Mailbox: Switch 2 Concepts, Legacy Revivals, Goemon Haiku - Nintendo Life Letters

Welcome, one and all, as we once again rifle through the Nintendo Life Mailbox.

Our monthly letters page returns with a crop of correspondences from Nintendo Life readers covering all sorts of gaming-related topics.

Got something you want to get off your chest? We're ready and waiting to read about your game-related ponderings. Each month we’ll highlight a Star Letter, the writer of which will receive a month’s subscription to our ad-free Supporter scheme. Check out the submission guidelines at the bottom of this page.

Let's put the little flag down, open the door, and see what goodies the postman's brought us...

Nintendo Life Mailbox - February 2024

"Just a pachinko mascot" (***STAR LETTER***)

Oh how I lament!
Almost twenty years have passed,
Since he was last seen.

International?
Not since 1998!
Memories held dear.

Relegated to
Just a pachinko mascot.
Come back, Goemon!

Ebisumaru

A very fine ode,
To a series we love, lost.
Star letter for you. - Ed.

"shunning it"

Hi NL!
Wanted to briefly talk about something I’ve been thinking about lately: I’ve had a complete 180 on my opinion on Fortnite as of late. After briefly trying to game and shunning it for years, and not thinking of it highly, I gave it another shot due to some encouragement by friends, and you know what? It’s quite fun! Have any of you on the team had a similar dramatic change in opinion on a game title?
NarwhalKing

I can't think of anything I've totally 180'ed on. I've made it my mission to badger Ollie until he plays and enjoys Vampire Survivors, though. That's the best way to get people to 180, right? Genial snark and relentless badgering?

Ollie himself says RE6. "Hated it at first, love it now." - Ed.

"something sparked"

Do you run into a lot of gamers who found their video game passion again with the Switch? I had really lost some of the fire in the Wii generation for all video gaming. My wife really wanted to play Breath of the Wild, so we got a Switch and it was like something sparked back to life for me as well. Seven years in and I can't believe how little I played for that stretch before it. I'm so happy for what this little device brought back to me!
Joshua S.

It's Switch's special sauce, isn't it — the way it slots neatly into your lifestyle, whether you're a time-pressed parent, a retiree, a schoolkid, a first-timer, or a veteran who's been out of the game for a while. It makes it so easy to access and play the good stuff, to stoke that passion. As with anything, it's natural for enthusiasm to ebb and flow through different periods of your life, but great to hear you're all fired up again! - Ed.

"suck it up"

Hi NintendoLife,

I have increasingly found myself wondering when video games will become a ubiquitous enough medium for almost everyone to enjoy some facet of them? And then as the flipside, when will it become impossible to properly experience and appreciate all genres as an individual?

Everyone enjoys music, not many people genuinely enjoy all music. Same for films, or books. I find it difficult to engage with all new Nintendo gaming releases, let alone other developers/platforms. Mainly due to time, but equally some just don't appeal, even if I were to win the lottery and move to a remote island (with good WiFi).

How do you as professionals manage this distinction? Just suck it up, because it's a job, right? Or do you try to maintain a staff that have organic interest spanning all genres?

Thanks,
Macarver

I think that point of ubiquity arrived with smartphones in the Wii/DS era. Whether it's Candy Crush or Brain Training or Wii Sports or Wordle, finding someone who doesn't like a single video game is as rare as finding someone who dislikes all movies or music.

And not engaging with everything is fine. There's way too much to keep up with anyhow! I understand the impulse and I try to get a rounded overview of what’s out there, but playing everything is an impossibility. Having staff and contributors with diverse interests helps from a site perspective. Finding enthusiasm for Cutesy Roguelike Deckbuilder #437 can be tough, but we're fortunately able to focus on what interests us 99% of the time. Loads of great stuff out there. - Ed.

"massive push"

With SEGA and even Nintendo to an extent putting a massive push on reviving a lot of their legacy games/series lately, I wanted to ask what other companies you think will do the same and what franchises they might choose to revive if so? I'm personally banking on Square Enix pulling what they did with Live A Live again and bringing back a ton of their older NES/SNES era titles via HD-2D styled remakes (TERRANIGMA *PLEASE*)
Fizza

Goemon would be up there. It's been too long since we've had a Tactics Ogre or FF Tactics, and I'd welcome as many HD-2D remakes as they want to put out. Generally, it's tough to think of a series that hasn't been tapped for nostalgia's sake. Nobody's clamouring for Decap Attack 2...but should they be? - Ed.

"hyper sexy"

Here's my utterly tremendous idea for a Switch 2 Concept: In Docked mode you get your Zelda or Mario in hyper sexy 4K ps5-level jaw droppingly stunning visuals. Undock the system and in handheld mode you get a retro demake of the same game. This way everybody wins, 2D and 3D Zelda in one. What do you reckon?
YoshiTails

So every game is like Dragon Quest XI on 3DS? Sounds amazing! And very easy, affordable, practical to implement, too. Devs are going to love it.

As a one-off concept for a Zelda, though, that's definitely an exciting idea. Imagine if you had to switch between modes to solve puzzles somehow. It would get irritating if overused, but it's got that close-your-DS-to-stamp-the-other-screen magic to it!

Yes, very good. Chop chop, Nintendo. Everyone else, you're off the hook. - Ed.

"during/after"

Dear the best gaming website (or really best website of all time) ever,
I love looking through the reader letters, so i thought i will give it a lil try! I have three questions lol:
1. How do you write amazing articles so quickly during/after Nintendo Directs??
2. What film adaptation do you think Nintendo will do after Zelda and Super Mario Bros Movie 2? Do you think a Nintendo cinematic universe is possible?
3. Lastly, do you think a new animal crossing could come this year?
Sincerely
octolingking

1. Two secret weapons: A great team, and lots of coffee.
2. Animal Crossing seems safe. And some form of NCU feels like an inevitability, though hopefully Nintendo is more imaginative.
3. This year? Very unlikely, but I don't see us having to wait three years into the next console's lifecycle like we did with Switch. - Ed.

"for a project"

Dear Nintendo Life editor,
I love to read your articles for the latest gaming news and topics. I would love if you would tell me some of your favorite Wii U games. (Yes I own one) I am a part of Boyscouts and am writing to you for a project.
Thank you,
Chris Traggiai
(PS my favorite Wii U game is Breath of the Wild or Nintendo Land)

Two great picks! Congratulations on owning a Wii U. It had so many brilliant games, most of which have thankfully come to Switch. Discounting those, I have very warm memories of the original Splatoon and Need for Speed Most Wanted U, but perhaps my favourite (and I feel a little bad for recommending it because it's not available to buy anymore) has to be Affordable Space Adventures. An absolute gem. - Ed.

"I thank you"

To whom this may concern:

I have read your news articles for a while now, and I thank you for informing me on all of the wide range of topics you cover. It is clear that everyone at Nintendo Life works hard to deliver innovative messages to the fans of Nintendo around the globe. Your work has helped me stay up to date on Nintendo news. Your work is very much appreciated.

Sincerely,
Jacob

You're very welcome, Jacob! It's so lovely to read messages like this — thank you. - Ed.

"bit of a cul de sac"

Dear Nintendo Life,

What games could you not bring yourself to finish?
Not necessarily because they're difficult or bad, but because you just couldn't be bothered.
And I don't mean getting every last collectable, but rather beating the final boss (or equivalent); seeing the end.

This could be because of a mechanic that was enjoyable at first but later became tiresome, reaching a bit of a cul de sac, something happening in your life that knocked you off course, or just because you wanted to play something else.

For myself, I recently abandoned Golden Sun before it reached the climax.
It was fun, but I felt like I'd had enough of the gameplay it had to offer and I doubt that I'll go back to complete it.

Kind Regards,

Uncle Franklin

I got to the final boss of Metroid Dread but never actually beat it. Now I can't summon the energy to relearn the patterns and tick it off the list. Great game, but yep, I feel satisfied. Ollie has a similar thing with Tears of the Kingdom, and Jim's never seen the end of Persona 4 Golden. - Ed.

Bonus Letters

"Could you maybe do a Talking Points article on your staff's favorite OSTs for outside-of-game listening?" - Thomystic

We do love a good tune and have covered soundtracks quite a bit in the past, but we'll have a think. If you missed them, our 10 Best Switch Soundtracks feature does what it says on the tin, and Alana rounded up our favourites from 2023 recently. Also, I'd recommend revisiting our archive of NL VGM Fest articles from a few years back — loads of gold there. - Ed.

"I have been reading the Nintendo Adventure Books and in Book 5, entitled Pipe Down! I was surprised to see on page 103 that Luigi says “Zowie!” Is this where Nintendo got the idea for “Wowie Zowie” when you get the elephant power up?" - Justin VanLoon

Absolutely definitely maybe. He says it in Luigi's Mansion 3, too. - Ed.

"The treasures in Pikmin 4 confirm that Nintendo canonically exists in the Pikmin universe. That means that the music boxes that play Song of Storms and Piranha Plant’s Lullaby are likely merchandise. One of these music boxes plays the main theme from Pikmin 3- do the Pikmin games exist in the Pikmin universe?" - Munchlax

Can confirm: Hey! Pikmin is part of the Inner PKU. - Ed.

Thanks to everyone who wrote in, whether you were featured above or not.

Got something you'd like to get off your chest? A burning question you need answered? A correction you can't contain? Follow the instructions below, then, and we look forward to rifling through your missives.

Nintendo Life Mailbox submission advice and guidelines

• Letters, not essays, please - Bear in mind that your letter may appear on the site, and 1000 words ruminating on the Legend of Heroes series and asking Alana for her personal ranking isn't likely to make the cut. Short and sweet is the order of the day. (If you're after a general guide, 100-200 words would be ample for most topics.)
• Don't go crazy with multiple correspondences - Ideally, just the one letter a month, please!
• Don't be disheartened if your letter doesn't appear in the monthly article - We anticipate a substantial inbox, and we'll only be able to highlight a handful every month. So if your particular letter isn't chosen for the article, please don't get disheartened!

How to send a Letter to the Nintendo Life Mailbox

• Head to Nintendo Life's Contact page and select the subject "Reader Letters" from the drop-down menu (it's already done for you in the link above). Type your name, email, and beautifully crafted letter into the appropriate box, hit send, and boom — you're done!