SNES News (Page 3)
Video Star Fox Dev Gets Nostalgic Ahead Of SNES Game's 30th Anniversary
Too old for a barrel roll now?
Star Fox is 30 years old next week — yes, really. The SNES on-rails shooter celebrates its 30th anniversary on 21st February, so Q-Games CEO and lead programmer on the original game Dylan Cuthbert has sat down and shared anecdotes, stories, and tips on the game, and how Star Fox has influenced his game development...
Random Japanese Museum Wants To Reunite People With Their Lost Game Cartridges
Family-com reunions
Here's some balm for your soul on this Thursday morning: there's a museum in Japan that aims to reunite people with the Famicom games that they once owned (via Kotaku). Did you ever scribble your name down on an old game cartridge or box, only to sell it later on? You might just find it at the Named Cassette Museum in Tokyo...
News Zelda: A Link To The Past's Code Has Been Reverse-Engineered And Unofficially Enhanced
Unofficial console ports could now be possible
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, one of the most beloved entries in Nintendo's storied franchise, has been successfully reverse-engineered, adding key enhancements to the experience and potentially opening the door to some unofficial ports. As reported by NeoWin (thanks,
News Zelda: A Link To The Past Artwork "Brought To Life" In Absolutely Stunning Animation
A full series of this could be amazing!
If you've ever wondered what classic game art might look like if it was brought to life, well here's a great example. American animator Parker Simmons has transformed parts of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past SNES manual and other materials into living, breathing animations. The results are absolutely...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Prince Of Persia
The sands of time
Hi everyone, and welcome to another edition of Box Art Brawl! In last week's brawl, we took a look at the GBA karting classic, Mario Kart Super Circuit. North America and Europe joined forces against Japan and came away with the win, garnering a whopping 75% of the vote. It's clear that the more simplistic composition proved...
Random Zelda Fan Uncovers A Link To The Past's Original Dungeon Designs In Proto Data
Goron-level mining
When it comes to stone-cold classics like A Link to the Past, we have to ask how much content can there really be that we don't already know about? The answer, so it seems, is quite a lot actually. For the past little while now, a Zelda fan by the name of @Dark_Linkael has been working their way through the prototype data for...
Anniversary Super Famicom Favourite 'Final Fantasy V' Is 30 Years Old
A Tycoon of the series
Final Fantasy V is celebrating its 30th anniversary in Japan today! Geez. Released on the Super Famicom on 6th December 1992, Final Fantasy V was a return to the Job System set-up of Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy III on the NES. It's also sandwiched between what many consider two of the best Final Fantasy games ever —...
Random Musician "Restores" Chrono Trigger Soundtrack Using Uncompressed Samples
Music Revolution
Update: The video has been made private, and it appears that Mathew Valente's account has been hacked. We'll be sure to update this post once the soundtrack has been made available again. For now, you can listen to some samples over on his Twitter account: Mathew Valente, known as TSSF and who worked on the cancelled fan game...
News The Samurai Collection Brings Two Classic Beat 'Em Ups To Switch This Week
Crouching Tiger Hidden Release
Around this time last year, we heard of the formation of QUByte Classics - a partnership between Publisher QUByte and Piko Interactive - and we have subsequently seen a whole host of classic 8- and 16-bit titles brought back to the Switch (The Humans, Tinhead, Jim Power: The Lost Dimension, amongst others). Well,...
News Terranigma Artist Kamui Fujiwara Releases Special Movie For 27th Anniversary
"The planet had two hearts..."
If there's a Nintendo console that's absolutely loaded with stellar RPGs, it's the Super Nintendo. This little system is filled to the brim with classics from Squaresoft), Enix (prior to merging with Square), Nintendo, Capcom, and tons more. Terranigma, from developer Quintet, is one of the standouts, despite not...
Random 'Super Mario Kart Deluxe' Romhack Gets The Franchise's Most Notorious Item
Feeling blue?
Everyone's got their favourite items when it comes to the Mario Kart franchise, but we'd be willing to bet that it probably isn't the Blue Shell. Introduced in Mario Kart 64 and subsequently becoming a mainstay in the franchise to this very day, the Blue Shell is a veritable nightmare for those cruising along in first place,...
Random Modder Creates Stunning Portable SNES, And We Want One
Too cute!
Over five years ago (or exactly five years if you're in Japan), Nintendo launched the Super NES Classic Edition, an adorable and convenient miniature console loaded with some of the best games available on the SNES. But what if you could take it on the go? As spotted by the fine folk over at Time Extension, a fan-made portable SNES (or...
Random Nintendo Censored Famous Marvel Location In SNES Spider-Man Game
Changing places, literally
Retired game developer Kevin Edwards has recently been taking to Twitter to share his experience of the industry in the 1990s. While these posts certainly provide a deep dive into the intricacies of building a video game, so too do they demonstrate the trials involved when the development team is placed under high pressure...
News Star Fox 2 Made Its Debut On The SNES Classic Console Five Years Ago
You can now play it on the Switch Online service
The Star Fox series has been a staple of Nintendo systems since the Super Nintendo era, but there was one game in the series that went missing during this generation - Star Fox 2. While the game was mostly ready to go by 1995, by then PlayStation had entered the market and the N64 was just around the...
Anniversary Dragon Quest V Is 30 Years Old Today
The best Dragon Quest?
One of the Super Famicom's most-celebrated RPGs turns 30 today in Japan. Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride was the series' first game on the 16-bit console, and even today, Dragon Quest V is fondly remembered, despite the game not receiving an official Western release until its 2009 DS port. The Super Famicom (or...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel - Mega Man X
Mavericks, assemble!
Hi folks; welcome to another edition of 'Box Art Brawl'! Last week, poor ol' Solid Snake got himself trapped in a digital space and needed your help to escape by voting for your favourite Metal Gear Solid: Ghost Babel box art. In the end, despite strong competition from North America, it was Europe that won out with 45% of the...
Video Our Video Producer Showcases His Top Five Rarest Games
Yes, "you know what" is one of them
A few months back, our delightful video producer Zion was challenged by Jon Cartwright from Good Vibe Games to showcase the top five rarest games in his collection. While he didn't get around to it right away (hey, we're a busy bunch, okay?) Zion has now fulfilled his oath and produced a new video showcasing the...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time
Turtle-y brawling
Happy Bank Holiday weekend to you folks in the UK, and welcome everyone to another edition of Box Art Brawl! Last week, it was the turn of Wave Race 64 to come under BAB scrutiny — which was fitting as the game launched on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass service. it was a close (wave) race between the top two, but...
Feature Super Mario Kart At 30: How 16-Bit Limitations Created A Franchise-Defining Mechanic
The gift of the drift
The landscape of the Mario Kart series looks very different today than it did back in 1992 when Super Mario Kart was released for the Super NES. Of course, there is a clear improvement with respect to visuals and we now have new characters, karts, and courses dropping all the time thanks to the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster...
News 20th Super Mario Kart Championships Start Their Engines On Twitch Today
Off to the races
We are rapidly approaching the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Kart's Japanese release on the Super Famicom, but what if we told you that there is another SMK-adjacent anniversary happening today? We are, of course, talking about the Super Mario Kart Championships, which will be racing off the start line today in its 20th year of...
News Live A Live Producer: Nintendo Wanted Game On Virtual Console, Led To Remake Conversation
Nintendo lived for the game
For a long time, we didn't think we'd ever see an official localisation of Live A Live, but it's 2022, and we're still pinching ourselves over the existence of the HD-2D remake. Live A Live is brilliant, and we're glad we finally got to experience it, but the game's director (and remake's producer) Takashi Tokita has...
News Super Punch-Out!! Hidden Two-Player Mode Discovered 28 Years Later
No hacks or mods required
There's been a historic discovery made within the 1994 Super Nintendo release Super Punch-Out!! today. A Twitter account known as 'Unlisted Cheats' has uncovered a hidden two player mode in the game. To access this option, on the game's start screen you'll have to hold the 'Y' and 'R' buttons on the second player's...
Random Super Mario World Is One Billion Seconds Old Today
One billion candles, then?
We celebrate video game anniversaries all the time here at Nintendo Life. Who doesn't like a birthday or anniversary? Now, we all know Super Mario World is going to be 32 years old in November this year (who remembers playing it when it first came out?), but it's already reached another milestone in digits. Blogger Supper...
News Nintendo Expands Its Switch Online SNES And NES Service With Three More Titles
Available now!
Nintendo has added three more games to Switch Online retro libraries today. There are two SNES games and one NES title. These games include Fighter's History (1994, Data East Corporation), Kirby's Avalanche (1995, HAL, Banpresto, Compile) and Daiva Story 6: Imperial of Nirsartia (1986, Toshiba Emi) Here's a look: Japan's Switch...
Random Have You Seen This Cute, Unreleased Precursor To The Top Loader NES?
What could have been...
The North American version of the top-loading NES-101 All the way back in 1988, Nintendo would show to the media a brand new piece of hardware that would eventually become the Super Famicom, or the Super NES in the West. It was an exciting time for the gaming community as Nintendo entered the 16-bit era, though it seems...
Random We Need To Play This Gorgeous Fan-Made Super Mario RPG Remake Now
A thing of beauty
Back in the '90s, whoever thought that Nintendo would team up with JRPG giants Square Enix (then known as Square or Squaresoft) to create a Mario RPG starring the Italian plumber, Princess Peach, and Bowser? Not us! But they did, and we're forever grateful for the existence of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. Despite...
Random This Fan-Made Mini TV With A Built-In Super NES Is Totally Adorable
Bite-sized classic gaming with a TV to match
One of our favourite console peripherals is the Joytech GameCube screen, a little attachable screen for the little box-shaped console that turned it into a portable console of sorts. Lots of mods for other consoles have been inspired by this little add-on, but today, we have something extra dinky that...
Random This Incredible Super NES Manual Archive Will Get You All Nostalgic
All 844 English language manuals
We really miss physical game manuals. There was always a particular kind of joy that came from opening the box of a brand new video game and flicking through the pages of a manual to find out what the game was going to be like. Some of our favourites would get dog-eared, and torn up, but they were always well-loved...
Random This Browser-Based Version Of Mario Paint Composer Will Entertain For Hours
Face the music
What's the best part of Mario Paint? No, not the painting! The Composer mode! Who didn't spend hours on Mario Paint making tunes with fire flowers, mushrooms, coins, and boos? Mario Paint Composer has become something of an online hit in the years since the SNES game's release, with many budding musicians picking up their SNES mouse...
News Undertale Creator Toby Fox Explains How EarthBound's Fans Kept The Game Alive
Praises the "active and aggressive" fan community
Undertale creator Toby Fox has made no secret of the fact that he was heavily inspired by EarthBound when crafting his legendary post-modern take on the humble RPG, and he's one of many people who has spoken to Lost in Cult for the next issue of its boutique video game publication, Lock-On. Lock-On
Random Get A Glimpse At The Glory Days With This Retro SNES Video
Featuring the famous Nintendo Gameplay Counsellors
Just recently, we caught a sneaky glimpse at the dedicated workers testing and packing NES consoles back in 1989. While it hardly contained any surprises or revelations into how consoles were manufactured back in the day, it was nevertheless a fascinating look at the fine folks who worked tirelessly...
News Brand New Details On The Cancelled SNES Kirby Game Have Been Discovered
Manual pages and story details
A major discovery has been made on the cancelled Super Nintendo Kirby game, Kid Kirby. This unusual title, which was being developed by DMA Design (who are now Rockstar North — yes, that Rockstar North), the game was meant to use the Super NES Mouse to launch Kirby across the levels, but slow development and poor...
News Nintendo Expands Its Switch Online SNES Service With Three More SP Titles
A celebration of Kirby
Nintendo has added not one, not two, but three more Kirby games to its Switch Online Super Nintendo service. The catch is they're technically existing releases but are the 'SP' versions. They include Kirby Super Star, Kirby's Dream Land 3 and Kirby's Dream Course. This also bumps the Switch Online SNES application to Version...
Random These All-In-One SNES And Famicom Consoles Are True Works Of Art
We'll take two!
We've seen our fair share of custom designs for retro consoles over the years, but we reckon this one takes the cake. Swedish audio-visual artist Love Hultén has created all-in-one devices for the Famicom system and the SNES, combining the genuine consoles with a 9" Sony Trinitron PVM-9042QM display monitor. The result is not only...
News Rendering Ranger: R2 Is Officially Making Its Way To Switch And SNES
1995 SHMUP was previously one of the rarest games in existence
Update - Tue 7th Jun, 2022 13:00 BST: Rendering Ranger: R2 has been announced for western release by Limited Run Games, officially ending its absurd scarcity since its initial Japan SNES launch in 1995. No release date has been set at the time of writing, however a physical edition of...
Random Hyperkin Recreates The 'Americantendo' From Stranger Things 4
We award this 11/11
If you've managed to watch Stranger Things 4 by now, you might have caught the rather bizarre mention of the 'Americantendo', a hypothetical 16-bit console that's mentioned by the character Argyle. Don't worry if you haven't seen it yet, that's all the context we'll be providing here for fear of spoilers! Well, Hyperkin has gone...
News Nintendo Expands Its Switch Online SNES And NES Service With Three More Titles
Out now!
Following on from the news that we could be getting more NES and SNES games this week, Nintendo has now added three classics to its Switch Online service. The titles joining the service on this occasion include Congo's Caper (Data East, 1993) and Rival Turf! (Jaleco, 1992) for Super Nintendo, along with Pinball (Nintendo, 1983) for NES.
News SNES Platforming Shooter 'Jim Power: The Lost Dimension' Returns On Switch
With multiple physical releases
In another obscure retro rerelease, publisher QUByte Interactive and developer PIKO Interactive have announced the return of the SNES platformer Jim Power: The Lost Dimension in 3-D in the form of a brand new release — Jim Power: The Lost Dimension. Released in 1993 on the Super Nintendo, Jim Power is an action...
News This Important Piece Of Star Fox History Was Almost Thrown Away
I can't let you do that, Fox
Star Fox might not be one of Nintendo's biggest-selling franchises, but it certainly has a passionate following; the first SNES game was revolutionary in that it harnessed the Super FX chip to create a convincing 3D world, while subsequent titles both refined the format and took it in new directions. However, since...
News Newly-Translated Article Reveals Sega And Nintendo's Worries Of A '90s Atari-Style Crash
“It’s almost like a return of the 1982 Atari Shock"
Many of us think of the '90s as the golden age of video games. The Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis / Mega Drive were brimming with a huge variety of games. But when Sony's PlayStation hit in 1995, it was an indication of another huge shake-up in the video game industry — though even then,...
Random Here's Why Wolfenstein 3D On SNES Replaced Dogs With Rats
"You can't shoot dogs!"
We love a good documentary here at Nintendo Life, and CREATORVC's upcoming film, First Person Shooter, looks like it will fill a big gap in our lives. Shooting for a Q4 2022 release, this 3+ hour documentary is all about the genre's rise. Ahead of its release later this year, CREATORVC has shared a six-minute snippet with IGN...
News Get Your Funky Kong On With This Donkey Kong Country Ska Album
In a ska-bound land
David Wise's work on the Donkey Kong Country series soundtracks is arguably some of the most iconic of the SNES era. The original set the tone, from the 'Main Theme' to 'Aquatic Ambience' to 'Gan-Plank Galleon'. And because of Wise's excellent work, we've all heard of 'Stickerbush Symphony' from Donkey Kong Country 2 and the...
News David Ward, Co-Founder Of UK Game Developer Ocean Software, Has Passed Away
A "legend of the UK games industry"
Co-founder of Ocean Software, David Ward, has sadly passed away. A titan of the UK games industry, Ward's Ocean Software was one of the biggest European game developers and publishers in the '80s and '90s. This news was revealed by Just Flight founder Andy Payne on Twitter, and there has been an outpouring of...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel #95 - Earthbound / Mother 2
It's going to get Ness-y
Greetings, and welcome to another edition of Box Art Brawl! Last week, we took a look at the SNES classic Super Castlevania IV, and boy, you folks really didn't like the Japanese box art, did you? The North American variant took a resounding victory with 94% of the vote; one of the most decisive Box Art Brawls we've perhaps...
News Limited Run Games Releasing SNES Cartridge For Side-Scrolling RPG 'Dragon View'
It's worth a look
We have another beautiful-looking Limited Run Games release for you today — or in this case, a rerelease. The video game distributor has announced a brand new retro release for the SNES side-scrolling action RPG Dragon View. Limited Run revealed the rerelease of this cult classic yesterday, complete with a green SNES cartridge:...
Random You Can Play SNES Games On A Toaster With This DIY Kit
ToastBound
When we think of custom consoles, the first thing that comes to mind is custom plates, portable versions of home consoles - like this portable GameCube, which, in the absence of GameCube games on the Switch, we need. Yes, need. We're going a bit beyond these examples today, though! Japanese manufacturer Columbus Circle, who creates parts...
Gallery This Incredible Axelay Art Proves We Need A Modern Remake
Created by Housemarque's Tomi Väisänen
While the end credits of Konami's stunning SNES shmup Axelay promised a sequel, we sadly never got one – and the game remains a true one-of-a-kind thanks to its gorgeous visuals, fantastic level design and brilliant music. Someone else who is clearly a huge fan is Housemarque's Tomi Väisänen. When he's...
News As 'Power Instinct' Approaches 30, The Chances Of A Re-Release Seem Slim
Character designs not "politically correct"
While it might not be quite as well-known as Street Fighter or King of Fighters, Atlus' zany Power Instinct (Gōketsuji Ichizoku in Japan) still has many fans – and those same fans might be expecting some kind of celebration to mark the series' 30th birthday in 2023. However, according to one source in...
News Switch Online SNES And Sega Genesis Wireless Controllers Are Back In Stock (North America)
Get 'em while you can
One of the best ways to experience Nintendo's Switch Online retro library is with authentic wireless controllers. If you've not been able to get your hands on the SNES or Sega Genesis wireless controllers just yet though, the good news is that they're now both back in stock on Nintendo's official websites in North America...
News Nintendo Adds Super Mario World And Super Punch-Out!! Switch Online Special Versions
Special World and 'Champion Edition' await
As you're likely aware, Nintendo bolstered the NES and SNES Switch Online line-ups with three new games, but there are a couple of other additions to check out. We have another two 'Special' editions to try, both for iconic games in the Super Nintendo app. First up we have 'Champion Edition' in Super...
