Retro - Timeline
Saturday28th Aug 2021
Hands On The Anbernic R351V Offers A Real 'Game Boy' Vibe
TATE mode engaged
Chinese firm Anbernic has done a fine job in cornering the market when it comes to high-quality emulation-based handhelds, and its most famous effort – the RG351 – is the weapon of choice for many portable retro game fans. Available in plastic and metal-case flavours, the RG351 is capable of playing 8 and 16-bit titles with...
Wednesday25th Aug 2021
Random SNES Title HyperZone's Hidden 3D Mode Can Be Played With 3D Glasses
Anyone got a spare Famicom 3D System they don't need?
HAL's HyperZone is one of those SNES titles which didn't set the world alight at the time of release but has nonetheless built up a cult following in the years following its release. Much of the game's appeal is down to its innovative use of Mode 7 effects to present a realistic impression of 3D...
News Possible Retro Game Grading Inconsistencies Come To Light Following Fraud Allegations
Update: WATA responds with a statement
Update [Wed 25th Aug, 2021 16:35 BST]: A PR firm representing WATA Games has contacted us with a statement from the company regarding Karl Jobst's video. It is presented in full at the bottom of the page. Over the past couple of days, investigations by both Proof journalist Seth Abramson and YouTuber Karl...
Feature The Inside Story Of Mockumentary Sequel 'Bringing Back Golden Eye'
And it's all for a good cause
Rare's seminal N64 shooter GoldenEye 007 is coming up to its 25th birthday, and for a whole generation of players, it remains a pivotal experience in their gaming lives – a fact that was playfully acknowledged by Jim Miskell's 2017 'mockumentary' Going For Golden Eye, which focused on the fictional Golden Eye World...
Talking Point How Much Would You Pay For A Mint Copy Of Super Mario Bros.?
6 golden coins? 8 red coins?
Following on from the recent record-breaking sales for retro games, including $2 million USD for a copy of Super Mario Bros. and $870K USD for The Legend of Zelda on NES — not to mention the unf
News The Shapeshifter 2 Will Have An 'Original Mechanic' And Two Game Boy Cartridges
Intriguing...
We're seeing a rather fun surge in new retro games, with the Game Boy being a platform that certainly draws in some enthusiastic developers. One of these is GreenBoy Games, which we highlighted earlier in the year in relation to a Kickstarter campaign for their game The Shapeshifter. Now it's announced The Sha
Says it strongly refutes any accusation
Following on from yesterday's accusations about "fraud and deception" in the retro video game market, a Heritage Auctions spokesperson has now issued a statement. It "strongly refutes" allegations of its involvement in shill bidding, market manipulation, or any other illegal or unethical practices and wishes...
Tuesday24th Aug 2021
Talking Point Million-Dollar Retro Game Auctions Help Remind Us What Matters Most
Passion and preservation
As you've no doubt seen over the past couple of years, there have been some high profile and eye-watering sales of retro games which have reached hundreds of thousands of US dollars, and now more than $2 million. It's been rather baffling to onlookers; these are copies of extremely common games, after all, and the downside...
News Accusations Of Foul Play Surface Around Record-Breaking Graded NES Game Auctions
What the grading companies and auction houses "didn't want us to see"
Update [Wed 25th Aug, 2021 14:20 BST]: A PR firm representing WATA Games has contacted us with a statement from the company regarding Karl Jobst's video. It is presented in full at the bottom of the page. Original story [Tue 24th Aug, 2021 04:05 BST]: In July, just days after a...
Monday23rd Aug 2021
Guide Best Super Nintendo (SNES) Games
As rated by you
Remember, this list is dynamic and based on the User Ratings for each game submitted in the Nintendo Life games database. It is, therefore, subject to fluctuation, even now! If you haven't rated any of the games below, simply tap the star on the corresponding entry and rate the game out of 10 to exert your personal influence on the...
News How A Tragic Murder Inspired The Epic Retelling Of GBA Classic Golden Sun
"I decided to honour his memory by keeping our promise alive"
The Golden Sun series may have been dormant since the release of Dark Dawn on the Nintendo DS, but it's a franchise which nonetheless has a passionate fanbase – and one man's love of the original GBA game has resulted in a very special tribute. Bryson Elam – known online as Wing...
Anniversary The SNES Launched In North America 30 Years Ago
Excuse us while we crumble to dust
On this day 30 years ago, the Super Nintendo launched in North America. Does that make you feel old? Because we feel positively ancient. The release followed hot on the heels of the Japanese launch of the Super Famicom in November 1990, with American gamers getting a redesigned console which swapped the lush...
Sunday22nd Aug 2021
News This "Super Rare" Anniversary Edition Game & Watch Unit Just Sold For A Very Low Price
Requested by Gunpei Yokoi and bought for about $9k
We've seen a lot of retro Nintendo products selling for some insane prices in recent times, but this one is a bit different. Despite being a "never before seen for sale" Game & Watch, it's just sold for the "very low" price of ¥1,001,000 (around US$9100 / €8000). Quite reasonable, really...
Friday20th Aug 2021
Hands On Anbernic's RG300X Is A Beefed-Up Game Boy Micro That Runs Emulators
And it's slightly less punishing on your hands
We've covered the exploits of Chinese firm Anbernic on Nintendo Life before, thanks to our coverage of its generally excellent RG351 handheld. The company has become popular in recent years due to the fact that it combines great design with solid ergonomics – and its systems are pretty decent when it...
News Street Fighter II Doc 'Here Comes A New Challenger' Gets New Trailer And Crowdfunding Drive
Now available to pre-order on Indiegogo "due to demand from fans"
Street Fighter II documentary Here Comes A New Challenger raised over £27,000 when it was crowdfunded on Kickstarter recently, but the team behind the project have now announced that another funding dr
Thursday19th Aug 2021
Video Check Out This Fan-Made Remaster Trailer For Banjo-Kazooie
It looks good enough to play
Although Rare technically re-released an improved version of Banjo-Kazooie during the Xbox 360 generation, there are still many fans out there who have been wondering for many years now what a full-blown remaster of the first title would look like. YouTuber Project Dream has been working on a video series called...
Monday16th Aug 2021
News GoldenEye 007 Speedrunner Grabs A New Record With A Sneaky Trick
Licence To Skill
It may be almost 24 years since GoldenEye released on the N64 but, in the intervening decades the game's dedicated community of speedrunners has continued to challenge themselves to come up with the fastest times on various levels, blazing through enemy gauntlets as quickly as possible to create new World Record times. Regarded as...
Sunday15th Aug 2021
Video Mole Mania, Miyamoto’s Forgotten Game Boy Classic
You'll really dig it
There were a lot of great games during the original Game Boy generation, but one that arguably deserves a little more love (and attention) is the 1996 release, Mole Mania. As our very own American-based video producer Zion Grassl explains, this particular game was released in Japan the same year as Super Mario 64 and the...
Friday13th Aug 2021
Video 'The Frog For Whom The Bell Tolls', Link’s Awakening’s Hidden Predecessor
Ribbit Ribbit
Many of us know the story of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening's development: once A Link to the Past went gold, programmer Tōru Ōsawa began experimenting with Game Boy development kits to see how far he could push a Zelda experience. The results were so impressive that more staff started contributing to this unofficial passion...
Hands On One Man's Vision Shaped The GBA-Style GameForce CHI
...but is it any good?
If you're familiar with the raft of emulation-focused handhelds that have been emerging from China over the past few years, then the work of Anbernic and Bitt Boy will no doubt be on your radar already. While these are clearly small-fry when compared to the likes of Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft, they're still firms with a fair...
Thursday12th Aug 2021
News A Near-Legendary Castlevania Beta Has Just Been Shared Online
The 'Bloodlines' that could have been
Castlevania has been in the news a lot of late, but not for the reasons you might expect. No, Konami hasn't announced a new video game in this popular series, but it has kept the name alive via the excellent Netflix series. We've also seen Castlevania gobble up column inches thanks to the release of a demo of...
Wednesday11th Aug 2021
Random Take A Look At The 'Ultimate Solar Powered Game Boy Pocket'
A sunny outlook
As you are no doubt aware, we enjoy quality retro mods here at Nintendo Life - we may love our decades-old gaming gadgets, but sometimes improved screens, batteries and inputs are very welcome indeed. We particularly like the example above, then, of the 'Ultimate Solar Powered Game Boy Pocket'. That video is a lengthy one that goes...
Tuesday10th Aug 2021
Video Retro Gaming Prices Are Much More Reasonable In Japan
Mother, frankly, is quite affordable
If you're a sucker for a few of the classics in the gaming sphere, you'll probably know the sting of looking up some obscure little gem like Doshin the Giant and getting whiplash upon seeing the price. Rare games are just worth a lot, it's just the way it is, right? Well in Japan things are a little bit...
Feature 20 Super NES Classics Nintendo Should Bring To Switch Online
16-bit gems we'd love to see on Switch
Nintendo has been steadily adding to its Nintendo Switch Online NES and SNES offerings since the service launched, and although it was a slow start, we have to say we're impressed with the breadth of titles available to anybody paying for a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. It's pleasing to see lesser-known...
News The Micro-Console Revolution Isn't Over Quite Yet, It Would Seem
Say hello to the A500 Mini
Nintendo might not have been the first company to dream up the notion of the 'mini' console, but it has arguably been the most successful, thanks to its massively popular NES and SNES Classic Editions. Since then, we've seen the likes of
Monday9th Aug 2021
News Analogue Is Restocking The Super NT And Mega SG Later Today
Set your alarms, retro fans
Analogue — the company behind luxurious retro consoles such as the NES-based Analogue NT Mini and the upcoming Analogue Pocket and PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16 console, the Duo — have announced a restock of two previous systems, plus its DAC converter which makes a digital signal play nice with analogue displays. The...
Sunday8th Aug 2021
Memory Pak The Exquisite Weirdness Of The Sims: Bustin' Out
Ah, the 2000s
I've always loved house-building, life-simulating game The Sims. I was on the bandwagon from day one, ever since meeting the tutorial family, Bob and Betty Newbie, and finding out that they could make a baby by kissing back-and-forth for hours. Just like real life, of course. Life most people, I would spend hours and hours building...
Friday6th Aug 2021
News A Copy Of Super Mario Bros. For NES Just Smashed World Records, AGAIN
We're still waiting for Beanie Babies to be worth something
Hey, remember last month when a sealed copy of Super Mario 64 sold for a record-breaking $1.56 million? The previous record of most expensive video game was set just days earlier, when an ultra-rare copy of The Legend of Zelda on NES reached a (then)
Video Remembering The Super Game Boy For SNES
Look at all those custom borders!
Back in the days of the SNES era, there was a device known as the Super Game Boy. If you're as old as some of us are here at NL towers, you might have some fond memories of the device. Basically, it was an adapter cartridge for the SNES that allowed you to play Game Boy and dual-mode GBC titles on the big screen...
Thursday5th Aug 2021
Random This Vintage Metroid Cosplay Is Terrible, And We Absolutely Love It
"The incredible Samus"
Over the years, Metroid star Samus Aran has been the focus of many people operating within the cosplay arena, and it's easy to see why – she's a powerful individual who happens to wear a seriously amazing suit of armour, so there's scope for some really impressive cosplay creations. However, we should spare a tho
