Tag: Nes - Page 3
News The Konami Code Turns 35 With A Special Album Of Lo-Fi Gradius Tracks
⬆ ⬆ ⬇ ⬇ ⬅ ➡ ⬅ ➡ 🅱 🅰
We've had a lot of 35th Anniversaries this year, including the Mario celebrations and the Zelda... non-celebrations, and this weekend — specifically, the 25th April, 2021 — is the birthday of the Konami Code, perhaps the most famous sequence of buttons in hi
News This Sealed Super Mario Bros. Has Just Become The Most Expensive Video Game Collectable Ever
Eclipsing even the Nintendo PlayStation
Update: The auction ended at a staggering $660,000. Original Story [Thu 25th Mar, 2021 16:45 GMT]: Remember last year, when we reported that a sealed copy ofSuper Mario Bros. on the NES sold for an eye-watering $114,000 at auction? Well, there's another copy being auctioned at the moment which currently...
News These NES-Style Switch Game Card Holders Are Adorable, And Make Them Harder To Lose
Carry your games around in style
We're not sure about you, but it's our personal opinion here at Nintendo Life that those teeny, tiny (and tasty?) Switch game cards are frustratingly easy to misplace. We might just be very accident-prone or absent-minded (or both), but we've spent many an hour scrabbling around the house trying to find a game that...
Feature 8 NES Games That Were Better On Famicom Disk System
Saves + Synth > Passwords
The Famicom Disk System (or the Family Computer Disk System to give its full title) released in Japan — and Japan only — on 21st February 1986. This Famicom add-on came with a wave of new games on bespoke Nintendo-branded floppy discs which had several advantages over cartridges at the time, plus one or two drawbacks...
Feature The Legend Of Zelda Is The Robinson Crusoe Of Video Games
We start our 35th anniversary feature series at the beginning... and the end?
To celebrate the 35th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda, we're running a series of features looking at a specific aspect — a theme, character, mechanic, location, memory or something else entirely — from each of the mainline Zelda games. Today, Alan looks back at the...
Mini Review Fire 'n Ice - A Fine Puzzler That's Worthy Of Rediscovery On Switch
I've got the (Solomon's) key, I've got the secret
Sokoban, initially released in 1982 for Japanese home computers, is the first “block-pushing” puzzle game that challenged players to move around boxes to accomplish some kind of goal. Of the numerous similar games it inspired, one of the most popular was Tecmo’s Solomon’s Key, released for...
Thanks to the legendary Dale Baer
A classic '90s commercial for Nintendo has surfaced online, giving us an insight into how the company won the hearts, minds and wallets of an entire generation of players. The commercial was issued by Roses Discount Stores for its "World of Nintendo" range, which not only included video games but a whole host of...
News Former Nintendo Employee Howard Phillips Is Launching A "Tell-All" Book About The Company
And "Brawl In The Family" artist Matthew Taranto is involved, too
Retro fans will likely remember Howard "Gamemaster" Phillips. Having worked for Nintendo of America between 1981-1991, he became their spokesperson and was widely known for his vast knowledge of NES games. Now, he's back with a new book, launching Gamemaster Classified: An Insider's...
Gallery Geeks Line's NES/Famicom Anthology Is The Most Exhaustive Look At The Console Yet
No stone left unturned
French publisher Geeks Line is no stranger to a good book – it has already given us the superb N64, SNES and GameCube anthologies – and it's rounding off this Nintendo-themed selection with an exhaustive look at the machine that started it all, the NES (or Famicom if you're of the Japanese persuasion). Penned by Math...
News NES DuckTales Originally Had An Option For Scrooge To Give Up His Fortune
"I love that fans found out about the original ending"
It's been quite the week for retro discoveries. Alongside GoldenEye 007's cancelled remake resurfacing online, DuckTales has been in the news after an unearthed prototype build made its way online, revealing a previously unreleased song called "Map". As it turns o
News DuckTales NES Prototype Unearthed, Features An Unused Song
That's no moon (theme)...
Capcom brought us a remastered edition of DuckTales several years back, but we still hold a lot of love for the original NES version. Offering us a unqiue platforming adventure, DuckTales was widely noted for its excellent soundtrack – the Moon Theme most prominently – though it only featured a dozen tracks. Within the...
News The NES Is Getting A New Game That's All About Putting Out Fires
Flame on
Karu_gamo, the developer behind Japanese cult classics Protect Me Knight, Gotta Protectors and Amazon's Running Diet, is bringing a new game to the NES / Famicom. Blazing Rang
Video Ever Wondered What It Was Like To Work At Nintendo In 1990? Here's A Look
"It's a lot of fun"
A rare look at Nintendo of America in 1990 was recently uploaded to YouTube by the channel 'btm0815ma'. This "raw" footage was filmed at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington as part of a news report. Apart from a look at the assembly of NES, there's an interview where one guy says it's a fun place to work and even a look at...
News The Game Boy Lives On Once More As The Shapeshifter Closes In On Kickstarter Target
NES port listed as stretch goal
Kickstarter has brought us some of the current generation's more interesting experiences. From spiritual successors like Yooka-Laylee to original hits like CrossCode, many projects have tapped into our nostalgia for retro gaming – though not always for the better. Bringing us an 8-bit fantasy adventure, The...
Feature How Nintendo Killed The Best Version Of Tetris
"Heartbroken is a good summary"
Ed Logg knew a thing or two about lines. He’d co-created Asteroids at Atari, a game where players piloted a ship and blasted the eponymous space rocks into smaller and smaller bits. Released in 1979, Asteroids was in black and white, but the animation was slick and fluid thanks to vector graphics, a technique that...
Feature NES Creator Masayuki Uemura On Building The Console That Made Nintendo A Household Name
"Back then, we didn’t know if it was going to be popular or not"
There's no denying that the NES – or Famicom as it was known in its native Japan – is one of the most important pieces of video game hardware ever made. Not only did it turn Nintendo from an outsider player to industry leader, it laid down the foundations of an industry which...
News Retro-Style Platformer Alwa's Awakening Is Getting An Official NES Port
A new NES release in 2021?!
Elden Pixels, developer of both Alwa's Awakening and this year's Alwa's Legacy, has announced that it's working on a brand new port of its original game. So which shiny new console is Alwa's Awakening coming to next? The PS5? The rumoured Switch Pro? Nope, it's getting a 2021 release on the NES, Nintendo's 35-year-old...
News Nintendo Switch Online Members Can Now Get 50% Off The Switch NES Controllers (Europe)
A Cyber Deals special
As an additional treat in Nintendo of Europe's Cyber Deals offerings, Nintendo Switch Online subscribers can now pick up a pair of NES controllers for Switch at half price. The offer will be live for Nintendo Switch Online members from now up until 3rd December, taking the usual £49.99 asking price down to just £24.99...
News Sealed Copy Of Super Mario Bros. 3 Sells For $156,000
We've got another new world record
Earlier this year in July, a sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. for NES sold for $114,000 USD. It set a new record for the most expensive video game ever sold. While most probably expected it to hold this record for some time, the highest price paid for a video game at auction has now been broken (again). Heritage...
News Puma Is Releasing A Pair Of NES-Themed Sneakers Just In Time For Christmas
Ride to the Future
Puma has been doing some neat sneaker collaborations of late, taking on both Mario and his erstwhile rival Sonic, and now the sports brand is back with a pair of shoes which celebrate the iconic NES console. The "Future Rider" sneakers are due for release on December 4th, 2020, and boast the famous NES colouring, a "Po
News Chinese Firm Which Ripped Off The NES With Jackie Chan's Help Has Filed For Bankruptcy
So long, Subor
While most of the world grew up with the NES (or Famicom), there are numerous examples of unofficial clone systems becoming incredibly popular in certain regions over the years – one of which was China. The Chinese market, like that in Brazil, was flooded with "Famiclone" systems which basically replicated the performance of...
Feature Evercade's Latest Cart Is Offering A Vital Connection To Nintendo History
You're making me Dizzy, my head is spinning
We've covered the Evercade console a few times on this site, mainly because we love the idea of a brand-new handheld system which uses old-school cartridges. This pocket-friendly device doesn't have the backing of a Nintendo or Sony-sized company behind it, yet the team involved have managed to not only...
Random Someone's Made A NES Game That Can Track The International Space Station
Interstellar
When Nintendo was putting together the final hardware for what would become the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) back in the '80s, it's unlikely that it would ever have envisioned the humble hardware being used for something like tracking the International Space Station. As the ISS was launched in 1998, that wouldn't have made much...
News This NES-Based Take On Smash Bros. Has A Wi-Fi Chip In The Cart For Online Play
Old-school meets the nu-school
We've seen plenty of games attempt to take on the might of Super Smash Bros. over the years, but few have been as unique as Super Tilt Bro. on the NES. For starters, yes, it's a NES game. Secondly, the cartridge actually has a Wi-Fi chip inside so you can play online with other people. On your NES. This open-source...
News Bizarre Super Mario Bros. 3 Prototype Cartridge Sells For $31,200 At Auction
Kid Icarus no more
We've seen plenty of expensive Nintendo auctions taking place over the last few years, but not many items have been as interesting as this one. This weekend, a Super Mario Bros. 3 prototype was sold at auction for a whopping $31,200. The listing was a first for Heritage Auctions, being the first time that the auctioneer had ever...
News Evercade's Next Two Cartridges Come Loaded With NES And SNES Titles
Fancy a brawl, bro?
The Evercade handheld console is getting two more cartridges soon, both packed with retro titles from back in the day. If you're a fan of Rival Turf – also known as Rushing Beat – then you're in for a treat. Jaleco Collection 1 is perhaps of most interest; it comes with Bases Loaded, Astynax, Brawl Brothers, City Connection,...
Poll Box Art Brawl #57 - Shadow Of The Ninja / Blue Shadow
Rattling the Kage
Welcome back, one and all, to the latest edition of Box Art Brawl. After a week-long hiatus to charge our hadouken, we're returning with another bout featuring regional box art variants battling for your pleasure (and votes). Last time we took a look at Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door in a particularly close-run duel between...
News Yep, The Switch Has Now Outsold The NES
Wii is still out in front
We ran a story earlier this month about how worldwide sales of the Nintendo Switch were in line with the mighty NES (as of 30th June) - with both sitting at 61 million. At the time, all we could go off was Nintendo's latest financial earnings report, but now we've got some additional data that appears to confirm it has...
Video See The Amazing LEGO NES Built From Start To Finish In Our Block-Busting Timelapse
4 hours for us, 8 minutes for you
As you may well have heard Nintendo and LEGO have been getting all chummy-chummy recently, and alongside the child-focused LEGO Super Mario which we thought was a delight, there's also something a bit more in-line with adult LEGO fans in the form of the LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System. This is a model with no...
News Analogue Is Retiring Its Amazing Nt Mini After One Final Production Run
Update: More units available tomorrow
Update: Analogue has revealed that a few more Nt Mini units are going up for pre-order tomorrow: Original Story [Fri 28th Feb, 2020 16:45 GMT]: Analogue has announced that it is retiring its Nt Mini system after one final production run. The Nt mini v2 features "a new and perfected NES cartridge slot,...
Guide Where To Buy The LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System
Update: Pre-orders back on Nintendo UK Store
Update: The LEGO NES has reappeared on the Nintendo Official UK Store. You can now grab a pre-order from a second wave of units, although these are strictly limited to two products per household. <products id=“12764” style="list" sort="date"> Original article: The LEGO NES is now available on...
Random The LEGO NES Has A Cool Super Mario Bros. Easter Egg Hidden Inside It
Pure nostalgia
If you haven't already bought and assembled the LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System, there's a really nostalgic - and cool - easter egg contained within this particular build that you need to know about. For those of you who have no intention of adding this kit to your Nintendo or LEGO collection - read on. Located underneath a side...
Poll Box Art Brawl #52 - Mega Man 2
Mega 'The Rock' Man returns!
Welcome back to Box Art Brawl, our weekly poll to find out which of three regional box art variants whips the behinds of the other two. This week is a rather special edition because we've reached Round #52, which means it's been one year since we began this fun little exercise. We hope you've enjoyed it so far; from...
News Nintendo Officially Unveils The LEGO NES Console, Launches Next Month
Official images released
Update (Tue 14th Jul, 2020 13:10 BST): It's official! Nintendo has confirmed that the LEGO NES console is indeed the real deal. It will launch on 1st August priced at £209.99 / $229.99, and will remain exclusive to LEGO Retail stores for the remainder of the year. From 2021, it will also be available at other leading...
News This Sealed Copy Of Super Mario Bros. Just Sold For $114,000
That's a new world record
Remember when a super rare sticker sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. on NES sold for $100,150 USD last February? Well, another copy of the exact same game (in a similar condition) has now broken this record - going for the sum of $114,000 USD (this roughly equates to £90,000). That makes this particular copy the most...
News Someone Created A Hand-Drawn Guide For The Original Zelda And It's Breathtaking
Puts Navi to shame!
Back in the 1980s, the original Legend of Zelda for the NES was a massive success. People all over the world were journeying into the land of Hyrule for the very first time, figuring out its puzzles and spilling its secrets on the playground, in the breakroom, at the pub, you name it. Many of its riddles were extremely cryptic...
News Lost NES Game Based On A Tom Cruise Movie Has Just Been Recovered From 21 Floppy Discs
Every floppy counts
When developer Chris Oberth passed away in 2012 at the tragically young age of 59, he left behind a considerable legacy, with titles such as Phasor Zap, Anteater, Ardy the Aardvark and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom listed amongst his credits. He also left behind a massive selection of floppy discs, hard drives and CD-Rs,...
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 Nintendo Expands The Switch Online SNES And NES Service With Four More Titles
Update: Out today!
Update: Here's your friendly reminder that these games are out today! Original Story [Fri 15th May, 2020 02:05 BST]: It's been quite a while since Nintendo updated its Switch Online service. Fortunately, it's now announced three SNES games and one NES game will be arriving next week, on 20th May. The three SNES titles include...
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,...
News You Can Now Buy Switch NES Controllers At 33% Off For A Limited Time (Europe)
Or as a bundle with a Switch Online membership
If you're yet to pick up the NES controllers designed to be used with the Nintendo Switch, now wouldn't be a bad time to take the plunge. Nintendo has reduced the price of the controllers for a limited time; until 31st May, you can order a pack of two for £33.49, down from their usual price of...
Random Do You Know About Super Mario Bros.' Secret Game Over Continue Trick?
Mind-blowing
The original Super Mario Bros. turns 35 this year, but despite its age, the sheer number of people who have played it over the years, and the legendary status it has earned over time, one quirky little secret still blows the minds of its fans to this day. As was the norm back then, losing all of your lives in Mario's classic NES outing...
Poll Box Art Brawl #40 - Mega Man
It's not like 'Phil Megaman'
Are we back? We're back. Yes, it's time for another edition of Box Art Brawl, the weekly public vote where you decide the best (or 'least bad') of three regional box art variants. Last week we watched cult classic Wetrix take itself to task. Following a wet and wild wrestling match, the Japanese cover emerged soaked but...
News Seven Classic NES Titles Just Appeared On The Switch eShop
Arc System Works opens up its brawler collection
Arc System Works has just casually dropped seven NES games on the Switch eShop (as well as other digital storefronts). The games are all part of the company's Double Dragon & Kunio-kun Retro Brawler Bundle, but thanks to these new releases, you can purchase the titles individually at €4.99 /...
News Switch NES Controllers Are Back In Stock With 50% Off (Europe)
Update: Offer now live in Europe
Update (Fri 6th Mar, 2020 11:20 GMT): More stock of the NES controllers for Nintendo Switch are now available in Europe. As before, the price has been slashed by 50%, meaning you can grab a pair for £24.99.
News New Documentary Uncovers The Amazing Story Of EarthBound Beginnings
A story 25 years in the making
The Mother series – better known as EarthBound in the west – is one of those franchises that benefits from a massive amount of attention from the Nintendo fanbase, despite the fact that the company has done relatively little to encourage such devotion over the years. Sure, Mother 2 was localised as EarthBound on...
News "Why Make It Mini?" NES Creator Says People Would Still Buy A Regular System Today
Would you?
For those who weren't alive during the era of Nintendo's iconic NES (or Famicom as it was known in Japan), the relatively recent release of the NES Classic Edition has provided perhaps the most authentic way to experience the console ever since. The miniature system looks and feels just like the real thing - although the console itself...
Random This 1990 Super Mario Bros. 3 Happy Meal Reminds Us Of Simpler Times
With four toys to collect
Super Mario toys can often be found doing the rounds at McDonald's restaurants around the world these days, but it's pretty crazy to think that this was also the case 30 years ago. Back in 1990, this Super Mario Bros. 3 Happy Meal box was produced alongside a handful of new toys. According to DinosaurDracula, this...
News NES Creator Reveals The "Shocking" Story Behind That Infamous Flap
Why the Famicom lost a microphone and gained a hinge when it went west
It’s well known that when the Famicom was redesigned as the NES for the American market, Nintendo wanted to make it resemble a video recorder rather than a games console – but the man behind the NES has revealed there is another reason why the American version of the console...
News The Creator Of The World's Most Famous Cheat Code Has Died
The hack that became part of video game legend
Cheat codes aren't much of a 'thing' these days, but back in the '80s and '90s, they were a big deal. These little hidden hacks were used by developers to test portions of the game but often made their way into the final code by accident or design. In the case of the famous 'Konami code' – Up, Up,...
