Nintoz

I have loved my time with my Switch 2 so far,
Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza have both been fantastic additions to their respective series and the hardware itself is very capable and has a lovely premiun feel to it which is rare for a 1st model.

Hopefully we'll hear about the physical release date soon!

I would be interested but it feels like this year will be "Expedition 33: The Awards" and not much more.

At least on that front, maybe there will be some cool reveals who knows.

Or alternatively, "Nintendo offering free Luigi with Switch 2 + Mario Kart Bundle" ahaha

I was totally expecting a (very solid) 30fps I'm not gonna lie so to see 60 is excellent.

Another step in the right direction, so so glad they're paying attention to the music a bit in this update!

"I'll be home late again tonight honey...yeah we're racing each other down the corridors in wheelchairs again"

It does look wonderful, I really hope there's a demo!

I had a feeling Donkey Kong would be next!
The animations might be my favourite part of the app tbh so the more the merrier.

Yeah this was my one concern with the game following the first direct.

Credit where credit's due though I think Skyah is incredibly robust for being the only City Trial map. I've only played the Global Test Ride but hopefully I'll feel the same way after several hours in the full version!

I knew my NSO senses were tingling!

Very happy to see Kid Icarus here particularly and now all the apps are updated to say 'Nintendo Classics'.

One of the best Mario Party soundtracks in my opinion.
Certainly when it comes to the boards, (they love their drum fills!)

One for the (eventual) Express Card I think!

Nintendo: "Where do you think you're going Sakurai?!"

** proceeds to slam a massive 'Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo Switch 2' folder in front of him as a single tear trails from his eye**

There is a surprisingly steep learning curve as I found out in the Global Test Ride but, unusually for me, I felt motivated to master it!
But to hear it's rewarding from someone who's played the full thing is also reassuring.

Looking forward to playing this soon!

It'll be a christmas gift for me

@Elektrogeist1287 Smash Ultimate was nominated for GOTY in 2019 so Metroid Prime 4 will probably just roll over to next year.

@PerfectFrost Beat me to it lol

I feel like I'm more optimistic about this movie than most. Nintendo has a much firmer grip on their IPs nowadays than they did in the 90s so I think however the narrative or script turns out, it'll be incredibly accurate to the source material.

Never in my life would I have thought Teleroboxer would make it on an official Nintendo calendar

Looks absolutely beautiful! I would not have guessed this was a cross-gen title.

@RupeeClock I'll have you know Wario's Aroma of the Day has significantly improved my outlook on life

That casino bit is very interesting, it's the sort of themeing I'd associate with Wario and/or Waluigi but I can't imagine they'd show up??

Woohoo, really looking forward to this!
The overall tone and atmosphere looks very promising and I loved the bit where Rosalina fought Mega-Leg.

This happened a bit sooner than I expected but at least it's one of the more tagential first party releases.

Still a bit concerning as this game doesn't look particularly demanding or has a large file size which have been two official responses to the use of GKCs in the past.

Glad they've added a relaxed mode, I do struggle a bit with the strategic aspect of Pikmin and having to keep an eye on a load of things at once. I can imagine this'll come in handy especially when I reach the final sections of the game.

@thenikdavies I don't know about any of those but Honey Queen and Jennifer Coolidge feel like a perfect match to me.

It's in line with the rest of the character designs in the movie and that's all that really matters to me

@PeterTomlan86 @N00BiSH This is my main concern too, I am very much looking forward to the film but Galaxy has (while it may sound a bit silly) an emotional maturity to it that I just can't see Illumination being able to handle. Their films are very polished and (with the help of Nintendo) realised the world of Mario exceptionally well.

Whether they can handle 'heavy moments' is another thing however. 'Kids' films can do it! (looking at you Toy Story 3). But like you're saying, it's really not in their wheelhouse so unless Miyamoto (or maybe even Koizumi) has really put their foot down, it remains to be seen whether they can capture the 'grandiose nature' effectively.

There's gotta be a trailer coming this week...right?

It's the 18th anniversary (in North America) on Wednesday so it just seems like too perfect of a time.

Been playing the Kirby Air Riders Global Test Ride, I have enjoyed it so far but I'll be interested to know what the general consensus is as I don't think it's as 'pick up and playable' as some may have expected

@N00BiSH Unrelated but that slide DK does at the beginning of the Smash GIF is sick

So many to pick from but I will never get over how impressive Super Smash Bros. Ultimate turned out to be. That will remain one of gaming's greatest achievements for me.

Though I would also have to give Breath of the Wild a shout out especially as its an internally developed title

Happy 20th Nintendo Life!🥳

This is such a lovely community, like a little safe haven from the rest of the internet! And the articles from your talented staff writers/contributors are superb.
The Partridge-esque humour at times brings with it a lovely sense of self-awareness which is often something I wish other outlets would adopt.
You have and will continue to be me my No. 1 stop for Nintendo news and shenanigans!

Eager to see who they'll My Mario-fy next!

I'll put forward the dragon from Mario Odyssey.

Exactly the same as Mario Kart World, which is fine by me but it is a shame about 30fps for 4 players.
As others above have said I would have rather have had a cut to resolution but then again, I suppose they want the screen to look as sharp as possible when split into 4 sections.

Really looking forward to this! I hope there's a decent number of characters, machines and tracks available for the demo.

@Suketoudara I think there's room for both, Directs generate a huge amount of hype and word of mouth and (looking at them objectively) almost always deliver a variety of strong announcements that appeal to a wide range of people.

The stuff we've seen recently definitely feels like a repeat of last year (Alarmo, XCX: DE, Nintendo Music) in terms of the kinds of announcements. The release of Close To You and the Store app are to a certain degree, targeted towards investors by showing off their in-house development and consumer touch-point expansions so they make sense to release around the time of the financial briefing.

And, as much I love them, Directs can cause people's expectations to sky-rocket. I doubt that free Pikmin 4 update would have been received as well in that context especially if they aired Close To You before it. To, instead, have something like that appear as a surprise out of nowhere can generate a more positive reception.

@AccessibleDaydream Feels like a quote that can be used for most of Nintendo's announcements lol.

No time is a bad time!

The best way to navigate the eShop by far and the day-by-day breakdown of every game you've played is a very nice addition!

Immediately rushed to 22/12/23 on Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to see that I indeed spent 5hr 15mins going through every track🫠

@bosh Don't suppose it's a UK thing?
Seems like PS5s are all anyone talks about over here but that might just be the case in my small area of the world!

Sony's finding some more PS2 sales down the back of the sofa as we speak

@Olliemar28 Oh btw, you've put 2026 instead of 2025 for Kirby Air Riders!

Looking forward to picking up Kirby Air Riders, Super Mario Bros. Wonder NS2 Edition (played the normal version recently and forgot how brilliant it was) and learning more about Tomodachi Life and Splatoon Raiders as they both have so much potential!

The 12th is the 18th anniversary of Galaxy in North America, that seems like a pretty good time?

@NintonicGamer I think in the industry, having a trailer 'attached' to a film just means it will be the headline trailer that's shown before said film starts. It will almost certainly premiere online before then.

Very interesting!
One of the games I was surprised didn't get a free update but at presumably £7.99, I'll bite.
EDIT: Apparently it's like £4.29 which is great, heck I may even pre-order that!

Love the addition of all the retro consoles, my nerd room will finally be complete!!

The hotel thing is also interesing as that seems to be a scaled back version of the paid Happy Home Paradise DLC.

What a lovely release!
If they end up doing Mario Kart World, I hope it comes with a free shed to store it in ahaha.

TIL There's writing in the background of Mario Sunshine's key art.

What does that even say anyway? "You'll something shower them"??

"It wasn't until I was slowly trundling down the ladder back to the streets of Paris that I even realised that I'd done a heist"

That made me chuckle 😂

@Serpenterror Miyamoto's not particularly involved with Mario game development anymore so in terms of that you're looking more at Takashi Tezuka (64) for the 2D games and Yoshiaki Koizumi (57) for the 3D ones although the latter has moved up to a much more senior role in the company since Odyssey and so may not be captaining the next game.
I think Yuka Kitahara or Koichi Hayashida could be suitable replacements for this role.

As for 2D Mario, Shiro Mouri (56) who directed Mario Wonder could step in as producer for a bit when Tezuka retires.

As for who'll take the reigns of all the movie stuff which is what Miyamoto seems most invested in nowadays, maybe Tezuka or Koizumi will move into that role. I would imagine they have a succession plan for something like that.

I was also really glad to hear (in the same interview) Koji Kondo confirming he'll continue to compose for Mario games which may not sound surprising but I think of others like Nobuo Uematsu who's rightfully slowing down after decades in the industry.

It's nice to know Kondo's still going to be hands-on with Mario's sound design and music for the foreseeable future!