Latest Features
Feature Backlog Club: Week Zero, May - It's Time To Play Earthbound
Sorry, "Mother 2"
Rule number one of Backlog Club: Work through your pile of unplayed video games one at a time, and discuss them with other people. Rule number two of Backlog Club: Don't talk about Backlog Club. Just kidding! Tell everyone. Please. Hello again, and welcome back to Backlog Club, our new and experimental feature which forces us to...
Feature Nintendo Life eShop Selects - April 2022
The best of the last month's eShop games!
The year is moving along quickly, and the Switch has been relatively busy in terms of major releases. On the eShop, though, April proved to be another packed month with a range of highly regarded ports and awesome new games. Once again, then, it's time to try and pick the best of them all from the last...
Soapbox Please, Please, Please Release Sonic Advance Trilogy On Nintendo Switch Online
Don't make us blue
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, Stuart pleads with the powers that be to get a certain trilogy on Nintendo Switch Online... Game Boy Advance is coming to Switch Online! Maybe! Almost certainly, anyway!...
Feature Backlog Club: Slay The Spire Part Two - A Tale Of Frustration, Obsession, And Poison
Slay The Spire? Not bloody likely
This article is part of our new experimental series, Backlog Club, where we (Nintendo Life!) pick a game that's likely to be on our list of "games we should get around to playing", and then we (NL + you!) spend the next month playing that game. This is the final part of April's game, Slay The Spire, a fantastic...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 30th)
Wanna play ball?
Hold on, it's May on Sunday? We're a little bit confused about that here at Nintendo Life Towers — how are we already in the fifth month of 2022? Blimey. Anyway, after the release date chaos of last week, this week has been decidedly more steady. Reggie Fils-Aimé's SXSW talk is now available, and in it, he reveals how the...
Feature What's Your Biggest Nintendo Launch Day Regret?
Regrets, we've had a few
There are few moments more exciting than a console launch, especially for a whole new generation. Objectively speaking it's not the best time for a system - the pricing of everything is at its peak, there won't be many games, and early titles may also struggle to fully show off the technology. Yet the buzz is captivating,...
Memory Pak The Best And Most Chaotic Way To Play Puyo Puyo Tetris
Pi pi pi pi! PI PIIII
Today, Puyo Puyo Tetris turns five years old. I think that maybe very few people will care about this — it's just Tetris with more colours and annoying characters, really — but for me, Puyo Puyo Tetris was the foundation upon which my current relationship was built. Come back in time with me to 2017, and I'll tell you a...
Guide 85 Must-Have Games You Should Pick Up In The Switch eShop Sale (Europe)
Every 9/10 game in Nintendo's Spring sale
In many parts of Europe we have Spring in full bloom — the smell of cut grass, trees coming back to life, flowers opening up. It's all rather lovely, and of course we can both enjoy nature and play our Switch on the go; we need fresh air but, yikes, those backlogs won't play themselves. To celebrate the...
Feature 'AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative' Director Talks New Gameplay Features
We delve into the Somnium of Akira Okada
As we approach the summer release of AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative, we've been introduced to a new protagonist, new gameplay elements, and a brand new mystery. The blend of character interaction and unusual detective elements from the predecessor look like they'll be amped up to eleven in the...
Feature The Best (And Worst) Selling Games Of Nintendo's Biggest Franchises
It was the best of games, it was the blurst of games
Have you ever wondered what the best-selling Super Mario game is? How about the worst-selling Donkey Kong game? How many copies do you reckon a Fire Emblem game usually sells? And is Animal Crossing more popular than Metroid? All of these questions and more are about to be answered, because we...
Talking Point WATA And The Grey Areas Of Game Preservation - Is There Any Better Way?
WATAAARGH
The game industry is youthful compared to other areas of entertainment and recorded culture - younger than film and TV, and of course a baby compared to printed works. Yet we're now decades into the history of gaming, especially if you go back to the systems of the 1970s, perhaps even a little earlier. Even if you choose to focus on the...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 23rd)
It does matter
Phew! It's been a heck of a week, hasn't it? It actually feels like springtime now at least, but our eyes are poised towards the summer with the slate of new release dates we've been handed. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has been brought forward from September to July! Unprecedented stuff. Splatoon 3 also finally has a release date — a
Poll Which Wii Sport Is The Best Wii Sport In Wii Sports (And Which Is The Worst)?
The oui sports and the non sports
Here's a fun little exercise: When you think of Wii Sports, which sport do you think of first? For me, it's Bowling. I got really good at lining up the ball just right to always get a strike, which is a far cry from my real-life bowling ability (which usually includes a lot of gutterballs). I only vaguely remember...
Round Up Best Of PAX East 2022 For The Nintendo Switch
Golf! Spiders! Eldritch nightmares!
Although Nintendo Life couldn't be at PAX East this year, we'll still be keeping an eager eye on the goings-on in Boston from today (Thursday 21st April) to Sunday, April 24th, if only to see which games we should be excited about. And now, with the help of this handy list, you can hop on board the bandwagon of...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Single Player Games
Player 2 has left the game
Since launching back in 2017, Switch's success has arguably been down to its chameleon-like ability to suit any gamer's preferred style of play. You can play it where you want and how you want. The ability to crack off the Joy-Con for impromptu multiplayer sessions on the TV (or on-the-go) makes it the go-to console for...
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...
Talking Point With BOTW2 Slipping, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Launching Early Is Fantastic News
"Bringing together the futures" of its predecessors
Though Xenoblade Chronicles is not the biggest-selling franchise to consistently grace Nintendo's hardware, it's clear that Nintendo is happy to recognise that some brands and genres deserve support for the loyalty they earn among fans. MonolithSoft, a company majority-owned by Nintendo that often...
Talking Point Can It Really Be 10 Years Since Fire Emblem: Awakening Saved The Series?
From niche series to Nintendo staple
10 years ago today, Fire Emblem: Awakening was released on the 3DS in Japan. At the time the series had a core and devoted audience, but it had struggled to make a meaningful sales breakthrough outside of Japan. There was no doubting the development and storytelling talent of developer Intelligent Systems,...
Feature How Limited Run's New Engine Respects The Legacy Of Classic Games
"If we’re going to make a change that sweeping, the original needs to be there as well"
The world of physical media in brick-and-mortar stores has dwindled in recent years due to the proliferation of digital storefronts readily and conveniently available on modern platforms. While some would never think to pay the same (or more) on a digital game...
Memory Pak My First Killing Game - 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
What a wicked game to play
There was a time before I knew about killing games. Before Hunger Games, before Danganronpa, before Squid Game. And then, I played 999. On the face of it, killing games seem sociopathic: We tend to follow a single "player" who is unwittingly enrolled in a game where only the strongest, cleverest, or most underhanded...
Feature Backlog Club: Slay The Spire Part One - Be More Tortoise
Time to hit the deck
This article is part of our new experimental series, Backlog Club, where we (Nintendo Life!) pick a game that's likely to be on our list of "games we should get around to playing", and then we (NL + you!) spend the next month playing that game. This is the halfway point, the Part One of two, where we stop for a minute to check...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 16th)
A long weekend? More time for video games
If you celebrate it, Happy Easter! If not, we hope you at least have a nice, long weekend, or perhaps you're just going to relax more than normal. Whatever you're doing, we hope video games factor into your plans. This week, we got a new Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes trailer, which introduces us to...
Don't ovoid 'em!
It's Easter, and we here at Nintendo Life think that "Easter Egg" features are more overdone than an egg boiled for 20 minutes. Besides, we know about all the Easter Eggs in games already, from Chris Houlihan's room to the secret Tingle dungeon that you can find in Skyward Sword by entering the Konami code. (That last one's not...
Guide Best Twin Stick Shooters On Nintendo Switch
Opposable thumbs required
Twin-stick shooters are ruddy good fun, right? It's a genre that allows you to just switch off your brain for a few minutes at a time while you blast enemies into the abyss. All you need is a couple of analogue sticks and a thirst for destruction and you're ready to go! We've already got a list for the best shmup games on...
Talking Point If Breath Of The Wild 2 Launched Alongside New Switch Hardware, Would You Upgrade?
Gotta have those fluffy clouds
Just a couple of weeks ago, the famed honcho of the Legend of Zelda series, Eiji Aonuma, announced that the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild would be delayed into Spring 2023. It was an announcement that many of us were undoubtedly expecting, particularly given that 2022 is already playing host to the...
Feature Backlog Club: Week Zero - Hello (Again), And Welcome (Again) To Backlog Club
Let's dig into that pile of shame
Rule number one of Backlog Club: Work through your pile of unplayed video games one at a time, and discuss them with other people. Rule number two of Backlog Club: Don't talk about Backlog Club. Just kidding! Tell everyone. Please. [Update: Wed 13th Apr, 2022 13:00 BST] Ahem. Hello again. Weren't expecting us...
Feature Ukrainian Developer Frogwares Talks Sherlock On Switch And Community Solidarity
"In these difficult times, I'd like to wish everyone peace"
The Switch library has most genres and game types covered, including titles that encourage us to slow down, assess clues and solve mysteries. Frogwares is a developer well known in this area for its Sherlock games, though it made its Switch debut with the very solid port of original IP The...
Back Page Which Is The Best Controller Button, And What Does Your Pick Say About You?
It's a hot-button topic!
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 (paper) pages on the internet, but we still love terrible...
Every Nintendo Switch LEGO game, as ranked by you
It's perhaps surprising to see just how many games based on a Danish plastic brick system (habitually melded to another juicy licence) have graced Nintendo's hybrid system since launch. Looking back, we've had Switch ports of older Lego games, all-new releases, and even a couple that weren't a port...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 9th)
In a backlog far, far away...
Easter is already just around the corner! Or Egg Day. Whatever you want to call it. Really, it's just an excuse to eat chocolate and play video games, right? Did you check out our Indie Spotlight earlier in the week? Well, we'll give you another chance below. After last week's Zelda bombshell, it's been a bit quieter...
Gallery Masahiro Sakurai's Best Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Tweets
Our favourite dev shots from the Smash Bros. creator
For a long time, Kirby creator and master of the Smash Bros. series Masahiro Sakurai posted near-daily Super Smash Bros. Ultimate screenshots on Twitter using his special debug build of the game. This developer-only mode let him line up angles and create special in-game shots that regular Smash...
Feature Nintendo Reigns Supreme At The Science Museum's 'Power UP' Exhibition
Play some of gaming's most iconic consoles and games
Walking into the Basement Gallery of the London Science Museum, you're greeted by an uncomfortable warmth that often comes with gaming events, but this is soon forgotten when you cast your eyes over the sea of consoles lying in wait. We're all so used to seeing old gaming systems locked away...
Feature 10 3DS Retail Games That Might Be Cheaper To Buy Digitally While You Can
Comparing digital to skyrocketing physical prices
Some 3DS games are super cheap to buy physically, which makes sense considering the success of the system. There are others, however, which have seen their secondhand prices shoot up in recent years. It's easy enough to find copies of big-selling first-party titles at acceptable prices (even if that...
Back Page Ranking The Kirby And The Forgotten Land Enemies By How Much I Don't Want To Kill Them
They're ALL friend-shaped
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 (paper) pages on the internet, but we still love terrible...
Soapbox The Video Game Camaraderie On r/place Is A Lesson About Community
We are all amogus
Soapbox articles give our team a chance to share some personal perspectives. Kate's been keeping an eye on a Reddit art project for the last few days, and has some warm fuzzy feelings to share... Disclaimer: The very nature of r/place means there may be some unpleasant imagery, pixel-nudity, and various other NSFW things included...
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 Nintendo Life eShop Selects - March 2022
The best of the last month's eShop games!
This year is certainly moving along, and as we head into Spring (for you Northern Hemisphere readers) we can reflect on more excellent recent eShop titles. This month's voting in the team was intriguing, and we've been left with three excellent games. These awards aim to celebrate the best of Nintendo's...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 2nd)
It's April already?!
It's the weekend - hooray! We hope you've all managed to get through April Fools' Day in one piece. It's been another week of bombshells, with possibly the biggest news being something we all *kinda* expected but didn't want to admit, and that's the news of Breath of the Wild 2 being delayed into 2023. We also got three new...
Round Up It's April Fools' Day, Here Are The Best Gaming Gags We've Seen (2022)
Don't worry, it'll be 2nd April soon
April Fools' Day seems to be loved and disliked in almost equal measure nowadays, but when done well it can at least make us think "huh, it would be cool if that was real" or even raise a smile. We've been looking around at some Nintendo and gaming-themed pranks from this year and there's a decent range of both...
Talking Point Now That Zelda: BOTW 2 Is Off The Table, Should Holiday 2022 Belong To Mario?
Or even... Donkey Kong?
Nintendo's Holiday 2022 season is looking real quiet. Too quiet, if you ask us. Even though we're about nine months out, it seems a little odd that we don't know what Nintendo's big holiday release might be — Splatoon 3 is scheduled for the Summer, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is due in September, and of course, the previous Big...
Talking Point Nintendo Switch Online, Game Pass, And 'New' PS Plus - How Do They Compare?
Begun, the Sub Wars have
There had been rumblings over the past weeks and months that Sony was going to unveil a revamp to its subscription service to compete with Microsoft's Game Pass; it had a codename of 'Spartacus' for added effect. It did just that in the end, unveiling three new tiers of PS Plus — the lowest tier broadly represen
Poll C'mon Then, Did You Predict The Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2 Delay?
How disappointed are you?
We all knew what the video was about when we saw the thumbnail and ominous title - "Launch Timing Update". If Nintendo was announcing a release date for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, it would be either headlining a Nintendo Direct or drop in a trailer with an exciting action shot for a thumbnail. We'd get some...
Feature How Mortal Kombat Led To The Birth Of E3 And The ESRB
"All hell is breaking loose. We need to sit down and talk"
'Long Live Mortal Kombat - The Definitive History of MK' goes behind closed doors to reveal untold stories from the making of Mortal Kombat 1 through 4 and explore how the franchise shaped popular culture. Written by David L. Craddock (@davidlcraddock), the book is funding now on...
Feature Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Is The Best Mario Kart, Right? Let's Find Out
Double the dash, double the fun
We don't claim to always be correct here at Nintendo Life, but we certainly will fight just as hard to defend our terrible opinions as we do the good ones. Today, thanks to the recent re-release of old Mario Kart tracks in the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass, we're thinking back to Mario Karts of old... and...
Soapbox Kirby Returns To Remind Us That Escapism Isn't A Dirty Word
A source of simple joy
Soapbox articles give our team a chance to share some personal perspectives; today it's the turn of Tom Whitehead to talk about why gaming matters more to him than ever before. I've always been someone eager to lose myself in my imagination and intriguing worlds; from childhood to the present day my biggest passions remain...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (March 26th)
All aboard the Karby!
Happy Kirby Week! It's another busy one here at Nintendo Life, with the launch of not only Kirby and the Forgotten Land, but also Rune Factory 5. We loved Kirby, giving it a solid 9/10 in our review, but were a tad more critical of Run Factory, slapping a score of 7/10 on our review. On the news side of things,
Talking Point Nintendo And Mobile Is An Uneasy Alliance, But It's Still Vital
Nintendo's approach to mobile is certainly shifting
Earlier this week Nintendo confirmed that Dragalia Lost will be shut down after some final story updates, to which the response of many may have been a shrug of the shoulders. The mobile exclusive was an interesting title, though, as it was the only new IP that Nintendo had invested solely into its...
Talking Point Should We Still Be Pre-Ordering Games?
Pre-order this feature and get a free plush of me
A year ago, Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town came out on the Nintendo Switch. As the latest instalment in the beloved Story of Seasons (the series formerly known as Harvest Moon) series, it was pretty hyped up in the fiercely-devoted farming game fanbase... only to be more of a fart than a...
Feature I'll Never Be A Hacker, But Games About Programming Make Me Feel Like I'm Satoru Iwata
Baba != You
Up until about six years ago, my experience with the world of programming and code amounted to understanding what <b>formatting</b> meant in html, and vaguely remembering that one game about steering a turtle using basic commands like "FORWARD 10". I enjoy games, but I do not usually care to see the chaotic tangle of code...
Feature Kid Icarus: Uprising, Nintendo's Most Daring Release Of The Last Decade
Remembering one of 3DS' most intriguing releases 10 years on
Yes, it's now an entire decade since Masahiro Sakurai was permitted to do something other than Smash Bros., so to mark the occasion, Mitch Vogel looks back on one of Nintendo's most ambitious and misunderstood titles... Let’s all take a step back and rewind the clock to June 2010, a...
