Retro Features
Book Review Neo Geo: A Visual History
The future is now
We'll spare you the traditional spiel about how the Neo Geo was the pinnacle of gaming back in the '90s – if you own a Switch then chances are you're already intimately familiar with the amazing library of this beast, thanks to the fact that Japanese firm Hamster has been pumping out a stream of Neo Geo titles on the Switch eShop...
Hardware Review The Super Famicom Mini Is For Hardcore Collectors Only
Turning Japanese?
Not all micro-consoles are created equal, the SNES Classic Mini being the perfect example of this (not-so-universal) truth. The western versions may have the same game selection but the North American and European editions showcase radically different case designs, which has led to some particularly dedicated Nintendo fans buying...
Video An Unboxing of the Super Famicom Classic Mini
A super part of the family
In Japan, 5th October marks the release of the Super Famicom Classic Mini. Following the SNES Classic Edition / Mini last week, the “Sufami Mini” is now ready to buy! It too comes with 21 games, though the lineup is slightly different. Don't worry, importers, Star Fox 2 is included. As for outward appearances, it's...
Feature 20 Games That Aren't On The SNES Classic Mini, But Really Should Be
How does our wishlist compare to yours?
There’s a lot to like about the SNES Classic Mini, with the compact box offering plenty of plug-and-play 16-bit goodness. Save states and the new rewind feature are good additions, and the inclusion of a second controller (unlike with the NES mini) is welcome. It has an impressive line up of games too, with...
Feature The Complete History of Rockstar Games on Nintendo Platforms
The good, the bad & the controversial
Rockstar Games is a business powerhouse at the top of the gaming industry. Producing sales figures some developers could only dream of, with the Grand Theft Auto series reaching over 150 million copies sold, the studio rarely puts a foot wrong. On 7th September it was announced that 1940’s crime title...
Hardware Review The Retro-Bit RES Plus Gives You A HDMI NES For Under 40 Dollars
But is it better than the competition?
Despite the fact that the SNES Classic is on the horizon and we're already seeing SNES clones being announced - like the Hyperkin Supa Retron HD - there's obviously still a healthy market for systems which replicate the performance of Nintendo's previous system, the NES. This year has already given us...
Feature Is It Really Cheaper To Order Retro Games Direct From Japan?
Forget eBay - there could be a cheaper option
Back in the '90s, it seemed that the Japanese got all the best stuff. Not only did games typically launch sooner in Japan, they came in gorgeously-illustrated boxes complete with full-colour manuals, putting the rather drab western equivalents to shame. Not only that, the Japanese were blessed with many...
Feature The Full Story Behind Star Fox 2, Nintendo's Most Famous Cancellation
"The series was never intended to be limited to linear 3D scrolling stages"
To celebrate the announcement of the SNES Classic Mini, we're republishing the full story behind the cancellation of Star Fox 2, which first appeared on the site back in May 2015. This year will see the launch of another entry in Nintendo's long-running space battle...
Random Ease The Pain Of Sega Forever's Botched Launch With This Official Cereal
FREE GIFT INSIDE
Sega Forever has finally launched after weeks of speculation, and sadly, it's not had the best of starts. Dogged by poor emulation, the games released so far may be free to download and play, but they're a long way from being the best way to experience such classic titles. While Sega clearly has some work to do in order to bring...
Hardware Analogue NT Mini Review - Not Just The Best NES Clone, It's Much More Besides
FPGA or GTHO
It's fair to say that the gaming public's interest in clones of vintage consoles hasn't diminished over the past few years; in fact, interest in such hardware is arguably on the rise. We've seen a raft of systems which aim to replicate the performance of retro hardware, including the Hyperkin Retron 5, the Cyber Gadget Retro Freak and...
Hardware Review BittBoy Portable Video Game Handheld
Unofficial NES gaming on the go
Of all the obscure clone consoles to come out of the Far East, the BittBoy is one of the most interesting we've seen in a long time - for obvious reasons. We're massive fans of the original Game Boy here at Nintendo Life and the fact that the BittBoy shamelessly steals the same basic design was enough to get our...
Retrospective The Awkward Birth of the DS, Nintendo's Most Successful System
How a third pillar became a golden goose
With 154.02 million consoles sold to date, the Nintendo DS is the company's most successful hardware platform, the world's best-selling dedicated handheld games console and the second most popular video games system of all time. Not a bad set of achievements for a handheld which, prior to launch, was debated,...
Video The Most Memorable Issues of Nintendo Power
Now you're playing with power
Nintendo Power magazine, the official monthly publication of Nintendo of America, was discontinued to the disappointment of fans across the U.S. in 2012. Since then, loyal readers have reminisced about the magazine's history, and avid collectors have sought to compile their own library of Nintendo Power history. In the...
Exclusive Game Boy Specialist Crawfish Interactive Is Back From The Dead, Kind Of
Say hello to Chrawfish Interactive
Cameron Sheppard back in his Crawfish (no 'h') days If you're a seasoned Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance player then the name Crawfish Interactive will probably ring some bells. This UK-based studio created many licensed titles for Nintendo's portable line and was famous for its skill in getting the...
Soapbox All The Video Game Magazines You Grew Up With Were Rubbish
Japan had it so much better, thinks Ian Cortina
All the video game magazines you and I grew up with were crap. We were robbed. Dealt a poor hand. Okay, that might be a little extreme, they were not crap per se - we just never had it as good as our friends in Japan. Sure, many a mag tried and came very close - Super Play immediately springs to mind...
Talking Point Nintendo Needs to Learn Lessons From Its NES Mini Mistakes
A simple product turned into a messy saga
Based upon the various decent emulators out there, it's not hard to run NES games. They're 30+ years old, and in this modern era of GPUs and accessible operating systems people are playing 8-bit games on a dizzying range of devices. Some of us, of course, spend decent money for official ROMs from Nintendo,...
Feature Thirty Years Ago, Little Mac Became a Champion in Punch-Out!!
To be the Man, you've got to beat the Super Macho Man
Another game is passing the 30 year mark. After all, in 1987 the NES was available worldwide, with lots of titles being released - Punch Out!! being one of them. Originally made as a prize giveaway for a Famicom Open Golf contest in Japan in 1987, it was a home conversion of the arcade games...
Book Review The Unofficial NES/Famicom: A Visual Compendium
Could this be the perfect coffee table book?
We've seen an explosion in books celebrating retro video game history lately. One of the most prolific publishers is UK-based Bitmap Books, which is responsible for many of our favourites - including the excellent Super Famicom: The Box Art Collection. Their catchily titled 'Visual Compendium' series has...
Hardware Review My Arcade NES Classic Mini Controller
Looks aren't everything
Given how hard it is to actually find a NES Classic Mini right now, it should come as no great shock to also learn that spare controllers for the console are also in very short supply. While Nintendo seems incapable of meeting demand for this clone system and its accessories, third party peripheral makers are having a field...
Retro This Is Why We Should Probably Be Glad Nintendo Stuck With Carts For The N64
Think optical media is indestructible? Think again
Compact discs might not be considered new technology these days, but when they were first released they were marketed as practically indestructible. Compared to the two other audio storage mediums of the time - cassette tape and vinyl - that certainly seemed to be a easy claim to make. CDs later...
Hardware Review Putting The Retro Freak's Range Of Accessories To The Test
NES! Sega Mark III! Game Gear! Controller adapter!
Retro gamers have really been spoilt for choice when it comes to picking a clone console these days. Not only have we had machines like the Retro-USB AVS which uses FPGA tech to accurately replicate the performance of the NES, but we've also seen all-in-one solutions like the Hyperkin Retron-5 and...
Feature The Quest for the Ultimate NES Classic Edition Wireless Controller
8Bitdo NES30 Vs Nyko Miniboss
The NES Classic Edition is a wonderful micro-sized retro-gaming machine; availability issues aside its hard to find much fault with, it apart from the rather short controller cable which comes with the otherwise excellent replica of the original NES controller. At just 30 inches the cable that joins the pad to the...
Book Review Hardcore Gaming 101 Presents: The Guide To Shoot-Em-Ups Volume 1
Bullet point
The humble 2D shooter may have fallen out of favour with the mainstream these days, but it's certainly one of the most important genres in the world of video gaming. Were it not for Space Invaders – the shooter that arguably birthed a genre – then our industry may well have evolved in an entirely different fashion. During the '80s...
Feature Ten Classic Games Which Would Be Great To Play On The NES Mini
If only there was legit way of adding more games
We really loved getting our hands on the NES Mini back in November last year; this diminutively-sized replica of Nintendo's nostalgic first home console really shows off some of the best games in the NES library. However, after a while even the greatest games in the world may feel a little bit stale,...
Soapbox You Should Probably Avoid Capcom's Mega Man Mobile Ports
Poor emulation, frame rate issues, dodgy controls - what went wrong?
Capcom may be reluctant to release an entirely new Mega Man game these days but it has no issues with mining its past and recycling existing titles from the series, and recently announced that it would be releasing all six of the classic NES entries on iOS and Android. Those games...
Ninterview Learning Retro Secrets With A Former Nintendo Game Play Counselor
"We couldn't say 'kill', we had to say 'defeat'"
In the remainder of 2016 we'll re-share some of our favourite feature articles from the year. We're actually cheating with this one, as it was originally published way back on 20th January 2015; with the NES Mini hype of 2016, however, it nevertheless seemed worth sharing once again. In its day the...
Hardware Famicom Classic Mini Review
The NES Classic Mini's Eastern relation
With the NES Classic Mini currently proving to be quite hard to find at retail right now, chances are that the thought of sourcing its Japanese sibling may have crossed your mind. Released at the same time and boasting a design which imitates that of the system that started it all – 1983's "Family Computer",...
Hardware Hyperkin SupaBoy S Review
It's back, but is it better?
The industry's passion for "new" retro hardware has been growing steadily over the past few years, and the launch of the NES Classic Mini finally signals Nintendo's entry into this niche yet vibrant sector of the market. Given the astonishing success of that venture it is almost inevitable that we'll see a SNES Classic...
Video Happy Birthday Pit! - The 30th Anniversary of Kid Icarus
Another NES classic marks three decades
Mark your calendars, because on Monday, 19th December, another classic NES game has an anniversary. In 2016 there have been a long list of games that turned 30, including the likes of The Legend of Zelda, Dragon Quest and
A minimalist trip down memory lane
We've seen lots of attractive coffee table art books aimed at retro gaming fans in recent times, which is no bad thing. Joining the ranks is a publication simply titled 8-Bit Art Book - by Ear Books - which pays homage to the visual quality of classic games spanning from 1975 to the early '90s. The author Stephan...
Hardware Review Retro-Bit x 8Bitdo RB8-64 Bluetooth Controller
Three pronged thriller?
8Bitdo's replica controllers have gained quite a reputation with retro gamers who are keen to get that authentic feel but also wish to benefit from modern conveniences such as the absence of annoying wires and the ability to recharge the internal battery. We've already seen excellent variants on the NES and SNES controllers,...
Book Review Super Mario Adventures
A wonderfully bizarre tour of the Mushroom Kingdom
He's undoubtedly one of the most recognisable faces ever to grace the box art of a video game, but aside from his blue-collar occupation and a dislike for turtles, fans in the early '90s didn't know a whole lot about Super Mario himself. Beyond the pixels onscreen and information found buried within...
Hardware Classics SNK Neo Geo AES
The future is now (even more expensive)
The SNES and Mega Drive / Genesis may have dominated the console landscape in the early '90s, but they were by no means the most powerful machines of their era. That distinction goes to SNK's Neo Geo AES, often described as the "Rolls-Royce" of game consoles. It's a good analogy to make, as the machine was...
Hardware Retro-Bit Generations Review
A warped version of history
The NES Classic Mini is proving to be one of the must-have gaming items of 2016 with demand far outstripping supply and consoles selling online for way above the initial asking price. While Nintendo is clearly onto something of a winner here – despite the company's almost habitual desire to annoy buyers by not producing...
Feature Hands-On UK Fanzine HyperPlay's Third Issue
Fan-scene
If you're a regular reader of Nintendo Life then you'll already be aware of HyperPlay RPG, a UK-based fanzine devoted to covering retro RPGs and Nintendo titles. The fanzine has seen three issues so far, and we've just taken stock of the latest instalment (issue 2, but it's actually issue 3 if you include the "zero" release), complete...
Poll Retro Delights and Stock Shortages - What Are Your Thoughts on the NES Mini Launch?
Old games, old fun, old problems
The Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition (Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System in Europe) arrived on 11th November, and it's certainly one of Nintendo's hottest releases of the year. It may seem strange that a micro-console loaded up with 30 NES games can be described that way, but it's...
Hardware NES Classic Mini Review
The master, remastered
It's fair to say that the announcement of NES Classic Mini earlier this year came as something of a shock, despite the fact that the concept of reproduction consoles isn't a particularly new one. Nintendo's old rival Sega has been pumping out licenced Mega Drive and
Features NES Mini Classics - Galaga
Pew pew
With the upcoming release of the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition (NA) / Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System (PAL), we're going to (eventually) provide short profiles of all 30 games included on the system. This time around we look at Galaga, and you can catch up with past entries in this series on our NES...
Video Unboxing the Famicom Mini
Japan still gets everything first, even if by one day
On 11th November people around the world finally get the joy of opening and enjoying their brand new NES Mini, or NES Classic Edition (or Nintendo Classic Mini as it's known in Europe). It's been a long wait, but for those of us in Japan you could say Christmas comes one day early as today, on...
Feature NES Mini Classics - Final Fantasy
A final fling that launched a dynasty
With the upcoming release of the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition (NA) / Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System (PAL), we're going to (eventually) provide short profiles of all 30 games included on the system. This time around we look at Final Fantasy. The Mini NES is packed...
Feature NES Mini Classics - Excitebike
Rev it up
With the upcoming release of the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition (NA) / Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System (PAL), we're going to provide short profiles of all 30 games included on the system. This time around we look at Excitebike. The upcoming Mini NES has a decent selection of games, but in some...
Poll Are You Excited About the Mini NES?
Perhaps hype is bigger than the diminutive system
It's been easy to get distracted in recent times, but one of Nintendo's most important Holiday releases is around the corner. We're not talking about Pokémon Sun and Moon, that's still to come, but rather the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition (Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo...
Feature NES Mini Classics - Dr. Mario
Just what we ordered
With the upcoming release of the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition (NA) / Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System (PAL), we're going to provide short profiles of all 30 games included on the system. This time around we look at Dr. Mario. In the titles we've covered so far in this series, the...
Book Review Nintendo 64 Anthology
A fitting tribute to a beloved console
So much for the internet destroying printed media. In the past few years we've seen a wealth of amazing video game-related books, including Sega Mega Drive: The Collected Works, Britsoft and – still to come – the
Feature NES Mini Classics - Double Dragon II: The Revenge
A mini fight
With the upcoming release of the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition (NA) / Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System (EU), we're going to provide short profiles of all 30 games included on the system. This time around we look at Double Dragon II: The Revenge. So far this series of articles on the NES Mini...
Feature NES Mini Classics - Donkey Kong Jr.
Don't call me Junior!
With the upcoming release of the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition (NA) / Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System (EU), we're going to provide short profiles of all 30 games included on the system. This time around we look at Donkey Kong Jr., having covered the iconic original in our most recent...
Feature NES Mini Classics - Donkey Kong
It's on like (cease and desist inbound...)
With the upcoming release of the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition (NA) / Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System (EU), we're going to provide short profiles of all 30 games included on the system. This time around we look at Donkey Kong, a tale perhaps more complicated than it...
Feature NES Mini Classics - Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
A quest that came along too early
With the upcoming release of the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition (NA) / Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System (EU), we're going to provide short profiles of all 30 games included on the system. This series has already looked at Castlevania, so not it's only fitting that we move our...
Feature NES Mini Classics - Castlevania
Dracul-argh
With the upcoming release of the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition (NA) / Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System (EU), we're going to provide short profiles of all 30 games included on the system. Now we turn our attention to Castlevania; don't forget to check out the first two entries in this series, in...