Feature Articles
Monday2nd Jan 2023
Soapbox After 10 Years I Finally Got A Wii U, Here’s What I Thought
The good, the bad, and the ugly
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, following up on his piece from a few weeks back, Jim delivers his verdict on the ten-year-old console and how it holds up in 2022 ... Picture the scene. The year...
Friday30th Dec 2022
Feature The History Of Monolith Soft - From Baten Kaitos To Xenoblade And Zelda
A monolithic tale
Monolith Soft has become one of the most recognisable of Nintendo's first-party developers in recent times. Led by legendary RPG writer and director Tetsuya Takahashi, the studio is renowned for the monolithic (pun intended) Xenoblade series. Combining MMORPG-style, memorable worlds, stunning music, and philosophical writing, the...
Thursday1st Dec 2022
Soapbox Xenoblade Chronicles X's Influence Is Bigger Than You Think
So why is it *still* stuck on the Wii U?
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, on the 5th anniversary of Xenoblade Chronicles 2's release, Alana wants to celebrate the influence of its predecessor and series spin-off... Xenoblade...
Tuesday19th Apr 2022
Talking Point With BOTW2 Slipping, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Launching Early Is Fantastic News
"Bringing together the futures" of its predecessors
Though Xenoblade Chronicles is not the biggest-selling franchise to consistently grace Nintendo's hardware, it's clear that Nintendo is happy to recognise that some brands and genres deserve support for the loyalty they earn among fans. MonolithSoft, a company majority-owned by Nintendo that often...
Saturday16th Apr 2022
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 16th)
A long weekend? More time for video games
If you celebrate it, Happy Easter! If not, we hope you at least have a nice, long weekend, or perhaps you're just going to relax more than normal. Whatever you're doing, we hope video games factor into your plans. This week, we got a new Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes trailer, which introduces us to...
Saturday5th Jun 2021
Feature Our Predictions For Nintendo's E3 2021 Direct
Switch Pro, BOTW2, and high, high hopes
It's been a long, weird year, but E3 is back after last year's COVID cancellation. It's still a digital event, as we're not out of the woods yet, but that means we'll be seeing all the big names on the (virtual) stage again. But will Nintendo give us everything we've hoped for, or will we be left a little...
Saturday16th Jun 2018
Talking Point What Were The Biggest Highs And Lows From E3 2018?
What kind of impact did Nintendo have on this year's show?
E3 is finally over for another year, bringing to a close the biggest event yet. From surprise promotional crossovers on the Ubisoft conference to a certain game pretty much taking over Nintendo's big summer Direct, there's been plenty of topics to talk about now the dust is beginning to...
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,...
Sunday4th Dec 2016
Feature Xenoblade Chronicles X - One Year Later
Musing on Mira
In this article Gonçalo "Shiryu" Lopes shares his personal reflections on Xenoblade Chronicles X, the enthralling Wii U title. Exactly one year ago Wii U owners were given a unique opportunity to escape reality by embarking on the extremely difficult assignment: to beat extinction against all odds on Planet Mira. But Xenoblade...
Friday18th Dec 2015
Editorial Xenoblade Chronicles X Has Tiny Text - Time for an Update?
Tom Whitehead's not really seeing it, are you?
This week we received an interesting email from one of our readers, Victor, which made a very good point. The text in Xenoblade Chronicles X is too small, and it should be improved; it was a lightbulb moment when we realised we should have brought it up far sooner - I certainly should have. In my...
Friday13th Nov 2015
Preview Getting Lost in the World of Xenoblade Chronicles X
That's a positive, mostly
When an individual has spent well over a hundred hours of their life playing Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, there's an initial instinct that jumping into the enormous world of Xenoblade Chronicles X will be like putting on a big woolly jumper. Sure, it's larger and less snug, but it's also warm, inviting...
Friday2nd Oct 2015
Feature The Biggest Wii U Games of 2015 - Q4 Edition
Goodies to finish off 2015
Every few months of each year we do lists of what we consider to be ten of the biggest games on each system that are on the way. We're kicking off with the Wii U for this quarter and, although we gave retail and eShop games separate lists earlier in the year, the limited remaining slate for 2015 has prompted us to combine...
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...
Friday10th Apr 2015
Feature The Final Xenoblade Chronicles X Presentation - Dolls and Online Features
Info on how mech suits will work in the game, along with online mechanics
Well, there you have it. With this latest Japanese Xenoblade Chronicles X presentation, Nintendo and developer Monolith Soft have spilled all the beans they're willing to spill before the game releases in Japan on 29th April. In the past we've seen the planet of Mira detailed,...
Friday13th Mar 2015
Along with a quick look at Stella Glow, the upcoming 3DS RPG
Unlike last week's Famitsu magazine, this week's magazine featured much less information on upcoming Nintendo games. One Famitsu magazine each month serves as a recap magazine for the gaming news of the past month, with some new information peppered throughout. Unfortunately, this means...
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...
Friday6th Mar 2015
Feature A Summary of the Xenoblade Chronicles X Battle Presentation
Full video and details on combat skills, customization and party members
Nintendo and Developer Monolift Soft have made it their goal to show Japanese gamers just about everything Xenoblade Chronicles X has to offer through 30 minute online presentations; it's an admirable endeavour, even if there are no English subtitles. The last video took a look...
Tuesday10th Feb 2015
Reaction Super Smash Bros. amiibo Support Shows That NFC For The New Nintendo 3DS Is No Gimmick
Part of a long term plan?
Today Nintendo provided a pretty meaty update for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, which adds some rather neat data sharing options that'll no doubt see thousands of Mii characters and funny images ping around the internet for our viewing pleasure. Beyond those additions of data swapping and Miiverse posts there was also...
Friday6th Feb 2015
Feature A Summary of the Xenoblade Chronicles X Presentation and What We Learned About Its World
Details on planet Mira, New LA, GamePad usage, plus the full video
To date details around Xenoblade Chronicles X have arrived in snippets, mainly through tweets and interview quotes; up until today Nintendo and developer Monolith Soft have adopted a rather coy approach when releasing information about the game. The last couple of weeks have brought...
Sunday18th Jan 2015
Poll Nintendo's Year of Adventure on Wii U and 3DS Promises Hundreds of Immersive Gaming Hours
Xenoblade or Legend of Zelda, which is top of your list?
There are plenty of games already confirmed by Nintendo for 2015, covering the Wii U, 3DS and - in one case - the New Nintendo 3DS. We have diverse experiences, from shooting to platforming, level creation to strategy, yet it's in the RPG and Adventure genres that the most hours may be lost...
Thursday1st Jan 2015
Feature The Biggest Wii U Games of 2015
The Legend of Zelda! Star Fox! Splatoon! More!
2015 is here, and for Wii U owners it could be the most exciting year of HD Nintendo gaming yet. The past couple of years have delivered some truly fantastic games, of course, with the just-departed 2014 bringing two of Nintendo's biggest franchises into the current generation. Excitingly, though, the...
Tuesday1st Apr 2014
Feature The Biggest Wii U Games of 2014 - Spring Edition
Time for some additions
At the start of this year we continued our quarterly tradition of looking at the biggest games coming to the Wii U, this time considering 2014. Even with an admittedly shallow confirmed line-up for the year we'd like to think that it was a list to give optimism to Wii U owners anxious for exciting games to play. It's now...
Wednesday1st Jan 2014
Feature The Biggest Wii U Games of 2014
Some good 'uns are on the way
A new year is here, and with it comes the opportunity for Nintendo and its partners to excite Wii U owners in the best possible way — with great games. We've decided to list some of the most anticipated and exciting games coming to the Wii U in 2014, all as a taste of what's to come. Our aim with this list is to...
