Latest Reviews of Intelligent Systems Games
Review Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Switch) - Still The King Of Mario RPGs
Paper, un-jammed
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door has been held as the standard for Mario RPGs for 20 years. It, alongside its N64 predecessor, captured what fans wanted from their turn-based, plumber-starring adventures – silly humour, epic adventures, fantastic combat, and charm. Purists often view the GameCube original as the end of the...
Review Fire Emblem - The Blazing Blade Is Still As Sharp As Ever
So much to love Lyndis game
This review originally went live in 2015, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival in the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack GBA library. Before Fire Emblem: Awakening kicked off 2013 (the Year of Luigi, you'll recall) with a bang, there was a great deal of concern at Nintendo regarding its...
Review Fire Emblem Engage (Switch) - Relationships Get Sidelined By A Thrilling Combat-First Focus
School's out
It's been almost four years since the hugely successful Fire Emblem: Three Houses stormed onto Switch and reignited our passion for Intelligent Systems' long-running tactical RPG franchise. Here was a game that deepened the relationship and social sim aspects and captured the hearts of gamers who revelled in three separate campaign...
Review Paper Mario (N64) - A Well-Crafted Creation That Stands Up Beautifully
Historical document
This review originally went live in 2017, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the addition of Paper Mario to the other N64 games on Nintendo Switch Online. Can we take a moment to appreciate just how gloriously wacky it is that a game like Paper Mario exists in the first place? This is an idea that followed in the...
Review Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & The Blade Of Light (Switch) - We've Come A Long Way In 30 Years
A burning flame or a dying ember?
It wasn’t until 2003 that western players first got a taste of the Fire Emblem series with the simply named Fire Emblem that launched on the Game Boy Advance. The title seemed to imply that it was the first release in the franchise, but it was in fact the seventh game in the series, while the previous six remained...
You'll be creasing with laughter
The Paper Mario series has seen more ups and downs over the years than the lid of Picasso’s pencil case, with Nintendo and developer Intelligent Systems trying their best to nail the formula again. A large number of Paper Mario fans believe GameCube title Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is the best game in the...
Review Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Switch) - The Zenith Of A Legendary SRPG Series
House party
Fire Emblem has been through quite a rollercoaster journey on its path to success. After an initial debut on the Famicom in 1990 with Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, the series remained a niche exclusive of the Land of the Rising Sun for thirteen years until it made its way westward, spurred on by the appearance of...
Review Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (3DS)
Alms for the War
Nintendo has a habit of switching things up in sequels, and especially in the NES days that tendency resulted in some gloriously divergent sophomore installments. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link famously swapped overhead adventuring for side-scrolling action, Super Mario Bros. 2 (in the West, at least) exchanged running-and-jumping...
Review Fire Emblem Heroes (Mobile)
Gacha collect 'em all
Nintendo's relationship with mobile games and apps has been slightly awkward to date, as a prolonged period of resistance to the sector eventually turned into a necessary embrace. In its previous efforts on mobile - Miitomo and Super Mario Run - Nintendo has either retained noble intentions (as per the former) or tried to stick...
Review Paper Mario: Color Splash (Wii U)
Colour us impressed
For any long-running series, innovation is key to keeping fans coming back for more without getting too bored. Gameplay tweaks and changes to the setting can work wonders in refreshing a stale format, but some might argue that if an idea ain't broke, then don't keep trying to fix it. The Paper Mario series has been no stranger to...
Latest Intelligent Systems Articles
News New Fire Emblem: Three Houses Figures Announced, Pre-Orders For Dimitri Live
Update: Here's a first look at Byleth
Update [Sat 3rd Aug, 2024 13:00 BST]: Following the announcement of 'Pop Up Parade' versions of the male and female versions of Byleth from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Good Smile Company has now shared a first look. When we find out more about a release date and price, we'll let you know. Original story...
Soapbox Nintendo Needs More Characters Like Paper Mario's Vivian
Viva la Vivian!
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, it's time to celebrate Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door's Vivian, and Alana does it with Pride. Nintendo’s track record with LGBTQIA+ characters has been… mixed, to say the...
Guide Best Paper Mario Games Of All Time
All the Paper Mario games, ranked by you
Updated with Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for Switch, the HD remake of the 2004 GameCube original. Enjoy! The Paper Mario series began two decades ago when Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64 launched in Japan on 11th August 2000. Since then, we've seen five more mainline Paper Mario games of different...
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 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...
News Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Codebase Apparently Contains References To 4K Output
Future-proofing? Or just for screenshots?
Dataminers have uncovered references to higher-resolution output in the code for the Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Switch remake. As posted by @RibShark (thanks @NintyPrime), the game apparently contains code designed to handle rendering at a variety of resolutions, including 4K, which the current...
Rumour Paper Mario & Luigi's Mansion 2 News Potentially Coming On MAR10
Popping up
Update [Sun 10th Mar, 2024 14:30 GMT]: Release dates for both of these upcoming Switch releases have now been officially confirmed: <related ids="163314"> Original article [Mon 4th Mar, 2024 15:05 GMT]: With MAR10 just a few days away, we're all getting ready to celebrate Nintendo's mascot — probably by playing Mario games or...
"At the initial idea stage, we collected over 1,000 ideas"
While the Super Mario series can get quite weird with its lore, world design, and general concepts, nothing comes close to the sheer absurdity of the WarioWare franchise. How many games out there let you pick someone's nose, perform dental work, and have a back-scratching competition with...
News Fire Emblem Engage Celebrates First Anniversary With 'Emblem Ring' Capsule Toy Line
12 rings unveiled for Japan
Alongside the first anniversary celebrations of Fire Emblem Engage for the Nintendo Switch, Takara Tomy Arts has unveiled its very own 'emblem ring' capsule toy line. As highlighted by Siliconera, this line features the 12 rings from the base game and will be available across two separate runs this month and in February...
News Fire Emblem Engage Artist Celebrates First Anniversary With New Artwork
"I am happy that so many people have played our game"
While a lot of the focus last year was on the new Zelda and Mario games, there were plenty of other first-party releases. This includes the tactical RPG Fire Emblem Engage, which this week celebrates its first anniversary. Yes, it's already a year old! To celebrate, artist and illustrator Mika...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel - Tetris Attack (GB)
Attaaaaack!
Hello everyone, welcome to another edition of Box Art Brawl! Before we get started on this week's brawl, let's take a look at how things concluded in last week's edition. We threw Viewtiful Joe 2 into the ring, with all three major regions battling it out for supremacy. To little surprise, it was the North American variant that took a...
Poll What's The Best RPG Starring Mario?
Paper, Partners, and everything in between
Mario, the world's favourite platforming plumber, has done everything — kart racing, tennis, golf, partying, and a little bit of turn-based RPG-ing. 1996 saw Mario's RPG debut in the Super NES favourite, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, and since then, he's starred in 14 different RPGs (plus...
"To some extent, all of the characters in the game reflect the theme"
Nintendo's 2023 started off with a bang. Fire Emblem Engage launched in January and brought the series back to its combat-focused roots, forgoing the relationship-sim elements that had worked so well in its predecessor, Three Houses, for a game where the action came thick and...
Anniversary Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade First Launched 20 Years Ago Today
The West's first Fire Emblem game
Today marks the 20th anniversary of Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, the seventh entry in the Fire Emblem series, in Japan. But what makes this title extra special is that this was the game that brought the tactical RPG series to the West. A North American release followed in November 2003, with Australia and Europe...
News Fire Emblem Engage Version 2.0.0 Is Now Live, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
Wave 4 of the Expansion Pass has arrived
Fire Emblem Engage has had an update jumping all the way up to Version 2.0.0. This update makes way for Wave 4 of the game's Expansion Pass content. Apart from this, an "update bonus" has been added, collaboration content with the mobile app Fire Emblem Heroes can now be downloaded and various issues have...
Countdown 3DS eShop Spotlight - Dragon Quest Wars
#29 - Dragon War-rior
For the month before the 3DS and Wii U eShops close for new purchases on 27th March, each day we're going to highlight a specific eShop game for one of those consoles and give a short pitch as to why we think it deserves your love and attention — before it's too late. The chance to add these to your library will be gone for...
News Fire Emblem Engage Story DLC 'Fell Xenologue' Launches In April
Wave 4 is almost here
Wave 4 of the Fire Emblem Engage Expansion Pass lands on 4th April — or 5th April in Europe. And for Fire Emblem fans, this is likely the most exciting addition yet, as it brings in brand-new story content. In an ominous trailer, which starts off with "your grave", the Fell Xenologue will bring more story content to the base...
Countdown 3DS eShop Spotlight - Pushmo / Pullblox
#20 - Push or Pull?
For the month before the 3DS and Wii U eShops close for new purchases on 27th March, each day we're going to highlight a specific eShop game for one of those consoles and give a short pitch as to why we think it deserves your love and attention — before it's too late. The chance to add these to your library will be gone for...
Countdown Wii U eShop Spotlight - Pushmo World
#2 - Pull or push?
For the month before the 3DS and Wii U eShops close for new purchases on 27th March, each day we're going to highlight a specific eShop game for one of those consoles and give a short pitch as to why we think it deserves your love and attention — before it's too late. The chance to add these to your library will be gone for good...
Countdown 3DS eShop Spotlight - Fire Emblem Fates
#1 - No fate but what we...quickly download off the eShop
For the month before the 3DS and Wii U eShops close for new purchases on 27th March, each day we're going to highlight a specific eShop game for one of those consoles and give a short pitch as to why we think it deserves your love and attention — before it's too late. The chance to add...
Poll What Review Score Would You Give Fire Emblem Engage?
Engaged or disengaged?
We're sure a lot of you lovely readers have been engaging with a certain strategy RPG over the weekend. Yep, we're talking about Fire Emblem Engage, which launched on Switch last Friday. Okay, so this is a huge 40-50 hour game and we're not expecting you all to have blasted through the entire thing over the past few days, but...
News Fire Emblem Engage Launch Day Update Now Available, Here Are The Patch Notes
Will you be engaging?
Ahead of the game's official release tomorrow, Nintendo has released the customary day one patch for Fire Emblem Engage. The Big N has also shared the brief patch notes over on its website (thanks, Nintendo Everything!). Like most day one updates, this one preps the game for full online functionality including the Expansion...
Soapbox Zelda Should Be Given The Paper Mario Treatment
Paper Zelda: The Thousand-Year Door (of Time)
Nintendo struck gold when they made the first Paper Mario. They figured out how to take a beloved series like Super Mario, put a slight twist on it, and create something entirely new that doesn't feel stale, doesn't feel like a flimsy spin-off, and best of all, is better than most Super Mario games...
PSA Watch Out, Fire Emblem Engage Leaks Are Appearing Online
The scales are tipping
Fire Emblem Engage is out this Friday, but some lucky people have already got their hands on the game. According to Fendoreo1 on ResetEra (don't click the link if you want to avoid spoilers), someone is currently playing through the entirety of Fire Emblem Engage and posting their impressions online — including screenshots...
Guide Best Fire Emblem Games Of All Time
Fancy a game of Swords-Axes-Lances?
Remember: This reader-ranked list is governed by each game's respective User Rating in our database. Read on for more details on how to rate the ones you've played and, potentially, influence the ranking below... It might have taken a while for Nintendo's premier SRPG series to find its feet in the West, but the...
News New Fire Emblem: Three Houses Figures Announced, Pre-Orders For Dimitri Live
Update: Here's a first look at Byleth
Update [Sat 3rd Aug, 2024 13:00 BST]: Following the announcement of 'Pop Up Parade' versions of the male and female versions of Byleth from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Good Smile Company has now shared a first look. When we find out more about a release date and price, we'll let you know. Original story...
Soapbox Nintendo Needs More Characters Like Paper Mario's Vivian
Viva la Vivian!
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, it's time to celebrate Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door's Vivian, and Alana does it with Pride. Nintendo’s track record with LGBTQIA+ characters has been… mixed, to say the...
Guide Best Paper Mario Games Of All Time
All the Paper Mario games, ranked by you
Updated with Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for Switch, the HD remake of the 2004 GameCube original. Enjoy! The Paper Mario series began two decades ago when Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64 launched in Japan on 11th August 2000. Since then, we've seen five more mainline Paper Mario games of different...
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 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...
News Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Codebase Apparently Contains References To 4K Output
Future-proofing? Or just for screenshots?
Dataminers have uncovered references to higher-resolution output in the code for the Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Switch remake. As posted by @RibShark (thanks @NintyPrime), the game apparently contains code designed to handle rendering at a variety of resolutions, including 4K, which the current...
Rumour Paper Mario & Luigi's Mansion 2 News Potentially Coming On MAR10
Popping up
Update [Sun 10th Mar, 2024 14:30 GMT]: Release dates for both of these upcoming Switch releases have now been officially confirmed: <related ids="163314"> Original article [Mon 4th Mar, 2024 15:05 GMT]: With MAR10 just a few days away, we're all getting ready to celebrate Nintendo's mascot — probably by playing Mario games or...
"At the initial idea stage, we collected over 1,000 ideas"
While the Super Mario series can get quite weird with its lore, world design, and general concepts, nothing comes close to the sheer absurdity of the WarioWare franchise. How many games out there let you pick someone's nose, perform dental work, and have a back-scratching competition with...
News Fire Emblem Engage Celebrates First Anniversary With 'Emblem Ring' Capsule Toy Line
12 rings unveiled for Japan
Alongside the first anniversary celebrations of Fire Emblem Engage for the Nintendo Switch, Takara Tomy Arts has unveiled its very own 'emblem ring' capsule toy line. As highlighted by Siliconera, this line features the 12 rings from the base game and will be available across two separate runs this month and in February...
News Fire Emblem Engage Artist Celebrates First Anniversary With New Artwork
"I am happy that so many people have played our game"
While a lot of the focus last year was on the new Zelda and Mario games, there were plenty of other first-party releases. This includes the tactical RPG Fire Emblem Engage, which this week celebrates its first anniversary. Yes, it's already a year old! To celebrate, artist and illustrator Mika...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel - Tetris Attack (GB)
Attaaaaack!
Hello everyone, welcome to another edition of Box Art Brawl! Before we get started on this week's brawl, let's take a look at how things concluded in last week's edition. We threw Viewtiful Joe 2 into the ring, with all three major regions battling it out for supremacy. To little surprise, it was the North American variant that took a...
Poll What's The Best RPG Starring Mario?
Paper, Partners, and everything in between
Mario, the world's favourite platforming plumber, has done everything — kart racing, tennis, golf, partying, and a little bit of turn-based RPG-ing. 1996 saw Mario's RPG debut in the Super NES favourite, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, and since then, he's starred in 14 different RPGs (plus...
"To some extent, all of the characters in the game reflect the theme"
Nintendo's 2023 started off with a bang. Fire Emblem Engage launched in January and brought the series back to its combat-focused roots, forgoing the relationship-sim elements that had worked so well in its predecessor, Three Houses, for a game where the action came thick and...
Anniversary Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade First Launched 20 Years Ago Today
The West's first Fire Emblem game
Today marks the 20th anniversary of Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, the seventh entry in the Fire Emblem series, in Japan. But what makes this title extra special is that this was the game that brought the tactical RPG series to the West. A North American release followed in November 2003, with Australia and Europe...
News Fire Emblem Engage Version 2.0.0 Is Now Live, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
Wave 4 of the Expansion Pass has arrived
Fire Emblem Engage has had an update jumping all the way up to Version 2.0.0. This update makes way for Wave 4 of the game's Expansion Pass content. Apart from this, an "update bonus" has been added, collaboration content with the mobile app Fire Emblem Heroes can now be downloaded and various issues have...
Countdown 3DS eShop Spotlight - Dragon Quest Wars
#29 - Dragon War-rior
For the month before the 3DS and Wii U eShops close for new purchases on 27th March, each day we're going to highlight a specific eShop game for one of those consoles and give a short pitch as to why we think it deserves your love and attention — before it's too late. The chance to add these to your library will be gone for...
News Fire Emblem Engage Story DLC 'Fell Xenologue' Launches In April
Wave 4 is almost here
Wave 4 of the Fire Emblem Engage Expansion Pass lands on 4th April — or 5th April in Europe. And for Fire Emblem fans, this is likely the most exciting addition yet, as it brings in brand-new story content. In an ominous trailer, which starts off with "your grave", the Fell Xenologue will bring more story content to the base...
Countdown 3DS eShop Spotlight - Pushmo / Pullblox
#20 - Push or Pull?
For the month before the 3DS and Wii U eShops close for new purchases on 27th March, each day we're going to highlight a specific eShop game for one of those consoles and give a short pitch as to why we think it deserves your love and attention — before it's too late. The chance to add these to your library will be gone for...
Countdown Wii U eShop Spotlight - Pushmo World
#2 - Pull or push?
For the month before the 3DS and Wii U eShops close for new purchases on 27th March, each day we're going to highlight a specific eShop game for one of those consoles and give a short pitch as to why we think it deserves your love and attention — before it's too late. The chance to add these to your library will be gone for good...
Countdown 3DS eShop Spotlight - Fire Emblem Fates
#1 - No fate but what we...quickly download off the eShop
For the month before the 3DS and Wii U eShops close for new purchases on 27th March, each day we're going to highlight a specific eShop game for one of those consoles and give a short pitch as to why we think it deserves your love and attention — before it's too late. The chance to add...
Poll What Review Score Would You Give Fire Emblem Engage?
Engaged or disengaged?
We're sure a lot of you lovely readers have been engaging with a certain strategy RPG over the weekend. Yep, we're talking about Fire Emblem Engage, which launched on Switch last Friday. Okay, so this is a huge 40-50 hour game and we're not expecting you all to have blasted through the entire thing over the past few days, but...
News Fire Emblem Engage Launch Day Update Now Available, Here Are The Patch Notes
Will you be engaging?
Ahead of the game's official release tomorrow, Nintendo has released the customary day one patch for Fire Emblem Engage. The Big N has also shared the brief patch notes over on its website (thanks, Nintendo Everything!). Like most day one updates, this one preps the game for full online functionality including the Expansion...
Soapbox Zelda Should Be Given The Paper Mario Treatment
Paper Zelda: The Thousand-Year Door (of Time)
Nintendo struck gold when they made the first Paper Mario. They figured out how to take a beloved series like Super Mario, put a slight twist on it, and create something entirely new that doesn't feel stale, doesn't feel like a flimsy spin-off, and best of all, is better than most Super Mario games...
PSA Watch Out, Fire Emblem Engage Leaks Are Appearing Online
The scales are tipping
Fire Emblem Engage is out this Friday, but some lucky people have already got their hands on the game. According to Fendoreo1 on ResetEra (don't click the link if you want to avoid spoilers), someone is currently playing through the entirety of Fire Emblem Engage and posting their impressions online — including screenshots...
Guide Best Fire Emblem Games Of All Time
Fancy a game of Swords-Axes-Lances?
Remember: This reader-ranked list is governed by each game's respective User Rating in our database. Read on for more details on how to rate the ones you've played and, potentially, influence the ranking below... It might have taken a while for Nintendo's premier SRPG series to find its feet in the West, but the...