Feature Articles
Wednesday8th May 2024
Soapbox Are We Ready For A 3D Super Mario Maker?
Super Mario Maker 3(D)
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Kevin wonders if Nintendo is ready to bring another dimension to its Maker series... If you can believe it, Super Mario Maker was released for the Wii U nearly nine years...
Thursday11th Mar 2021
Soapbox There Might Be A Bright Side To Mario's March 31st Doomsday, After All
The termination of various Super Mario games looms, but it's not all bad news
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 argues that Mario's Doomsday might not be as bad an event as you think... Let's begin with a tally of...
Saturday13th Jul 2019
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 13th)
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
Welcome folks to yet another weekend - and what a week we've had! The official reveal (finally) of the Nintendo Switch Lite kept the NL team super busy this week - you can catch up on everything you need to know right here - but now it's time for us to talk about our weekend plans. Which games will you be...
Wednesday26th Dec 2018
Feature The Final Wii U Games We'd Like To See On Switch In 2019
What’s left to loot from the wreckage of Wii U?
Ah, poor Wii U – you’ve got to feel for it. Through bungled messaging and almost total non-support of its unique asymmetric gameplay, Nintendo launched the ship without a compass into an ocean littered with pointy icebergs ready to pierce her glossy white hull. Despite releasing some excellent...
Saturday9th Jun 2018
Talking Point What Do You Want To See From Nintendo At E3 2018?
We predict... some predictions
With E3 2018 set to kick off this weekend with the showcases from many of the big publishers and platformer holders in the video game industry, we thought it was high time we cooked up a fresh batch of predictions. Team Nintendo Life has gathered together its collective hopes and dreams for the show - some realistic,...
Tuesday29th Nov 2016
Feature Super Mario Maker FAQs - The Key Differences between the Wii U and 3DS Versions
Aside from screen size
Perhaps due to the limited userbase and sales potential on the Wii U, Nintendo is bringing a couple of its notable home console releases of recent times to the 3DS, no doubt necessitating some technical wizardry in the process. The first of these is Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, which delivers a portable version of the...
Monday28th Nov 2016
Super Mario Run is also trying new things with the bankable franchise
When New Super Mario Bros. came out on DS, the excitement was palpable. After all, it was the first 2D Mario platformer in about 15 years, which seems amazing to consider nowadays. Some of you may raise your eyebrows at that statement, and may argue that it's incorrect, but let's...
Monday8th Aug 2016
Feature Ten Ideal Launch Year Nintendo NX Games
In one writer's humble opinion, at least
Just recently we ran a poll asking you which Nintendo games / franchises you'd like to see in the NX launch window, assuming that to be a period of around six months. Plenty of you pitched in, with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and a 3D Mario title being the leaders, with a new Metroid Prime title...
Tuesday22nd Dec 2015
Talking Point Each Super Mario Maker Update Promises Much for the Future of the Franchise
Flying levels, helmets being vital to gameplay - the game has changed
The latest major Super Mario Maker update is live, being the second of its kind (outside of minor Mystery Costume additions) at the time of writing. The first notable update was, in some ways, focused on fixing perceived shortcomings of the launch code - it included stacked...
Friday27th Nov 2015
Feature Super Mario Maker’s Weekly Course Collection - 27th November
North America, step up
Nintendo has hand-picked another selection of stages from the highest-rated Super Mario Maker courses, but this week it's North America's turn! Give them a spin and let us know what you think by posting a comment at the end! Teamwork! 9D93-0000-00D6-B85C Hard Difficulty Designed
Friday20th Nov 2015
Feature Super Mario Maker’s Weekly Course Collection - 20th November
In need of a fresh challenge? Look within
Nintendo has once again hand-picked a selection of courses from the 100 highest-rated Super Mario Maker courses across Europe. Give them a spin and let us know what you think by posting a comment at the end! Fun and fair Challenge! 94CA-0000-00A1-3DF7 Medium Difficulty Designed by {ñ²}Nuki from Germany...
Friday13th Nov 2015
Feature Super Mario Maker’s Weekly Course Collection - 13th November
Which is your personal favourite this week?
Nintendo has once again hand-picked a selection of courses from the 100 highest-rated Super Mario Maker courses across Europe. Give them a spin and let us know what you think by posting a comment at the end! No EscaPeach! E03B-0000-00B0-5EE1 Medium Difficulty Designed by Fabio from Italy What would...
Wednesday4th Nov 2015
Talking Point Super Mario Maker's Update Continues Nintendo's Focus on Major Games as Services
Going beyond day one
Super Mario Maker is on the cusp - at the time of writing - of receiving its first major update. It solves one of the most notable quibbles that fans have had by adding level checkpoints, in addition to features such as dedicated areas for official Nintendo courses and 'event' courses contributed by companies such as Facebook...
Friday30th Oct 2015
Feature Super Mario Maker’s Weekly Course Collection - 30th October
How many have you beaten?
Super Mario Maker has been out for a while now and we've already seen an impressive number of user-generated stages for players to tackle. So many in fact that it's often hard to know where to begin, but fear not - Nintendo of Europe has taken the liberty of compiling a list of the 10 most popular courses this week. Check...
Monday12th Oct 2015
Super Nindie Maker Curve Digital's P-Switcheroo and Déja Boo
Throwing a curveball
As you may have seen by now, we really want you all to share Super Mario Maker levels with each other; to achieve that we've set up a special level sharing page with some neat features - just for you. We're also teaming up with some 'Nindies' to share some levels from established and highly respected developers such as Image...
Monday5th Oct 2015
Super Nindie Maker Choice Provisions' Paratroopa Pounce
BIT.TRIP POUNCE
As you may have seen by now, we really want you all to share Super Mario Maker levels with each other; to achieve that we've set up a special level sharing page with some neat features - just for you. We're also teaming up with some 'Nindies' to share some levels from established and highly respected developers. We kicked off the...
Monday21st Sep 2015
Super Nindie Maker Image & Form's Ghostly Mushroom
Spooky...
As you may have seen by now, we really want you all to share Super Mario Maker levels with each other; to achieve that we've set up a special level sharing page with some neat features - just for you. We're also teaming up with some 'Nindies' to share some levels from established and highly respected developers. To start off we have a...
Monday14th Sep 2015
Mario History Super Mario Maker - 2015
The culmination of 30 years
In this series of articles we've written about one or more Mario games per day, each representing a different year as part of our Super Mario 30th Anniversary celebrations. Today we finish with the latest release. After writing a lot of these articles over the past month we end with what will become Mario History in the...
Friday11th Sep 2015
Community Create, Share, Play and Rate Each Other's Levels on Nintendo Life
Earn a spot in our regular video and feature series
It's Super Mario Maker day, and it's no doubt going to pop up in a lot of articles; actually, we make no apology for that. It's earned a rare 10 in our review, and is a reminder of many of the qualities that have made Mario an iconic part of Nintendo and gaming history. It's a big deal. A vital...
Thursday10th Sep 2015
Interview Yosuke Oshino On The Origins And Evolution Of Super Mario Maker
"This being Mario's 30th Anniversary is just a coincidence"
Super Mario Maker is upon us, and delivers something that may have seemed inconceivable in past years. Nintendo is handing over the keys of its most valuable franchise to gamers, providing a quirky and fun tool for creating, sharing and playing 2D Mario levels. It's been critically...
Tuesday18th Aug 2015
Preview Rekindling Platforming Passion in Super Mario Maker
It's about the playing as well as the creating
Super Mario Maker is now rather close, and there's every chance that the Wii U exclusive will be regarded as a key turning point for 2D Mario gaming in years to come. Having spent some time with the final build, it's clear to us that Nintendo's finest have been truly devoting themselves to this most...
Sunday16th Aug 2015
Mario Memories The Creative Joy of Childhood and Super Mario Maker as a Modern-Day Roll of Paper
Mario Maker is for all the kids who will look back 20 years from now
In this series of 30 daily articles celebrating the upcoming 30th Anniversary of Super Mario, various members of the Nintendo Life extended family will share their memories and thoughts on the iconic franchise. Next up is Nintendo Life veteran and Noiseless Chatter master Philip J...
Wednesday22nd Jul 2015
Talking Point Assessing the Odds of Super Mario Maker Making a Commercial Splash This September
Anniversary-busting August may have been better
We're still waiting for a North American announcement - which we hope is just a matter of time - but we were rather pleased about confirmation today of a Super Mario Maker Wii U hardware bundle. It's coming to Europe on the same day as the game (a simple but important requirement) and certainly...
Sunday19th Jul 2015
Talking Point Competitive Gaming With Super Smash Bros. and More Can Be Vital for Nintendo
New audiences and more headlines
It's been Evo weekend in Las Vegas, arguably the most notable fighting game tournament in the world. Super Smash Bros. Melee and the Wii U entry are two of the biggest titles of the event, with recognisable competitors and a lot of press coverage revolving around the series. If Masahiro Sakurai takes personal...
Wednesday1st Jul 2015
Talking Point It's the Community That'll Put the 'Super' Into Mario Maker
Its legacy could be outstanding
Just this week we got another look at Super Mario Maker at a UK press event, and were struck by its significant potential. Yet we've already done a first impressions article from E3, which goes into detail on how well it's shaping up. If you want a strong outline of its core features and why we think it's marvellous,...
Sunday21st Jun 2015
Feature The Biggest Wii U Retail Games of 2015 - Summer Edition
E3 has added some new hits
It's the Summer Solstice here at Nintendo Life HQ in the UK, the longest day of the year. That comes at the end of the longest week of the year following E3, at which Nintendo had a mixed showing. What the event did deliver, in addition to some controversy and a clutch of wonderful moments, was a clearer look at the...
First Impressions Celebrating a Gaming Icon With Super Mario Maker
Let's Super Mario!
Super Mario Maker, recently powered-up from its initial moniker of 'Mario Maker', was a huge part of Nintendo's E3 presence both this year and last. Just a few months ahead of its September release it still had plenty of new surprises in store for this year's show, and still managed to captivate attendees' imaginations. The...
Monday15th Jun 2015
Talking Point Super Mario Maker Stole the Show at the Nintendo World Championships 2015
A game changer for the franchise
The Nintendo World Championships 2015 was an event that had various similarities to the Super Smash Bros. Invitational from E3 2014 - it was charming, had some flat moments, the occasional hiccup, yet managed to seize momentum at key moments to keep us watching. It was a lengthy event that actually started rather...
Wednesday29th Apr 2015
Talking Point Mario Maker Can Be A Game Changer For Nintendo And Its Relationship With Gamers
A future with NES Maker and more could be extraordinary
Sometimes a game has the power to seize the imagination from the moment it's revealed, with a self-hyping capacity to get thousands of gamers excited from little more than a glimpse. Others can be a slow burner or need the right moment to set off alarms in an individual's head. This writer will...
Saturday7th Mar 2015
Poll Which 2015 Nintendo Blockbusters Should Have amiibo Support?
A welcome extra or occasional option?
Since the launch of the first 'wave' alongside Super Smash Bros. for Wii U in November 2014, Nintendo's wasted little time in promoting and expanding amiibo. Continual waves have continued to take us towards coverage of the full cast in the brawling title, while an upcoming Super Mario range will accompany Mario...
