Tag: Best of 2021 - Page 2
Soapbox Retro Nintendo Games Cost Too Much, But Nostalgia Is Expensive
Second-hand Nintendo games are notoriously pricey, but why?
The year is 1999. I'm in a GAME, in Loughborough town centre. The grey carpet is sticky, the awful fluorescent lights are so dim I can barely see, and everything sort of smells like stale sweat. I'm standing in the N64 section with my brother, both of us clutching a small fortune in pocket...
Feature Clammy Consoles, Humid Horrors, And Retro Regrets
Don't try this at home
A few years ago a clever, witty, and shockingly beautiful Nintendo Life writer had to spend a few boring days trawling numerous websites searching for a brand new and eye-wateringly expensive wafer-thin HDTV with which to replace their ageing and sadly then only semi-functional slightly less wafer-thin HDTV. This new triumph...
The legendary developer talks wrestling, Switch and dealing with critics
While Wrestling Empire is no critical darling, sole developer Mat Dickie is used to that reception, having been making his own professional wrestling games since 2000. Despite unusual visuals and unpredictable gameplay, these titles have achieved a cult following – it's not a...
Feature How Takara Brought SNK's Arcade Fighters To The Humble Game Boy
Battery-powered brawlers
Between 1994 and 1998 Takara Co., Ltd. brought some of SNK's most successful Neo Geo arcade hits — Samurai Shodown, The King of Fighters, and Fatal Fury 2 — to the humble Game Boy via a series of 'demakes'; streamlined and simplified releases of the infinitely more powerful arcade originals rebuilt from the ground up...
Where's our diploma in slime-slicing?
Ancient — the family company of VGM composer Yuzo Koshiro and developers of everything from Sonic The Hedgehog’s debut Game Gear outing to Gotta Protectors for the 3DS — released Royal Anapoko Academy in Japan on 16th December 2021. Like much of its output in recent years, this light-hearted RPG is an...
Feature Nintendo Switch Year In Review - Our Stats And Most Played Games
That's a lot of hours
Just recently Nintendo gave us an insight into our gaming years on Switch; it provided a reminder that Mario is always watching when we play, and that we've devoted many days of the year to this lovely hobby of ours. Depending on region you get a neat page of information that covers your most played games, handheld / docked...
Feature 9 Switch Games Guaranteed To Get You On The Naughty List
Definitely not sugar, spice, and all things nice
It turns out there can be such a thing as too much Christmas cheer, especially during the week before the big day when we’re sick of the sight of the cute snowmen shops have been hawking since October and rag-tag bands of singers are prowling the streets, vocally murdering every carol you thought...
Feature The Best (And Worst) Of Nintendo At The Game Awards - Zelda, Smash, And More Zelda
Two Nintendo franchises are top of the Keighley tree
Nintendo often marches to the beat of its own DK bongos, hoarding its own first-party announcements for sporadic Nintendo Direct presentations – bar one exception, that is: Geoff Keighley’s yearly awards bash, The Game Awards. Over the years we’ve seen some surprising announcements and...
Back Page We Fed The Ace Attorney Scripts To A Bot, And It Wrote Its Own Court Case
"Your Honor! Please tell me why you want justice!"
A couple of weeks ago, we enlisted the help of a bot (or two) to help us imagine the Nintendo news headlines of tomorrow. After all, AI is probably going to be the new frontier in journalism some day, and we might as well get on board early. However, the results were... mixed at best, with the bot...
Poll What's The Worst Legend Of Zelda Game?
Whisper it
The Legend of Zelda has celebrated its 35th Anniversary this year, with Nintendo releasing The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD along with the rather handsome Game & Watch. Interestingly, those releases alone have included two titles that can certainly be described as 'divisive' — we're thinking Skyward Sword's arm-waving controls...
Talking Point Great Game, Poor Performance - When Does A Bad Frame Rate Not Really Matter?
Shh, don't tell Digital Foundry
It seems that no game release is safe nowadays without frame rate graphs and resolutions being counted. That is fair enough, as games should ship in a competent and playable condition, but it's easy to forget that we're often spoiled in this modern gaming era. We gasp if gameplay regularly dips below 30fps, and with...
Talking Point Mario Kart 7 And Its Infamous Course Skip Are Now 10 Years Old
One of the earliest Nintendo game updates we can remember
We're in a gaming era of plentiful patches, where it's common for games to get frequent updates starting on day one. There are some rare releases even today that receive either no updates or very few — unless there are frequent DLC additions — and one of Nintendo's selling points is its...
Feature Psychologists Talk Animal Crossing: New Horizons 2.0 And Keeping Fun Ahead Of FOMO
Keep the "happy" in Happy Home Paradise
Animal Crossing: New Horizons was supposed to be just a game. Through a series of weird coincidences, it instead became a cultural phenomenon, and a record of the first few months of a global pandemic. It’s not surprising that a lot of us have complicated feelings about it. Granted, a lot of those feelings...
Feature 10 Pokémon That Deserve A Hisuian Evolution In Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Scyther shouldn’t get all the love
With Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl releasing last week, we’re now all aboard the Pokémon Legends: Arceus hype train, and we don’t expect it to stop chugging along until the game drops early next year. From the Pokémon Presents last August, where we learned of new evolutions for the oft...
Back Page We Forced A Bot To Read Nintendo News, And It Wrote Its Own Headlines
We're out of a job
In the game magazine business, the Back Page is where you'd find all the weird goofs that we couldn't fit into the rest of the pages. 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...
Feature Pokémon Donuts: A Review - Pokéheads Or Pokébutts?
Which taste best?
In celebration of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl’s release, The Pokémon Company had the brilliant idea to partner with Japanese company Mr. Donut and release throughout Japan a lineup of fried dough inspired by some of our favourite Generation IV Pokémon. We can’t think of a better way to herald the release of a...
Feature A Link To The Past's Dark World Changed Zelda Forever
"Everyone who wanders into this land is changed to a shape that reflects his true nature"
To celebrate the 35th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda, we ran a series of features looking at a specific aspect — a theme, character, mechanic, location, memory or something else entirely — from each of the mainline Zelda games. Today, on the 30th...
Talking Point Is There A Better-Looking 20-Year-Old Game Than Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II?
Rogue Leader standing by
Feel old, everyone — Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader is now two decades old. The GameCube-exclusive title launched alongside the console itself in the US and was something of a show-stopper in the visuals department. Developer Factor 5 had turned in an excellent arcade-style X-Wing action game with the original...
Talking Point The Transformative Impact Of Animal Crossing: New Horizons Version 2.0
Team NL has a virtual chat in The Roost
Animal Crossing: New Horizons has had its major version 2.0 update, which includes a bunch of freebies and also the paid DLC option of Happy Home Paradise. A number of Team NL have been enjoying its charms, and a topic that kept coming up was the new content's ability to bring back lapsed players. It's also...
Feature How United Games Entertainment Is Bridging The Gap Between Japan And The West
"Nothing is more fun than creating products and services that people love"
Chances are, you might not have heard of the German company United Games Entertainment, but you'll almost certainly have heard of one of its sub-brands. Strictly Limited Games, for example, is one of the many firms currently pushing special editions of modern titles, while...
Feature The Scariest Game On Every Nintendo Home Console
Almost forty years of fear
“Family friendly” is a term often used to describe anything and everything Nintendo touches, but we all know better than that, don’t we? The famous Japanese card maker’s consoles have been knee-deep in the dead for as long as they’ve existed. So! In the spirit of this spookiest of seasons we’ve selected some...
Soapbox Nintendo's N64 Emulation Is Serviceable, But Treasured Memories Deserve Better
Hazy memories
Anyone who's ever spent a decent amount of time with video games probably has a small handful of momentous memories etched on their brains. Not just that time you beat a gruelling boss or played Mario Kart with your pals at Paul's birthday party — more pretentious than that. We mean a time when your perception of what was possible in...
Feature LEGO Designer Reveals Why The Super Mario 64 Set Is A '?' And Not An '!'
"With ? Blocks, you never know what you’ll find inside"
The Lego Super Mario 64 ? Block got Nintendo fans all hot under the collar when it was announced on social media. Its clever folding design in particular provides a real wow moment, as the innocuous block unfolds to reveal intricate, microscale recreations of iconic levels from Super Mario...
Talking Point Five Years On From The Frenzy Of 'NX' Becoming The Switch
The more things change, the more they stay the same
This week marked five years (yikes) since the mysterious Nintendo 'NX' became the Switch. It was a pretty big deal and, to the relief of Nintendo, it was received well. Let's be honest, the reaction wasn't going to be worse than the Wii U E3 reveal, when most follow-up questions were "so is the...
Talking Point How Many Hours Is A 'Short' Game For You?
It's what you do with it that counts
There was a time when we wished every video game were never-ending. Back in the old days we'd save up all our pocket money and wisely invest in only the very finest games after weeks and months of meticulous research; consulting reviews, collating opinions and perhaps even renting or borrowing from a pal to make...
Feature We Finally Finished The Game With An Almost-Perfect Metascore
The House In Fata Morgana Game Diary, Part 4
Writer's note: Although the previous diary entries have veered away from big spoilers for The House in Fata Morgana, this one does not, because it's hard to talk about the themes without specifics. Be warned! As a content warning, topics discussed in this piece will include trauma, gender, abuse, and...
Talking Point The Metroid Dread Credits Debate Is Sadly Common
The video game development industry needs to respect its contributors
The conversations around Metroid Dread have been mostly positive since its launch, but a recent topic that has caused a good deal of debate and criticism of developer MercurySteam has related to the game's credits. Multiple contributors to the game have raised the fact that...
Soapbox Why Apollo Justice Might Be The Best Ace Attorney Game
How's that for a Turnabout
Can you imagine celebrating your 20th birthday, and someone comes up to you and tells you that your nervous, short friend/mentee is much more interesting than you? Well, it's Ace Attorney's 20th birthday, and while that's not exactly what I'm doing (and I'll explain why in more detail in a moment), I have to say: as a...
Soapbox Paper Mario: TTYD Is 17 Years Old Today, But It's Still A Masterpiece
A paper cut above the rest
From the very first second of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, I was hooked. The game begins with a gentle twinkling music and a book opening to tell you the story of an ancient, ruined town lost to time, and the fabled treasure buried there; once you've listened to the whole story (and seen Peach herself buying a...
Soapbox Joy-Con Aren't Perfect, But They're Great For Sick Day Gaming
Everybody hurts (themselves) sometimes
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been pondering. Today, Kate discusses rediscovering the joy of Joy-Con following a recent mishap, and her dreams of Joy-Con 2.0... I'm about to turn 30, so of course, the natural...
Feature Oxenfree II: Lost Signals Looks Like Oxenfree, But Better
Walking, talking, and walkie-talkie-ing
The haunting, narratively experimental Oxenfree came out back in 2016 to rapturous reviews, combining a coming-of-age story with some seriously unnerving supernatural goings-on involving radios, triangles, and something waiting beyond a rift in space and time. Oxenfree’s unique tone, aesthetic, and setting,...
Soapbox 10 Reasons Why Metroid Fusion Is The Best Game In The Series
You clear Fusion
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been pondering. Today, as we look forward to the coming release of the next instalment in the 2D Metroid lineage, Stuart takes a look back at his very favourite game in the series... Hello. Did you know...
Feature So, Who Will Be The Final Fighter In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate?
It is almost time...
It has to be said that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has had an extraordinary run. Masahiro Sakurai and his team have overseen an ongoing and hugely hyped project to expand upon the launch roster, through the Fighters Passes, with the second volume's sixth and final character confirmed to be the end of the road. As you undoubtedly...
Hardware GB Operator Lets You Switch Between Game Boy And PC With Ease
Back up and play your Game Boy carts on PC
Casual readers would be forgiven for seeing the maker's name on the box of the GB Operator — a neat little device that lets you play your Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance carts on your PC — and confusing the company with Analogue, the producer of such quality retro-playing consoles as the...
Poll Do You Call Handhelds Like Game Boy And Nintendo DS 'Consoles'?
Inconsole-able?
In a recent chat with a friend, we somehow strayed onto the topic of our 'favourite consoles'. I expected some light-hearted bants and joshing as we proposed winners and defended our favourites but the conversation took an unexpectedly contentious turn when I mentioned the 3DS while umming and ahhing. My pal responded and it went...
Feature Should I Play Story Of Seasons: Pioneers Of Olive Town Now?
All the DLC and major patches are now out
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town was a bit of a mess at launch. Unlike its predecessor, the remake of Friends of Mineral Town for Switch, PoOT was just a bit lacklustre, with an empty world, zombie-like NPCs, and a crafting system so slow that you'd save time pressing coal into diamonds yourself with...
Video SUDA51 On No More Heroes And The Future Of Travis Touchdown
Grasshopper has bigger plans
The recent launch of No More Heroes III completed the journey of series protagonist Travis Touchdown, capping off a trilogy of games (plus a spin-off) that began back on the Wii. Fans of iconic game director SUDA51 had waited a while for this one, and apparently thi
Back Page The Video Game Characters That Snuck Into The 2021 Met Gala
Video games, but make it fashion
On the Venn diagram of video games and fashion, the overlap is probably smaller than the number of people who actually owned a Virtual Boy, but that's alright. I'm here at the centre of the two circles, and if this article only entertains me, so be it! The Met Gala, which took place earlier this week, is a parade of...
Soapbox The Era Of Rock Band, Guitar Hero And Plastic Instruments Was Silly But Special
Wish fulfilment
Over the past few weeks it's been a lot of fun to share a huge range of music-themed features as part of the Nintendo Life VGM Festival. Much of our focus, quite rightly, has been on highlighting the amazing talents behind the soundtracks and audio design that we enjoy in games. For a little change, though, I wanted to reflect on a...
Quick Beats Pulstar, Mega Man, And Final Fight Composer Talks Joe Hisaishi And The Beatles
"I wish I had done one of the Mario games. Maybe Mario Party"
Throughout the Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival we're speaking to a range of composers and musicians for a mixture of in-depth interviews and shorter, sharper (and perhaps a little goofier) Q&As where we ask just ten rapid-fire personal questions; we're calling these shorter...
We talk with the Hades composer, and Zagreus himself
We recently spoke to award-winning composer Darren Korb as part of our Quick Beats series, where he kindly answered ten quickfire questions about his musical tastes. However, that small snippet was just part of a much larger conversation we were lucky enough to have with Supergiant Games' in-house...
Quick Beats Sayonara Wild Hearts Composer On K-Pop, Nintendo Classics And Morricone
"Morricone was and still is so inspiring"
Throughout the Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival we've been speaking to a range of composers and musicians for a mixture of in-depth interviews and shorter, sharper (and perhaps a little goofier) Q&As where we ask just ten rapid-fire personal questions; we're calling these shorter features 'Quick...
Feature 'Bossa De Hyrule' Reimagines Zelda Music With Laidback Brazilian Beats
Dungeon bossa
Just prior to Nintendo Life VGM Fest kicking off in mid-August, we were contacted by Steven Morris — a musician and prolific producer of VGM covers — about a recent project he had undertaken to fuse music from the Legend of Zelda series with the relaxing tones and chilled beats of bossa nova. The result is Bossa de Hyrule, a...
Talking Point Which Nintendo Console Has The Best Start-Up Sound?
Ding! Boop! Click! etc!
Look, I know what you're thinking. You're already pre-emptively scrolling down to the comments to say "OBVIOUSLY it is the GameCube, Lord of All Noises", but just hold fire, okay? Let me at least make the case for some of the others. Before I do, though, a quick note as to why I'm not including the Nintendo 64, since I know...
Feature Game Boy Games We Probably Won’t See On Nintendo Switch Online
Custom cart complications
Rumours abound that Game Boy games are finally coming to Nintendo Switch Online and we’ve been busy daydreaming about all the classic games we might be able to play again — and all the ones we won’t too. The record-shattering dominance of
Quick Beats Mega Man Composer And Inti Creates Founder Talks Backdraft And Bongos
10 rapid-fire questions for Ippo Yamada
Throughout the Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival we're speaking to a range of composers and musicians for a mixture of in-depth interviews and shorter, sharper (and perhaps a little goofier) Q&As where we ask just ten rapid-fire personal questions; we're calling these shorter features 'Quick Beats'...
Talking Point Just How 'Finished' Is Your Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Save File?
Any% of the Wild
It's four-and-a-half years since The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild launched on Switch (and Wii U — don't be forgetting the Wii U!) and it's one of those evergreen games I've been dipping back into ever since. That's not to say I'm constantly restarting the game (although there are plenty of people who begin again on the...
Feature Sayonara Wild Hearts Composer On Creating The First 'Pop Album Video Game'
"I want to keep growing as a composer"
It seems as if video game music continues to grow and reach new heights with each passing year. Incredible soundtracks are no longer limited to big budget titles and the work of long-established names, as the Indie space and the growth of tools and knowledge has introduced a fresh generation of composers. One...
Quick Beats Donkey Kong Country Composer Talks Aquatic Ambiance And Get Lucky
"There have been some amazing songs over the last decade"
Throughout the Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival we're speaking to a range of composers and musicians for a mixture of in-depth interviews and shorter, sharper (and perhaps a little goofier) Q&As where we ask just ten rapid-fire personal questions; we're calling these shorter...
*creeeeeeeeeeak*
Audio design is an underrated part of a video game's soundscape, though you almost definitely have appreciated a particularly good noise at some point in your gaming career — whether it's the creak of a Resident Evil door or the sound of Sonic collecting a ring, audio design helps create the right mood for a game. Our Nintendo...