Latest Features - Page 7
Poll Box Art Brawl - Duel: Dragon Quest III (NES)
Before the remake(s)
We are back, back, back for another edition of Box Art Brawl! Before we dive into this week's topical match-up, let's recap what went down last time. Two 3DS covers for Bravely Default went head-to-head in our last duel and great Scott, was it a close one! The European 'For the Sequel' version put up a good fight but was...
Talking Point How Do You Define 'Retro'?
10 years? 20? Anything older than two console generations?
If you're reading this, you're getting older. Right now, at this moment, you're older than you were when you started reading this sentence. And this one. No, you can't go back and read it again to get younger. Time marches on, so thank you for spending your precious seconds on this silly...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (1st June)
What are YoRHa doing?
Crikey, it's the weekend already..? Ah well, we'll take it! Looking back on this week, it's kinda felt like a bit of a quieter one, but we've still had some pretty sizeable news items drop. The top story this week was undoubtedly the reveal of the new Lego set based on the Legend of Zelda franchise's Deku Tree; it's an...
"Collaboration contents from outside Capcom will not be carried over"
The Nintendo 3DS had plenty of incredible exclusives and in its heyday, a lot of those were in the Monster Hunter series. One gem that truly stands out from its no-glasses-3D siblings is Monster Hunter Stories. Developed as a collaboration between Capcom and Marvelous, this...
Video For 365 Days, We Took Our 2DS Everywhere Just For StreetPass
Please Nintendo, put StreetPass in 'Switch 2'
StreetPass was fantastic — StreetPass is fantastic — and last year our intrepid video producer Zion Grassl went on a personal quest to see how many tags he could get for the glorious little inter-console app... At the start of 2023, I had a real longing for the days of the 3DS. Partially due to the...
Poll Is $60 Too Much For Nintendo's Switch Re-Releases?
Remaking money
As Nintendo's internal software focus has switched to games for its as-yet-unannounced hardware, we've been enjoying a wave of lower-key ports, remakes, and remasters over the last year or so, in addition to the tentpole TOTKs and Mario Wonders of the world. The sun may be slowly setting on Switch, but quality revisits such as Metroid...
Talking Point What Other LEGO Zelda Sets Would You Like To See After The Deku Tree?
The seal is broken
The long-rumoured LEGO Zelda set has finally, officially been unveiled and, despite the cost of the adult-focused set causing many a Zelda fan to spit-take their Lon Lon Milk across the room, the 2-in-1 Great Deku Tree looks like a beauty. Of course, it absolutely should do for 300 bucks, but looking at the myriad details crammed...
Feature Is 'Trails Through Daybreak' The Fresh Beginning The Trails Series Needs?
I'm a Daybreaker
We're always a little bit wary whenever someone says that the latest game in Falcom's Trails series is "a great place to start". We know we've said in the past — as we did with Trails from Zero — but it's a statement we always put a lot of consideration into. This statement holds a lot of weight in this franchise, both among...
Soapbox The Erdrick Trilogy Is The Right 'Dragon Quest' For The HD-2D Treatment
Rumblings of an Elusive Age
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. And with Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake — or whatever it's meant to be now — finally re-emerging after three years, Alana's here to make a case as to why this is the RPG...
Gallery 13 Awesome Details We Spotted In The Legend Of Zelda's Great Deku Tree LEGO Set
Hey, Look!
It's official, Lego has revealed that The Legend of Zelda will be the next Nintendo franchise joining its gaming series, kicking things off with the Great Deku Tree 2-in-1 set on 1st September 2024. Listed at £259.99 / $299.99 and consisting of 2,500 bricks, the 2-in-1 set lets you build Hyrule's iconic Deku Tree in either its Ocarina...
Poll What Review Score Would You Give Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door?
The door's open
Last week saw the return of the king of Paper Marios as The Thousand-Year Door launched on Switch in remake form. Following last year's excellent Super Mario RPG remake, our deputy editor Alana Hagues once again tackled a turn-based Mario and found this latest Switch remake from Intelligent Systems to be "a fantastic RPG adventure,...
Soapbox After Restarting My Save File, I Finally 'Get' Hollow Knight
*sigh* Bapanada
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Jim is finally seeing the Hollow light... Last year, I decided to take a break from Tears of the Kingdom and pick up a fun-looking, rarely discussed indie which was subject to a...
Poll Box Art Brawl - Duel: Bravely Default
Fly high, fairy
Hello folks, and welcome back to another edition of Box Art Brawl. Before we get cracking, let's see how things panned out last week, hm? We looked at Super Monkey Ball Adventure, one of several entries for the GameCube. As we'd expected, the busier, more vibrant box art from North America sealed the deal, winning a healthy 79% of...
Soapbox Fire Emblem’s Future May Not Be In Turn-Based Combat
Fire Emblem’s fates
How would you feel if the next mainline Fire Emblem game was exclusively a social sim? While a change this drastic is almost certainly not in the cards, the identity crisis currently faced by Fire Emblem means that change must come. While Engage’s 1.61 million sales as of March 2023 is respectable for the franchise, it marks...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (25th May)
Are you well?
Wait, it's Saturday already? Where does the time go? This week has been an exciting one for fans of the Big N. Not only did Nintendo announce the acquisition of Shiver Entertainment, but we finally got our hands on Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door on Switch (and we think it's a beauty)! Elsewhere on the site this week, we
Talking Point 'Remake' Vs. 'Remaster' - What's Your Definition?
Super 'master 'maker
With official word that a Nintendo Switch "successor" will be announced before April 2025, there's really no debating that Switch is in the twilight of its years. We're well into Year 8 now, and we're being served up a series of remakes and remasters of old favourites while Nintendo's premier teams focus on brand-new games for...
Feature Spitfire Interactive Talks X-Men, XCOM, And "What Age Has To Say To Youth" In 'Capes'
A new (Midnight) Sun rises
We first caught wind of Capes in the hazy days of early 2023. The turn-based superhero tactics set-up sounded like a novel idea, albeit one that we were worried might tread on the toes of one Marvel's Midnight Suns which, remember, we were still expecting to see on Switch. That Switch port was eventually cancelled, and we...
Poll A New Donkey Kong Game Must Be Coming, But What Should It Be?
The wait is driving us bananas
It feels like Donkey Kong is everywhere at the moment. With the lovable ape’s significant appearance in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the upcoming DK-themed expansion at Japan’s
Feature Nintendo's Latest Studio - Who Is Shiver Entertainment?
A brief look at Nintendo's newest acquisition
You could be forgiven for thinking, 'Another day, another video game company acquisition,' but Nintendo's announcement that it is buying Shiver Entertainment and making the port specialists a wholly-owned subsidiary isn't business as usual for the Japanese firm. Nintendo is, historically, extremely...
Hands On Revisiting The Tale In 'Monster Hunter Stories' On Switch
A light bite
Capcom is one of the titans of the gaming industry, and among its most successful and powerful franchises is Monster Hunter. Yet it’s easy to forget that, for many years, the series was exclusive to one platform holder – first Sony systems and then a spell with Nintendo starting with Monster Hunter Tri on Wii. On top of repeated...
Poll Box Art Brawl - Duel: Super Monkey Ball Adventure
Ballin'
Let's get the ball rolling on another edition of Box Art Brawl, shall we? Last week, we matched up two covers for Capcom's Demon's Crest on the SNES. The regional designs shared few similarities and the same can be said for the spread of votes, with 84% of picks falling in Japan's favour. Talk about a washout! This time, we are throwing...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (18th May)
Well, well well
Oh, weekend! How we have missed thee! The past seven days might not have been the Switch successor-confirming news fest that we saw last week, but there has still been plenty of good stuff happening in Nintendo land. The NSO Game Boy library got a tasty boost with the addition of three new games, we got a first peek at Splatoon 3's
Feature Who Is Playtonic's Voice Of The People?
The driving force of change
Frances Williams, Head of People @ Playtonic Here at Nintendo Life we've followed Playtonic's journey since its inception back in 2015. We caught up with the team behind Yooka-Laylee and its follow-up Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair last year to see how the studio had grown and what they are working on next. During...
Talking Point Which Games Were Just The Perfect Length?
And which outstayed their welcome?
We've all watched films that could have stood to lose 30 minutes from their runtime. That whole last act of Bad Boys II? Should've been left on the cutting room floor, mate. It's the same with many a game. Alien: Isolation is fantastic, but how much better might it have been with a little tightening, to remove some...
Soapbox Paper Mario's Ms. Mowz Taught Me How To Appreciate (And Steal) The Little Things
THIEF
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Kate discusses one of Mario's criminal — and criminally underrated — pals... Sometimes I suspect that, in another life before this one, I was a thief. In this life, I'm a relatively...
Talking Point One Year On, Has Everyone Beaten Ganondorf In Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom?
Dawn of The Second Year
Back in August last year, when Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom had been in the wild for just three months, we asked how your completion percentage was coming along. Given the size of the game, it was understandable that 37% of respondees still hadn't beaten the final boss and therefore still didn't know their completion...
Poll Box Art Brawl - Duel: Demon's Crest (SNES)
It's Blaz-on
Hi folks, and welcome back to another edition of Box Art Brawl! Before we get cracking with this week's battle, let's see what happened last time. We looked at Mario Paint for the SNES, with North America and Europe taking on Japan. Rather predictably, the Western design won the vote comfortably at 89%, proving that colour and whimsy...
Hands On Hades 2 Is A Hell Of A Time, Even In Early Access
Switch successor release, then?
Hades II marks a first for Supergiant Games. This is the first time the studio has revisited a world, its characters, and their stories, and as a result, is its very first direct sequel. In a way, that might seem disappointing, but this is Supergiant Games we're talking about. Hades is a masterclass in narrative...
Feature An Incredibly Moving Night At The Stardew Valley: Festival Of Seasons Concert
Dancing with the Moonlit Jellies
It’s a pleasant spring evening in the Scottish capital, but walking down Edinburgh’s Clerk Street, it doesn’t take long for things to appear more like Pelican Town. Tonight is the country’s only date of the Stardew Valley: Festival of Seasons concert world tour, which sees the myriad earworms of the beloved...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (11th May)
Down in the well
Ah, the weekend. We've missed you, friend. Before we look at what we've got planned over the next couple of days, let's take a look back at this week, shall we? It's been a pretty big one, admittedly. For the first time, Nintendo itself has finally acknowledged the existence of the 'Switch 2' after the release of its latest...
Feature How Nintendo Switch Is Being Used By A New Generation Of Therapists
Cooperative healing in handheld hybrid form
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and we'll be running several features focused on how video games of all types have helped us through periods when we were struggling with our mental health. Today, Tim speaks to therapists to discover how they are using Switch and video game therapy to help patients...
Soapbox Square Enix's "Extraordinary Losses" And This Whole Xbox Mess Have Me Scared For The Future
Who wants to be a gillionaire?
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Alana fears for Square Enix's smaller-budget titles and is worried about the rest of the industry as a result. What on earth is going on with Square Enix? I asked...
Soapbox Are We Ready For A 3D Super Mario Maker?
Super Mario Maker 3(D)
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Kevin wonders if Nintendo is ready to bring another dimension to its Maker series... If you can believe it, Super Mario Maker was released for the Wii U nearly nine years...
Talking Point Will Nintendo Wring One More Holiday From Switch Before Revealing New Hardware?
The clock is ticking
Today, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa started a stopwatch that puts an official deadline on the reveal of the Switch successor — he says it's coming "this fiscal year," which means FY2025, which means between now and April 2025. It's important to remember that this specifically refers to the reveal of the upcoming...
Soapbox 'Revenge Of The Sith' On DS Is Still Top-Tier Star Wars Gaming
Heart Palpatinetions
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Jim celebrates Revenge of the Fifth with a DS throwback... You felt it, didn't you? A disturbance in the Force. Over on Coruscant, Darth Sidious has called for the execution...
Feature Nintendo Life eShop Selects & Readers' Choice (April 2024)
Our picks for the best eShop games in April
It's that time — welcome back to our monthly eShop Selects feature! This time, we're covering April — somehow, we're already in May. As mentioned last month, we've made another change to the piece. Now you'll be voting for your favourite hidden gem for the current month within this piece, rather than...
Poll Box Art Brawl - Duel: Mario Paint (SNES)
Vincent van Goomba
Hey folks, and welcome back to another edition of Box Art Brawl! We had a veritable doozy last week when we checked out Pokémon Yellow Version for the humble Game Boy; truly one of the standout titles in the gargantuan franchise. It was a good ol' duel in which North America and Europe teamed up against Japan, and we must admit...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (4th May)
May the Fourth be with you
Hello there. Happy Star Wars Day, folks! With a glass of blue milk in hand, let's kick off the weekend's celebrations with another edition of What Are You Playing. This week in the world of Nintendo, we heard yet more 'Switch 2' rumours and asked whether you'd like to see your Joy-Con carry over to the next model. We also...
Feature Best Underwater Levels On Nintendo Switch
Making a splash
We're fast approaching summer, and there's no better time of year to go for a dip in the ocean. Of course, if you're reading this on 2nd May 2024, then you probably know that Nintendo is offering its own virtual "dip" in the ocean in Endless Ocean: Luminous, the surprise new game in the Endless Ocean series. And while we might not...
Talking Point Would You Want To Reuse Your Joy-Con On 'Switch 2'?
Pros and 'Cons
Last week the Switch 2 beacons were lit once again as Spanish outlet Vandal reported to have more information regarding Nintendo's next hardware, specifically to do with a new, magnetic Joy-Con model. Another report just d
Soapbox During A Mental Health Crisis, It Wasn't Cosy Games That Helped
Get me behind the wheel
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and we'll be running several features focused on how video games of all types have helped us through periods when we were struggling with our mental health. Today, Richard shares how racing games helped restore him during a difficult period... I tense up whenever I take a corner in...
Poll Are You Bothered By The Frame Rate For Paper Mario: TTYD On Switch?
The ol' 30 vs. 60
One of the most talked-about points raised during the recent round of previews for Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door on Switch was the game's frame rate. In case you missed it, the remake will run at 30fps in both docked and handheld mode. Now, you might wonder why this is supposedly such a big deal, but those who played the 2004...
Hands On Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance Is More Of The Glorious, Unhinged Same
And that's fine by us
After playing Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance for two hours, we’d hoped to be able to deliver a smorgasbord of details regarding new additions, performance improvements, and story nuggets, but truth be told, Sega’s preview session felt very much geared toward those who might be playing for the first time over on PS5 or...
Community 28 Switch Games We Missed, As Recommended By You Lovely People
Part 8 - Missed hits
Welcome back to Part VIII of our 'Games We Missed' series. With so many Switch games large and small releasing every week, we're eager to highlight great ones which slipped through our net — and thanks to you lovely people, this bi-annual feature can do just that. As always, we asked you to send us nominations for Switch...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (27th April)
Jump up, Superstar Saga
Another week is almost over, which means it's once again time to kick back, relax, and play some games. Before we do, however, let's just do a quick recap of some of the stories from this week. First up, Nintendo expanded the NSO service with two N64 games, which is always welcome in our book. We also got our first proper...
Hands On Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Unfolds Gloriously On Switch
Smoothing out the creases
It’s been nearly 20 years since we first set foot on the cobbled streets of Rogueport, the hub town of GameCube favourite Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Back in 2004, the seedy streets of the criminal town felt like nothing else in a Mario game – suspicious characters roam the streets, puddles pool on the...
Community Played A Switch Game Gem We Missed? Send Us Your Recommendations
Reader recs
That's right, it's time for another edition of 'Help, Please Help - Too Many Switch Games!' For a few years now we've been running bi-annual Games We Missed round-ups where you lovely lot nominate great Switch games that we weren't able to review. We do our best to cover as much as possible, but with so many brilliant things hitting the...
Feature 10 Game Boy Deep Cuts That Aren’t On Nintendo Switch Online
And should be
The Game Boy turns 35 years old today, and we've been running features over the past couple of days celebrating the handheld and its games. Today, Nile digs up 10 lesser-known gems in the system's remarkable library. 35 years ago, the Game Boy changed handheld gaming – not because it was powerful, but because it wasn’t. Premised...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (20th April)
Totally rad(s)!
The weekend has rolled around once again and we are eager to play some games! Before we do that, however, let's take a look back at the week just gone. The big news this week was Nintendo's first Indie World of the year which didn't bring us that game but did provide plenty of goodies including Little Kitty, Big City, Teenage Mutant...
Soapbox Where The Heck Is Fallout 3 On Switch?
Searching the Capital Wasteland
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, while flicking through Amazon Prime TV, a question popped into Ollie's head... "War. War never changes." If this quote sounds familiar to you, then chances are you...
