Latest Features
Soapbox A Strange Desire For Switch Sports And A Return To Wii's Wuhu Island
Yes, including the cycling
The Wii, the Revolution, the era of motion controls, bathroom scales as peripherals and fun for all. It can be a bit of a trendy thing to tease the Wii, as if its concept of introducing new control schemes and luring traditional 'non-gamers' into being gamers was somehow bad - well, it was actually brilliant. Sure, the Wii...
Feature Zooming Through Sonic Colors: Ultimate And Getting The Switch Lowdown
Sonic customisation, the new Wisp and that Switch framerate
SEGA has had various events and tie-ins to celebrate 30 years of Sonic the Hedgehog, but the big event from a gaming perspective is the upcoming Sonic Colors: Ultimate, which will see the previous Wii-exclusive come to various platforms including, of course, the Nintendo Switch. We were...
Feature Nintendo Life eShop Selects - July 2021
July's best Switch eShop games!
July was a slightly quieter month for big digital releases on the eShop, but no month ever goes by without at least a few treats that are worthy of your time. These awards aim to celebrate the best of Nintendo's digital store, giving some love and attention to the games that could so easily be missed in the Switch's...
Soapbox The Hidden Delights Of The Great Ace Attorney
Or, why TGAA is the LOTR DVD of video games
Did you know that Viggo Mortensen, the actor who played Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings movies, broke his toes on-set by kicking a helmet? The take ended up in the final cut, and Aragorn's cry of frustration, grief, and despair is made all the more real knowing that poor Viggo's toesies were probably...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 31st)
Plenty to choose from!
Another week has passed, with plenty of Nintendo-related news that's kept us intrigued. There were our reviews for games like The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles and NEO: The World Ends With You, Streets of Rage 4's DLC finally arrived on Switch,
Soapbox In Praise Of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Two Years On
Support systems have never meant more
This past week marked the second anniversary of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the latest entry in Intelligent Systems’ popular tactics series. Ten years ago, you would’ve been forgiven for believing that the Fire Emblem series was going the way of the dinosaur, and yet Three Houses now sits at somewhere around...
Talking Point What's Your Switch Game Of 2021 So Far?
Decisions, decisions...
We're well over halfway through 2021 and we're steadily sliding down the back half of the year, having negotiated the six-month hump. Holiday season is waaaay off in the distance and we've still got several months to go before we get into video game 'silly season', but while recently discussing the upcoming Sonic Colors...
Poll Can You Still Find Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. And Super Mario 3D All-Stars?
Mario where are y-- oh there you are
Finding out that Super Mario 3D All-Stars was going to have a limited production run and would only be sold digitally until 31st March 2021 provoked some strong reactions from many Nintendo fans. Sure, there's an argument to be made that anyone who wanted a copy of this compilation game probably picked one up...
Talking Point Which Game Stage Have You Replayed More Than Any Other?
Green Hill Zone Act 1 is my new-old timesink
The ability to devote entire days to nothing but video games is a past luxury unavailable to me right now, or in the foreseeable future, unfortunately. The addition to my life of small humans that look a bit like me has substantially diminished my available free time, and I've recently realised that it's...
Talking Point Every Pre-BOTW 3D Zelda Now Has A Remake, But Which Is Best?
Featuring *two* polls!
Like Disney remaking all of its old animated movies into live-action versions, Nintendo has slowly been remastering all of its old Zelda games to bring them to new audiences — and to remind old audiences why they loved the games so much. Unlike Disney's live-action movies, though, the Zelda remakes are fantastic, and now...
Soapbox Parallel Play Is The New Couch Co-Op, And Minecraft Is Perfect For It
My couch isn't that nice anyway
I haven't seen some of my friends in months. Others, I haven't seen in years. It's partly the pandemic, and partly because I moved country four years ago, and also partly because I have a flawed grasp of object permanence, so if I can't see someone's face on a regular basis, I might forget that they exist. But with...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 24th)
What are your weekend gaming plans?
We're all another seven days older and in the past week we've seen (among other things) a bunch of leaked early designs for the Wiimote, possibly the rarest e-Reader card in existence sold for a five-figure sum, Nintendo announce th
Soapbox Indies Lead The Way But Nintendo Shows Progress Representing People Of Colour
A significant increase in positive representation in recent years
Before we begin, let me address one thing: media representation is important. Always has been, always will be, but many keep questioning why. Whenever this subject appears, comments like “why does it matter? Why can’t you just play the game?” appear and if you’ve ever thought...
Poll Pokémon Unite Is Imminent But Divisive - Are You Planning To Try It?
On paper a golden idea, but the online reaction is mixed
If you were to devise an ideal spin-off genre for the Pokémon franchise, there's every chance a cross-platform MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) would qualify as a particularly good idea. That's exactly what Pokémon Unite will try to deliver when it arrives on the Switch eShop on 21st...
Matters Of Import Fuuraiki 4 Is The Perfect Holiday For People Who Can't Go On Holiday
A write good ride
Fuuraiki 4 is a recently released “travel adventure” for the Switch (and PlayStation 4), and the latest entry in a series that debuted on the original PlayStation all the way back to 2001. The game casts you in the role of a writer travelling around the Gifu region of Japan during the summer, aiming to outperform your peers in...
Talking Point Nintendo's Quirky Creativity Hasn't Always Paid Off On Switch, But It Matters
Standing out from the crowd
Nintendo is in a particularly strong position in the games industry at present - it's a hugely popular, talked about brand, and the company is still selling tens of millions of systems each year that - by this stage - will be increasingly inexpensive to produce. When you take relatively old, readily available technology...
Talking Point Nintendo Switch OLED, Worth The Upgrade? Team NL Has A Chat
"I’m mostly relieved to see that grille at the top getting more fins"
A while back we shared a chat between a couple of Team NL's members talking about the topic of "what is a game 'developer'"? That was a nice little back and forth format in which we were chatting over a virtual cup of tea - or virtually but with actual cups of tea and coffee...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 17th)
Time for taking flight?
After last week's OLED shenanigans things were a little calmer this time around, though there was still some intriguing news. Atlus is teasing big things for the Persona series, there's a remarkably expensive Mario watch from Tag Heuer, and there has been a lot of focus on a
Soapbox Can We Just Announce All Platforms At The Same Time Already?
PC and 'consoles', eh? Hmm...
The absence of E3 last year created a PR vacuum which publishers, media organisations and even noted figures in the world of gaming raced to fill with their own events. Geoff Keighley, bless him, attempted to wrangle it all — indie and triple AAA alike — under his Summer Game Fest umbrella, but ultimately Summer...
Feature Our Most Treasured Zelda Memories
Hey listen!
The launch of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD is one of several Zelda-themed releases in 2021 to coincide with the franchise's 35th anniversary, and this new version has got us thinking back over the many entries in the series and the memorable moments we've spent with each and every one. To tie in with the Skyward Sword HD...
Memory Pak When Mario Became A Pro Wrestler And Ruled At It
Paper beats Rawk
Welcome to the latest instalment in our new-ish column, Memory Pak, where we're going to be doing a deep-dive into some of the most memorable moments in gaming – good and bad. This time, Kate wrestles with some extremely strong feelings for Paper Mario... Paper Mario flies into Glitzville by blimp I may be bending the rules of...
Soapbox Nintendo Is More Collaborative And Open Than Ever, Which Benefits Us All
Everyone's a winner
Nintendo is a company that has never been particularly good at communication. But it is a company that is good at learning from their errors. You remember that infamous Skyward Sword demo at E3 2010, right? The one where Miyamoto walked out onstage, waggled his controller around, and couldn’t get it to work (that sounded...
Talking Point Everyone Has A Bad Game They Love, So What's Yours?
"All that is gold does not glitter"
Recently, I set out on a quest to track down a copy of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings: Volume 1 for the Super Nintendo – a game that I awarded a paltry 3/10 to some time ago. I didn't seek out a copy as a strange kind of punishment, or to be ironic – I wanted to re-own it because, despite being pretty...
Talking Point Can Metroid Dread Be The Franchise's 'Awakening'?
This could be a breakthrough for the series
Over the weekend our lovely folk in the video team posted a detailed chat, above, asking a simple but intriguing question — "Why hasn't the Metroid series traditionally sold well?" It's a good question, and it feels like one with a lot of varied answers. Let's summarise a few, before shifting to a fully...
Feature Nintendo Hardware Refreshes Through The Ages
Nintendo's lineage of console updates and revisions
Update: Now with 100% more Nintendo Switch OLED Model and a new poll at the end. Enjoy! Mid-cycle hardware refreshes may sometimes feel like a relatively recent development, but console manufacturers have been releasing revised versions of their consoles since video gaming first entered the home...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 10th)
What are your weekend gaming plans?
Another week, another addition to the Nintendo Switch family. Yes, we all got a little post-E3 surprise drop (surprise might be a bit generous, to be honest) in the form of the Switch OLED announcement. It elicited a variety reactions from existing Switch owners and Nintendo fans, although none so passionate as...
Feature Introducing Chrono Faction, A Premium Collectible Card Game Coming To Switch
Will feature no micro-transactions or F2P mechanics
In May we shared a tease from developer Mojo Bones for its next release, Chrono Faction. Heading to Switch, it'll be the studio's first project on Nintendo hardware since the enjoyable Siesta Fiesta on 3DS way back in 2013. It's a very different game, however, as it's a CCG (collectible card game)...
Talking Point Where Does The Switch OLED Announcement Leave The Rumoured Switch Pro?
Was it hot air all along, or is it still coming?
This week, Nintendo did its usual thing of shadow-dropping a major announcement on a (largely) unsuspecting world, and now the dust has settled on the reveal of the Switch OLED Model, it's time to ask the vital question: where does that leave the much-rumoured Switch Pro? In case you somehow missed...
Soapbox Could Switch OLED Actually Make A Reality Of Nintendo's Cheesy Tabletop Dream?
Time to annoy fellow coffee shop patrons
The Switch 'hybrid' concept has, over the course of four years, proven to be a significant and important success for Nintendo. It's not just about the sales figures and huge profits, but it's lifted Nintendo's brand back to the sort of influence last enjoyed in the days of DS and Wii, albeit the outrageous...
Talking Point Nintendo Switch OLED Model Looks Lovely, But May Also Disappoint
In tricky times, just make the screen bigger
Well, after over two years of speculation, Nintendo has finally unveiled the new Nintendo Switch, simply called the OLED model that's due to arrive on 8th October. It falls in line with some of the more recent rumours, offering a larger and higher quality screen – at 720p resolution – along with some...
Feature 30 Hours Into The Game With A Higher Metascore Than Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
The House In Fata Morgana Game Diary, Part 3
Writer's note: I will not discuss specific spoilers in this piece, because anyone who plays The House In Fata Morgana for as long as it takes to get to the twists deserves to have them preserved — but I will discuss the motifs that weave through the game, so be warned if you want to go into the game...
Soapbox It's The Summer Of Visual Novels On Switch, And It's Just The Beginning
I should probably learn to read
Visual novels. Are they games, or are they slideshows? Well, let's get one thing straight, because this is a soapbox: I personally don't particularly care. I enjoy an evening curled up with a good book, and likewise, I enjoy an evening curled up with a good visual novel on auto-play, occasionally unfurling my hand...
Feature thatgamecompany On Sky: Children Of The Light And Seeking Humanity's 'Brighter Side'
"I realised that our game is not meant to be played by one group, but by everybody"
The Switch eShop had a notable recent arrival, with thatgamecompany making its Nintendo debut with Sky: Children of the Light. It's a studio that achieved notable acclaim in a period of PlayStation exclusivity, with titles such as Flower and Journey
Feature Nintendo Life eShop Selects - June 2021
June's best Switch eShop games!
With June all wrapped up, we suddenly find ourselves halfway through the year and with plenty more eShop games to ponder over, buy, and probably add to the backlog. These awards aim to celebrate the best of Nintendo's digital store, giving some love and attention to the games that could so easily be missed in the...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 3rd)
What are your weekend gaming plans?
Another week in the world of video games has come and gone. This week we saw Nintendo acknowledge an evergreen meme, we learned that a 'realistic' F-Zero was on the cards at one point, and Nintendo dodged a bunch of questions at a shareholder Q&A (the respondees also
Soapbox The Founder Of Newgrounds Will Receive An Award At GDC - Here's Why That Matters
More than just a Flash in the pan
There are things that I could say right now to accurately determine the age of most of our readers. "But I am le tired." "Badger badger badger." "Wiggle jiggle, yellow middle." But, more than anything else, I can ask: which website did you visit the most in the early 2000s? If the answer is anything other than...
Back Page The Ten Best Crabs On The Nintendo Switch
Which clawsome crustacean will pinch the top spot?
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...
Community Check Out 12 Switch Games We Missed, As Recommended By You
Part 4 of our Reader Recommendations series
A few weeks ago we had the third in our 'Reader Recommendations' series featuring a dozen community-nominated gems that slipped through our review net but which Nintendo Life readers believe deserve some love and attention. Well, we had so many nominations for Part 3 that we've decided to bring the next...
Feature Monster Hunter Rise Director Talks RE Engine On Switch
"Optimization was very difficult, but it was also challenging and rewarding"
Monster Hunter Rise has been out for a number of months, selling an impressive number of copies while also showing the capabilities of the Switch hardware in the right hands. One of just two titles on the system to utilise the RE ENGINE — the other being Ghosts 'n Goblins...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 26th)
What are your weekend gaming plans?
And here we are at the end of another packed week in the world of video games. We've had a ton of anniversaries this past week — specifically on Wednesday when the Nintendo 64 turned 25 (along with its launch games like Super Mario 64, which we think you might have read about enough already), Sonic Adventure 2...
Soapbox Sonic Adventure 2 Turns 20 — It’s Time For A Chao Garden Comeback
Forget the Chaos Emeralds; I just want Chaos
Alright, a quick disclaimer before I start spouting off about Sonic like I know what I'm talking about: I have only ever played one Sonic game. Properly, at least. I've certainly had a go on friends' copies of the older games, and I watched the Sonic the Hedgehog movie, if that counts — but the only...
Talking Point Our Favourites From E3 2021
It's been one week since we watched E3
You're probably tired of E3 coverage by now, and believe us, so are we. But it's been a week since Nintendo's Direct, and now that the dust has settled, it's time for us to pick our actual favourites rather than just following our adrenaline-fuelled gut feelings. Of course, this year was a little strange. In...
Talking Point What's That One Switch Game You Can't Bring Yourself To Delete?
This is my comfort game! Leave me alone!
I've finally reached the point where almost every new game I download onto my Switch gives me the same response. "There's no room," it says, gesturing around the virtual space cluttered with games I haven't touched in months, or even years. "Where am I supposed to put this? Why don't you get rid of something...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 19th)
What are your weekend gaming plans?
E3 2021 is finally over, and we're still digesting the ins-and-outs of all the announcements. Nintendo's Direct presentation offered a little something for everyone, from the return of smaller-scale fan favourites to fresh peeks at Breath of the Wild 2 (no proper title yet, though), not to mention A NEW 2D MET
Talking Point Why Metroid Dread Will Be Worth $60
You're gonna pay for this
With the announcement of Metroid Dread, a brand new 2D entry in the 35-year-old franchise that lends its name to an entire genre, the majority of reactions we've seen online have been overwhelmingly positive. As you may have noted with our rather comprehensive coverage since the game's E3 reveal, we're definitely in the...
Nintendo veteran Yoshio Sakamoto on Samus' return on Switch
"Samus Aran and her cool warrior persona, the exploration element, and the various elements of surprise." According to series overseer Yoshio Sakamoto, these tenets are the consistent components of any game that carries the name 'Metroid'. As producer on the freshly announced Metroid...
Guide All amiibo List - Animal Crossing, Zelda, Smash Bros., Metroid, Mario And More
Plan your next purchase here
In case you didn't know already, amiibo are NFC-ready toys which offer connectivity features with games on the Wii U, 3DS and Switch, but also serve as highly-detailed and very desirable trinkets that look great on your shelf. While other toys-to-life ranges have fallen by the wayside over the years, the amiibo range...
Soapbox The Zelda: Breath of The Wild 2 Trailer Is Already Spawning Theories
Reversed music, new mechanics, and long hair
The best part of working in games journalism is when you get to wildly speculate about a split-second thing in a trailer, and so, here we are. It's speculatin' time! Get yer binoculars and magnifying glasses ready, and take copious meaningless notes! You may have noticed (unless you were screaming...
Poll What Did You Think Of Nintendo Direct At E3 2021?
Some long-demanded games made an appearance
Nintendo's E3 Direct has wrapped up, and as you'd expect it was full of game showcases and revealed a fair amount of Nintendo goodness. We've been writing up the news for your eyeballs on the homepage, and you can check out a round-up of the major announcements below. Roundup: Here's What Was Revealed...
Talking Point E3 Leaks Are Inevitable, But Do You Actually Want To Know?
What's life without surprises?
We're now into the latter half of E3 silly season, as rumours and leaks — some real, some clearly not — bombard us gaming enthusiasts at every turn online. If you know where to look and have the inclination, you can often find entire run-orders for the likes of the Xbox presentation hours before the show, or...
