Latest Features
Hands On Espresso Pro 15 - A Portable 4K Monitor For Switch 2, But With A Catch
In the dock
While the Switch and Switch 2 are portable systems that come with their own built-in screens, I've often been drawn to pairing Nintendo's hybrid consoles with portable monitors when I'm on the road and away from my TV. One of my favourite choices for the original Switch is the Espresso V2, a premium 1080p screen which doesn't even need...
Mixin' it up
I've been having an interesting run lately of games that shake things up, even if it's just a little bit, in the controls department. Back in the good old days — or at least my nostalgia blinkers have made it seem this way to me — the idea of being bored rigid by a game's control systems wasn't something that ever entered my mind...
Poll Box Art Brawl - Bionic Commando (NES)
Bionic calls
Get your spiciest takes at the ready, because it's time to dive into another edition of Box Art Brawl! It was a special edition affair last time, as we celebrated the 35th anniversary of the SNES by matching up three boxes for the SNES Mini. There was one clear winner in our eyes, and you lovely lot agreed with us! The simplistic...
Opinion City Trial Is Kirby Air Riders At Its Best, But It Needs More Maps To Thrive Long-Term
Let the chaos continue (please)
Right, it's been out a week now, so it seems like enough time should have passed that we can start having a little chat about Kirby Air Riders, and in particular its stellar City Trial mode. "Stellar? It's a chaotic mess!" Indeed it is, and well met, my friend. However, that's exactly why it's so damn good, so stop...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (29th November)
Prime time is right around the corner
The end of November is finally upon us (how??), so let's distract ourselves from the topic of ever-marching time by seeing what everyone's gaming plans are this weekend. It was a somewhat quieter week in Nintendo Land this time, but there were still a few nice stories to keep us entertained. Nintendo picked up...
Feature The Tightest, Briskest Mario & Luigi Game Turns 20 Today And Deserves More Love
Silent partner
For many years, it felt like Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time was the redheaded stepchild of the Mario & Luigi series. People criticised it for its more linear structure, overly long boss battles (at least in the US version), having to purchase items to use Bros. Attacks, and slightly cumbersome gameplay, among other areas. Being...
"We tried to knock at Marvel's door really early on"
Shortly after Tribute Games and Dotemu released TMNT: Shredder's Revenge back in 2022, attention turned to what the dev/publisher duo would work on next. Tribute teased that other licensees had come a-knocking with proposals, but what franchise do you turn to if you want to 1-up the Turtles? The...
Poll So, Will You Be Getting A Copy Of Rosalina's Storybook?
A galactic read
Nintendo surprised us all back in the September Direct with the announcement of Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 — our first chance to play the latter on modern hardware in 15 years. What was perhaps even more surprising was the reveal of Rosalina's Storybook, a hardback edition of the in-game page-turner that would be...
Opinion 20 Years Later, Need For Speed: Most Wanted Is Still The Series' Best Outing
Most excellent
The Need for Speed video game franchise, much like those movies with Vin Diesel in them (you know, the car ones), well...there's a lot of them. In fact, there are over 20 Need For Speed games as things currently stand, and some of them are even good! Yep, I'd go so far as to say that some of them are very, very good indeed, and Need...
Poll 20 Years After Settling On DS, Do You Still Play Animal Crossing: Wild World?
Is your World Wild two decades on?
Animal Crossing was a bit of a cult hit when it launched on GameCube back in 2002 in the West. While it didn't start life on the purple box, that's where it made its name internationally. At least for a few million people who picked the game up. But, arguably, the series made itself known with its handheld debut...
Poll Box Art Brawl - SNES Classic Mini Console
Which Mini is Mightiest?
Hello folks, and welcome back to another edition of Box Art Brawl! Last time, we looked at Inazuma Eleven for the DS, which resulted in a heated battle in which Europe emerged triumphant against Japan with 71% of the vote. Well done! This time, to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the SNES, we thought we'd check out the...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (22nd November)
Since when is it nearly December??
The weekend is finally upon us after yet another week featuring a new Nintendo first-party release! Yep, it was full steam ahead on Kirby Air Riders this week, as we shared our full review, heard news of the in-game events planned for its first year, chuckled at the
Opinion Banjo-Tooie Is Pure Nightmare Fuel, And I Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way
Banjo-Too-Five-ie
One of the reasons I adore N64-gen Rare so much is because they loved testing the boundaries. What could they get away with in a cheeky, charming 3D platformer? Banjo-Kazooie was already dipping its toe in the water in a few subtle (and less-subtle) ways. “How's your nuts, bark breath?” is funny, but perhaps funnier with that...
"They were very courteous"
Earlier this week, we got the news that Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars was being 'reforged' once again, into a new Switch 2 Edition this time. Huzzah, we thought, as we pondered who would be the best person to talk to about the 1996 point-and-click adventure making its way to Nintendo's latest hybrid. The answer, of...
Poll What Do You Make Of Link And Zelda's Live-Action Looks?
Sheik it off
Nintendo has officially lifted the lid on the live-action looks for Zelda and Link in the upcoming Zelda movie with a trio of official photos (compared to the leaked 'on-set' footage that appeared online days before). We've got our first look at Benjamin Evan Ainsworth's Link and Bo Bragason's Princess Zelda in their full Hylian garb,...
Feature How Mega Starmie Became The Internet's New Queer Icon
Gaga, Cher, Streisand... Mega Starmie?
It came during the night. From the darkest, most existentially tortured recesses of a Game Freak designer’s brain. Diffidently, at first, then more boldly. Finally, hips swishing, stripper heels glittering, it announced itself across the Internet in a burst of dramatics. I am speaking, of course, of Mega...
Poll Box Art Brawl - Duel: Inazuma Eleven
Footpoll
We are back with this week's clash of the covers! Welcome to another edition of Box Art Brawl. It was a trio of designs for the NES' Dragon Power that went head-to-head (to-head) last time, though neither the European nor North American artwork stood a chance against the eye-catching Japanese variant, which gobbled up 72% of the vote and...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (15th November)
Urobororororos
Eeeeeeyyyyy, it's the weekend! This week has been surprisingly busy, huh? We've had a brand-new trailer for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie along with confirmation that Brie Larson and Benny Safdie are joining the cast as Rosalina and Bowser Jr. We also finally received the Metroid Prime 4: Beyond trailer
Guide Top 100 Nintendo Games, As Chosen By Nintendo Life & IGN
A century of must-have classics
Nintendo has been around for well over a century and has been an active part of the video game industry since the 1970s. The company's impact on the realm of interactive entertainment is almost unprecedented, and its consoles and handhelds have played host to some of the most iconic titles of all time. Nintendo Life...
Feature 10 Years On, Is Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival Really That Bad?
Bored game
Few games have tapped into the popular zeitgeist quite like Animal Crossing: New Horizons did back in 2020 at the onset of the global pandemic. It’s sold a whopping 48.62 million copies worldwide since launch, elevating Animal Crossing from a fan-favourite series to a full-fledged cultural phenomenon, earning its place alongside...
Feature 12 Details You Might Have Missed In The Mario Galaxy Movie Trailer
Do you like what you Odys-see?
Nintendo has revealed our first proper look at The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, with a trailer that lasts all of 2:25. Nope, that's not very long, but there are a lot of details crammed in there. To make sure you caught all of the little touches, we've assembled the following rundown of every neat detail, reference, and...
Anniversary Romancing SaGa 3 Celebrates 30 Years Of Eclipsing Death
An Octopath well-travelled
I think it's fair to say we got a bit of an unexpected gift when Square Enix re-released Romancing SaGa 3 for Switch back in November of 2019. While it may not generate quite the same level of excitement as your Final Fantasies (and that's understandable), Romancing SaGa 3 deserves any plaudits it gets for bringing a...
Feature Now Samus Is Doing It - What Is It About The 'Akira Slide' That's So Great?
Metroid shred
The cultural consciousness loves the ‘Akira Slide’; a single moment in the 1988 anime movie Akira where Shōtarō Kaneda, following a bike race, skids across the tarmac to slow himself down, facing the screen, his bike side-on, trails of smoke billowing up from the road. Of course, he could use his brakes, but it wouldn’t be as...
Poll Box Art Brawl - Dragon Power (NES)
This is a wild one, folks
Hello everyone, and welcome to another edition of Box Art Brawl! Last week, we checked out the wonderful Animal Crossing: Wild World for the DS and, as expected, the western design won the day with a whopping 84%. Good effort Japan, but this one just ain't it. This time, we're looking at Dragon Power for the NES. Released...
Anniversary 20 Years Ago, 'GUN' Brought America's Old West (And An All-Star Cast) To GameCube
Kris Kristofferson is my dad now
Ever feel like getting your video game cowboy on, but Red Dead Redemption and its kinda bloated sequel, as good as they are, just take way too long to bed into? You know what I mean. Rockstar's epics are the obvious go-to choices in this scenario. However, sometimes I just want to shoot stuff in the cowboy style,...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (6th November)
Hyrule? No, you rule!
The weekend is finally upon us, and we're ready to play some games... once we've recapped this week's big news, of course! In the absence of a major Animal Crossing announcement, this week felt a little quieter than last, but there was still plenty to get excited about. The Pokémon Legends: Z-A Mega Dimension DLC scored a...
Opinion Third-Party Support For Switch 2 Is Already A Dream Come True
An avalanche of quality
The Switch 2 has gotten off to a bit of a weird start. Although there’s no denying that the console has been a massive commercial success since its launch on 5th June 2025 — officially selling over 10 million units — there’s a niggling, underlying sense of dissatisfaction amongst some fans regarding Nintendo’s...
Gallery The 'Samus & Vi-O-La' amiibo For Metroid Prime 4 Could Be The Best Yet
Ready to roll
Nintendo has released its first batch of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond amiibo, including 'Samus' and 'Samus & Vi-O-La'. A third, 'Sylux', will launch alongside the game itself on 4th December 2025. We've managed to get our grubby little mitts on Samus & Vi-O-La, and we thought you might like to take a closer look at what this thing looks...
Talking Point What's The Best Firework Sequence In A Video Game?
Oooh! Aaaahh!
"Remember remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason, and an excuse to talk about 'Jump Up, Super Star!' again." That's a rhyme that we Brits are all familiar with (at least, words to that effect), because here it's Guy Fawkes Night. Or Bonfire Night, if you prefer. On 5th November every year, we gather in cold, wet fields...
Poll Is The Latest Metroid Prime 4 Trailer Teasing Another Legacy Character?
Kan it be..?
Nintendo has released a fresh new look at Metroid Prime 4: Beyond - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, and while much of the footage is recycled from previous trailers, there were definitely a few interesting new shots to consider. One of these is pretty throwaway at first glance, but a few fans online believe it might be hiding a pretty...
Talking Point Smashing Switch 2 Numbers Prove Nintendo's Strategy Is Super Effective
In this economy? Well played
The world of video games hasn't provided much respite from global issues recently, not for those of us who love games and the people who make them. The issues facing the industry and players post-COVID — including mass layoffs, cancelled projects, questionable acquisitions, the encroachment of generative AI, rising...
Back Page Pokémon Legends: Z-A Fit Check - Celebrating Lumiose Fashion Week In Style
Florges? For Spring? Groudonbreaking
In the magazine business, the back page is where you'd find all the weird goofs that we couldn't fit in anywhere else. Some may call it "filler"; we prefer "a whole page to make terrible jokes that are tangentially related to the content of the mag". We don't have pages on the internet, but we still love...
Feature Nintendo Life eShop Selects (October 2025)
Our picks for the best eShop games on Switch and Switch 2 in October!
Hello, hello, hello! you know what time of the month it is? Oh yes, it's eShop Selects. And we've got some fireworks in here. Spooky season has passed and many of us are now looking ahead to the 'H' season (or perhaps there's some Turkey in the near future for you for those of...
Poll Box Art Brawl - Duel: Animal Crossing: Wild World
Someone's Nooking at your door
Testing, testing. Is the Animalese-to-English translator up and running? It is? Good. Welcome back to another edition of Box Art Brawl! Last time, we put Metroid Prime 2: Echoes under the microscope, and it was a pretty close-run contest. The North American / European design just clinched the win, in the end, with 58%...
Feature The Art I 'Stole' From Nintendo
And where it is now
It began with a Zelda T-shirt. I was wearing my “It's dangerous to go alone! Take this.” shirt while running a quick errand at the bank. The teller spotted it. He was at least 20 years younger than me, but his “Nice shirt!” comment kicked off a lengthy conversation about our shared Nintendo fandom. Before long, he...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (1st November)
FIGHT!
Gosh, we're into November already – how on earth did that happen? Well, either way, it's the weekend, so let's do a quick recap of the week before we dive into what we're playing, shall we? Naturally, the biggest news of the week was the announcement from Nintendo that Animal Crossing: New Horizons would be making a comeback, with both a...
Opinion Animal Crossing On Switch 2 Has Me Equal Parts Buzzing And Baffled
What about New-er Horizons?
I adore Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I know, I know, such a hot take puts me in a niche of... about 98% of people that read this site, but what I mean to say is that when the announcement of Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and the 3.0 update were announced yesterday, I was about as excited as...
Talking Point When Did 'Good Enough' Become Good Enough For Pokémon?
The old magic
Over the weekend, we republished our reader-ranked list of all the Pokémon games after everyone had had a chance to spend some quality time with Legends: Z-A and vote accordingly. That's 22 mainline games by our count. The entries at the top of the table probably won't surprise you, as the inventiveness and sheer novelty (and...
Back Page I Was The Louvre Heist Thief, But I Was Just Trying To Steal Their 3DSes
C'est tout un gros malentendu!
In the magazine business, the back page is where you'd find all the weird goofs that we couldn't fit in anywhere else. Some may call it "filler"; we prefer "a whole page to make terrible jokes that are tangentially related to the content of the mag". We don't have pages on the internet, but we still love terrible...
Opinion One Year On, Every Positive 'Pokémon TCG Pocket' Update Still Comes With A Catch
A flip-flopping Magikarp
About a year ago, I reviewed Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket here at Nintendo Life, awarding it a respectable 7/10, largely because collecting ‘mons from that initial set of packs felt kinetic and exciting. Sure, there was far too much monetisation in the form of multiple different currencies, and the battles lacked a...
Poll Box Art Brawl - Duel: Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Interest-Ing
Hello hello, and welcome to another edition of Box Art Brawl! Last time, we looked at Hey You, Pikachu! for the N64, and although neither version was particularly popular, it was the North American version that won the day with 61% of the vote. This week, we're back with the Metroid franchise with Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, the...
Book Review Metroid Prime 1-3: A Visual Retrospective - Stunning Art, Though Lacking Context
The real logbook
It often feels like Metroid fans are starved for new goodies these days; doubly so for fans of Retro Studios’ Prime series. Yet just over a month before the highly anticipated fourth mainline entry for Switch and Switch 2, you can get your hands on an absolutely stunning hardback art book from Piggyback covering the first three...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (25th October)
Baller
Hello folks, and welcome to that wondrous occasion commonly known as 'The Weekend'. Before we dive into what we're playing, let's quickly recap this week. First up, Masahiro Sakurai presented another hour-long Direct for Kirby Air Riders, and it was a doozy. We've compiled all the major announcements in one place, so be sure to check it out...
"Breath of the Wild was hugely influential"
Even just a handful of months after its launch, the Switch 2 is proving to be a particularly compelling console for third-party developers. One of the biggest surprises was the announcement that not only would Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade launch on 22nd January 2026, but it would be followed by both...
Opinion Pokémon Legends Z-A Is The Creepiest Entry Yet, Not In A Good Way
Move!
There’s been quite a lot of talk recently about the lack of voiceover work in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, and I can understand why. Game Freak has made some pretty decent strides with its cutscenes, depicting characters that animate realistically right down to their facial expressions and mouth movements. Yet they don’t actually talk. It’s...
Anniversary Fatal Frame: Maiden Of Black Water Still Scares The Pants Off Me Ten Years On
Can I have them back please?
Of all the horror franchises I've subjected myself to over the years, Fatal Frame is the one that sticks in my mind most as properly, actually, scary. It's the answer I'll give every single time to the question of what game series has scared me the most, and it's all down to one very simple reason. As today is the 10th...
Gallery Here's A Closer Look At The London Pop-Up Nintendo Store's Sweet Merch
Pop Up, Superstar!
This week, London will be treated to its very first pop-up Nintendo Store, making all of us UK Mario fans clutch our wallets in fear. The shop opens to the public tomorrow (22nd October) in the Shepherd's Bush Westfield London Shopping Centre, where it will be stocking its sweet merch until 16th November. Those hoping to visit...
"The porting process to the Switch 2 turned out to be unexpectedly smooth"
I’ve been dreaming of a Persona 3 Reload port for Nintendo’s hybrid hardware long before the Switch 2 was even revealed. Having played through its lengthy campaign on my Xbox over the span of a month, I wished I was able to play more of this untethered from my couch. That...
Poll What Review Score Would You Give Pokémon Legends: Z-A?
Z-A++?
The latest Pokémon adventure has landed on the Switch and Switch, letting players roam about a much-expanded rendition of Lumiose City from X & Y. Pokémon Legends: Z-A has received some fairly mixed reception so far, though it seems most are in agreement that although it might not be the prettiest game ever made (far from it!), the new...
Poll Box Art Brawl - Duel: Hey You, Pikachu!
Pika-who?
Welcome back, one and all, to this week's edition of Box Art Brawl! It was the NSO newbie Fatal Fury Special that got put under the microscope last time, as we matched up two covers for this SNES brawler. Overall, it was a pretty one-sided fight. The colourful Japanese variant walked away with 68% of the vote, leaving the North American...
