Review Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
The PC Engine classic finally arrives on the Virtual Console
Review Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber (Virtual Console / Nintendo 64)
One of the N64's only strategy titles, but also the best
News - March, 2010
Thursday1st Apr 2010
Review Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber (Virtual Console / Nintendo 64)
One of the N64's only strategy titles, but also the best
Last year, the Virtual Console brought us Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen, the "fifth" title in the Ogre Battle series (although none of the first four chapters in the story actually exist.) An incredibly rare game, it was also one of the best strategy titles on the SNES, allowing...
Wednesday31st Mar 2010
Review WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase (WiiWare)
A nice little added bonus.
We've just recently seen the release of WarioWare D.I.Y. for the DS system which lets players design, play, and share their own unique microgame creations. But for those who feel like enjoying even more of the same, not to mention the ability to play and share their creations on their television screens, Nintendo has just...
Feature The Making of Star Fox
We go behind the scenes to discover how a small UK code-house helped Nintendo enter the realm of 3D – and make millions in the process
In these days of ultra-realistic graphical plenty it’s all too easy to forget that for console gamers, 3D visuals didn’t really become par for the course until the advent of the 32-bit technology in the...
News Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon Gets The NES Treatment
Classic rock album is re-imagined on the vintage 8-bit
Pink Floyd may be a band that your dad was into when he was younger but that doesn't deny them the privilege of being one of rock music's all-time greatest acts, and their magnum opus The Dark Side of the Moon still sounds amazing even today. But you know what would make it sound even more...
Round Table Mario's Past and Future
Can we foresee the plumber hanging up his overalls?
As we leave March 2010, it's with deep sadness we also have to kiss goodbye to MAR10 Month. We've had podcasts, reviews of classic outings, high scores and plenty of discussion over the plumber's titles. What is it about Mario that draws such passion from Nintendo fans? We sat down to chew the fat...
News New Jett Rocket Shots Blast Off
WiiWare to receive its best-looking game yet
Shin'en Multimedia has already proven its ability at creating great-looking and addictive WiiWare titles, with the superb Art of Balance available now, but the company looks set to exceed its own high standards, as these new shots of Jett Rocket show. Boasting a distinctly Super Mario Galaxy-inspired...
News First Conduit 2 Screens Indicate There Will Be Lots Of Explosions
And a whole lot more new stuff for multiplayer
Hot off its Nintendo Power reveal come a few screenshots for High Voltage Software's upcoming Conduit 2. Not The Conduit 2, oddly enough, but judging from what's happening in these shots it's likely the definite article just blew up in the mayhem. Apart from explosions, Conduit 2 plans on beefing things...
News Miyamoto: 2010 Will Be Great For Hardcore Nintendo Fans
Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid and Zelda should keep everyone happy
The Wii may be getting a little long in the tooth now but that hasn't stopped Shigeru Miyamoto from commenting that 2010 is likely to be one of the best years yet for the format. Speaking to UK site CVG, the highly-respected games designer references several key titles, including the new...
News Fishie Fishie Is Getting Ready to Splash Out on WiiWare
New "one-button action" game from DK Games
We've just been sent a trailer from developer DK Games about its upcoming WiiWare title Fishie Fishie. You might remember the developer for its ball-rolling game Equilibrio, which was recently selected by Marvelous Entertainment to be part of the World Game Parade of European WiiWare titles being published...
News It's Tough at the Top for Nintendo
Japanese newspaper reveals the strain of being number one
Nintendo's consoles are massive sellers and the company is arguably more successful now than it has ever been, but at what cost? Japanese newspaper Nikkei Sangyou Shimbun has given a brief insight into the strain of being the best of the best. Apparently Nintendo's employees have been under...
Tuesday30th Mar 2010
News Eminem Prepping Donkey Kong High Score Attempt?
Rapper's Tweet suggests he's a mean Kong player
Considering it's a crusty old arcade machine from a few decades back Donkey Kong sure is grabbing a lot of headlines recently. First there was the amazing King of Kong movie based around Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchell's titanic struggle to achieve the best DK score in history. More recently we're seen...
Warmed-up leftovers
From the description you might think Diner Dash is a throwaway mini-game: guide office block refugee Flo through her dream job of running her own chain of restaurants with gameplay centred around seating customers, keeping them happy and getting big tips. It's best not to write it off as it's actually quite a fun game (think...
Review Nintendo DSi Instrument Tuner (DSiWare)
It's an instrument tuner
The DSi wasn't intended just for games; part of the meaning of the "i" is in reference to using it as a "personal tool," according to some Nintendo rep who may or may not have been full of it. We've already seen some fairly useless applications hit the service already, lending credence to this, so it...
Review Nintendo DSi Metronome (DSiWare)
It's a metronome
The DSi wasn't intended just for games; part of the meaning of the "i" is in reference to using it as a "personal tool," according to some Nintendo rep who may or may not have been full of it. We've already seen some fairly useless applications hit the service already, lending credence to this, so it makes a...
We go hands on with EA's upcoming footie title
Last week, Nintendo Life headed over to EA's UK headquarters for a kick-about with their impending blockbuster 2010 FIFA World Cup. With the world's biggest sporting tournament only a few months away, gamers have been keen to see how they can grab a slice of World Cup glory from their living rooms, and...
News Advance Wars Reaches New Levels of Boardom
Take the fight to your tabletop
We all love a bit of Advance Wars: on the sofa, on the bus and probably even on the loo. But on the table, with cards and counters instead of buttons and bleeps? Well, that's the ingenious idea of several enterprising chaps who've devised Skirmish Wars: Advance Tactics, transporting the turns-based war game into a...
News April 15th - Australian DSi XL Retails for AU$299.95
Aussies still not PALs with Nintendo on pricing
The good news is that our friends down under don't have to wait too much longer for the DSi XL, however they're going to have to pay more than any other region. Currently you can pick-up a DSi XL in the US for $189.99 ( ~£125), in the UK for as low as £139.71 and Europeans for around €166 ( ~£149)...
News Grinder Remains a First-Person Shooter on Wii
Top-down shooter iteration is HD-only
Things were looking shaky for High Voltage Software's upcoming horror-fest The Grinder. What was supposed to be a Wii-exclusive first-person shooter in the vein of Valve's Left 4 Dead turned out to go the multiplatform route, and then oddly enough seemed to transform into a colorful top-down shooter along the...
News The Conduit 2 Revealed in May Nintendo Power
SEGA back on-board to publish a second outing for Agent Ford
According to IGN and a few other places, High Voltage Software's Conduit sequel has an 8-page spread in upcoming May edition of Nintendo Power. Official (confirmed) details are thin on the ground at the moment, but we do know that SEGA is set to publish the title in the US and Europe...
News Nintendo's 3DS Announcement Wasn't Supposed to Happen Like That
Analyst: early reveal was meant to prevent further leaks
When a company announces new hardware, especially the successor to a massively popular one, it's usually done with much more pomp than what happened with Nintendo's recent 3DS announcement. The fanfare of the two-sentence press release was only slightly less than if Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata...
News Suda51 Keen on Making Game With Nintendo
Would be "very interested" if the opportunity arose
When you think about it, Nintendo games are ****ing crazy insane. You've got foxes and amphibians piloting starships, pink shapeshifting blobs, and space bounty hunters more focused on eradicating entire species and blowing up planets than collecting bounties. Not to mention Italian plumbers from...
News New Metroid: Other M Gameplay Trailer
Nintendo throw us a bone with a new gameplay trailer of Samus' latest adventure
Nintendo has today updated the Metroid.com Web site with a brand new trailer featuring gameplay from the upcoming Wii game Metroid: Other M. You can check out the trailer here: Only a few months to go until the game is released in the US followed by Europe later in the...
Monday29th Mar 2010
Review Gangstar 2: Kings of L.A. (DSiWare)
Sample the sweet taste of crime
If you weren't interested in Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars but still hanker for some big city crime drama, you might be drawn to Gameloft's latest DSiWare release, Gangstar 2: Kings of LA. Taking the GTA template to a download title and offering it all for 500 Points should be a pretty sweet deal, but once you've...
Review Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces (Wii)
A sky full of aces
Air combat games are a rarity on the Wii, which is quite surprising considering the tilt sensors on the Remote and Nunchuk have been demonstrated to be the most reliable form of motion control available on the Wii. Thankfully Namco Bandai have decided to step into the breach with Project Aces' excellent movie tie-in Sky Crawlers:...
Review Super Yum Yum: Puzzle Adventures (DSiWare)
Fairly yummy
First released for mobile phones and iPhone, Super Yum Yum is a puzzle game in which you play as Leon the chameleon, attempting to recover all your children and your large supply of fruit, all of which have been stolen by Ms. Tum Tum, a big blue creature with a large appetite. After a quick tutorial level you'll be thrust into action...
News Super Mario Kart Races to Europe on Friday
Virtual Console owners, start your Points cards!
It's been a long wait for European gamers to race around those classic 16-bit courses in the original Super Mario Kart: out in North America since November last year, and Japan since June, there's been barely a sniff of it outside those territories. The wait is nearly over though, as Nintendo has...
Nintendo Download 29th March 2010 (North America)
Wario, cafe table waiting and medieval battles on Wii; fireworks, turtles, fruity puzzles and music tuners for DSi
Another Monday, another handful of games vying for your hard-earned Nintendo Points! The offerings are all across the board today with new DSiWare apps for musicians and a much-anticipated N64 release on Virtual Console. While not...
News Red Steel 2 Blunted After Poor UK Chart Debut
Ubi's first big Wii release of 2010 fails to get the tills ringing
Remember the old "hardcore games don't sell on Wii" debate we had all those months ago? Well get ready to dust it off again because the retail figures for the UK launch of Ubisoft's Red Steel 2 are in, and it's not pretty reading. The sword-swinging action title - which we...
News Dave Perry May Know Truth About 3DS
Industry veteran hints he's familiar with new tech
File this strictly under "rumour," but industry stalwart Dave Perry, famous for Earthworm Jim, has dropped a hint on Twitter that he may know something we don't regarding the mysterious Nintendo 3DS. Perry recently tweeted that he was: Excited about the Nintendo 3DS. I've got the Fuji 3D...
Sunday28th Mar 2010
A real do-it-yourself project!
Back in 2003, the developers at Nintendo introduced a game that was basically nothing more than a huge collection of minigames that lasted only seconds, but were tossed at the player in rapid succession. While the idea initially seemed a bit ridiculous, it turned out to be one of the most addictive game releases and...
News Select Downloadable Games Available for Purchase on Nintendo's Web Site
Bypass the spacebucks for select titles
If you've done any game downloading on your Wii or DSi then odds are you've wound up spending more up front than what your game cost thanks to Nintendo's own Point currency. If you're not a fan of having spare points rattling around in your account, or perhaps just prefer having honest-to-goodness real money...
News La-Mulana Test Play 4 Video
More of the game in action!
Our good friend Tyrone Rodriguez of Nicalis has just sent over the newest test play video for their upcoming WiiWare action/platformer La-Mulana. You can see just how far along the game is in development in the many levels and boss fights that are shown throughout the trailer. You'll also get a look at the selection menu...
Saturday27th Mar 2010
News Marines: Modern Urban Combat Deployed In June
First-person shooter coming to Wii
When it comes to first-person shooters set in wartime, there's a couple of franchises that immediately spring to mind. With titles like the Call of Duty and Medal of Honor franchises already firmly established with extensive fan-bases, is there room for more? Marines: Modern Urban Combat is set on the deadly...
First Impressions Sora o Kakeru Shōjyo Shooting
Pretty girls and shooting action: a recipe for success
If you weren't already jealous of the number of old-fashioned shooting games available in the Japanese DSi Shop thanks to the G.G. Series, now you have another one courtesy of I.T.L. Roughly translated as Shooting Space Girls, this is a side-scroller with a difference, though what that...
Nintendo Download 30th & 31st March 2010 (Japan)
Bit Boy!! grows up and more MSX on Wii; Sims, role-playing and puzzling for DSi
Marvelous Entertainment continues its World Game Parade this week on WiiWare, and Virtual Console buffs who're into the import scene may want to check out the MSX titles on offer that have come out of nowhere (we do like VC surprises, yes we do). DSiWare is a bit light...
Friday26th Mar 2010
Feature The Making of the Nintendo Virtual Boy
Nintendo's other attempt to crack the world of three dimensions
Everybody has an awkward secret that they'd rather not share with the world. Be it an old school photo that showcases your crimes against fashion or an acutely embarrassing vinyl LP in your record collection that you simply can't bear to part with, we keep these things hidden from the...
Well developed
We first played Photo Dojo back at Nintendo’s Media Summit in February, and in the hustle and bustle of the event it was a huge amount of fun. Now it’s out of the O2 and into the hands of gamers everywhere, it’s still a great deal of fun but its flaws are far more apparent. Photo Dojo is an extremely simplistic fighting game...
Time to shoot and slice some bros
Ubisoft promised the sky for their Wii launch game Red Steel; since nobody had used the Remote before, plenty of gamers drank the kool-aid and had high hopes for its swordplay potential. The concept was interesting, but the execution left a gross aftertaste. It's telling that the idea was never emulated in the way...
News Japanese Virtual Console list - April 2010
Great games all around.
It is once again the final Friday of the month, and that means Nintendo has revealed their plans for Japan's Virtual Console this coming month. It looked like there were no more games remaining for the final update this month (Next week), but Konami has generously provided two more MSX games just for it. Next month sees two...
Nintendo Download 26th March 2010 (Europe)
This Hanabi Festival's final game, with some nice things on WiiWare and DSiWare as well.
As previously announced by Nintendo, the Hanabi Festival wasn't over just yet. This week brings us one last import game, and it's quite a highly anticipated one, at that. They could've just left it at that and called it a day, but they've also added a second,...
News Grill-Off with Ultra Hand! Coming to US Club Nintendo
WiiWare game cooks its way out of Japan
The US branch of Club Nintendo, home of posters, cards and, uh, bookmarks, is set to broaden its range a little more with a quirky, bite-sized nugget of a WiiWare game. There's no set release date for it, although we can reasonably expect it to be "soon," and the game will go for 80 coins. Previously...
Competition Flipper Competition Winners
Who grabbed the goodies?
You may remember a few weeks ago we launched a competition, in collaboration with Hugo Smits of Flipper fame, to win some very cool prizes relating to his goldfish-seeking voxel-blasting title. Well, the final decisions have been made and we can now reveal the winners! Winner 1: Gerardo Moraila Cruz (known as abgar here at...
First Impressions G.G. Series Drilling Attack
Not a mad dentist, just more arcade fun!
It's not hard to see why we keep on downloading G.G. Series games to preview because as many as there are, they all seem to have been made by people who care about delivering a quality slice of simple gaming fun. That they're only 200 Points each is just icing on the electron cake of arcade goodness. Drilling...
Thursday25th Mar 2010
Now this is more like it!
The independent gaming scene has always been a flourishing part of PC gaming over the years, but very few people were ready for the splash one indie game designer's title would make on the industry when he released it in 2004. It took Daisuke Amaya, aka Pixel, five long years to complete Cave Story, but its unique...
Review Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (Wii)
Diamond in the rough
There’s a sincerity to Fragile Dreams that’s very appealing, but that weighs heavily on the game over time. After burying his grandfather in his front garden, main character Seto explores the post-apocalyptic world with a heaviness of step that should make clear this isn’t a game full of sunshine and rainbows. If you like...
Review Drift Street International (DSiWare)
We thought of a drift racing pun but it slipped our minds
So far on DSiWare, puzzlers are bountiful, platformers becoming more so, and don't get us started on sudoku games, but the amount of decent racers can be counted on one chain-chomped hand. So when something as pretty as Tantalus Media's Drift Street International rolls up, our knuckles turn...
News 3DS to Employ Parallax Barrier Technology?
New screens offer "perfect 3D"
When Nintendo clumsily announced the 3DS a few days ago we - as well as several other sites - were quick to point out that 3D gaming is already possible on the DSi, to a certain extent. The DSiWare title Rittai Kakushie Attakoreda uses head-tracking to create a fairly convincing impression of 3D. However, Keith Stuart...
First Impressions G.G Series: D-Tank
Tank-tastic arcade fun!
Tanks feature in some of the earliest arcade games, from vector graphics classics like Battle Zone and Armor Attack to "newer" sprite-based games like Vindicators and Tank Force. As with the latter D-Tank sees players controlling a tank and trying to defend a base from attack by incoming waves of enemy tanks: a...
News Wii & DS Become Guardians Of The Great Ga'Hoole Tree
Fantasy book series gets video game treatment to coincide with film release
With several anticipated Summer blockbuster films ahead of us, we can expect to see video game spin-offs to start appearing our consoles and handhelds if they haven't already. Krome Studios and Tantalus Media, two companies that have given us video game adaptations of Star...
News Donkey Kong Champ Reveals the Height of His Obsession
World record holder very nearly sacrificed his toilet to achieve his high score
Hank Chien may now sitting pretty at the top of the Donkey Kong high score tree but to get to that point he very nearly had to make a difficult lifestyle choice. Speaking in a recent interview with Details Magazine, Chien revealed that due to a lack of space in his...
Competition2 Win a Cave Story Wiimote!
Get your hands on a unique, one-off Wiimote with official Cave Story scribbles!
To celebrate the North American release of the excellent Cave Story WiiWare game by Nicalis we've got an extra special treat for the readers of Nintendo Life. We've got a super limited edition (so limited there's only one) Wiimote personally decorated by Amaya-San...
News AlphaBounce Breaks Away On DSiWare
Featuring over 25 million levels? It can't be!?
With puzzle games generally falling under one of several categories, it can be hard for developers to bring something unique to the table. When thinking of genres that tend to offer gamers replay value, puzzle games and RPGs seem like pretty good candidates. AlphaBounce is based on the popular Web game...
Wednesday24th Mar 2010
Review Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver (DS)
Nintendo used "Spare Time Eater"!
(Pokémon history lesson appeared!) A few years after the huge success of Red and Blue, along came Silver and Gold, offering a brand new region and dozens more freaky monsters to catch. Predictably the games were just as successful and even now are fondly remembered by many Pokémon fans – this one included – as...
Review Puzzle Bobble Galaxy (DS)
A worthy entry in the classic puzzle series
Known by the less-than-cool moniker of "Bust-a-Move" in North America, Puzzle Bobble has been a fixture of the puzzle genre for over a decade, appearing on every console and handheld since the NEO GEO and Gameboy Colour. Puzzle Bobble Galaxy isn't the first Puzzle Bobble game on the DS, but it is...
Review Game & Watch Chef (DSiWare)
It's all fun and games until someone loses a sausage
The Game & Watch series was Nintendo's first real foray into the world of portable video gaming. Designed by Gunpei Yokoi, who would later mastermind the grey-brick Game Boy we all know and love, these handheld electronic games featured an LCD display, a tinny speaker, and just enough buttons...
Review Game & Watch Judge (DSiWare)
Judge quick, lest ye be bopped
The Game & Watch series was Nintendo's first real foray into the world of portable video gaming. Designed by Gunpei Yokoi, who would later mastermind the grey-brick Game Boy we all know and love, these handheld electronic games featured an LCD display, a tinny speaker, and just enough buttons to complete the main...
Review Flips: The Enchanted Wood (DSiWare)
Now with stories from more well-known authors!
It almost looked as if EA was simply going to release all stories included in the retail title Flips: Too Ghoul for School on DSiWare, but that seems not to be the case. This third book is actually from Flips: Faraway Tree Stories, which did not include completely "new" stories, but rather old...
News Lumines Dev Not Impressed With 3DS
Twitter-based outburst pours cold water on Nintendo handheld's chances
Q Entertainment's James Mielke has tweeted regarding the recent announcement of the Nintendo 3DS, and what he had to say doesn't sound too positive from where we're sitting. Mielke used the popular social networking portal to state that he believes the 3DS will be 'impossible for...
News Ogre Battle 64 Hits Europe This Friday
One last Hanabi surprise.
Nintendo almost had everybody fooled. They only announced four games for release in this month's Hanabi Festival, and then proceeded to release all of them in two weeks, despite Hanabi Festivals usually lasting three or four weeks. But if you take a look at the Wii Shop Channel right now, you can see that they have one more...
News Sony: 3D Handheld Gaming Might Not Work
Predictable sounds of negativity coming from Nintendo rival
While the rest of the world is left pondering just what Nintendo can do with the freshly-announced 3DS, Sony's John Koller has wasted no time is casting aspersions on the machine's chances. "I think it remains to be seen where Nintendo goes with 3D on a portable," said Koller, who...
News Furry Legends Teaser Trailer Born, Suitably Cute
Upcoming WiiWare title goes episodic
Gamelion Studios' upcoming Furry Legends has been a bit quiet recently, but the studio has just sent over a new teaser trailer showing the title is coming along nicely. Although it doesn't show much, the spherical cow is almost certainly the cutest thing you'll see on the Internet today. If it's not, you should...
Tuesday23rd Mar 2010
Do the "Katamari Twist"
Tornado Outbreak is another example of a game being hung out to dry by a major publisher. Released at a budget price in the last quarter of 2009, it wouldn't be surprising if you had no clue it existed – despite being published by Konami – because it had little to no launch promotion and wasn't even stocked by major...
Seeing the world of tower defence from both sides
Tower defence games are getting increasingly popular with developers. It took WiiWare quite a while to get any, but DSiWare's already had three of them (although one is so far exclusive to North America). This latest addition to the sub-genre only really brings one new thing to the table: instead of...
News DS Successor To Offer 3D Gaming
No specs required
Our own Sean Aaron has already demonstrated 3D gaming without the need for goofy glasses in the DSiWare title Rittai Kakushie Attakoreda, but now Nintendo is apparently ready to take it a step further with the revelation the next DS, currently titled 3DS, may offer full 3D effects with no accessories required. Coming out of a PDF...
News Mr Driller to Burrow Into DSiWare
Drill Till you Drop, chums
We love a bit of drilling action here at Nintendo Life – in fact, we recently called Mr Driller Drill Spirits one of our favourite ever ways to pass time on the big white throne. Well, soon you'll be able to get your drill on with no cartridge required, as the previously Japanese-only title Drill Till You Drop for...
First Impressions G.G. Series Assault Buster
Arcade action the G.G. Series way
The G.G. Series of games in the Japanese DSi Shop really are a little slice of arcade heaven. Not just because they offer some good old-fashioned fun, but because they're such well-crafted titles generally. Assault Buster is certainly one to put into the "pretty good" column, offering an interesting...
News Nintendo Beaten to the Punch on Wii Football Controller
And the world is now a better place
What was once just a glimmer of Nintendo patent tomfoolery has all of a sudden turned itself into a real product, but not by the hands of The Big N. Seems somebody else has beaten them to it! That someone is CTA Digital, who are also notably behind the Wii Bowling Ball controller and a skate/snowboard shell for...
Monday22nd Mar 2010
Review Sonic Classic Collection (DS)
Hog roast
In a perfect world, there’s surely only one score we could give the first fully portable collection of the hedgehog’s finest outings: a well-deserved 10/10. SEGA’s handheld equivalent of Super Mario All-Stars, Sonic Classic Collection features the first four Sonic titles along with Knuckles’s appearance in Sonic 2 and Sonic 3,...
Review Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (GameCube)
He might be paper, but Mario's no flop
When Mario and friends appeared in their debut role-playing title nearly fifteen years ago on the SNES, it marked a significant new direction that the franchise would embark on and time has proved it's a popular one too. European gamers were understandably disappointed that Super Mario RPG never came to their...
Review Game & Watch Mario's Cement Factory (DSiWare)
A blast from the past.
Before the days of Game Boys and DS systems, Nintendo manufactured a small portable game device called the Game & Watch. These electronic games featured LCD screens that featured specific movements that could be controlled via various buttons and d-pads on the units. While they didn't feature the same type of full range...
News Rathalos Figurine Swoops in on Monster Hunter Preorders
More information on the limited edition, too
If, like us, you're busy counting down the days and stitching up your armour in anticipation of the upcoming Monster Hunter 3 (~Tri), you’ll probably be interested in the announcement of a European preorder incentive in the form of a Rathalos head figurine. Not only that, the final piece of the...
News Famous Developers to Create WarioWare D.I.Y. Microgames
Even more microgames to download!
It seems fans will not be the only ones to get in on creating their own micrograms using Nintendo's upcoming WarioWare D.I.Y. release on Nintendo DS. Nintendo has just announced that some big name video game developers are getting involved and creating some brand new microgames that fans with a wireless broadband...
Nintendo Download 22nd March 2010 (North America)
Underground stories, street racing, tower defence and Game & Watch in this week's update
No love for the Virtual Console this week, but we hope that the retro-stylings of the long-awaited Cave Story will satisfy even the most jaded fans of Nintendo's classic gaming archive. Meanwhile on the DSiWare front we have a surprise street racing game with...
News Might The Next Zelda Sense Your Vitality?
Miyamoto: New tech with existing gameplay is pretty rad
The Nintendo Wii isn't exactly short of peripheral hardware. While the Balance Board and MotionPlus are relatively self-explanatory and their uses pretty easy to comprehend, the Vitality Sensor has left a question mark over gamers' heads. Since its flagship game was announced last summer,...
Sunday21st Mar 2010
Review Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs - Fight for Survival (DSiWare)
T-Rexes and Diplos and Toilets, oh my
Back in 2008, Ubisoft Quebec released Battle of Giants: Dinosaurs, a game aimed squarely at younger gamers in which you create your own dinosaur and use it to battle others. With the advent of the DSi and the popularity of smaller versions of retail titles on the DSi Shop, Ubisoft saw fit to release a stripped...
Interviews Pixel Talks Cave Story
Cave Story creator answers a few of our questions.
With the upcoming release of Cave Story from Nicalis on Monday, we thought we'd take a minute to speak to the creator of the game to find out what it was like to bring his much-loved PC classic to the WiiWare service. Pixel was kind enough to take a few moments to answer a couple of our questions...
Review Triple Shot Sports (WiiWare)
Shooting pain? Get relief fast - don't play!
In the promotional literature, developer Code Monkeys claim that Triple Shot Sports is "the most advanced recreational shooting game available for WiiWare." Well, with its presentation of Olympic shooting events it's certainly unique, but the only thing we found to be really "advanced"...
News Miyamoto Humbly Accepts BAFTA Fellowship Award
Dedicates it to all of his co-workers
There can be no denying that the video games industry creates the kind of social impacts that are not dissimilar to those found in the TV, film, and music sectors. It seems fitting that the British Academy of Film and Television Arts has been hosting separate award ceremonies for the video games industry since...
Saturday20th Mar 2010
Lights on, nobody's home
There can be no more baffling title on DSiWare than Flashlight, a collection of three different "utilities" for the DS's dual screens: it makes the reams of clocks and calculators look like gaming gold. First up is a flashlight function, that lets you light both screens in a range of colours. If you can think of a...
Friday19th Mar 2010
Review Seiken Densetsu 3 (Super Nintendo)
An action-rpg for the ages!
When it came time to create a follow up to their fairly successful action-rpg Secret of Mana, Squaresoft decided to try something a little different. While they were already developing the direct sequel Seiken Densetsu 3 in Japan, they created a US development studio and put them to task creating a more...
Review FLIPS Percy Jackson (DS)
Harry who?
Rick Riordan’s tales of teenaged demi-god Percy Jackson’s adventures are a big hit in America. Following the success of 20th Century Fox’s adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief to the big screen, it somehow seems fitting that the Percy Jackson series makes a break for the UK market too by becoming one of the latest...
Review Wonder Momo (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
A guilty pleasure for import PC Engine fans
You cannot be blamed for not having heard of Wonder Momo, a Namco arcade game from the mid-late 80s which was never released outside of Japan. It belongs in the box of "odd" Japanese games, being a beat-em-up with the unusual setting of a Super Sentai (Power Rangers to the gaijin amongst you)...
News Cave Story to Cost 1200 Wii Points
Time to get those Wii Points ready!
Our good friend Tyrone Rodriguez of Nicalis has just informed us that Cave Story will cost 1200 Wii Points when it makes its North American debut on Monday. That means you'd better get those points ready to go and you'll even have enough for a nice Super Nintendo game left over. Not too shabby considering you're...
Interviews Namco Bandai Games - Fragile Dreams
Some interesting insights into the unique Wii release.
With Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon recently released in North America and hitting Europe today, we thought it would be a good time to get in touch with some of the guys at Namco Bandai in order to find out a little more information about this rather unique Wii title. Kentaro...
News Miyamoto Confirms Pikmin 3
Pikmin fans rejoice!
According to the Official Nintendo Magazine, Miyamoto has just confirmed that development of Pikmin 3 is "well under way". Unfortunately, we still don't know if the game is being developed for the Nintendo Wii or DS system. At the very least this is great news for fans of the series who've been patiently waiting for a...
News New Diner Dash Screenshots
Order up!
The guys over at Hudson were kind enough to send over a fresh batch of screenshots of their upcoming WiiWare release Diner Dash for you to enjoy. The game is set to hit the European WiiWare service on March 26th for 1000 Wii Points. Diner Dash will come to life in 3D on new generation consoles when players have the option to take direct...
Nintendo Download 23rd & 24th March 2010 (Japan)
Frogs, romantic sagas, galactic brawling, shogi, mahjong, monsters and prison breaks next week in Japan
WiiWare: Frogger Returns (500pts – Konami) – A Japanese catch-up title that's been out for a few months in North America and just last month in Europe. We thought it was good fun and a nice return to form for a franchise that has spent a lot...
Thursday18th Mar 2010
Review Rage of the Gladiator (WiiWare)
Rage, rage against the dying of the light
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and Ghostfire Games' Rage of the Gladiator makes no bones about paying homage to Nintendo's classic arcade boxer Punch Out!!, using similar mechanics based around recognising enemy attack patterns to battle through a bevy of foes. Whilst its shoes are...
Review 101 Minigolf World (DSiWare)
This putt-putt is below par
Though there are already two DSiWare games based on serious golfing, putt-putt (or crazy golf to our European chums! - Ed) has remained oddly under-represented – until now. Teyon has brought us yet another DSiWare game almost straight from the PC: 101 MiniGolf World, featuring over 100 different holes to play, tons of...
News 3D Motion Gaming Debuts on the DSi
Breaking new ground with the DSi camera
Although rumours abound of a motion-enabled successor to the DS being readied for unveiling in the near future, it seems some developers just couldn't wait and decided to attempt the same kind of game mechanics afforded by accelerometers utilising the second camera present on the DSi. The system is known as...
Review Simply Sudoku (DSiWare)
200 Points + 150 puzzles = 10/10?
Let’s face facts here: anyone after a Sudoku game on DSiWare is likely to have bought one by now, but Engine Software has thrown its hat into the ring with Simply Sudoku, a truly barebones package. There’s three different difficulties with fifty puzzles per difficulty, which even if your maths isn’t good...
News Cave Story Promotional Painting
A little Cave Story swag arrives!
The kind folks over at Nintendo are trying to do a little extra to promote the upcoming release of Cave Story from Nicalis - so much so that they sent out a promotional kit today to various media sites. We were lucky enough to be one of the sites to receive this kit and inside we found an absolutely beautiful canvas...
News More Last Story Artwork Emerges, Looks Suitably Gorgeous
Hironobu Sakaguchi's new project is certainly a looker
We have to admit that Mistwalker's forthcoming Wii RPG is getting us pretty excited, despite the fact that we haven't actually seen a single screenshot yet. What we have seen is some particularly lovely concept artwork, and if the game can capture the same feel of these images then Wii fans are...
Nintendo Download 19th March 2010 (Europe)
More Hanabi Festival, plenty of DSiWare and one lonely WiiWare game
Several people were disappointed Nintendo of Europe didn't start off the latest Hanabi Festival with a certain vampire-slaying game last week, but there's no need to complain any more - It's out now! It brings with it a rather tedious little NES import, which might also mean this is...
News Moonhawk Studios Podcast Available Now
James Newton talks about WiiWare, review controversy and... pigtails?!
Nintendo Life Assistant Editor James Newton appeared on the Moonhawk Studios Presents podcast with Mac Paladin and Adam Dayton yesterday, and shot the breeze about Nintendo's marketing, third-party successes and the potential future of the DS. If you missed the show when it was...
News Tom Salta Sound-Checking Red Steel 2
Soundtrack that fuses the two flavours together
The sound design can ofter get overlooked in video games, whether it be in development or the appreciation from the gamer. Ubisoft is careful not to let the audio side of things disappoint when Red Steel 2 attacks our senses next week. The highly-anticipated Wii MotionPlus title will contain several...
News Call Nintendo Life Live, Tonight!
Full show available to download later
You may still be reeling from the recent double podcast whammy of DS's Fifth Birthday and the start of MAR 10's Mario Month celebrations, but it's not time to throw away your speakers just yet. Tonight at 10pm EST/7pm PST, Nintendo Life's very own Assistant Editor James Newton will be appearing on the Moonhawk...
Wednesday17th Mar 2010
Review Perfect Dark (Game Boy Color)
Jo's pocket detour is all brawn but little brain
On the Nintendo 64, Perfect Dark was a big huge deal for console gamers back in 2000: it was the spiritual successor to GoldenEye, it took advantage of all the technical whiz-bang that the console could muster, and it was supposed to be the ultimate console first-person shooter experience from the...
Review Car Jack Streets (DSiWare)
A fun, if flawed, take on the open world crime game
Rockstar proved last year that an open world game could work very nicely on the DS with the excellent Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. But that was a full-on retail cartridge; how about the download realm, where size limitations are much more strict? Tag Games has taken a stab with Car Jack...
Box clever
Longstanding nonogram puzzle fans will know that Picross games have been a part of Nintendo gaming for the best part of fifteen years. The excellent Mario's Picross appeared for the Game Boy way back in 1995, but this quintessentially Japanese pastime – where a matrix of squares is carefully shaded in to reveal simple, blocky pictures...
A winning combination?
God bless the common burglar. Without his sticky-fingered ways, the humble safe may never have been invented to keep important things in and unimportant people out. Sadly it also gave rise to Safecracker, a crime against gaming that has stolen something more important than jewels or money: our time and attention. The story...
Interviews Steve Lycett - Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
Sumo Digital's executive producer talks karts and characters
Since the release of OutRun 2 back in 2004, Sumo Digital has gone on to become somewhat of a bedfellow with SEGA, having produced several games based on key IP. Following on from the release on Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, we caught up with Steve Lycett, Sumo Digital's executive...
News Earthworm Jim Wriggling Onto DSiWare
Details unearthed on Gameloft's upcoming remake
Nintendo Power has revealed that developers Gameloft will be bringing its remake of classic platformer Earthworm Jim to DSiWare. Having already released the title for the iPhone, the download-crazy developers have set their sights on the DSi, and have revealed some interesting information on the game...
News Mecho Wars Nearing Its WiiWare Release
Luc Bernard thanks the fans for being so patient
Since the announcement of the turn-based strategy game's impending release on the WiiWare and DSiWare services, it's become clear that Mecho Wars is definitely a title to look forward to. Since its development started last Summer at Flying Tiger Entertainment, the game seems to have shaped up pretty...
News WarioWare D.I.Y. Tutorial Videos 1 & 2
Learn how to create your own micro games!
The folks at Nintendo were kind enough to send over two brand new WarioWare D.I.Y. Tutorial Videos to help you gain a better understanding of how to create your own micro games using the game's intuitive interface. This title is really shaping up to be a great addition to the series and with the ability to...
Tuesday16th Mar 2010
Review Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
The PC Engine classic finally arrives on the Virtual Console
The Castlevania titles have seen releases on a variety of game consoles over the years, but it's this PC Engine release that's garnered a lot of attention and focus among diehard game fans and collectors over the years. Since the game was only released in Japan, gamers who wanted to play...
Review Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix (GameCube)
No! Not the Music Keys!!
Back in 2005, Konami and Nintendo surprised us all by announcing they were teaming up to release a new entry in the Dance Dance Revolution universe starring characters from Nintendo’s flagship series, Super Mario Bros. Most people will go into this not expecting the complete foot-burning DDR experience, and it’s these...
News R.O.B. Display Unit Sells for $4K on eBay
Someone obviously has very deep pockets
Some rich retro collector has just gotten their hands on a one-of-a-kind auction thanks to eBay. The auction was for a display case containing a Nintendo Entertainment System and a Robotic Operating Buddy (better known as R.O.B.). The final figure? $4,150. Sweet. "These are extremely difficult to find,...
Review Simply Mahjong (DSiWare)
Simply, mahjong
Although moderately popular around the world, no real effort is usually made to release mahjong-based video games in the west. Only recently did the Wii finally get two downloadable ones, and now it's DSiWare's turn. As the title hints, this game consists of mahjong and mahjong only. In particular, it's the game type that is also...
News Nnooo! It's Another myPostcards Video!
With pink lemonade goodness
Nnoo has mailed us a new trailer for the upcoming DSiWare app myPostcards, and we promised to deliver it to you post-haste. Nnooo are currently finalising the price point and release of myPostcards with Nintendo, but the tracking number is shooting for delivery sometime in April for a mere 200 points. More as it comes,...
News Car Jack Streets Plans A Hit & Run In Europe
Tag Games brings the GTA-style iPhone game to the DSi
Want to see the dirty underside of society? Ever wondered what you'll be willing to do in order to get yourself out of trouble? If you've answered 'yes', then check out Grand Thef... we mean Car Jack Streets on the DSi. Already available on the iPhone and iPod Touch, Car Jack Streets is an action...
First Impressions Uchimakure! Touchpen Wars
A touching game of combat
Tom Create's follow-up to the cheap-and-cheerful space-based take on Dig Dug II is Touchpen Wars, an arcade-style shooter that's also offered at the budget price of 200 Points. Don't be fooled by the title – it's not a game laden with sentiment, but uses flicks and taps of the stylus to launch projectiles from gun...
More frantic Frobotic action!
The good folks over at Fugazo have just sent over the latest video of their upcoming WiiWare title Frobot in action for all to see. In this new video you can check out many of the new levels and boss battles to better get a taste of what you can expect when the game hits the WiiWare service later this year. We'll keep...
Monday15th Mar 2010
Review Military Madness: Nectaris (WiiWare)
Tactical Mutually Assured Destruction
They say the moon is a harsh mistress — especially when it's home to prisoners building a super weapon to destroy Earth! This is the setting of Military Madness: Nectaris, a tactical strategy game which originally appeared on the Turbo-Graphx-16 as Military Madness (and in its native Japan as Nectaris). This...
Podcast Episode 14 - Mario Month is Here!
MAR10 is GO
Fresh from the huge success of our DS fifth birthday celebrations, there's another swell of features coming your way as we get into the swing of Mario Month, our celebration of March 2010 aka Mar 10. Corbie Dillard and James Newton chew the fat over some choice Mario moments and there's a brief DS reviews round-up too. The episode is...
Nintendo Download 15th March 2010 (North America)
Gladiators, vampires, shooting, dinos, zoos and golf this week
Fans of the classics will be pleased to see the TG-16 CD entry in the Castlevania series as well as a new take on the Punch-Out formula and a surprise target shooter on Wii, whilst the DSi gets a range of sim-style games: zoo, dino and gangster and a golf game for good measure. WiiWare:...
Report Monster Hunter Tri Event Australia
Fun, rumours and food abound!
We were lucky enough to score a visit to Nintendo Australia's launch of Monster Hunter Tri on Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour. While there, we got a chance to play the new game, eat lots of food, and hear a few interesting things come up in conversation, none of which is to be taken as official, and currently only to...
Sunday14th Mar 2010
Let the machine get it
Boo! Did we scare you? No? Well then, there's a pretty good chance Hudson's horror game Calling won't either. Try as it might, the game never really goes beyond that three-letter interjection in its mysterious tale of ghosts and the supernatural. It's not horrible, but there are only so many times you can be snuck up on until...
Jack of all trades, master of none
Having met considerable success on Wii with their sports game compilation series Deca Sports, Hudson has seen fit to bring their hit to the small screens with all new games and even more players. Living up to its name, the game sports ten games of varying quality: golf, ping pong, rugby, sepak takraw (sort of like...
Saturday13th Mar 2010
Feature The Making of the Nintendo Game Boy
Last year the machine turned 20, but what was it like to work with? We speak to the developers who made this legendary handheld sing
Every now and then a product comes along that is so groundbreaking that it becomes synonymous with its function. The Hoover, Cellotape, Pritt-Stik…these names and many more like them have become so intrinsically...
Review 4 TRAVELLERS: Play Spanish (DSiWare)
Demasiado aburrido para las palabras
Playing board games on a long trip is hard when the pieces tend to go flying at every pothole. Agenius Interactive's 4 TRAVELLERS – Play Spanish, however, promises travel-friendly fun for all ages as you learn over 240 different words in Spanish. By studying via the two quiz modes and playing the board game...
News Reggie: Innovation Is Still Nintendo's Priority
Reggie Fils-Aime talks about the life that the Wii has ahead of itself, and Nintendo's competitors
Nintendo representatives don't usually pay much attention to any smack talk that might come from their competitors, but in a recent interview with Kotaku, the President at Nintendo of America seems to have been doing a bit of trash talking himself!...
First Impressions G.G. Series Vertex
More budget puzzling fun from Suzak
Vertex is another take on the puzzle genre in the G.G. Series and like Energy Chain it's a competent and fairly original concept, but not necessarily an addictive one. Players move a small glowing green dot at the bottom which is projecting a guide line to the top of the screen. The object is to press buttons to...
News Art Of Balance Leaning Towards Europe
Shin'en Multimedia announces release date and pricing
Following the game's American release last month, this WiiWare puzzler will have you stacking various blocks to form a stable construction will be available on the Wii Shop Channel in a couple of weeks. Think you've got steady hands and fast reflexes? Art of Balance will see if you do. If you're...
Friday12th Mar 2010
Review Jet Grind Radio (Game Boy Advance)
Funk on wheels
Sega's Dreamcast died in an explosion that sent the company's intellectual property flying all over what was left of the gaming landscape, and few consoles of that generation received more surprise ports than the Game Boy Advance. Not only did it see Sonic return to his former 2D self in the Sonic Advance series, the handheld also...
Review Elemental Masters (DSiWare)
Not one for the snotlings
German developer lbxgames, a newcomer to the Nintendo scene, has thrown their hat into the DSiWare ring with Elemental Masters, a card-based fantasy game set in the mystical land of Elendior. A great demon is rumored to have arisen from the dead in order to continue his initial goal of spreading death and destruction across...
Nintendo Download 12th March 2010 (Europe)
The Hanabi Festival kicks off, but sadly not with its most anticipated game.
It seemed quite likely that Nintendo of Europe would be starting the fifth Hanabi Festival with some Castlevania goodness, but as it turns out, this is not the case! At least there's two different import games instead, one of which is another highly recommended title...
Nintendo Download 16 & 17 March 2010 (Japan)
Racing punch-up, Zombie Wonderland and karate
The Virtual Console Arcade gets a surprise release (always nice) and there's a couple of interesting WiiWare games to tide over Wii owners; add in some intesting titles on the DSi and you get a pretty good week for Nintendo downloading overall. WiiWare: Pokosuka Racing (500pts - Recom) – At first we...
News Lilt Line Zipping to WiiWare
Gaijin Games enters the publishing fray
Gaijin Games has the whole retro-abstract aesthetic on WiiWare locked down with their BIT.TRIP series (although maybe not so abstract anymore), and now they're further tightening their vice-like grip on it by stepping into the publishing game with an iPhone-to-WiiWare conversion of developer Different Cloth's...
First Impressions Are? DS ga Sakasa Desu Kedo. Sakasa Drops
A refreshing spin on the classic Tetris concept
Sakasa Drops is the second DSiWare effort from Tecmo and like Gyaku Shooting is played holding your DSi upside down with the touchscreen up top. It's a novel gimmick that literally conveys the fact that the tables are being turned on some familiar gameplay. This game most strongly echoes the classic...
Thursday11th Mar 2010
A modern masterpiece, marred
When the GameBoy Advance launched back in 2002, it landed with a port of Super Mario Bros. 2, not exactly the most fondly-remembered of plumber outings but one that still hit the mark by fitting the platform to a tee. Come 2005, Nintendo hit on the idea of launching the DS with a revamped Super Mario 64, showing off all...
Review Final Fantasy II (Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Still a timeless RPG classic.
While the game was the second numbered Final Fantasy when it was released in North America back in 1991, it's actually the fourth entry in the series due to the second and third 8-bit releases remaining in Japan at the time. It marked the series debut on Nintendo's 16-bit console and added quite a few new gameplay...
Review Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing (DS)
Pocket rocket
Just like the Wii version, Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing on DS is up against some stiff competition, but as with its bigger brother manages to carve out a fine racing line for itself. One remarkable aspect of the DS version is how faithful it is to the home console version. All the characters, cups and unlockables are present,...
News Top DS Toilet Timewasters
Short spurt gaming at its best
Portable gaming and toilets go hand-in-washed-hand: there’s no better time to get some uninterrupted gaming going than when sat atop the porcelain throne. With the DS turning five years old in Europe today, we're celebrating some of the machine's golden titles: those games that make us wish there was a way to charge...
News Reggie: Nintendo Not Considering Successor to Wii Quite Yet
Says technology enables fun, but is not the means itself
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé has spoken about a successor to the Wii, be it Wii 2 or Wii HD, in a recent interview with Forbes. Talking about plans for a new platform and high definition, Reggie reveals that Nintendo is not thinking seriously about the next system and that...
News Want Kid Icarus? Hey, Just Ask
Nintendo producer says "yo, speak up"
There's a huge list of classic Nintendo properties crying out for current-gen remakes, but one ever-present feature on the list is Kid Icarus. Absent from Nintendo systems for years, with the exception of a very cool appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Pit has been all-but forgotten. You want that to change...
News Monster Hunter Tri Gets Australian Release Date
Two different bundles available.
It was revealed to us last night at the Monster Hunter Tri event in Sydney last night that Monster Hunter Tri will be coming to Australian shores on the 29th of April, 2010 as a standalone game, or in a bundle with the newly released black Classic Controller Pro. One of the best games visually on the Wii, Monster...
First Impressions Are? DS ga Sakasa Desu Kedo. Gyaku Shooting
It's Star Force in a world gone mad!
Tecmo have finally dipped their toes in the DSiWare water with a couple of games that have the novel feature of being played holding your DSi upside-down with the touchscreen at the top. This first one is based upon the classic Tekhan vertical shooter Star Force, which was one of the Virtual Console Arcade launch...
Wednesday10th Mar 2010
Review Resident Evil: Deadly Silence (DS)
A good adaptation with obsolete game design
It's tough to judge the classics, especially one like the original Resident Evil. Ground-breaking when it first hit the PlayStation in 1996, many of the game's mechanics are downright antiquated by now and can be off-putting to gamers who missed out on the series until Leon Kennedy shot up half the...
Review Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (DS)
Eureka!
Although four installments long already, the Ace Attorney series has never really changed much in terms of gameplay. Every previous game consisted merely of showing the right evidence to the right people, or at the right time, with only very minor additions or alterations between each title, like the Psycho Locks in the second and third...
News Gangstar 2: Kings of LA Coming to DSiWare
Get ready to rumble!
Gameloft has just announced that their upcoming DSiWare title Gangstar 2: Kings of LA will be released on the European DSiWare service on March 26th and on the North American service on April 5th. A release in Japan is set for July 2010. Below are the features list from the official press release along with a collection of...
News Last Ninja 3 Refunds Going Out Now
Keep an eye on your inbox
If you were among the unlucky people who purchased Last Ninja 3 on Virtual Console, you were no doubt quite annoyed that the game would, without fail, freeze after the first level, making any further progress impossible. Nintendo recently announced they would be removing the game from the Wii Shop, and have since done so...
News Netflix Survey Suggests DS Video Streaming
DSi XL to replace drive-in movies
Wii owners will soon be able to stream video to their machine via Netflix, but what if you want to watch a video in a room that’s not the living room? Well, a new Netflix survey hints at the possibility of the DS being turned into a portable video device in future. Although at the moment the survey is only...
First Impressions Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love
"You're a shining star, no matter who you are..."
Sakura Wars is a rather interesting series of games and one of Sega's biggest franchises in Japan, though oddly only the spin-off anime has been seen elsewhere – until now. The fifth Sakura Taisen game (as the series is known in Japan), So Long, My Love is the first to get localised for Western...
News 5th Hanabi Festival Inbound
Featuring the mighty Castlevania Rondo of Blood!
While we speculated on the return of the Hanabi Festival recently, Nintendo were busy putting the finishing touches to the fifth instalment of their import spectacular, due to launch this Friday. Kicking off with the fantastic Castlevania: Rondo of Blood and taking in IronClad, Milon's S
The future is announced
While some developers are churning out WiiWare ad nauseum, the developers of the critically acclaimed World of Goo have yet to treat us to another game since the release way back in 2008, leaving the corporations free to gobble up most of those Nintendo Points. All this is now set to change, with the announcement of a new...
First Impressions G.G. Series Energy Chain
Budget puzzling from the budget DSiWare machine
We have to figure that Suzak is porting games they originally developed for mobile phones for the G.G. Series, because it just doesn't seem possible that they could have made so many games in so short a span of time and actually had this many of them turn out to be worthwhile. Energy Chain is a puzzle...
Competition Win a copy of Flipper for DSiWare
Print, Cut, Fold, Tape your way to a free copy of Flipper
Goodbye Galaxy Games would like the opportunity to give one lucky Nintendo Life reader a limited edition boxed copy of Flipper for DSiWare with 2000 Nintendo Points. All you have to do is download the awesome from Flipper paperfold (by Bryan of paperfolds.com), Print, Cut, Fold, Tape. Once...
Tuesday9th Mar 2010
Feature The Making of Unirally
Whoever said 2 wheels are better than 1 clearly didn’t experience this wholly unique racing title
If you consider yourself to be a true artisan then there’s nothing worse that pouring your heart and soul into creating something truly breathtaking only to then be accused of flagrant plagiarism; such an allegation robs you of the unique...
Review Bleach: The 3rd Phantom (DS)
The first tactical RPG for the modern manga classic leaves some to be desired
The 3rd Phantom is the latest Bleach game on the DS and also the first to depart from the fighting game genre. Instead, Sega have produced a tactical RPG resembling Nintendo's Fire Emblem or Sega's own Shining Force games, with players moving characters like pieces on a...
News Donkey Kong World Record Smashed
New York plastic surgeon Hank Chien bests Billy Mitchell's top score
Twin Galaxies, the website that monitors and rules over gaming's top scores, today announced that a new Donkey Kong champion has been crowned. Plastic surgeon Hank Chien has rocketed into first place, racking up a score of 1,061,700 points in 2 hours 35 minutes, and ending on the...
Interviews Akaoni - Zombie Panic in Wonderland
They'll huff and they'll puff and they'll eat your brains
Spanish developers Akaoni Studio are hard at work on their WiiWare debut Zombie Panic in Wonderland, a promising shooter that couldn't possibly have a more self-explanatory name. We caught up with Jose Manuel of Akaoni to see how the game is shaping up, if zombies can love and whether fast...
Competition Help Icon Games Develop Stunt Cars 2
Enter their competition where you can have your suggestions implemented and win a collection of prizes
For game developers, striking that balance between keeping the idea as close to their conception as possible whilst also taking gamer feedback and suggestions into consideration must be a difficult thing to achieve. Logically thinking, obtaining...
First Impressions G.G. Series Chō Hero Ōga
"There's a super-man coming, there's a super-man coming..."
This entry in the G.G. Series is a nice little brawler with a superhero theme. As with other games in the series, there's no menu options to worry about, game modes or story: instead you just use the D-Pad and a couple of buttons to pound on some costumed freaks until they get the better of...
Monday8th Mar 2010
Review Globulos Party (DSiWare)
Shoot glob at target. Repeat. Wipe hands on pants.
Since 2000, GlobZ has specialized in browser-based webgames, the most innovative of which being Globulos, an award-winning set of adorable multiplayer minigames pitting you against opponents from across the internets. As DSiWare, Globulos Party has received similar acclaim, featuring not just a...
News Rising Star and Spanish Fans Translate Fragile Dreams Together
Publisher and community work together as one
The Wii's upcoming near-apocalyptic adventure Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon is on course for a European release on March 19th, with plenty of intriguing characters and a rather moving script all painstakingly translated from its original Japanese. Naturally such translations are huge, costly...
Interviews Readers Ask Steve Wiebe
The King of Kong answers your questions
You asked, and now underdog star of the 2007 documentary The King of Kong and current holder of the Donkey Kong Jr. world record Steve Wiebe has answered. Before he takes on the Donkey Kong world record yet again at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this week, see what Wiebe thinks about modern...
Over ¥200m owed by Hotel Dusk developer
Gloomy economical times have led to the early check-out of Hotel Dusk developer Cing, who recently filed for bankruptcy having amassed debts of over ¥200m (approximately $2.2m or £1.3m.) Despite releasing several critically-acclaimed titles, including Hotel Dusk follow-up Last Window and the Another Code...
Review Flips: The Bubonic Builders (DSiWare)
More of the same
The first Flips story on DSiWare was a fairly decent reading experience for young kids, so it should come as no surprise that this second one provides more of the same. Just like Terror in Cubicle Four, The Bubonic Builders is one single story taken from the retail "game," Flips: Too Ghoul For School, which contained eight...
Nintendo Download 8th March 2010 (North America)
Markers, Dracula, Fantasy and Spanish this week
WiiWare: Max & the Magic Marker (1000pts – Press Play) – The novel platformer makes its North American debut today. We thought it was a very good addition to the platforming line-up on WiiWare, so if that kind of game floats your boat get your points ready! Dracula: Undead Awakening (1000pts...
News Scribblenauts 2 Springs to Life
New adjectives system keeps things grammatical
This morning we received confirmation that developers 5th Cell are indeed working on a follow up to last year's successful Scribblenauts, a veritable dictionary of a game that allowed you to conjure just about any object you could imagine out of the ether. The aim was to use these objects to solve...
First Impressions Astro Bugz Revenge
Buggle Bobble
Please note that these impressions are based upon playing an alpha version of the game code. Changes are certain to be made prior to the final game release. If a developer is going to make a puzzle game that uses a well-established mechanic – such as matching three objects of the same colour – it's important to put a new spin on...
News Hanabi Festival 5 to Happen Soon?
Nintendo of Europe's site seems to suggest so
A handful of new import titles were recently given ratings by the OFLC, leading many to believe that Europe and Australia would be on their way to the fifth Hanabi Festival, and thus another nice batch of import Virtual Console games. Nintendo of Europe has now practically confirmed that this will be...
News See the Latest myPostcards Video From Nnooo
Also relax to its incredibly serene music
Creative director of Nnooo Nic Watts dropped an e-mail into our laps just recently to let us know that he's made a new video for upcoming DSiWare app myPostcards. Take a look for yourself: the people in it are incredibly happy! We've still no information on an accurate release date or amount of points...
Sunday7th Mar 2010
Review Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing (Wii)
Constellation prize
The first hour or so you spend with Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing, your brain rejects it, telling you it isn’t Mario Kart enough, or it isn’t Sega enough. You’ll wrestle with the wheel and tell yourself you could be playing Mario Kart Wii instead, but once you learn to go with it you find yourself having a blast...
Review Star Wars: Flight of the Falcon (Game Boy Advance)
Turds in space
We can only imagine what mind-numbingly stupid things people were thinking during the pitch for Star Wars: Flight of the Falcon. We suspect it started out with noble intentions: the Rogue Squadron games were well received, and crazier games had successfully made the leap to the Gameboy Advance. Why not put the Millennium Falcon at the...
Saturday6th Mar 2010
Review Real Football 2010 (DSiWare)
Slick as a parrot
With last year’s successful Real Football 2009 under its belt, Gameloft has dusted off its downloadable footballing franchise and slapped a new number on the end. Taking the control systems and fast, arcade-style gameplay from its predecessor and polishing it up, RF2010 is at once the definitive football game on DS and a real...
News New Super Mario Bros. Wii World Record Set
Wa-Hoo!
Twin Galaxies has recently verified a new official Twin Galaxies World Record score for New Super Mario Bros. Wii. The score-keeping network has received numerous submissions for the game since release, with the record changing hands dozens of times between gamers from the US, Canada and Holland, and is now logging scores of significant...
Review Fatal Fury Special (Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
Is it really all that special?
There's no question that Fatal Fury 2 was quite a step up in quality from the original, but it seems SNK still wasn't completely satisfied with the game and decided to release an upgrade in the form of Fatal Fury Special. Rather than start from scratch, they basically took Fatal Fury 2, added in the ability to play as...
News Order Your Limited Edition Monster Hunter 3
Comes in the best-looking box you have ever seen
It's one thing to own what is surely going to be one of the top games of 2010, but it's quite another to buy it in a limited edition bundle that comes with every peripheral you'll need to get the most out of the game. If you are not familiar with the upcoming Monster Hunter 3 (Tri~), be sure to check...
Interviews Dreambox Games - Robox
New details and screens on this gorgeous WiiWare platformer
Spanish developer Dreambox's first release, Robox, was revealed just last week and has already captured our attention with its lush visual style and interesting concept. We tracked down Dreambox art director Julio Romon to learn a little more about their upcoming platformer, and he was...
Nintendo Download 9th & 10th March 2010 (Japan)
Capcom and Nichibutsu classics on Wii, Gameloft, G.G. Series and Kanji Training on DSi
DSiWare doesn't hold any surprises, but it's nice to see more VCA releases and of course Capcom fueling the retro-fires. WiiWare: Rockman 10 (1000pts - Capcom) — By now we hope everyone knows this is what we know as Mega Man 10 outside of Japan. We though it was...
Friday5th Mar 2010
Review Wario: Master of Disguise (DS)
Not even a master could disguise this mess
Wario games have always stood out as being excellent venues for experimental game design. He challenged death in games by going immortal for a spell, helped Nintendo test the waters with motion control across multiple games and platforms and for the most part boldly goes where Mario dares not. He's seen a...
Review Zaxxon (Virtual Console / Virtual Console Arcade)
One for the history books, but not for everyone
In 1982 Sega made a little gaming history with Zaxxon: the first 3D arcade game to use an isometric perspective – even more shockingly, it used sprite-based graphics at a time when 3D games were pretty much all being done with vectors. Whilst Zaxxon got a lot of attention due to its flashy graphics...
News Taz's Appetite Expands Onto The DS
Developed by WayForward Technologies, take control of The Tasmanian Devil in dual modes of play.
Looney Tunes is one of those franchises where the roster of characters is so large and diverse, there's one for everyone. Whether you share personality traits, or you just like the way they walk and talk, you just can't help but associate yourself with...
The seminal indie game finally comes to Nintendo
Cave Story is like a Cinderella tale of indie game development, arriving at a time when the conventional wisdom was that the days of a lone programmer creating a complex and compelling game were behind us; it proved that the old spirit of the 8-bit era is still alive and well in the 21st century...
News Contra 4 Soundtrack Gets Metal Megamixed
Rocked 'n' reloaded
Since nothing is more metal than some shirtless machismo dudes shooting aliens and robots in the face with big guns, it's with much delight but little surprise to see the Contra 4 soundtrack get the metal total conversion it deserves. The remix album is directed by Andreas "SnappleMan" Kotsamanidis with Tony...
Nintendo Download 5th March 2010 (Europe)
"Retro" delights from Capcom, along with plenty of other things.
There's quite a lot to downloads to pick from this week. The Virtual Console makes yet another return after being nowhere in sight the past two weeks, while Capcom has released not one, but two new "retro" games at once. Also finally available in Europe is the third...
News BIT.TRIP RUNNER Gameplay Trailer
Check out that platforming action!
Gaijin Games has just announced that they now have an official YouTube channel and to kick things off they've uploaded the brand new trailer for their upcoming WiiWare title BIT.TRIP RUNNER. You can check out the full trailer below and don't forget to keep an eye on their YouTube page from time to time to see what...
News Ironclad Gets ESRB Rating, Shoots It
Shmup'ing its way onto the North American Virtual Console
The North American shoot-em-up crowd may have looked at the Japanese Virtual Console with some envy the past few months for having the Neo Geo CD release Ironclad ready and willing, but the jealous glare will hopefully soon diminish as the Entertainment Software Rating Board has put their...
Thursday4th Mar 2010
Review Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes (DS)
A classic DS mash-up is born
Mixing the heavy plot and masses of dialogue from an RPG with the instant gratification of a puzzle game might seem an odd choice, but Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes pulls it off with aplomb. Reminiscent of classic DS puzzler Meteos, Clash of Heroes offers a stylus-sliding take on the match-three genre. Each puzzle is...
Review Dracula: Undead Awakening (DSiWare)
Pretty much exactly the same, but cheaper
Seeing the same game released on both WiiWare and DSiWare is pretty strange. Both being released in the same week is even more strange. But the fact that both games are also nigh-on identical just tops the weirdness scale. Again, you play as a Van Helsing look-a-like running around a large arena of sorts,...
Don't get court out
You'd think developers would be racing to bring a MotionPlus-capable tennis game to WiiWare at the moment, especially after Wii Sports Resort didn't include a new version (unless ping-pong is enough to satisfy you). However, Virtual Toys has decided to skip the Wii Shop for now and release their new VT Tennis as DSiWare, offering...
News Rage of the Gladiator to Cost 1000 Wii Points
The game goes on sale before it's even released!
You might recall that we posted an article about the upcoming release of Ghostfire Games' Rage of the Gladiator WiiWare title being released on March 15th and costing 1500 Wii Points. Well Ed Roman, CEO of Ghostfire Games has just told us that they've spoken to Nintendo and managed to convince them to...
First Impressions Bit.Trip RUNNER
8-bit run amok!
RUNNER is the fourth and next entry in Gaijin Games' six-part Bit.Trip series and we've been fortunate enough to spend some time with the latest build, which has just been sent off to Nintendo for final approval. Though this preview is based on the "final" version of RUNNER, we want to emphasise that changes are still...
News Bass Coming to Mega Man 10
New playable character is on the way
Capcom has just announced that a new playable character for Mega Man 10 will be available for download on April 5th for 200 Wii Points. The game already has Mega Man and Proto Man available as playable characters, but those looking for a little something else can drop 200 Wii Points and add a whole new edge to...
First Impressions G.G. Series Wonder Land
Alice in bullet-hell land
Genterprise has published a steady string of G.G. Series games for DSiWare, delivering some much needed arcade-style gaming at a budget price with the majority of games coming from development studio Suzak. Wonder Land is a bullet hell shooter based upon Alice in Wonderland – not exactly a logical pairing, but certainly...
News Cosmonaut Take The Plunge With "Dive"
Dive: The Medes Islands Secret will be the second WiiWare title from Spanish developer Cosmonaut Games (5 Spots Party)
“It was in the Great Medes Monastery, in 1412, where Martin I “The Human”, leader of an Order of the Temple and long-time resident of the island, was buried. The secrets of the Order were also buried with him, where they would...
News Triple Shot Sports Hits The WiiWare Bullseye
Represent your home country in three Olympic disciplines
Every now and again, we'll see a title that was once an exclusive to a particular platform make the jump onto another. The latest example of this is The Code Monkeys' shooting game, which launched on the iPhone a couple of weeks ago, and is now scheduled for release on WiiWare. Triple Shot...
News Shin'en Introduce Jett Rocket for WiiWare
Shin'en announce their next WiiWare project, taking to the skies with Jett Rocket
Jump and run and fly! Let Jett Rocket explore the beautiful planet of Yoroppa and find out why it has been attacked by the evil 'Power Plant Posse'. Ride the ocean on your Jet Boat, parachute from giant cliffs, speed through arctic regions on your Jet Snowboard or...
News Rage of the Gladiator Coming March 15th
Get your gladiator gear ready!
Ghostfire Games has just announced that their upcoming WiiWare fighter Rage of the Gladiator will be released on the North American WiiWare service on March 15th for 1500 1000 Wii Points. We'll keep you posted on any new developments with the game and of course we'll have a full review of the title shortly after its...
News Boom Blox Team Lose Some Bricks
Re-location costs some their job
Several members of the development team for the Boom Blox series have lost their jobs, according to recent reports. EA have stated that a relocation of a small project from LA to the UK has resulted in the lay-off of a small number of staff and that all eligible employees will receive severance pay and outplacement...
Wednesday3rd Mar 2010
More classic Mega Man gaming goodness.
With the release of Mega Man 9, Capcom was able to successfully recreate the classic 8-bit feel of the Mega Man series for game fans to enjoy, this time allowing the game to be downloaded on Nintendo's WiiWare service. Not only did the game bring back many of the unique gameplay mechanics of the earlier titles,...
These darts be angry
Dart games have traditionally been pretty plain affairs. Pub Darts on WiiWare was as basic as it could get and left us with a bland and forgettable taste in our mouths. Developer JV Games may not have left the best taste among WiiWare connoisseurs after some beginning duds in Frat Party Games: Pong Toss and Incoming!, but their...
News Konami Updates Gradius Rebirth
Konami's retro Gradius title gets an upgrade.
Konami has just released an update to their Gradius Rebirth WiiWare release that tosses in a few new twists to the package. Among the new additions are some graphical improvements, remixed soundtrack tunes, and a few other goodies worth checking out for those who own the game already. All you have to do...
Here's your chance to pose a question to the King of Kong
Steve Wiebe, underdog star of the 2007 documentary The King of Kong and current holder of the Donkey Kong Jr. world record, has answers for you. You've got questions for him. Now's your chance to get those answers. All this week we want to know what you want to know about the world of Steve...
Trailer Metroid: Other M FMV Teaser
Nintendo drip feed us with a new teaser trailer for Samus' next outing
We were kind of disappointed last week when Nintendo didn't give us a brand spanking new trailer for Metroid: Other M, last night they made up for it (slightly) by releasing a new FMV teaser trailer via the Official Nintendo Magazine website. If you haven't already seen it, we've...
Interviews Sabarasa Software and Save the Turtles
We get answers on the upcoming DSiWare puzzler
Nintendo Life: Firstly tell us a bit about your company Sabarasa Inc. and anything you've done previously that our readers might be aware of. Javier Otaegui, CEO and founder of Sabarasa: Sabarasa is a game developer based on Argentina and Mexico. We’ve been developing games for well over a decade now,...
Tuesday2nd Mar 2010
Feature Becoming a Nintendo Game & Watch Collector
We ask the experts about collecting this vintage format
Given the durable nature of the Game & Watch range, the appealing design of the casing and the desirable Nintendo branding, it’s little surprise that a truly hardcore collecting scene has risen up over the past few years. The reasons for this differ depending on which collector you happen...
My little water demon
In case you don't know what a kappa is (and we certainly didn't until we first heard of this game), know that it is a mischievous water sprite from Japanese mythology prone to eating small children (and cucumbers – hence the "kappa maki" found in Japanese sushi restaurants); now residing on the DSi. A product of...
Podcast Episode 13 - Happy 5th Birthday, DS
Get out the party hats and streamers
In the beginning, there was no DS. Now we've had our little chum for half a decade, as the DS hits its fifth birthday in Europe on March 11th. With that in mind, this is a DS special, looking at some of the memories that make this machine so special to gamers everywhere. Jon Wahlgren tells us about his path to...
News Creating La Mulana Room Guardians
Find out where bosses really come from.
The official La Mulana Blog has just released a new post regarding the creation of Room Guardians for the game that should be of interest to fans of the game and those who are curious about the upcoming WiiWare release of La Mulana. If you've ever wondered how they create and put together the bosses for video...
News Gods vs Humans Strikes WiiWare
Out of the heavens and into the Shopping Channel
It can be quite fun to be human, what with all the guilty pleasures it entails. Then again, being an all-powerful God could be a little more satisfying, given the ability to crush lands and slay man without the fear of arrest. Well, all these dark fantasies can soon be fulfilled with Zallag’s...
Monday1st Mar 2010
News Rare NES Game Sells for $41,300 on eBay
Stadium Events strikes again!
Some of you may be aware that an auction on eBay several weeks ago saw an old NES bundled with some random games sell for a staggering $13,105 USD (approx. £8,744 GBP). That's because one of the games was a copy of Stadium Events; a track and field sports title from Bandai. What's so special about Stadium Events, you...
Review Data East Arcade Classics (Wii)
Some golden oldies from an arcade pioneer
Data East Corp. was one of the original wave of Japanese video game developers that had their wares appear in American arcades at the beginning of the 1980s. They didn't have as big a string of hits as contemporaries like Namco, Konami, Taito or Sega, but they did release a few titles that gamers above a...
The DS' first retro sci-fi MMO
Phantasy Star Online for Dreamcast was a genuine revolution: the first-ever online RPG for consoles, it boasted an advanced translation system, free online play and stacks of action. The GameCube saw Phantasy Star Online: Episodes I & II that expanded the original game with all-new areas, weapons, monsters and...
Review Dracula: Undead Awakening (WiiWare)
Undead a go-go
Dracula: Undead Awakening is a nice example of how to port an iPhone game to the Wii properly: make sure the graphics are up to scratch and Wii-ify the controls. If you're unaware of the iPhone original, it's like a horror film version of Williams' arcade classics Robotron: 2084 or Smash TV, or the more recent Geometry Wars: players...
Another odd mix of different genres from Gameloft
Gameloft is rather fond of porting their back catalogue to Nintendo's download services. This time, however, it seems that they've created an entirely new game specifically for DSiWare. An odd mixture of simulation and strategy, with some light RPG elements thrown in for good measure. The premise is...
First Impressions Kai Illust Puzzle Guru Guru Logic
Picross meets ... Quarth?
Nintendo seems to have single-handedly popularised picross on home and console game systems, with only Hudson daring to dabble in the same space. Continuing the tradition they've partnered with D4 Enterprise to bring a new faster-paced game to the DSi which combines traditional Picross with elements of Konami's old...
News Nintendo Download 1st March 2010 (North America)
March is Mega Month!
This week Mega Man 10 debuts in North America, much to the delight of retro-gaming fans eager to get more 8-bit styled platforming goodness out of their Wiis. Of course let's not ignore the other WiiWare offerings or the fact that the NEO GEO is back on the Virtual Console following a short hiatus. DSi Owners have a couple of...
