Latest Features
Talking Point After A September No-Show, Will There Be An October Nintendo Direct?
No Nintendo 'nnouncements?
We're now one full week into October following the first September since 2016 without a really big Nintendo Direct. Looking back at our Nintendo Direct broadcast history guide, it's all there in black and white (well, red and white). 2020's Direct might have been a Super Mario-focused job themed around that series' 35th...
Feature Nintendo Life eShop Selects & Readers' Choice (September 2024)
Our picks for the best eShop games in September
We're fast approaching GOTY season, so it's time to strap in and look back at the best of September in this month's edition of eShop Selects. Wait, what do you mean "a brand-new Zelda game came out last month"? We know, don't worry — but what about all of those eShop exclusives, eh? We'll be looking...
Poll Box Art Brawl - Duel: Mario Party Advance
A portable party
Hey everyone, welcome to this week's edition of Box Art Brawl! Last time, we saw three 3DS covers go head-to-head as we matched up the regional variants for Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask. Despite having all those options, it was Europe that walked away with a commanding win after taking 56% of the vote. North America...
Opinion Hyrule Really Needs To Take A Look At Its Prison System
In the c(Link)
My first hour in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom left me with a single, unshakeable thought: God, Hyrule's prisons are terrible. Yes, I was besotted with how traditional the whole thing felt and still somewhat in shock that I had a brand new Zelda game in my hands a mere 18 months after its predecessor. But all that went out of...
Community Did We Miss A Switch Game You Love? Send Us Your Recommendations
Slipped through the net
Oh, hello there. You must be here for our bi-annual Games We Missed callout. It's a familiar story. Loads of Switch games — too many, perhaps — and while the majority of the eShop deliveries each week are a load of old AI-generated pap, there's also a load of great games which, unfortunately, we just aren't able to cover...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (5th October)
Is there an echo in here? in here..? in here......?
Well folks, another week and come and (almost) gone, and it's been another fun-filled one in the world of Nintendo. First up, our preview for Super Mario Party Jamboree went live and we think it's looking absolutely fabulous so far. We also got a look at a rather fetching
Talking Point How Would You Fix Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom's Most Frustrating Feature?
Natural selection
We've been playing The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom pretty consistently over the past week and it's safe to say we're really rather fond of it. Sure, the frame rate could be improved (not that it bothers everybody) and the lock-on can be a little fiddly, but overall it's a jolly good time and a fine return for top-down Zelda...
Feature The Nintendo Museum Goes Hard On Merch & Fun, But Could Dive Deeper Into History
Worth a trip to Japan?
This week, Nintendo opened the doors to a site destined to become a stop-off for many a video game fan visiting Japan: the Nintendo Museum. This latest venture into the real world promises a peek into the company's archives and history, and Kyotogamer was there for Nintendo Life with an account of what's in store if you make...
Poll Are You Bothered By The Frame Rate In Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom?
In a bind?
Now that The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is out in the wild, we suspect many of you have become fairly well-acquainted with the game over the last handful of days. We've already asked what review score you'd give it, and it's currently sitting at #22 on our reader-ranked Best Zelda Games list. (Hey, 22 is pretty great when you...
"...so I have to work and buy many toys"
In case you haven’t heard, Hironobu Sakaguchi, the father of Final Fantasy, is returning home to Square Enix, so to speak, for the first time in 21 years, bringing Mistwalker’s one-time Apple Arcade-exclusive RPG Fantasian to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 (both physically and digitally) and to...
Opinion I Didn't Realise How Much I'd Missed 'Traditional' Zelda Dungeons
(Boss) Key to my heart
Last year, hot off the back of Tears of the Kingdom, I wrote a piece expressing my love for Zelda's 'Modern' dungeons. These puzzle-centric areas had been a little hit or miss, sure, but I found that there was a lot to like in each once I got past the general terminal-activation-ness of it all. I thought I was over Zelda's...
First Impressions Nintendo's Taken Feedback To Heart With 'Super Mario Party Jamboree'
Now, that's a flashy fiesta
Super Mario Party has returned! Okay, so it's only been a handful of years since Mario Party Superstars dropped on Switch, but we are excited — psyched even — for this latest edition, as it promises to deliver in several key areas where the series has floundered somewhat in the past. Yes, if you cast your mind back...
Poll What Review Score Would You Give The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom?
ReDead good or Bore-blin?
If you're anything like us, then chances are you've been absolutely rinsing The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom over the weekend. Let's face it, it's a new Zelda game, for goodness sake. It seems almost preposterous that we've got a brand-new Zelda title so soon after the majesty of Tears of the Kingdom, yet here we are;...
Feature Here's 10 Games We Played At TGS 2024 Coming To Switch
Fantasian! DQ3! Phantom Brave! Sonic, again!
With the Nintendo Switch winding down, the Switch successor still unannounced, and Nintendo itself not typically showing games at the Tokyo Game Show, it can be a little hard to find titles you can play on your favourite hybrid handheld console between massive booths for Monster Hunter Wilds and the...
Feature Life Is Strange: Double Exposure Directors Discuss Caulfield, Canon & Switch
"Both endings of the original Life is Strange are canon"
What were you getting up to in 2015? Maybe you were playing video games back then too, so as a refresher, 2015 was the release year for the sweeping epic Metal Gear Solid V, the somewhat polarising Fallout 4, and indie darlings Rocket League and Undertale. If you were one of the few people...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Professor Layton And The Miracle Mask
I've got it!
Hello folks, and welcome back to another edition of Box Art Brawl! Last week, we checked out the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country. It was a classic 3-way battle in which Japan managed to emerge victorious with 42% of the vote. Europe followed very closely with 39%, while North America floundered slightly at 19%. This...
The world warrior
Shuhei Matsumoto may not yet be as familiar in the fighting game world as the exuberant Yoshinori Ono, but with his playful personality and regular online announcements, panels and interviews, he’s certainly on his way. Since 2017 he has been assisting with and spearheading productions on the likes of Street Fighter 6, Marvel...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (28th September)
The wise choice
Apparently there's a new Zelda game in town, so welcome, once again, to a rather predictable edition of What Are You Playing. Before we dive into our wide range of weekend gaming plans, let's quickly recap what went down in the world of Nintendo this week. The Level-5 Vision Showcase brought us a new trailer for Professor Layton and...
Hands On Professor Layton & The New World Of Steam - New World, But Feels Like The Old Prof
As puzzling as ever
It has been a while since we’ve seen Professor Layton and his protege Luke. For a while, the mind-bending puzzle series seemed like a Nintendo mainstay - at least on the DS and 3DS. The last game starred Katrielle Layton, the daughter of the titular Professor, and received rather mixed reviews when it came out for 3DS in 2017...
Feature Child's Play: From Bokunatsu To Natsu-Mon - The Kaz Ayabe Interview
A sit-down with the creator of My Summer Vacation & Attack of the Friday Monsters
For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, summer has come to an end. Fortunately, through the magic of video games — and the video games created by one man in particular — it's never too late to take a little summer holiday... With the recent English-language...
Talking Point So Then, Is This 'Switch 2' Leak Legit?
Is the Switch-ing hour upon us?
With all the rumours and speculation about Nintendo's next hardware over the last few weeks (who are we kidding — last few years), the recent 'leak' of prototype pictures has piqued the interest of even the most level-headed Nintendo fans. The images show renders and what appear to be prototype casings for the main...
Feature Catch-Up Crew: Donkey Kong Country - "I Liked His Big Red, Er, Ribbit-Bag?"
Catching up with the DK crew
Welcome aboard once again for this edition of Catch-up Crew, the series where the senior staff of the USS Nintendo Life do what every good crew should do on a seat-of-your-pants cosmic adventure - adjourn to the observation lounge for a conference. Yes, we're back at the table to discuss a classic video game that at...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Donkey Kong Country (GBA)
The Diddy one
We are back, back, back with another edition of Box Art Brawl! Last time, we matched up two different covers for Contra 4 on the DS, and it wasn't even close. The North American variant walked comfortably away with the win, taking 76% of the vote and leaving Japan with the remaining 24%. Oof. This week, we're swinging it back a...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (21st September)
Cap it off
Well folks, the weekend is here and it's capping off (heh) a pretty interesting week in the world of Nintendo. For starters, it's been a big one for the upcoming Switch successor. Many folks online thought that this would be 'the' week that Nintendo would finally reveal the new console, but alas, it wasn't to be. Instead, we got a...
"I’d like to think that eventually, no matter what, Gruntilda will get her revenge"
If you haven't played The Stanley Parable, stop reading right now and go and play it. Not because this interview contains spoilers, you understand - you just should have really played The Stanley Parable by now, especially since it came to Switch in Ultra Deluxe...
Soapbox Splatoon 3's 'Grand Festival' Was The Perfect Goodbye
Please wrap it up
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's reliving Splatoon 3's epic climax... I was a latecomer to the Splatoon series. If you had asked me three years ago what my favourite Turf War stage is, the 45 minutes I had...
Poll Box Art Brawl - Duel: Contra 4
A duel of dual spirits
Hello folks, we're back once again for another edition of Box Art Brawl! Before we get started, let's take a look back at how things played out last week. We checked out the GameCube classic Pokémon Colosseum, originally released in Japan in 2003 before making its way West in 2004. All three covers were admittedly pretty...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (14th September)
You're going to take ME for a ride?
It's finally the weekend, and we're ready to chill out with a spot of gaming. Before we get into our plans, however, let's take a look at what happened in the world of Nintendo this week. It was a big one for PlayStation news, weirdly, as we speculated on 'Switch 2' pricing after Sony revealed the £700 PS5 Pro...
Hands On 'Royalty Free For All' Looks To Smash It With A Cosy Fighting Format & Timeless Roster
Domain game
Over the course of 20 years and five games, Nintendo-employed game director Masahiro Sakurai wove together five decades of video game lore to build the ultimate fighting game franchise: Super Smash Bros., more or less inventing the 2D platform fighter genre in the process. And look, it’s a madcap concept right off the rip to...
"I just have to not be too precious"
Back in 2021, Black Tabby Games — an indie studio formed by husband-and-wife team Tony Howard-Arias and Abby Howard — released the first episode of the episodic visual novel Scarlet Hollow on Steam. Visually striking with ink drawings and a deep branching narrative, the duo put the studio on the map from...
$699 is the new $599
Recently, we asked you if $499 would be too much to pay for a 'Switch 2'. 20% of respondees said 'nope', nearly 30% thought it would be too much, and the majority (rather sensibly) said that it would depend on how big of an upgrade Nintendo's next generation of hardware represented. Yesterday Sony pulled back the curtain on the...
Here comes the boom
Lena Raine has so much to say, and she’s figured out a lot of different ways to say it all. Of course, avid game players have been listening to her musical scores for over a decade now, which includes music for Minecraft, as well as the soundtracks for Chicory: A Colorful Tale and the BAFTA-nominated Celeste score. She’s...
Hands On Super Mario Party Jamboree Brings Together The Best Of Both Worlds
It's Mario 'Par-tay'
“Super Mario Party, Mario Party Superstars, Mario Party 1, 2, & 3; what does that tell you about Mario Party games on Switch” “There’s too many of them?” “Or, people like them, let’s release some more of them.” That’s how we imagine the initial pitch for
Talking Point What Game Should Be 'Switch 2's 'Skyrim Moment'?
Margit of error
There were several moments in Nintendo's pre-launch Switch marketing that left us a little lost for words: the hybrid form factor, our first look at Breath of the Wild, the way that one guy went to "walk his dog" but spent the entire time sat on a bench. The reveal that Skyrim would be coming to the iddy biddy console was another...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Pokémon Colosseum
Are you not entertained?
Are you sitting comfortably? Ready to judge some classic covers? It's time to dive into another edition of Box Art Brawl! Last time, we matched up three different designs for Super R-Type. Despite a good variety between each, it was the North American variant that walked away with the win, taking 49% of the vote and leaving...
Back Page Dark World, Lorule, Termina - A Voyage Home To Hyrule Via Zelda's 'Other' Worlds
Sat-Navi
In the magazine business, the Back Page is where you'd find all the weird goofs that we couldn't fit in anywhere else. Some may call it "filler"; we prefer "a whole page to make terrible jokes that are tangentially related to the content of the mag". We don't have pages on the internet, but we still love terrible jokes — so welcome to...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (7th September)
We got crystals to find, mate
It's the weekend once again, so it's time to wash off the stresses of the work week and relax with a bit of gaming. But before we settle in, let's recap some of the bigger stories from this week. First up, it was a big week for 'Switch 2' rumours, with not one, but two making the rounds. The first was that the console...
Dragon page
As the Western world waits for a localisation announcement, Zelda fans in Japan have been poring through The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Master Works, the latest tome dedicated to 2023’s Nintendo Switch masterpiece. Part art book, part development deep dive, part history lesson, Master Works delivers the final word on Tears...
Guide 34 Games You Should Pick Up In Nintendo's 'Mega Multiplayer' Switch eShop Sale (Europe)
Every game we scored 9/10 or higher
Nintendo's Mega Multiplayer sale wraps up this weekend, so once again here are our picks of the best games you might consider adding to your collection while they're discounted. Enjoy! Get your wallets at the ready because Nintendo is back, back, back with a fresh batch of European eShop discounts! The 'Mega...
Soapbox Switch Really Needs Third-Party Profile Icons - Here Are Our Top Picks
Icon-ic
We're not sure about you, but we've always loved tinkering with online avatars or profile icons. Whether it be a basic JPEG on an online forum, or a fully customised image on the Switch, PlayStation, or Xbox, profile icons are a wonderful way of expressing who you are and what kind of games you love to play. The Switch has been...
Hands On Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Brings Tantalising Creativity To The 2D Template
Echo, Echo, Echo, what's going on here?
It’s fairly safe to say that everyone was pretty jazzed when Nintendo announced The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. We haven’t had a new top-down Zelda game since 2013’s A Link Between Worlds, assuming of course you don’t count Tri Force Heroes, and if that was your mindset, we wouldn't entirely...
Feature Blasphemous Devs Talk Switching From Metroidvania To RTS Stealth In 'The Stone Of Madness'
“Failing is part of what makes this game fun”
The Game Kitchen has been cookin’ good. With Blasphemous and Blasphemous 2, the Spanish developer quickly gained a stellar reputation thanks to some of the best Metroidvanias to emerge in recent years. Their prickly difficulty, moody gothic vibes, and disconcerting take on Andalucian Catholic...
Poll What Review Score Would You Give Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club?
A score to die for?
Have you spent your weekend solving the mystery of Emio? Well, if you have, then we want to know what you think of the brand new Famicom Detective Club title, Emio -The Smiling Man. No one expected a sequel 30+ years after the original, but then again, no one expected the 2021 remakes. We love it when Nintendo gets...
Soapbox The Next Pokémon Game Should Rework Old Critters, Not Just Add Dozens More
Gotta not forget 'em all
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Lowell considers how future Pokémon games could do justice to old Pocket Monsters who got lumped in with the also-rans... We’re still a little far out from Pokémon...
Feature Nintendo Life eShop Selects & Readers' Choice (August 2024)
Our picks for the best eShop games in August
Pinch, punch, welcome to another edition of eShop Selects, this time for the month of August! We don't want to admit it, but we'll soon be tucking into warm cocoa and curling up by the fire with our Switches. That sounds nice and all, but shorter days, longer nights, and the cold? Brrrr. We're going to...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Super R-Type
Make a choice, R-kid
Hi folks, and welcome back to another edition of Box Art Brawl! Last week, we checked out Astro Boy: Omega Factor for the Game Boy Advance, and would you believe it, we had a draw! Both the EU/NA and Japanese variants bagged 50% of the vote each, so uhh... We've either got two winners or no winner at all. We'll let you decide!...
Feature 5 RPG Maker Horror Classics On Switch (And 3 We'd Love To See Ported)
Who will survive, and what will be left of them?
Being able to elicit fear with simply a sprinkling of pixels and a well-timed soundtrack is an art form. Horror games come in all shapes and sizes, with varying levels of gore, ghouls, and grisly details. While the Switch is home to some incredibly realistic horror, the most influential scary games...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (31st August)
'Vania mania
And just like that, we're at the end of August! A big month of releases is on the horizon, so let's see how everyone is preparing with another edition of What Are You Playing? It has been a cracking week in the world of Nintendo as we got a double bill of Direct news in the shape of an Indie World and Partner Showcase. While not quite...
Feature The Return Of Lynels And Five Other Exciting Reveals In The Latest Zelda Trailer
Lynels and dungeons and tears, oh my!
A new trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is here and we are excited! So excited, in fact, that we have watched it another 20 times to narrow down our top reveals — the things that really got us beaming cheek to cheek. These aren't blink-and-you'll-miss-'em details like those we spotted after...
“Switch has been very, very important”
Out of the Seven Wonders of the World, we can add one more to the list in recent years, a triumph of human engineering achievement almost as jaw-dropping as the Great Pyramids of Giza or the Hanging Gardens of Babylon: Sid Meier's classic 4X Civilization series now operates fine and dandy on Nintendo...
