Popular Games by Nintendo Software Technology
Reviews of Nintendo Software Technology Games
Review Pokémon Puzzle League - A Thrilling Puzzler And A Heavy Nostalgia Hit
Panel de Pokémon
This review originally went live in 2008, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival on Switch as part of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. For those who have dabbled with Puzzle League, this is obvious information, but please bear with us. Tetris Attack, the SNES game, was a westernized version of...
Review Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion (Switch eShop)
Eights-a-poppin'
Since we first clapped eyes on the sucker-headed Octolings in 720p on the Wii U, Splatoon fans everywhere wanted to take control of these teenage tentaculars on the splattlefield. Octo Expansion promises just that and much more, but can such wondrous ideas truly be realised in a $20 DLC pack for Splatoon 2 on the Switch? Let’s...
Review Metroid Prime: Hunters (Wii U eShop / DS)
A bit past its Prime
The year was 2004. The Metroid series had been brought roaring back to relevance a couple years prior with the excellent Metroid Prime, and its sequel was due out soon. At E3, Nintendo opted to unveil its newest platform, a bizarre device that featured two screens. Many were skeptical as to whether or not the device would be...
Review Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge (3DS eShop)
Tiny toys
Nintendo's track record in promoting amiibo through free apps isn't one that's always shown the company at its best. amiibo Tap: Nintendo's Greatest Bits, for example, was a bit rubbish and unsure of its audience. With efforts like that it's just as well that the range and compatible games mean the figures (and cards) practically sell...
Review Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge (Wii U eShop)
Toying around
Beyond simply dropping amiibo into stores and saying "look, Nintendo characters as collectible toys", the big N has also been trying to produce free software to tempt Wii U and 3DS owners to pick up some figures. We've already had amiibo Tap: Nintendo's Greatest Bits, but that was an oddly flawed and arguably rubbish app - thankfully...
Review Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis (Wii U eShop / DS)
A toy story
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis is the Nintendo DS sequel to the original GBA classic and a new recruit to the ever-growing Wii U Virtual Console library. Rather than being more of the same platforming puzzle action, Nintendo chose to focus this entire game around what is but a small percentage of the previous game - the...
Latest Nintendo Software Technology News
Thursday2nd Mar 2023
Countdown Wii U eShop Spotlight - Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars
#7 - Let's-a go this way
For the month before the 3DS and Wii U eShops close for new purchases on 27th March, each day we're going to highlight a specific eShop game for one of those consoles and give a short pitch as to why we think it deserves your love and attention — before it's too late. The chance to add these to your library will be gone...
Saturday20th Aug 2022
Poll So, Wave Race 64 Or Blue Storm - Which Is Best?
Or are you a GB purist?
The arrival of Wave Race 64 on Switch as part of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack has been the cause of much celebration in the Nintendo Life office. Those water physics have the power to impress some two-and-a-half decades on, and it still handles like a dream. If you've never played the game — or if you're a PAL...
Monday31st Jan 2022
News Metroid Prime Hunters Designer Would Love To See The Game Remade Today
"It would be great to see those guys at full resolution"
When you consider how beloved the Metroid series is, it's remarkable that more people don't talk about Metroid Prime Hunters. One of the key early titles for the Nintendo DS (a demo was memorably bundled with the console at launch), Hunters was a spin-off of a spin-off; it formed part of the...
Monday12th Nov 2018
Video Learn About Nintendo's Failed Harry Potter Pitch For The N64
Expelliarmus!
With the sequel to Fantastic Beasts arriving in cinemas worldwide on 16th November, there's no better time to talk about the secret history of the Harry Potter video game series. In a new Did You Know Gaming video, independent game researcher Liam Robertson takes a look at Nintendo's failed Harry Potter pitch during the N64 era. Prior...
Monday14th Nov 2016
Video Former Nintendo Software Technology Staffer Shares Design Insights Via New Channel
Tipping a star
It's often said that the opening 30 minutes of any video game are possibly the most important. Not only do they give the player an indication of the title's quality, but they can also be used to show how the game works, establish its core mechanics and tease elements of an epic storyline. With this in mind, game developer Stephen...
Thursday6th Oct 2016
News Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis Arrives on the Wii U eShop this Week
Just a year behind Europe
The Mario vs. Donkey Kong series has undergone a rather bizarre change in identity. What originally began as a continuation of the classic 1981 platformer that started it all, slowly morphed to become a Lemmings style puzzle series wherein you guide miniaturized of various Mario characters to exits. Though it could be...
Monday14th Dec 2015
Big changes happening at Nintendo's US-based studio
Nintendo Software Technology - as we've reported in the past - has endured a troubled history of late. The studio responsible for Wave Race: Blue Storm and Mario vs. Donkey Kong was once a major player in Nintendo's network of internal studios, but the costly disaster that was Proje
Tuesday27th Oct 2015
News Fresh Project H.A.M.M.E.R. Details Reveal Shigeru Miyamoto's Role In The Game's Downfall
Legendary designer took issue with game's costly CGI spend
Not so long ago we covered the tortured production of the Wii title Project H.A.M.M.E.R., a waggle-heavy action title in development by Nintendo Software Technology, Nintendo's famed North American studio. Revealed early in the life of the Wii, the game would never see the light of day and,...
Wednesday8th Jul 2015
News Unseen64 Digs Up Development Insights Into Metroid Prime: Hunters, Dread and Federation Force
Dread "literally looked like a port of Fusion on DS"
Just recently we shared the most recent work of Unseen64, which produced a devastating expose of the doomed Project H.A.M.M.E.R., highlighting the problems between North American studio Nintendo Software Technology (NST) and Japanese management. It was an episode that, ultimately, didn't reflect...
Saturday4th Jul 2015
News Project H.A.M.M.E.R. Exposé Reveals Torrid State Of Affairs At Nintendo Software Technology
The game that humbled a studio
Project H.A.M.M.E.R. was supposed to be a Wii title which catered for the needs of serious gamers, thanks to its gritty setting and focus on intense destructive action. Developed by Nintendo Software Technology - the North American studio responsible for titles like Wave Race: Blue Storm, Metroid Prime: Hunters and...
Friday21st Mar 2014
News Images Emerge of Wii U Mario vs. Donkey Kong Tech Demo Running On Nintendo Web Framework
More exciting stuff from Nintendo at GDC 2014
With the annual GDC preparing to close, a lot of cool bits of information regarding the latest game industry happenings and developments are popping up all over the net. Nintendo has already revealed a few things this week – including the fact it’s been able to shift 7.3 million copies of Animal...
Friday1st Oct 2010
News Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem Launches Next Month
The fourth in the series aims to be more user-friendly
When Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! was announced at this year's E3, we knew we'd be seeing its release sometime in the holiday season, but now Nintendo has confirmed that a North American release will go ahead next month. When the fourth title in the Mario Vs. Donkey Kong series...