Latest Features - Page 28
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (September 17th)
A post-Direct blowout
*deep breath* There was a Nintendo Direct this week! And it was chock-a-block full of games. But the big news is that we, at last, know the name (and release date) of Breath of the Wild's follow-up. RIP The Sequel to... The Legend of Zelda:
Talking Point What Did You Think Of The Latest Nintendo Direct?
"Zelda blowout", they said
Nintendo Direct week is both the joy and the bane of a games journalist's work week. So much to talk about! So little time! So much hype! And then you spend the next two weeks slooowwwwly dissecting it all, discussing it all, and finding out the details that the Direct didn't tell you. This Direct was a pretty good one by...
Feature Rayman Is Back In 'Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope' - So Is He Actually Cool Now?
It'll take an arm and a leg
The '90s gave us a ton of platforming mascots — Sonic, Gex, Spyro, Crash Bandicoot, Aero the Acro-Bat, James Pond, and the list goes on. Plenty of fun, cute animals who can do all sorts of fun things like run fast, glide around, spin rapidly, and trap enemies in bubbles. And then there's Rayman. So what is Rayman? He's...
Hands On The Witch Is Back - Bayonetta 3 Is Real, And We've Played It
It's about (witch) time
Believe it or not, it’s been nearly five whole years since the wickedly stylish witch Bayonetta revealed the fact her action combat series would become a trilogy, and it’s been almost eight years since Bayonetta 2 released on Wii U. That original reveal trailer showed so little and left us with so many questions. Would...
Round Up Everything Announced In The September 2022 Nintendo Direct - Every Game Reveal And Trailer
What were your favourite announcements?
Another Nintendo Direct has graced the internet, bringing with it a host of awesome announcements and updates. Clocking in at 40 minutes in length, we've got a hunch there was probably something for everybody here, regardless of what kind of games you're into! Not much murky space horror though. Read More:...
Talking Point What Do You Want To See At Today's Nintendo Direct Showcase?
Zelda? Metroid? More Zelda?
Update [Tue 13th Sep, 2022 12:15 BST]: The day is upon us and we are buckling up for what is sure to be 40 minutes of top-notch announcement content. Alongside the writers below, our wonderful video production team have now also given their thoughts on what to expect from the Direct. Check out their thoughts in the new...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (September 10th)
What a week for franchises
It's finally here, folks. After what feels like an age of trailers and Directs galore, this week finally saw the release of Splatoon 3! Here at Nintendo Life, we have you covered for all things concerning ink, squids and merchandise (or should we say Murch-andice?) We have put together a comprehensive Tips, Tricks and...
Poll Is It Just Us, Or Was That Pokémon Scarlet And Violet Trailer A Little Confusing?
Time was clearly of the essence
After drip-feeding us Pokemon Scarlet and Violet reveals for the past few months, today saw the release of the newest ScarVi trailer (yes, that's what we're calling it, sometimes in our best pirate voice), which promised to be packed full of new information to get us pumped and ready to explore Paldea. While it...
Feature Nintendo Life eShop Selects (August 2022)
Nintendo Life's picks of the best eShop games in August!
We're approaching the fall season very quickly, and that means it's time for another dose of our eShop Selects! While August may have been a quiet month for Nintendo first-party titles (save one little pink puffball who we'll be getting to in a moment), our eShop wallets have been crying at...
Soapbox Forget Marvel, The Perfect Capcom Crossover Is Simpler Than You Think
Ryu from Streets needs new challengers
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Scott saves Capcom a lot of money and bother with a crossover suggestion everyone can get behind... Sure, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate may be the 'most...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (September 3rd)
Time for some downtime with our favourite games
In the week that brought us the results of Splatoon 3's first Splatfest, we have been busy with lots of quality gaming content over here on Nintendo Life. September is now upon us which not only means that we are preparing for a complete barrage of new gaming titles coming to our consoles over the next...
Soapbox Endless Zelda Remakes Are A Poor Substitute For Backwards Compatibility
But we'll buy them anyway
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Kate discusses her love/hate relationship with remakes... There is nothing quite as emblematic of our lost and distant childhood than video games. They are one of the few...
Talking Point What Was Your First Mario Kart Game?
Let's-a goooo!
Today (September 1st, 2022) marks 30 years since the launch of Super Mario Kart in North America. In the years since, Mario Kart has gone on to be one of the most successful Nintendo franchises of all time, with the latest mainline release - Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - topping the Switch's best-selling titles with over 40 million units...
Feature 12 Nintendo Games That Deserve An HD-2D Remake
Pretty in pixels
HD-2D has become the new lofty bar for retro-inspired RPGs or remakes of our favourite Super Nintendo RPGs. Square Enix's new trademark visual style started with 2018's Octopath Traveler and has also been used in this year's strategy RPG Triangle Strategy. But, arguably, its true potential has been realised in the stunning remake of...
Feature Which Region Has The Best Pokédex? Every Pokédex, Ranked From Best To Worst
Worst to best, actually, because SUSPENSE
Depending on how you feel about food and motorcycle themed Pokémon, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Paldea region looks to have one of the more creative Pokédexes in recent memory. Both Lechonk and Fidough have garnered an unhealthy
Round Up Pokémon World Championships 2022 - Was It Worth The Three-Year Wait?
Pokkén and Sword & Shield have left the building
It has been three years since the last Pokémon World Championships, so the excitement for the 2022 event had been building for a long while. For the first time ever, the Pokémon World Championships were held outside of North America, taking place in the UK at the ExCeL London and it brought...
Feature Super Mario Kart At 30: How 16-Bit Limitations Created A Franchise-Defining Mechanic
The gift of the drift
The landscape of the Mario Kart series looks very different today than it did back in 1992 when Super Mario Kart was released for the Super NES. Of course, there is a clear improvement with respect to visuals and we now have new characters, karts, and courses dropping all the time thanks to the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (August 27th)
Ladies and gentlemen, The Weekend
As the great Captain Haddock once said, 'what a week, huh?' It seems that in the run-up to Splatoon 3's release, Nintendo has been hitting us with inky news left, right and centre (splaturation, if you will). This week, we got a chance to go hands-on with the upcoming game, and we are sure that some of you will be...
Talking Point Can We Predict The Other Two Stories In Pokémon Scarlet & Violet?
Treasure, school, and evil...
One of the details revealed in the latest Pokémon Scarlet & Violet trailer was that the game would have three main stories, which could be played in any order. We were told about one of the three: The story of battling through all the gyms to get to whatever this game's equivalent of the Pokémon League is...
Hands On Splatoon 3 Brings New Ideas, But Nothing Revolutionary
Ink, splat, swim, repeat
Recently we were tickled pink to be invited by Nintendo to have a go at Splatoon 3, and as you might expect we accepted the offer. We got to play for about an hour or so, running through a few of the single-player levels, two rounds of Turf War, and three rounds of the new and improved version of Salmon Run — but how did...
Soapbox Ace Attorney: Trials And Tribulations Is The Perfect Tragedy
With the perfect villain
Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations on the DS turns 20 today (although the GBA version is a few years older). To celebrate, we're reminiscing on what makes it one of the most beloved games in the series... Massive spoilers for Ace Attorney 1-3 below!! Anyone who's ever played an Ace Attorney game knows the score by now...
Feature Kirby Café Tokyo - We Go Full Mouthful Mode Beneath The World's Tallest Tower
Kirby and the Forgotten Diet
If you’re a long-time Nintendo Life reader, or a devout Kirby fan, then you might remember that time Nintendo opened a small chain of Kirby-themed pop-up restaurants across Japan – christened Kirby Café, appropriately enough – in 2016. Beginning with its first temporary location in Osaka, that was quickly...
Talking Point What Was Your First Legend Of Zelda Game?
Links to the past
Last Monday marked the 35th Anniversary of Metroid's release in North America for the NES, and we celebrated by compiling our "origins" stories for the franchise. This time, it's The Legend of Zelda's turn, with the debut title also celebrating its 35th Anniversary in North America tomorrow (22nd August). It's kind of crazy to...
Feature Every Pokémon Game Narrative, Ranked From Best To Worst
Relatable villains and rivals that experience character growth make for the best stories
Pokémon games aren’t going to win a Hugo Award anytime soon for their narratives, but that doesn’t mean our many myriad adventures forwent interesting story beats. From Kanto to Galar, quirky villainous teams have strived to dominate Pokémon and people,...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (August 20th)
Press start for the weekend
Are you riding the waves this weekend? Wave Race 64 is out now on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service, so we're sure some of you are grabbing that late '90s nostalgia. Otherwise, you might be tee-ing up for a round of golf with the well-reviewing Cursed to Golf (we'll have our
Talking Point Which Nintendo Series Would Work Best As A Free-To-Play Game?
Hear us out! We've got some good ideas!
Live service, free-to-play games are the new hotness. With massive fanbases built around games like Genshin Impact, Destiny, and Fortnite, which are regularly updated with new characters, content, and quests, it's easy to see how other game development studios might be tempted over to the dark side...
Guide Best 3DS And Wii U DLC You Should Get Before The eShops Close Forever
Paid and free DLC to download ASAP
So. The 3DS and Wii U eShops are closing. You probably got that from the title. The full closure will be on the 27th March, 2023, with some games becoming unavailable even before that. We've got the full rundown on the closure here: When Does The 3DS And Wii U eShop Close? Nintendo eShop Closure Guide Of course,...
Feature Backlog Club: Portal's A Triumph - I'm Making A Note Here: HUGE SUCCESS
It's hard to overstate my satisfaction
Aperture Science. We do what we must, because we can. For the good of all of us — except the ones who are dead — I am going to talk about Portal. It's a puzzle game. It's a 3D first-person shooter. It's a comedy about untrustworthy robot overlords. And yes, it's a modern classic, and yes, I hadn't played...
Making worlds, characters, and memories in 'I Was a Teenage Exocolonist'
Revealed for Switch back in July, publisher Finji is bringing Northway Games' I Was a Teenage Exocolonist to Nintendo's console (and others) on 25th August. A narrative RPG with card-based battles, it sees you growing up in an off-world colony, with all the hardship that brings...
Talking Point How Were You Introduced To Metroid?
Lets get this morph ball rollin'
In case you didn't know, tomorrow (Monday, August 15th) marks the 35th Anniversary of Metroid's NES launch in North America. That's insane, right? 35 years! Do you feel old yet? In the years and decades since its debut in 1987 ('86 in Japan), the Metroid franchise has gone on to become one of Nintendo's tentpole...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (August 13th)
We're starting a cult...
The heat's back, and we're desperately trying to stay indoors here at Nintendo Life. We've got a round-up of everything that was shown off in the Splatoon 3 Nintendo Direct! Also, were feeling a bit peckish after Kirby's Dream Buffet got a release date. And there's a beautiful
Lamb do the slaughter
Devolver Digital's latest game in their stables of gory, bizarre, and irreverent releases is Massive Monster's Cult of the Lamb, a game so perfectly-pitched to the Devolver crowd that it's hard to believe it wasn't an in-house project. It's a cult simulator, but with cute li'l woodland animals instead of bloodthirsty...
Talking Point Has Nintendo Done Enough To Justify Splatoon 3's Existence?
Let's break down the latest Direct
Over the past few months, there's definitely been a growing concern amongst fans that Splatoon 3 might not be able to justify its own existence. Regardless of your opinion on them, live service games like Fortnite and Apex Legends have proven that it's perhaps more beneficial to launch what is effectively a...
Feature Mega Man, Crash Bandicoot, And Gex - The '90s Inspirations Behind 'Frogun'
We'll tell you what we want, what we really really want
Why is that '90s and 2000s fashion coming back as a new trend is so utterly distressing to those of us that were there, but '90s and '00s video game aesthetics resurfacing is a good thing? We don't have answers for you, but we do have Frogun, a charmingly goofy action-platformer game that...
Talking Point What Does Your Favourite Pokémon Say About You?
Pikachu? Wow, so basic
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are on their way, presumably adding another hundred-or-so critters to our 'Dex, and we can't lie — some of them are already winding their way into our hearts. There's Fidough, the purebread dog that everyone loves, Smoliv and Lechonk, the little guys with meme names, and Pawmi, Gen IX's Pikachu...
Feature Nintendo Life eShop Selects (July 2022)
The best of the last month's eShop games!
Another month has been and gone, and that means it's time for another look back at the eShop last month. July was a pretty big month for physical RPG releases, but the eShop has had a fair few hidden nuggets that may have passed you by. Once again, we've tried to pick the best of the best for you! It's the...
Back Page How To Make Your Own Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Monster Name
The Ballad of Sharpwitted Tracy
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...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (August 6th)
Fight to live, live to play games
It's been a busy week for Nintendo fans, and for us at Nintendo Life! Not only has Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's Wave 2 finally dropped, but Game Freak and The Pokémon Company gave us plenty of news on Pokémon Scarlet & Violet! Nintendo also delivered its Q1 financial results, where it reported
Soapbox All I Want From Mario Kart 8's DLC Is More Tracks Like Baby Park
Baby Park > Rainbow Road
As someone who gets paid to have opinions about video games, I have to check myself a fair bit. Do I love a particular game because I'm blinded by nostalgia? Am I kinder to a particular genre because I have a soft spot for it, even if some of the games are a bit pants? Are there developers who I'm willing to forgive for...
Soapbox For A Jaded Pokémon Fan, Scarlet And Violet Is Exactly What I Need
Just when I thought I was out... They pull me back in
For many years now, I've been buying the mainline Pokémon games primarily out of some twisted sense of obligation. Back in 1999, Pokémon Red and Blue launched at the perfect time for me; I was ten at the time of its release and had already gotten a good sense of what Pokémon was all about...
Feature Backlog Club: Have You Seriously Not Played Portal Yet?
We do what we must
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. This article is part of our new experimental series, Backlog Club, where we (Nintendo Life!) pick...
Poll How Do You Feel About Wave 2 Of The Mario Kart 8 Booster Course Pack?
Kart's content
The second wave of the new Booster Course tracks for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will be here next week, and we're feeling hyped to try out some new races (and a little disappointed that some of them look more like Mario Kart Tour tracks than Mario Kart 8 tracks). In the spirit of hype, we're trying to gauge how people are feeling about this...
Feature Backlog Club: Hollow Knight Does Things That Other Games Wouldn't. That's Why It's So Good
A game about bugs?! In this economy????
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. Read part one of our Hollow Knight playthrough here! This is the...
Feature SEGA's Astonishing GameCube Rebound Following Defeat In The Console Wars
How SEGA turned its fortunes around and made friends with Nintendo
For gamers old enough to remember the turn of the century, the console landscape looked very different from how it does today. Everyone was excited for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo was getting the GameCube ready to succeed the Nintendo 64. Microsoft's Xbox was also in development...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 30th)
Chronicling the weekend
As we reach the end of yet another week in the year 2022, we also sit at the cusp of the eighth month of the year! In the news this week, Nintendo finally unveiled Wave 2 of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's Booster Course Pass. Bandai Namco has asked Digimon Survive fans on social media to not spoil th
Talking Point What's The Highlight Of Your Game Collection?
The things we'll never trade in
Everyone plays games differently. Some of us buy nothing but digital games, preferring to be able to play whatever we want, wherever we want; others meticulously collect every single physical release they can get their mitts on, before prices skyrocket for a second-hand copy on eBay. But one thing most of us have in...
Feature Dynamax Ain’t That Bad - Pokemon’s Recent Battle Mechanics Ranked
VGC pro Wolfe Glick talks Mega Evolutions, Z-Moves, and Dynamax
From Generation III onward, Game Freak has altered Pokémon’s core battle mechanics in some way or another. Double Battles and the Physical/Special move split fundamentally changed the way people play Pokémon both casually and competitively, but it’s the latter three — Mega...
Poll What Order Should You Play Live A Live In? And Does It Even Matter?
Chronologicalive A Live
You might be forgiven for thinking that we here at Nintendo Life are a little too excited by Live A Live, an HD-2D remake of a 1994 JRPG that, by many accounts, was a bit of a flop. But even though not all of us were blown away by the demo, the reviews are in, and they're looking pretty good — so we're anticipating the game...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 23rd)
Live for the weekend
School's out for a lot of kids now in the UK — hooray! How many of you will be joining your kids for a summer of gaming? Perhaps Camelot updating its official company website with Golden Sun assets is tempting you to dig into your backlog? Or maybe you'll be going through the 3DS and Wii U eShops after Nintendo gave clearer...
Talking Point What Are The Nintendo Switch's Defining Moments (So Far)?
A timeline of awe and tragedy
The Nintendo Switch has been around for almost five and a half years, and in that time, it's made headlines over and over again in ways that other consoles haven't — for better or worse. And you know what? It's pretty refreshing to be able to talk so much about one piece of hardware. We were there for the Wii U years...
