Latest Features
"I think there are people who have trouble connecting with cute characters"
There are plenty of notable things about 4PGP, which launches on Switch and Switch 2 today – the iconic (but unlicensed) 1990s F1 cars, the 120Hz visuals (on Switch 2) and the four-player split-screen mode – but I have to admit that, as a seasoned arcade fan, the...
Talking Point Nintendo Direct February Partner Predictions - What Do You Want To See?
What's it gonna be?!
Well folks, with Nintendo's financials out of the way, the only logical next step is a Direct, and we're getting a Partner Showcase tomorrow, 5th February 2026! As is customary, we thought it wise to throw a bunch of predictions into the ring and see what Nintendo's partner publishers might be cooking up for the Switch and...
"I hope that, through developing this title, I too have grown"
2026 marks 40 years of the Dragon Quest series, a staggering achievement for one of the RPG genre's biggest and brightest. Known for its cosy atmosphere, warm character, humour, and iconic art, Dragon Quest is due a big year, and Square Enix is kicking things off with a brand new...
Preview Five Takeaways From My Time With Virtual Boy On Nintendo Switch Online
Oh boy
Given that fans were expecting (or perhaps hoping, to be more accurate) to see DS games added to Switch Online, the upcoming inclusion of Virtual Boy on 17th February 2026 is quite possibly the biggest surprise from Nintendo in recent years. Did anyone really ask for this? Probably not. Is it pretty neat regardless? Definitely. Although the...
Preview Pragmata Might Wind Up Being The Biggest Surprise Of 2026
Excitement, hack-tivate
I have to be honest, I really didn't expect to love Pragmata as much as I do. Early trailers were certainly intriguing, but from a gameplay standpoint, I thought it looked bland and uninspiring. Maybe Capcom’s uncharacteristically lengthy development for the game played a part (it was originally revealed in 2020), but...
Preview So Far, Super Mario Bros. Wonder On Switch 2 Isn't Making A Great Case For Itself
Lacking attraction
When Super Mario Bros. Wonder launched in 2023, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief. Finally, after a deluge of perfectly serviceable yet uninspiring ‘New’ entries, it felt like 2D Mario had gotten its mojo back. Fast-forward to 2026 and Wonder is making its grand return with a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition on 26th March, but...
Talking Point Where's Your Nintendo Labo Now?
Make, Play, & Bin?
No, we didn't find ours here, not at all... 2018 is a long time ago. It feels like it happened in another dimension, in an alternate (and much nicer) timeline, or some other Marvel universe-typed nonsense. And it's a timeline we can never get back to. It was also the year that Nintendo dropped its Labo sets, which is infinitely...
Book Review Super Nintendo: How One Japanese Company Helped The World Have Fun
Super by name, super by nature
In the introduction to Super Nintendo: How One Japanese Company Helped the World Have Fun, Keza MacDonald makes a simple promise: over the course of the next 12 chapters, you'll read something you didn't already know. It's the kind of gauntlet-laying that would have any self-respecting Nintendo fan click their...
Feature Nintendo Life eShop Selects (January 2026)
Our picks for the best eShop games on Switch 1 & 2 in January
You've got through one month of 2026, and what's your reward? Ah yes, another dose of eShop Selects! The Switch 2 has kicked off the year in relatively calm fashion, but before the mad Spring rush hits us, let's look at some eShop gems that are worth checking out. Yes, there are games...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel - Red Alarm (Virtual Boy)
Took something perfect and painted it red
Howdy, Virtual Boy fans! Welcome to another edition of Box Art Brawl! Last time, we matched up a pair of covers for Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island, and it was a pretty close-run contest. The classic SMW2 art came out on top in the end, though, with North America taking 59% of the vote, leaving the...
Feature Here's All The Best Switch 2 & Nintendo Stuff I've 3D Printed So Far
Resin-dent Evil?
For past me, the idea of 3D printing — just the mention of it, the sound of the words — always conjured up images of stuff like Tom Cruise and his wee red balls in Minority Report. I know, the 'precog' machine in that particular movie wasn't really a 3D printer, and Tom's wee red balls seemed to be made of some sort of weird...
Poll What Nintendo Switch 2 Games Are You Most Excited For In 2026?
Will it be a big one?
We're already a month into 2026, and it's been a pretty solid start to the year for Switch 2. But there's plenty to come over the next 11 months, including many likely surprises for Nintendo's newest console. Amidst big anniversaries for Zelda and Metroid, we already have a pretty solid suite of games coming out over the next...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (31st January)
This is the life
Well done, everyone! We finally made it to the end of January! There was quite a bit of Nintendo news this week, so we're sure everyone will enjoy kicking back with a couple o' games over the weekend. We were treated to yet another Nintendo Direct this week, with Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream taking the spotlight. It looked...
Game development is hard, of corpse
Behind every game is an untold story, and The Hilltop Funeral is no exception. From adjusting to remote collaboration to having their entire game concept scooped, the team at BROKENCIGS has gone through no shortage of hardships in developing their diabolical co-op coffin carrier. The Hilltop Funeral, which is...
Feature 11 Of The Strangest Game Over Screens On Nintendo Consoles
You died. Strangely. Now plz rate the experience.
Game over screens — as a professional gamer, you understand — aren't something that I personally have a lot of firsthand experience with. Not through a lack of in-game skill, that's for sure. However, as I'm also a highly learned and incredibly hirsute scholar of the interactive arts (also a...
Anniversary 'The Last Story' Helped The Wii Go Out On A Real-Time High 15 Years Ago
Zael-ous advocates
Back at the tail-end of the Wii's run as the hottest console ticket in town, so around about 2011 to be precise, there were a few special RPGs that released in rather quick succession to give Nintendo's magic box a surprisingly exciting last hurrah. Indeed, casting my mind back now — and unaided by AI, I'll have you know — I...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel - Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island
Mlem
We are back, back, back with another edition of Box Art Brawl! We went tactical last week, as we matched up a pair of covers for Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift on the DS, and it's got to be said, the results were the most one-sided we've seen in a long time. The bright European / Japanese version took home a staggering 90% of...
Expect the unexpected, no?
"A message from the dev team:" Maybe in years past, such an intro would fill us with excitement and anticipation; after all, a peek behind the development curtain is always a welcome treat. But in 2026, the line is a signifier of bad news. Said opening almost always leads to the following: "We've got some news today...
Opinion I'll Never Truly RIP Until 'The Séance Of Blake Manor' Comes To Switch
Haunt me, mammy
Spooky Doorway is an Irish dev studio that's already brought us lucky Switch gamers some seriously good point-and-click fun times in the form of The Darkside Detective series. This is a studio with form, and one that's already proven it knows how to serve up clever puzzle adventures that just get what makes this particular genre...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (24th January)
On Cloud nine
Well folks, you made it! The weekend is here again, which means it's time to get some all-important gaming done. Before that though, let's quickly recap the week. Our big review was for Final Fantasy VII Remake on the Switch 2, and as expected, it's a bit of a banger. We also heard from director Naoki Hamag
Review Hit Box Ultra Arcade Controller - The Ultimate Partner For Fighting Fans
C-c-c-combo!!
I’ve reviewed several leverless arcade controllers for the Switch / Switch 2, but I’ve had my eye on the Hit Box Ultra for a little while now. For those unfamiliar, Hit Box is the original leverless arcade controller; if you want to contest that, then it’s at least the one that popularised the concept. The Ultra is the...
Opinion A Big Life Change Means I'm Happy To Wait For A Brand New Animal Crossing
My new horizon
Remember when Nintendo called Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ 2.0 update the final major free update to the game? It turns out, a lot can change in four years. And here I am again, back on my tropical island paradise, playing through another big free addition – and a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of one of my favourite Switch games.
Feature 40 Games We'd Love To See On Switch 2
We'd give our right Joy-Con 2 see 'em
This article originally went live back in August 2025. We've updated the list, removing some announced, incoming ports (Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Resident Evils 7, 8, and 9), plus ones which have already come to Switch 2 (Assassin's Creed Shadows,
Anniversary Resident Evil: Deadly Silence Is 20 Years Old Today - Were You A Fan?
You were almost a Jill sandwich!
Resident Evil has a special place in my heart, and not just because it's a stone-cold classic of gaming, a bona fide icon of the horror genre, and all that sort of guff. No, I also have very fond memories of riding the bus home with the original PlayStation release of this particular game clutched tightly to my...
Talking Point Metroid Prime 4 And The Burden Of Being 'Good Enough'
When legacy becomes a liability
After nearly two decades of dormancy for the series and an infamously drawn-out development cycle, it feels slightly surreal to now have Metroid Prime 4: Beyond in the rearview. The game arrived under immense expectation, and it’s fair to say it ultimately proved more divisive than Nintendo and developer Retro...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel - Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift (DS)
Regional rift
Welcome, folks, to another edition of Box Art Brawl! Last week, we checked out Mario Power Tennis for the GameCube and, as expected, the results weren't even remotely close. With a much more interesting cover, Europe and North America easily won the day with 70% of the vote, leaving Japan to mop up the remaining 30%. This week, we're...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (17th January)
What's on the agenda, Brenda?
We are blowing through January faster than a big blowy fast thing that's been blowing faster than usual right now, and the delicious slices of gaming goodness continue to drop across Switch consoles. This week has seen the arrival of Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch 2, which the wonderfully handsome and...
Preview Raising My Daddy Rank At A London Gyoza Bar
Form an orderly Kiryu
My gaming life can now be cleanly split into two sections: the period before I had heard the phrase "Daddy Rank", and the period after it. It's one of the key features of Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties that Sega was kind enough to show me at a fancy gyoza-joint-turned-preview space in London this week, and in the days since, I...
Opinion I'm Happy amiibo Survived The Console Jump, But These Unlocks Are Getting Silly
You and amiiboth
If there was one name I wasn't expecting to see crop up in the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal Direct, it was Kirby Air Riders amiibo. Smash Ultimate and its DLC fighters had propped up the amiibo release schedule for the best part of five years, and its conclusion lined up so neatly with us all boarding the Switch 2 hype train that I...
Feature Nintendo Switch Year In Review 2025 - Our Most Played Games
But what are yours?
Fashionably late to the party, Nintendo has finally arrived on the Year in Review scene, humbling us all by sharing our gaming stats from the entirety of 2025. In case you missed it, the 'Switch Wrapped' site is now live, providing a rundown of every game you played this year, the three that you spent the most time with, and a...
Opinion Metroid Prime 4 Does This One Thing Better Than Any Other Nintendo Game
Remappy days
The long-awaited Metroid Prime 4: Beyond finally released in December, and well, not everyone is happy with it. The game’s focus on NPCs and a literal desert of an open world did not resonate with gamers as well as Retro Studios had hoped. I hate to admit it, but I agree with the loud people on the internet. None of the people...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel - Mario Power Tennis (GameCube)
Serve's up
January persists, but so do we! Welcome to another edition of Box Art Brawl. Last week, we matched up three different covers for Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition, and the results weren't even close. The moody European variant walked away with a dominant 69% of the vote, leaving North America in second with 28%, and the Japanese design...
Opinion The Nintendo Console Nobody Wanted To Review Returns Soon, And I'm Here For It, Again
The crimson comeback
As someone who witnessed its initial release, I’m delightfully baffled that Nintendo is resurrecting the Virtual Boy. We aren't just getting a passing mention or a trophy in a Smash Bros. game; we’re getting a full-blown revival, including a dedicated NSO app, a $100 authentic replica peripheral, and a $25 cardboard cutout...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (10th January)
What's on the docket?
Gosh, 2026 has been quite the year so far, isn't it? Luckily, we've got games to keep us busy, and we're going to go through which of the buggers we plan on playing this weekend. In case you've missed the main headlines this week, let's take a peek at what's been going on in the world of Nintendo. First up, Fire Emblem: Path...
Poll Which Call Of Duty Do You Want To See On Switch 2?
"What the hell kind of name is 'Soap'?"
With rumours of the never-ending Call of Duty franchise's imminent appearance on Switch 2 once again doing the rounds — following a 10-year agreement to bring the series to Nintendo platforms as part of Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, no less — we've been busy pondering just which
Feature Nintendo Life eShop Selects (December 2025)
Our picks for the best eShop games on Switch 1 & 2 in December
Hello and welcome to 2026 and the first eShop Selects of the year. You made it! Congrats! Of course, we start the year off by looking at the last month of 2025, December. And boy, what a December we had — probably one of the most-stacked we've ever had, including Metroid Prime 4:...
Poll So, Now The Dust Has Settled, How Did You Find Myles MacKenzie?
Myles-age may vary
When Metroid Prime 4 previews dropped back in November, series fans were rightly worried that the biggest killer in the game may not be scourge of the Space Pirates and bounty hunter extraordinaire Samus Aran, but a geeky sidekick apparently out to murder the series' pensive, lonesome tone with his inane geekery and unwanted...
Poll Box Art Brawl - Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition
"Your right hand comes off?"
Hello folks, and welcome to the first 2026 edition of Box Art Brawl! Last time, we looked at the iconic, if under-appreciated Ice Climber for the NES, and would you believe it, we had a tie! North America and Japan achieved a total of 38% each, with Europe trailing at 24%. In our opinion, the Japanese design is slightly...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (3rd January)
New year, new plans?
You made it. You're here reading these words in 2026! Well done, old bean. As is traditional, it's been a quiet week in the world of video games as most industry people take some time off over the holidays. Although not Eric Barone, it seems, as Stardew Valley: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition slipped onto North American eShops on...
Feature The Art I 'Stole' From Nintendo
And where it is now
It began with a Zelda T-shirt. I was wearing my “It's dangerous to go alone! Take this.” shirt while running a quick errand at the bank. The teller spotted it. He was at least 20 years younger than me, but his “Nice shirt!” comment kicked off a lengthy conversation about our shared Nintendo fandom. Before long, he...
Feature "We're Going To Need More Toilet Paper" - This Is Mario Kart-Attack!
A Mario Kart Live anniversary blowout
We may only be a few months into a shiny, new Mario Kart game with lush open worlds and challenges aplenty, but as I scrap it out in yet another Knockout Tour or pootle about for P Switches and Peach Coins, I can’t help but yearn for something a little more familiar. It’s a sentiment shared by many, if...
Back Page I Was The Louvre Heist Thief, But I Was Just Trying To Steal Their 3DSes
C'est tout un gros malentendu!
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...
Feature Jump, Man - A Celebration Of The Greatest Jumps In Gaming
Jump day
Super Mario Bros. is now 40 years old. To celebrate this big anniversary, Omar looks back over four decades of gaming's greatest verb and/or noun... When's the last time you jumped? Maybe when hopping from a kerb over an autumn puddle. Maybe bouncing up and down to House of Pain or that Blackpink song. Maybe you literally 'jump into bed'...
Editorial Happy New Year From Nintendo Life
'26 mix
Good news, everyone! No need to bother with all that GOTY rigmarole next year, as it's already wrapped and bagged. Commiserations to the losers, and congratulations to Rhythm Heaven Groove! Catch you all again in '27... Okay, okay. That's a little premature, but the fact that we're getting a brand new Rhythm Heaven/Paradise game puts 2026...
Opinion No One Told Me 'Chibi-Robo' Is Traumatising
Just your very presence makes everyone happy, happy... happy?
Editor's note. Spoilers for a 20-year-old game inbound... I’ve spent 20 years “awww"-ing over the delightful character of Chibi-Robo despite having never played any of his games. This cute little robot is just joy incarnate – tiny and helpful with gormless black eyes. Whether it...
Feature Who Is Devon Pritchard? - Meet The Next NOA President Stepping Into Bowser's Boots
Dougging deep
In September, Nintendo shared the news that none of us could have predicted so soon: Bowser is stepping down from the position of top dog at the end of this year. The Koopas will have to find a new king, the Mushroom Kingdom will have to find a new menace, the kart racing scene will ha— what? Not that Bowser? Oh... we're going to...
Opinion Wishlisting Games On Switch eShop Is A Game In Itself
Thumbnail and I
I love browsing the eShop, and the clicky sounds as you scroll across it. The pleasing crispness of the chick! sound goes so well with the Joy-Con button feel. There’s that camera shutter snap! if you scroll across a game’s gallery in quick succession, and on Switch 2 there’s a thumb-cheek pop! when you hover over a 2-wide...
Opinion We Need To Talk About X Games
X and why?
Most of the time, I'm pretty oblivious to game name trends. It's normally only when someone points out to me that all AAA games have names like 'Chronicle of Shadows: Rebirth', that I start to see that formula used everywhere — like when you find a trendy new pair of shoes that you swear you've never seen before, only to wear them out...
Opinion Metroid II Doesn't Care If Samus Lives Or Dies
An existential crisis courtesy of the Game Boy
I recently started playing Metroid II: Return of Samus for the first time. I’m not sure why. Maybe it was a way of staving off my intense cravings for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, which as of writing still doesn’t have a launch date more concrete than the vague '2025' window Nintendo revealed over a...
Feature Mothers & Daughters - Women Are The Heart Of Hollow Knight: Silksong
Who runs the world? Girl(bug)s!
If you haven't yet made it to the end of Hollow Knight: Silksong — one of our favourite games of 2025 — then be warned, there are major spoilers for the entirety of the game below... Many insects are matriarchal creatures. For termites, honey bees, praying mantises, ants, and spiders (shh, I know they’re...
