Tag: Talking Point - Page 3
Talking Point Would A Third Wave Of Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC Have Been Too Much?
Riding the waves
The Nintendo Switch was a bonafide hit basically right out of the gate. With the release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild at launch and Super Mario Odyssey not long after, many of Nintendo’s tentpole titles were quickly showing up on their hot new handheld hybrid. It was only a matter of time until we received another...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 29th)
Taking hearts
The weekend is here once again, folks, so it's time to recap some of our biggest news items of the week before we settle down for some good ol' fashioned comfort gaming. First up, of course, we reviewed the rather excellent Disney Illusion Island for the Switch and gave it a resounding score of 9/10. Be sure to check the link below to...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 22nd)
Ready to party?
Well folks, we're edging ever closer to the end of July. Mad, right? It'll be 2024 before you know it. Before we all experience an existential crisis, however, let's take a look back on what's been going on this week, shall we? First up, Pikmin 4 has only bloomin' gone and launched! It's pretty good, too, as our review will tell...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 15th)
Game on!
And just like that, it's the middle of July... happy weekend, everyone! We might be out of summer showcase season, but there has still been plenty of good things on the table here at Nintendo Life this week. We ran through 21 vintage Nintendo games that you can only buy for original hardware, saw lots of goodies at the Limited Run Games'...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 8th)
Shed those Tears yet?
It's the weekend! Hooray! Before we dive into our gaming plans for this weekend, let's check back on some of the top stories for the week, shall we? To kick things off, Nintendo confirmed that the penultimate wave for the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course pass will be launching on July 12th, 2023. It also dove into which...
Talking Point What Makes A Good Sidequest, Anyway?
Quest x64
What's more important — saving the world from impending doom, or rescuing the cat that's stuck at the top of a tree? Depending on who you ask, they might give you an answer you won't expect. I'm not saying that we should ignore the kitty cats at all, but when you're presented with the dilemma of missing a quest that's simply about...
Talking Point How Does Switch's Year 7 Compare To Previous Nintendo Consoles?
The magnificent seven?
Prior to the June 2023 Nintendo Direct, 2023 was looking decidedly quiet for Switch. In March, the system entered its seventh year on store shelves and with sales numbers slowing, it seems that the long-rumoured appearance of new Nintendo hardware may finally be on the horizon in the next 12 months or so. It is, after all, a...
The Big Score?
Editor's Note. Given the sheer number of releases these days, it is impossible for us to reassess individual games in the weeks, months, sometimes years after our initial review. When post-launch updates reportedly improve the experience, we insert a note at the top of our reviews stating such, but the body of the review text and the...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 1st)
Pik us a winner
Well, we're halfway though 2023. That's quite a thought, huh? The first six months of the year may be behind us, but Nintendo is showing no sign of slowing down. This week, we asked you to rank every N64 3D platformer in celebration of Banjo-Kazooie's 25th birthday, while we went head-to-head with Horace the Horse in our Everybody...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 24th)
Shed enough Tears?
Another week has come and gone, but goodness, it was a great one, wasn't it? Yes, the surprise Nintendo Direct aired and brought with it some absolutely killer announcements, including the likes of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, a Super Mario RPG remake, Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1, and Batman: Arkham Trilogy. Th
Talking Point Is Super Mario Bros. Wonder Really A Departure From The 'New' Series?
Out with the New?
Nintendo confirmed rumours during the June 2023 Nintendo Direct that a brand new 2D Super Mario game will be making its way to Switch, and the world felt a little bit brighter, if only for a moment. Yes, Super Mario Bros. Wonder will be launching on October 20th, 2023, and many folks immediately noticed that not only is this the...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 17th)
Another day of sun
After this week, we think it's fair to say that showcase season is well and truly upon us. Coming off the back of Summer Game Fest, a collection of our brilliant writers came together to give their hands-on impressions of a boatload of games coming to Switch including the excellent Metroidvania Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown,
Talking Point What Do You Wish You Knew Sooner In Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom?
Wait, you can fast travel??
Having been out for the best part of a month now, we think it's fair to say that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is going to be one of those games where we never stop discovering new things. In our playthroughs so far, these discoveries have had us grinning cheek to cheek on a pretty consistent basis, but that...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 10th)
Switchin' it up
Things just start to quieten down after the release of Tears of the Kingdom and then before you know it, BAM, you walk head first into summer showcase season. This means that it has been a reasonably busy week at Nintendo Life. We broke down everything announced for the Switch in the Summer Game Fest Opening Showcase (which wasn't...
Talking Point Which Version Of Zelda: Link's Awakening Is Your Favourite?
Three decades of dreamin'
Link's Awakening turns 30 today, having launched in Japan on 6th June 1993. Despite the very modest hardware that hosted it, the developers turned out a full-featured, full-fat Zelda adventure on Game Boy which left a mark on the series. It was in Link's Awakening that trading sequences were introduced, not to mention...
Talking Point Is Tears Of The Kingdom The Scariest Zelda Game Ever?
The horrors of Hyrule
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is pretty darn scary. I don't mean in the same sense that Majora's Mask is unsettling for its whole run-time, and there certainly isn't a moment like that cutscene in Twilight Princess. But even now with my ridiculously overpowered, full hearts Link, Tears of the Kingdom has me on the...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 3rd)
Would you kindly tell us?
Well, folks, another week has come and gone. In terms of straight-up news, it was undoubtedly a bit of a quiet one... until it wasn't! Yes, at the tail-end of the week, Nintendo decided to announce Everybody 1-2 Switch!, a sequel to the polarising launch game, 1-2 Switch!, launching on June 30th, 2023. Not only that, but...
Talking Point From The Sublime To The Ridiculous - Is Anybody Excited For Everybody 1-2-Switch!?
Everybody 1-2-Switch? Nah, you're alright
It's a strange thing to see Nintendo swing so wildly from one extreme to another, at least in such a short timeframe. Coming hot on the heels of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the company has gone and quietly — very quietly — announced Everybody 1-2-Switch!, the follow-up to 2017's launch...
Talking Point Could Nintendo Squeeze Another Zelda Game Out Of TOTK's Open World?
Lorule love? Termina time?
Prior to release — and especially before a couple of presentations gave us a better idea of what to expect in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom — there were doubts as to exactly how different it would be from its immediate predecessor. & Kingdom. This made us chuckle. Reusing Breath of the Wild's open-world Hyrule...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 27th)
Is there any game other than Zelda?
Welcome one and all to another edition of What Are You Playing and with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom still firmly set in our minds, we think you can see where this week might be going... again... Over on Nintendo Life, the Zelda content has been coming thick and fast. We dived deep into the game's...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 20th)
Zelda, yeah?
Well folks, another week has come and gone, and it certainly feels like there's been a lot to talk about regarding The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, right? First up, of course, we received full confirmation from Nintendo that the latest Zelda game managed to sell an incredible 10 million copies in just three days. That's...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 13th)
No prizes for guessing what we're playing
It's real. It's happening. This is another edition of What Are You Playing and we can finally, finally, say it: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is out!!! It will come as no surprise that we have gone a little Zelda-mad this week. We saw how the game's trailers were lighting up Piccadilly Circus,...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 6th)
Tears of the countdown
We are so nearly there, folks. We have hit our final What Are You Playing discussion before all of our entries become "Tears of the Kingdom, duh" from next week — relish the variety in our plans while you can! This week has been a bit of a 'calm before the storm' in the world of Nintendo, but that doesn't mean that we...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 29th)
On the Zelda home straight
Welcome back to another edition of What are you Playing, where we give you a brief rundown of the week in Nintendo before discussing what gaming we're all up to this weekend. The big news this time around is (deep breath) there are less than two weeks to go until Tears of the Kingdom!! This week, we shared our thoughts on...
Talking Point What Is A 'Traditional' Zelda Game, Anyway?
And does Breath of the Wild fit the mould?
Despite the overwhelmingly positive reception to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild when it launched back in 2017, there are undoubtedly those who yearn for a return to what they deem to be a more “traditional” Zelda experience. With its open world, shrines, weapon degradation, and ‘rune’...
Talking Point Which Is Your Favourite Nintendo Controller? Every Nintendo Pad Ranked
Note pad
Nintendo has always been one for pushing the boat out with its hardware designs, and no more so is this the case than with its controllers. Yes, those of the NES and SNES were pretty conventional by today's standards (though they were remarkably innovative at the time) but in the ensuing years, the Big N's controllers have had us waving...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 22nd)
Our not-so-final fantasies
Who would have thought that in the run-up to the release of Tears of the Kingdom, we would have so much Switch news to talk about in the space of a week? Nintendo was really firing on all cylinders this time around, as we got an official release date for Xenoblade Chronicles 3's final DLC, four new games added to the
Talking Point Which Is Your Favourite Quest In Zelda: Breath Of The Wild?
Rise and Shrine
It feels like just yesterday that we got the first announcement of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (affectionately called "the Breath of the Wild sequel" at that point) back in 2019's E3, doesn't it? No. Of course it doesn't. To tell you the truth, we have been counting down the days for this one over the past four years,...
Talking Point Which Nintendo Franchise Should Illumination Tackle Next?
Gruigi time?
The box office for The Super Mario Bros. Movie is huge. Like, record-breaking huge. It feels like yesterday that cries of "the video game movie curse" filled the air whenever a new take on a game hit cinemas, but now we know that these adaptations can be both good and big. Really big. The Mario Movie's success at the box office will...
Talking Point Should Link Have Voice Acting In The Next Zelda Game?
Fears of the Kingdom
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was revolutionary for the Zelda series in a number of ways. You can talk all day about the stunning open world, the tonal shift, the slew of characters and references, and the change in the overall structure of a Zelda game. But maybe the biggest surprise was that it was the first game in...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 15th)
Vidya gaemz!
It's the weekeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeend *cough cough splutter*. We made it through another week, folks. Well done. It's been quite an interesting one, hasn't it? With only one month to go until the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo graced us with the third and final trailer for the game, and boy, was it a good one!...
Talking Point Which Other Mega Man Games Could Come To Switch?
Mega Man Mop Up Collection, anyone?
With the release of Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection for the Switch this week, it joins an already-impressive catalogue of Mega Man re-releases from the past several years. If you combine the titles from Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 & 2, Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 & 2, and Mega Man Zero/ZX...
Talking Point With One Month 'Til TOTK, What's Left For You To Do In Zelda: Breath Of The Wild?
It's crunch time
The clock bell has tolled. Only one month remains before the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. One. Month. Suddenly, this game that we have been anticipating for the last six years is almost here and out of nowhere a realisation struck us, one powerful enough to send a cold chill down anyone's spine: we still...
Talking Point Just How Old Is Mario In The Super Mario Bros. Movie?
It's not a birthday, it's a 1-Up
Back when Mario was nothing more than an 8-bit sprite on our NES consoles, we were not all that concerned about age. After all, he's the jumpy mushroom guy, who cares how many birthdays he's seen? This is the kind of mentality that's been carried through into most of the subsequent games. Even as the character's...
Talking Point The Super Mario Bros. Movie - What Are Your Favourite Moments?
A galaxy of possibilities
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is on everyone's lips right now. And why? Because it's a pretty darn big deal. We've talked about the movie at length, looking at its Easter eggs to simply just having a chat over a cuppa. But two Nintendo Life staffers still have stuff to get off of their chests, and this is their chance to...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 8th)
Easter gaming
We did it, everyone! We made it through the opening week of The Super Mario Bros. Movie and still live to tell the tale. Yes, this week finally saw the release of the hotly anticipated Nintendo and Illumination co-production and was it worth the wait? Well, sort of. While we certainly had mixed feelings in our review, the stellar box...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 1st)
Flame on
One week ago today we were looking at the calendar and commenting on how things seemed pretty quiet for Nintendo to round out March and then out of nowhere — boom! — we're hit with our first proper look at The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and everything changed. Yes, this was the week that we fell thoroughly back into the...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (March 25th)
Sunsetting those eShops
Ahh... The weekend. It's been a bit of a quieter week in the world of Nintendo, but that doesn't mean there hasn't been a number of interesting stories to highlight. In confirmation of rumours circling the internet, Sega announced that it will be releasing Sonic Origins Plus in June, bringing Amy to the fold and adding...
Talking Point What's The Best Year In Gaming?
Cream of the crop
Games are so good, right? Looking back over the years and decades, it's difficult to actually think of a year that's been objectively bad in terms of gaming output; generally speaking, with the wealth of consoles and developers out there, there's always been at least a handful of games every year that spoke to us in a meaningful...
Talking Point What Makes A Really Good Demo?
Time is money
As the Switch eShop library continues to grow, so too does the number of available demos. And hey, demos are great! This convenient way to try before you buy has got us hooked on many a game that we may never have otherwise picked up, and with a number of demos offering the chance to carry your data over from the trial into the full...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (March 18th)
Searching for lost demons?
Hooray, the weekend is here! It's the weekend, everybody! Before we dive into what we're going to be playing, let's take a peek at what's been happening in the world of Nintendo this week. First up, Nintendo saw fit to add not one, not two, but four new titles to its Nintendo Switch Online service. We reckon that's...
Talking Point Which Pokémon-Themed Nintendo Console Has The Best Design?
The very best...
Back in January, we ran down every Zelda-themed Nintendo console out there in an attempt to find which one you lovely lot thought was the best. There were a lot of these Hylian designs, with the series clearly standing as one of Nintendo's most popular choices in the special edition design room, but these are dwarfed in number by...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (March 11th)
Zelda? Mario? Metroid? Tell us
Ladies and gentlemen... The weekend. Yes, it's time to wrap up another week and find out what we're all planning to play over the weekend. But first, let's go over what's been going on in the world of Nintendo this week. First up, the excellent Metroid Fusion launched on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (March 4th)
Tell us, pleeease
Welcome, one and all! It's been another reasonably busy week here at Nintendo LIfe. We started off with a Pokémon Presents showcase which, according to you fine people, wasn't all that good. The biggest highlight was undoubtedly the announcement of the Scarlet and Violet DLC, which will come in two parts and is officially called
Talking Point Which Is Your Favourite 3DS Theme?
Main theme
As we continue our trip down memory lane before the 3DS (and Wii U) eShops close up for new purchases, firing up our old consoles recently has reminded us just what a bounty of gaming joy 3DS presents every time you crack open that clamshell. What a wonderful little console! (Check out our 'Countdown' series if you're looking for eShop...
Talking Point Which Gaming Moments Made You Question Your Intelligence?
Uh... what... who..?
Human beings are smart. Really smart. We're the only species on earth with the brainpower to comprehend its own existence. We've landed on the moon, built great feats of engineering, constructed huge buildings that pierce the clouds in the sky, and made tremendous leaps in the fields of science and medicine. So yeah, we're a...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (February 25th)
The good, the bad and the ugly
It's been a long six months since we last got a new Kirby game on Switch, but with this week's release of Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, we think it's safe to say that nature is finally healing. This week over on Nintendo Life we have been delving into the world of ports, asking why so many remasters are sub-par...
Talking Point Why Are So Many Remasters Sub-Par At Launch?
Remastering the wheel
Remasters are fantastic, but they're also a little bit weird. They give us the chance to revisit some of our favourite games from our childhood, give new players the opportunity to share in our experiences, and sometimes they represent the first time a game is getting an international release. But why are they so inconsistent?...
Talking Point What Will Be Announced On Pokémon Day 2023?
Who's that reveal?
27th February is fast approaching, and you know what that means? Pokémon Day is almost here! Every single year since 2016, which happened to be the franchise's 20th anniversary, The Pokémon Company has shared a number of announcements on this day to celebrate Pokémon, usually in the form of a Nintendo Direct-style Pokémon...
Talking Point What Is The Best Special Edition Switch Console?
The full range
Ah, special edition consoles. There is nothing else quite like them, is there? From the flashy to the subtle, these decked-out devices are a reminder of the series' that we love, the titles we cherish and the designs that make us ooh and ahh. They are a special way to stand out from the crowd and have something that feels a little...