News - 2016, Week 31

Monday8th Aug 2016

  • News The Mini NES Classic Edition May Have Some Neat Display Modes

    That plug-in Virtual Console experience

    Through Virtual Console formats and even the neat retro Mario amiibo effect in Super Mario Maker (sort of), Nintendo has mastered alternative display options with a retro look. From smoothing of DS games on Wii U to the native resolution feature for SNES games on New 3DS, there are often simple options to view...

  • Video Exploring The Funky Inspiration for the Super Mario Bros. Underground Theme

    Time to dig out a record from 1979

    The music in Super Mario Bros. is just about as iconic as it gets in gaming, with gamers of various ages and types familiar with the soundtrack. The underground theme is one of the most well-known, with a funky bass beat kicking it off. Our buddies from The Centre for Computing History in Cambridge (England)...

Sunday7th Aug 2016

  • News Celebrate 30 Years of Metroid With The Fan-Made "AM2R"

    Fan Does What Nintendon’t

    It seems like it was only yesterday we where scratching our heads trying to figure out the correct moment to switch sides on our Famicom Disk System "Metroid" copy, released in Japan on 6th August 1986. We gladly suffer trough the loading times in exchange for better music thanks to the extra hardware on the FDS unit; of...

  • News Metroid is 30 Years Old Today

    Happy birthday, Samus

    Despite the sad reality that Metroid has fallen on hard times recently, the series has been a tentpole Nintendo franchise for nearly as long as the company has been in the gaming business. Many Metroid games still stand as some of the best available on Nintendo platforms, which makes it that much more of a sting that the series...

  • Fun Fact The Celtic Origins of Epona's Name in The Legend of Zelda

    That's Celtic with a hard C, not the football team...

    In the first of a potential series, Tom Whitehead shares a surprising bit of trivia he discovered at a major museum exhibition. I've been playing quite a lot of Dark Souls 3 recently, and what's often struck me in my time with it is how heavily influential European history is on the game's...

  • Japan Weekly Level-5 Ensures This Week's Famitsu is a Memorable One

    Lady Layton and The Snack World impress in previews

    This week Level-5 did what it does best and made us excited for upcoming Japanese-made games. While there wasn't exactly a lot of information on the two Nintendo 3DS titles, Lady Layton and The Snack World, we got just enough of a glimpse of both to make owning a 3DS a sound investment well into...

Saturday6th Aug 2016

Friday5th Aug 2016

Thursday4th Aug 2016

Wednesday3rd Aug 2016

Tuesday2nd Aug 2016

  • Feature Unboxing the Super Famicom New Nintendo 3DS XL

    Units shipping from Nintendo in Japan right now

    Its been a long wait for those who were fortunate enough to snag a pre-order of the awesome-looking Super Famicom New 3DS XL in Japan, which was first shown off in a Nintendo Direct in March of this year. The unit comes decked out with the hardware design of the Japanese Super Famicom on the back,...

  • Rumour Concept Art Reveals the Final Evolutions of the Alola Starters

    Spoilers ahoy!

    The Pokémon Company revealed plenty of interesting new information today, with new Pokémon, Z-moves, Island Trials, and more being brought to light for Pokémon Sun and Moon. It seems like Game Freak is going to be trying several new things with Generation 7, and it'll be interesting to see how some of the changes play out with the...

  • News Niantic Addresses Pokémon GO's Removal of 3-step Display and Third-Party App Access

    "We hear the frustration from folks"

    With great success comes significant pressure, and in recent days that's started to weigh a little on Pokémon GO. A double-whammy of an unpopular update - which removed rather than fixed the '3-step' display - and the closing down of third-party apps caused a bit of a storm online. We considered some of the...

  • News The Pokémon Sun and Moon Z-Move Toys Look Like Money-Spinners

    Those chunky plastic Yo-kai Watch toys likely provided inspiration

    This week's info dump on Pokémon Sun and Moon was possibly the most substantial yet, packed with information on new Pokémon, gameplay aspects and areas to explore - this gallery has lots of the information in one place. One new feature is 'Z-Moves', which are supercharged attacks...

  • Retro Bask in Nostalgia With The Nintendo Power Archive

    Now you're browsing with power

    When you consider iconic imagery from Nintendo's earlier days in North America, in particular, there's a good chance that Nintendo Power magazine will spring to mind. From memorable covers to quirky features, to cut-out crafts and posters, it was a key part of many young gamer's regular routine; in the pre-internet...

  • Reminder Points Can't Be Added to the DSi Shop After 30th September

    Wake me up when September ends

    A few months ago, it was announced that Nintendo would at last be pulling the plug on its Nintendo DSi Shop. Considering that NX is mere months away from release, this is something that didn't come as much of a surprise, but it's no doubt still disappointing news for many. There's still time to continue using the shop...

  • News SNES PlayStation Prototype Set to Feature At Game On Expo

    Gaze upon the system that would have changed gaming history

    As the video game industry continues to evolve in unexpected ways, its increasingly lengthy history continues to be a relevant and intriguing topic for many. Across 40-50 years of mainstream video gaming there's plenty to learn about, and for Nintendo aficionados the so-called 'SNES...

  • Review Dragon Skills (Wii U eShop)

    A brick break game like no other?

    Brick break games aren't all that common nowadays. One of the modern standouts with a fantastic twist is PopCap Games' long-running Peggle series, which is exceptionally addictive and sets a considerably high standard for the classic genre. Like Peggle, Dragon Skills draws on arcade gameplay inspired by well-known...

  • News Just Dance 2017 Demo Set for the eShop With Bieber's "Sorry" Track

    Interesting song choice...

    Just Dance 2017 will be a unique title in at least one way, as it's going to span three generations of Nintendo hardware. It'll land on the Wii U and Wii in October (likely missing some features on the latter) and is also coming to the NX. If you like to dance and happen to have Nintendo systems, you're in luck. Ubisoft...

  • News Pokémon GO Credited With Boosting Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire Sales in Japan

    Similar increases have also been evident in the UK

    In the past couple of weeks we've seen all four current-gen main Pokémon titles on the 3DS return to the UK top 40, evidently riding the Pokémon GO wave and perhaps benefitting further from the Summer school holidays. This GO effect is now being acknowledged in Japan, too, even if the app is...

  • Video Catch Up On Battles and Classes in Dragon Quest VII

    Still featuring THAT music

    It's easy to overlook the fact that Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past is getting rather close to release in the West, arriving on 16th September. The 3DS title could keep fans of the series busy for weeks and months, with this being a notoriously lengthy entry in the franchise. As it has with complex...

Monday1st Aug 2016