Latest Features - Page 2
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...
Talking Point How Do You Play NES Games These Days?
Or, do you even play NES games?
The NES — specifically the Nintendo Entertainment System, not the Famicom — turns 40 today. The console's staggered rollout across the US makes its launch a bittier affair than the orchestrated, worldwide drops we're used to these days. But four decades ago, the first units were purchased in the United States and...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (18th October)
Oh balls
Ahoy chums! It's the weekend, so it's time to recap some of the biggest stories from this week before we dive into some good ol' gaming. First up, our review for Pokémon Legends: Z-A - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition went live, and while we certainly enjoyed our time with it, the game just doesn't quite match up to Legends: Arceus. We've also...
Poll Is It About Time Game Freak Added Voice Acting To Pokémon?
Discourse is swirling
Pokémon games have never, at least to our knowledge, had voice-over work. At least not the mainline games or direct spin-offs. For many, especially those who have been with the series since the very beginning, this hasn't really been much of an issue. After all, it was only when Pokémon had properly transitioned into the 3D...
Feature "We're Going To Need More Toilet Paper" - This Is Mario Kart-Attack!
A Mario Kart Live anniversary blowout
We may only be a few months into a shiny, new Mario Kart game with lush open worlds and challenges aplenty, but as I scrap it out in yet another Knockout Tour or pootle about for P Switches and Peach Coins, I can’t help but yearn for something a little more familiar. It’s a sentiment shared by many, if...
Poll Box Art Brawl - Duel: Fatal Fury Special (SNES)
Ready? Set? NSO!
We are back, back, back with another edition of Box Art Brawl! Last time, it was the Virtual Boy in the spotlight, as we matched up a duo of covers for Teleroboxer. It was two very different designs and they pulled in very different results, but the North American variant took the dub with 69% of the vote, leaving the Japanese box...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (11th October)
Get tactical, marines!
Hello hello, yes, it's the weekend once again! But before we dive into what we're playing over the next couple of days, let's just look back at some of the recent news highlights. The big talking point this week was undoubtedly the debut video(s) from Nintendo Pictures. While there was a lot of mystery surrounding the first...
Opinion Ogre Battle 64: Person Of Lordly Caliber's Revolutionary Heart Still Burns Brightly
Say, you want a revolution?
Has it really been 25 years? Yes, my wizened friends, it has. Back in the year of our lord 2000 (or 1999 if you're from Japan), if you weren't still calming down from the trauma of Y2K (still can't believe nothing happened) you may have been getting completely sucked into one of the few truly amazing RPGs on the Nintendo...
Feature Nintendo Life eShop Selects (September 2025)
Our picks for the best eShop games on Switch and Switch 2 in September!
Phew. What a month, hey? It's time for eShop Selects, and it's a doozy. As we approach the holiday season, we're practically drowning in games, with two of the biggest indies of the year hitting within weeks of each other. A Nintendo Direct ensured we'd be swimming in more...
Opinion Sonic Racing Crossworlds > Mario Kart World, And It's Not Even Close For Me
Plus, vote for your kurrent kart-racing king
When I initially found out that we were getting a brand new Mario Kart with the launch of Switch 2, I was a little bit concerned. Not disappointed, definitely excited, but concerned all the same. Mario Kart 8, you see, has become such an all-encompassing thing over the years, a sprawling collection of...
Poll Box Art Brawl - Duel: Teleroboxer (Virtual Boy)
Telerobrawl
Hello folks, and welcome back to another edition of Box Art Brawl! Last week, we looked at the ridiculously titled Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy - Deluxe Edition for the Nintendo Switch, and it was the Japanese box art design that
Feature From Z To A — Honouring My Favourite Pokémon, One Letter At A Time
Gotta alphabetise ‘em all
Ever since The Pokémon Company uttered the name Pokémon Legends: Z-A, one idea has obsessively swirled around my mind: I needed to declare my favourite Pokémon for each letter in the alphabet, in reverse alphabetical order. Anyone else? Just me? And why? I don’t know, because what I thought would be a fun, breezy...
Community Played A Great Switch Game We Missed? Send Us Your Hot Tips
2 hot to stop
It's that time of year for our six-monthly Games We Missed round-up, when you lovely people flag great Switch games that slipped through Nintendo Life's nets. And this is the first edition since Switch 2 launched! While we've done our utmost to keep up with every new Switch 2 game after 25 of them dropped on 5th June, there have...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (4th October)
Galactic plans
The weekend! Before we dive into what we're playing, let's do a little recap of this week, hm? First up, our review for Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 for the Switch went live, so you should definitely check that out. Nightdive Studios announced yet another remaster coming to consoles, and the
Talking Point Can Metroid Prime 4's Title Screen Go As Hard As The Others?
Beyond iconic
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes has one of the best title screens ever. It starts off with edge-lit glimpses and silhouettes, a bit like a Bond intro. But instead of naked bodies and wait-was-that-a-nipple, there’s something grotesque and alien and impressively FMV in the darkness. There’s those classic Prime-y choir synths, which might...
Opinion Silksong Might Just Be The Funniest Game Of The Year
Silks and giggles
It's very easy not to see the funny side of Hollow Knight: Silksong. Don't worry, I've been there. Something about bashing your head against a boss for the 20th time takes away the giggles a little bit, and that's okay. But you have to hear me out here: I haven't laughed this much at a game in a very long time. It tickles a very...
Feature Get A Job - 30 Years On, Seiken Densetsu 3's Class System Is Still One Of The Best
Hi, I'd like apply to be a Fenrir Knight
Who doesn’t love a job or class system in an RPG? From endlessly levelling jobs and sub-classing skills in Final Fantasy V to building the perfect teams and pairings in Octopath Traveler, classes bring a level of customisation and character that feels pretty unique to the genre. But while most games allow...
Feature Zelda, Layton, Mega Man - 10 Games We Played At TGS 2025 Coming To Switch 1 & 2
Evil Residents, Stories of Monster Hunters, Quests for Dragons, and more!
With the release of Switch 2, fans of their handheld hybrids will be relieved to hear that, compared to last year, there were many more Nintendo games to play at the Tokyo Game Show. This time around, the massive displays put up by the likes of Capcom and Square Enix had a...
Hands On Resident Evil Requiem Switch 2 Footage - A Surprisingly Tense Port
Spooky fun in the palms of your hands
[video: warned: It's Resident Evil, so there are some grisly, head-bitey bits in this video After so many years of performance issues on the original Switch, I haven’t quite gotten used to the fact that most games on Switch 2 hit a stable 60fps and that modern third-party blockbusters run on it well. As such,...
Puzzling
Welcome back, dear readers, to another edition of Box Art Brawl! Last week, we matched up a pair of covers for everyone's favourite dino, as we looked at a duo of designs for Yoshi Touch & Go. There's no polite way to put this: it was a blowout. The colourful North American and European design walked away with a staggering win, taking...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (27th September)
The Underworld beckons
Hello folks! It's the weekend once again, but before we dive into what we're playing, let's just do a quick recap of the last week. First up, it seems only right that we go over some of the reviews we posted this week, because these include some pretty big games: Hades II - 9/10 Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles...
Feature Who Is Devon Pritchard? - Meet The Next NOA President Stepping Into Bowser's Boots
Dougging deep
Yesterday, Nintendo shared the news that none of us could have predicted so soon: Bowser is stepping down from the position of top dog at the end of this year. The Koopas will have to find a new king, the Mushroom Kingdom will have to find a new menace, the kart racing scene will ha- what? Not that Bowser? Oh... we're going to miss...
Opinion Silksong's Soundtrack Rules, But You Should Turn It Off
Are your ready to RUMBLEEEE?
It was approximately 30 seconds after I'd buckled in for my flight to Greece that I smugly turned on my Switch 2 with the knowledge that I would have four hours of uninterrupted Silksong time ahead of me; then I realised my headphones were out of charge. It's no big deal, right? I'll be able to play just fine with the...
Opinion The Mario Movie Was Okay At Best, But I Can't Wait For The Sequel
Cosmic memories
The first Super Mario Bros. Movie from Illumination was… well, okay at best. It got a fair bit right, like the excellent visual presentation and delightful Easter Eggs throughout its 92-minute runtime. But a weak script, baffling casting decisions, and reliance on licensed music over iconic tracks from Koji Kondo resulted in a...
Preview Pokémon Legends: Z-A's Combat Shines Brightly, But Its Visuals Are Still Dull
Too zazzy?
It’s no secret that I’ve not been the biggest hype-monster when it comes to Pokémon Legends: Z-A. I’m not big on the idea of an open game being restricted to just a city, and the combat, whilst intriguing, left me apprehensive for how it would be executed. Well, I got the chance to go and play the game on Switch 2 in the Eiffel...
Opinion Why Focus On Silksong's Difficulty When We Need To Talk About How Cute It is?
Fari dula tsi ma net~
Over a week after beating Hollow Knight: Silksong, I’ve decided that we’re all focusing on the wrong things. Hornet’s fast-paced movement and range of options are breathtaking, sure, and the game can be maddening. But instead of succumbing to the difficulty discourse, instead of falling into a pit of spikes for a 13th...
Poll Box Art Brawl - Duel: Yoshi Touch & Go
Look & Vote
We're back with another clash of the covers as we embark on this week's Box Art Brawl! Last time, it was the Game Boy's Operation C (or Probotector, depending on your region) being put in the limelight, and we had a full three covers to choose between. It was the North American design that walked away with the win, however, snatching up...
Opinion Resident Evil Requiem Represents A Turning Point For Switch 2
No longer left behind
Ever since the first big blowout Direct for the Switch 2 back in April, I’ve been itching to see an announcement for Resident Evil on the new console. It’s possibly my favourite series of all time, after all, so I’m eager to play the recent entries on a Nintendo console without having to connect to the bloomin’ Cloud...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (20th September)
Nothing to dread, here
Well hello there. Welcome. It's the weekend, and that means you're keen to see what we're going to be playing over the next couple of days while divulging your own plans. Before you do so, however, let's just recap the last handful of days. First up, Nintendo announced that it would be expanding its GBA app with two new...
Ambassador, with this barbaric difficulty you're really spoiling us…
It's hard to believe, especially since I just about remember this one happening, that Ghosts 'n Goblins, Capcom's seminal (and seminally difficult) coin-op classic, first arrived in smoky arcade halls in Japan 40 years ago. Four entire decades. Deary me. I know I sound like a...
Opinion I Can't Believe I'm Finally Getting My Dream Pokémon Game In 2026
Z-A? What's *that*?
I rarely expect big Pokémon news during Nintendo Directs. Maybe an NSO drop (pffft), perhaps some details on the already-announced game coming out. I certainly did not anticipate my dream of becoming a Ditto who can transform into a human being to come true during the latest showcase. Okay, that’s obviously not what I’ve...
Opinion NSO Subscribers Outside Key Markets Get Less, And Nintendo Should Fix That
Region-free access, region-locked perks
Since its launch in 2018, the Nintendo Switch Online (NSO) has been a lightning rod for debate among players. Fans have argued over whether its two-tier price structure constitutes good value, questioned the quality of emulation — sometimes patchy at first with certain N64 games but steadily improved — and...
Opinion Metroid Prime 4 Reminds Me Of Gears 5, And It's Making Me Nervous
Skiff it a chance
I’m starting to feel nervous about Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Let me explain. During the most recent Nintendo Direct, the long-gestating game finally received a release date for 4th December 2025 on Switch and Switch 2. That’s not all, though; the accompanying trailer also revealed that Samus would now be rocking her very own...
Review JSAUX Split Protective Case For Switch 2 -Sleek But Off-Putting Modular Design
Clip on, clip off
If you managed to check out our review of Genki’s Attack Vector Case for the Switch 2, then JSAUX’s Split Protection Case will look pretty familiar. It adopts the same modular approach, with a main case clipping onto the back of the device, and two grips encompassing the Joy-Con 2 controllers. The difference here, however, is...
Sans regret
It's hard to believe that Undertale is 10 years old, innit. A game that released just a year after the birth of my eldest son, and two before my youngest arrived on the scene. What is time? It's all going so quickly. I bring my kids up here, not to be one of those tiresome people, but because Toby Fox's masterpiece (and you better...
RG-Beautiful
With the Switch 2 now in full swing, accessory manufacturers have unleashed a bevvy of additional bits and bobs for players to enhance their experience with Nintendo’s new console. JSAUX is one such company, and has released a rather lovely-looking charging dock for those who happen to own more than one set of Joy-Con 2 controllers...
Poll Box Art Brawl - Operation C / Probotector (Game Boy)
Operation Brawl
Well howdy y'all, and welcome to another edition of Box Art Brawl! Last week, we looked at Forsaken for the N64, which yes, we'll admit wasn't the most inspiring duo of box art designs. Nevertheless, North America managed to seal the deal with 59% of the vote. Well done! This week, we're going back to the Game Boy to check out...
