Tag: Talking Point - Page 5
Talking Point What Did You Think Of The Latest Nintendo Direct?
"Zelda blowout", they said
Nintendo Direct week is both the joy and the bane of a games journalist's work week. So much to talk about! So little time! So much hype! And then you spend the next two weeks slooowwwwly dissecting it all, discussing it all, and finding out the details that the Direct didn't tell you. This Direct was a pretty good one by...
Talking Point What Did You Think Of The September 2022 Nintendo Direct?
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom! Fire Emblem Engage! Pikmin 4!
Well, that was one heck of a Nintendo Direct, wasn't it? While it perhaps wasn't the massive Zelda blowout we were all expecting, Nintendo had no shortage of first-party reveals and exclusives, amidst some big Indies and multiplatform releases. Let's start with the biggie, then — Breath...
Talking Point What Do You Want To See At Today's Nintendo Direct Showcase?
Zelda? Metroid? More Zelda?
Update [Tue 13th Sep, 2022 12:15 BST]: The day is upon us and we are buckling up for what is sure to be 40 minutes of top-notch announcement content. Alongside the writers below, our wonderful video production team have now also given their thoughts on what to expect from the Direct. Check out their thoughts in the new...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (September 10th)
What a week for franchises
It's finally here, folks. After what feels like an age of trailers and Directs galore, this week finally saw the release of Splatoon 3! Here at Nintendo Life, we have you covered for all things concerning ink, squids and merchandise (or should we say Murch-andice?) We have put together a comprehensive Tips, Tricks and...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (September 3rd)
Time for some downtime with our favourite games
In the week that brought us the results of Splatoon 3's first Splatfest, we have been busy with lots of quality gaming content over here on Nintendo Life. September is now upon us which not only means that we are preparing for a complete barrage of new gaming titles coming to our consoles over the next...
Talking Point What Was Your First Mario Kart Game?
Let's-a goooo!
Today (September 1st, 2022) marks 30 years since the launch of Super Mario Kart in North America. In the years since, Mario Kart has gone on to be one of the most successful Nintendo franchises of all time, with the latest mainline release - Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - topping the Switch's best-selling titles with over 40 million units...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (August 27th)
Ladies and gentlemen, The Weekend
As the great Captain Haddock once said, 'what a week, huh?' It seems that in the run-up to Splatoon 3's release, Nintendo has been hitting us with inky news left, right and centre (splaturation, if you will). This week, we got a chance to go hands-on with the upcoming game, and we are sure that some of you will be...
Talking Point Can We Predict The Other Two Stories In Pokémon Scarlet & Violet?
Treasure, school, and evil...
One of the details revealed in the latest Pokémon Scarlet & Violet trailer was that the game would have three main stories, which could be played in any order. We were told about one of the three: The story of battling through all the gyms to get to whatever this game's equivalent of the Pokémon League is...
Talking Point What Was Your First Legend Of Zelda Game?
Links to the past
Last Monday marked the 35th Anniversary of Metroid's release in North America for the NES, and we celebrated by compiling our "origins" stories for the franchise. This time, it's The Legend of Zelda's turn, with the debut title also celebrating its 35th Anniversary in North America tomorrow (22nd August). It's kind of crazy to...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (August 20th)
Press start for the weekend
Are you riding the waves this weekend? Wave Race 64 is out now on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service, so we're sure some of you are grabbing that late '90s nostalgia. Otherwise, you might be tee-ing up for a round of golf with the well-reviewing Cursed to Golf (we'll have our
Talking Point Which Nintendo Series Would Work Best As A Free-To-Play Game?
Hear us out! We've got some good ideas!
Live service, free-to-play games are the new hotness. With massive fanbases built around games like Genshin Impact, Destiny, and Fortnite, which are regularly updated with new characters, content, and quests, it's easy to see how other game development studios might be tempted over to the dark side...
Talking Point How Were You Introduced To Metroid?
Lets get this morph ball rollin'
In case you didn't know, tomorrow (Monday, August 15th) marks the 35th Anniversary of Metroid's NES launch in North America. That's insane, right? 35 years! Do you feel old yet? In the years and decades since its debut in 1987 ('86 in Japan), the Metroid franchise has gone on to become one of Nintendo's tentpole...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (August 13th)
We're starting a cult...
The heat's back, and we're desperately trying to stay indoors here at Nintendo Life. We've got a round-up of everything that was shown off in the Splatoon 3 Nintendo Direct! Also, were feeling a bit peckish after Kirby's Dream Buffet got a release date. And there's a beautiful
Talking Point Has Nintendo Done Enough To Justify Splatoon 3's Existence?
Let's break down the latest Direct
Over the past few months, there's definitely been a growing concern amongst fans that Splatoon 3 might not be able to justify its own existence. Regardless of your opinion on them, live service games like Fortnite and Apex Legends have proven that it's perhaps more beneficial to launch what is effectively a...
Talking Point What Does Your Favourite Pokémon Say About You?
Pikachu? Wow, so basic
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are on their way, presumably adding another hundred-or-so critters to our 'Dex, and we can't lie — some of them are already winding their way into our hearts. There's Fidough, the purebread dog that everyone loves, Smoliv and Lechonk, the little guys with meme names, and Pawmi, Gen IX's Pikachu...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (August 6th)
Fight to live, live to play games
It's been a busy week for Nintendo fans, and for us at Nintendo Life! Not only has Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's Wave 2 finally dropped, but Game Freak and The Pokémon Company gave us plenty of news on Pokémon Scarlet & Violet! Nintendo also delivered its Q1 financial results, where it reported
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 30th)
Chronicling the weekend
As we reach the end of yet another week in the year 2022, we also sit at the cusp of the eighth month of the year! In the news this week, Nintendo finally unveiled Wave 2 of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's Booster Course Pass. Bandai Namco has asked Digimon Survive fans on social media to not spoil th
Talking Point What's The Highlight Of Your Game Collection?
The things we'll never trade in
Everyone plays games differently. Some of us buy nothing but digital games, preferring to be able to play whatever we want, wherever we want; others meticulously collect every single physical release they can get their mitts on, before prices skyrocket for a second-hand copy on eBay. But one thing most of us have in...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 23rd)
Live for the weekend
School's out for a lot of kids now in the UK — hooray! How many of you will be joining your kids for a summer of gaming? Perhaps Camelot updating its official company website with Golden Sun assets is tempting you to dig into your backlog? Or maybe you'll be going through the 3DS and Wii U eShops after Nintendo gave clearer...
Talking Point What Are The Nintendo Switch's Defining Moments (So Far)?
A timeline of awe and tragedy
The Nintendo Switch has been around for almost five and a half years, and in that time, it's made headlines over and over again in ways that other consoles haven't — for better or worse. And you know what? It's pretty refreshing to be able to talk so much about one piece of hardware. We were there for the Wii U years...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 16th)
A fairy finally came to you!
Well, it's felt like quite a hectic week here at Nintendo Life! The biggest news, of course, was the confirmation that Bayonetta 3 will finally be launching in October this year, along with the delightful surprise of a physical edition of the first game. To top it off, Platinum Games confirmed that you can
Talking Point Would You Mind If Nintendo Retired The 'Big' Nintendo Direct Format?
The Joys and Cons, direct to you
With the reveal of a new trailer for Bayonetta 3 along with a launch date announcement, Nintendo fans are looking back over the last couple of weeks with a question on their mind: Why didn't the company bundle up this news with the third-party announcements from the Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase and deliver...
Talking Point What's Your Favourite Nintendo Switch Screenshot?
LOOK AT THIS PHOTOGRAPH
God bless the screenshot. Ever since they were first invented, and then brought to consoles, the world has been a brighter place. Where would we have been in the Animal Crossing Pandemic of 2020 without the images of our homes and islands to share with others? Would Spider-Man be less of a good game without that photo mode?...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 9th)
Wahoo! It's the weekend!
It's been a little bit milder here n the UK this week, but it looks like things are about to hot up again. The news has also been a bit steadier, too. Nintendo unveiled a brand new Splatoon 3-Themed Switch OLED earlier this week. The upcoming Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion will have some "differences" in
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 2nd)
Take a sip
We're over halfway through the year now — isn't that a scary thought? And our calendars are about to get even busier after that Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase! But outside of that mammoth mini, rumours of a Metroid Prime 1 remaster are swirling once again. Sabotage's
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 25th)
Preparing for a busy July
Is everyone feeling a bit more chilled out after not-E3? Okay, we're still waiting for a Nintendo Direct, but we did get a Xenoblade Chronicles 3-focused presentation, where a new Expansion Pass was unveiled. The AM2R devs have reunited on a brand new stunning-looking Metroidvania pr
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 18th)
A turtle-y good weekend
Is it a scorcher where you are, readers? It certainly has been in the UK this week. But the video game news has been pretty hot too! Hollow Knight: Silksong is alive with a brand new trailer! There are details of a rumoured new Fire Emblem game surfacing online.
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 11th)
Bask in the warm glow of not-E3
Well folks, it's been another jam-packed week at Nintendo Life, with plenty of highlights to mention! First up, the excellent Mario Strikers: Battle League launched on Friday and we thought it was a great sports game for the Switch in our review. Similarly, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords...
Talking Point Should Sonic Frontiers Be Delayed? We Discuss Its Bizarre Debut And Fan Reaction
Sonic's latest 3D entry stumbles out the gate
After what feels like a lifetime of waiting, we've finally been treated to a glimpse at what the gameplay for Sonic Frontiers will look like — two glimpses, in fact! Thanks to IGN's month-long coverage deal with SEGA, we now have a better idea of how exploration and combat will work in the game, with...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 4th)
What're ya playin'!?
It's June, and this month is PACKED with new game releases and lots of summer gaming events! No, not-E3, although that's what we're calling it — "not-E3". This week, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet got a November release date! And it will officially be the first open-world mainline game. We also got a look at
Talking Point Video Game Music Is More Popular Than Ever, So Why Is Nintendo So Behind?
Make it music to our ears!
There’s been a lot of Nintendo-related music news over the past year that has had me more than a little disappointed. I like to boot up a video game soundtrack while I’m working; I’m a big fan of video game music concerts and I have a small collection of albums and vinyl that I want to keep growing. And with access...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 28th)
Pre-summer doldrums?
We're almost at the end of May, and the "E3" build-up is beginning to kick in, which means that things have been a little steady in the world of video games. Three new NES and SNES games have appeared on NSO this week. A dancing Psyduck toy took the internet by storm. And
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 21st)
Raze hell
Another week has come and gone, and it's been one of those weird "busy but not that busy" kinda weeks. We saw a bit of new footage from Sonic Origins, and it's looking very tasty. An HD texture pack was showcased for Mario Kart 64, and we discovered yet another bonkers
Talking Point In An Age Of Endless Delays, Nintendo's First-Party Flow Is Extraordinary
The hits keep coming
When Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp was postponed earlier this year in response to current events in Ukraine, there was an interesting perspective that did the rounds. It meant a longer than normal gap between Nintendo retail titles, and we'd have to wait — gasp — for a few weeks to play Kirby and the Forgotten Land...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 14th)
Go on, tell us
Well, it's certainly been a bit of a busier week for us here at Nintendo Life! Looking at game announcements, we're going to be getting Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards on the Switch Online Expansion Pass, plus Alan Wake has been confirmed for release on the Switch later this year. Finally, of course, we had a brand new Indie World...
Talking Point As Switch Hardware Sales Slow, How Long Can Nintendo Delay 'Switch 2'?
Stuck between a rock and a global chip shortage
Nintendo's report for the 2021/22 financial year dropped today, and while Switch continues to sell well and software sales are looking healthy, signs that enthusiasm for the five-year-old system is beginning to ebb are also apparent. To be clear, the results present a far from gloomy outlook for the...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 7th)
The force is still with us
If you've noticed that things have been a bit quieter this week, that's because it's Golden Week in Japan, a series of four national holidays where a lot of companies grant time off. For others, Star Wars Day was on 4th May (okay, okay, May the 4th), and that's also considered a bit of a holiday, depending on who you talk...
Talking Point If 1-2-Switch Sequel Rumours Are Somehow True, How Could Nintendo Improve It?
1-2-Switch-2
Nintendo rumours and the world of 'insiders' can occasionally be a strange, baffling place. While there's no shortage of legitimate leaks, some of the speculation can come across as tall tales, fever dreams, or even the potential machinations of Nintendo trying to bait and identify internal leakers. One bit of speculation that just...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 30th)
Wanna play ball?
Hold on, it's May on Sunday? We're a little bit confused about that here at Nintendo Life Towers — how are we already in the fifth month of 2022? Blimey. Anyway, after the release date chaos of last week, this week has been decidedly more steady. Reggie Fils-Aimé's SXSW talk is now available, and in it, he reveals how the...
Talking Point WATA And The Grey Areas Of Game Preservation - Is There Any Better Way?
WATAAARGH
The game industry is youthful compared to other areas of entertainment and recorded culture - younger than film and TV, and of course a baby compared to printed works. Yet we're now decades into the history of gaming, especially if you go back to the systems of the 1970s, perhaps even a little earlier. Even if you choose to focus on the...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 23rd)
It does matter
Phew! It's been a heck of a week, hasn't it? It actually feels like springtime now at least, but our eyes are poised towards the summer with the slate of new release dates we've been handed. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has been brought forward from September to July! Unprecedented stuff. Splatoon 3 also finally has a release date — a
Talking Point With BOTW2 Slipping, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Launching Early Is Fantastic News
"Bringing together the futures" of its predecessors
Though Xenoblade Chronicles is not the biggest-selling franchise to consistently grace Nintendo's hardware, it's clear that Nintendo is happy to recognise that some brands and genres deserve support for the loyalty they earn among fans. MonolithSoft, a company majority-owned by Nintendo that often...
Talking Point Can It Really Be 10 Years Since Fire Emblem: Awakening Saved The Series?
From niche series to Nintendo staple
10 years ago today, Fire Emblem: Awakening was released on the 3DS in Japan. At the time the series had a core and devoted audience, but it had struggled to make a meaningful sales breakthrough outside of Japan. There was no doubting the development and storytelling talent of developer Intelligent Systems,...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 16th)
A long weekend? More time for video games
If you celebrate it, Happy Easter! If not, we hope you at least have a nice, long weekend, or perhaps you're just going to relax more than normal. Whatever you're doing, we hope video games factor into your plans. This week, we got a new Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes trailer, which introduces us to...
Talking Point If Breath Of The Wild 2 Launched Alongside New Switch Hardware, Would You Upgrade?
Gotta have those fluffy clouds
Just a couple of weeks ago, the famed honcho of the Legend of Zelda series, Eiji Aonuma, announced that the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild would be delayed into Spring 2023. It was an announcement that many of us were undoubtedly expecting, particularly given that 2022 is already playing host to the...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 9th)
In a backlog far, far away...
Easter is already just around the corner! Or Egg Day. Whatever you want to call it. Really, it's just an excuse to eat chocolate and play video games, right? Did you check out our Indie Spotlight earlier in the week? Well, we'll give you another chance below. After last week's Zelda bombshell, it's been a bit quieter...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 2nd)
It's April already?!
It's the weekend - hooray! We hope you've all managed to get through April Fools' Day in one piece. It's been another week of bombshells, with possibly the biggest news being something we all *kinda* expected but didn't want to admit, and that's the news of Breath of the Wild 2 being delayed into 2023. We also got three new...
Talking Point Now That Zelda: BOTW 2 Is Off The Table, Should Holiday 2022 Belong To Mario?
Or even... Donkey Kong?
Nintendo's Holiday 2022 season is looking real quiet. Too quiet, if you ask us. Even though we're about nine months out, it seems a little odd that we don't know what Nintendo's big holiday release might be — Splatoon 3 is scheduled for the Summer, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is due in September, and of course, the previous Big...
Talking Point Nintendo Switch Online, Game Pass, And 'New' PS Plus - How Do They Compare?
Begun, the Sub Wars have
There had been rumblings over the past weeks and months that Sony was going to unveil a revamp to its subscription service to compete with Microsoft's Game Pass; it had a codename of 'Spartacus' for added effect. It did just that in the end, unveiling three new tiers of PS Plus — the lowest tier broadly represen
Talking Point 3DS Is 11 Years Old, And Our Eyes Still Feel Strange
Remembering the magic and buzz at a preview event
Over this past weekend the 3DS turned 11 years old, not exactly the biggest of anniversaries but enough to make us look wistfully at the little portable. It's a real favourite in our team, and I still keep both it and its charger handy when a bit of sentimental play is required — or when I want to...