Retro News
Feature The Art I 'Stole' From Nintendo
And where it is now
It began with a Zelda T-shirt. I was wearing my “It's dangerous to go alone! Take this.” shirt while running a quick errand at the bank. The teller spotted it. He was at least 20 years younger than me, but his “Nice shirt!” comment kicked off a lengthy conversation about our shared Nintendo fandom. Before long, he...
News Retro Nintendo Games Are Returning To Animal Crossing (Sort Of)
One game per system
As you've no doubt seen, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is getting another massive update early next year, along with a Switch 2 Edition with the expected enhancements (Mouse Mode, wooo). But amongst all the Bells and whistles announced, you might have missed the news that retro Nintendo games are also returning to the series...
Review Luigi's Mansion (GameCube) - A Spooky Little Romp That Still Sucks You In
It's-a me! Mari— wait, what?
This review was originally published in October 2010. We're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival in the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack GameCube library on Switch 2. Enjoy! Nintendo has always had a dark side. Though it's built up a name for itself as a family-friendly company, every so...
Anniversary SNES Action RPG 'Terranigma' Is 30 Years Old Today, And It's Still A 10/10 In Our Book
Never released in the US of A!
"Among the finest action role-playing titles ever crafted, possibly even the finest, and a game that absolutely no RPG fan should miss." This quote, from our 2009 review of the 1995 action-RPG, Terranigma, should give you some idea of just how highly we regard the third slice of what's known as the "Gaia Trilogy" —...
Talking Point How Do You Play NES Games These Days?
Or, do you even play NES games?
The NES — specifically the Nintendo Entertainment System, not the Famicom — turns 40 today. The console's staggered rollout across the US makes its launch a bittier affair than the orchestrated, worldwide drops we're used to these days. But four decades ago, the first units were purchased in the United States and...
Guide 50 Best NES Games Of All Time
Our guide to the greatest games on the NES
The NES' staggered launch began 40 years ago in the US, on 18th October 1985, following the Famicom's release two years earlier in Japan. On this historic anniversary, we're republishing this list of the best games on the system. Enjoy! The Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES (ness? nezz? enn-eee-ess?),...
Guide Every Nintendo Switch Online SNES Game, Ranked
All the Super NES games on NSO
Updated with Bubsy in: Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind, Fatal Fury Special, and Mario & Wario. Enjoy! The library of SNES games available on Switch with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription now stands at 77 titles. While it may lag behind the number of NES
Random The Super Mario Galaxy Games Are Full Of Secrets, And This One Is "Horribly Inefficient"
Full credit
Yes, as we all know, Nintendo does like to hide fun little secrets and easter eggs within its adventures, especially when it comes to stuff like the Mario Galaxy games. You know, things like the part of Buoy Base Galaxy that looks like a Poké Ball, or Captain Olimar's S.S. Dolphin floating about in the Space Junk Galaxy. Yes, we love...
Opinion Ogre Battle 64: Person Of Lordly Caliber's Revolutionary Heart Still Burns Brightly
Say, you want a revolution?
Has it really been 25 years? Yes, my wizened friends, it has. Back in the year of our lord 2000 (or 1999 if you're from Japan), if you weren't still calming down from the trauma of Y2K (still can't believe nothing happened) you may have been getting completely sucked into one of the few truly amazing RPGs on the Nintendo...
Video Feeling Rough? This Orchestra's 5-Minute 'Super Mario Retro Suite' Will Sort You Out
Short and suite
Looking for a pick-me-up on a chilly morning (or afternoon, or whenever you happen to be reading this)? This five-minute arrangement of classic Koji Kondo tracks from the Mario series just might do the trick. Recorded back on 23rd August, the WDR Funkhausorchester takes a delightfully brisk jog through some classic platforming...
News LEGO Game Boy Designers Discuss Collaborating With A "Very Involved" Nintendo
“We wanted to sort of incorporate everything"
We've already been chatting excitedly about Lego's very lovely Game Boy set. It's absolutely one of the best things they've put out in a while and, to celebrate the launch, two of Lego's designers, Carl Merriam and Simon Kent, have been chatting with those fine folks over at Gizmodo about the process...
News 'Scurge: Hive' Spreads Its Isometric, Metroid-y Retro Virus To Switch This Week
A little Game Boy Advance goodness?
If you played Orbital Media's Scurge:Hive back when it launched in 2006, on both GBA and DS, you'll already know that it's a super-solid action effort that takes its cues from the likes of Metroid: Fusion, and then melds them into a tight isometric space adventure. Now, Raitalaika Games has announced that its new...
Gallery LEGO's New Game Boy Set Is A Mini Masterpiece
In the brick of time
Lego's snazzy new 1:1 replica of Nintendo's classic Game Boy is finally in stores and, if you've been keeping up with reviews, it's gone down a right treat with master builders thus far. Of course, being something of a master builder ourselves *shines counterfeit master builder badge*, we already got our hands on one, and have...
News Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels 'Minus World' Has Finally Been Found After Nearly 40 Years
The Glitched Levels
We've all heard of Minus World, right? A glitched world in the original 1985 release in Super Mario Bros., it was accessible via World 1-2 and is an infinitely-looping underwater level, similarly designed to World 7-2. It's one of the most legendary glitches in gaming history. And, it turns out, its direct sequel also has its...
Guide Every Nintendo Switch Online Game Boy Advance (GBA) Game Ranked
The best GBA 'Nintendo Classics' on Switch
Updated with Mr. Driller 2 and Klonoa: Empire of Dreams following the September 2025 update. Remember, this is a dynamic, reader-ranked list based on each game's User Rating in our database. The order is therefore subject to real-time change as those ratings fluctuate. Enjoy! Ninte
Review Klonoa: Empire Of Dreams (GBA) - One Of The System's Best Still Plays Like A Dream
Wahoo!
This review was originally published in May 2014. We're updating and republishing it in honour of the game's arrival on Switch as part of the Nintendo Classics GBA lineup. Starting life on the PlayStation in 1997, at a time when Super Mario 64 had just brought the gaming world triple-jumping headlong into the era of 3D platforming, Namco's...
Ambassador, with this barbaric difficulty you're really spoiling us…
It's hard to believe, especially since I just about remember this one happening, that Ghosts 'n Goblins, Capcom's seminal (and seminally difficult) coin-op classic, first arrived in smoky arcade halls in Japan 40 years ago. Four entire decades. Deary me. I know I sound like a...
Opinion I'm Celebrating Super Mario Bros.' 40th Anniversary By Finally Finishing It
Clear Bowser history
Please, angry mob, wait! It's true, I had never finished Super Mario Bros. before this week, but that's not to say that I hadn't played it before. If you'll put your pitchforks and burning torches down for a moment, I promise, I can explain. It was 2004 when I first came into contact with Super Mario Bros. I remember that...
News Yuzo Koshiro's Shmup 'Earthion' Finally Has A Switch Release Date
According to the eShop
Did you know that Yuzo Koshiro, legendary video game composer, has made a Sega Mega Drive / Genesis shmup? It was released on Steam back in July, with our friends over at Time Extension giving it a glowing review. It was due to launch on consoles, including Switch, at the same time, but was pushed back to "mid-September"...
Chibi-or-not-Chibi
This review was originally published in November 2009. We're updating and republishing it in honour of the game's arrival on Switch 2 as part of the Nintendo Classics GameCube lineup. Meet the Sandersons, your atypical, dysfunctional American family. Mr. Sanderson is an out-of-work engineer-cum-manchild who liv
Random Metroid Composer Was Just Trying To Impress Someone With Ending Theme
"I wanted him to feel deeply moved after completing the game"
Metroid's ending theme is one of the most iconic pieces of video game music from the NES era. The shift from serious and determined to celebratory is masterful for the area; of course, what else would you expect from Hirokazu Tanaka? Well, the legendary composer — also known as 'Hip'...
PSA You Can Now Remap Super NES Controls With Nintendo Switch Online
From A to B
We woke up this morning to the excellent news that Nintendo has added Mario Paint to the Nintendo Switch Online SNES library, along with mouse control support for Nobunaga's Ambition and Mario Super Picross. However, you may have missed another new feature of the Super NES app on Switch 1 and 2: remappable buttons, finally! The feature...
Poll Box Art Brawl - Duel: Blast Corps
Hardcorps
Welcome back to the Brawl, my friends! Last week, North America and Europe duked it out over Weaponlord on the Super NES, with NA giving their EU PALs a good wholloping and taking home 85% of the vote. Today, we're looking back at Rare's Blast Corps, a delightful piece of nonsense from Twycross' 64-bit masters which saw you destroying...
Every Virtual Boy game ranked by you
Nintendo is an odd company in many ways; deeply appealing and safe in some respects, but also able to swing for the fences and invest money and resources in the pursuit of pure novelty. Time and again it puts out products that no other platform holder would have dreamed of, and more often than not those...
News Blurred Art In Nintendo's N64 Switch Online Trailer Suggests Exciting Upcoming Additions
Gaussian blur bros.
Intrepid fans have been doing some serious detective work on Nintendo's N64 trailer from May and they think they've identified several as-yet-unannounced releases for Nintendo Switch Online. As highlighted by @ImakuniVT (thanks, VGC), the section of
Talking Point With Bigger GameCube File Sizes, Should Nintendo Let Us Download Individual NSO Games?
1.21 gigabytes!?
Switch 2 brought with it something we'd dreamt about on the original Switch: GameCube games on NSO. With the new GC controller giving Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, and SoulCalibur II that authentic feeling (while also adding wireless without a WaveBird and sneaking in some
Guide Every Nintendo Switch Online GameCube Game On Switch 2, Ranked
10 games, 4 now playable on NS2
Switch 2 brought some long-awaited GameCube games into the fold along with the other Nintendo Switch Online retro libraries when it launched. With The Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, and SoulCalibur 2 joining the system's launch lineup, Super Mario Strikers and
News A Cancelled 'Animaniacs' GBA Game Has Been Rediscovered, And You Can Play It Now
Just hypnotic
If you were a kid who grew up in the '90s, you've probably watched more than a handful of episodes of Animaniacs. The Warner Bros.-produced cartoon ran from 1993 to 1998 and received well over 250 episodes. And, you can bet there were many video games out there to accompany Yakko, Wakko, and Dot's animated antics. In fact, there were...
Review The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GameCube) - A Timeless Treasure
Cel-da? Is...is that you?
In honour of the game's arrival on Switch 2 as part of the Nintendo Classics GameCube lineup, here's our new retro review of one of Link's most memorable adventures... If I were to put together a list of my favourite pre-Switch-era Zelda games, those that came before the
Feature Farewell, Nintendo Switch - It's Finally Time To Bid Our Old Friend 'Adieu'
Don't think twice, it's all right
It's time to say goodbye. Well, not really. The massively popular Switch will live on in a way few other Nintendo consoles have done thanks to backwards compatibility, a host of free upgrades to existing games, and a Switch 2 form factor that keeps everything about the previous console. As generational jumps go, it...
Review SoulCalibur II (GameCube) - One Of The Best Fighters Ever, Playable Oh-So-Soon On Switch 2
If you're eager to die, then that's fine by me!
With Nintendo Switch 2 bringing a selection of GameCube classics to Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack subscribers very soon, we looked into our back catalogue of retro reviews and found we didn't have one for one of the best fighting games ever created...until now. Enjoy! Soulcalibur II, of all...
Guide Every Nintendo Switch Online Game Boy (Color) Game Ranked
All the GB and GBC games, ranked by you
Updated with Gradius: The Interstellar Assault, Survival Kids, The Sword of Hope, and Kirby's Star Stacker following the May 2025 update
Random Marilyn Before Mario? That Time Nintendo Went A Bit Playboy
Happy birthday, Mr Marioooooh
When we consider Nintendo as we know it today, and in the only way most people have ever known it, it's impossible to conceive that at any point in its history it wasn't quite so squeaky clean. Of course, with such a long and illustrious history (this is a company that was founded in 1889, remember) and having operated...
Random Unluckiest Gaming Moment Of The Year? Smash Bros. Final Ends With A Tree Glitch
Melee unlucky
An incredibly unlucky Super Smash Bros. Melee player has lost a tournament, and a prize pot of over $2000 to boot, by succumbing to an incredibly badly timed glitch in the final round...of the final match. No, this is not a movie. As seen over on YouTube (thank you, VGC), the deciding match of the 'Full House 2025' tournament in...
Guide Every Nintendo Switch Online N64 Game Ranked
All the N64 games on NSO
The library of Nintendo 64 games on Switch and Switch 2 boasts some of the system's heaviest hitters - a great selection of quality 64-bit games easily accessible to anyone subscribed to the 'Expansion Pack' tier of the Nintendo Switch Online service But which N64 games on Nintendo Switch Online are the very best? We've...
Random 'New' Super Mario 64 Sound Effect Can Only Be Heard By Leaving The Game On...For 14 Months
But what about my backlog?
Super Mario 64 is one of those classic sorts of games that, almost 30 since its release, is still giving up delightful little secrets. This time around, and as reported by GamesRadar, it's a hidde
Video Switch 2's Mouse Controls Are Nothing New For Nintendo
A mousehold name
Nintendo’s upcoming Switch 2 has been accused of not being especially revolutionary, which is mostly fair. It’s more of an evolution of a concept that works rather than a vast departure, but that doesn’t mean it’s devoid of ideas. The big kahuna of new additions in my eyes is the mouse controls, allowing for a veritable...
Guide Best Star Wars Video Games, Ranked - Switch And Nintendo Systems
You sort the padawans from the poodoo
The Skywalker Saga may have ended in 2019, but Star Wars is never really over, is it? Especially in the world of video games. Spanning systems all the way back to the NES and arcades, Star Wars has been on practically every video game console ever. So below, we're taking a look at nigh-on every Star Wars game...
Review Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (GBA) - The Series' Second Western Release Still Hits Hard
Worth fighting for
This review was originally published in March 2015. We're updating and republishing it to mark the arrival of the game in the Nintendo Switch Online Game Boy Advance library. While Fire Emblem is a franchise with a long history in Japan, its track record in the West is far more condensed; in fact, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones...
Feature Catch-Up Crew: Pikmin - "A Moment Of Sheer Panic That I Can’t Quite Describe"
I am compelled—I must approach it
Captain's log, stardate 202504.21. Following our last Catch-up Crew mission to Shadow Moses Island, the crew has enjoyed extended shore leave having (re)acquainted ourselves with Metal Gear Solid. Our new assignment takes us to the M-class world of PNF-404. However, ship instruments indicate that we haven't left...
Guide Every Nintendo Switch Online Sega Genesis / Mega Drive Game Ranked
All the Sega Mega Drive games, ranked by you
Updated with Streets of Rage, Super Thunder Blade, and ESWAT: City Under Siege following the April update. Remember, the ranking below is dynamic and will change according to each game's User Rating in our
News N64 Recompiled Is Planning Its Best Year Yet In 2025
Unofficial PC ports to get mods & performance boosts
By this point, you're probably well aware of N64 Recompiled which, in basic terms, allows N64 games to be played on PC by natively running the game's code on your target platform. Most recently, we've seen Majora's Mask get a "PC port" thanks to the project. And it sounds like things are...
News Retailer EB Games' New Retro Service Offers Some Unsurprisingly Rough Trade-In Prices
For Mario Land 2 that'll be... six golden coins
Australian retailer EB Games announced last week that it would be expanding its trade-in service to include retro games and consoles. It sounds like a good concept on paper (we retro game fans relish the idea of seeing more classics out in the wild), but in practice, the prices offered by the retailer...
News M2 Is Working On A Brand New 'Night Striker' Game
And we've got some footage
M2, the emulation wizards who are responsible for multiple Sega Ages titles, Virtual Console ports, and the excellent Castlevania Advance and Dominus Collections, has shared a brand new trailer for its upcoming game, Night Striker Gear, which is coming to Switch in 2025. The clip was shared on Bluesky by ohfivepro (via
Review Donkey Kong (GB) - One Of The Game Boy's Very Best
It's on with the King of the Kongs
This review was originally published in June 2011. We're updating and republishing it to mark the arrival of the game in the Nintendo Switch Online Game Boy library. In 1994, Nintendo had a great idea; why not make a true sequel to the original Donkey Kong arcade game? The result is Donkey Kong for the Game Boy,...
Feature Catch-Up Crew: Metal Gear Solid - "It’s Been A Long Time, What’s The Situation?"
!
The time has come for another Catch-up Crew mission, a regular assignment that sees cadets playing games for the first time - games long since played by other officers. Through their eyes, NL's senior staff gain fresh insight and a better understanding of not only those classic games, but also ourselves. Mainly the games, though. Today, we visit...
Review Wario Land 4 (GBA) - A Boisterous But Impeccably Designed Platformer
Quality over quantity
This review was originally published in May 2014. We're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival in the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack GBA library. Although Wario's core platforming series has been overshadowed for years by the surrealist microgames of WarioWare, his excellent platformers have the sort...
Feature Catch-Up Crew: Pokémon Snap - "There’s Nothing Stopping You From Pelting Every Unlucky ‘Mon"
Jack and beans
Welcome to Catch-up Crew, where USS Nintendo Life officers slingshot around the sun and go back to play something a crewmember missed back in the day. We went back to the first WarioWare game last time, but today our destination is the year 1999 when Pokémon Snap first appeared on a chunky N64 cartridge. For anyone looking to play...
Review Sutte Hakkun (SNES) - An Addictive Curio You Should Definitely Check Out
One of the most unique video game experiences ever crafted
This review was originally published in April 2009. We're updating and republishing it to mark the arrival of the game in the Nintendo Switch Online SNES library. Every so often a game comes along that makes you take your thumb off the fire button and don your thinking cap. But who wants...
Feature A Trip To Machida, The Real-Life 'Pallet Town' That Inspired Pokémon
Pokén around
The first generation of Pokémon games features some of the most iconic locations in the entire franchise. The eerie Lavender Town, the winding Viridian Forest, and the quaint Pallet Town where all players start their journey. Pallet Town isn’t just a fanciful creation, but draws real-life inspiration from Pokémon creator Satoshi...
