Embark on an extraordinary adventure
Some of us have waited nearly two decades for this game - does Konami's latest 2D effort match the brilliance of the SNES Contra III?
Movie Review The Wizard (1989)
Forget all you've been told. This film kicks all kinds of ass
News - January, 2008
Thursday31st Jan 2008
News EU VC Releases - 1st February - Adventures of Lolo 2
The drought on new games coming to the Virtual Console continues for yet another week as Europe gets just one game today. We’ll try our best to smile because Adventures of Lolo 2 is a great game for anyone who likes puzzlers but we can’t help feeling a little disappointed at Nintendo’s lack of support for the VC of late.
Lolo and Lala are back...
Feature Are Virtual Console games good value for money?
Here at VC Reviews we keenly appreciate the advantages of owning Virtual Console games as opposed to tracking down the original cartridge releases from car boot sales and eBay. If anything it frees up our living room from all those consoles, controllers and wires which used to once dominate. However are we getting a good deal? Is it better value for money to track down the original carts of games we used to play back in the days rather than cough up for downloads from the Wii Shop?
...
News Check out the updated Check Mii Out channel
As it is my birthday tomorrow I had hoped the glowing blue light emitting from my American Wii this morning was a VC gift from a generous friend. Unfortnately it was not to be - it was a prompt to update the ‘Check Mii Out’ channel instead!
These are the improvements made to the channel: It's now easier to find Miis you've put up in the Posting...
Wednesday30th Jan 2008
News Wii Neo Geo Joystick Coming in April
It had to happen. With SNK supporting the Virtual Console and consequently making some of its wonderful 2D fighting games available for download, it was almost inevitable that someone, somewhere would look at producing a more ‘suitable’ control method than is currently offered by the Wiimote, Cube pad and Classic Controller.
Japanese retailer...
News Retro Studios Working On New Zelda?
Rumour mill enters overdrive
We must stress this is a rumour with a capital ‘R’, but a story has come to our attention that suggests that US development house Retro Studios, better known as the chaps behind the successful Metroid Prime trilogy, is currently working on a new Zelda title that could be announced as early as E3. It’s probably...
Tuesday29th Jan 2008
News Phantasy Star II Confirmed by ESRB
Lucky Japanese gamers got their chance to enjoy the game today, but the recent certification of Phantasy Star II by the ESRB confirms that the classic Genesis/Megadrive RPG is coming to Western shores, too.
This isn’t a tremendous surprise as the game has been released in the West several times, but it’s certainly worth looking forward to...
Monday28th Jan 2008
Feature The Sega Master System Rap
Now that the Sega Master System is joining the ranks of consoles that are emulated on the Virtual Console we thought it would be the ideal time to reveal the infamous "Sega Mastermix '90" to the world!
Back in 1990, Virgin (then the UK distributors of Sega hardware and software) were aggressively marketing the Sega Master System and...
Competition Win a Classic Controller! - Caption competition
At 'Virtual Console Reviews' from time to time we like to give a little back to our readers. This is your opportunity to win a brand new Classic Controller from PlayAsia which we will send directly to your door (Anywhere in EU, North America, Australia, etc)
The Classic Controller is a must have peripheral for anyone who is serious about gaming on...
News US VC Releases - 28th January - 1080 Snowboarding
The days of getting three (or more) Virtual Console games each week seem like a distant memory to us now. Yet again, Nintendo has released just one game for the US Virtual Console, but the blow is softened considerably by the fact that it’s an excellent N64 release! Better to spend your Wii points on one decent title than three rubbish ones, eh?
1...
News Ex-Naughty Dogs Join WiiWare Stable
Nintendo’s incoming WiiWare service has gained yet another supporter in the form of Steel Penny Games, a software house formed by two ex-Naughty Dog employees. If that name doesn’t ring a bell for you, Naughty Dog is the company that brought us the first few Crash Bandicoot games (you know, the ones that were actually good) and, more recently, the PS3-savior Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.
Before you get too excited it’s worth noting that the two employees in question - Jason Hughes and Andrew Gilmour – assumed the roles of senior graphics tools engineer and senior background artist re...
Friday25th Jan 2008
Let love be your energy in this forgotten Gamecube gem
Initially a game on the ill-fated 64DD add-on, Doshin the Giant puts you in control of the titular yellow fellow, and charges you with the care of an island of tribesmen and women. How you care for them is left entirely up to you. As a friendly sort of god, Doshin is capable of gently raising...
News Master System Games Coming to The VC!
The first new Virtual Console channel of 2008 has been confirmed and Sega fans should be rejoicing as it's the 8-bit Master System that will be getting the VC treatment. Game Gear software will also to be released under the same channel (which makes sense as technically the two consoles shared the same technology).
The first games in Japan will be...
News Japanese Virtual Console list - February 2008
Quite an uninteresting month this time. It seems like all companies are just putting out a bunch of backlogged games so that they're on there and they don't have to worry about them anymore. Japan also gets the Sega Master System this month, but with only one game. As usual there's also a new N64 game! Here's the list:
Japanese VC list - February...
News Wii To Surpass GameCube’s Life Sales
More encouraging news for Nintendo
It may not have been Nintendo’s greatest console but the GameCube still managed to shift modest 21.72 million units over its lifespan. However, to put the recent success of the Wii in sharp perspective, the console is about to surpass the GameCube’s lifetime sales despite only having been on the market for just...
News Smash Bros. Brawl to include VC Demos!
As announced on the Smash Bros. DOJO website, Nintendo is including several Virtual Console demos with the upcoming (and eagerly awaited) Smash Bros. Brawl!
The idea is that gamers can have the chance to familiarize themselves with the past exploits of the many famous Brawl fighters. So you can kick Koopa ass with Mario, hack and slash with Link or...
Thursday24th Jan 2008
News EU VC Releases - 25th January - Super Street Fighter II
VC gamers in Europe only get one game tonight in what seems to be becoming a trend for recent releases on the VC. C'mon Nintendo, surely you can give us more games than this each week? Anyway, lets not look a gift horse in the mouth - when the game is as good as Super Street Fighter II on the SNES who can complain?
For somebody only wishing to buy...
Friday25th Jan 2008
News Wiimote Used For VR Research
Is there no end to the versatility of the Wii?
Remember Virtual Reality? Back in the ‘90s everyone thought it would change the way we played games forever, and thanks to (quite poor) movies like The Lawnmower Man we actually believed the hype. Then it just sort of died. Some argued that the technology wasn't powerful enough, but others pointed out...
Thursday24th Jan 2008
News Disney Turn The DS Into An Interactive Tour Guide
Never get lost within the Magic Kingdom again - whoopee
Some interesting developments are happening in the Magic Kingdom. In a recent post on a Disneyland fan website (we don’t make a habit of visiting these places, honest), a recent vistor to Walt’s Wacky Wonderland reveals that they were asked if they would like to participate in a trial run...
News Tetsuya Mizuguchi "Worries About Wii"
Former Sega star is wary of Nintendo’s dominance
He may have been part of Sega’s ‘golden era’ and had a part in such classic titles as Rez, Meteos and Lumines, but it would seem that videogame legend Tetsuya Mizuguchi is being kept up at night by the runaway success of the Wii. In a recently interview with Wired, he was asked about...
Wednesday23rd Jan 2008
Feature Portable Virtual Console - A Reality?
It’s safe to say that the Virtual Console has been a massive success for Nintendo. The company has confirmed that an astonishing number of gamers are delving into the past and gleefully downloading retro content to their Wii consoles. So long as Nintendo can keep a steady flow of quality titles then the future of the service is all but assured.
Bu...
News DS:London - Meetup, Have a Pint, Multiplayer DS
Who's in?
Recently I had the privilege of meeting up with a great bunch of people who make up the band of travelling DS gamers, DS: London. I got the chance to ask one of the organisers (Joe Lee – a.k.a. thiswayup) a few questions at the same time as playing some hardcore DS. DS: London is bringing the multiplayer gaming scene from the dark &...
Tuesday22nd Jan 2008
Review Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Street Fighter made super
Gazing back into the mists of time, you can’t help but be amazed that Capcom managed to get everyone so excited about each new Street Fighter II update. On the Virtual Console alone we’ve already had two versions of the game, and now here’s the third! Thankfully, the improvements between the first SNES release and the...
Review Adventures of Lolo 2 (Virtual Console / NES)
Lolo and Lala are back in this sequel to the popular puzzle game Adventures of Lolo.
So you liked the original Adventures of Lolo and want more? Well, look no further. The sequel's basically the exact same. Like the first game, the objective is to collect all the Heart Framers in a room to open up a treasure chest. Then you enter the next room, and...
News Factor 5 Working On Kid Icarus Sequel?
American developer could be putting Pit back in the limelight
We’ve only just had confirmation that Factor 5 is once again working with Nintendo and the first rumours regarding the company’s next project have already begun to flood the net. According to news site Kombo, a ‘credible source’ has broken the news that Kid Icarus is the franchise...
News XGen Studios WiiWare title in 'Early 2008'
Canadian developer XGen Studios has recently been approved by Nintendo to produce software for the upcoming WiiWare portal.
Skye Boyes, president of XGen Studios, had this to say about the announcement: We're thrilled to announce that the classic game play enjoyed by millions is coming to your living room in the form of a new title with compelling...
News Original Smash Bros Coming to VC?
The eagerly awaited Wii release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl may have been delayed slightly but fans are busy filling the time from now until March by getting all excited about the possibility of the original N64 game making its way to the Virtual Console.
The cause of this excited chatter is the latest issue of Nintendo Power, which apparently...
Monday21st Jan 2008
Grasshopper's main man spills the beans on his latest game, No More Heroes
Our very good friends at Wii Italia recently got chance to speak to the director of No More Heroes, Goichi Suda (better known as Suda 51) and they've kindly allowed us to reproduce the interview in English. Wii Italia: Did you say that this game was going to be more violent...
News US VC Releases - 21st January - Super Street Fighter II
The second update to Capcom's legendary fighter Street Fighter II arrives in the US today - Super Street Fighter II introduces many new things (Including fan favourite fighter Cammy), but also removes some things from the first update - Street Fighter II Turbo. There's only one SNES Street Fighter game left now - Street Fighter Alpha 2!
It was a bit...
Sunday20th Jan 2008
News Revamped Site is Now Live!
VC Reviews gets an upgrade
No, your eyes are not deceiving you. Your favourite Virtual Console resource has undergone something of a facelift. At first glance the cosmetic changes may seem a bit on the minor side, but it would be an understatement to say that behind the scenes the site has been revolutionized. You’ll notice there’s now a rather...
Saturday19th Jan 2008
Review 1080° Snowboarding (Virtual Console / Nintendo 64)
Thrills and chills
1080° Snowboarding is a title that divided gamers when it was first released. Here was a game that mixed Nintendo's usual penchant for killer gameplay with a more serious subject matter than the company was used to dealing with. It got lazily compared to fellow N64 stable mate Wave Race and came out looking worse, because it was...
Thursday17th Jan 2008
News EU VC Releases - 18th January - 1080 Snowboarding
Tennnn Eightyyy
Hot on the heels of Japan, who got the game on Tuesday, Europe has gotten the next N64 game - 1080 Snowboarding! This is another "realistic" racer, similar to Wave Race 64, except that you're, of course, snowboarding instead of riding jetskis. Like the other 3 N64 racers on VC, it holds up quite well and is well worth checking out...
Friday18th Jan 2008
News Surgeons Could Benefit From Playing Wii
We didn’t realize that Trauma Center was that realistic!
If you happen to be unfortunate enough to find yourself needed brain surgery in the near future, you might want to check that your surgeon is a keen gamer. According to reports from a group of science-type boffins, playing Wii helps these skilled individuals to ‘warm up’ for the arduous...
Thursday17th Jan 2008
News Worms: A Space Oddity No Longer Online
Team 17 makes a massive u-turn regarding multiplayer options for its forthcoming Wii title
Even though the company previously announced that the upcoming Wii game Worms: A Space Oddity would feature online play, developer Team 17 has now retracted the statement and has confirmed that the game will not make use of Nintendo’s WiFi connection for...
News Metroid Prime Senior Engineer Loses Fight With Cancer
Key Retro Studios team member dies at just 43 years of age
Mark Haigh-Hutchinson, an industry veteran who worked on all three best selling Metroid Prime titles, has succumbed to pancreatic cancer. He was just 43 years old. Haigh-Hutchinson’s career dates back to the ‘80s, when he worked on games like Paperboy prior to joining Lucasarts. He...
News "Third Party Games Don't Sell"
Suda51 has his say
Killer 7 and No More Heroes director voices his concerns about the current state of the Wii software market. Goichi Suda (AKA Suda 51) has claimed that third party software is failing to find an audience in Japan while Nintendo's own games steal all the limelight. We reported not long ago that Suda's No More Heroes was a bit of...
Konami have revealed detailed information about the control scheme for upcoming Wii version of Pro Evolution Soccer 2008.
Created specifically to make full use of the Wii’s unique control system, PES 2008 brings all the realism of Pro Evolution Soccer to the Nintendo machine, but with a more ‘team-orientated’ control system. The Wii game...
Wednesday16th Jan 2008
News Apollo Justice Demo Released
And the best thing is, no DS is required to play it
Capcom has released a rather neat Flash-based demo for its upcoming legal sim Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. The game is the next in the Phoenix Wright series of games, although Phoenix himself has stepped down and made way for the up and coming Apollo Justice. Now there’s an excellent name for...
News “No More Heroes Is Like The Arctic Monkeys”
Game creator makes a surprising comparison and reveals sequel is a possibility
No More Heroes isn’t available in the West yet but creator Goichi Suda (AKA Suda-51) is already thinking about producing a follow up. I'm really willing to make a sequel version and right now I'm asking if it can be made...I think No More Heroes is a great game,...
News Brawl Awarded Top Score By Famitsu
New character also added to the rapidly increasing roster
It may have been delayed yet again but if Japanese magazine Famitsu’s latest review is anything to go by, Super Smash Bros. Brawl is going to be worth waiting for. The highly respected publication has awarded the top score of 40/40 for the eagerly awaited Nintendo fighter. In other news,...
Tuesday15th Jan 2008
Some of us have waited nearly two decades for this game - does Konami's latest 2D effort match the brilliance of the SNES Contra III?
Konami’s Contra (AKA Gryzor, Probotector) is one of those franchises that has struggled to make the transition from 2D to 3D. After the excellent arcade and 8-bit editions, lucky SNES and Megadrive owners were...
Review Pac-Attack (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Watch your back or Pac will attack, you don't want that!
Not even Pac-Man escaped the 8 and 16-bit eras without a spinoff puzzle game to his name. Pac-Attack was an obvious cash-in by Namco on games like Tetris, Dr. Mario, and Puyo-Puyo, but it's actually quite good! The game is an edited version of the arcade game Cosmo Gang the Puzzle (based on...
Review Riot Zone (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
I predict a riot!
Released back when the scrolling fighter was still seen as a massive money-spinner, Riot Zone (AKA: Crest of Wolf in Japan) was Hudson’s attempt at muscling in on the territory traditionally presided over by Capcom (Final Fight, Captain Commando, Knights of the Round, etc) and Sega (Streets of Rage, Golden Axe). Now let’s not...
News Wii Fit Gets Its Own Wii Mat
The Wii is looking more and more like a successor to Reebok's STEP fitness system
Despite confirmation from many sites (including us) that the Wii Balance Board is perfectly stable on even the most polished wooden floors, Nintendo has nevertheless endorsed the production of what can only be described as the most bizarre videogame accessory we’ve...
News Factor 5 Jump Back Into Bed With Nintendo
Cheers and whooping heard as previous Sony-related indiscretions are forgotten
Factor 5, the studio behind hits such as Star Wars Rogue Squadron: Rogue Leader and 16-bit ‘run and gun’ classic Turrican, has confirmed that it is once again working with Nintendo hardware. The company was previously an ‘exclusive’ Nintendo developer in the early...
Monday14th Jan 2008
News New Duck Hunt Coming to WiiWare?
This could be a fake, but we'll leave you to decide!
It seems that the son of a Hudsonsoft employee recently stumbled upon a disc containing an updated edition of Duck Hunt for the Wii, and then made a video of someone playing it. Our first question would be why did someone at Hudsonsoft have the disc when you would assume this to be a first-party...
News Assassin's Creed DS Gets A Subtitle
Altair's back for another stab on the DS
The home console version may have been the most crushing disappointment your humble reporter has experienced in quite some time, but we’re nevertheless still quite excited about Assassin’s Creed: Altair's Chronicles on the DS here at NintendoLife. Publisher Ubisoft has released some details on the...
News Pac-Man Munches His Way To The US Virtual Console
Another fun-filled week in retroland
First, allow us to have a grumble. Since the New Year started Nintendo seem to think VC gamers are happy with less rather than more; the usual policy of releasing three games each week has been thrown out of the window and we're lucky to get two some weeks. Shame. Anyway, rant over. This week's North American VC...
News US VC Releases - 14th January - Pac-Attack
Pac Attack
From out of nowhere (It was not previously announced or rated) comes Pac-Attack, a surprisingly good Pac-Man rendition of the falling block puzzle genre. In this one out of few Pac-Man spinoffs, your job is to keep the screen clear of blocks and ghosts, by creating rows of blocks and letting Pac-Man eat the ghosts. Today's other game is...
News More Wii Colours On The Way?
US store Target's internal stock control system may indicate so
When the Wii was first announced Nintendo practically bombarded the general public with tantalizing product imagery, the most striking of which was the promise of different coloured Wii consoles. More than a year later and we’re still stuck with the bog-standard (but admittedly...
News Smash Bros Pushed Back To March In The US
Gnashing of teeth heard around globe
As we reported a few days ago, it would appear that Super Smash Bros Brawl is getting pushed back a month. According to UK site ComputerAndVideogames.com: One retailer told a pre-order customer (and GameSpot forum-goer): "We just want to let you know that the release date of Super Smash Bros Brawl (Nintendo...
Sunday13th Jan 2008
News First Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood Screens
First shots of BioWare's latest RPG epic, featuring Sonic himself!
American softco Bioware, famous for its Star Wars RPGs on the Xbox (as well as numerous other titles) has released shots of its upcoming Sonic title for the Nintendo DS. Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (to give it it’s full moniker) is looking very promising indeed and the...
Retail distributor lets it slip in latest press release - adventure fans go wild
Point and click adventure fans should prepare to get very animated indeed – it would appear that everyone’s favourite crime-busting animal duo Sam and Max are coming to the Wii. For those of you that don’t know, Sam and Max are a detective dog and psychopathic...
Saturday12th Jan 2008
Does it sink or swim?
It might seem an unlikely premise for a game, but Endless Ocean fits perfectly with Nintendo’s “Touch Generations” label by being cerebral as well as entertaining and offering experiences many people dream about: floating among tropical fish in beautiful coral reefs, or bounding through the wide ocean with bottlenose...
Thursday10th Jan 2008
News EU VC Releases - 11th January - StarTropics
Once again, Europe does not get 3 or more games this week. And once again, Nintendo seems to try and make up for it by making one of the games they do release a great one (The other is ok). Well, at least it wasn't just one game again! The great game this time is StarTropics, the first of only two games in Nintendo's (unfortunately) dead franchise of the same name. It's a lot like the original The Legend of Zelda, with some improvements, leading some to refer to it as "everything Zelda II should've been". It's still a mystery why Nintendo killed this franchise off. Let's hope for StarTropics 3 someday!
...
Friday11th Jan 2008
News Family Trainer - The Next Wii Craze You Won't Be Able To Avoid
Looks a bit like a dance mat to us, but what do we know?
Namco Bandai has released promotional shots for the latest 'must have' Wii item. To our untrained eyes it looks more than a little like a traditional dance mat, a revolutionary accessory that first saw the light of day back in the Playstation era. Here's the scoop from Kotaku: Taking a page...
News First Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Details
An elegant videogame from a more civilized age
The first gameplay details of Lucasarts’ forthcoming Star Wars title The Force Unleashed have started to trickle in after the 2008 CES, and we have to admit it’s sounding pretty bloomin’ special. Opposable Thumbs had this to report: "Every time you hit that face button, we want you to feel...
News Euro VC - Alien Storm And Startropics
A weather report concerning xenomorphs?
European Virtual Console fans expecting the normal ‘three game’ service to be resumed this week are likely to be disappointed by the news that only two (count ‘em) titles were made available for download today. Startropics (which was released on the North American Virtual Console on Monday) is an...
News Mario Party DS Tops Japanese Charts
Nintendo conquer the entire top ten
Nintendo’s dominance in Japan is becoming quite scary now. Mario Party DS was the biggest selling title for the period 31st December to 6th January and the latest figures show that the top 13 slots of the chart are ALL titles for either the DS or Wii, with the first non-Ninty game (PSP title Monster Hunter...
News Nintendo Breaking Patent Law With The Wiimote?
The latest courtroom drama from the US
It seems that both Sony and Nintendo may have a fight on their hands thanks to a patent dispute currently doing the rounds in the US. This follows on from Sony’s humiliating courtroom defeat at the hands of Immersion Corporation, which effectively cost the Japanese giant $100 million in damages and forced...
Thursday10th Jan 2008
News Smash Bros Brawl Delayed Yet Again?
Mario and company might not be kicking ass as soon as you expected
Those of you looking forward to the release of Super Smash Bros Brawl (that's pretty much everyone, then) will no doubt be upset to know that rumours are currently doing the rounds that the game has been delayed yet again. SPOnG reports: GameFly, a games rental service in the...
News Advance Wars: Days Of Ruin Gets Euro Name Change
Just to make things even more complicated
Intelligent System’s latest entry in the massively popular Advance Wars series has been given a new name for its forthcoming European release. The eagerly awaited title, which will be released in the US as Advance Wars: Days of Ruin and in Japan as Famicom Wars DS 2 (which is in keeping with the Japanese...
News No More Heroes - Another Wii Flop?
More doom and gloom for third party publishers
Regular readers of NintendoLife would be forgiven for thinking that we’ve been getting out of the wrong side of the bed for the past week or so. The number of downbeat and negative news stories appearing is on the rise and sadly we’re about to add yet another. Although we’re a bit on the late side...
The stuff dreams are made of, surely it won't be long before Nintendo 'copy' this idea and get them to us officially?
The device, which attaches to the Wii Remote via a small wireless dongle for complete cordless freedom, will be available in the first quarter of 2008 for a suggested price of $29.99. Schweet, nice one Nyko. The Wireless Nunchuck has...
Wednesday9th Jan 2008
News Goldeneye Not Coming To Virtual Console After All?
N64 fans, look away now
Since the Virtual Console appeared there's been one game that Nintendo fans have called for at the very top of their voices. Rare's Goldeneye is rightly seen as a classic N64 title and, for a while at least, it seemed like the chances of it appearing on the download service were actually quite good. Until now, that is. A...
News Goldeneye NOT Virtual Console Bound?
Xbox site Xbox Evolved has posted a rather worrying story regarding the N64 classic Goldeneye. According to the site, Rare is gearing up to publish the game on Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade service.
Rare apparently has already started to seek the permission of current Bond licence holder Activision. Other classic Rare titles such as Perfect Dark and...
News Infinite Frontier Super Robot Wars OG Saga
Features robots and large breasts, in that order
Fans of obscure Japanese RPGs should rejoice - Famitsu magazine has recently revealed that Nintendo's Monolithsoft is working with Banpresto to create a new title called "Infinite Frontier Super Robot Wars OG Saga". I'm sure you'll agree, that's quite a mouthful. Coding duties are being...
News Captain Olimar Joins Smash Bros Brawl
Pikmin squad is surpisingly good in a scrap
He may not top your list of videogame characters that you’d like to have on your side in a fight, but Pikmin’s Captain Olimar has nevertheless been confirmed for Nintendo's Super Smash Bros Brawl. His attacks would appear to involve picking up the various Pikmin and hurling them towards enemies, but...
News Ozone's Christmas Wii Swindle
BBC consumer-rights show Watchdog today revealed details of a Wii related scam which misled upto 2,500 people in the UK to think they'd have a Wii in time for Christmas.
So when Ozone Electronics, a company based in Oldham, guaranteed delivery of the console for the middle of December, hundreds of people placed an order, paid their money and...
News "Wii 2 May Appear Sooner Than You Think"
More Nintendo bashing on the cards
It seems that everyone wants to have a dig at Nintendo these days. First there was former Sensible Software boss Jon Hare having a good old rant, and now Codemasters CEO Rod Cousens has waded in with his own unique brand of criticism, even going as far as to suggest that the Wii’s dominance isn’t as assured as...
Tuesday8th Jan 2008
Embark on an extraordinary adventure
On first sight, StarTropics looks eerily like Zelda (in fact, when you start it up, there's the same name entry screen!). So you might be thinking, what's all the fuss about? StarTropics is about a typical American teenager, Mike Jones, who heads to the tropics to meet his archaeologist uncle after receiving a...
Movie Review The Wizard (1989)
Forget all you've been told. This film kicks all kinds of ass
In a world where everyone seems to have an opinion and they’re all too happy to force it upon others, it’s worth remembering that when judging something (be it a book, film or videogame) it all depends on your connection with that particular piece of media. For example, watching a...
News New Final Fantasy Wii Media
More shots of Square's upcoming Wii RPG
Some wonderful screenshots for SquareEnix’s forthcoming WiiWare title (deep breath) Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Young King and the Promised Land have surfaced, along with some lush artwork. Sharing the same visuals style as the Gamecube Crystal Chronicles, this might not be an epic of FFVII...
News "Nintendo Must Treat Developers Better"
The man behind Cannon Fodder and Sensible Soccer hits out at Nintendo's less than impressive relationship with third party software houses
We’re now pretty much accustomed to hearing stories about Nintendo’s incredible worldwide success over the past year or so. The Wii and DS are performing admirably at retail and Nintendo’s resurgence from...
News Gentlemen, Meet The "Winner"
We imagine Sony, Nintendo and MS are quite scared
The horrible notion of poor quality clones of existing console hardware is certainly nothing new, but this particular knock-off struck us as worthy of note. A nightmarish combination of the Wii's motion sensitive control system and the PS3's awkward design, the "Winner" promises all kinds...
Monday7th Jan 2008
Feature Castlevania: The Nintendo Years
Fangs for the memories
Although Konami’s influential vampire slaying franchise has since gone on to find success on several different hardware platforms, the association with the Nintendo NES is arguably what made the series so famous worldwide. The trio of 8-bit Castlevania titles remain highly regarded by fans and still stand up to scrutiny even...
No joke, Nintendo Europe is releasing Wii Chess on the 18th of January to the unsuspecting Wiipublic.
Now we'd actually expect a "Wii Chess" title to appear on something like WiiWare, but a full game?! Nintendo Europe might be losing the plot a little and perhaps cashing in on Wii's success, can there really be enough legs for people to...
News Painful Wii Injuries Shocker
Who are these idiots and what are they doing with their Wiimotes?
Everyone loves a good scare story, don’t they? I’m sure we all recall the tales of SNES games making kids have fits in the early ‘90s and the relatively flimsy evidence supplied to support this theory. Well, it seems that history is repeating itself. The Wii has been so popular...
News King Of Fighters '94 And StarTropics Hit US Virtual Console
Fighting or island exploration - the choice is yours
It’s Monday and that can mean only one thing – more Virtual Console games to enjoy. Thankfully US Wii owners have two brilliant titles to download and enjoy this week. King of Fighters ’94 is the first in the long running series and represents one of the best 2D fighters of the era. The...
News New House Of The Dead 2&3 Trailer Online
Zombie zapping never looked so much fun
Sega has released a new trailer for the forthcoming House of the Dead 2&3 Return. The game is due out in the US on 18th March for the very reasonable price of $29.99. A Zapper bundle of some description is also expected.
News US VC Releases - 7th January - StarTropics
Two cult classics for the US today. First is StarTropics, the first in an (unfortunately) dead Nintendo series which spanned only two games. The game borrows heavily from Zelda, but is a lot more light-hearted and, according to quite a few people, more fun. The original game required a letter which came packed with the game in order to progress at one point - If anybody who played the game on NES can download it on VC and see for us how they fixed this, it would be appreciated.
...
News Satoru Iwata Interview: "I HEART Apple"
Nintendo's president speaks about the Wii's success and why he wants his company to be more like the creator of the ipod
President of Nintendo Satoru Iwata has recently taken part a somewhat interesting interview with Japanese site Asahi.com. In it he explains why he thinks the Wii has been such a success (it’s because of the interface and NOT...
Sunday6th Jan 2008
Review Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 (Wii)
Lt. Berg must defeat those ever-baddies the Nazis in this latest from the Medal of Honor series.
EA bring another Medal Of Honor title to Wii, this time built from the ground up for the system and features the oh-so familiar style of the series. Although Medal of Honor might be a minor side-note on the CV of a certain Steven Spielberg the series has...
News Full Game DS Downloads NOT Coming After All
A simple case of crossed wires?
It seems that our man Reggie was misunderstood in a recent interview with the New York Times. As we (and pretty much the rest of the internet) reported a few days back, his interview with the well known newspaper seemed to indicate that ‘full’ DS titles would be made available for download in the future. However,...
News The Queen Says: "Wii ARE Amused"
Ruler of the Land likes to swing a Wiimote every now and then
Nintendo’s cup runneth over. Not only is the company riding high in terms of worldwide hardware and software sales, it would appear that it also has fans in very lofty places. UK tabloid The People has reported that Her Majesty The Queen of England has recently become hooked on the...
News PES 2008 Gameplay Video Revealed
Lots of shaking and dribbling involved
Konami of Japan has released a gameplay video for the upcoming Winning Eleven: Play Maker 2008. The more astute amongst you will know that Winning Eleven is the Japanese title for the Pro Evolution Soccer series. The video shows us two things: firstly, the game is looking mighty fine graphically and secondly,...
News Nintendo Triumphant In Japan This Christmas
Videogame giant is unstoppable on home soil
Early figures from Famitsu magazine indicate that Nintendo has dominated the Japanese sales charts over the Christmas period. Although a PS2 title (Super Robot Taisen Original Generation Gaiden) took the number one position, a quick glance at the rest of the top 20 shows that the Big N is firmly in...
Saturday5th Jan 2008
Review Harvest Moon (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Farm life
Harvest Moon, a role-playing game based around the noble profession of farming, was one of the later Super NES releases when it arrived in 1997. If you are not familiar with this series, stay with us — it's not as bad or as boring as it sounds on paper This is basically The Sims on a farm. So, if you're a fan of simulation and RPG...
Friday4th Jan 2008
News Feel The Force With New Lightsaber Holsters
The legal team of Lucasarts may have something to say about these
Cheap plastic holsters for your Wiimote are nothing new and third party peripheral manufacturers are practically falling over themselves to produce even more outlandish (and ultimately pointless) pieces of ‘controller clothing’. However, one item that did impress us in a...
News Nintendo Deny That Sadness Exists
Promising survival horror is something of a phantom
Sadness is a game that many Wii owners got excited about when it was first ‘announced’ by developer Nibris quite some time ago. The concept of a stylish black & white survival horror positively dripped tension and foreboding, and the production artwork looked extremely intriguing. However,...
Thursday3rd Jan 2008
News EU VC Release - 4th January - Harvest Moon
After ending 2007 with a one-game week, people hoped Nintendo would start the next year with multiple games. Unfortunately, they fail to deliver, and it's one game once again!
Just like last week, it's not a complete mess, however, as it's a quality title - Harvest Moon for the SNES. This is the first game in the popular farming series, and it's...
Friday4th Jan 2008
News Harvest Moon Is Sole Euro VC Release
Time to get your hands dirty with Natsume's classic farming simulator
If crop rotation, livestock breeding and getting up at the crack of dawn seem like entertaining concepts to you, then you’ll no doubt be over the 'moon' (ho ho!) with the latest serving of retro goodness on the European Virtual Console. It’s hard to believe that a game about...
News Nintendo Claim UK Developer Crown
Latest figures would indicate Mario and company had a very Merry Christmas
As the dust settles from a particularly hectic Christmas period Nintendo has emerged victorious in the UK sales arena. The veteran developer effortlessly claimed the top spot of Develop’s monthly developer chart thanks to strong performances by games such as Super Mario...
Thursday3rd Jan 2008
News Oh Noes! Wavebird Discontinued
Wave goodbye to the Wavebird
The Gamecube may be old news now but for many of us the memory of this much-maligned machine lives on through the excellent Wavebird controller, which comes in very handy when indulging in Virtual Console gaming. The controller is also an excellent alternative for Wii games that are difficult to play using the Wiimote...
Feature 10 Games We'd Like To See On The Wii
Is it too late to ask Santa for these?
The runaway success of Nintendo’s Wii has granted many publishers and developers a bit more freedom to experiment with their software. With such a massive installed base of users, software houses can be a little bolder with their ideas because chances are even brave failures will shift a few copies. Here at...
News Boffins Brand Nicole Kidman A Dirty Liar
Claims that Brain Training can boost intelligence may not be true after all - well, duh
You might have seen Nintendo's Brain Training adverts, in which well-known celebrities like Patrick Stewart and Nicole Kidman gleefully promote the software like it’s a one-stop miracle solution to being a bumbling thickie. "I have quickly found that...
News Zack & Wiki Sinks Without Trace At Retail
Shame on you all!
Zack & Wiki, otherwise known as Capcom’s ode to the classic ‘point and click’ adventures of old, is a fantastic game. It’s heartening to see a developer like Capcom putting so much effort into brand new intellectual property and it’s even more encouraging when the end product is so wonderfully polished and enjoyable...
News Virtual Console Coming To The DS?
Reggie speaks about the upcoming game download service on the DS
The rumours have been circulating for quite some time but the concept of downloading ‘complete’ games to your Nintendo DS is becoming a reality, if a recent interview with Reggie is anything to go by. Nintendo’s main man spoke to the New York Times recently about the new...
For the time being, it would appear not
EA’s Rock Band has been thrilling music loving gamers on the PS3, PS2 and 360, but EA doesn’t seem too keen on bringing the game to the Wii – at least not yet, anyway. Back in April 2007, Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos got everyone’s hopes up with a series of comments that seemed to indicate Rock Band was...
News Wii Fit: Famitsu Preview Scans
Thanks to Nintendo, the promise of a God-like physique is almost with us
Japanese magazine Famitsu has just published a pretty in-depth guide to all things Wii Fit. The game has done impressive business over in Japan and looks certain to repeat this performance when it’s released alongside the Wii balance board controller in the West this year...
Wednesday2nd Jan 2008
Review High School Musical: Sing It! (Wii)
Disney's unstoppable High School Musical franchise may represent permission to print money, but has the toe-tapping magic of the movies been retained for this Wii release?
In order to bring you the best Nintendo coverage we possibly can here at NintendoLife, we sometimes have to bite the bullet, pull up our socks and make some painful sacrifices...
News SNES CD Prototype Pad On Ebay
Totally useless but historically interesting all the same!
We don’t usually get too excited about ‘prototype’ items but this caught our attention here at NintendoLife Towers. Some lucky chap is currently selling a SNES CD joypad prototype on eBay. For those of you that don’t know, the SNES CD never actually existed; it was supposed to be a...
If your life is haunted by the flaps on your Wii, salvation may be at hand...
The Wii is a lovely looking machine with a superb design. However, there’s one element that lets the console down – the bloody flaps that covers the Gamecube ports and memory card slots. They're flimsy at the best of times and often fail to close correctly, causing...
News Samba De Amigo Wii - Gearbox Speaks
The FPS expert is bringing the Dreamcast classic bang up to date, so dust off your maracas, people
Brothers in Arms developer Gearbox Software may not be a name that instantly springs to mind when considering which software house should be tasked with updating the Sega classic Samba de Amiga, but the company has nevertheless been awarded that...
News Sega Hint At More Wii-based NiGHTS Titles
After waiting over a decade it seems that Sega are willing to milk the franchise for all it's worth
It may not have lived up to the expectations of many fans, but Sega’s NiGHTS: Journey into Dreams has obviously performed well enough at retail for its developers to be considering future titles and it would appear that the Wii is the favoured...
News Retro Talk About Metroid Prime
Highly respected American developer spills the beans
American developer Retro Studios has broken its silence about working with Nintendo on the critically acclaimed Metroid Prime franchise. The Texas-based company worked closely with the Japanese giant to craft what many gamers regard as being one of the finest FPS adventure series in existence. In...
The DS passes PS2 lifetime sales in The Land of the Rising Sun
We all know that the Nintendo DS has been a massive success for its parent company but the latest figures from Japan still make for stunning reading; the likeable handheld has now surpassed the PS2 in terms of Japanese sales. To put this into perspective, the PS2 has sold millions of...
News Sim City DS 2 Revealed In Famitsu
Long-running Japanese publication has the scoop on this interesting update of the classic city building franchise
The latest issue of Japanese videogame magazine Famistu carries an interesting news story regarding the next instalment of the Sim City franchise. Dubbed Sim City DS 2, the game appears to be heavily tailored towards younger gamers with...
News Unwanted Xmas Gift Series: Wii Weapon Set
Let's hope Santa didn't pop one of these in your stocking
As the warm, fluffy memory of Christmas fades away and the horrifying prospect of another year of hard graft slowly becomes a reality, it’s a good time to take stock of the thoroughly useless items you’ve been given over the festive period. The success of the Wii has seen many companies...
Tuesday1st Jan 2008
Lets be honest, 2007 was a fantastic year for Nintendo, Wii and DS have had an amazing holiday season and things haven't looked this good in years.
As another New Year rolls around we feel its time to reflect, it's still hard to believe just how good a year 2007 was for Nintendo, DS and Wii sales have rocketed and production has constantly been...
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