Review /
Review /
Review /
It actually works, you know
One thing that technically-minded gamers occasionally indulge in is creating unique versions of their favourite consoles. Thankfully for us these creations are often shared with the world on YouTube, and courtesy of CKmods we can take a look at a portable GameCube. The original GameCube console, famously, had its own...
A leader of gamers
The video game industry has a very short history, significantly more so than other mediums such as film, yet many gaming figures that were popular in past times are now unknown. Take Donn Nauert, for example. In the first video of a planned series, video game historian Patrick Scott Patterson is compiling footage of prominent...
Making beautiful music
You can play a lot on an NES, but you know what you can't play on it? Stairway to Heaven. You could end all that injustice with an NES guitar. Get Lo-Fi (via This Is Why I'm Broke) makes and sells various configurations of the guitars — single coil pick-ups and rosewood or maple neck will set you back $155, while humbuckers...
Start Friday right
The talented folks at long-running webcomic Brawl in the Family have used their 400th strip to celebrate Nintendo's life and times in a catchy tune. From hanafuda cards to Wii U, it crams some good detail into its 3:42 running time and will no doubt get stuck in your head for a good few hours. It also scores bonus points for...
So are we
Last year, Shigeru Miyamoto talked about Link to the Past on 3DS, and he's been at it again on a recent press trip to Paris. Speaking to Edge, Miyamoto said he's still interested in bringing Link's 16-bit adventure to the 3D Classics range, but he has something else in mind: I think the answer would be the same if we're talking about just...
Quite a collection
Like many of us, Campbell Whyte remembers the time when 8-bit graphics were magical, when pixels and tiny sprites evoked wonder and excitement. Unlike us, though, Whyte's also a skilled illustrator, and used his fond NES memories as the basis of the 8 Bit Dreams project. Whyte created an illustration a day for over a year, aiming...
The story of a masterpiece
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on Nintendo 64 is a definitive game in Nintendo history, though opinions naturally vary on whether it should be regarded as one of the finest games ever produced. Regardless of where you stand on the subject, it undoubtedly revolutionised The Legend of Zelda as a series, bringing it...
Officially confirmed
When it comes to Nintendo-themed April Fools jokes, Google showed plenty of creativity with Google Maps 8-bit. Some of our readers with a solid grasp of NES classics observed that the music and overall theme of the fictional cartridge strongly resembled the original Dragon Quest: accessing the trial version online also involved...
Amazing.
It's that time of year again folks, Google have put something together which should please every single Nintendo Life reader - Google Maps for NES. Google Maps is now available for 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment Systems (NES). Availability in Google Store is TBD but you can try it on your browser by going to http://maps.google.com and...
Secret agent
Of all the cheats and secrets tucked away in GoldenEye 007, we never suspected Rare's N64 classic harboured a fully functioning ZX Spectrum 48k emulator. Rare began a coding experiment to see if the N64 could support a Spectrum emulator, even embedding old-school Rare games Sabre Wulf, Jetpac and more in the code. Clearly the experiment...
If you know for sure, let us know
Occasionally, an enthusiastic researcher will embark on a quest to find information on obscure gaming facts, so it's surprising that one of the great unknowns in video game history is the U.S. release date for Super Mario Bros. on NES. Considering the fact that this is one of the most successful and iconic video...
Brandon Cobb explains why retro gaming matters
When we published a news article about a new SNES title on the way in 2013, Nightmare Busters, it attracted a great deal of interest. While many of us spend the majority of our game-time on current-day consoles, there still seems to be an appetite for retro titles and platforms. Few companies represent...
It's good, too
Anyone who loves retro gaming might want to get their chops around Pixel Nation, a new quarterly magazine dedicated to the world of old-school digital entertainment. The first issue of the 100-page, full colour periodical includes articles on topics dear to many Nintendo hearts: famed composer Koji Kondo takes the spotlight, and the...
On PC, and it's free
There are some things that immediately grab your attention, and we'd classify the following as one of those things: God of War NES version, free of charge. It may seem unlikely, but that's exactly what indie developer Holmade Games has produced. PlayStation 3 owners are likely to be familiar with the God of War series set in...
Insert coin
A new documentary exploring Japan's still-thriving arcade scene is about to hit the 'net. 100 Yen: The Japanese Arcade Experience — a reference to the nationwide shortage of 100 Yen coins following the release of the original Space Invaders — investigates what's helped Japanese arcades stay alive, while those in the West have all-but...
Anything but a nightmare
A few weeks ago we reported the surprising news that there's a new Super NES title on the way in 2013, defying the convention that developing retro games means publishing digitally on modern consoles or platforms. Nightmare Busters, from Super Fighter Team, will come on a brand new Super NES cartridge, while also including...
Less gritty but more fun?
At the recent BAFTA Video Game Awards, EA's Battlefield 3 was the recipient of the Audio Achievement prize, as this is a title renowned for its gritty sound effects and strong soundtrack. Not released for any Nintendo consoles, this may have passed some of us by. Despite these facts, one YouTube user has put together a...
Black beauty
Ask any gamer of a certain age which handheld they grew up with and the overwhelming response will be "Game Boy". Long before the Pokémon explosion of the late 90s, Nintendo's portable dominated the competition — not even closest competitor SEGA could upset the balance with the release of its Game Gear in the early part of...
Baby come back
Whenever a new system is announced, cyberspace is filled with wish lists of games that ought to be released faster than you can say Miyamoto. Very little is known so far about games coming to Wii U, so speculation is rife even though some classic series have already been heavily hinted at (Pikmin 3) or should be an announcement away...
The biggest retro hardware release in more ways than one
The lapse of hardware patents on retro platforms has resulted in an explosion of clone machines, most of which are produced cheaply in the Far East. These systems emulate the performance of consoles such as the NES, Super Nintendo and Genesis/Mega Drive, all of which are no longer covered by...
