Game of the Year Nintendo Life Staff Awards 2011
What won our votes this year?
News - 2011, Week 52
Sunday1st Jan 2012
Shoots too narrow
On the Wii Shop Channel, EnjoyUp! Games describes Soccer Up! as being "a funny soccer game." We're willing to bet you and EnjoyUp! Games have different senses of humour. But we're also willing to bet you have different definitions of "total control," "inertia" and "soccer." Indeed, much of...
Review Nintendo Letter Box (3DSWare)
A note to remember
Until mid-December, the only online communication built into the 3DS was a 16-character status message on your friends list. Even by Nintendo standards, that's extremely constrictive. Now we all have the chance to download Nintendo Letter Box — aka Swapnote — for free. The first thing to note about Nintendo Letter Box is it is...
Review Chronicles of Vampires: Origins (DSiWare)
Not so original
If we made a list of things that we've seen just a little too much of in recent years, vampires and hidden object games would sit somewhere near the top. If that weren't enough to temper our excitement over Chronicles of Vampires: Origins, it happens to have one of the clumsiest titles we've read in recent memory (maybe because The...
Happy New Year edition
It's the first chart of 2012 and a watermark for the coming year. One day we'll look back at this chart and laugh — were we ever so young? — but for now let's see what we all bought at the end of 2011. denotes last week's position. indicates game is a new entry. indicates a non-mover. Popular Last Week — All...
News Happy New Year from Nintendo Life!
Here's to 2012
It's the very first day of 2012, and we want to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy New Year. 2011 was our best year yet — we were featured in the 3DS eShop, teamed up with Eurogamer and even won a Mario Kart 7 medal — but we wouldn't be able to do any of this without the support of a great number of people
Saturday31st Dec 2011
Game of the Year Nintendo Life Reader Awards 2011
The votes are in!
Last week we opened up the Nintendo Life Game of the Year 2011 Readers' Vote, giving you the opportunity to commemorate the very best titles of the past 12 months. We received over 6,000 votes over the course of a week, and after stringent verification we've tallied them all up to reveal the games you voted as the best of 2011...
Interviews Goodbye Galaxy Games - Flipper 2: Flush the Goldfish
Developer talks goldfish and games
With Flipper 2: Flush the Goldfish out now in Europe, we got in touch with the game's developer Hugo Smits to find out a little bit more about the game and his plans for the future. Nintendo Life: Flipper 2 is quite a departure from the visual and gameplay style of the original Flipper. Why the decision to do...
Friday30th Dec 2011
Game of the Year Nintendo Life Staff Awards 2011
What won our votes this year?
With the launch of 3DS in March, the Wii U's unveiling at E3 and a Christmas period that included new Zelda, Mario and Mario Kart games, we rather think 2011 was a pretty good year all in all. But what were the very best stand-out games of the year? What moments will we think of when we reminisce about 2011? The...
VVVVVVery impressive
When VVVVVV burst onto the indie scene in 2010, it was immediately lauded for its simple, addictive gameplay and unique vector visual style. After enjoying quite a bit of success on PC and Mac over the past two years, the game is now making an appearance on a dedicated game system for the first time via Nintendo's 3DS eShop...
News SEGA Confirms No WiiWare Outing for Sonic 4: Episode II
Sad times
SEGA's digital brand manager Ken Balough has confirmed that Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II will not make it to Wii. In a post on the SEGA forum, Balough confirmed it wouldn't appear on Nintendo's home console: But no - the reason Episode I was on the Wii was because we wanted to bring the Sonic 4 saga to the widest possible audience...
Rumour New App Store in Development for Wii U
We're not stating the obvious, promise
Though we're yet to receive an exact release date, we know the Wii U will hit during the second half of 2012. One guarantee as release approaches is that wild speculation and rumour will run rampant. Today's contender: a Wii U 'App Store'. It goes without saying that there'll be an equivalent to the current Wii...
News Disney Newsletter Accidentally Outs Epic Mickey 2
It's bound to happen
Rumours of a sequel to Disney Epic Mickey continue to swirl around the Internet like paint in a pot, with a Disney newsletter seemingly outing the game before its official announcement. The email mentions a brand new Epic Mickey 2 in development for Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with a release set for fall 2012: Disney Epic...
Thursday29th Dec 2011
Review Commando: Steel Disaster (DSiWare)
Steely gamers only
In the early 1990s, when the very idea of 3D polygons was beyond most imaginations, 2D run-and-gun shooters were popular amongst dedicated and skilled gamers. Titles such as Contra on NES, Gunstar Heroes on Mega Drive and Metal Slug on the Neo Geo meant that most console owners experienced, and often loved, the genre. Commando:...
Nintendo Download 29th December 2011 (North America)
VVVVVVery exciting
The last batch of downloads for 2011 brings with it some more goodies, including a gravity-flipping eShop game and a certain game starring a guy with a bionic arm. 3DS Download Software: VVVVVV (Nicalis, $7.99) — The well-known indie platformer has made its way to the eShop. It seems to be identical to the PC release, including...
News Sonic 4: Episode II Revealed, No Nintendo Formats Mentioned
No 'Ware in sight
SEGA finally made Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II official with a teaser trailer, but the first video makes no mention of any Nintendo formats. The teaser's closing screen mentions the following formats: PS3 (i.e. PlayStation NetworkXbox 360 (i.e. Xbox Live)Android MarketWindows PhoneApp Store. Of course that doesn't mean we...
News Trip World Visits Europe's 3DS Virtual Console on 5th January
Sends postcard
Trippy Game Boy release Trip World is part of next week's Nintendo Download in Europe. Sunsoft's second 3DS Virtual Console game after Game Boy Color outing Blaster Master: Enemy Below, Trip World is pretty graphically impressive for a Game Boy game, with a barmy plot about a stolen flower and an innocent hero who can transform...
News Renegade Kid Wants Your Mutant Mudds Questions
Ask away!
With the upcoming release of Mutant Mudds coming in early 2012, we know many of you obviously have questions about the game. Thankfully the game's director Jools Watsham has kindly agreed to take part in an exclusive question and answer interview, and you get to ask the questions. All you have to do is submit your questions in the comments...
Wednesday28th Dec 2011
Review Wario Land 4 (3DS eShop / GBA)
A treasure
Wario is pretty good, for a bad guy. To look at him you wouldn’t think he’d have a heroic streak at all; he’s got the squiggly moustache of a pantomime villain and a nose that would put any alcoholic to shame. Despite all this he’s secretly a sweetheart: considering that the rotund treasure hunter started life as an antagonist to...
News Link's Awakening DX is 2011's Best-Selling 3DS VC Game
The results are in
It's official: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX is the 3DS Virtual Console's best-selling game of 2011 in Europe and North America. Link's legendary adventure tops the all-time Virtual Console charts in the UK and North America — live later today — beating off competition from Mario, Samus and Kirby. In fact, the game...
Charts 28th December 2011 (North America)
2011's top sellers
We already know that Link's Awakening DX is the best-selling 3DS VC game of 2011, but here's the round-up of what's hot and what's not in the eShop world. denotes last week's position. indicates game is a new entry. indicates a non-mover. Popular Last Week — All Downloads: 3D Classics: Xevious and Mario vs. Donkey Kong...
News Sonic 4: Episode II Teaser Trailer Due Tomorrow
It's got a nice ring to it
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I seems all but a distant memory now, but SEGA is ready to revitalise your nostalgia for 2D Sonic games by officially revealing Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II tomorrow. Gamespot will have the exclusive teaser trailer tomorrow, with SEGA brand manager Ken Balough keen to emphasise its...
Competition Win a Metallic Red 3DS!
Get it while it's red hot!
If Father Christmas didn't bring you the 3DS console you asked for, Nintendo Life is here to save the day. We've got one of the highly sought-after Metallic Red Nintendo 3DS consoles (European) up for grabs in our exclusive competition. All you have to do is answer the question, cross your fingers and wait.
Competition Win "A History of Nintendo: Volume 1" (5 Copies)
Brush up on your history
If you want to learn more about where it all started for Nintendo, we've got very good news for you. We've teamed up with Pix'n Love Publishing, the company behind some of our favourite gaming-related tomes, to bring you this exclusive competition to win its superb History of Nintendo: Volume 1. You can read our History of...
Tuesday27th Dec 2011
Nintendo Download 29th December 2011 (Europe)
Bionic Commando!
Just because the Christmas celebrations are winding down doesn't mean we can't feel all festive and excited about the final Nintendo Download of 2011. What choice delights does Nintendo Europe have lined up for excited eShoppers this week? Read on, dear reader, and find out. 3DS Virtual Console: Bionic Commando (Game Boy, Capcom,...
Charts 27th December 2011 (UK)
Check out the Christmas sellers
It's the last time to take a look at 2011's 3DS eShop charts, so savour the numbers below; they may very well hold the secret to the future. At the very least, they explain how well games sell relative to each other. Let's just get on with it, shall we? denotes last week's position. indicates game is a new entry...
News Fire Emblem to Start Japanese 3DS DLC Service in 2012
Get more quests
We haven't heard much about Fire Emblem on 3DS for the past few months, but Nikkei (via Andriasang) report the game will kick off the system's add-on DLC service in early 2012. Now called Fire Emblem: Awakening, the game will release in Japan on 19th April, with a new "free map" system letting you explore the world with a...
News Japanese 3DS Sales Hit New High in Christmas Week
How high can it go?
3DS sales have been steadily growing in Japan over the past few weeks, with the week leading up to Christmas the busiest for the console yet. Enterbrain (via Andriasang) reports Nintendo sold a staggering 510,629 3DS consoles in the week before Christmas, topping the record of 367,691 set in the previous week. Since February,...
Review WordJong Arcade (DSiWare)
Will it put a spell on you?
A DSiWare shopper with yet another mahjong solitaire game is like a mule with a spinning wheel – no one knows why he got it, and darned if he knows how to use it. But WordJong Arcade stands out from the pack as it gives the game a Boggle twist; instead of removing matching pairs of tiles, you'll form words as you clear...
Monday26th Dec 2011
Talking Point Your Nintendo Christmas Presents
What was in your stocking?
By now you've unwrapped (and probably discarded most of) your Christmas presents and digested your Christmas meal. It's time to talk what you got this year. No, we don't mean the Christmas meal: tell us about your Nintendo Christmas presents. Was Satoru Claus good to you this year? Drop us a comment below and let us know...







































