December2023
Feature Meet The Virtual Boy Fan Making New Tech And Games For Nintendo's Console Curio
"I thought, 'Hey, I can probably do that'"
As the reputed black sheep of the Nintendo console family, one might think 1995’s Virtual Boy to be the last piece of hardware capable of garnering an enthusiast following today. Discontinued after less than a year on the market and never released in Europe, the elusive red-and-black headset is remembered...
Talking Point What Was The Best Switch Moment Of 2023?
It's been a bumper year
It's no understatement to say that 2023 has been stacked with memorable video gaming moments. Yes, the past 12 months might not have brought us new Nintendo hardware, but many of the games and announcements have been among the Switch's best — maybe even Nintendo's best. With three bumper edition Directs, surprise drops,...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel - Tetris Attack (GB)
Attaaaaack!
Hello everyone, welcome to another edition of Box Art Brawl! Before we get started on this week's brawl, let's take a look at how things concluded in last week's edition. We threw Viewtiful Joe 2 into the ring, with all three major regions battling it out for supremacy. To little surprise, it was the North American variant that took a...
News Bowser's Muscle Car Expansion Set Joins Super Mario LEGO Line January 2024
Here's a look
LEGO will be releasing Bowser's Muscle Car Expansion Set on 1st January 2024 for the price of $29.99. It's the latest addition to the successful Super Mario line and appears to be based on the same car featured in Super Mario 3D World. Here's a bit about it, courtesy of the LEGO website: Drive and role-play with Bowser’s Muscle...
Soapbox Switch Is Only A Classic Or Two From Being The Perfect PlayStation History Lesson
No Vita necessary
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Ethan ruminates on how, over time, Switch has become an excellent teaching tool for Sony neophytes... Here’s a truth diehard proponents of the console wars won’t readily...
Feature How Super Mario World Became An Award-Winning Book Of Verse
“Super Mario World has one of my most difficult experiences wound through its code"
Most of us have some childhood memory of games – be it Pokémon Blue, Tetris, or Super Mario Bros. When we dust off those old consoles, the games often trigger memories of our lives outside the screen too. In his heart-wrenching series of poems, If All the World...
Soapbox How Zelda's Bad Economy Made Weapon Degradation Great Again
Inflation can be fixed with rotting swords!
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Kate examines how Nintendo learned economic lessons from past Zelda games in Tears of the Kingdom... Much like me, Hyrule has always been bad with...
News Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Rated For Switch By ESRB
Returning in 2024
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door will be making a return on the Switch next year and while we've already seen some ratings pop up online, it's now also been rated by the ESRB. It's received a rating of 'E' for "Everyone" and contains "mild fantasy violence" and "mild suggestive themes" with "no interactive elements". Here's the...
Feature The One Thing Wii Did Much Better Than Switch
Point taken
The Sensor Bar. Flimsy little plastic box with the world's longest, spindliest cable. An irritation to every Wii owner who has ever had to move their console. What was it good for? There's not a lot to the Sensor Bar. A little device that emits some infrared light. If the Wii Remote is pointed at one, it recognises that's where the TV...
Feature That Time Nintendo Played God To Sell Pikmin To Gardeners
A bloomin' marvellous bit of marketing
Do you ever do something knowing full well that future you will thank yourself for it? Like booking the week off after a festival, saving a couple of slices of Domino’s for the next morning, or not going to Milton Keynes? That smug satisfaction that comes with mastering the art of foresight is, I believe, one...
Soapbox A Love Letter To My Favourite New Character In Zelda: TOTK
You have my full support
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Jim wants to spread the love for a certain Hylian in need of support... Before getting my hands on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for the first time, I had a...
Soapbox It's Time For A Zelda 1 Remake, Please
Or a 'temporal localisation', if you like
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, as TOTK anticipation increases to dangerous levels, Gavin explores why it's time for Nintendo to go back to a very specific well... Look, I'm all for...
News Nintendo Releases Free Super Mario Bros. Movie 'Strategy Guide' (Japan)
Discover all the hidden secrets
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is now rolling out on more streaming services around the globe, and to celebrate this, Nintendo has released a free "strategy guide" which shares all the hidden secrets and easter eggs in the movie. All you have to do is log in to Nintendo's Japanese website to access it. The catch is that...
Soapbox Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Straight Up Fails In Just One Respect: Accessibility
In 2023, we should expect better from Nintendo
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has been a critical and commercial success, garnering glowing reviews across the board (including from this her
Feature A Visit To '84 Hashi', Tokyo's Secret Nintendo Staff Bar Now Open To You
Eiji Aonuma? “Drinking buddy.” Shigeru Miyamoto?...
There’s no shortage of fascinating Nintendo-related places to visit in Tokyo. You could explore shops for boxed Famicom games, sit down and eat a Kirby burger, or play Punch-Out!! in its original cabinet at a retro arcade. Yet one attraction was hidden from Nintendo diehards for years. A...
News Nintendo Reveals "Most Downloaded" Switch eShop Games In 2023 (Japan)
Suika Game tops the charts
Back in July, Nintendo revealed Japan's "most downloaded" Switch games in the first half of 2023. It was no surprise The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was in the lead at the time. Now, in an update, it's been revealed Suika Game has officially surpassed it - earning the title of the "most downloaded" Switch eShop...
News Switch Online's 'Missions & Rewards' Adds Super Mario Bros. Wonder Icons
Update: The final wave has arrived
Update #2 [Thu 28th Dec, 2023 01:00 GMT]: The final set of Super Mario Bros. Wonder icons are now available to Switch Online members. This latest batch is available from now until 9th January 2024, so get them while you can. These new icons feature Luigi, Toadette, the singing Piranha Plants, and more. Here's a...
Feature Which Zelda Game Has The Best Ganondorf? Every Design Ranked By You
From Ganondorf to Ganondoof
We've all had the weekend to sit and stew over the final pre-launch trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (meaning, watching it another 100+ times) and it is fair to say that we are pretty jazzed for this game now. We're excited to see the changes made to Breath of the Wild's Hyrule, Link's new abilities,...
Feature Inside The Mind Of A Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Speedrunner
Tearing through Hyrule
Since its release in March 2017, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been an attractive game to speedrun for many reasons, and in our article last year, we were able to talk about its intricacies with two high-profile members of the community, including the world record holder. In 2023, the sequel, Tears of the...
Video Super Nintendo World Donkey Kong Country Expansion Commercials Released
Opening in Spring 2024
Earlier this month, Universal Studios revealed the Super Nintendo World 'Donkey Kong Country Expansion' would be opening in Japan in Spring 2024. At the time, there was a brief look at what to expect in an official teaser trailer featuring Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. Now, in an update, a few commercials have surfaced online...
News Switch Online's 'Missions And Rewards' Brings Back Previous 2023 Icons
Get them while you can
Nintendo has offered Switch Online subscribers all sorts of new and exciting icon designs this year and to finish the year it's bringing back "icon parts" you might have missed throughout 2023. This will allow users to redeem icon parts with daily special rewards from now until 10th January 2023. This icon run includes ones...
News Masahiro Sakurai On His Future: "I'm Still Creating Games For The Time Being"
The Smash Bros. creator shares an update
There has been quite a bit of conversation about the future of the legendary video game developer and Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai calling time on his career, and even he's spoken about this himself previously. Now, in the latest upload on his YouTube channel, Sakurai has briefly mentioned how he's...
Soapbox I Scoffed At Switch Lite, Then I Backpacked Through South East Asia
Travelling Lite
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Rory details how Nintendo's smallest Switch finally won him over... “Yes sir, it’s definitely a sleeper train. Don’t worry.” The lady at the ticket office chuckled to...
News New 3DS And Wii U Users Can't Go Online In Games
Update: This particular issue has reportedly been resolved
Update [Wed 27th Dec, 2023 05:30 GMT]: Pretendo has provided a new update, confirming the issues occurring were "indeed unintentional". While not all issues have been resolved, it appears new users on both 3DS and Wii U can now connect to servers. "We noted in our last blog post that it...
Video Mario Wonder Features In Digital Foundry's 'Best Game Graphics Of 2023' Round Up
Metroid Prime gets an honourable mention
Nintendo has got a lot of mileage out of the Switch and graphically speaking it has also pushed the hybrid system to its absolute limits. It's not gone unnoticed this year, either. The tech experts at Digital Foundry have featured Super Mario Bros. Wonder in their "best game graphics of 2023" round up,...