BillyB

As long as it's local co-op, count me in. Bubble Bobble & Parasol Stars are my all time favourites.

With Switch's huge existing userbase, isn't there a risk the games companies will continue to hit the common denominator instead of making innovative new Switch 2 games which takes advantage of the new hardware?

I can't remember many games specifically made for the Atari 1200XL & 128k Spectrum computers compared to their original 800XL & 48k versions? Same for the popular Amiga 500 when it was upgraded to A1200.

While the Switch 2 is well overdue, it well may take a few years for existing owners to upgrade

Outrun is one of my all time favourite games, but not sure how this will translate into a movie. In Outrun you drive to courses across different continents (from California beaches to Dutch tulip fields to deserts) and can choose your route. Sounds a bit like the design of Mario Kart World

Does anyone else remember the old 8-bit game Stop The Express? The graphics were great but I also remember it being hard as nails, so I never even came close to 'stopping the express'.

I've got a fair few. I like how you can cherry-pick the game you want compared to compilations which can contain a few duds.

In future I'd also like to see Popeye, Crystal Castle, Mr Do Castle, Marble Madness, Paperboy, Gauntlet, The Simpsons...

Never played this but you can't have too many driving games! How does this compare to Sega's Daytona? "RO-LLING START!!!!"

@step_over
Thanks for your help & pointing that out. I confirm that I've now received email & redeemed code to extend my membership by 2 months.

Nintendo eShop is currently running an online membership offer of extra 2 months for any 12 month membership. To take advantage of this I've just bought 12 month membership via eShop but the expiry date is only 12 months from today?
Checked my emails & there's nothing there except payment receipt

@Ooyah Thanks for the recommendation, now downloaded & it's great. Back in the 8-bit days I first played Bubble Bobble on a 48k Spectrum, so the graphics & audio were suitably limited - but the gameplay always shone through. When playing the arcade version years later on MAME I thought all my Christmases had come at once.
Speaking of the Spectrum I remember playing a demo of Outrun & it came with an audio cassette of the Sega arcade soundtrack, so that you could enjoy it properly - yes, the Spectrum audio processor really was that poor.

I've always been a huge Bubble Bobble fan but have never played this. Looks like the 2 player is proper co-op unlike Rainbow Islands turn-based approach. If it's more like Bubble Bobble then sign me up now!!

Loving the Red Dwarf S7E2 references

@Pillowpants
I wouldn't be surprised if it was Monkey which just got lost in translation. Back in the 80's I also remember playing an arcade car racing game called "Continental Circus" which would have made more sense being called "Circuit"

Beyond Quake/Quake2, can anyone recommend any 2 player split-screen FPS?
In our home we've really enjoyed local co-op play for Quake. It's been a blast but we've completed all levels. Sadly the add-ons only seem to work in single player mode, so we're up for more FPS thrills elsewhere for split screen local play

After checking I'm surprised I've only got 4 on Switch:
Mario Bros
Sunset riders
Bubble Bobble
Rainbow Islands
but loads more on my wishlist

@Ooyah
I like New Zealand Story but always found it hard as nails. Well done on reaching so far in Bubble Bobble, TBH my best single player level is probably only about half that!
It felt incredible beating level 99, even as 2 player. I even took a screenshot at the end - does anyone know what to do with that coded message?

Rainbow Islands at last! I've always been huge fan of Bubble Bobble & had great fun completing that as local co-op on Switch. Way back in the arcades I remember playing Rainbow Islands but didn't get very far as never quite got the hang of the gameplay, whereas I found Bubble Bobble initiative.
After day one purchase, the only downside is I've just realised 2 player is turn based ☹️

Rainbow Islands is out today on Arcade Archives (Europe). Playing it now!

The Switch in Tate mode would be perfect to play Kirby's Pinball Land. It been too long since I played this fun little game but I can still recall the all the cheerful tunes.

Anyone else remember the early days of Switch when this was the only article posted on Nintendo Life over the whole weekend? The last 6 years have been a blast!

We really enjoyed playing Q1 local split screen but after many hours blasting we've finished every possible level. Can't wait for more of the same, bring it on

Oh no, after reading this article I really want to play Popeye again! After all these years I still remember it in the arcades - it was pretty good for its time.

Loving Doom, Doom II, Doom 64 & Quake on the Switch but sadly we've no Heretic or Hexen.

Makes me want to play Wheelie on a ZX Spectrum

I ended up with a 'sports injury' when attempting to coach my 80 year old mam to play Wii Bowling. I stood way too close during her sudden back swing & got hit by the Wii remote exactly where it hurts the most. This 'low blow' had me doubled up in agony while she continued on oblivious.

What, no Dragon eggs?!!! What a missed opportunity to correct this huge mistake of the original. I've enjoyed playing Bomberman on Sega Saturn, Playstation & DS, but not the Switch version. I gave up after I lost count the number of times I lost a life due to the isometric view. Thinking I was safe but must've had a toe sticking out from behind a block, how frustrating!!

I've completed this on the brilliant Switch version but I'm still tempted to buy it for my dusty old 3DS. Magical Sound Shower is my choice of soundtrack. I remember the groundbreaking original arcade cabinets, if you went off road the steering wheel shuddered & fought against you. At the time with state of the art graphics it was an incredible sensory experience. Only slight disappointment about the Switch version is the controllers don't rumble when you're off track - maybe they can patch that?

It's frustrating when certain video games draw you in by being initially promising but then the difficulty spike is suddenly turned up to 11. This often seems like some cheap trick to increase play time and I have to admit I've given up on quite a few games. Most which try this just aren't worth persevering with.
While quality games pitched at the right level do give a sense of achievement, sadly some others are nigh on impossible.

Anyone else remember Ship of Doom on ZX Spectrum? It was set on a spacecraft and was the first text adventure I ever played.

Sadly no "Fatty Bear's Birthday Surprise" included

@Satan
Cheers for the advice. While Penguin Adventure hasn't aged too well, I was surprised to discover MSX has fine versions of many arcade classics including Bubble Bobble. I've also enjoyed replaying Boulderdash. Good stuff!

How can I check the line-up of games?
It's been ages since I played my favourite Atari classics like Crystal Castles, Popeye, Marble Madness, Paperboy, Pole Position, Star Wars & Battlezone. 4 player local co-op Gauntlet on Switch would make this a must-buy for me.

I didn't own an MSX back in the 8-bit days so regret I never got the chance to play Penguin Adventure. I remember that game got great reviews at the time.
MSX had a good concept that different companies can share the same technology platform but their computers seemed expensive at the time. Looking back now it's weird to think Sony made an MSX computer.
I'd love the chance to finally play Penguin Adventure on the Switch someday.

I read all The Asterix books when I was a kid, but I've never played any of the games. When visiting Paris I spotted there's an Asterix theme park so only then realised how popular he still is.

Those joy-cons look great but the pro controller is a disappointment in comparison. Shame as I only need a new pro controller.

I'm a big fan of Bomberman series but never got into the Switch version. The pseudo 3D meant it was harder to judge when you were hiding behind a block. Getting blasted when we thought were safe leaves you frustrated, especially in local co-op matches.
The definitive version is still on the Saturn with it's classic 2D graphics, eggs & bomber dragons for an extra life.

I remember playing text-only game "Ship of Doom" which came as a bundle with my 48k Spectrum.
I didn't progress very far but apparently it was notorious for recognising swear words. Most other text adventure games like The Hobbit drew each scene at the top of the screen, but for me there was no interest in pure text adventure games.

Really sad to hear this, I now wish I'd held onto my Saturn, games & accessories - analogue controller, light gun (Virtua Cop & House of the Dead), steering wheel (Sega Rally & Daytona USA) & 6 player adapter(Saturn Bomberman).

Ring Fit has proved an enjoyable way to keep exercising, especially during lockdown. The whole family are at various stages of the main game. I feel it does a better job of keeping me fit whereas Wii Fit was limited by being just a balance board & weight scales. Most people have scales in their house already. While many of the activities on Wii Fit were fun mini games, time proved it was more of a novelty than anything of useful benefit to your health. I'd definitely recommend Ring Fit.

@Anti-Matter
Surely we'd hear The Drifters? Under The Boardwalk or Up On The Roof, when you just wanted to stay on ground level

While I'm a fan of on-rails shooters, I'll hang fire for the reviews. Like others have pointed out it just won't be the same experience without suitable accessory. I had a blast with blue light gun on Sega Saturn for both Virtua Cop games and later on the Wii had 2 zappers for many hours teaming up playing HOTD and Ghost Squad. Links Crossbow Training was a lot of fun too.

"This must be a real horrorshow film if you're so keen on my viddying it."
"It's funny how the colors of the real world only seem really real when you watch them on a screen."

I recognised him from that Harold & Kumar movie. "Dude, I thought Neil Patrick Harris was a stand up guy! Did Doogie Howser just steal my car?".
Anyone else now craving burgers?

The quality of those early titles like Virtua Fighter, Virtua Cop & Sega Rally made buying Saturn an easy decision. But when PS1 arrived with Wipeout, displaying fire & explosions as blocky opaque sprites suddenly seemed very old fashioned.
I still think Saturn had the best ever version of Bomberman, if local play is your thing.

I've already got Mario Party on the switch. I don't understand why Superstars isn't just DLC expansion for the existing game?

@flighty
Cheers, you just made my day!

Anyone else remember Alley Cat on the Atari XL? It was brilliant 8-bit chaos. You guided your cat into open windows by leaping from washing lines. Once inside, the mini games were so short, random and completely crazy that I wonder if they provided inspiration for WarioWare gameplay.

I would love a modern updated version of Kirby's Pinball Land on Switch, despite it not being a favourite of NintendoLife. I always enjoyed having quick bursts of this cheery Game Boy game even though I'm not really a fan of traditional pinball games. Tate mode would mean you could scroll between the boards instead of screen flip which because of the small screen size occasionally hurled you into danger before you could react. Throw in a few extra boards & it could even win over NintendoLife compared to the original?

@Duncanballs
I remember way back it was hilarious when one of our friends came round to show off his new game Elite on ZX Spectrum, but failed to get the code working thanks to struggling to use Lenslok, even though he had genuinely purchased a retail copy. He later claimed to have got it working at home but I think that was to save face, as we never saw it running to this day.

I jumped ship from my 8-bit Atari XL as soon as I saw an arcade perfect version of Marble Madness running on the new Amiga. I loved the graphic innovation of those early Cinemaware titles & the bitmap bros games & massive sprites on Sword of Sodan

Anyone else remember that Great Giana Sisters platform game for Amiga? It was brilliant but got instantly banned.