Anyone who doesn't select the utterly gorgeous and artful Japanese Super Famicom box needs their head examined!!! 😁 Uncluttered and so tasteful.
Back when we didn't need things to be so literal and have everything spelled out to us. ❤
My sister had the Mario Bros. Game+Watch so I knew about the characters, but it wasn't until I was on holiday and I saw a Super Mario Bros. arcade machine that my interest was truly piqued.
All these American kids were crowded around it and they seemed to know the game incredibly well. Not surprising as most of them probably owned the game at home! As I peered through the gaps between them my mind was blown - mushrooms that make you bigger... fireflowers!? Wait you can go DOWN those green pipes?!
I think prior to this we owned a BBC micro so you can see why!
I then saw adverts for the NES in American comics and started seeing them in UK shops and the odd commercial on TV. I eventually managed to save up a hard earned £100 to buy one.
Not the duff more expensive Deluxe Set with Gyromite and Duck Hunt. Oh no; the cheaper and infinitely more desirable set with SMB.
Went this morning - it's pretty good! I've seen a lot of this stuff available on the UK Nintendo website before (eg: A4 wallets, badges, pens etc) but there were some cool things in there.
When this was announced I hoped they might bring over some merch from the museum but there was nowt. It was all franchise based and I was disappointed they didn't have anything to do with each generation of hardware like the Famicom or Super Famicom etc. Suspect that would be too niche!
Still, picked up a few fun items and hoping this becomes a permanent fixture either in London or somewhere else in Europe.
Multiple ways, but mainly on my FPGA AVS system (missed out on the Analogue NT so plumped for this.)
It's brilliant and allows me to play a lot of games not on NSO and buy games I missed which aren't on that service (Gremlins 2 and Batman: RotJ being recent ones.)
Have a small but growing Famicom cart collection including Ninja Gaiden 3, Akumajō Densetsu, Goonies 1, Rockman 4 and Wai Wai World 2. I know smth like Akumajō Densetsu is on the Anniversary Collection and I could play it on my PS, but great to own a boxed Jap copy of one of my favourite NES games and it's just cooler to play it on my TV with a NES joypad.
NSO a good alternative for anything more common, so long as it stays on there! But will I still be subbing to that in later years? Would love the option to buy NSO games outright.
Have an OG NES boxed up but haven't needed to get it out in years.
I wonder if Koji Kondo knew when he wrote the main theme for SMB how iconic and timeless it would become! 40 years on and it's as catchy as ever, along with his whole oeuvre.
The videogame equivalent of John Williams, he really did bottle lightning.
Really looking forward to the new Sonic Racing game - esp as I don't own a Switch 2 yet. All Stars Racing Transformed is so good, hoping they can bottle that magic again.
But it always struck me as odd that the original 90s ad compared Sonic 2, Ecco and SoR2 with... Super Mariokart?! Always seemed like a silly choice on SEGA's part to me; SMK is a stone cold classic, a totally different genre to any of the SEGA games shown and (depending on one's gaming tastes) easily the equal of those three games. Plus on 150cc it moves along at a fair old lick! Why didn't SEGA show MarioPaint or smth else?! 🤣
The US one (as so often) is an absolute abomination! Gobsmacked if anyone votes for that and prefers it over the European and Japanese ones.
As so often, Japan wins with classy art and great layout that perfectly capture the feel of the game.
@Ristar24 Hell yes! God I miss those days! There's a tonne of really cool stuff being done today, but v rarely are my eyeballs now blown to the back of my skull with new tech and mind blowing graphics!
I also think only having print media and aside from some cover CDs with super low res movs on them, all we had to see was a smattering of screen shots in mags, often they were tiny! So when you either got to see a game at home or in the arcades it was friggin amazing. Esp something like Ridge Racer or Daytona and before that Virtuas Racer/Fighter! Ironically - back then (for me at least) being exposed to less was somehow 'more' and made seeing a game first hand or play it way more exciting as you didn't have the over saturation of trailers and moving media that we are inundated with today... ...says he as he types this with the Summer Games Fest stream on... (like I'm going to miss that!)
Ahh Edge magazine #6! Snap - for me that cover is imprinted on my mind and made such an impact. I remember clear as day showing it to my mate (in Biology class) and he thought it was a real photo.
And you're right - you just had to be there. As great as gaming is these days, the technological advancements back then were mind blowing. The transition from 16 to 32/64-bit machines was such an exciting time. We just don't get such visuallyobvious generational leaps any more sadly.
I've been dreaming of an arcade perfect port for years. An all time iconic classic. And even though I now own it, I know I'll still play that beat up cab in that Norfolk arcade whenever I go to the coast for our family holiday!
@Uncle_Franklin Couldn't agree more. This feature always fascinates me as I'm often at odds with the popular choice - I regularly choose the Japanese variant as I feel they're more artistic, better laid out and more daring than their Western counterparts. I'm amazed at how boring, ugly and unimaginative some (not all!) the Western ones are compared to the Japanese releases yet they often get more votes. So I'm often in the minority, even though during this period I bought official PAL releases and so nostalgia (which seems to be a big influence?) plays no part for me. I guess growing up reading CVG (late 80s/early 90s then Paul Davies era), Mean Machines and Super Play where Japanese artwork was liberally used (often nicked from Japanese mags!) is one of the main reasons why I have such a soft spot for that Nipponese flavour. Shows how out of touch I am I guess!
@Sylamp Obviously I was around at the time all three of these were released so I have a very very different take on them compared to you - but the rubber banding and 'cheating' wasn't that bad on the original SMK on SNES.
If one is good at that game you can lap the computer racers with ease; all of them on 100cc and about half the pack on 150cc.
It actually rewards you for being a bad ass at the game and decimating the field with racing skills and barely using any items! It's the purest racing game of the series where 90% of the time racing ability pretty much decided the outcome rather than items did. And sure ofc there were the odd games where someone would get you with a red shell or lightning at the death but with fewer items in the roulette and fewer item boxes means it wasn't the be all and end all in a race. Less was more.
That's why for me it's still my favourite (& I absolutely love many of the other entries esp MK DS and MK8) it's a racing game first and foremost which rewards good racing lines and tactics! I can race through that game and win on 150cc and barely use any items - and if you're in 1st you'd better get used to that as all you'll most likely get are coins, bananas or green shells!
SMK on SNES still my fave for pure racing. No Blue Shells and tight small tracks. The fact there is only one chance to pick up items (apart from on the odd track) means it isn't such a weapons fest and you have to try and use your items more strategically. I own OG PAL, USA and JAP copies. Still play it regularly and love love the Mode 7 graphics. So many memories playing this with my sister over the summer holidays - Ghost Valley 1 the track of choice. Such an exciting time back in 1992 when this dropped!
I'd rather it wasn't gimmicky for the sake of it - which is what the Wii U felt like. Whilst it's not totally radical the mouse on the joy cons is a wonderful new feature - even though it might not be that comfortable to hold I bet a more ergonomic stand alone release will come out from either Nintendo or a third party - the equivalent of the pro controller. I'm not bothered at all by the apparent lack of innovation - looks ACE to me!
@Truegamer79 I never got past the second mission if memory recalls - the one with Samurai Goro racing along a cliff edge?! Don't think I'll be getting past it again when I eventually play this again!
Still hoping this gets a proper remaster and isn't only available on a subscription service...
@StewdaMegaManNerd Oh so true haha - and so annoying as well! I was v disappointed they didn't keep Mario35 around for longer - I absolutely loved it and was actually good at it! They've kept F-Zero 99 going and whilst I applaud them doing that, personally it isn't for me (too frenetic!) so why oh why couldn't they keep something I actually liked!
This looks great but has to be said the Kickstarter these guys ran has been incredibly bad. Long periods of silence with no updates, incredibly late delivering (original estimated delivery date was Dec 2021 after the campaign launched in Oct 2020!) and now they're going back on possibly releasing it on Playstation and XBox and not committing to it releasing on these platforms. Sure game dev is hard work and problems occur but many people not happy with the way things have been run, especially the lack of updates keeping everyone in the loop.
Still - it does look very cool.
And no Jim - it doesn't look anything like Ridge Racer.
Holy crap that's expensive. No option to buy without signatures which is why I'm guessing it's so expensive so this just feels greedy not providing a cheaper option on what is a knock off cartridge.
Not for me - plus can see this being shutdown by Nintendo.
I backed this on kickstarter and it's good to finally get an update after so much radio silence.
It's looking great I love the aesthetic.
One thing (which obviously doesn't apply to this Nintendo site) is the campaign stated there would be XBox and Playstation versions but the release window trailer only mentions Switch and Steam. A couple of people have commented on this on the campaign page as well.
Wondering what's going on there as this Kickstarter campaign has not been well run by the creators with long periods of silence and no updates in ages, and now this possible change of formats the game is initially releasing on?
After the brilliance of Returns and especially Tropical Freeze I'm so disappointed there hasn't been a third entry from Retro to complete a trilogy of 2D platformers.
I'd also be up for a full on 3D entry as well.
@Coffeemonstah Surely Konami have a Parodius collection in the works with all versions compiled from Arcade and 8 to 16 to 32-bit?! After the Rocket Knight and Felix the Cat collections I hope so!
Cool to see!
Enjoyed the game and imagination on show but for me didn't hit the heights of Mario 3, World or Yoshi's Island.
It was just far too easy, even the 100% wasn't a challenge sadly.
Very quickly turned the badges off as I realised they nerfed the game. I beat Bowser on my first go. Even the hidden world challenge levels were bested in 2-3 attempts. (The final final level was fairly tough mind but this was the only one I found to be a real challenge!)
If any game needed a DLC with harder new levels (a la Super Luigi U) it's this one!
@Edwirichuu You're conveniently overlooking the fact that not everything shown on Netflix or other streaming services is available to legally buy on physical or digital media. Some are, but many are not. And that's obviously intentional - these companies want you to continue paying out, month after month to access their exclusive content. By limiting how it is available (at least legally) they are tying you in to their service as long as you are willing to pay for it, yet you own nothing. So yeah, sure, if I watch something on Netflix and I really like it I will go and buy it. But crucially that's not always possible as they don't release everything to buy. And why would they? If I want to watch certain films I have to pay my sub to Netflix or whoever. That's their whole business model.
The danger for me (and my point which I didn't make clearly enough so apologies for that) is gaming is going the same way - right now you can indeed try a game on GamePass, and if you want it, buy it so you own it.
You might think it's good right now - but what about the longterm?
Will MS allow people to buy their games individually (either digitally or physically) in the future? I'd wager not. I obviously do not know this, but why do they want you to own something 'forever' when they can have people repeatedly paying the same monthly sub for it? This is the way the wind is blowing in all forms of media - games are no exception.
Let's see where we are in 10 years. I would be amazed if MS and probably Sony haven't tried to implement a sub only strategy to play games on their hardware.
Look at Nintendo. On Wii we had the Virtual Console - I could permanently buy old games and own them forever as long as my Wii console kept on working. What is Nintendo's model on the Switch? A subscription to access these same retro games. No longer can I buy Super Mario World or Ocarina of Time to own forever and pay a one off fee for. Now to access these games I have to pay each and every year to have continued access on my current machine. That's the point. And a perfect example of a shift in strategy from a games company. (And to be honest - I only want to play about 10% of the games on NSO - so whilst there's a lot of choice for me, I'm actually not interested in most of it and would wager that's the case with many players.)
If the XBox brand is around in 6 or so years (it's reported that if GamePass isn't profitable by 2030 their current way of doing business is unsustainable) how will MS be making games available? Sub only?
As for trying out games for less on a sub model - sure I can see your point. That's clearly good for many people.
My worry though is that people are sleepwalking into a model of business which on the surface seems convenient and beneficial right now - you have the choice to do either - but given time and if companies like MS have their way there will only be one option, and it'll be the one that benefits the games companies getting paid month in month out and not one for gamers.
Presuming Microsoft will release physical copies of their games on PS and Switch and I'm all for that.
All the fools paying for subscription services across movies, music and videogames - you own nothing and this content can be taken away at a moment's notice and you are powerless to stop them. Why can't people see this?
Look at the furore with Sony recently announcing they were deleting Discovery TV shows even though people had PAID to apparently own them. Even their climb down from this is a temporary solution as they've only extended the deal for an extra few years or smth?
Wake up, smell the coffee and buy physical!!! Screw subscription services!!!
Phenomenal game. Best 2D platformer on Switch IMO. I prefer it to the too easy (yet still great) Mario Wonder as it packs more of a challenge. Would have loved Retro to have made another entry by now...
@NinjaNicky Yeah here in the UK we got the Black Box design variant so that should really read North America and UK. Not the first time Nintendo Life has mixed up/confused the European and UK's releases on the NES!
It was definitely Black Box in the UK with the Mattel version.
Comments 51
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl - SNES Classic Mini Console
Anyone who doesn't select the utterly gorgeous and artful Japanese Super Famicom box needs their head examined!!! 😁 Uncluttered and so tasteful.
Back when we didn't need things to be so literal and have everything spelled out to us. ❤
Re: Nintendo Announces 'My Mario' Yoshi App For Switch And Mobile Devices
@RoboCube +1 I just searched for the original app but still not available in Europe/UK!? WTH?
Re: Shigeru Miyamoto Is Confident Mario Will Be Around For "A Long Time To Come"
Mario's the reason I'm a gamer.
My sister had the Mario Bros. Game+Watch so I knew about the characters, but it wasn't until I was on holiday and I saw a Super Mario Bros. arcade machine that my interest was truly piqued.
All these American kids were crowded around it and they seemed to know the game incredibly well. Not surprising as most of them probably owned the game at home! As I peered through the gaps between them my mind was blown - mushrooms that make you bigger... fireflowers!? Wait you can go DOWN those green pipes?!
I think prior to this we owned a BBC micro so you can see why!
I then saw adverts for the NES in American comics and started seeing them in UK shops and the odd commercial on TV. I eventually managed to save up a hard earned £100 to buy one.
Not the duff more expensive Deluxe Set with Gyromite and Duck Hunt. Oh no; the cheaper and infinitely more desirable set with SMB.
What a character!
Re: EA Is Diving Headfirst Into Generative AI With New Partnership
"Together, we’re screwing people out of work and increasing our profit margins."
Re: Gallery: Here's A Closer Look At The London Pop-Up Nintendo Store's Sweet Merch
Went this morning - it's pretty good! I've seen a lot of this stuff available on the UK Nintendo website before (eg: A4 wallets, badges, pens etc) but there were some cool things in there.
When this was announced I hoped they might bring over some merch from the museum but there was nowt. It was all franchise based and I was disappointed they didn't have anything to do with each generation of hardware like the Famicom or Super Famicom etc. Suspect that would be too niche!
Still, picked up a few fun items and hoping this becomes a permanent fixture either in London or somewhere else in Europe.
Re: Talking Point: How Do You Play NES Games These Days?
Multiple ways, but mainly on my FPGA AVS system (missed out on the Analogue NT so plumped for this.)
It's brilliant and allows me to play a lot of games not on NSO and buy games I missed which aren't on that service (Gremlins 2 and Batman: RotJ being recent ones.)
Have a small but growing Famicom cart collection including Ninja Gaiden 3, Akumajō Densetsu, Goonies 1, Rockman 4 and Wai Wai World 2. I know smth like Akumajō Densetsu is on the Anniversary Collection and I could play it on my PS, but great to own a boxed Jap copy of one of my favourite NES games and it's just cooler to play it on my TV with a NES joypad.
NSO a good alternative for anything more common, so long as it stays on there! But will I still be subbing to that in later years? Would love the option to buy NSO games outright.
Have an OG NES boxed up but haven't needed to get it out in years.
Re: Devolver's Awesome New Skating Game Lands On Switch 2 This December
Good God - that aesthetic is gorgeous! And the soundtrack equally impressive. I'm v bad at skating games but this is a must play if it reviews well!
Re: Video: Feeling Rough? This Orchestra's 5-Minute 'Super Mario Retro Suite' Will Sort You Out
Wunderbar!
I wonder if Koji Kondo knew when he wrote the main theme for SMB how iconic and timeless it would become! 40 years on and it's as catchy as ever, along with his whole oeuvre.
The videogame equivalent of John Williams, he really did bottle lightning.
Re: The Adorable 'Lil Gator Game' Is Getting A "Huge" Expansion In 2026
Played the base game recently and adored it. Really looking forward to this!
Re: Sega Reignites Its Nintendo Rivalry In New Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Trailer
Haha brilliant!
Really looking forward to the new Sonic Racing game - esp as I don't own a Switch 2 yet. All Stars Racing Transformed is so good, hoping they can bottle that magic again.
But it always struck me as odd that the original 90s ad compared Sonic 2, Ecco and SoR2 with... Super Mariokart?! Always seemed like a silly choice on SEGA's part to me; SMK is a stone cold classic, a totally different genre to any of the SEGA games shown and (depending on one's gaming tastes) easily the equal of those three games. Plus on 150cc it moves along at a fair old lick! Why didn't SEGA show MarioPaint or smth else?! 🤣
Re: Sunsoft Has A "Major Announcement" To Share Next Week
NES Batman or GTFO!!!!
Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Direct September Predictions - What Do You Hope To See?
SUPER MARIO 40!
Re: Revived Publisher Acclaim Is Teasing Something For Next Week
Bart vs The Space Mutants Remastered.
Loved that game!
(V happy memories of playing that, SMB3 and Ninja Gaiden over Christmas 1991!)
Re: Random: Zelda Fan Builds A Ridiculously Cool, Fully Functional Wind Waker Sailboat
❤❤❤ Just... WOW! Biggest grin on my face.
Re: He-Man Is The Next '80s Icon Getting His Own Stunning Arcade-Style Retro Revival
@Spider-Kev @rvcolem1 But will we get DLC skins of Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella? Can but hope lol! 😅🗡
Re: Official Box Art For Kirby Air Riders Revealed, Price And File Size Confirmed
What an appallingly boring font... 🤔
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl - Super Adventure Island (SNES)
The US one (as so often) is an absolute abomination! Gobsmacked if anyone votes for that and prefers it over the European and Japanese ones.
As so often, Japan wins with classy art and great layout that perfectly capture the feel of the game.
Re: Cult-Movie-Turned-Metroidvania 'Turbo Kid' Lands August Switch Release
@OldManHermit IKR - the TK soundtrack is brill!!
Great this is coming to Switch!
Re: Splatoon Raiders, A New Splatoon Spin-Off, Is Confirmed For Switch 2
Single player Splatoon - YES!
Re: Review: Arcade Archives 2: Ridge Racer (Switch 2) - Still A Thrill, More Than 30 Years Later
@cawley1 Yeah going from SNES Stunt Race FX to seeing Ridge Racer in the arcades and then play it on PS1 was truly next level! Good times.
Re: Review: Arcade Archives 2: Ridge Racer (Switch 2) - Still A Thrill, More Than 30 Years Later
@Ristar24 Hell yes! God I miss those days! There's a tonne of really cool stuff being done today, but v rarely are my eyeballs now blown to the back of my skull with new tech and mind blowing graphics!
I also think only having print media and aside from some cover CDs with super low res movs on them, all we had to see was a smattering of screen shots in mags, often they were tiny! So when you either got to see a game at home or in the arcades it was friggin amazing. Esp something like Ridge Racer or Daytona and before that Virtuas Racer/Fighter! Ironically - back then (for me at least) being exposed to less was somehow 'more' and made seeing a game first hand or play it way more exciting as you didn't have the over saturation of trailers and moving media that we are inundated with today... ...says he as he types this with the Summer Games Fest stream on... (like I'm going to miss that!)
Re: Review: Arcade Archives 2: Ridge Racer (Switch 2) - Still A Thrill, More Than 30 Years Later
@Damo Great review!
Ahh Edge magazine #6! Snap - for me that cover is imprinted on my mind and made such an impact. I remember clear as day showing it to my mate (in Biology class) and he thought it was a real photo.
And you're right - you just had to be there. As great as gaming is these days, the technological advancements back then were mind blowing. The transition from 16 to 32/64-bit machines was such an exciting time. We just don't get such visually obvious generational leaps any more sadly.
I've been dreaming of an arcade perfect port for years. An all time iconic classic. And even though I now own it, I know I'll still play that beat up cab in that Norfolk arcade whenever I go to the coast for our family holiday!
Re: Random: One GameStop Apparently Stapled Receipts To Brand New Switch 2 Boxes, And Guess What Happened...
Just stapling the box and making holes in it would piss me off enough, but to damage the unit? WTH!
Incompetent buffoons.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl - Duel: F-Zero X
@Uncle_Franklin Couldn't agree more.
This feature always fascinates me as I'm often at odds with the popular choice - I regularly choose the Japanese variant as I feel they're more artistic, better laid out and more daring than their Western counterparts. I'm amazed at how boring, ugly and unimaginative some (not all!) the Western ones are compared to the Japanese releases yet they often get more votes. So I'm often in the minority, even though during this period I bought official PAL releases and so nostalgia (which seems to be a big influence?) plays no part for me.
I guess growing up reading CVG (late 80s/early 90s then Paul Davies era), Mean Machines and Super Play where Japanese artwork was liberally used (often nicked from Japanese mags!) is one of the main reasons why I have such a soft spot for that Nipponese flavour.
Shows how out of touch I am I guess!
Re: Feature: The Long & Rainbow Road To 'Mario Kart World', From SNES To Switch 2
@Sylamp Obviously I was around at the time all three of these were released so I have a very very different take on them compared to you - but the rubber banding and 'cheating' wasn't that bad on the original SMK on SNES.
If one is good at that game you can lap the computer racers with ease; all of them on 100cc and about half the pack on 150cc.
It actually rewards you for being a bad ass at the game and decimating the field with racing skills and barely using any items! It's the purest racing game of the series where 90% of the time racing ability pretty much decided the outcome rather than items did. And sure ofc there were the odd games where someone would get you with a red shell or lightning at the death but with fewer items in the roulette and fewer item boxes means it wasn't the be all and end all in a race. Less was more.
That's why for me it's still my favourite (& I absolutely love many of the other entries esp MK DS and MK8) it's a racing game first and foremost which rewards good racing lines and tactics! I can race through that game and win on 150cc and barely use any items - and if you're in 1st you'd better get used to that as all you'll most likely get are coins, bananas or green shells!
I guess you just had to be there...!
Re: Feature: The Long & Rainbow Road To 'Mario Kart World', From SNES To Switch 2
SMK on SNES still my fave for pure racing. No Blue Shells and tight small tracks. The fact there is only one chance to pick up items (apart from on the odd track) means it isn't such a weapons fest and you have to try and use your items more strategically.
I own OG PAL, USA and JAP copies. Still play it regularly and love love the Mode 7 graphics. So many memories playing this with my sister over the summer holidays - Ghost Valley 1 the track of choice.
Such an exciting time back in 1992 when this dropped!
Re: Nintendo Defends Switch 2's Perceived Lack Of Innovation
I'd rather it wasn't gimmicky for the sake of it - which is what the Wii U felt like. Whilst it's not totally radical the mouse on the joy cons is a wonderful new feature - even though it might not be that comfortable to hold I bet a more ergonomic stand alone release will come out from either Nintendo or a third party - the equivalent of the pro controller. I'm not bothered at all by the apparent lack of innovation - looks ACE to me!
Re: Video: Nintendo Shares More Footage Of F-Zero GX For Switch Online
@Truegamer79 I never got past the second mission if memory recalls - the one with Samurai Goro racing along a cliff edge?! Don't think I'll be getting past it again when I eventually play this again!
Still hoping this gets a proper remaster and isn't only available on a subscription service...
Re: Nintendo Confirms Removal Of Switch Online SNES Game
@LadyCharlie No.
The main reason I have Switch Online IS to access the library of old games.
Re: Random: Takaya Imamura Says Nintendo Never Celebrated Its 100th Birthday
@StewdaMegaManNerd Oh so true haha - and so annoying as well!
I was v disappointed they didn't keep Mario35 around for longer - I absolutely loved it and was actually good at it!
They've kept F-Zero 99 going and whilst I applaud them doing that, personally it isn't for me (too frenetic!) so why oh why couldn't they keep something I actually liked!
Re: Random: Takaya Imamura Says Nintendo Never Celebrated Its 100th Birthday
@PokemonDMG No - SMB3 was 1988!
Hoping we get SMB 40 for Mario's 40th - loved SMB 35!
Re: Nintendo Music Adds Another SNES Banger, Here's Every Song Included
Soyo Oka - LEGEND!!!!
Re: Community: 41 Switch Games We Missed, As Recommended By You
I loved Curse Crackers: For Whom the Belle Toils - really fun platforming mechanic bouncing off things and great aesthetic!
Re: The Eternal Life Of Goldman's Stunning Hand-Drawn Visuals Have Blown Our Socks Off
Stunning - bravo for not using AI!
Re: Throwback Racer 'Victory Heat Rally' Stalls On Switch, Now Launching After PC & Mobile
This looks great but has to be said the Kickstarter these guys ran has been incredibly bad. Long periods of silence with no updates, incredibly late delivering (original estimated delivery date was Dec 2021 after the campaign launched in Oct 2020!) and now they're going back on possibly releasing it on Playstation and XBox and not committing to it releasing on these platforms. Sure game dev is hard work and problems occur but many people not happy with the way things have been run, especially the lack of updates keeping everyone in the loop.
Still - it does look very cool.
And no Jim - it doesn't look anything like Ridge Racer.
Re: Random: Donkey Kong Country 3 Fan Creates Incredible Epoxy Resin Statue
@sevex Yeah it's actually my favourite one out of the SNES trilogy!
Re: Rainbow Island Sequel 'Parasol Stars' Finally Gets Modern Console Release For Bargain Price
Love this series - Rainbow Islands my absolute favourite. Will definitely be picking this up.
Re: Random: Super Mario 64 GBA Project Adds Stars And "Wider" Limbs For Mario
Gobsmackingly brilliant!
Re: 'River Tails: Stronger Together' Is A New Co-Op Adventure About Feline And Fish Friendship
That looks delightful!
Re: Unofficial 'Nintendo World Championships' Cart Smashes Kickstarter Goal
Holy crap that's expensive. No option to buy without signatures which is why I'm guessing it's so expensive so this just feels greedy not providing a cheaper option on what is a knock off cartridge.
Not for me - plus can see this being shutdown by Nintendo.
Re: Retro-Style Racer 'Victory Heat Rally' Power Slides Onto Switch Winter 2024
I backed this on kickstarter and it's good to finally get an update after so much radio silence.
It's looking great I love the aesthetic.
One thing (which obviously doesn't apply to this Nintendo site) is the campaign stated there would be XBox and Playstation versions but the release window trailer only mentions Switch and Steam. A couple of people have commented on this on the campaign page as well.
Wondering what's going on there as this Kickstarter campaign has not been well run by the creators with long periods of silence and no updates in ages, and now this possible change of formats the game is initially releasing on?
Re: Poll: A New Donkey Kong Game Must Be Coming, But What Should It Be?
After the brilliance of Returns and especially Tropical Freeze I'm so disappointed there hasn't been a third entry from Retro to complete a trilogy of 2D platformers.
I'd also be up for a full on 3D entry as well.
Re: Feature: 33 Games We're Surprised Still Aren't On Switch
@Coffeemonstah Surely Konami have a Parodius collection in the works with all versions compiled from Arcade and 8 to 16 to 32-bit?! After the Rocket Knight and Felix the Cat collections I hope so!
Re: Feature: 33 Games We're Surprised Still Aren't On Switch
Had to double check but amazingly NO F-Zero GX in this list?!?!
Re: Super Mario Bros. Wonder Devs Show Off "Unused Wonder Effects" At GDC 2024
Cool to see!
Enjoyed the game and imagination on show but for me didn't hit the heights of Mario 3, World or Yoshi's Island.
It was just far too easy, even the 100% wasn't a challenge sadly.
Very quickly turned the badges off as I realised they nerfed the game. I beat Bowser on my first go. Even the hidden world challenge levels were bested in 2-3 attempts. (The final final level was fairly tough mind but this was the only one I found to be a real challenge!)
If any game needed a DLC with harder new levels (a la Super Luigi U) it's this one!
Re: Xbox Game Pass Really Isn't Coming To Nintendo Switch
@Edwirichuu You're conveniently overlooking the fact that not everything shown on Netflix or other streaming services is available to legally buy on physical or digital media. Some are, but many are not. And that's obviously intentional - these companies want you to continue paying out, month after month to access their exclusive content. By limiting how it is available (at least legally) they are tying you in to their service as long as you are willing to pay for it, yet you own nothing. So yeah, sure, if I watch something on Netflix and I really like it I will go and buy it. But crucially that's not always possible as they don't release everything to buy. And why would they? If I want to watch certain films I have to pay my sub to Netflix or whoever. That's their whole business model.
The danger for me (and my point which I didn't make clearly enough so apologies for that) is gaming is going the same way - right now you can indeed try a game on GamePass, and if you want it, buy it so you own it.
You might think it's good right now - but what about the longterm?
Will MS allow people to buy their games individually (either digitally or physically) in the future? I'd wager not. I obviously do not know this, but why do they want you to own something 'forever' when they can have people repeatedly paying the same monthly sub for it? This is the way the wind is blowing in all forms of media - games are no exception.
Let's see where we are in 10 years. I would be amazed if MS and probably Sony haven't tried to implement a sub only strategy to play games on their hardware.
Look at Nintendo. On Wii we had the Virtual Console - I could permanently buy old games and own them forever as long as my Wii console kept on working. What is Nintendo's model on the Switch? A subscription to access these same retro games. No longer can I buy Super Mario World or Ocarina of Time to own forever and pay a one off fee for. Now to access these games I have to pay each and every year to have continued access on my current machine. That's the point. And a perfect example of a shift in strategy from a games company. (And to be honest - I only want to play about 10% of the games on NSO - so whilst there's a lot of choice for me, I'm actually not interested in most of it and would wager that's the case with many players.)
If the XBox brand is around in 6 or so years (it's reported that if GamePass isn't profitable by 2030 their current way of doing business is unsustainable) how will MS be making games available? Sub only?
As for trying out games for less on a sub model - sure I can see your point. That's clearly good for many people.
My worry though is that people are sleepwalking into a model of business which on the surface seems convenient and beneficial right now - you have the choice to do either - but given time and if companies like MS have their way there will only be one option, and it'll be the one that benefits the games companies getting paid month in month out and not one for gamers.
Peace out man.
Re: Xbox Game Pass Really Isn't Coming To Nintendo Switch
Well I never wanted it anyway.
Presuming Microsoft will release physical copies of their games on PS and Switch and I'm all for that.
All the fools paying for subscription services across movies, music and videogames - you own nothing and this content can be taken away at a moment's notice and you are powerless to stop them. Why can't people see this?
Look at the furore with Sony recently announcing they were deleting Discovery TV shows even though people had PAID to apparently own them. Even their climb down from this is a temporary solution as they've only extended the deal for an extra few years or smth?
Wake up, smell the coffee and buy physical!!! Screw subscription services!!!
Re: Anniversary: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Is Now A Decade Old
Phenomenal game. Best 2D platformer on Switch IMO. I prefer it to the too easy (yet still great) Mario Wonder as it packs more of a challenge.
Would have loved Retro to have made another entry by now...
Re: Meet The Bosses Of 'Penny's Big Breakaway' In Gorgeous Animated Trailer
I really WANT!!!
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl - Donkey Kong
@NinjaNicky Yeah here in the UK we got the Black Box design variant so that should really read North America and UK. Not the first time Nintendo Life has mixed up/confused the European and UK's releases on the NES!
It was definitely Black Box in the UK with the Mattel version.