience participations to new levels and attracting headlines from the mainstream media. It was a chaotic but oddly entrancing affair in which thousands of viewers would enter commands and attempt to beat Pokémon Red. It attracted tens of thousands of concurrent...
News Finally, Street Fighter II Has Been Ported To The Nintendo Virtual Boy
Because, why not?
Street Fighter II was massive back in the day. After launching on the SNES it would be ported to practically every other games machine on the face of the planet, including the monochrome Game Boy. One format that didn't get it was the ill-fated Virtual Boy - understandable when you consider how much of a commercial bomb it was -...
News Nintendo Quest Scores More than $40,000 at Kickstarter's End
NES game stretch goal achieved
In a digital era of eShoppery and Virtual Consolitude, do people still want to see a documentary about hunting for old, gray NES carts on a road trip? Well, yes. Yes, they do. The Nintendo Quest Kickstarter ended this past weekend with a grand total of $40,286. The goal set by the campaign was $1,000, with the project...
Video Guess What, Super Mario Sunshine Looks Amazing Running At 60fps
GameCube classic is remastered by fans
We're so used to Super Mario games running in silky-smooth 60fps these days - it's hard to imagine playing Super Mario 3D World in anything less - but 2002 GameCube title Super Mario Sunshine has always been locked at 30fps - until now, that is. Industrious hackers have modded the game so it runs at 60fps via...
Video Watch A Bunch Of Teenagers Use The Legendary Power Glove Accessory For The First Time Ever
“I can feel the energy flowing through my veins”
The Power Glove is an iconic NES controller accessory that was originally released in 1989. For Nintendo fans, it is a love and hate relationship, helping to establish Nintendo within pop culture, paving the way for future technology, but also becoming the butt of jokes. It was most prominently...
Music Here's The Entire Gradius III Soundtrack In NES Style, Just Because
The remix you didn't know you needed
Gradius III was one of Konami's first releases for the SNES and took the popular shooter franchise into the 16-bit realm for the first time. As is the case with many Konami games, it featured an excellent soundtrack by Konami Kukeiha Club, the company's in-house music team. In its pure, untouched form it's a...
News One Of The Brains Behind Tetris Explains How Their Relationship With Nintendo Began
Russian creator also offers some sound advice
Tetris has been a staple of Nintendo gaming since it was released on the Game Boy in 1989. Since then, the tile-matching puzzle game has enjoyed unrivalled success courtesy of its timeless formula. Considered by many as the greatest game of all-time as a result of this, it is always interesting to hear...
News Rose Colored Gaming is Working on a New Line of Portables With Diverse Emulation Options
It's cool if you own the original games, naturally
Rose Colored Gaming is a fairly familiar name here on Nintendo Life, with the bespoke hardware and retro goods company producing a host of desirable - and pricey - gadgets in recent years. Often its work produces stylish cartridges and hardware mods, but its now taking a leap into its own range of...
News Weirdness: Animators Produce Bizarre Recreation of Pokemon Season One Opening
Watch if you love Pokémon. Or not, perhaps...
A group of 32 animators have remade the ever-famous opening to Pokemon's Season One (Indigo League), and it's definitely not what we'd typically expect of such a project. You'll notice two types of animation in the video, one being beautifully remastered scenes of the intro's original snippets, and the...
Weirdness A Budding Little Mac Beats Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! While Blindfolded
A knock out performance
You may remember late last year that Mike Tyson himself showed off his own skills at Punch-Out!! on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. While this was an entertaining moment, it served to prove that this classic NES boxing game is no pushover. You'll need to train hard to beat Iron Mike (or indeed Mr Dream!)...
Video Listen to a Drummer Nail the Mario Underground Theme
More than one way to beat World 1-2
Videogame covers are found in abundance on YouTube. You have covers with acoustic guitar, covers with Mario Paint, and even covers with just a guy singing mostly "Baah!" with the tones of an angel. One piece of the cover scene that doesn't seem to get as much attention is the drums, but we thankfully have artists...
News We'd Probably Buy This Fan-Made Resident Evil 2 Remake
Uses Unreal Engine 3
Just recently Capcom released a new HD version of Resident Evil - that's a HD port of a port, for the record - that annoyingly skipped Wii U. That first game is wheeled out regularly, yet its arguably superior sequel - surprisingly called Resident Evil 2 - isn't shown quite the same love. We're big fans of this one, and recall...
News Club Nintendo Goes Rewards Crazy With Final Update in North America
Over 100 games and physical rewards
Club Nintendo is now into its final stretch, with members in North America having until the end of March to claim coins and the end of June to redeem their balance. Nintendo of America had promised one final huge update of content, and now that the line-up is confirmed we can say that it's certainly delivered. On...
Weirdness There's an Awesome Super Mario Bros. World 1-1 Easter Egg in Dying Light
Stomping zombies
Dying Light, an open-world title in which you take on a lot of zombies, is a recent arrival on platforms such as the PS4 and Xbox One. The critical reception to Techland's game has been relatively mixed, but it's still one of 2015's first major releases; now, an awesome Easter Egg has been spotted to show that a current-day release...
January2015
Weirdness Super Bowl XLIX Analysis of 'Mega-Beast Mode' Recreates Marshawn Lynch as Mega Man
Running Man
Super Bowl XLIX is everywhere right now, as the US and a global audience ramps up for the showdown between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots. Improbably muscle-bound men wearing lots of gear will pummel each other over the course of many hours, and hundreds of millions will watch. There's a lot of coverage for the match, and...
Weirdness Legendary Composer Koji Kondo Drew Inspiration From '70s Rock Bands
Smoke on the water
It's always interesting to see the progression and evolution of music through history. Most genres start out small, but have far-reaching impact; with later entrants refining and perfecting the old sound until it is nearly flawless. As any musician could attest to, inspiration is a key factor to the formation of new music - it is...
Weirdness Meet The Man Who Plays Super Mario World With His Nose
A novel use for the humble recorder
Whenever we tried to play the recorder at school using our nose our teachers told us off. That early lesson in life didn't seem to get through to Japanese NicoNico user Wakou who can not only play music by blowing into a recorder through his nose, but also control Mario in Super Mario World. The secret to doing...
The greatest - but most obvious - mystery of our times
As a break from convention, we're going to give a behind-the-scenes glimpse into a conversation in Nintendo Life HQ between two grown men in their 30s. Player 1 - "Did you see that thread on Reddit about the Super Mario Bros. continue trick?" Player 2 - "Nope, what are you talking about?"...
News This NES Arcade-Style Unit is a Thing of Beauty
Some games incompatible due to use Retron cartridge emulation tech
Hardware mods for retro systems are rather common, so those seeking a stylish or convenient option for playing their old NES games aren't short of options. Not many are quite as impressive as the Model G1 from Rabbit Engineering, though, which features arcade-style inputs, a...
News This Is What Happened When A Kid Pitched Super Mario Bros. 4 To Nintendo 25 Years Ago
Even Nintendo's rejection letters are awesome
Back in 1990, Nintendo fan Jason Venter had an idea. He loved Super Mario Bros. 3 and the excellence of that game inspired him to create a planning document for a sequel. That document was packed with the kind of ideas that could only come from the active imagination of an 11-year-old gaming addict -...
News The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Comic to be Reprinted This Year
A Nintendo Power treasure returns
The graphic novel re-telling of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past that originally graced the issues of Nintendo Power in 1992 will flip the hourglass and return in full-colour form this year via VIZ Media. Outside of Nintendo's magazine, the graphic novel was last compiled for sale in 1993. Nostalgic...
Video YouTube's Gaming Historian Takes Offense At One Element Of Mario's Game Boy Past
"Come on Nintendo. You're better than this"
Mario is one of the most recognisable characters in entertainment media, and has starred in a staggering number of games over the past few decades. The portly Italian plumber has also enjoyed a number of cameo roles throughout the years, and it's this element of the character's history that the latest...
News Ninja Gaiden NES Team Discusses Its Origins and Design Approach
Have a listen to composer Keiji Yamagishi's new music, too
Ninja Gaiden is one of the most challenging games on the NES, combining fast-paced action, a fantastic soundtrack and brutal difficulty to make players work hard for their success. In some respects it was also a trendsetter, with cutscenes and cinematic moments that were ahead of their time...
Weirdness Yoshi's Island is Rather Different When Recreated in First-Person
Those poor Shy Guys
Animators looking for projects to show off on YouTube have plenty of options, yet a common idea among Nintendo fans is to take the company's best known games and switch them up into first person. We've seen it done with Pokémon on multiple occasions, while some have gone to lengths to mod games or run them through Oculus Rift;...
Feature The Making of Wetrix and Its Route to Nintendo 64
How the Pickford Bros' creative little puzzler made a huge splash
Time hasn't been kind to the memory of the Nintendo 64. While it was extremely well received upon its release 18 years ago, and still holds a special place in the hearts of many gamers, it signalled a turning point in Nintendo's history. The company's controversial decision to opt for...
News Speedrunner Sets New World Record for Fastest Time in Super Mario World
1-up'd
The speedrunning community is an endlessly competitive scene. Hardcore speedrunners may spend hours practising for a pixel-perfect performance or combing through endless lines of code to find obscure glitches. Anything that'll help shave off a few precious seconds from the final time. Just recently a speedrunner named SethBling exploited...
News Club Nintendo Rewards are Updated for January, Kicking Off Its Final Run
Mario! Wario! Metroid! Zelda! More due in February!
After today's surprise news of the discontinuation of Club Nintendo, the North American version has had its regular monthly update, but with a bit of a difference. Though coins can only be earned in the region until the end of March, redeeming those coins is possible until the end of June. After a...
News Nintendo Quest Kickstarter Sets NES Game Stretch Goal
For those who love their retro goodness with a side of meta
A couple weeks ago we told you about the Kickstarter campaign for Nintendo Quest, a chance to pre-order and support a documentary on trying to amass the entire NES library from brick and mortar stores. The campaign has been doing quite well, scoring more than $12,000 at the time of this...
News Resident Evil 4 Was Almost A Very Different Experience
"Let's create a setting that doesn't revolve around science or reason"
Resident Evil 4 is often spoken of as the best entry in Capcom's iconic franchise, blending an over-the-shoulder camera, action and horror in one varied, entertaining experience. Often declared a classic, it's also the reference point when fans bemoan the conceivable falling-away...
Weirdness Stop-Motion Animator Successfully Makes the Power Glove Awesome, and Useful
He's got the power
The Power Glove remains an iconic part of Nintendo history, an accessory that was hugely visible in the NES era and beyond. It promised much with motion controls, and famously failed to deliver. Its visual and cultural appeal at the time can't be denied, however, and to this day we see accessories and mods that keep it alive. One...
Gallery Imagining What Banjo-Kazooie Might Look Like in HD
Bringing a Rare classic up to date
Rare's classic N64 game Banjo-Kazooie is a fan favourite with retro gamers for good reason; even by today's standards this early 3D game is still incredibly charming and fun to play. Still, 1998 is a long time ago, and there is always room for improvement. Enter UK based 3D artist Neil Goodman, who has tasked...
News Bidding Hits $100,000 on Uber-Rare NES Game, Stadium Events
Nintendo are welcome to bid on it if they want it!
We reported a few days ago that a user-rare copy of Stadium Events on the NES had been listed on eBay. While this isn't the most accomplished 8-bit game of all time, it is one of the rarest with a low production run - which was subsequently recalled as it was then rebranded. Only two sealed copies...
Retrospective The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap - A Decade On
Caps off to The Minish
Today marks an historic day. The tenth anniversary of The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. Perhaps one of the most unappreciated and overshadowed chapters in the long and lucrative series - selling just over 1 million units since its release - it's also one of the most unique, quirky and charming Zelda titles to have been...
News Get Ready For The Most Expensive Video Game Auction Of All Time
Factory sealed Stadium Events is now on eBay
Given the massive popularity of video gaming and its long and proud history, it's hardly surprising that many rare games are fetching incredible prices when them come up for sale online. However, Bandai's 1987 NES title Stadium Events makes pretty much everything else look like chump change. The title...
News This Fan-Made Facelift Of The Original Paper Mario On The Nintendo 64 Looks Stunning
Five years in the making
For those of you who weren't particularly fond of more recent entries in the Paper Mario series, perhaps an unofficial re-textured version of the original game released on the Nintendo 64 in 2000 might be of interest. A game design student at Zurich University of the Arts, who goes by the handle Nelde, has been chipping...
Weirdness Meet The Studybox, The Famicom's Audio Edutainment System
Video games have often been twinned with education to create fun, interactive experiences which both entertain and enlighten, but one of the oldest examples has to be Fukutake Publishing's Studybox, a tape drive peripheral for the Famicom (the Japanese version of the NES) which ran tape-based games that featured actual recorded audio. Using...
News Donkey Kong Grabs a Place in List of Highest-Grossing Arcade Machines
Can you guess number one?
If you're under a certain age you may have never - and it pains us to say it - been to a proper arcade out in the wild. The few that remain are often a shadow of the good old days, and it's understandable; why pay over-the-odds to play a game for a few minutes when we can fire up powerful consoles at home? Of course home...
News Mario Bros. Coin-Op High Score World Record Is Smashed
Steven Kleisath bags 5,424,290 points on the 1983 classic
Before Mario became Super he starred in Donkey Kong and the 1983 arcade title Mario Bros., which would later be ported to the NES console. Like so many of Nintendo's classic arcade releases, Mario Bros. continues to attract high-level players who aim to bag the world's best score. The...
Weirdness Japanese Rock Legend Gackt Has Finally Beaten Mega Man 2
A victory months in the making
Back in July of last year (we're still not used to typing that yet) we told you about Japanese rocker Gackt's ongoing quest to beat the NES title Mega Man 2. In case you didn't know, Gackt — whose real name is Kamui Gakuto — was once part of the band Malice Mizer, but has since become one of Japan's most popular...
News Nintendo Quest, a Collector's NES Journey, to Launch a Fresh Kickstarter Campaign
The NES Club returns
Last year we interviewed Rob McCallum, the man behind the NES Club, about his planned documentary to follow "Jay Bartlett, as he tries to amass the entire NES library (NTSC retail games) in 30 days with no online purchases". Beyond the road trip vibe the film is aiming to highlight and explore retro gaming culture and Nintendo /...
Video Super Mario 64 Is Getting A Fan-Made HD Remake, And It Looks Gorgeous
And is totally unofficial, needless to say
Super Mario 64 is one of the finest video games ever made, but aside from a Nintendo DS remix, it has rather been forgotten by Nintendo. Thankfully, dedicated fans still love the title enough to bring it back from the dead, and four such individuals -- Aryoksini, mStuff, Callum Martin and Chadtronic -- are...
Video Teens Race and Talk Smack in Mario Kart 64
"Yo dawg I've got the golden mushroom"
YouTube has plenty of ways to entertain us, and one formula that's hugely successful is the React series in which different groups encounter games and are filmed as they get to grips with them. With Nintendo battling for attention against its big rivals, it can be fun to watch teens - particularly - getting to...
Video This Incredible Retro Gaming Collection Will Blow You Away
And it has a rare Sega item as its latest centrepiece
It's amazing what you discover when you're travelled across North America's vast expanse. Video producer, Sega fanatic and Nintendo Life contributor Tyler Esposito has uncovered a pretty special retro collection that contains items from Atari, Nintendo and Sega -- and is almost certain to attract...
Oh, and Mario's favourite music is opera or new wave Euro-pop
Last year we reported on some humorous details from the official Nintendo Character Manual of 1993 - it was provided to companies and brand agents to ostensibly provide key facts around these characters. The main revelation on that occasion was that Yoshi's real name is T. Yoshisaur...
December2014
Feature Tales From The Frontline Of Game Boy Development
The Rise And Fall Of Crawfish Interactive
As the video game industry lurches from one generation to the next, the multitude of companies involved with producing software for the endless conveyor belt of platforms never remains static; just as studios are created to cater for the demands of new hardware, established firms are forced to close due to...
News The N64 Almost Got A Multiplayer-Focused Doom Sequel
Details regarding the cancelled Doom Absolution emerge
The N64 got an exclusive Doom title in 1997, but this wasn't the only game in the lineage that was planned for Nintendo's 64-bit system. The plan was to follow up with Doom Absolution, a 2-player competitive shooter developed to capitalise on the deathmatch craze triggered by Rare's excellent...
Guide How To Create A Custom Game Boy From Start To Finish
The glorious rebirth of a handheld gaming legend
In this unique one-off feature, esteemed Game Boy modder Joe Heaton — also known as Joeteach — takes us through an entire Game Boy custom job. Over the last couple of years, since getting hooked on the Game Boy modification scene and sharing my creations on Instagram, I have been asked a lot of...
Interview Nintendo Arcade Collector Shoots From the Hip With Rare Sheriff Cabinet
Now we're cooking with gas
Earlier this year we invited you to step into the Nintendo Arcade and meet London based Alex Crowley, who has amassed a legendary collection of classic Nintendo arcade cabinets. It's easy to forget that before it shot to prominence with the NES system, in particular, a core aspect of Nintendo's business was in arcade...
News Cancelled Game Boy Advance Title Is Back From The Dead A Decade After Its First Showing
Given away free as an added extra with new indie game
Back in 2003, developer Quantized Bit showed off Overstorm, an action platformer for the Game Boy Advance at a gaming convention. The title would not be seen again for more than a decade, as it was ultimately cancelled. However, the developer — which is still going strong and creating indie...
Video Learn About the Nintendo 64 in Stop-Motion Style
Seven fascinating facts
It's the season for being a little lazy, which can certainly include sitting around watching a lot of films, TV shows and online videos. For Nintendo fans, it's not hard to find enjoyable snapshots of entertainment to chill out with. Case in point is this short effort from hugely popular YouTube channel Vsauce3, which covers...
Video Watch How Sonic CD Made A Family's Christmas Back In 1993
Toot Toot Sonic Warrior!
As you may be aware, Sega fanboy and occasional Nintendo Life video contributor Tyler Esposito runs The Sega Channel, one of YouTube's best sources of original Sega video content. He has shared many videos taken during his youth, including this heart-warming clip of him and his late father extolling the vir
Feature Dreaming of a Nintendo Christmas - Damien McFerran
Damien McFerran talks festive play and mentions Sega a few times (sorry)
In the second part of our festive series, Damien McFerran talks about the gaming Christmas memories of his youth and why consoles like the SNES and Mega Drive have such a special place in his heart. As you may have gathered from the large volume of Sega-related content that...
News European Version Of Super Retro Trio Boasts Improved Compatibility With PAL Games
Available now from leading retailers
At the start of the year we reviewed the Retro-Bit Super Retro Trio, a remarkable machine which plays a wide range of retro formats. During our initial review, we spotted a few minor compatibility problems with PAL games — Super Mario Kart on the SNES in particular, which played fine but suffered from...
Video Today's Teens Simply Cannot Handle The Insane Challenge Of Mega Man
"EVERYTHING is hitting me!"
As seasoned gaming fans we all wonder exactly why Capcom is ignoring its legendary Mega Man franchise, but the latest video in the React series points to a possible answer: the games are just too damn hard for modern players. The video places a NES controller into the hands of a group of teens and points them in the...
Video What if... Smash Bros. Had Announcers From Other Fighting Games?
Flawless Victory!
We still haven't got enough of Smash Bros. yet, but playing the game relentlessly day after day has had us hankering for revisiting old fighting games. Then, a crazy thought entered our brains — what if the cheesy Smash Bros. announcer was replaced with those of other famous brawlers? The result of this incredibly strange train...
News Composer Legend Hirokazu Tanaka Throws Down Killer Chiptune Set
Showing how it's done as Chip Tanaka
Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka has a firm place in Nintendo's musical foundation. Most prolific in the '80s and earlly '90s, some of the more memorable songs in his repertoire include the themes to Metroid and Kid Icarus, "Song B" in Tetris and "Balloon Trip" from Balloon Fight, among many others. T
News AI Program Can Learn To Play Game Boy Games, Next Stop: The Subjugation Of Humanity
When is Judgment Day due, again?
Developer Daniel Shumway has created an AI program which is capable of learning how to play Game Boy and Game Boy Color games. Named Piglet — but previously developed under the moniker WideEyes — it's a machine-learning AI built with Lua and designed to interact with the Visual Boy Advance emulator. Inspired by...
Video Did You Know Gaming Explores Cancelled Mario Games and Concepts
Shame about the volleyball / wrestling hybrid from Next Level Games...
Nintendo goes through a lot of concepts and projects that don't, in the end, become a full game. While that's normal, it can be fascinating to learn about some of the games or ideas that never made it to our systems, with a recent example being that Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker...
News The Father Of Video Games Ralph H. Baer Passes Away Aged 92
The industry owes him a massive debt
It has been confirmed today that Ralph Baer, often referred to as the father of the video game, has passed away. He was 92. Without Baer's pioneering work in the '60s and '70s, the modern video game industry would be totally different today. He created the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972, which was the first...
News Club Nintendo Now Offering Festive 8-Bit Mario Wrapping Paper in Europe and Australia
Potentially pricier than the gift inside
With the festive holidays upon us it's time to worry about our planning. Have we got all the gifts? Is there enough food? Will those drunk relatives actually avoid arguing this year? Lots to worry about, and when it comes to gifts we have to make sure we've got tags, scissors sellotape and — of course —...
News Kickstarter Project Wants to Turn Your Game Boy into a Full HD Beast
If it's worth doing, it's worth doing in 1080p
Gunpei Yokoi, the late father of the Game Boy, famously embraced a design philosophy of "lateral thinking with withered technology," in which one found cool new ways to entertain with cheaper, older equipment. One can only wonder if Yokoi ever even considered the notion that, 25 years later, his iconic...
News Blinking Light Win Means You'll Never Have To Blow On Your NES Cartridge Again
No soldering required
The NES is one of Nintendo's most famous systems, but it came with a massive, massive design flaw. The "toaster" zero insertion force cartridge slot — designed so the system could avoid unwanted comparisons with traditional games consoles and thus avoid the stigma which had risen up since the Video Game Crash of 1983 —...
News Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry Almost Made Our Day On Nintendo Wii And DS
...but it was cancelled. Do you feel unlucky, punk?
Detective Harry Callahan is one of Clint Eastwood's most enduring characters, and starred in some seminal action movies back in the '70s and '80s. Eastwood's no-nonsense cop would inspire countless clones in both movies and video games, and back in 2004 Warner Brothers decided that it was time that...
November2014
News Assets For Cancelled Nintendo DS Version Of Crash Tag Team Racing Emerge
Was apparently only months from completion
Back in 2005 Sierra released Crash Tag Team Racing on a variety of formats, including the Nintendo GameCube. The game was a sequel of sorts to the well-received PlayStation classic Crash Team Racing and its follow-up Crash Nitro Kart, and was also due to hit the Nintendo DS at the same time. That port...
News The Lost Worlds of Power eBook Arrives This Week to Fulfil Your Retro Life
"12 unique literary adaptations of classic and not-so-classic NES games"
Earlier this year we told you about The Lost Worlds of Power: Volume 0, a free eBook — led and collated by Nintendo Life alumni Philip J Reed — which included five new tales inspired by the notoriously awful Worlds of Power video game novels from the NES era. That was...
News Sami Cetin Breaks The NTSC Super Mario Kart World Record On Mario Circuit 1
He's a Time Trial master
Super Mario Kart SNES has just had another barrier broken on the Time Trial Mode. You may recall us reporting that UK-based Mario Kart expert Sami Cetin was the first person to break the sub-58 second barrier on the PAL Version of Mario Circuit 1 on Christmas Day, 2013. After this amazing Christmas present it was almost...
Weirdness This Wearable Power Glove Accessory Can Be Yours for $150
Tremendous hair not included
It seems the legacy of the infamous Power Glove controller for the NES lives on, so much so that one adventurous young individual has cracked a couple of them open and replaced their guts to create an interesting range of winter hand accessories. The connections are cut from the device and then the innards with wiring...
Anniversary 20 Years Ago Today, Rare Resurrected The Donkey Kong Brand
Donkey Kong Country is now two decades old
Donkey Kong is Nintendo's first major star, having made his début in the arcade game that effectively turned the company into the global monster it is today. However, when Mario decided to become Super on the NES and take his place as Nintendo's number one mascot, DK was bumped down the pecking order and...
Video Someone Has Built Mario Kart 8's Mute City Track In F-Zero X, Just Because They Can
You've got boast power!
Mario Kart 8's new DLC is a beautiful thing, offering additional characters, karts and tracks which breathe new life into what was already one of the best Wii U games. However, one of the highlights for the Nintendo Life team — all card-carrying F-Zero fans — is the Mute City track, which makes us want a sequel more than...
Weirdness Fan Turns Pokémon Blue into a SNES Game
Making a classic…more of a classic?
It can be said that most Pokémaniacs share the dream of one day being able to play a full Pokémon adventure on a big screen, and one dedicated fan has achieved this by managing to fit a Pokémon Blue Game Boy cartridge into an empty SNES cartridge through some soldering work. The Nintendo 64’s Pokémon...
Video The Top 10 Mario Platformers, As Selected By You
You voted, and the winner is...
Way back in August, we asked you wonderful readers what your favourite Super Mario platform game was. You voted, and from those votes we came up with a Top 10 list, which we have immortalised in this video. If you ever played a Super Mario game, then you must be curious about what game is number one, right? Could it...
News The Man Behind Sega's Wonder Boy Series Hates The Controls In Super Mario Bros.
"The movements just didn't feel right"
Super Mario Bros. is one of the most influential video games of all time, and has gone on to inspire countless titles over the years. While the vast majority of these subsequent games have tried to capture the magic which made Shigeru Miyamoto's NES classic so popular, Westone Bit founder Ryuichi Nishizawa has...
Book Review Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works
To be this good takes AGES
Back in the early '90s Sega and Nintendo were hostile enemies, and this rivalry trickled down to the people who played their products. Anyone old enough to have experienced this period will no doubt recall the heated playground debates about which console was best, and the splintered friendships caused by something as...
Hardware Classics The Sega Genesis Nomad
The less-travelled roadie
During the early '90s Sega's hardware department effectively went crazy. Flushed with the success of the Genesis / Mega Drive in North America and Europe, the company produced a series of commercial duds in an attempt to buttress its 16-bit business in the face of stiff competition from rival Nintendo. The first endeavour...
Video Teenagers Try Their Hand at the Original Super Smash Bros.
Arguable levels of success throughout
If you've ever wanted to feel old or skilled at a game from the Super Smash Bros. series, this video should be able to accommodate you. The REACT YouTube channel has taken six teenagers of varying names and sexes and pitted them against one another to see who has the most skill on the N64's classic Super Smash...
Nintendo 64x64 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
One game to Hyrule them all...
The most hyped game the N64 ever received was a heavenly gaming spectacle. The franchise leapt across to 3D glitch-free, providing everything that was already loved: a franchise-traditional story, dungeons, longevity and challenge. The game's engine, controls and camera were perfect and allowed us to be immersed in...
Nintendo 64x64 Rocket: Robot on Wheels
Unfairly overshadowed by its high-profile counterparts, Rocket: Robot on Wheels is one of the best 3D platformers available for the N64. Physics-based gameplay and a futuristic theme park setting provide the basis for seven different game worlds, each filled to the brim with challenging platforming segments and hugely inventive puzzles -- the...
Psygnosis could've released a port / rehash but us Nintendo 64 gamers were treated to an exclusive: delivering the best of the franchise at that time. Seven tracks were people's negative but quality was important here mastering them on Phantom tested the pros; varied challenges kept the one-player interested. The signature soundtrack didn't...
October2014
News Former President Of Silicon Knights Announces New Entertainment Company, QE2
Will the spiritual successor to Eternal Darkness finally be released?
Dennis Dyack, former president of the now defunct Canadian-based developer, Silicon Knights, has announced the formation of a new entertainment company titled, Quantum Entanglement Entertainment Inc., also abbreviated to,“QE2.” The new company will focus on the development of...
A divisive DK outing where the character's transition to 3D split fans' opinions. Plot, graphics, locations, and handling all do a DK game justice and are not faulted. However, it suffers from over-collectablitus, causing some tedious gameplay. DKC games had an addictive simplicity - offering challenge in a far more rewarding way which is lost...
Video I ♥ Virtual Console - Monster Party Is The Wackiest Halloween Classic You'll Never Play
This NES classic deserves another lease of life - or should that be death?
Halloween is upon us, and while children all over the globe get themselves ready to don horrible costumes and harass their neighbours for candy, we're taking a look at a spooky old NES classic which really should be on the Virtual Console on a day like today. Monster Party...
Combining Tetris with terraforming isnt your usual recipe for making a video game. Nevertheless, the Pickford Bros. managed to take these elements and merge them into the creative tour de force that was Wetrix. A thrilling 3D puzzler in which you attempt to create lakes to contain a never ending flood of water; it's remarkable just how tense the...
Weirdness Mike Tyson Fights Himself in Punch-Out!!
K-Oh
While the NES version of Punch-Out!! now has 'Featuring Mr. Dream' in the title, before licensing issues and imprisonment in the '90s it was branded with the Mike Tyson name, who was one of the most ferocious boxers in Heavyweight history at his peak. He's now a somewhat mellow middle-aged man, of course, releasing books and conducting speaking...
Book Review Hardcore Gaming 101 Presents: Castlevania
A bloody good read
Castlevania is one of those franchises which will always be inexorably linked with Nintendo. The series became a household name thanks to its well-received NES outings, and in the days of the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS it strengthened this connection with six excellent "Metroidvania" releases. Although its future may well...
Video Let's Celebrate The Game Boy That The West Never Got
Shedding some light on a handheld classic
Nintendo's Game Boy range was massively successful all over the world — heck, even Kurt Cobain had one — but not every variant of the system made it out of Japan. Just before the launch of the Game Boy Color, Nintendo produced a revised backlit version of the original monochrome system which was...
Rares follow-up to Banjo-Kazooie didnt arrive on the N64 with quite the same amount of impact as that of its first 3D platformer, but it nevertheless an impressive, and one which drew much critical acclaim. Banjo-Tooie is an even bigger game that achieves a number of technical feats, such as long draw distances and real-time shadows, without...
News Developers Reflect on F-Zero As It Passes Ten Years in the Wilderness
"F-Zero is really something special to me"
Barely an E3 or Nintendo Direct goes by without someone in the Nintendo Life team muttering that maybe, against all odds, F-Zero will return. It's now been over ten years since F-Zero Climax, a thoroughly disappointing Game Boy Advance entry that's ignored by many, arrived in stores. It was an inglorious...
Taking everything that made ISS64 a true next-generation football game, ISS 98 went far further, solidifying its reputation as the best football game on the N64. Its arcade style stands the test of time with fluid controls and ISS64s bugs eradicated. Tournaments / scenarios allow immense enjoyment alone but multiplayer is where it truly shines...
News Crazy EarthBound Fans Open EarthBound-themed Media Kickstarter
Many other, equally crazy EarthBound fans are backing it
It's 20 years old, with a prequel and sequel never officially released in the West, yet EarthBound continues to possess a significant presence in the gaming world. You can largely thank the game's dedicated fanbase for that; some so dedicated that they're planning to produce a cultural...
As a rally racer, TGR was not alone on the N64. Yet it stood shoulders above the competition. Its copious variables really added longevity; taking time to become skilled enough to be an expert, whether racing in snow or choosing the right suspension. Graphically impressive with excellent course layouts and locations: Strip Mine a personal...
Video Did You Know Gaming Tackles Donkey Kong Once Again
The Rare years
Rare's Donkey Kong titles have recently been making their way onto the Wii U eShop in Europe — and hopefully will do so soon in North America — making it a good time to look back on the franchise. Whether that timing was part of its consideration or not, we do have Did You Know Gaming returning to the DK IP in its latest video...
Nintendo 64x64 Jet Force Gemini
Rare again with another original title: wonderful visuals, addictive gameplay and atmospheric soundtrack. You're the JFG team, attempting to thwart antagonist Mizar and his insect army. As a third-person shooter, it showed another string to Rare's bow and was very popular. Personally, a least-favourite Rare N64 outing, having awkward controls and...
Nintendo 64x64 Turok: Rage Wars
Amongst four Turok games, Rage Wars is only for the purest Turok fan. Essentially, its a multiplayer-only game: lots of game options, characters, weapons and levels make for great battling. Single-player is weak compared to canonical Turok games, with its most redeeming feature being Co-op mode; although, subsequently bettered by Perfect Dark...
In the 3D age, this took Tetris to the next logical stage. By matching shapes, you break into a sphere to (e.g.) rescue that which is trapped inside. Graphically, it sensibly wasnt overcomplicated, further accompanied by superb music score. Highly addictive in single and multiplayer modes, as all puzzle games should be. Despite this, still parts...
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