Retro - Timeline
Thursday28th May 2020
Rumour Buster No, Rare Didn't Almost Make Games For The PlayStation During The N64 Era
"Our belief was that we could make better games if we focused on one platform"
Back in the '90s, Rare was a real powerhouse developer for Nintendo platforms. As one of the earliest western studios to support the NES, it produced a string of titles and would later throw its weight behind the Game Boy and SNES – culminating in the groundbreaking...
Tuesday26th May 2020
News Fan Transforms Broken NES Into A Fully Functioning Switch Dock
Always remember to recycle!
It's never nice to see a games console finally bite the dust, never to play another game or take centre stage underneath the TV again, but some talented folk save the day by repurposing the poor little things for future use. Take the talented Joe Heaton, for example, who we've previously featured on the site for...
News Check Out This New And Improved Portable Nintendo 64
Headphone jack and built-in Expansion Pak included
A couple of months ago, we shared a video from YouTube user smackedsam that showed off a fully working, portable Nintendo 64 console design. We thought it was a pretty cool creation at the time, but this new take has taken things up a notch. Dubbed the 'Slipstream 2' by its creator, the console has...
Sunday24th May 2020
Poll Box Art Brawl #44 - Super C / Probotector II
Return of the evil forces
Welcome all to Box Art Brawl, the weekly series where we scrutinise regional box art variants from around the globe and vote on the best. Last week we examined the European, North American and Japanese covers of Super Turrican. At the time of writing, the easy winner is Japan with 66% of the vote. However, both Europe and...
Friday22nd May 2020
Quiz How Well Do You Know Classic '80s Arcade Games?
Have you got Pac-Man fever?
Pac-Man has now reached the ripe old age of 40 - yes, 40! - so we thought it was the perfect time to test your '80s arcade knowledge with a little quiz in honour of the pellet-muncher's birthday. There's nothing too obscure here. Even if you didn't frequent the arcades back in the day (or if you're too young to know what...
Random Recoil In Horror At The Tale Of The Troublesome QA Tester And The Soiled Rare T-Shirt
"Oh my god! There's s*** on my shirt! I can't believe it!"
Perfect Dark turned 20 recently, as you'll know if you read our exhaustive history of the game's creation. Our good friends over at Eurogamer have done a similar piece, speaking to the people who made this amazing game happen. One of those people is Steve Malpass, who also sha
"We could have dynamic responsive scores that react to the gameplay environments"
Former Rare composer David Wise is responsible for some of the best soundtracks ever heard in a video game, and for the longest time, he was the company's main resource when it came to creating music for its NES, SNES, Game Boy and N64 output. He's been speaking to US...
Tuesday19th May 2020
Video Castlevania's 16-Bit Entries Explored In Splash Wave's Latest Retrospective
Fangs for the memories
Konami certainly made an impression with the Castlevania games on NES, so it was a given that the beloved vampire-hunting series would make the leap to the 16-bit consoles that followed. If you'd like to learn a bit more about the series' 16-bit entries, we'd highly recommend checking out the new retrospective history video...
Monday18th May 2020
Reminder Rate Your Favourite Nintendo Switch Online NES Games
Help us rank the 53 NES games on Nintendo's online sub service
Just a quick reminder that there's still time to rate your favourite NES games from those available for Nintendo Switch Online. Only a few hours after this article went live last week, Nintendo announced new additions to the NES and SNES catalogue including Rygar for NES. Naturally,...
Random Classic Nintendo Games Sound Even Cooler When Played Live On Violin
Including sound effects!
Often, that wonderful feeling of nostalgia you get when loading up a game from your childhood comes from hearing the soundtrack or sound effects that used to blare out of your TV screen. From the iconic Super Mario Bros. theme to the Legend of Zelda's 'da da da daaaaa', there's bound to be a few sounds that instantly bring...
Sunday17th May 2020
News Perfect Dark's Joanna Dark Was Based On Winona Ryder
"She had this great pixie haircut"
It’s been said in the past that Perfect Dark protagonist Joanna Dark was modelled on historical figure Joan of Arc, but we've been speaking to the guys behind the game and they've put us right on that score – and have revealed exactly who inspired the design of the famous secret agent. “I think that’s the...
Poll Box Art Brawl #43 - Super Turrican
Turrican't decide
It's time for another round of Box Art Brawl, your weekly opportunity to get uppity and opinionated over regional cover art that once adorned the packaging of video games around the globe. Last week the European cover of Pikmin 2 emerged victorious after scrapping with its brethren from Japan and the United States. Yes, the EU...
Saturday16th May 2020
News Perfect Dark Was Supposed To Have Push Button Cheats, But They Accidentally Got Deleted
"I’m very sorry"
If you're old enough to remember the N64 classic GoldenEye 007, you might also recall that the game featured a bunch of push button cheat codes which could be entered to change the game and unlock all of the weapons. You might also be one of the many people who were upset that its spiritual sequel, Perfect Dark, lacked this...
Feature Perfect Dark Turns 20 - The Definitive Story Behind The N64 Hit That Outclassed James Bond
"We had a lot of ideas, and lots of clever people working out how to do them"
How do you follow GoldenEye 007? In the summer of 2000 – that's 20 years ago this month – Rare presented its answer: Perfect Dark, a sci-fi spy shooter centred around an alien conspiracy. It delivered a cool, competent heroine, a single-player campaign bursting with...
Friday15th May 2020
News Another Free Add-On Is Now Available For Classic Doom On Switch
Introducing Deathless
Earlier this year, Bethesda added free community-created add-ons (also known as WADs) to DOOM and DOOM II. It started off with the release of unofficial fifth DOOM episode SIGIL and now, even more, are on the way. In an update
Thursday14th May 2020
News Action Shooter Radical Radial Joins Hamster's Arcade Archives Series
Out today
This week's Arcade Archives game is another Nichibutsu release. This time around it's the 1983 title, Radical Radial. It's an action shooter game where you control a tire-shaped vehicle and must make your way to the goal. Along the way, you'll have to speed through dangerous courses filled with aliens and enemy vehicles, while...
Wednesday13th May 2020
Feature The Game That Starred Mickey Mouse, Ghostbusters Or Garfield, Depending On Your Region
Navigating Kemco's Crazy Castle series
Three huge licences. One average game. Every weekend here at Nintendo Life we take a look at regional box art variants for retro video games and run a poll on which one is best. It's a fun, light-hearted exercise; really just an excuse to look at fantastic (and some not-so-fantastic) old-school cover art,...
Sunday10th May 2020
Poll Box Art Brawl #42 - Pikmin 2
Pik one
Welcome back to Box Art Brawl, the weekly bout where regional box art variants battle for supremacy and the adoration of you lovely people. Last week we watched The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask celebrate its 20th anniversary by giving itself a sou
Saturday9th May 2020
News Nintendo Cracks Down On The Super Mario 64 PC Port
Download links and YouTube videos are being targeted
Nintendo's legal eagles have reportedly begun targeting sites hosting compiled versions of the Super Mario 64 PC port which was made available on the internet last week. According to a follow-up story by Torrent Freak, after the initial VGC report, links to download the exec
Friday8th May 2020
News Hamster's Latest Retro Offering For Switch Is The Horizontal Shooter Magmax
Another blast from the past
This week's Arcade Archives release is the 1985 horizontal shooter, Magmax, by Nichibutsu. Here's a bit about this classic re-release, directly from Hamster's PR: The player can power up by combining with the parts falling on the stage in order to defeat the Strange Mechanism Babylon. With 4 different stages,...
Thursday7th May 2020
News Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics Pays Tribute To Golf On The NES
Fancy a round?
Just the other day, we heard how Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics would include all of our favourite Mario characters as card decks, and now more Nintendo references have been discovered within this upcoming release. The latest one is tied to the golf game, which allows you to take a break from the tables and have a swing. An...
Wednesday6th May 2020
Feature Nintendo Console Codenames And Product Codes
Do you know your DMGs from your DOLs?
If you happen to have any official Nintendo console or peripheral to hand, turn it over and hidden in the legalese and small print on the underside you'll find a code which typically begins with three letters. Flip over your Switch, for example, and you'll find the code HAC-001, with an extra (-01) if you've got...
Tuesday5th May 2020
News Mario Bros. World Record Holders Achieve Unthinkable Score On The Game's Hardest Setting
A doubles run to end all doubles runs
Some friends are passing the time in isolation with the occasional long-distance call, some are sending the odd gift or two to each other through the mail, and some are absolutely obliterating the competition by setting unthinkable scores in arcade classic, Mario Bros.. Steven Kleisath and Stephen Boyer of...
News N64 Star Wars Title Shadows Of The Empire Is Getting A Soundtrack Release
On CD and vinyl
When the Nintendo 64 launched back in the '90s, it arrived with the likes of Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64 in tow – as well as LucasArts' Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire. This 3D action title was part of a multimedia campaign that also covered books, comics and toys, and bridged the gap between The Empire Strikes Back and...
News The 64Mate - A New All-In-One N64 Storage Add-On Goes Live On Kickstarter
"Fund your own today"
Do you remember the 64Mate? It's an Australian-based project that's described as a "new add-on” for your Nintendo 64, sits neatly under your console, and can be used to house video upscalers, peripherals, and game cartridges. The Kickstarter campaign has now officially gone live, and to reach its end goal, it requires...
Monday4th May 2020
News Super Mario 64 PC Port Shows The Game Running At 4K And With Ultra Widescreen Support
The latest fan project goes big
Plenty of classic games have found themselves in the hands of modders and hackers over the years, as they try to push anything and everything to the limit or uncover new secrets, but few seem to have been played about with quite as much as Super Mario 64. The latest fan-made project to catch folks' attention is this...
Feature Quarter Arcades Is Bringing Coin-Op History Home - And It Wants To Work With Nintendo Next
"A 1/4 scale Donkey Kong would look fantastic!"
Arcades may be dying out, but they're such a significant part of gaming history that interest in them remains high. There are plenty of people out there old enough to remember the thrill of visiting the local amusement centre and popping spare change into their favourite cabinet, which is why we've...
News Sega's Blast Processing? We Did It On The SNES First, Says Former Sculptured Software Dev
"That was before Sega adopted the slogan"
During the epic console war of the early '90s, Sega and Nintendo used every weapon in their arsenal to gain the upper hand on each other. Any feature or technique that was seen as an advantage was quickly turned into a marketing point, and when Sonic the Hedgehog arrived on the scene, Sega was quick to focus...
Feature Star Wars Games - Every Star Wars Game On Nintendo Systems Ranked
We sort the padawans from the poodoo
May the 4th is with us once again, which means it's Star Wars Day! Last year Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker 'ended' Star Wars as we've known it for over 40 years, tying a bow on the cinematic tales of the Skywalker clan and the nine-film series which began way back in 1977. That film is now arriving...
Sunday3rd May 2020
Poll Box Art Brawl #41 - The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Put on a happy face
Welcome to the 41st edition of Box Art Brawl, the weekly vote to find the best of a bunch of regional box art variants from video gaming's past. Last week we had a blast from the past with Mega Man returning to the brawl. Perhaps as expected, the infamously poor North American cover finished in last place, although the European...
