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TodayFri, 27th Dec 2024
Feature Nintendo Life's Alternative Game Awards 2024
Biggest surprise! Most long-winded title! Crappiest Switch publisher!
The end of 2024 is nigh, but before we get there it's time to look back on what has been a surprisingly chonky year for Switch, software-wise, in the eighth year since we first got our hands on the thing. We've listed our personal Switch GOTYs, you've ranked yours - now it's time...
- Features
- Nintendo Switch
- GOTY 2024
Nintendo Download 27th December (North America)
It's a quiet one!
The latest Nintendo Download update for North America has arrived (a day later, as many of us at NL were enjoying our Boxing Day leftovers) and it's bringing a handful of new games to the eShop in your region. And, uhhh... it really is a handful. But hey! There's plenty of games on sale in both North America and Europe, so tuck...
- Nintendo Download
- Nintendo Switch
- North America
Best Of 2024 Meet Four Developers Making Brand-New Game Boy Titles In 2024
35 years and stronger than ever
Over the holiday season, we're republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors as part of our Best of 2024 series. Enjoy! The Game Boy turned 35 years old on 21st April 2024. Today, George speaks with four talented individuals keeping the candle burning for the DMG-001 in the 21st...
- Features
- Interviews
- Game Boy
- Retro
- Anniversary
Feature How Can Switch 2 'Fix' The eShop? Devs Share Their Storefront Stories
"It's feast or famine, really"
If you are the proud owner of a Nintendo Switch (and if you're reading this, we'd wager that you are), then it will come as no surprise when we say that the eShop is a wild place in 2024. While gaming may have never been better, Nintendo's storefront has never been worse. Discoverability is a thing of the past with...
- Features
- Interviews
- Nintendo Switch
- Switch eShop
- Industry
News Antonblast Receives Update On Switch With Performance Boost To 60fps
Better late than never
One of our biggest gripes with Antonblast on the Switch was its performance at launch. In our review, we noted that slowdown during more chaotic moments of gameplay can "cheapen the experience enough to be disappointing", which isn't really ideal for a 2D platformer in which speed is a key factor. Thankfully, a new update has...
- Nintendo Switch
- Switch eShop
Japanese Charts What Successor? Switch Hardware Sales Top 100,000
Spare a thought for PS5 and Xbox
Nintendo's gamble to save its 'Switch 2' announcement for the New Year has seemingly paid off - at least in Japan, anyway. Starting with software, Super Mario Party Jamboree has once again topped the boxed charts, selling a further 133,542 copies and inching ever closer to a total of 1 million lifetime sales. Dragon...
- Nintendo Switch
- Japan
- Charts
- Sales
Best Of 2024 Pepper Grinder's Solo Dev Digs Into Scope, Smash Bros. & "Crunchy Feedback"
"I just made a game I always wanted to play"
Over the holiday season, we're republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors as part of our Best of 2024 series. Enjoy! It might feel like a long time since Pepper Grinder was unearthed for Switch at the
- Features
- Interviews
- Switch eShop
- Best of 2024
News Sonic X Shadow Generations Full Soundtrack Now Available, Here's Every Song Included
Send out the year of Shadow with a bang
Sonic X Shadow Generations is arguably one of Sonic's best outings ever and if you enjoyed the soundtrack in Shadow's new campaign as much as we did, you might be interested to know Sega has now officially released the entire album on all "major" digital services. This includes sites (and apps) like Spotify,...
- Sonic
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Music
- Nintendo Switch
News Switch Online's 'Missions And Rewards' Brings Back Previous 2024 Icons
Available for a limited time
Nintendo has released all sorts of icon designs for Switch Online subscribers throughout 2024 and now to wrap things up it's bringing back select designs you might have missed. Like last year, you'll be able to redeem icons for a limited time - with the event running until 14th January 2025. Some of the icons up for...
- Nintendo Switch
- Switch Online
- Nintendo
News Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind First Major Update Now Live On Switch
The "online" patch has also been submitted to Nintendo
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind made its debut on the Switch last week and it's gone down relatively well so far with critics and fans alike. In saying this, not everything is available on every platform (like online play), but the developers are working on it and have now rolled...
- Switch eShop
- Nintendo Switch
- Power Rangers
- Updates
Random Sonic 3's Movie Writers Would Love To Adapt Zelda: Wind Waker To The Big Screen
"We're putting it out there in the world"
There's already a live-action Zelda movie in the works, but beyond this, it's not clear how else this legendary Nintendo series could be adapted to the big screen going forward. Enter Sonic 3 movie writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller - who revealed to IGN in the same interview recently the video games they...
- Zelda
- Sonic
- Movies
Reminder New Mario Kart And Animal Crossing Lego Sets Launch Next Month
Here's another look
Earlier this year, LEGO announced it was extending its Nintendo range with the addition of a new Mario Kart line and more Animal Crossing sets. Nintendo's Japanese website has now issued a reminder that three new Animal Crossing sets and six new Mario Kart sets will be launching on 1st January 2025. The six Mario Kart sets...
- Reminders
- Lego
- Nintendo
- Animal Crossing
- Mario Kart
YesterdayThu, 26th Dec 2024
Best Of 2024 Why Play Final Fantasy VII Remake When You Could Play FFVII 'Demake'?
"more than just pirate versions"
Over the holiday season, we're republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors as part of our Best of 2024 series. Enjoy! You’re probably aware of Square Enix’s lengthy and somewhat lavish efforts to remake the 1997 game Final Fantasy VII. The second instalment of this...
- Features
- Final Fantasy
- Interviews
- China
- Nintendo
Best Of 2024 Meet The Three Brothers Making Their Dream 'Secret Of Mana'-Inspired RPG
"We want to make one of the most accessible and playable RPGs of all time"
Over the holiday season, we're republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors as part of our Best of 2024 series. Enjoy! Couch co-op and JRPG are two genres you don't often see together. Secret of Mana is one of the earliest examples of...
- Exclusive
- Features
- Interviews
- Nintendo Switch
- Upcoming Releases
Feature The Best Hidden Gems And Underrated Switch Games Of 2024
Some shinies that may have slipped through your fingers
2024. It was a bit of an odd one for Switch, with the impending announcement of Nintendo's follow-up console. It never materialised, but its shadow has been looming over the entire year. Still, if there hasn't been an absolute avalanche of games to dig into! Nintendo had many first-party...
- Features
- GOTY 2024
- Nintendo Switch
- Poll
Best Of 2024 Can We Track Down Every Cart In Our Top 50 Game Boy List In One Week?
Collection Quest GB
Over the holiday season, we're republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors as part of our Best of 2024 series. Enjoy! The Game Boy turns 35 years old today, 21st April 2024, and we've run several features over the past few days celebrating the system and its games. Today, George goes on...
- Features
- Game Boy
- Anniversary
- Best of 2024
A look back at a glittering catalogue
Over the holiday season, we're republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors as part of our Best of 2024 series. Enjoy! Takashi Tezuka seems like a good laugh, the kind of chap who knows how to have fun. Despite all the Master-Sword-waving and PR-related hijinx from fellow...
- Features
- Nintendo
- Japan
- Industry
- Anniversary
Best Of 2024 Evolving With Pokémon: How The Games Helped Me Navigate A Confused Childhood
This coping mechanism was super effective!
Over the holiday season, we're republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors as part of our Best of 2024 series. Enjoy! The Game Boy turned 35 years old on 21st April 2024. Today, Tim thinks back on how Pocket Monsters came to his aid in his formative years, and how...
- Features
- Game Boy
- Retro
- Nintendo
- Anniversary
Best Of 2024 20 Years On, Pikmin 2's Waterwraith Remains Nintendo's Scariest Moment
H2Oh no
Over the holiday season, we're republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors as part of our Best of 2024 series. Enjoy! Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Jim is reliving a childhood...
- Soapbox
- Features
- Nintendo
- Pikmin
- Anniversary
Feature Open Your Drawers - An Ode To Rummaging Through Houses In RPGs
Tea leaf!
Strolling down the road in a brand new, unfamiliar town, taking in the sights, you stop in front of a pleasant-looking house. Lovely big oak door, ruby red slate tiles, stone brickwork stained by sunlight and mud. It's quaint and cosy, the idyllic village house, perhaps home to a young mother who's just returned home from the local item...
- Features
Wednesday25th Dec 2024
Best Of 2024 Meet Morphcat Games, The New-Gen NES Devs Pushing The 8-Bit Envelope
"No one has come close to exhausting its full capabilities"
Over the holiday season, we're republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors as part of our Best of 2024 series. Enjoy! Four decades after it became an international sales phenomenon and dominated a crowded games market, the Nintendo Entertainment...
- Features
- Interviews
- Nintendo
- Retro
- NES
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Games Of 2024
The finest Switch games of 2024
Despite its advancing years, Nintendo's hybrid handheld showed that it wasn't going quietly into that good night in 2024, at least where great games were concerned. Nintendo's first-party output was mainly helmed by partner studios in 2024. with plenty of HD remakes and remasters in the mix. However, Switch did play...
- Nintendo Switch
- Guides
- Switch Essentials
- Best Switch Games
- Best Games
Best Of 2024 Vanillaware's Most Underrated Game Is More Than Just A Pretty Picture
Deserving of a Rebirth
Over the holiday season, we're republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors as part of our Best of 2024 series. Enjoy! Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Alana is talking...
- Features
- Soapbox
- Anniversary
- Wii
- Vanillaware
"Tackle life with as much energy as Goku! I'll try to do the same!"
Over the holiday season, we're republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors as part of our Best of 2024 series. Enjoy! It's impossible to overstate the impact of Akira Toriyama, the legendary manga artist and character designer who has been...
- Features
- Akira Toriyama
- Dragon Ball
- Dragon Quest
- Manga
Best Of 2024 As A Nintendo Fan, Do You Really Need To Play The Virtual Boy?
Oh boy
Over the holiday season, we're republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors as part of our Best of 2024 series. Enjoy! It’s Christmas morning, and amidst the thick haze of food already cooking for lunch and the soothing laughter of our children enjoying their new toys, my wife approaches me with a...
- Talking Point
- Features
- Retro
- Nintendo
- Virtual Boy
The sweat, the tears, the evil babies
Over the holiday season, we're republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors as part of our Best of 2024 series. Enjoy! To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Mario Kart 8, George enlisted a troupe of willing racers (at least that's what he told us) to tackle every single...
- Features
- Mario Kart
- Nintendo
- Anniversary
- Nintendo Switch
Retro revival
Over the holiday season, we're republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors as part of our Best of 2024 series. Enjoy! For many younger gamers, the idea that Atari was once the undisputed king of console gaming might seem somewhat farfetched. Yet in the late '70s and early '80s, the gaming giant...
- Features
- Interviews
- Atari
- Nintendo Switch
- Best of 2024
Editorial Merry Christmas And Happy Holidays From All Of Us At Nintendo Life
Put your arms around the world, it's Switchmas time
Season's Greetings to one and all! The 25th of December has crept up on us once more with its promise of sugary treats, hot and cold meats, papery hats and glittery tat... and, of course, video games. It's been a slow but steady year for Nintendo lovers as Switch winds down and everyone eyes The...
- Editorial
- Features
- Videos
- Christmas
Mailbox Festive Wishes, Remaster Hype, DSi Love - Nintendo Life Letters (Holiday Edition)
Issue #19 - December 2024
Ho ho holy moly, it's Christmas already!? Welcome, welcome - come on in and take the weight off! Grab a mug of warm cocoa, pull up a chair, and join us as we open up the Nintendo Life Mailbox for the holidays. Got something you want to get off your chest? We're ready and waiting to read about your game-related ponderings,...
- Mailbox
- Reader Letters
- Nintendo Life
- Site News
Tuesday24th Dec 2024
Guide 54 Games You Should Pick Up In The Nintendo Switch eShop Holiday Sale (Europe)
Every game we scored 9/10 or higher
The second wave of savings has landed in the European eShop Holiday sale — including little-known curios like Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe — so we have updated this list with the very best of 'em. The latest additions have a slightly different end date and will only be on sale until...
- Features
- Guides
- Nintendo
- Switch eShop
- Sales
Guide 161 Games You Should Pick Up In Nintendo's 'Hits For The Holidays' eShop Sale (North America)
Every game we scored 9/10 or higher
Nintendo of America has kicked off its 'Hits for the Holidays' eShop sale, bringing a wave of beefy discounts to thousands of titles across the storefront until 5th January. There are so many to choose from, in fact, that it can be difficult to see the very best among the savings. That's where we come in. In the...
- Features
- Guides
- Nintendo
- Switch eShop
- Sales
Stealth mission
Over the holiday season, we're republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors as part of our Best of 2024 series. Enjoy! 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...
- Features
- Back Page
- Nintendo
- Switch 2
- Nintendo Switch
News Multiple Cartoon Network Games Have Been Removed From The Switch eShop
Merry Christmas!
Following Sega's removal of certain digital titles earlier this month, multiple Cartoon Network Games under the Warner Bros. Discovery label have now been delisted from digital stores including Nintendo's Switch eShop. There's no word if they'll ever return but according to reports, "at least five games" under the Warner Bros...
- Switch eShop
- Nintendo Switch
- Cartoon Network
- Warner Bros
News Sonic Movie Writers Talk About Two Requested Characters For Live-Action
There's still hope with a fourth movie confirmed
Sonic the Hedgehog's third movie outing is now in cinemas and while there are some new faces in this latest live-action entry like Shadow, a few other fan favourites have missed out (again). This includes (spoiler alert) Big the Cat and Rouge the Bat. According to the writers Pat Casey and Josh...
- Sonic
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Movies
Feature Game Of The Year 2024 - Nintendo Life Staff Awards
Our personal picks for the best Switch games of 2024
As we head into the final week of 2024, it's time to slay the GOTY monster that devours the Decembers of many a gamer. While Nintendo itself has been in wind-down mode, with most internal resources focused on the next console and a software lineup to kickstart it, Switch itself has had a pretty...
- Features
- GOTY 2024
- Nintendo Switch
Best Of 2024 Tricks Of The Trade-In - Chronicles Of An Ex-GAME Employee
Skylanders, disc burns, and lethal charity boxes
Over the holiday season, we're republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors as part of our Best of 2024 series. Enjoy! Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing...
- Soapbox
- Features
- Best of 2024
Opinion Nightdive Studios Had Its Best, Most Prolific Year Yet In 2024
And it can only get better
For the younger readers amongst you, I suspect that many 3D games from the ‘90s and ‘00s seem rather quaint at best and downright unplayable at worst. It was a period in which the medium was geting to grips with a completely new third dimension; couple this with the limited graphical capabilities of the PlayStation and...
- Opinions
- Features
- Nintendo Switch
- Switch eShop
- Nightdive Studios
"At the initial idea stage, we collected over 1,000 ideas"
Over the holiday season, we're republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors as part of our Best of 2024 series. Enjoy! While the Super Mario series can get quite weird with its lore, world design, and general concepts, nothing comes close to the sheer...
- Features
- Interviews
- Nintendo Switch
- WarioWare
- Nintendo
News New Fire Emblem: Three Houses Good Smile Figure Announced, Pre-Orders Live
Edelgard arrives 2026
The Good Smile Company has already released all sorts of stunning Fire Emblem figures and the latest reveal is Edelgard from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Pre-orders for this figure are already live and will set you back $210.99 (or your regional equivalent) and is estimated to ship in Q2, 2026. Here's a bit about this figure and...
- Fire Emblem
- Good Smile Company
- Merch
- Nintendo
- Nintendo Switch
News 'Nintendo Music' Adds Super Mario 64 Soundtrack, Here's Every Song Included
"Let's-a go!"
Nintendo has just rolled out its latest update for the 'Nintendo Music' app and this week it's added the soundtrack from Super Mario 64. All up, it contains 36 tracks with a runtime of 49 minutes. You can enjoy the famous title theme music, Peach's Castle, a nice jingle with Cool, Cool Mountain, and even Piranha Plant's Lullaby (Piano...
- Nintendo Music
- Super Mario
- Nintendo Switch Online
- Nintendo
- Mobile
News Dragon Quest Creator Yuji Horii Says He's "Never Thought About Retirement"
"I'll continue to make games for a long time"
Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii has dedicated much of his life to the legendary role-playing series and it doesn't seem like he wants to slow down any time soon. Speaking to Famitsu recently, the 70-year-old mentioned how he intends to continue making games. Here's a translation of what he had to say,...
- Dragon Quest
- Yuji Horii
- Square Enix
Monday23rd Dec 2024
Reminder Rate Your Favourite Switch Games Of The Year 2024
Bring out your GOTYs!
It's that time of year for reflection, to sit down and take stock of all the wonderful games that released in 2024. A time to stare into the middle distance with a despairing expression wondering how you managed to not play so many great new games this year because the Vampire Survivors DLC continued to suck your free time up...
- Poll
- Nintendo Switch
- GOTY 2024
- Reminder
Video Here Are Alex's Top 5 Nintendo Switch Games Of 2024
Merry Alex-mas, ya filthy animal
Third time's a charm, as they say. Yes, we're back with our third and final look at our video team's top five Switch games of 2024. It's worth repeating here that these aren't necessarily games that launched in 2024, but are merely games that the video chaps played in 2024. You'll see why we felt the need to...
- Videos
- Nintendo
- Nintendo Switch
- Switch eShop
UK Charts Nintendo Can Be Proud Of Its Last Christmas Before 'Switch 2'
Top 40 is chock full of Switch games
Well folks, in what is presumably the last Christmas period before Nintendo unleashes its next major hardware, Switch games have performed admirably as folks look to fill those stockings come Wednesday morning. In fact, let's look at the numbers here: 8 games in the top 10 are either Switch exclusive or can be...
- UK Charts
- Nintendo
- Nintendo Switch
- UK
News Don't Expect Any More Miniature Consoles From Sega
The 'Dreamcast Mini' dream is dead
If you're a fan of miniature consoles and the novel convenience they bring, then unfortunately you might want to just keep ahold of your current collection, because it doesn't sound like Sega is particularly keen on making any more. In an interview with The Guardian (thanks, Time Extension), Shuji Utsumi, the CEO...
- Sega
- Hardware
Review DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou (Switch) - Cave's Vicious Shooter Is Close To The Series' Best
Elemental rage
Holding the Guinness World Record for "Most prolific developer of danmaku shooters” — a tenuous plaudit seemingly concocted entirely for their receipt — Cave’s five DonPachi entries form bullet points in the company’s evolution, from Toaplan-esque beginnings to a full-blown, bullet hell renaissance. SaiDaiOuJou, the...
- Reviews
- Switch eShop
Opinion It's Not My GOTY, But This Nintendo Game Was A Standout 2024 Memory
How Nintendo World Championships helped me ‘git gud’
I’ll admit, I’ve never been fond of speedrunning. The thought of shaving milliseconds off a time in a video game while playing the same sequence over and over sounds, in theory, more frustrating than fun. Sure, as a spectator, there is definitely joy in appreciating the wizardry of players...
- Opinion
- Features
- Soapbox
- Nintendo
- Nintendo Switch
News Star Fox 64 Finally Barrel Rolls Onto PC Thanks To An Unofficial Port
Bring on the mods!
Fan team Harbour Masters has swapped Hylian adventures for high-flying action in its new 'Starlight' project — a Star Fox 64 PC port which is available right now (thanks, VGC). This isn't the team's first rodeo — having previously brought Ocarina of Time
- News
- Nintendo
- N64
- Star Fox
- PC
Sunday22nd Dec 2024
PSA Switch 2 Is Getting Revealed In The Next 100 Days
Set your Alarmos
We've been waiting for that sweet Nintendo Switch 2 announcement for what feels like years now — hold on, it has been years — but, as of today, we are finally on the home straight. That is if your 'home straight' consists of 100 days to go. We know that an announcement is coming "this fiscal year", and if you take today (22nd...
- PSA
- Poll
- Nintendo
- Nintendo Switch
- Switch 2
Review Antonblast (Switch) - Channels Wario Land’s Madcap Energy To Great Effect
A genuine blast
A few months ago, the Switch finally received Pizza Tower, an indie action platformer that’s gotten a lot of praise for how well it channels Nintendo’s long-dormant Wario Land series. Yet developer Tour de Pizza wasn’t the only team inspired by Wario. Summitsphere’s Antonblast is a wild and wonderful action platformer that...
- Reviews
- Switch eShop
