About a decade ago, Lowell moved to Japan for a year or two but is still there, raising a Shiba Inu named Zelda with his wife while missing access to good burritos. He also has a love/hate relationship with Japanese role-playing games.
Lowell began his career reporting on live events such as the Penny Arcade Expo and E3 back in 2012. Over the last couple of years, he carved a niche for himself, covering competitive Pokémon as he transitioned into game criticism full-time.
Review Tunic (Switch) - Old-School Adventuring With Nods To Zelda, Unforgiving And Ingenious
Surprisingly, the fox isn’t saving a princess from a pig-man
The opening moments of Tunic fooled us into thinking we were in for a derivative Zelda-like adventure. A diminutive fox-like character wearing a green tunic reminiscent of a certain hero wakes up on a beach. From an isometric camera angle, this fox (known as the Ruin Seeker) finds a...
Mini Review OneShot: World Machine Edition (Switch) - A Brilliant And Bittersweet Indie Darling
You've only got OneShot
A cat-like child named Niko wakes up in a decrepit house, locked in a room with a bookshelf, a password-locked computer, and a TV remote control on the floor. It’s too dark to read the books and there’s no sign of a password anywhere – it's up to you to find a way out. Not long after, Niko stumbles upon a massive...
Review Temtem (Switch) - An Innovative Pokémon-Like, With Depth And Grind In Equal Measure
Into Temtemtion
At the beginning of our Temtem adventure, we had every intention to review the Pokémon-inspired massively multiplayer game based on its own merit, steering clear of comparisons between the two as best we could. Developer Crema never shied away from where Temtem’s blueprints came from during its successful Kickstarter campaign and...
Mini Review Little Orpheus (Switch) - A Whimsical Tale That Left Us Wanting
Absurd tales straight from the centre of the Earth
Developed by The Chinese Room of Dear Esther and Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture fame, Little Orpheus sheds some – but not all – of the studio’s reputation for making games with a focus on engaging stories rather than gameplay. Fear not, the studio's flair for an intriguing setup remains...
Feature Which Region Has The Best Pokédex? Every Pokédex, Ranked From Best To Worst
Worst to best, actually, because SUSPENSE
Depending on how you feel about food and motorcycle themed Pokémon, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Paldea region looks to have one of the more creative Pokédexes in recent memory. Both Lechonk and Fidough have garnered an unhealthy
Feature Every Pokémon Game Narrative, Ranked From Best To Worst
Relatable villains and rivals that experience character growth make for the best stories
Pokémon games aren’t going to win a Hugo Award anytime soon for their narratives, but that doesn’t mean our many myriad adventures forwent interesting story beats. From Kanto to Galar, quirky villainous teams have strived to dominate Pokémon and people,...
Review Arcade Paradise (Switch) - An Addictive Arcade Management Sim That Proves Laundry Can Be Fun
Not a wash out
Have you ever wanted to turn your local laundromat into an arcade? For the three of you that have, boy do we have a game to recommend you. Created by Nosebleed Interactive, the same developer behind the well-received Vostok Inc., Arcade Paradise puts you in the role of Ashley, an inheritor to a run-down laundromat called King Wash...
Feature Dynamax Ain’t That Bad - Pokemon’s Recent Battle Mechanics Ranked
VGC pro Wolfe Glick talks Mega Evolutions, Z-Moves, and Dynamax
From Generation III onward, Game Freak has altered Pokémon’s core battle mechanics in some way or another. Double Battles and the Physical/Special move split fundamentally changed the way people play Pokémon both casually and competitively, but it’s the latter three — Mega...
Soapbox Correcting A Horrifying 15-Year Mistake By Finally Playing Elite Beat Agents
They don’t make rhythm games as bizarre as they used to
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've got on their minds. Today, Lowell makes amends for a poor life choice and finally gets down with that funky, funky beat... Rewind with me all the way back to...
Wright 'em up
We didn’t quite know what we were getting ourselves into when we agreed to review Yurukill: The Calumniation Games. On one hand, Yurukill fronts as a murder-mystery adventure similar to Danganronpa or – if you squint hard enough – Phoenix Wright. On the other, Yurukil
Gen 9 starter final form predictions brought to life
A new generation of Pokémon is on the horizon and with it comes speculation and anticipation that runs as rampant as a horde of Tauros. During this time, a new generation’s Starter Pokémon take the centre stage, particularly their final forms. With Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, releasing on...
Feature 10 Famous Franchises That Would Make Great Warriors Games
Playable characters and killable enemies up the wazoo
We’re in the midst of a Warriors series Golden Age on the Nintendo Switch. Recently, we asked you – Nintendo Life’s readers – to rank each of these Musou games, and games like Hyrule Warriors and Age of Calamity beat out the likes of
Feature Temtem Dev On The Difficulties Of Bringing The Pokémon Rival To Switch
"There were a lot of sacrifices and a lot of difficulties"
First announced back in 2018 before dropping onto Steam Early Access in 2020 and later PS5, Temtem garnered a lot of well-deserved attention as a worthy challenger to Pokémon’s tried-and-true formula, with a focus on developing the online social and competitive elements of Game Freak's...
Feature Which Pokémon Is Tastiest? - Food-Based Pokémon, Ranked
Gotta eat ‘em all
We here at Nintendo Life are always hungry because, while not many are aware, writing about Nintendo everyday works up a massive appetite. So it’s only natural that when the new Pokémon Scarlet and Violet trailer revealed another food-themed Pokémon, we couldn’t help but wonder how it would taste.
Feature How The Quintessential Essence Of Pokémon Games Inspires Gen After Gen
Insight from Pokémon World Champions and Temtem’s Director
In 1998 my Canadian elementary school banned everything to do with Pokémon. The games, the trading cards, and discussions about the anime – all of it was off-limits as Pocket Monster fever swept through North America like a swarm of Rattata, distracting us from our in-class reading of...
Review Biomotor Unitron (Switch) - SNK's Mech-Builder Is Heavy With Arms And Retro Charms
Cool robots and nostalgia can only do so much, though
Biomotor Unitron has a wicked name. We’d forgive you for assuming it refers to an obscure power metal band or maybe the title of a 1990s mech-based anime. In reality, Biomotor Unitron is a mech-building role-playing game originally released for the Neo Geo Pocket Color way back in 1999 –...
Review The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story (Switch) - A Campy Murder-Mystery From Square Enix
Almost to die for
If you had told us in January that an FMV murder-mystery title would become one of our most memorable experiences on the Switch this year, we’d have looked at you as if you were one of The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story’s prime murder suspects. Directed by Koichiro Ito (scenario designer for Metal Gear Solid V) and produced...
Review As Far As The Eye (Switch) - A Nomadic Roguelite City-Builder Launched In A Right Old State
As far as you can get before the game crashes
Since this review was originally published, a patch has reportedly addressed one or more of the issues cited below. While we unfortunately cannot revisit games on an individual basis, it should be noted that the updated game may offer a much-improved experience over the one detailed below. Promoted as...
A mixed intro to the world of Suikoden's spiritual successor
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, a spiritual successor to the legendary Suikoden series of Japanese role-playing games, blew past its funding goals on Kickstarter two years ago, raising a whopping 4.5 million USD and shattering all its stretch goals in the process. It’s safe to say...
Feature Will These 10 Classic Western RPGs Ever Come To Switch?
We maxed out our Intelligence to make these predictions
Month after month, the Nintendo Switch continues to add classic Japanese role-playing games through remakes, ports, and its online emulation service. Recently, we took a look at 10 classic JRPGs that – surprisingly – hadn’t made it to Switch yet. But what about RPGs developed west of...
Feature Will These 10 Classic JRPGs Ever Come To Switch?
You can never have too many massive swords
The Nintendo Switch has fast become the best way to play Japanese role-playing games over its five-year lifespan. Truly, fans of games with deep battle systems, endearing characters, convoluted (and often nonsensical) plots, and fantastical worlds to save are spoiled for choice. From the expansive...
A not-so-radical remaster
Whenever a developer resurrects a decades-old game, the same question arises along with it: does the remaster maintain the integrity of the original while changing enough to warrant a purchase for both newcomers and longtime fans alike? For Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition, that’s tough to answer. A sequel to...
Feature 6 Things We Pokémon Vets Want To See In Pokémon Scarlet And Violet
Old Pokémon players yell at Game Freak to get off their lawn
The year was 1998. The Spice Girls were blowing up radio stations, and Nintendo had every kid under the age of 15 glued to their Game Boys playing Pokémon Red and Blue. Many of those kids, including some of us here at Nintendo Life, are now in their thirties – and therefore not long...
Feature Which New Hisuian Pokémon Are Viable For Competitive Play?
Gotta rank ‘em all
Pokémon Legends: Arceus raises a lot of questions about the future of the official competitive Pokémon format, VGC. Will Frostbite replace the Frozen status condition? Will Drowsy supersede Sleep? How will overpowered new moves such as Stone Axe and Victory Dance translate into a ‘typical’ Pokémon game? Will there even be...
