Latest Features
Feature Nintendo Switch Ports We'd Love To See In 2023
Gimme gimme gimme!
Early in 2022, we put out a list of 14 games we'd love to have on Switch. Since then, we've got at least five of them on Switch, so we're either prescient or powerful. So, in hopes that 2023 will be similarly rewarding, we're aiming this feature at you, Doug Bowser — we'd love to see the following games ported onto Nintendo's...
Poll Budget Line Box Art - Is It 'Fine' Or A Sin Against All That Is Good And Pure?
Player's choice? Surely not!
The world's greatest secret agent really blending in there When it comes to box art, we're sticklers here at Nintendo Life Towers. Our Box Art Brawl series — which compares and contrasts regional box art variations and asks you to vote for your favourite — made a welcome return recently following a hiatus, and it...
Soapbox Yes, You Really Should Do All Of Xenoblade Chronicles 3's Sidequests
Live to sidequest
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Alana says you should do all of the sidequests in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 because they're that good. Or at least most of them… The Xenoblade series is known for many things...
Feature Backlog Club: Nintendo Life's Games Of Not-This-Year Awards 2022
The "Late to the Party" category
The thing with Game of the Year awards is that it pre-supposes that we are all adults with lots of free time to keep up with the ever-increasing firehose of game releases. You would think that games journalists, of all the types of adult, would be more on top of this than most... and you would be wrong! Like any...
Feature How Video Games Can Be Brilliant For Your Mental Health
Escapism, education, and being "alone together"
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and as part of our mental health coverage, I spoke to two psychologists from Take This — a non-profit dedicated to reducing the stigma of mental health in the gaming community, as well as raising awareness of the areas in which games and mental health intersect...
Soapbox 'Twin Peaks Meets Winnie The Pooh'? GOTY Or Not, This Game Deserves More Love
Pining for more
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Here, Jim delves into a game he found both wonderful and strange... When I first heard about the "Twin Peaks-meets-Winnie the Pooh" cuddly adventure Beacon Pines, you could say that I was...
Feature An Interview With ZANE_ROCKS_36, The Cool Dude Behind DOOM-Style Shooter 'Slayers X'
The real Hypnospace Outlaw
Erm, so... Have you played Hypnospace Outlaw? If so, great; if not, here's a quick primer: Hypnospace Outlaw is a simulation game made by Jay Tholen, Corey Cochran, and Xalavier Nelson Jr. in which you play an enforcer of rules on "Hypnospace", a '90s-style version of the internet that happens while you sleep. In your...
Feature Which Is The Absolute Best Nintendo Console Generation?
Nintendo: The Best Generation
Looking back over nearly four decades of video game output from Nintendo in both hardware and software form, it's easy to pick out highlights, both historical and personal. Super Mario Bros. was a seminal release in the history of the medium; A Link To The Past codified the design template that the Zelda series would...
Feature Artist Larry Achiampong's Life Of Nintendo, Creativity And Inspiration
"That’s the beauty of video games, it’s our way of life"
While there are often discussions around the merits of gaming as an artform, we perhaps talk less about examples of games helping to inspire other contemporary art. Yet as years pass it's an inevitability, as the role of games in the lives of millions has transformed since the mid- to...
Feature The Best Hidden Gems And Underrated Switch Games Of 2022
Some overlooked games you might have missed
Another year has gone by and we've seen a positive smorgasbord of new Switch eShop releases, with handfuls of games launching each and every week. Naturally, we've been unable to cover everything that's graced the Nintendo Switch in 2022; we are human after all (or are we..?), but we've done our level...
Feature Hot Zelda: Link To The Past Takes From '90s Game Mags, 30 Years Later
A link to the Link to the Past past
Let us set the scene: The year is 1992. You are sitting in your living room, wearing something with massive shoulder pads, probably. Guns N' Roses is playing on the radio. Social media does not yet exist. Raise your sword if you miss the '90s It is into this peaceful scene that we can add a sprinkling of video...
Soapbox Sega's Greatest RPG Is 20 Years Old And Long Overdue A Remaster
A (sky) pirate's life for me
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, on the GameCube port's 20th anniversary, Alana is desperate to see Skies of Arcadia Legends on modern consoles... Sega isn’t really known as an RPG developer, but it...
The perils of dipping a toe in a franchise
It started with a simple question: Which Dragon Quest should I play first? It's one of my gaming shames that I've never touched Square Enix's hallowed RPG series, and I've been wanting to dig into something really meaty for many months now. Sure, I've got about 30 unplayed RPGs ready and waiting on Switch...
Feature The Story Of Affordable Space Adventures, The Wii U eShop's Best Exclusive
"I don’t know why, but Nicklas was hanging around in the office!"
When Nintendo confirmed the upcoming closure of the Wii U eShop (and the 3DS store, too), thoughts immediately turned to exclusives that'll be lost. The most prominent of these on the system, we'd suggest, is Affordable Space Adventures, a unique game only on Wii U and destined to...
Talking Point How's Your Switch Holding Up After 5 Years?
Memories and mistreatment
Switch is officially five years old now, and it's got us thinking back half a decade to our very first interactions with the little console that could. Whether we were lucky enough to get our hands on an early review unit, or marched down to our local video game emporium to pick up a pre-order, or winged it on the...
Feature From Chrono Trigger To Super Mario RPG, The Varied Influences Of Sea Of Stars
"Just like with The Messenger, with the genre we want to present our 'definitive edition'"
The Messenger made a notable impact when it arrived back in 2018, with its sharp design and Ninja Gaiden-inspired gameplay also giving way to a major twist and very modern design. In that case developer Sabotage captured the imagination of retro gamers and...
Feature "Shovel Knight Feels Like Our 'Mario', But We Kept Wondering What Our 'Zelda' Might Be"
Yacht Club Games discusses the creative process for Mina the Hollower
Yacht Club Games is a company that needs little introduction, particularly thanks to the huge success and acclaim for Shovel Knight, a title that had multiple major expansions and campaigns over a number of years. The company has been busy beyond that too; last year it published...
Editorial Happy Holidays From Nintendo Life
Later we'll have some pumpkin pie
T'is here, the most wonderful time of the year! Yes, Season's Greetings to all you lovely people. Grab yourself a beverage, get comfy, and get ready — it's party time! If by 'party' you mean sweating profusely and wishing you hadn't said 'yes' to a fifth mince pie or similarly stodgy sweetmeat. 2022 has been a...
Soapbox Why Can't Nintendo Offer Both Virtual Console And Switch Online?
Says the writer that will need to redownload a lot of VC purchases on Wii U and 3DS
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Thomas discusses the unnecessary 'choice' by Nintendo between Virtual Console and Nintendo Switch Online...
Soapbox One Of My GOTYs Is A Game You Probably Haven't Played (But You Should)
A masterpiece of narrative design
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 gets green fingers... Come here. Sit down. Shut up. Why haven't you played Strange Horticulture yet? No, that was rhetorical. And also, a trap. I said shut...
Full server shutdowns could be coming sooner than you think, too
Over the holidays we're republishing some choice features from the last 12 months. A mix of talking points, interviews, opinion pieces and more from NL staff and contributors, you'll find our usual blend of thoughtfulness, expertise, frivolity, retro nostalgia, and — of course —...
Feature Nintendo Life's Alternative Game Awards 2022
Best soundtrack, best $5 game, best 'Game That Doesn't Fit Neatly On Any Of Our Genre Lists'
It's Christmas time once more, which for many of us means time off work and a glut of food. But for us in the video game journalism career path, it also means doling out awards to all the games we loved this year. But a lot of games don't quite make it into...
Feature 16 Theories About Link's Weird Arm In Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2
Zelda: Arms
We know surprisingly little about the game currently titled The Sequel To The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild. [Oof, it's Tears of the Kingdom, past-Kate! We'll forgive you for not knowing the name of the new Zelda game before it was announced, though. Carry on! - Ed] But that won't stop me from furiously speculating about it all the...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (December 24th)
Festive edition!
"So this is Christmas, and what have you done?" These were the words sung by the legendary John Lennon in perhaps the most depressing Christmas song of all time. But in answer to your question, John, we're having quite a busy one, actually. We have been prepping all things game of the year this week, with us Nintendo Life staff...
Feature Remembering The Newest Nintendo IP You'd Forgotten All About
We've been expecting you, Buddy Mission BOND
Did you know that every year Nintendo publishes at least one new IP? It’s true, they haven’t missed a year since 1983, the year the Famicom launched in Japan. [Editor's note. Except for 2022, it seems. You were on a roll, Nintendo!] In 2020 we had Good Job!, Astral Chain in 2019, Sushi Striker in...
Back Page "My Uncle Works At Nintendo" - The Man, The Myth, And The Mendacity
It’s all lies… until it’s all true
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...
Feature WayForward On Expanding The 'River City Girls' Universe, And Future Plans
"Hopefully players are interested in us expanding this further"
The Kunio-kun spin-off River City Girls returned earlier this month with the release of River City Girls 2, and Nintendo Life was lucky enough to catch up recently with game director Bannon Rudis as well as WayForward's director of business development, Adam Tierney. Before we dive in,...
Feature 7 Series That Need A Strategy Spin-Off On Switch
If it's good enough for Mario and Marvel, it's good enough for Metroid
Strategy game fans have been eating well on Switch this year. We’ve gotten exciting new releases like Triangle Strategy and Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope; as well as remasters of classics like Tactics Ogre and Front Mission gracing our portable scre
Feature Best Nintendo Switch Ports Of 2022
Our picks of the 10 best ports on Switch this year
In March 2023, less than three months from now, the Nintendo Switch will have been on store shelves and stacked in online retailers' warehouses for six full years. When it arrived on the scene in 2017, its mobile chipset was already old news in technological terms, but its blistering success in the...
Feature Game Of The Year 2022 - Nintendo Life Staff Awards
Our personal picks for the best Switch games of 2022
Another year has come and gone (almost) and once more we're looking back over all the games we've played, along with those we wish we had played. It's been a great year for Switch releases, with a crop of excellent first-party Nintendo games joined by some great third-party offerings (Square Enix,...
Talking Point What's The Deal With The Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Switch Release?
Final Font-asy
It’s finally happening – the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series is coming to Switch, and it’s about bloomin’ time! We’re pretty darn excited here. The first six Final Fantasy games on the NES and SNES – Final Fantasy I, II, III, IV, V, and VI – on a Nintendo console for the first time since
Feature Final Fantasy's 35-Year Legacy Of Innovation - How Square Evolved A Genre On The NES & SNES
A Prelude to all future RPGs
Final Fantasy is now 35 years old, and that feels a little bit weird to say. While not the first RPG series to ever grace a home console or even the first Japanese-developed RPG, Final Fantasy is, arguably, the JRPG. Everyone knows it, and everyone has played at least one. There’s a lot of debate about what Final...
Talking Point What Would You Want To See In A 'Mega Man 12'?
Mega (old) Man
Today marks the 35th anniversary of the first Mega Man, the game that kickstarted a remarkably iconic franchise in the video game industry, spawning ten direct sequels, multiple spin-off games, comics, tv shows, and more. The latest entry to the series, Mega Man 11, launched back in 2018 and we thought it was excellent. In our 9/10...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (December 17th)
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
It has certainly been a festive week this time around at Nintendo Life. We've been busy getting all things ready for the end of the year and are now ready to catch up on all of the great games that we have missed in the meantime. The week brought us our Nintendo Switch Year in Review (always a reminder...
Feature Nintendo Life's Most Anticipated Games For 2023 (That Aren't Zelda)
Let the other games have some space, too!
It's that time of the year again where we all turn backwards to appreciate the good things about 2022, but also start to look forward to the brand new year ahead, full of video game releases and surprises. And yes, when you think "2023" and "video games", we know that one obvious answer comes to mind: The...
Back Page 8 Video Games That Would Make Perfect Christmas Getaways
Chestnuts roasting on a pixelated fire
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 Switch Year In Review 2022 - Our Most Played Games
From the impressive to the embarrassing
Just this week Nintendo has provided us with our Switch Year in Review - a round-up of our most-played games for 2022 and in which months we were obsessed by them. Aside from a touching reminder that Big Bowser is always watching, the summaries provide a nice look at the year in focus, flagging the games that...
Back Page How Many Eyes Does Sonic Really Have?
An eye for an eye
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 jokes — so...
Feature The Best Pokémon Glow Ups In Pokémon Scarlet And Violet
It's time for a makeover!
Every new generation of Pokémon offers new stories, makeovers, and evolutions to some of the more overlooked 'mons in the 'dex, and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is no different. Although we've only got a handful of regional variations in Paldea, that doesn't mean that ScarVi hasn't revitalised and re-imagined some of the...
Talking Point As Zelda: Wind Waker Turns 20, Doesn't Toon Link Deserve A Second Chance?
Big eyes, big dreams
Today marks the 20th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker’s Japanese release and after all of these years, we think that it is finally safe to say that Nintendo’s punt paid off. By ‘punt’ we don’t refer to the idea of putting Link on a boat – whatever will they think of next, putting him on a train??...
Feature 30 More Things You Might Have Missed In Pokémon Scarlet & Violet
Easter Eggs, secrets, and tips!
Remember our feature that highlighted 30 Things You Might Have Missed In Pokémon Scarlet & Violet? Well, we've already found 30 more things, from neat Easter Eggs to things that make battling a whole lot easier. Let's dive in — how many do you already know? More Things You Didn't Know About Pokémon Scarlet...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (December 10th)
Award winners and wheel spinners
It has been yet another fun-filled week here at Nintendo Life and we are ready to once again hit the ol' games this weekend. In the past seven days we have had The Game Awards (and the absence of any Tears of the Kingdom news thereof), a brand new
Soapbox The Steam Deck And The Switch Aren't Rivals, They're Siblings
Switch 'em up
I have a Switch. And I have a Steam Deck. I am a fancy lady with two consoles designed for the kind of people who really like to be horizontal when playing games, which suits me just fine, because I am often to be found being horizontal and/or playing games. But I see a lot of folks pitting my two expensive rectangles against one...
Feature Yuji Horii And Tachi Inuzuka - Making A Dragon Quest That Can Be "Enjoyed Casually"
Lifting the lid on Dragon Quest Treasures
The chest has been opened, and Dragon Quest Treasures has finally launched on the Switch today, 9th December. Originally proposed as an entry in the spin-off series Dragon Quest Monsters, Treasures sees fan-favourite character from Dragon Quest XI — Erik — and his little sister Mia embark on an...
Round Up Everything Announced At The Game Awards 2022 - Every Game Reveal And Trailer
What was your favourite announcement?
Another year, another Game Awards event. It was a pretty good one though, right? There were plenty of cracking game announcements for all platforms, including the Switch, and for your convenience, we've compiled them all for you right here. You'll find all relevant game trailers below along with a link to our...
Feature Cuphead Creators On The Perfect Physical Edition, Animation, And Working With Netflix
"Partnering with the team at iam8bit was right for us"
It's kind of amazing to think that, before this month, Cuphead had never had a physical launch. This seminal run-and-gun indie, visually inspired by the rubber hose animation from the 1930s and the Jazz age, made a huge splash in 2017 on Xbox and Windows, and with a Switch port finally...
Talking Point Are You Excited To See Call Of Duty Return To Nintendo Platforms?
Whisky tango foxtrot
In case you missed the recent bombshell from Xbox Game Studios' CEO Phil Spencer, the business executive confirmed in a tweet that Microsoft would enter into a ten-year commitment to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo platforms following the presumed merger of Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard. <related ids="142197"> The...
Feature The Best Pokédex Pictures In Pokémon Scarlet & Violet
How many references can you spot?
One of our favourite new features in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet has to be the new Pokédex. Instead of being a dry encyclopaedic list of Pokémon you've seen and caught, ScarVi takes the boring old 'Dex formula and throws it out of the window in favour of a stylish bookcase of Pokémon. And it's gorgeous. We began...
Feature Nintendo eShop Selects - November 2022
Nintendo Life's picks for the best Switch eShop games in November!
It's technically the last eShop Selects of the year. Yep, the next time we do this, it'll be 2023, even if we'll be looking back at December's games. But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves yet! We've got November to look back on — a month dominated by Pokémon, but an early...
Feature Our Verdict On Splatoon 3's Chill Season 2022 Update - New Stages, Weapons, And Modes
A splat in the right direction
Splatoon 3 came out back in September and we've been having a great time with it ever since. While the list of tweaks and additions in this threequel was long, and the mechanics have never been smoother, there were some out there (us included, to an extent) who felt that the series' third entry was good, but...
