Retro News
Guide Every Nintendo Switch Online Virtual Boy Game Ranked
All the VB games on NSO
Of all of Nintendo's consoles, the Virtual Boy is one of the most fascinating due to being a rare hardware flop in the company's storied history. It might be the worst-selling Nintendo system ever (and it never even launched in Europe), but there's some great software and intriguing curios in the VB library. With just 22...
Poll What's Your Favourite Gen 9 Pokémon?
Good Paldea
Phew, we're finally at the last (for now) generation! Pokémon turns 30 on 27th February, and in honour of this momentous anniversary, we've run a series of polls leading up to the big day, asking you to vote for your favourite Pokémon from each generation. The nine winners will then go head-to-head in a final poll at the end of the...
Poll What's Your Favourite Gen 8 Pokémon?
Galar-vanting
Pokémon turns 30 on 27th February, and in honour of this momentous anniversary, we're running a series of polls leading up to the big day, asking you to vote for your favourite Pokémon from each generation. The nine winners will then go head-to-head in a final poll at the end of the month. We're covering a generation a day until...
Poll What's Your Favourite Gen 7 Pokémon?
Alola there
Pokémon turns 30 on 27th February, and in honour of this momentous anniversary, we're running a series of polls leading up to the big day, asking you to vote for your favourite Pokémon from each generation. The nine winners will then go head-to-head in a final poll at the end of the month. We're covering a generation a day until we've...
Review Virtual Boy For Switch 1 & 2 - Is It Really Worth Revisting Nintendo's Greatest Folly?
Virtual insanity?
Only Nintendo could get its fans excited about a re-release of one of its most dramatic commercial flops, and, as somebody who is old and grey enough to recall the disaster that was the Virtual Boy the first time around, I find it endlessly amusing that its resurrection as a Switch accessory has caused such interest. But then...
Poll What's Your Favourite Gen 6 Pokémon?
Kalos whisper
Pokémon turns 30 on 27th February, and in honour of this momentous anniversary, we're running a series of polls leading up to the big day, asking you to vote for your favourite Pokémon from each generation. The nine winners will then go head-to-head in a final poll at the end of the month. We're covering a generation a day until...
Community Pokémon Turns 30 Soon - Send Us Your Pocket Monster Memories
I choose YOU
27th February marks the anniversary of Pokémon Red and Green in Japan, but this year's event is an extra special one: the Pokémon series is turning 30 years old. Yes, that little RPG about catching cute and not-so-cute monsters and doing battle with your pals has been going for three entire decades. In that time, it's evolved from...
Poll How Would You Rate The Nintendo Classics Virtual Boy Launch Games?
I see red, I see red, I see red
The Virtual Boy app for Nintendo Switch Online's Expansion Pack launched this week, giving many Nintendo fans the very first chance to play these games in an official capacity. Some older die-hards may have an original VB knocking around or might have sampled its monochrome delights sometime over the last 30 years,...
Poll What's Your Favourite Gen 5 Pokémon?
Unova one
Pokémon turns 30 on 27th February, and in honour of this momentous anniversary, we're running a series of polls leading up to the big day, asking you to vote for your favourite Pokémon from each generation. The nine winners will then go head-to-head in a final poll at the end of the month. We're covering a generation a day until we've...
(Yes, you can, with a Switch 1)
Virtual Boy has finally arrived on Nintendo Switch Online, if you're a subscriber to the Expansion Pack tier - and if you've got the $100 accessory from My Nintendo Store or the still-pretty-pricey cardboard alternative. If $25 for the cardboard viewer required to see the 3D visuals as intended still feels like an...
Poll What's Your Favourite Gen 4 Pokémon?
Sinnohs
Pokémon turns 30 on 27th February, and in honour of this momentous anniversary, we're running a series of polls leading up to the big day, asking you to vote for your favourite Pokémon from each generation. The nine winners will then go head-to-head in a final poll at the end of the month. We're covering a generation a day until we've...
Poll What's Your Favourite Gen 3 Pokémon?
Hoenned
Pokémon turns 30 on 27th February, and in honour of this momentous anniversary, we're running a series of polls leading up to the big day, asking you to vote for your favourite Pokémon from each generation. The nine winners will then go head-to-head in a final poll at the end of the month. We're covering a generation a day until we've...
Poll What's Your Favourite Gen 2 Pokémon?
Head to Johto
On 27th February, Pokémon turns 30, and in honour of this momentous anniversary, we're running a series of polls leading up to the big day, asking you to vote for your favourite Pokémon from each generation. The nine winners will then go head-to-head in a final poll at the end of the month. We'll be covering a generation every day...
Poll What's Your Favourite Gen 1 Pokémon?
Kanto bright
On 27th February, Pokémon turns 30. That's three whole decades of exploring many and various regions to find monsters, battle monsters, and pocket monsters - and we've all got our personal favourites. And they're not always just our starter, either! Sure, you build up a special relationship with your first Pokémon each generation,...
Mini Review Console Archives Cool Boarders (Switch 2) - Not Up There With 1080, But Still Pretty Rad
'90s snow-back
Hamster Corporation is on something of a winning streak, with the fantastic Arcade Archives series continually dusting off and polishing hundreds of notable games from the annals of history. Well, those wizards are back with the fresh Console Archives brand, and the now 30-year-old ‘radical’ PlayStation sports game
News Hamster's 'Console Archives' Starting Lineup Revealed, Includes More Than 10 Titles
Here's what's on the way
Nintendo's Partner Direct was loaded with all sorts of surprises, and one of the biggest announcements for retro fans was Hamster Corporation's reveal of its new Console Archives series for Switch 2 (and PlayStation 5). This will revive classic games, originally released on home consoles, on modern hardware. Two titles
News Hamster's 'Console Archives' Is The Closest We'll Get To Virtual Console In 2026
Cool Boarders and Ninja Gaiden II launch today
Publisher Hamster has announced that Rave Racer will be added to its Arcade Archives collection on 26th February 2026. But that's actually not the most interesting announcement. It's also been confirmed that a new Console Archives initiative is underway for the Switch 2 starting today, with Cool...
Feature 11 Of The Strangest Game Over Screens On Nintendo Consoles
You died. Strangely. Now plz rate the experience.
Game over screens — as a professional gamer, you understand — aren't something that I personally have a lot of firsthand experience with. Not through a lack of in-game skill, that's for sure. However, as I'm also a highly learned and incredibly hirsute scholar of the interactive arts (also a...
Anniversary 'The Last Story' Helped The Wii Go Out On A Real-Time High 15 Years Ago
Zael-ous advocates
Back at the tail-end of the Wii's run as the hottest console ticket in town, so around about 2011 to be precise, there were a few special RPGs that released in rather quick succession to give Nintendo's magic box a surprisingly exciting last hurrah. Indeed, casting my mind back now — and unaided by AI, I'll have you know — I...
Anniversary Resident Evil: Deadly Silence Is 20 Years Old Today - Were You A Fan?
You were almost a Jill sandwich!
Resident Evil has a special place in my heart, and not just because it's a stone-cold classic of gaming, a bona fide icon of the horror genre, and all that sort of guff. No, I also have very fond memories of riding the bus home with the original PlayStation release of this particular game clutched tightly to my...
Maybe I'll play F-Zero
Ever since the first entry in the series, Animal Crossing fans have been wishing playable retro Nintendo games would make a return. And now they have, after a fashion. With the release of update 3.0.0, a small selection of 8- and 16-bit games are playable in Animal Crossing: New Horizons for Switch 1 and 2. In this guide,...
Opinion The Nintendo Console Nobody Wanted To Review Returns Soon, And I'm Here For It, Again
The crimson comeback
As someone who witnessed its initial release, I’m delightfully baffled that Nintendo is resurrecting the Virtual Boy. We aren't just getting a passing mention or a trophy in a Smash Bros. game; we’re getting a full-blown revival, including a dedicated NSO app, a $100 authentic replica peripheral, and a $25 cardboard cutout...
The path to a radiant dawn awaits
Did you know that the Japanese version of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance has a 'Maniac' difficulty mode? You did? And did you know that this mode sort of fixes my biggest problem with the game? You did? Can I do the review anyway? Thanks. Jumping back into Path of Radiance, the first home console FE, for the first...
Anniversary The First Handheld 'Contra' Is 35 Years Old Today
Konami-coded
Back in the 1980s, and more specifically 1987, Contra in its original coin-op form was a game so awe-inspiring in its action, its graphics, and its weapons (you never forget you first spreader) that everyone who was anyone — which meant I was out from the get-go-- was to be found down their local arcade pumping coins into the bleeding...
Feature The Art I 'Stole' From Nintendo
And where it is now
It began with a Zelda T-shirt. I was wearing my “It's dangerous to go alone! Take this.” shirt while running a quick errand at the bank. The teller spotted it. He was at least 20 years younger than me, but his “Nice shirt!” comment kicked off a lengthy conversation about our shared Nintendo fandom. Before long, he...
ICYMI You Need To Check Out The Video Game History Foundation's "Untold Story Of The NES"
"15 years in the making!"
Hopefully, many of you are enjoying an end-of-year break over the holidays, but even if you're back at the coalface before the new year arrives, we recommend making time to check out this fascinating new overview documentary of the NES' US launch from Frank Cifaldi and the folks over at the Video Game History Foundation...
Feature Farewell, Nintendo Switch - It's Finally Time To Bid Our Old Friend 'Adieu'
Don't think twice, it's all right
It's time to say goodbye. Well, not really. The massively popular Switch will live on in a way few other Nintendo consoles have done thanks to backwards compatibility, a host of free upgrades to existing games, and a Switch 2 form factor that keeps everything about the previous console. As generational jumps go, it...
Feature I Play This One Particular SNES Game Every Xmas As A Personal Tradition
Please help me
It was the Christmas of 1992. Mr Blobby was the funniest thing on television (according to your parents), and Whitney Houston had been tricked into singing a love song about everyone's favourite sentient cardigan, Kevin Costner (I feel like I'm having a war flashback now). And me? Well, I was having a great time despite all of this,...
Random "Final Version" Of Cancelled Resident Evil Game Boy Color Port Has Popped Up Online
Oh look, zombies. And in full colou...ah, they're eating me!
Back in the middle of 1999 (a weird time for everyone, rest assured), British developer HotGen attempted something that was considered to be somewhat of an impossible task. Namely, porting the full glory of 32-bit Resident Evil to the dinky little 8-bit Game Boy Color. In the end, not only...
Opinion Rayman 2 Is An Overlooked Platforming Classic About A Rebel With A Cause
The great escape
Rayman 2 has been added to the Nintendo Switch Online N64 library. His fight for freedom against a literally iron-fisted despot represented a braver, weirder time for Ubisoft, and today Francisco looks back on a classic... For many of us, Super Mario 64 changed platforming forever by introducing the boundless possibilities of the...
Guide Every Nintendo Switch Online N64 Game Ranked
All the N64 games on NSO
The library of Nintendo 64 games on Switch and Switch 2 boasts some of the system's heaviest hitters - a great selection of quality 64-bit games easily accessible to anyone subscribed to the 'Expansion Pack' tier of the Nintendo Switch Online service But which N64 games on Nintendo Switch Online are the very best? We've...
Random This Modder Turned Their Humble Wii U GamePad Into A Fully Functional Switch
A Switch Lite, but comfy!
What do you do when you're surfing the old interwebs and happen upon a bunch of lovely gaming folk wondering if anyone has ever stuffed a Switch — in fully working order — into a Wii U GamePad (also still in complete working order)? Well, if it were us, we'd shut off our internet and go for a nice, long walk outside...
"That's one I just treasure"
If you have a passing interest in gaming outside of Nintendo, you'll likely have experienced the work of Mark Cerny. He was the Lead Architect of the PlayStation Vita, PS4, and PS5 — you might remember him from the PS5 Pro reveal — and he appears on the most recent episode of Simon Parkin's My Perfect Console podcast...
Guide Every Nintendo Switch Online Game Boy (Color) Game Ranked
All the GB and GBC games on NSO
Updated with Yoshi and Balloon Kid. Enjoy! Game Boy and GB Color titles first arrived on Nintendo Switch Online in February 2023, pleasing many old-school gamers in the process. The various Game Boys — the OG, Pocket, and Color — have a vast library of excellent games, the best of which hold up very well, so...
Guide Every Nintendo Switch Online NES Game Ranked
Now with more Ninja Gaiden, and much more Battletoads
Remember, this list evolves as users rate the games within, so head to the game profiles and rate them out of 10 if you'd like to see the rankings below change. Enjoy! The collection of NES games available to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers continues to grow over time and there are now over...
Review Glory Hunters (Game Boy) - A Glorious 8-Bit Throwback With Some Rough Edges
Achievement Unlocked: Wait, wrong console
We originally published this review in June 2024 with a note that we'd flag if the game ever came to Switch. Well, it did! Published by Ogre Pixel, Glory Hunters lands on Switch today with various extras, including artwork and sketches, a markable world map, and a live performance soundtrack. For this...
Opinion 20 Years Later, Need For Speed: Most Wanted Is Still The Series' Best Outing
Most excellent
The Need for Speed video game franchise, much like those movies with Vin Diesel in them (you know, the car ones), well...there's a lot of them. In fact, there are over 20 Need For Speed games as things currently stand, and some of them are even good! Yep, I'd go so far as to say that some of them are very, very good indeed, and Need...
Random Vancouver's New Hockey Team, The Goldeneyes, Are Using Some VGM You May Recognise
Ice to meet you, Mr Bond
When you've got to come up with a brand new name for a brand new team, why not make it something unbelievably cool, right? That's what we say here at NL Towers, and Vancouver's brand-new women's hockey team seems to agree. We can't think of another team with a better name than this in any sport right now. Not without a...
Guide 50 Best Super Nintendo (SNES) Games Of All Time
Your guide to the Super NES' greatest games
There was something special about the 16-bit generation, with the Super Nintendo and SEGA's Genesis / Mega Drive representing a pinnacle of gaming for many. It was a period in Nintendo history when many fan-favourite series and characters were refined into a form we're still familiar with today. We've...
News Retro Nintendo Games Are Returning To Animal Crossing (Sort Of)
One game per system
As you've no doubt seen, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is getting another massive update early next year, along with a Switch 2 Edition with the expected enhancements (Mouse Mode, wooo). But amongst all the Bells and whistles announced, you might have missed the news that retro Nintendo games are also returning to the series...
Review Luigi's Mansion (GameCube) - A Spooky Little Romp That Still Sucks You In
It's-a me! Mari— wait, what?
This review was originally published in October 2010. We're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival in the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack GameCube library on Switch 2. Enjoy! Nintendo has always had a dark side. Though it's built up a name for itself as a family-friendly company, every so...
Anniversary SNES Action RPG 'Terranigma' Is 30 Years Old Today, And It's Still A 10/10 In Our Book
Never released in the US of A!
"Among the finest action role-playing titles ever crafted, possibly even the finest, and a game that absolutely no RPG fan should miss." This quote, from our 2009 review of the 1995 action-RPG, Terranigma, should give you some idea of just how highly we regard the third slice of what's known as the "Gaia Trilogy" —...
Talking Point How Do You Play NES Games These Days?
Or, do you even play NES games?
The NES — specifically the Nintendo Entertainment System, not the Famicom — turns 40 today. The console's staggered rollout across the US makes its launch a bittier affair than the orchestrated, worldwide drops we're used to these days. But four decades ago, the first units were purchased in the United States and...
Guide 50 Best NES Games Of All Time
Our guide to the greatest games on the NES
The Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES (ness? nezz? enn-eee-ess?), is the archetypal home video game console. Earlier machines such as the mighty Atari 2600 pioneered the basic concept of an under-the-TV console with interchangeable software and accessories, but the utilitarian design and hardware...
Guide Every Nintendo Switch Online SNES Game, Ranked
All the Super NES games on NSO
The library of SNES games available on Switch with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription now stands at 77 titles. While it may lag behind the number of NES games on the service, there are plenty of Super NES gems to enjoy. But which SNES games on Switch are best? Well, we asked Nintendo Life readers to rate them using...
Random The Super Mario Galaxy Games Are Full Of Secrets, And This One Is "Horribly Inefficient"
Full credit
Yes, as we all know, Nintendo does like to hide fun little secrets and easter eggs within its adventures, especially when it comes to stuff like the Mario Galaxy games. You know, things like the part of Buoy Base Galaxy that looks like a Poké Ball, or Captain Olimar's S.S. Dolphin floating about in the Space Junk Galaxy. Yes, we love...
Opinion Ogre Battle 64: Person Of Lordly Caliber's Revolutionary Heart Still Burns Brightly
Say, you want a revolution?
Has it really been 25 years? Yes, my wizened friends, it has. Back in the year of our lord 2000 (or 1999 if you're from Japan), if you weren't still calming down from the trauma of Y2K (still can't believe nothing happened) you may have been getting completely sucked into one of the few truly amazing RPGs on the Nintendo...
Video Feeling Rough? This Orchestra's 5-Minute 'Super Mario Retro Suite' Will Sort You Out
Short and suite
Looking for a pick-me-up on a chilly morning (or afternoon, or whenever you happen to be reading this)? This five-minute arrangement of classic Koji Kondo tracks from the Mario series just might do the trick. Recorded back on 23rd August, the WDR Funkhausorchester takes a delightfully brisk jog through some classic platforming...
News LEGO Game Boy Designers Discuss Collaborating With A "Very Involved" Nintendo
“We wanted to sort of incorporate everything"
We've already been chatting excitedly about Lego's very lovely Game Boy set. It's absolutely one of the best things they've put out in a while and, to celebrate the launch, two of Lego's designers, Carl Merriam and Simon Kent, have been chatting with those fine folks over at Gizmodo about the process...
News 'Scurge: Hive' Spreads Its Isometric, Metroid-y Retro Virus To Switch This Week
A little Game Boy Advance goodness?
If you played Orbital Media's Scurge:Hive back when it launched in 2006, on both GBA and DS, you'll already know that it's a super-solid action effort that takes its cues from the likes of Metroid: Fusion, and then melds them into a tight isometric space adventure. Now, Raitalaika Games has announced that its new...
