Retro - Timeline
Wednesday14th Sep 2022
News Switch Online Versions Of Pokémon Stadium 1 & 2 Won't Support Transfers
Read the fine print
At the latest Nintendo Direct broadcast, the next batch of games coming to the Switch Online N64 service were revealed. Apart from titles like Mario Party, and the long-rumoured return of GoldenEye 007, Nintendo also confirmed Pokémon Stadium and its sequel Pokémon Stadium 2 would be
Tuesday13th Sep 2022
News More N64 Games Are Coming To The Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack
Yes, including THAT one
Nintendo has announced that a new batch of Nintendo 64 games will be coming to the Expansion Pack tier of its Nintendo Switch Online subscription service. As detailed in the latest Nintendo Direct for September 2022, the following eight titles — as well as the long-rumoured return of GoldenEye 007
Monday12th Sep 2022
Poll What's The Best Contra Game? Rate Your Collection And Help Us Find Out
Run 'n' Rank!
This week marks the 30th anniversary of Contra III: The Alien Wars (or Super Probotector: Alien Rebels) on the SNES in Europe. That's crazy, right? Despite Konami's rather lacklustre attempt to revitalise the franchise with Contra: Rogue Corps in 2019, we here at Nintendo Life still have a spot in our hearts for the run 'n' gun shooter...
Monday5th Sep 2022
PSA Sega Mega Drive Mini 2 Is Now Available To Pre-Order In The UK
Be quick, supplies will be low!
The Sega Mega Drive Mini 2 has been made available for pre-order in the UK and Europe, exclusively through Amazon. At the time of writing, the price of the console has been set at £104.99, which bizarrely is actually more expensive than North America, where it's currently priced at $99.99 (Update: as mentioned in...
Friday2nd Sep 2022
Random Bob-omb Battlefield Gets Added To 'GoldenEye With Mario Characters' Mod
It's-a Bond, James-a Bond
In celebration of GoldenEye 007's 25th anniversary last month, a diehard Mario fan, known on YouTube as StupidMarioBros1Fan, sought to remake the game with Super Mario 64 characters at the helm. The result was fantastic — in a kind of deeply horrifying way — and the team has now dropped an update to the PC fan game...
Wednesday31st Aug 2022
Feature 12 Nintendo Games That Deserve An HD-2D Remake
Pretty in pixels
HD-2D has become the new lofty bar for retro-inspired RPGs or remakes of our favourite Super Nintendo RPGs. Square Enix's new trademark visual style started with 2018's Octopath Traveler and has also been used in this year's strategy RPG Triangle Strategy. But, arguably, its true potential has been realised in the stunning remake of...
Random This New PC Platformer Is Designed To Be Played With DK Bongos
And it's free!
Nintendo has long been a pioneer of creative controllers. There was, of course, the Wii remote which revolutionised mainstream motion-based gaming, the N64 controller which finally let you play a game with three hands, and, the crème de la crème, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat's DK Bongos. Many of us still have a pair or two of these...
News The 'Unofficial Strider Sequel' Cannon Dancer Is Finally Coming To Consoles
Step and stride
As we're only weeks away from this year's Tokyo Game Show, we're starting to find out what games developers and publishers will be showing off at the annual convention. And amidst Konami's line-up — which includes multiple Yu-Gi-Oh! games, Super Bomberman R 2, and Coffee Talk Episode 2 — is the surprise return of a forgotten...
Tuesday30th Aug 2022
News 'Jumping For Joy' Leaps Into Platforming History, With Plenty For Nintendo Fans To Enjoy
Jump up, jump up and get down
If you're looking to explore the history of Nintendo and its games, Chris Scullion, video games journalist extraordinaire and Nintendo Life contributor no less, is a go-to expert in the field. Having worked at Official Nintendo Magazine back in the day, he's already got several tomes' worth of facts and figures for you...
Friday26th Aug 2022
Watch How To Get Good At Collecting Retro Video Games (Without Breaking The Bank)
Time to haggle!
Video gaming has to be one of the more expensive hobbies out there, right? Other than, like, yacht collecting or space travel, of course, but out of the normal hobbies, it's up there. Games themselves tend to cost anywhere from $20 to 80, and that's before you get into things like physical versions and collector's editions and DLC...
Thursday25th Aug 2022
News Chibi-Robo Director Doesn't Think Skip Ltd Will Release Another Entry In The Series
"Most of the staff have moved on to other companies"
There's nothing quite like Chibi-Robo. The teeny, tiny little robot came out late in the GameCube's lifespan in the west and never really got the love he deserved. We never forgot about him at least, but it's been a quiet few years since developer Skip Ltd and Chibi-Robo have plugged into...
Wednesday24th Aug 2022
Random What Do You Mean Super Mario's Donut Blocks Aren't Based On Donuts?
"Jelly-filled are my favourite"
Donut blocks. We all know them, and we all either love them or hate them as they collapse under the weight of our platforming plumber Mario. These platforms have been around since Super Mario Bros. 3, always waiting to lure us in with the safety of a flat surface, before falling and taking us Mario to his demise...
Tuesday23rd Aug 2022
News 20th Super Mario Kart Championships Start Their Engines On Twitch Today
Off to the races
We are rapidly approaching the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Kart's Japanese release on the Super Famicom, but what if we told you that there is another SMK-adjacent anniversary happening today? We are, of course, talking about the Super Mario Kart Championships, which will be racing off the start line today in its 20th year of...
Random Vintage Nintendo Playing Card Opening Ends In Disaster For Collector
“I cannot overstate how excited I was"
We've covered Nintendo's history a lot here at NL, and not just the video game side. At this point, it's pretty well known that before Nintendo jumped into gaming, it was well known for producing handmade hanafuda playing cards. And if you're a hardcore Nintendo collector, you'll likely want to get your hands...
Sunday21st Aug 2022
News This Stealth GameCube Mod Allows You To Play With Any Bluetooth Controller
Pre-orders now available
The GameCube might not have had the same widespread appeal as the PlayStation 2 or the original Xbox, but it was still an amazing gaming system. One thing it arguably did better than other systems at the time was wireless controllers - with the Wavebird considered by many as the pioneer of modern wireless gamepads. If you...
Saturday20th Aug 2022
Poll So, Wave Race 64 Or Blue Storm - Which Is Best?
Or are you a GB purist?
The arrival of Wave Race 64 on Switch as part of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack has been the cause of much celebration in the Nintendo Life office. Those water physics have the power to impress some two-and-a-half decades on, and it still handles like a dream. If you've never played the game — or if you're a PAL...
Friday19th Aug 2022
Guide SEGA Genesis Mini 2 Games List - Every Mega Drive And SEGA CD Game, All 61 Titles
Sega's latest mini console is out now
Following the success of its original Mega Drive / Genesis Mini, Sega has officially launched a second iteration of the miniature console, dubbed the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis 2. Our friends over at Time Extension managed to get extensive hands-on time with the new system and have published their thoughts in a...
Review Wave Race 64 - A Thrilling Racer That's Still Deeply Impressive
Splash wave
This review originally went live in 2016, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival on Switch as part of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. Wave Race was not a well-known series prior to its arrival on the Nintendo 64. Actually, it wasn't a series at all, but rather a single release: a top-down racer on...
Thursday18th Aug 2022
Random This Prototype Transforms Your Switch Into A Home Arcade Cabinet
Nintendo Switch XL
One of the most appealing features of the Switch when it was first released back in 2017 was its ability to be played in both handheld and docked mode. But what if there was another way to play? This is a question that seems to have plagued the incredibly talented designers over at Passocade, and what they came up with is surely...
Wednesday17th Aug 2022
Random Masahiro Sakurai Updated His Awesome Gaming Setup, Here's A Look
What's up with the Switch dock?
When he's not making huge games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, video game director Masahiro Sakurai is actually playing them. Yes, as you've likely already seen before, he's got an extensive collection of consoles and games (new and old). In a new post on social media, it seems Sakurai has updated his gaming space...
Tuesday9th Aug 2022
Feature Mega Man, Crash Bandicoot, And Gex - The '90s Inspirations Behind 'Frogun'
We'll tell you what we want, what we really really want
Why is that '90s and 2000s fashion coming back as a new trend is so utterly distressing to those of us that were there, but '90s and '00s video game aesthetics resurfacing is a good thing? We don't have answers for you, but we do have Frogun, a charmingly goofy action-platformer game that...
News Super Punch-Out!! Hidden Two-Player Mode Discovered 28 Years Later
No hacks or mods required
There's been a historic discovery made within the 1994 Super Nintendo release Super Punch-Out!! today. A Twitter account known as 'Unlisted Cheats' has uncovered a hidden two player mode in the game. To access this option, on the game's start screen you'll have to hold the 'Y' and 'R' buttons on the second player's...
Monday8th Aug 2022
News Sega's Latest Mini-Console Is Cute, But Reviewers Are Complaining Of Bad Lag
Bad news for shmups
Sega's latest mini-console, the Astro City Mini V, has just been released, bringing 22 vertical shmups to people who may not have had access to many of these Japan-only, arcade-only titles before... but, let's be realistic, this teeny-tiny little cabinet is for the kind of hardcore arcade nerds that can afford to drop $180 on...
Friday5th Aug 2022
News GAME's 'Home Arcade' Range Lets You Build The Arcade Of Your Dreams
Pac-Man, Galaga, Space Invaders and more!
UK retailer GAME has kicked off a new 'The Home from Home Arcade' campaign in partnership with Arcade1Up, a manufacturer of officially licensed arcade cabinets. If you've ever wanted to create the arcade of your dreams in your spare room, or even just pick up a full-size cabinet to plonk in your lounge,...
Thursday4th Aug 2022
News SNK Announces Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol.2, Coming Soon
"More info" is on the way
SNK has announced Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol.2 is "coming soon". No platforms have been revealed just yet, but the Switch is in with a good chance after the first volume was released on the platform last year. There's no word on the lineup of games this volume will include at the moment, but we're likely to see...
Monday1st Aug 2022
News There's Now A New Classic Console To Keep Your LEGO NES Company
Update: LEGO Atari now available
Update: The LEGO Atari is now available to purchase, available directly from LEGO's website. It may not be Nintendo hardware, but we have to say they've done a beautiful job or replicating Atari's woody classic. Here are the links you need: <products id="19770"> Original Article (Tue 19th Jul, 2022 17:30...
Sunday31st Jul 2022
News Sega Genesis Mini 2 Stock Expected To Be In Short Supply Locally
Global semiconductor shortages are to blame
If you're hoping to secure a Sega Genesis Mini 2 when it arrives in North America this October, you might want to act fast. This system, loaded with over 50 classic games including Sega CD titles, is expected to be in short supply. Ars Technica reached out to Sega's main office and received confirmation...
News Nintendo DS Firmware 'Prototype' Reveals System's Unique Boot Up Sound Effect
It even works on "real hardware"
Nintendo preservation website Forest of Illusion has managed to acquire another rare piece of gaming history. It's been able to archive a Japan prototype of the Nintendo DS X4 firmware - recovered from an X4 prototype unit. According to the source, "just about every aspect of this version is different from the final...
Saturday30th Jul 2022
Feature SEGA's Astonishing GameCube Rebound Following Defeat In The Console Wars
How SEGA turned its fortunes around and made friends with Nintendo
For gamers old enough to remember the turn of the century, the console landscape looked very different from how it does today. Everyone was excited for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo was getting the GameCube ready to succeed the Nintendo 64. Microsoft's Xbox was also in development...
Friday29th Jul 2022
News Analogue Pocket's Major Beta Update Is Live, Here's What's New
Memories! OpenFPGA! SpaceWar!
Analogue's major beta update to its handheld console, the Analogue Pocket, is finally live for users to download, and introduces much anticipated additions to the experience including Memories, Libraries, and openFPGA, Analogue's developer program. Detailed in an announcement post from Analogue itself, the biggest...
