Author Profile
James started his career in video games as News Editor on Nintendo Life. Since leaving in 2012 to join Nintendo of Europe, James has risen through the ranks to become NoE's Senior Product PR & Corporate Communications Manager.
News North America, You Get the MGS 3D Demo Tomorrow Too
No-one left behind
It's a Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D demo free-for-all this week, as Konami has confirmed North American 3DS owners can try out the game for free with an eShop demo tomorrow. The demo's timely as the full game releases in North America on Tuesday, 21st February, giving you a few days to get to grips with Snake. Is this another...
News Ace Mathician is Goodbye Galaxy's Next DSiWare Game
Interest x 20
When we posted up CIRCLE Entertainment's six new DSiWare games, we only had a little information to go on for most titles, but we've since heard more details about Ace Mathician that might put it on your radar. Flipper developer Goodbye Galaxy Games is behind the maths-based puzzle platformer, which promises multiple mathematical...
News Ten Minutes of Kingdom Hearts 3D Footage Inside
Special trailer released
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance is still months away, but you can feast your eyes on ten whole minutes of in-game footage with Square Enix's new "special" trailer, embedded below. The trailer ticks all the right boxes, with a mixture of CGI footage, Japanese singing and a look at Tron world, featuring what's...
News Analyst Claims eShop Made $11 Million in 2011
Staggering statistics
Nintendo is extremely protective when it comes to releasing sales figures for its downloadable games, insisting developers and publishers sign non-disclosure agreements that prohibit them from discussing revenues and unit sales. Digital analysis firm FADE LLC is in the business of releasing digital sales figures and revenues,...
News Pandora's Tower Reaches Europe on 13th April
Action a-go-go, baby
Nintendo Europe just confirmed it'll release Japanese action RPG Pandora's Tower in just under two months' time The action game with a dark heart will launch across Europe on 13th April, giving you plenty of time to finish The Last Story, which is released on 24th February. The announcement also came with this rather delightful...
News Wow, CIRCLE Entertainment Really Likes DSiWare
Six titles revealed
Chinese publisher CIRCLE Entertainment is one of DSiWare's biggest supporters, releasing 11 games in the past 18 months. That run of form is set to continue over the coming months as it's announced a further six titles on their way to DSiWare. The line-up features: Pirates Assault — a "tower defence game with a...
Review Tekken 3D Prime Edition (3DS)
A prime fighting machine
Tekken 3D Prime Edition is only the second Nintendo appearance for the King of Iron Fist tournament, the last being 2002's dodgy Tekken Advance on Game Boy Advance. With fighting games enjoying a resurgence on 3DS, does Namco Bandai's second hit strike a knockout blow? It's up against stiff competition: Dead or Alive:...
News Super Mario Bros. for Ambassadors Just Got VC Features
Suspend points are in!
If you're a 3DS Ambassador, the NES upgrades just started rolling in. Super Mario Bros. now comes with Suspend Points, allowing you to suspend your play mid-game and reload it as often as you like. Should make those speed runs a whole lot easier. Other games have updates available but from our quick flick through it doesn't...
News Miyamoto Having a Ball Working on Pikmin 3
Now how about showing us?
Shigeru Miyamoto has been working on Pikmin 3 for years — we first heard of it nearly three years ago — but so far we've yet to see a single snifter of a teaser of a screenshot. Having worked so long on something so secretive, is Miyamoto in danger of losing his passion for Pikmin? Not on your Bulborb. Speaking to...
News Atlus Reprints Radiant Historia, Due Next Month
Historic
Like most Atlus games, critically acclaimed DS RPG Radiant Historia only had a limited print run upon its release last year, leaving many interested customers unable to find the game at retail. Now, nearly a year after its first release, Atlus is readying another production run. The next round of games will drop in late March, with Atlus...
Nintendo Download 16th February 2012 (Europe)
Metal Gear demo and Mario Land 3
A decent array of titles across the formats this week, although no, there's still no VVVVVV or Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword. What is available is listed below for your viewing pleasure. 3DS Virtual Console: Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (Game Boy, Nintendo, £3.60/€4) — Completing the Super Mario Land
News Metal Gear Solid 3D Demo Heads to Europe This Week
Snaaaaaaaaaaake!
Want to try out Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D before its European launch? Head to the eShop this week for a trial downloadable demo. The demo lands on Thursday as part of the regular eShop update alongside an old Game Boy favourite. We'll have the full Nintendo Download for you in a few minutes, but in the meantime, are you...
Review The King of Fighters '97 (Wii Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
The once and future king
Despite being the fourth in the series, The King of Fighters '97 is only the third to reach the Wii Virtual Console, SNK Playmore having skipped King of Fighters '96 in favour of its bigger, beefier brother. Without '96 to bridge the gap, the jump from King of Fighters '95 to '97 is huge: there are six more characters for a...
Talking Point When StreetPass Reunites Old Friends
It's a small world
Last week, the UK Nintendo Life team hosted a meet-up in Nottingham's swanky Broadway cinema lounge, with staff members travelling from all over Great Britain to get together and play a lot of video games. While there are many stories from the evening that we could tell — and plenty more we couldn't — one small chance...
First Impressions Block Factory (3DS eShop)
Bricking it
Upcoming 3DS eShop title Block Factory — from the makers of Pyramids — is trying to do something a little different with the puzzle genre. Instead of sticking resolutely to one kind of block-dropper, you can create your own take on the genre with its built-in creative tools. While the game comes with four preset games that ape famous...
News Jump Magazine Forges More Fire Emblem 3DS Details
Free Map returns
If you're anticipating Fire Emblem Kakusei (that's Fire Emblem Awakening in English) for 3DS, you'll be pleased to know a few more details about the upcoming strategy RPG have reached our eyes. According to Jump Magazine (via Andriasang), the game brings back the free-roaming map system as seen recently in the GBA Ambassador...
News Tekken 3D's Multiplayer Mode is 2D Only
Pulling punches
Tekken 3D Prime Edition's bulging cart of 41 characters and a full-length 3D movie is nothing to be trifled with, and the latest Iwata Asks reveals plenty of interesting nuggets — and, indeed, noodles — about next week's scrapper. One such fact is that the stereoscopic display isn't available in wireless multiplayer. A footnote...
News Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles NES Pulled from Virtual Console
Time's up
The NES version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been removed from Virtual Console in all regions. As always when games are pulled from the VC library there's no official explanation why Konami's 8-bit brawler has been taken off sale, but we'd expect it's something to do with the licence. But, as our Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles review...
News Kid Icarus: Uprising AR Events On the Cards
Gotta collect them all
Kid Icarus: Uprising lands with six augmented reality cards, but there'll be more than half a dozen available in the grand scheme of things, as Nintendo of America will host events to make new cards available. The official Kid Icarus: Uprising site simply says: Check back on this site soon for info about special Nintendo...
Nintendo Download 9th February 2012 (North America)
Megamixes, burgers and Maru's Mission
A relatively quiet download this week, with just three titles on offer, one of which came from absolutely nowhere. 3DS Virtual Console: Maru's Mission (Game Boy, Hamster Corporation, $2.99) — Here's a title you don't hear of very often. A side-scrolling action platformer — what else? — Maru's Mission puts...
News Skyward Sword Up for BAFTA Game of 2011
You can make it happen
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword has been nominated for the BAFTA GAME Award 2011, the only award determined by a public vote. Link's latest is the only Nintendo-exclusive game on the shortlist, but if you want to support it you can vote for Skyward Sword. You don't even need to be a UK resident, so go nuts. Here's the...
News Ex-Rare Staff Talk Nintendo, Microsoft and Where It All Changed
Going places
Many long-standing Nintendo fans have a special place in their hearts for Rare, the British developer responsible for Banjo Kazooie, GoldenEye 007, Jet Force Gemini and more. In 1994 Nintendo bought a 49% stake in the developer, guiding it to create hit after hit, but in 2002 the studio was bought outright by Microsoft, spelling the end...
Exclusive SpeedX 3D Racing to 3DS eShop
Start your engines
Gamelion Studios is bringing its popular mobile game SpeedX 3D to the 3DS eShop. The tunnel racer has racked up over 10 million downloads on iOS, Android and other operating systems, and a new version is on the way to 3DS later this year. The concept is simple: race as far as possible down a brightly coloured — psychedelic, even...
News Kirby's Dream Land 2 On the Way to Japanese eShop
Sweet dreams
Kirby's Dream Land is one of the best-selling Virtual Console games on 3DS, so it's no surprise Nintendo is preparing 1995 follow-up Kirby's Dream Land 2 for Japan's eShop next week. The portable platformer heads to Japan's store on 15th February, and will hopefully bound its way over to Europe and North America before too long. In the...
