Timeline
Wednesday10th Jul 2024
Review Fading Afternoon (Switch) - An Ambitious, Absorbing 'Yakuza' In Kunio-kun's Clothing
The gang's all here
Technos’ Kunio-kun titles, a 42-strong series dabbling in various genres, began in 1986 as a simple arena brawler. Its most popular entries, however, were those that incorporated non-linear role-playing elements based around soap operatic high school thuggery. Anyone familiar with those titles, specifically on Famicom, Super...
News Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Datamine Supposedly Uncovers Evidence Of New DLC
Spoiler alert
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot recently celebrated eight million downloads since its original release, so what's next for this ever-growing experience? According to a new datamine, Goku and friends might be getting some DLC based on...spoiler...Dragon Ball Daima. If you're not familiar with Dragon Ball Daima, it's the new series coming out...
News Nintendo Switch Sports Free Basketball Update Now Live, Here's What's Included
Shoot some hoops today
After revealing Basketball would be coming to Nintendo Switch Sports recently, Nintendo has now officially released this free court sport update. As already revealed, it comes with a trio of different game modes including two-on-two matches, a solo three-point contest, and a 'Five Streak Battle'. Included with this is local...
News Here's Your First Look At Sonic X Shadow Generations: Dark Beginnings
Update: Sega shares the official prologue teaser
Update [Wed 10th Jul, 2024 03:30 BST]: Sega has now shared the full video on its official Sonic the Hedgehog YouTube channel. Here's a bit more about this upcoming prologue series, which is arriving in Fall 2024. "Take a sneak peek at the upcoming prologue animation SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS: Dark...
The first update for the Switch version has arrived
Following the release of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for the Switch in May, Nintendo has now rolled out the very first update for the game. As this game is a revival of the GameCube classic, this update is focused exclusively on fixes. It resolves all sorts of errors and issues you may or...
News Transformers Collab Announced For Blizzard's F2P Shooter Overwatch 2
Roll out today, squad
Blizzard's free-to-play hero shooter Overwatch 2 has announced it's teaming up with Transformers in a new collaboration.This new update, which is now available, will bring new skins, rewards and some "fan-favourite ways to play" as players join an epic battle between the Autobots and Decepticons. "Calling all TRANSFORMERS...
Tuesday9th Jul 2024
News Sonic Team Boss Really Wants To Make A New Sonic The Hedgehog RPG
A new brotherhood?
Remember Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood? Maybe you don't for various reasons, but the DS game was the first ever Sonic the Hedgehog RPG — and the last. However, in a recent interview with Good Vibes Gaming, Sonic Team boss Takashi Iizuka spoke about his desire to make an RPG starring Sonic, admitting that he has asked...
Random When They're Not Terrorising Hyrule, Zelda: TOTK's Moblins Are Certified Ballers
BOOMSHEIKALAKA
After a year and a bit, we thought we had seen just about all of the weirdness that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom had to offer. But the glitches, wild builds and hidden secrets all pale in comparison to what we're dubbing the 'HBA' (Hyrule Basketball Association) because, as it turns out, TOTK's Moblin's can ball (thanks,...
Soapbox Has Nintendo Set A Precedent That 'Switch 2' Can't Hope To Match?
The highest of bars
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Gavin ponders what 'success' looks like for systems with impossibly popular predecessors... Looking back at Nintendo's home console hardware sales over the past four decades,...
Random Homebrew Dev Acquires 'Tengen' Brand, Launches Unlicensed NES Game
Come again..?
Remember Tengen? From 1987 to 1994, it was a subsidiary of Atari Games focused on creating unlicensed titles for the NES by attempting to circumvent Nintendo's licensee restrictions. After obtaining a copy of the Nintendo lock-out program, Tengen was well on its way to creating its own NES cartridges. However, Nintendo promptly sued...
Random Sakurai Explains How Manga Influenced Smash Ultimate's Character Designs
It's all in the mouth
Masahiro Sakurai is back with another game development video and today's lesson is all about Manga-like visuals. The legendary game designer discusses the expressive and unrealistic techniques employed by manga and anime artists to achieve the most expressive result, specifically, how a character's mouth appears in profile and...
News Pokémon Sleep Has Reportedly Made $100 Million In Its First Year
Catching Zs and catching $s
Pokémon Sleep, the sleep-tracking app where you can catch 'em all by catching Zs, has reportedly brought in an impressive $100 million in its first year (thanks, VGC). This is according to AppMagic data recently published by PocketGamer.Biz which reports that the lion's share of the revenue has come from users in Japan,...
Review SPY×ANYA: Operation Memories (Switch) - A Very Easygoing, Sometimes Awkward Anime Outing
The most adorable spy mission you'll ever play
Listen up, Spy x Family fans. Operation Strix is on and the only way to ensure world peace is to help Anya Forger with her homework. In the case of Spy x Anya: Operation Memories, that means taking her to lots of fun places and taking pictures of her while she does adorable things. It is a low-stakes,...
Random After 100% Completing Zelda: TOTK, Streamer Sets Out To Collect Every Rock
No stone left unturned
It has been a little over a year since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom landed on Switch and for many of us, the adventure is over. Sure, we might drop into Hyrule to mop up a couple more quest, do some more exploring or get lost in the wonder of it all, but, generally speaking, we're done. The same cannot be said...
News According To Hideki Kamiya, Ōkami's Development Team Was 'Weak'
"This team was the worst!"
Clover Studio's Ōkami was one of the most critically acclaimed games of its day when it launched on PS2 in 2006 and Wii in 2008. Despite this, Hideki Kamiya has revealed that its development team was, on the whole, pretty weak. This comes via a new video from 'UNSEEN' on YouTube in which Kamiya and Ikumi Nakamura sit...
UK Charts Luigi Runs For Cover As EA Sports FC 24 Scores Another Winner
WaaaAaAaa
The latest UK charts are in and after making its golden debut last week, Luigi's Mansion 2 HD couldn't hold onto the prize. Nintendo's latest remaster drops to third this time as the familiar faces of EA Sports FC 24 and Hogwarts Legacy reassume their spots at the top of the table. The rest of the chart is pretty unsurprising. Elden Ring...
News The Second Unofficial Zelda Cookbook Has Already Smashed Its Kickstarter Goal
"A new culinary adventure awaits"
You've probably cooked all sorts of delights (and not-so-tasty dishes) in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and if you're interested in applying these skills to the real world, then this new "unofficial" cookbook based on The Legend of Zelda series might be for you. This is the '2nd Unofficial Legend Of...
News Taito Milestones 3 For Switch Locks In Japanese Release, Here Are The 10 Games Included
It's arriving in "Winter 2024" locally
Following an announcement in May about Taito Milestones 3 coming to the West in "Winter 2024", Taito has now shared an update about the collection's Japanese release. It will be arriving later this year on 28th November and comes with a total of 10 titles. "The release date for the Nintendo Switch software...
Random Super Mario 64 GBA Project Adds Stars And "Wider" Limbs For Mario
"They're easier to see at low resolution"
Last month, we covered a story here on Nintendo Life about a coder named Joshua Barretto who decided to do a custom rewrite of Super Mario 64 for Nintendo's 32-bit handheld, the Game Boy Advance. If you weren't already impressed with this technical feat, this palm-sized project has now shared a new update...
News WayForward Is Reviving Its GBA Game 'Sigma Star Saga' For Modern Platforms
The "fan-favorite shmup/RPG" returns in 2025
WayForward shared some surprise news at its Anime Expo panel this year - announcing the Game Boy Advance sci-fi adventure title Sigma Star Saga would be making a return on "modern platforms" in 2025. This 2005/06 "fan-favorite shmup/RPG" will also be made available as a Game Boy Advance reproduction...
News Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Was Nintendo's "Best-Selling" Switch Game In May 2024 (US)
But Switch showed "the most significant drop" in hardware sales YoY
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door topped the charts in the UK and Japan when it arrived on the Switch in May 2024, and some new data about its release in the US has now been shared. According to Circana (formerly NPD) via industry analyst Mat Piscatella, it debuted in second...
Monday8th Jul 2024
News "A Mixed Result" - Digital Foundry Gives Its Tech Verdict For Beyond Good & Evil On Switch
Texture and reflection downgrades
Beyond Good & Evil: 20th Anniversary Edition is out now on Switch and, by and large, it's turned out to be a successful release for Ubisoft, boasting upgraded visuals from the original alongside some meaningful bonus material. We gave the game an 8/10 in our review, and you should definitely check out our full...
Feature TMNT: Splintered Fate Dev Talks Crafting A Radical Roguelike And How Hades "Opened Our Eyes"
Divine inspiration
TMNT fans were eating well back in 2023. Shredder's Revenge landed a totally tubular DLC, Mutant Mayhem was one of the franchise's best films in decades, and completely out of the blue Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate popped out of its shell on Apple Arcade. This roguelike from developer Super Evil Megacorp took the...
News Surprise! Basketball Slams Onto Nintendo Switch Sports This Week
NBA on a Wed-nes-day
Following its announcement the June 2024 Direct, Nintendo has today revealed that basketball will be hitting the court on Nintendo Switch Sports on 10th July in Europe and on 9th July in North America (thanks to the magic of timezones). The new sport will come as a free add-on for the game, tipping off with a trio of different...
News New RPG From 'Rune Factory' Creator Lands On Switch Next Month
Physical launch to follow in October
Red Art Games recently announced that Elrentaros Wanderings, the new RPG from Rune Factory creator Yoshifumi Hashimoto, will be heading to the Switch digitally on 16th August 2024. Developed by Marvelous subsidiary HAKAMA, the game blends life-sim elements with action-RPG gameplay, all the while boasting...
News 'River Tails: Stronger Together' Is A New Co-Op Adventure About Feline And Fish Friendship
Out now!
After a new co-op adventure to while away the summer evenings? River Tails: Stronger Together might have you covered. This two-player platformer landed on the Switch eShop last week and it looks really rather sweet. Developed by Kid Onion Studio, River Tails will see you playing as either Furple the kitten or Finn the fish, navigating land...
News Pokémon Scarlet And Violet Kick Off Four Seasonal Events This Week
Tera raids and mass outbreaks galore
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are hosting four new seasonal events starting this week, including Tera Raids and Mass Outbreaks. The first kicks off this week on 11th July 2024 and is headlined by a black crystal Tera Raid featuring Pikachu with the Mightiest Mark. This is then supplemented by a 'Pikachu and...
News Play Mario + Rabbids For Free In Nintendo Switch Online's New Free Game Trial
Sparking hope for our bank balance
Update: This Nintendo Switch Online Free Game Trial has now been announced for Europe too. Whether you have a North American or European NSO subscription, you can play Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope for free until 14th July. Hot off the back of Darkest Dungeon II, Nintendo has revealed its next free game trial...
Sunday7th Jul 2024
Feature Nintendo Life eShop Selects & Readers' Choice (June 2024)
Our picks for the best eShop games in May
We're now well into July, which means it's time to look back and survey the last month's worth of Switch eShop releases and pick our favourite. It was a relatively quiet month on the Switch front, with Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance and Luigi's Mansion 2 HD being the big new physical releases, although the...
News Arc System Works Reveals New Characters For Two Switch Fighters
One is DLC, the other is a main roster addition
As part of this weekend's Anime Expo 2024 celebrations, Arc System Works shared two fighting game announcements. First up was the reveal of Uzuki for Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes. This character will arrive as a DLC fighter in August. This "dramatic stylish 2D fighting game" arrived on the...
