Tag: Anniversary - Page 4
Feature 10 Overlooked GameCube Gems You Must Play
Small(ish) library, BIG surprises!
The North American 20th anniversary of Nintendo's cube-y console is upon us and we’ve come to realise that two entire decades is long enough for people to either forget the GameCube’s charming boxy shape or even grow to adulthood without ever handling Nintendo’s handled hardware. "0 years is also plenty of...
Feature 14 Wii Games That Deserve Switch Ports
Swiitch ports
It's now 15 years since Wii launched and the world was introduced to the inclusive delights of Wii Sports, waggle gaming, and Wii elbow. That little three-DVD-case-sized box of tricks delivered some real gems over its long life — many of which were tailor-made for the system's innovative remote-style motion controller and nunchuk and...
Soapbox Wave Race 64 Is Now 25 Years Old, And It Still Rules
Maximum Power!
Let's get the controversial early opinion out of the way, just so any pitchfork wielders can start sharpening their implements right away: a lot of Nintendo 64 games haven't aged very well. Of course they haven't, because it was a console in which Nintendo was at the bleeding edge of 3D graphical technology, a bold move that seized it...
Feature The Many Faces Of Donkey Kong, Nintendo's 40-Year-Old Gorilla
Four decades of DK
Nintendo’s monkey of manifold mantles – one Donkey Kong, Esq. – recently turned 40. Forty years young and still so vital, but it could be reasonably argued that the ol’ Kongmeister has been undergoing a bit of an identity crisis for most of his lifespan. The man-ape has turned from heel to face to heel more times than The...
News Capcom Shares Special Ace Attorney Artwork To Celebrate Its 20th Anniversary
The gang's all here
Capcom's Ace Attorney series turns 20 this year, and the company has released a special piece of artwork to celebrate that fact. The art showcases characters from the entire series – including The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, which takes place many years before the famous exploits of Pheonix Wright – and i
Anniversary Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Turns Three Years Old Today
And what a wild ride it's been
Three years ago today, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launched worldwide on Nintendo Switch. And what a game it turned out to be, huh? With its constant character reveals, Nintendo Direct showcases, and internet memes aplenty, few games have had quite the impact on the gaming community that Ultimate has in recent times...
Anniversary Super Smash Bros. Melee Launched 20 Years Ago Today In North America
"CHOOSE YOUR CHARACTER!"
Making everyone here at Nintendo Life feel painfully ancient, today marks the 20th anniversary of Super Smash Bros. Melee's release in North America. Only the second game in the series, following on from the original Super Smash Bros. on N64, Melee would go on to become arguably the most beloved entry in the franchise, long...
Talking Point Mario Kart 7 And Its Infamous Course Skip Are Now 10 Years Old
One of the earliest Nintendo game updates we can remember
We're in a gaming era of plentiful patches, where it's common for games to get frequent updates starting on day one. There are some rare releases even today that receive either no updates or very few — unless there are frequent DLC additions — and one of Nintendo's selling points is its...
Anniversary Zelda: Twilight Princess Is Now 15 Years Old (That's 105 In Wolf Years)
Wolf Link is going grey
The Wii is 15 years old this week. That's not too bad, right? It feels like it came out around a decade and a half ago, right? For context, here are some other things that happened in 2006: The first Cars movie, the first Daniel Craig Bond movie, Casino Royale, and we met Dr Kawashima in the very first Brain Training game...
Talking Point Is There A Better-Looking 20-Year-Old Game Than Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II?
Rogue Leader standing by
Feel old, everyone — Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader is now two decades old. The GameCube-exclusive title launched alongside the console itself in the US and was something of a show-stopper in the visuals department. Developer Factor 5 had turned in an excellent arcade-style X-Wing action game with the original...
News The Pokémon Creative Team Has Been "Through A Lot" With Angry Fan Feedback
"We try to focus on making the core accessible to everyone"
Recent releases, and the reactions to those releases, point to The Pokémon Company facing an interesting challenge at it celebrates its 25th Anniversary. On the one hand the franchise is continually trying to grow and attract new fans of various ages; on the other there are Pokémon...
Talking Point Super Mario 3D Land Turns 10 - Was It The Best '3D' Game On 3DS?
The golden era of stereoscopic 3D
Ten years ago on 3rd November 2011, Super Mario 3D Land made its debut on 3DS in Japan. It's not typically held up or remembered as a glorious entry of the Mario series — indeed, at the time of writing it inexplicably doesn't rank on our dynamic reader-rated list of the 50 best 3DS games — but several of us in...
Anniversary Can You Believe It? Super Mario Odyssey Is Now Four Years Old
Mario is now an adventurous globe-trotter
It might seem like yesterday or a lifetime ago, depending on who you talk to, but this week marks the fourth year since Super Mario Odyssey made its debut on the Nintendo Switch. The title is currently the sixth best-selling Switch game of all time - having now shifted over 21 million copies around the...
Poll Pikmin Is Now 20 Years Old - Which Is Your Favourite Game In The Series?
Whistle-blower
With all the talk around the launch (and state) of Nintendo 64 games with the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack, it may well have slipped your notice that Pikmin — the Nintendo RTS series that grew from an idea Shigeru Miyamoto had while chilling in his garden — is now two decades old. Yes, time marches on and we retro gaming...
Anniversary We've Almost Been Watching Nintendo Direct Presentations For 10 Years Now
Can you believe it?
Nintendo is obviously one of the pioneers of the games industry, and from time to time, it still comes up with groundbreaking ideas that change and shape how people consume and play video games around the world. One of its more genius moments over the past decade (at least from a business/marketing perspective) was the creation...
News Pokémon 25: The Album Gets A Release Date, Includes 14 Tracks
Pre-order and get 6 tracks now
The Pokémon Company has been rather busy promoting the franchises' 25th Anniversary, and one of the biggest projects has definitely been Pokémon 25: The Album. With multiple videos featuring major artists (including Katy Perry with 'Electric', above) and EP releases, there's been a steady flow of new music. Now the...
News Platinum's Switch Exclusive Astral Chain Celebrates Its Second Anniversary
Is it time for a sequel?
Just over two years ago, PlatinumGames released the Nintendo Switch exclusive Astral Chain. We praised it at the time for its amazing visuals, fantastic presentation, varied gameplay and rewarding combat - awarding it nine out of ten stars. It was one of the Switch's stand-out hits at the time and is still one of the best...
Anniversary The SNES Launched In North America 30 Years Ago
Excuse us while we crumble to dust
On this day 30 years ago, the Super Nintendo launched in North America. Does that make you feel old? Because we feel positively ancient. The release followed hot on the heels of the Japanese launch of the Super Famicom in November 1990, with American gamers getting a redesigned console which swapped the lush...
News Check Out Mabel's P25 Music Pokémon Song, 'Take It Home'
Jigglypuff at the Savoy
The Pokémon Company has been going big with its 25th anniversary celebrations, and not just with upcoming game releases. A high profile project has been its year-long music collaborations, which are all gearing up to a 'P25 Music' album release this Autumn / Fall. Before now it's included tracks like Electric by Katy Perry...
News Pokémon x Nature x Adventure Project Teased In Japan
Seems thematically tied to Pokémon Legends: Arceus
It's another big year for Pokémon - though that applies to most years! - with anniversary celebrations and multiple games on the way. We're also seeing various new products for TV, merchandise and more, with The Pokémon Company now teasing a Pokemon x Nature x Adventure project for the Japanese...
Watch Sonic 30th Anniversary Symphony - Live!
Happy Birthday, Sonic
Today is the official 30th birthday of Sonic the Hedgehog, and SEGA is celebrating with the Sonic 30th Anniversary Symphony. While orchestral renditions of classic Sonic tunes will be a big part of the show, there'll also be special appearances from Crush 40 and Sonic Sound Director Tomoya Ohtani's band. Enjoy! <liveblog...
News Sonic Prime Concept Art Gives A Sneaky Look At Upcoming Netflix Show
Multiverse shenanigans
Sonic's big anniversary may be this year, but SEGA is planning to continue its push in 2022 with a new game and a fresh animated series on Netflix. The show will be called Sonic Prime and is promised as a "high-octane adventure where the fate of a strange new multiverse rests in [Sonic's] gloved hands". Those eager for a look...
News 'Sonic Collection' Listings Spotted As The Blue Blur's 30th Anniversary Looms
We all want another live stream party though, right?
This year sure is zooming along, rather like a rather iconic video game character that was once the ultimate rival of Mario. These are relatively good times for Sonic, the most recent high profile platforming game starring the mascot was the brilliant Sonic Mania, and a movie starring Jim Carrey...
News Celebrate Pokémon's 25th Anniversary In Style With Original Stitch's Limited-Edition Polo
They even have fancy Poké-buttons
It's a major anniversary year for Pokémon, which means a whole lot of merchandise and animated shows to enjoy. Some of the 'merch' - as those Tik-Tok people might say, erm, right? - goes for the classy approach, so that you can show your love for Pokémon while posing photogenically by a beach. That's the case...
Anniversary The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Is Now Six Years Old
Can you believe it?
Before Cyberpunk 2077, the Polish-based company CD Projekt Red was busy with The Witcher, which originally started out as a series of fantasy novels by Andrzej Sapkowski. The video game adaptation peaked at The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in 2015, and is considered to be not only one of
Anniversary Inti Creates Is 25 Years Old
That went fast
This week marks Inti Creates' 25th anniversary. Yes, the Japanese video game company was founded on 8th May 1996. Over the past 25 years, it's worked on games like Mega Man Zero, Mega Man ZX, Gal Gun, Azure Striker Gunvolt, Mighty Gunvolt
Anniversary The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask Is Now 21 Years Old In Japan
You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask today turns 21 years old in Japan. Although it's not quite as significant as last year's 20th anniversary, in some countries Link and Skull Kid would now be old enough to have a drink. The game first arrived in Japan in the year 2000 and despite being one of the...
Soapbox An Anniversary Ode To Okami, The Best Zelda Game That Isn't
Fifteen years of Clover's classic
Ever since the The Legend of Zelda turned 35 back in February, we've been looking back over the mainline games with a series of features celebrating and examining each one from a personal perspective. However, today it's the 15th anniversary of another fine action-adventure — a game which may not have the name...
Anniversary Mother 3 For Game Boy Advance Is Now 15 Years Old
Please localise it, Nintendo
Former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé has acknowledged the 2006 Japan-only Game Boy Advance exclusive Mother 3 a few times over the past week, and today just so happens to be the third entry's 15th anniversary. Yes, it's now been 15 long years since this cult classic RPG arrived in Japan. Although...
Poll Box Art Brawl #83 - Brain Age / Brain Training
Hype brain
Welcome back to Box Art Brawl, our regular box art-based poll to find the best regional variants from two or more territories. Last time we took a 20th anniversary look at HAL Laboratory's GBC game, Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble. With Europe out of the running thanks to the game never launching in that region, it was left to North America and...
Anniversary The Animal Crossing Series Is Now 20 Years Old
And we're still paying off our loans...
While Animal Crossing still feels like a relatively new Nintendo franchise, today actually marks its 20th anniversary. Yes, the series started out in Japan on 14th April 2001 as a Nintendo 64 title. While Dōbutsu no Mori (otherwise known as Animal Forest) was never released in its original form here in the...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel #82 - Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble
Rock 'n' roll
Welcome back to Box Art Brawl, our weekly poll to find the best regional box art variant from two or more retro candidates. Last time we looked at The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks in a duel that pitted Japan and Europe against North America. It appears that the regional team-up worked wonders — the greenery of the JP/EU cover...
Poll Box Art Brawl #80 - Resident Evil
REmatch
Welcome back to Box Art Brawl, the weekly poll we run to find out which of two or more regional box art variants from years past is best. Last time we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Game Boy Advance with a look at launch title Kuru Kuru Kururin. The game didn't get a GBA release in North America, but fortunately Australia
Poll Box Art Brawl #79 - Kuru Kuru Kururin
Helirin on Earth
Welcome back to Box Art Brawl, the series where we pit regional box art variants against one another in a fight for your vote. Last time, the turn-based battle between Super Mario RPG and Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Unnecessary Subtitle came to a head with North America ultimately walking away with 69% of the vote. Nice, indeed...
Gallery Animal Crossing: New Horizons - A Year In Pictures
NL readers look back on 365 days of Animal Crossing
Whether it seems like yesterday or not is a matter of perspective, but Animal Crossing: New Horizons launched one year ago today. And what a year it's been! Nintendo's life sim ended up becoming a significant coping mechanism for many people throughout 2020; a social outlet and positive focal...
Anniversary It's Super Mario RPG's 25th Birthday!
Don't get too excited - Nintendo likely won't do anything for this one, either
Let's just ignore the woeful approach of the end of Mario's 35th anniversary, or the completely-ignored 35th anniversary of the Zelda series for a moment. 2021 is also a big year for Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Soapbox The Nintendo Switch Was My Companion As I Travelled The World
Reflecting on four turbulent years with my steadfast console companion
Not my actual suitcase - mine had way more shoes, and no pliers (why do they have pliers?) When the Nintendo Switch came out in early 2017, I was adrift. I had moved out of London, I had gone freelance a few months before, and I was what people at the time called a "digital...
Anniversary Stardew Valley Is Now Five Years Old
"thanks to all of you for being part of this"
It's been anniversary after anniversary over the past month and now on top of all the other ones currently take place, this week marks Stardew Valley's fifth year. Creator ConcernedApe has taken to Twitter to thank all of the game's fans for being a part of the long journey. Stardew Valley has been...
Anniversary Can You Believe It? The Nintendo 3DS Is Now 10 Years Old
That went quick
It's a very special day for the Nintendo 3DS. Today is the tenth anniversary of this legendary 3D handheld system. Believe it or not, but the console was first released in Japan on 26th February 2011. This followed with the western release in Europe and North America in March of the same year. When the system first launched, it was...
Soapbox Zelda: Skyward Sword Is Good, Actually
The Titled Groose Game
Soapbox features enable our individual writers to voice their own opinions on hot topics, opinions that may not necessarily be the voice of the site. In this piece, Kate defends The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword against its many critics... I bet some of you clicked on that headline to yell "IT WAS ALWAYS GOOD", and you know...
News Animal Crossing Will Get A Bunch Of Mario Items And Clothing In Next Update
Set your calendars for the 25th February
Happy birthday, Mario! We got you, er, a bunch of people dressing up as you. Also, we're going to delete some of your games. Yeah, Mario's 35th birthday reminds us a bit of that 13th birthday party where it rained and the clown stole the cake, to be honest - but Animal Crossing: New Horizons' latest new...
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...
News Nintendo's Paper Mario Series Is Now 20 Years Old
Happy anniversary!
This week marks the 20th anniversary of Paper Mario in North America. Yep, the original Nintendo 64 Mario RPG was first released in this region on 5th February 2001. This also marks 20 years - in general - since the series started out. To celebrate this special occasion, Nintendo of America has shared the following tweet, asking...
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...
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...
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 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 Super Mario Galaxy 2 - 10 Years Of Nintendo's Straightest, Greatest Sequel
So much more than Wii DLC
Nintendo doesn’t make straight sequels. That’s the received wisdom, anyway. Kyoto's premier game designers need a really good reason—a jump in technology, or a novel new control input, for example—to warrant revisiting a franchise. They're apparently not interested in churning out more of the same for mere profit...
Feature Zelda: Majora's Mask At 20 - The Enduring Appeal Of Nintendo's Strangest Game
No fate but what we make
There are many things The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is not. It is not the prettiest Legend of Zelda game. Exactly 20 years since its Japanese debut, the discernible polygons that make up the world and characters of Termina locate the game squarely in the fifth console generation. While we respect its Expansion...
Feature What Does Nintendo Have Planned For Zelda’s 35th Anniversary?
Our predictions for 2021's biggest gaming birthday
The 35th anniversary year of Super Mario Bros. will soon draw to a close and although Nintendo has extended the celebrations to 31st March 2021 (a day which Mario himself will do well to survive, it seems), 2021 marks the 35th birthday of the next-most celebrated series in the Kyoto company's...
