Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube814k Maseylia: Echoes of the Past, a new 3D metroidvania from French duo Sol brothers, has been confirmed for the Nintendo Switch 2 and will launch at some point in 2026. We suspect the Switch 2 will be absolutely flooded with metroidvanias after a few years or so, so it's nice to highlight one of the early contenders here. As for what it entails, well, it looks like a 3D action-adventure game! The visuals looks really nice; very unique and interesting, but we're a little concerned about the action at the moment (or lack thereof, to be honest). All of the screenshots we've seen so far are a little bit too similar to one another for our liking, as you'll no doubt see in the four we've collated below. Still, it's a game that's very much still in development, so we'll withhold our full judgement for the time being – it could wind up being an absolute banger, and we'd be thrilled if that's the case. Here's a look at the key features: - Open-Ended Exploration – Carve your own route through a richly interconnected world, discovering secrets, forgotten ruins, and untamed creatures. - Dynamic Platforming Abilities – Wield unique powers like the 360° dash, phasic transformation to pass through solid matter, and control over water levels to access hidden areas. - Immersive Science-Fiction Atmosphere – Experience a world where nature and technology intertwine, shaping a mysterious and ever-changing environment. Images: Sol Brothers Maseylia: Echoes of the Past will be joining another metroidvania on the Switch 2, and we suspect you know what we're talking about... yes, Hollow Knight: Silksong. We're very confident that this will launch at some point in our lifetime – maybe. But what about the rest of us?! Dashing What do you make of Maseylia: Echoes of the Past from this early look? Leave a comment down below and let us know. Related Games See Also Share:5 1 Nintendo Life’s resident horror fanatic, when he’s not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles Pokémon Legends: Z-A's Switch 2 And Switch 1 Prices Have Been Revealed And we're pleasantly surprised Nintendo Updates Switch 2 Backwards Compatibility List Doom Eternal, NBA 2K25, and more to get an update Fantasy Life i Is Proving So Popular That Level-5 Has Already Announced Free DLC "We would like to express our deepest gratitude to everyone" US Retailers Are Reportedly Starting To Receive Switch 2 Stock Update: Another photo spotted Fantasy Life i Gets Switch 2 Release Date With Paid Upgrade Path For Switch 1 Players And it's coming launch day

Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube814k After four years of service, Square Enix and FuturLab have released the last content update for PowerWash Simulator, titled 'The Muckingham Files 6'. Fittingly described as the "final stop" on the PowerWash journey, this free update leaves us with a mucky tube train in need of a scrubbing and the Sculpture Park — a new location where you'll have to blast away the dirt on a few pieces of artwork. Both of these fresh locales hide a handful of Easter eggs for PowerWash Simulator 2 (which still isn't confirmed for Switch 2, but we remain hopeful), so be sure to pay attention to the details. "We hope you enjoy this final PowerWash Simulator update as much as we have enjoyed creating it," a statement from FuturLab reads on the game's Steam page. "The team have poured their hearts and souls into creating a world for you all to escape to and clean, somewhere for you to relax and solo clean, or a place to gather with friends and catch up over a satisfying wash". The content update also ushered in a small patch, which targets a handful of bugs across the base game and DLC packs. You can find the full patch notes below: Improvements made to scenarios where a placeholder string would be present instead of the function key. Fixed a LOD issue in the Kennel in Wallace & Gromit’s House. Fixed a crash involving pushing the football in to the kennel in the Wallace and Gromit’s House job. Fixed the toy train sounds being affected by music settings in the Dining Room & Kitchen job. Fixed a scenario in Wallace & Gromit’s Dining Room & Kitchen where players could get stuck behind a step stool’s default position. Fixed an issue involving save file sizes on PS5. Fixed an issue where the lower part of Wallace & Gromit’s House was invisible when standing in a specific location. Fixed an issue on Switch involving water stream changing colour in Aim Mode in certain circumstances. Fixed an issue in Shrek jobs where surface targeted was not aligned in 3rd person view. Improvements made to players being able to get stuck inside the information board in the Duloc job. Fixed a scenario on Xbox where the title could crash when pressing the Back button during the credits. Fixed an issue involving equipment placement spots being visible during timelapses. Fixed an issue on Sony platforms where certain SFX were still audible after reducing Master Volume to zero. Fixed lighting inconsistencies in the kennel in the Wallace & Gromit DLC. Fixed flicking assets inside the kennel in the Wallace & Gromit DLC. Various other localisation improvements and minor bug fixes. So, there we have it, PowerWash Simulator has scrubbed up for the last time. Onto the sequel, eh? Though FutureLab's denying the rumours Feathers McPhwar What's your top PowerWash Simulator memory? Let us know in the comments. [source store.steampowered.com] Related Games See Also Share:0 1 Jim came to Nintendo Life in 2022 and, despite his insistence that The Minish Cap is the best Zelda game and his unwavering love for the Star Wars prequels (yes, really), he has continued to write news and features on the site ever since. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles Nintendo Updates Switch 2 Backwards Compatibility List Doom Eternal, NBA 2K25, and more to get an update Nintendo Switch System Update 20.1.0 Is Now Live, Here Are The Full Patch Notes Stability is back, baby Animal Crossing: New Horizons Update 2.0.7 Patch Notes - Switch & Switch 2 Multiplayer Compatibility "Improved" Return to island life next week Nintendo Expands Switch Online's Game Boy Library With Four More Titles Available today Fantasy Life i Is Proving So Popular That Level-5 Has Already Announced Free DLC "We would like to express our deepest gratitude to everyone"

Of course...UK retailer GAME continues to tank its reputation by cancelling a bunch of Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders.As spotted by VGC, the firm took to X to publish a statement confirming the news, stating “We sincerely apologise for the recent cancellation of some Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders". It has not, however, clarified the reasoning behind this move, and it's also not known exactly how many customers have been affected.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Be kind, rewind.Nintendo has released a new video detailing some of the planned features for the N64 app on Nintendo Switch Online.As shared by TodayNews, the video showcases three core features for N64 games on Switch Online, including the ability to rewind (exclusive to Switch 2), a new CRT filter (also exclusive to Switch 2), and viewing / remapping controls as you see fit.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo LifeI’m absolutely terrified of roller coasters. The lack of control you have, the speed, high heights, twists and turns - all this makes for something I’ve never been able to convince myself is worth the thrill. It was easy to get over my fear of flying in aeroplanes as there’s always something exciting and extraordinarily worthwhile waiting for me on the other side of the flight. Some things in life I would just never be able to do without flying far away in a plane. However, with roller coasters I couldn't say the same, until now. 'Mine Cart Madness' opened to the public at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka at the tail end of 2024, and is also now in the States at Universal Epic Universe in Orlando, Florida. I’ve visited the smaller version of Super Nintendo World located at Universal in Hollywood, CA, a few times, and managed to ride their Mario Kart ride, Bowser’s Challenge, as well. Lots of Kong, but still needs more Dixie The MK ride is essentially a light-gun game with a heavy Augmented Reality element which forces you to wear 'goggles' making it hard to appreciate the physical environment you're riding through. You can take the 'goggles' off, but you lose the entire point of the ride in doing so, and the animatronic set pieces and environmental elements aren't all that exciting on their own. The game can be confusing at first and, for being a ride themed around a video game that traditionally encourages you to race fast, it's quite slow, too. Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life However, almost none of this can be said about the new Donkey Kong Country ride. I’m a much bigger DK fan than I am Mario, and even though this new Mine Cart ride is pitched as a more traditional roller coaster that sometimes even claims to go off the rails, my curiosity and love for the series had me clamouring to see what it had to offer. I’m thrilled to say it didn’t disappoint, even though it proved to be quite a bumpy ride at times. The queue for Mine Cart Madness takes you through a temple that reminded me most of Millstone Mayhem and Temple Tempest from the original Super Nintendo game. Most of the line is indoors or at least covered and was kept quite cool thanks to air conditioning, also featuring some themed water fountains if you need a drink. Here you’ll also find a few touchpoints for the Power Band that will net you digital collectibles if you’re using the Universal mobile app. The line is fairly simple with not much to see, aside from a surprising appearance from Cranky Kong and Squawks the parrot. Both are completely animatronic and fully voiced and bicker back and forth at each other. Not only do they help pass the time in line, they help lay down the story and what you can expect to see on the ride. Even though I had no one waiting in front of me, I stood here for quite a while and just listened to them chat, like a couple of good pals catching up after a long time apart. Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life Once it came time for me to sit down in my mine cart, I could feel my heart sink into my stomach as I remembered seeing the ride from the ground floor of the park and it going much, much faster than all of the other Nintendo-themed rides created up to this point. I was honestly pretty scared, but my love for the Kongs apparently knows no bounds, and it helped that I had a few pals with me (thanks, Brian from IGN and Marcus from Game Informer for keeping me calm!). The ride itself only lasts a few minutes, so I’ll refrain from spoiling too much as I really think if you’re going to do this, you should go in knowing as little as possible. Things really do go off the rails in some surprising and shocking ways, though. So much so that at one specific point on the ride, I thought it truly was the end for us. If you’ve seen the blueprints or caught the video of Miyamoto taking a tour of the park in Japan, you’ll likely have heard about the ride's big hook. If you've played a mine cart level in DKC, you'll know that platforming is very much a thing even in the mine cart, and that’s replicated here. Mine Cart Madness, never goes upside down (thankfully), but it takes you up and down some steep slopes and twists and turns every now and again, mimicking the feeling of flying off the rails and landing safely back on them. The jumps themselves didn’t feel as pronounced as I was expecting, as it seems to work more as a trick of the eye than your cart being hurled in the air. Honestly, that’s probably a good thing. Also, if you want a more authentic and adventurous experience, sit in one of the front seats if you can. Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life You’ll also meet a few of your favourite DKC buddies, and this alone kept me coming back to Mine Cart Madness for multiple rides. These animatronic set pieces make this ride a lot more fun than the Mario Kart ride to revisit, as it's so exciting to see these chimpanzees in action. There are more than just chimps to see, though, so if you're only familiar with the more recent Country games, there will be more surprises in store. For me, the ride was made even better at night as yellow and blue neon lights add a comforting glow to the experience. You’ll rush through a few indoor sections which make it feel like a dark ride at times too. There’s so much to look at that not once did I feel like I saw everything; if you swing your head around at different points, you may catch a nice glimpse of the park, a dainty splash of a rushing waterfall, or even a few adventurous Pikmin that broken away from the pack. This may just be a kink to be worked out, but every now and then I felt the ride could get quite bumpy. After exiting my mine cart, I heard other riders talk about how unexpectedly bumpy it was for them, too. I can’t imagine barreling down a mine shaft in a rusty rock wagon would be the most comfortable thing in real life, so maybe it’s just all a part of the experience. Something worth noting, though, no doubt. Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life What might be a downside for some is the fact that there’s no game element to this ride whatsoever. For me though, this was a huge win. Seeing the detail and quality in these animatronics, even just for a few short moments, is something I'll remember for a long, long time. It sounds silly, but this made me feel closer to the world of Donkey Kong Country than ever before - the Mario Kart ride didn’t leave this big of an impression. It's a huge step up in overall production and an experience I hope every diehard DKC fan can have in their life. As a member of the press, I was pretty much obliged to try it, but I think I finally understand the thrill people are chasing when they willingly choose to ride a roller coaster. If Nintendo and Universal decide to make their next ride even more intense, I hope I’ll be ready for it. Even if it had a name like 'Funky’s Crash Course.' Travel costs for this trip and early access to the park were provided by Universal. Let's use the Lens of Truth Share:0 1 Zion's been crafting videos and photos with our team for over half a decade now. While you'll usually find Zion playing RPGs, platformers, and adventure games, anything with a good story is sure to be right up his alley. For an on brand example: MOTHER 3 may not be recognized much by the Western side of Nintendo, but he still found a way to play it anyways and hopes it makes it way to the West officially so others can enjoy it more easily. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles Shigeru Miyamoto Explains Why Donkey Kong Has Been Redesigned You want expressive? You got it Talking Point: The Switch 2 Pre-Order Situation Sucks, But Can Nintendo Do Anything About It? 503sier said than done Random: Miyamoto Can't Talk About Switch 2, Talks About Switch 2 Anyway I do what I want, bruv! Nintendo Partners With Samsung To Produce Main Chips For Switch 2 Samsung has also "pushed" for an OLED refresh, it's claimed

Stretching it?With the release date of the Switch 2 now so close I can barely sit still on the toilet, I've been having a little wonder to myself about what stuff, besides that new console smell and a brand new Mario Kart game, has got me most excited for my latest child's arrival. That's right, my consoles are my children. Stay off my property.Perusing some of the finer pre-release details, and getting stuck into the list of Switch games getting a "free update" of some sort on Switch 2, I was busy being slightly excited, when all of a sudden my excitement meter, which I carry in a bum-bag around my waist, began to pulse and make loud noises. Which it isn't meant to do during the day.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo LifeRetailers in the US are reportedly starting to receive stock of the Nintendo Switch 2 ahead of the console's launch on 5th June 2025. This is according to a new post on Reddit (thanks, Stealth40k) from user sadgepvc, who states that a Target branch they work at has received a total of 40 Switch 2 consoles; 20 standard editions, and 20 Mario Kart World bundles. To counter those who claim that the boxes are not actually Switch 2 consoles, they followed up with another photo to confirm their authenticity. The user notes that the Target store is "one of the smallest" in the area, and that other, larger branches will likely have more stock come launch day. It's a clear indication that the wheels are in motion; stock is beginning to circulate amongst retailers, who will no doubt be scrambling to get their stores and staff in order so that they can be as prepared as possible for the avalanche that will come in just over 9 days' time. It's exciting stuff! The downside, of course, is that leaks may well be possible in the coming days, so be alert folks. Not long to go now. A month to remember..? Where to buy Switch 2 consoles, accessories & games Have you got your Switch 2 pre-order secured? What are you doing to pass the time until 5th June? Let us know. [source reddit.com, via bsky.app] Related Games See Also Share:0 3 Nintendo Life’s resident horror fanatic, when he’s not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles 27 Upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 Games We're Excited For In 2025 The very best Switch 2 games coming soon Shigeru Miyamoto Explains Why Donkey Kong Has Been Redesigned You want expressive? You got it Round Up: The Reviews Are In For Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Here's how this "slow-life RPG" has been received so far... Talking Point: The Switch 2 Pre-Order Situation Sucks, But Can Nintendo Do Anything About It? 503sier said than done

Ping pong! Pool table! Boardroom!Sega has posted a video showcasing its brand-new London office in Chiswick Business Park, and cor blimey, it looks really nice.The roughly one-minute long video takes us through the reception area (with a lovely-looking main desk, we might add) before swooping through what looks like a recreation/dining area, a few meeting rooms, the main boardroom, and a digital gallery area.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

If you're eager to die, then that's fine by me!With Nintendo Switch 2 bringing a selection of GameCube classics to Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack subscribers very soon, we looked into our back catalogue of retro reviews and found we didn't have one for one of the best fighting games ever created...until now. Enjoy!Soulcalibur II, of all the games in this mighty series, was the one that really cemented it in our minds as a franchise to have sat alongside the likes of Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Tekken and the very best fighters of its era. And any other era, let's face it.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Image: Nintendo Life / Aniplex / XSEED Games Warning: This article delves into spoiler territory for The Hundred Line - Last Defense Academy. If you've yet to play the game and want to go in blind, we recommend you come back at another time... I’m not a fan of tactical RPGs… is what I would have told you before I played The Hundred Line - Last Defense Academy. Heck, I’m still not sure I would call myself a 'fan' of the genre, necessarily; one game perhaps isn’t enough to sway me that much. The Hundred Line, though..? Yeah, I’m a fan of The Hundred Line.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube814kWatch on YouTube In fact, it's easily my Game of the Year so far, and even with the Switch 2 on the horizon, it’s going to take something truly special to usurp its throne. Mitch gave it an 'Excellent' 9/10 in our review, but what he didn’t cover – what he couldn’t cover without spoiling anything – is just how ridiculously ambitious Too Kyo Games’ visual novel / tactical RPG hybrid really is. So, if you’re sensitive about spoilers and want to go into this one completely fresh, consider this your last warning. We’re going in, folks. Images: Nintendo Life / Aniplex / XSEED Games Before I waltz headfirst into what is undoubtedly The Big Twist™, I want to first look at the wonderful cast of characters. Much like Danganronpa before it, the entire premise of The Hundred Line — survive and protect your school against invaders over the course of one hundred days — would have crashed and burned were it not for the likes of Takumi Sumino, Darumi Amemiya, Shouma Ginzaki, Nozomi Kirifuji, and the rest of those loveable goofballs. Character work is truly where directors Kazutaka Kodaka and Kotaro Uchikoshi shine brightest. They managed to make every member of the 'Special Defense Unit' completely unique and special in their own way. Take Tsubasa Kawana, for instance. Whenever she’s placed in a stressful situation, she immediately feels nauseous, and it makes for some wonderful comedic relief. I lost count of the number of times I giggled whenever the story took a dark turn, and the camera switched over to Tsubasa loudly dry heaving. In addition to the comic relief, however, we also learn a lot about Tsubasa’s background, including her passion for machinery fostered by fixing cars with her grandfather as a child. We get similar deep dives into every character, to the point where we begin to understand the potential causes behind their various quirks. Even total prats like Ima Tsukumo, whose obsessive devotion to his ‘Dear Sister’ Kako proves deeply concerning, gets his own moment of redemption through both his backstory and the way the plot progresses. By the time I reached the credits, I really didn’t want the game to end. I’d grown to love these characters, and a couple of significant losses actually brought a tear to my eye during the final stages; something that no game before it has accomplished. Couldn’t I just keep going? Just for a bit..? Well, here’s the thing: it didn’t end. When you reach the last couple of days in the basic hundred-day timeline, you learn that through powers gained via absorption of your enemies, protagonist Takumi can actually go back in time to day one and re-do the whole thing again. Only this time, you’re free to make significant changes to the story and work your way toward one of a potential hundred different endings. Whoa – hold my beer, Nier Automata! Image: Nintendo Life / Aniplex / XSEED Games I know what you’re probably thinking, and no, you don’t have to play through the entire game a hundred times. Effectively, the story can branch off into several different paths, each of which has a number of potential endings, and the game even gives you the ability to jump back to specific days in order to change your decisions and alter the story’s path. Some endings may be exceedingly short, others a bit lengthier… some good, and some very bad. One might see you become the villain of the story, while another may conclude with the adorably loyal samurai Kyoshika Magadori being devoured by your zombified friends. The variety of avenues is simply absurd, and discovering each one is a joy. These are just a couple of the more, shall we say, ‘insignificant’ possible endings. I won’t go into those which might actually spoil the overarching plot; even if you’re still with me at this point, I’d like you to enjoy The Hundred Line’s story on your own terms. It’s safe to say, however, that the run through those initial one hundred days could definitely be considered a ‘prologue’, even though it comfortably stands as a compelling story in its own right with a beginning, middle, and end. Images: Nintendo Life / Aniplex / XSEED Games So you can definitely stop there and have a grand ol’ time, but if you’re looking for something a bit more ambitious — something that throws the rulebook out of the window — I’d encourage you to keep going and see exactly what The Hundred Line has up its sleeve. It’s simply magnificent. There are so many reasons why I love this game. I love figuring out what to do during ‘free time’ sessions in which you can either chat to your fellow students, venture out into the world in a board-game-inspired minigame of sorts, or dive straight into a few battle simulations to potentially upgrade your abilities. The biggest surprise for me, however, was how much I loved the battle system itself. As I mentioned at the start, I’m normally not one for tactical RPGs, but The Hundred Line’s turn-based structure just works so well. I often get overwhelmed when it comes to deciding how to approach tactical gameplay: how do these characters function? Why can’t I move more than two spaces? Just what the heck do I do? The Hundred Line made it easy, though, and it’s once again thanks to the remarkably unique and diverse cast. Their artistic design makes it easy to distinguish one from another, and it only took a couple of battles until I memorised their strengths and weaknesses, along with how their attacks play out on the field of battle. It got to the point where, after a handful of quiet days full of ‘free time’, the warbling alarm to signify an incoming battle filled me with excitement. Images: Nintendo Life / Aniplex / XSEED Games Most of the battles felt doable and I never felt completely helpless against the hordes of invaders, but there were still a few that I managed to botch straight away and lose within just a few minutes. In those instances, the game gives you the option to redo the battle with significant boosts to your manpower, instantly giving you 300% 'voltage' (which essentially gives you three uses of your extra-powerful special attacks) and refilling your squad's health. Is it cheating? Sure, I guess... But it also makes the game significantly more approachable for tactical newcomers like myself. I adore the Danganronpa series. I think they’re wonderful games that remain just as compelling now as they were back when they first launched, and if it weren’t for Danganronpa, I don’t think The Hundred Line would even exist. I have to be honest with myself, though… The Hundred Line is better. It’s a masterpiece. Co-director Kazutaka Kodaka has recently confirmed that the game is "selling well", but I still feel like not enough people are talking about it. I suspect, however, that as the years go by and more people play it through word of mouth, it’ll go down as one of the greatest visual novels of all time. There’s simply nothing else quite like it. Have you played through The Hundred Line - Last Defense Academy yet? What do you make of it? Do you have a favourite character / ending? Let us know with a comment in the usual place. Sirei-iously good According to its director, at least Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube814k Related Games See Also Share:30 3 Nintendo Life’s resident horror fanatic, when he’s not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles Round Up: The First Impressions Of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Are In Here's what players are saying Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Switch Update Detailed Fixes for Switch version delayed Nintendo Expands Switch Online's Game Boy Library With Four More Titles Available today Yooka-Laylee Dev Playtonic Is The Latest Studio Hit By Layoffs Others are "at risk" of losing jobs

But it has nothing to reveal right now.Switch 2 is going to be packing a lot more horsepower under the hood and it's already attracted certain third-party franchises from Electronic Arts that have been skipping Nintendo platforms for years. With this in mind, Codemasters is considering if the new hybrid system could be a "good fit" for its Formula One series.Speaking to the sim racing website Traxion recently, F1 25's creative director Gavin Cooper mentioned how his team needs "some smart people" to first look at the new Nintendo system and see what it "can actually do and whether it's actually a good fit" for the F1 video game experience.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Image: Nintendo LifeWe are back, back, back with another edition of Box Art Brawl! It was a biggie last time, with a pair of F-Zero X covers facing off against each other. That's not to say it was a close-fought competition, mind you. The character-focused Japanese cover walked away with a comfortable win, taking 84% of the vote and leaving Europe/North America in the dust with the remaining 16%. Yikes. This week, to celebrate its arrival on the NSO Game Boy library, we are taking a look at Kirby's Star Stacker. This Tetris-style puzzler first launched in 1997 ('98 on Super Famicom) and tasked us all with lining up Star Blocks between two matching Friend Blocks to make them disappear. Is it the most memorable Kirby game out there? No. But you can't blame anyone for trying to cash in on a bit of Tetris fever.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube814kWatch on YouTube Europe and North America opted for the same design in this one, so we've got a good old-fashioned duel on our hands. Let's meet the contenders... Be sure to cast your votes in the poll below; but first, let's check out the box art designs themselves. North America / Europe Image: Nintendo / Launch Box Okay, this is cute. The Western design opts for a sketched falling block design in the background, but the pink puffball takes centre stage. A particularly happy Kirb clings onto a flying warp star, zooming around the large logo that occupies the top half of the box. It's simple, but gosh, isn't it sweet? Japan Image: Nintendo / Moby Games What's better than one Kirby? Two Kirbys! That seems to have been the design approach to the Japanese cover art. The background remains much the same, now mapped onto an even larger star border to make the most of the region's vertical box real estate, but Kirby still takes centre stage — albeit in a different, upright pose. But as we say, there's also the bonus Kirb walking along the logo at the bottom of the box. Look at that little guy! Have you ever seen someone happier to be doing a falling block puzzle?? Which region got the best Kirby's Star Stacker box art? (316 votes) North America / Europe68% Japan32% Thanks for voting! We'll see you next time for another round of Box Art Brawl.

Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube814k Level-5's new game Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time made its debut earlier this week and was generally well-received by fans. Now, in an update, the first reviews are beginning to surface online for the Switch version of the game and other platforms. IGN's review "in progress" notes how this new entry "seems to have nailed the balance between day-in-the-life cozy activities and more action-packed exploration to the point where it's really hard to predict what might happen next". It also mentions how the characters and story so far are both "wonderfully goofy and more substantial" - with the RPG-like Life system of levelling also "easy to get lost in".Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube814kWatch on YouTube CGMagazine went hands-on with the PC version of the game awarding it a score of 9 out of 10 and calling it an improvement on the series in "every conceivable way" while also delivering one of the most "feature-rich games of the year". "Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is a must-play game, even if you’re not typically a fan of sim or farming games, making it one of the best games put out by Level-5 to date." Tech Gaming gave Level-5's new title a score of 93% on PC, describing it as a "charming and content-abundant life simulation RPG that skillfully blends crafting, combat, and exploration" although it felt the multiplayer mode was "limited" and "combat merely adequate". "The title’s tender storytelling and a stirring soundtrack make it a thoroughly rewarding solo adventure." Some players have also seemingly been caught off-guard by the design choices in the multiplayer component of the game. YouTube channel Miss Bubbles tried out the Switch version, but will probably be sticking with other versions of the game. As for the gameplay on Nintendo's hardware, the combat was "smooth and fine" and performance-wise the experience was "okay". "I really hope that the confirmed Switch 2 upgrade will be a good upgrade, but until then I'm just going to be playing on Steam Deck" And SwitchUp's YouTube review was a lot more glowing of the Switch version, awarding it a score of 91% and calling it "unmissable". On the performance front, online the frame rate apparently targets 30 but there are some big drops when there is more happening on-screen. In single-player though the frame rate is more consistent and visual quality is better, and in handheld the experience is "around about the same", with load times under 10 seconds. "I'd say visuals and performance they score 17 out of 20...Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is a wonderful experience, it's easily in my top five games of the year so far." If you are still on the fence about the new Fantasy Life game for Switch, you could always consider the Switch 2 paid upgrade. As previously detailed this version of the game promises to include improved resolution and frame rate. Pricing for this upgrade hasn't been confirmed yet, but it's expected to be just a few coins. Be on the lookout for the Nintendo Life Switch review of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, which should be up on the site at some point next week. We've also got some direct video footage of the Switch release on our YouTube channel. Enjoy improved resolution and frame rate Fixes for Switch version delayed Anything but a slow start to life But does it steal frames? Are you playing the new Fantasy Life game? Have you tried out the Switch version or are you going to wait until the Switch 2 is out? Let us know in the comments. Related Games See Also Share:0 2 Liam is a news writer and reviewer across Hookshot Media. He's been writing about games for more than 15 years and is a lifelong fan of many iconic video game characters. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles 27 Upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 Games We're Excited For In 2025 The very best Switch 2 games coming soon Shigeru Miyamoto Explains Why Donkey Kong Has Been Redesigned You want expressive? You got it Round Up: The First Impressions Of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Are In Here's what players are saying Here's A Look At The Size And Inside Of Switch 2 Game Cases Arriving in store next month

Update [Sun 25th May 2025, 5am]: Level-5 has shared an “important notice" regarding the Switch and also the Xbox version of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time - mentioning how scheduling adjustments for the update rollout are “expected to be delayed”. These issues are scheduled to be resolved in the Version 1.2.1 update, “planned for release around May 29”. In the meantime, here are the following issues popping up for Switch and Xbox, along with "other planned fixes" for the game:Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube814kWatch on YouTube Important Notice (22nd May 2025) Switch & Xbox: In quests for Crafting Lives, some Recipes may be hard to find in the Recipe Menu, making it feel like progression is not possible. Workaround If you can’t locate the required Recipe for a quest, go to the “Quests” tab on the Recipe Menu and scroll down to find it. Switch: While inside a Treasure Grove or a shrine in Ginormosia, if a player edits and saves Stickers/Emotes/Quick Texts in the Greetings tab of the Options and then restarts the game immediately afterward, a progression-blocking bug may occur. Workaround There are several workarounds for this issue. If the bug occurs inside a Treasure Grove: Select "Give Up" on the Weird Pad to exit the Treasure Grove. This will allow you to continue playing the game. If the bug occurs inside a shrine in Ginormosia outside of Chapter 2, "Head towards Skelegon": Select "Teleportation Gate" on the Weird Pad to leave the shrine and continue playing. If the bug occurs in a shrine on Ginormosia during Chapter 2, "Head towards Skelegon":This issue is scheduled to be fixed in version 1.2.1, planned for release around May 29. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience. Switch & Xbox: During the Main Story Chapter 6, "Go to the Cave of Trials," if you travel to Ginormosia and watch the event scene which plays after clearing multiple shrine minigames, you may become unable to enter the Cave of Trials, preventing progression. Workaround If you have the Story Quest selected, the upper right of the screen will display "Go to the Cave of Trials." While this message is shown, please avoid triggering the event scene that plays after clearing multiple shrine minigames on Ginormosia. Switch & Xbox: If a player triggers the Guild Office expansion event scene while carrying a Guild Office Relocation Kit, and uses the kit afterward, two Guild Offices will appear. Workaround If you are carrying a Guild Office Relocation Kit, please avoid triggering the Guild Office expansion event scene that occurs when recruiting new companions. There are also some other planned fixes: Other Planned Fixes Switch & Xbox: Fixing an issue where players are unable to draw their weapon during the first battle tutorial, preventing progression. Adjusting the UI in the "Life Challenges" tab of the Quests Menu to make it clearer that a Life can be selected. Adding a new feature called "Instant Help" to support players as they progress through their adventure. Fixing an issue where the "!" icon on the Quests Menu would not disappear. Adjusting multiplayer so that progress can be made on accepted quests even during multiplayer sessions. Switch: Fixing an issue occurring on certain cutscenes, where pausing the game while the "Auto" setting is enabled causes all inputs except for "Skip" to become unresponsive. Fixing an issue that prevents the acquisition of certain Recipes as quest completion rewards, in case the Tailor or Artist Novice Challenges were skipped. Original Story: [Sun 18th May, 2025 02:55 BST]: Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time arrives on the Switch next week and ahead of release Level-5 is rolling out an early access update on select platforms, bumping the game up to Version 1.1.1. This will be slightly different on the Switch front - with Version 1.1.0 apparently reflecting "some of the contents of this update" on 22nd May (JST). The version that reflects "most" of the content will be released in the future as Version 1.2.0. "For the Nintendo Switch version, "ver.1.1.0", which reflects some of the contents of this update, will be released on Thursday, May 22nd (JST). The version that reflects most of the contents will be released in the future as "ver.1.2.0"." Here's a translation of the full patch notes from Level-5's official website: Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time (Early Access Update) - Version 1.1.1 Feature additions/adjustments Adding a signature function to crafted items ●You can add a sign to equipment you create (weapons, shields, life tools, armor). There are various designs for signs, so you can set the sign you want to use by examining the workbench and selecting "Choose Sign." Added "Control Settings" to the options menu ●A menu has been added to the options that allows you to change button assignments for some actions. Added the ability to move to the Life Master ●A function has been added to the lives screen that allows you to move to the master position of each life. *This will become effective after clearing the "Apprentice Trial" for each life. Adjusted so that the companions selected in the production settings are remembered. ●When crafting an item at a workbench, the state of the companion selected on the crafting settings screen will be saved and will be displayed in the selected state the next time you craft an item. Adjusting the number of items that can be made in one production ●The maximum number of items that can be made in one production run for the recipes for "Plants," "Fences," and "Streetlights" has been increased. Organized the information about skills displayed on the equipment screen ●The content of skills displayed in the details window on the right side of the equipment screen has been reorganized. When Life is Focused - Adjusted to display only unique skills When an item is focused - Adjusted so that only equipement skills are displayedBase UI Adjustments ●Adjusted the icon display of vegetables in fields. ●Names are now displayed on placed buildings. Made crafting area objects easier to grab Made it easier to grab objects in the crafting area. Adjusted the clear condition text for the Gachadan Tree In the Gacha Dungeon Tree, when the clear condition is to "obtain a Fruit of Time," we have adjusted the text to make it easier to understand which target will drop the Fruit of Time. Map screen adjustments ●Icons have been added to the map screen/minimap to make it easier to see exits and ascending and descending levels within dungeons. Adjustment of recording prohibited areas ●Adjusted the prohibited areas for recording on the main unit. Add guides/adjust content ●The following additions/adjustments have been made to the in-game "Guide". 【addition】 "sign" Explanation of signatures that can be included in crafted items Support for production by peers Explanation of the support provided by companion NPCs in the production mini-game 『Eye & Hair Catalog』 Explanation of the "catalog" that allows you to add eyes and hairstyles [Adjustment] Coliseum Quest Adding retirement explanation "Phantom Fellows" Added explanation regarding experience distribution How to grow vegetables Added instructions on sowing and watering "Tension Techniques for Combat Life" / "Tension Techniques for Gathering Life"The same guide for combat and gathering life has been split into separate guides. Balance Changes Main story related parameter adjustments ●The parameters of enemies and gatherable items that appear in the main story have been adjusted to make the story more enjoyable to play. ●To make the storyline more enjoyable, we have adjusted the parameters required for recipes that need to be created in the main story. Area Challenge related parameter adjustments ●The conditions for achieving a gold ranking in the Legendary Challenge have been relaxed. ●The conditions for achieving a gold rating in delivery challenges have been relaxed. Bug Fixes ●Fixed an issue where players would not be guided correctly to destinations in the Main Story, Life Trials, and Requests from Everyone. ●Fixed an issue that prevented progress from occurring if you were incapacitated in battle between the start of the game and reaching Tokinone Village. ●Fixed an issue that caused progression to be impossible if the number of items received in the Life Guild receiving box exceeded the limit. ●Fixed a bug regarding obtaining items in Chapter 5 of the main story. ●Fixed a bug that occurred with obtaining items at the Mujin Sales Office. ●Fixed an issue where the parameters of equipment obtained from some treasure chests were incorrect. *After applying this patch, the parameters will be automatically corrected. Fixed an issue on the Baka Dekkana continent where following NPCs/enemies were not moving correctly relative to the terrain. ●Fixed an issue where phantom character status did not change depending on area rank. ●Fixed an issue where experience points were not distributed when obtaining an experience orb or clearing the crafting mini-game if a phantom character was in the party. Fixed an issue where skipping the Tailor and Artist Apprentice Trials would result in players not being able to obtain some of the recipes that should be obtained upon completing the trials. *After applying this patch, recipes that were not available will be automatically granted if the conditions are met. ●Fixed an issue where appearing NPCs would remain hidden when skipping the Apprentice Trial in some lives. Fixed an issue where the target would not be registered in the Pokédex when requesting gathering from a companion NPC and completing the task. ●Fixed an issue that caused the game to become uncontrollable when requesting production and attempting to produce an item that was at the maximum quantity when no companion was selected. Fixed an issue where objects could not be placed on the third level of the ground at bases. ●Fixed an issue that prevented the base message board quest "Get the highest rating in the gallery" from being completed. ●Fixed an issue in the Gachadan Tree where items buried in the Aging Altar could not be digged up. Fixed an issue where the age of a gifted aged weapon would not be displayed to the recipient. Fixed an issue where players would be unable to progress if they edited a stamp/emote/free template in the "Greetings" tab of options in the Gachadan Tree/Baka Dekkana Continent Shrine and then immediately restarted the game after saving. *We are working to recover save data that will be unable to progress after applying this patch. Fixed unintended behavior that occurred in the menu when performing renovations. ●Fixed an issue that caused buttons to become unusable after the tutorial ended depending on when the tutorial occurred. ●Fixed an issue in some event scenes where pausing the scene while it was set to "Auto" would result in no operations being accepted other than skipping. Fixed a bug that occurred in some quests. ●Fixed an issue where Trip's pinning effect did not target the correct targets when playing cooperatively with Trip (2P Family Play). ●Various bugs in multiplayer have been fixed. ●Some Japanese text and translated text have been corrected. ●Other minor bugs have been fixed. Earlier this week, the Japanese publication Famitsu awarded Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time 36 out of 40. The game's local release will kick off on 21st May, with the early access period beginning on 18th May for select platforms. A fantasy score? Will you be getting this game when it arrives on Switch next week? Let us know in the comments. [source fantasylife.jp] Related Games See Also Share:0 4 Liam is a news writer and reviewer across Hookshot Media. He's been writing about games for more than 15 years and is a lifelong fan of many iconic video game characters. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles Round Up: The First Impressions Of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Are In Here's what players are saying Nintendo Expands Switch Online's Game Boy Library With Four More Titles Available today Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Switch Update Arrives Next Week Here's what you can expect Yooka-Laylee Dev Playtonic Is The Latest Studio Hit By Layoffs Others are "at risk" of losing jobs

Anything but a slow start to life.Level-5's new release Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time made its official debut on the Switch and multiple other platforms this week and it's already hit its first major sales milestone.Following a mostly positive reception from players so far, the game has now shifted over 500,000 copies. Apart from Switch, this factors in sales on PC and PlayStation 5. As part of the celebrations, Level-5 has shared some new artwork on social media:Read the full article on nintendolife.com

No plans for Game-Key Cards "on titles where we are the manufacturer and publisher".Raidou Remastered CE isn’t a standard, numbered Limited Run Games release, but we were still surprised to see that the Switch 2 Collector’s Edition they're offering retails for a whopping $249.99 USD and doesn't include a full game on a cartridge.This edition includes a Switch 2 Game-Key Card, which requires the customer to connect to the internet and download the full game on their console. This feels like it goes against the 'Forever Physical' motto of LRG.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube813k With Shinobi: Art of Vengeance's release date now just 97 days away (not that we're counting), both Sega and Lizardcube have been out and about and making sure to satiate our increasing desire for more information on their upcoming side-scrolling adventure. Of course, this isn't just any old adventure and, much like Lizardcube's previous work, such as Streets of Rage 4 and Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap (both phenomenal), here we have a reworking, a full modernisation after a long period of dormancy, of the one and only Shinobi. The pressure of pulling apart a classic for the ages and rebuilding it in such a way that it satisfies newcomers and the hardcore, whilst also appearing modern and 'good'? These folks have been there and done that.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube813kWatch on YouTube Images: Lizardcube, Lizardcube, Sega Speaking to Games Informer (welcome back, you guys!), Kagasei Shimomura, head of Sega's content production unit, revealed how his department had spent time going over 60 years of historic IPs that fall under the Sega umbrella. Settling on the long-dormant Shinobi series, which hasn't seen any new action since 2011's Shinobi 3D on the 3DS, the team started to put plans into action. Shimomura was aware that some old arcade series had been kept alive to a certain extent through the Sega Ages Collection, but that: "We didn't just want to go and make remasters or remakes of all the titles that are already around...We want people to enjoy and be satisfied by what we put out there, and find ways to create new Sega fans." At 2023's Game Awards, with the announcement of a whole swathe of classic reboots from Sega - including Golden Axe (cool it, grandad) - Shimomura's full plans were revealed, with particular attention being paid to Shinobi. Lizardcube was then drawn into the matter, which is hardly surprising given they'd just turned two retro IPs into critically acclaimed bangers. Luckily, the Parisian dev's CEO and creative director, Ben Fiquet, was excited by the prospect, describing during the interview how his team's blood boiled with excitement, "as big Sega fans", at the idea of getting to work on a brand new Shinobi. Images: Lizardcube, Sega Impressing Sega with a pitch that sought to balance old and new, Lizardcube then agreed that a 2D game as the most effective course of action, one that specifically took its inspiration from Shinobi 1,2 and 3, whilst giving players something new and engaging to sink their big modern teeth into. Fiquet explains: "We soon realized that if you wanted to have the player care about what they will be doing the most, which is fighting, the fighting will need to be more interesting. That’s why you have a lot of moves now, and it’s a very interesting mix because it’s more like a beat-‘em-up in a platforming environment. You have a combo system, you have different moves at your disposal, powers, ultras, and different stuff, so that when the player is doing what they’re doing the most, they are entertained." Rather than simply licence the IP out to Lizardcube, as had been done with Wonder Boy and Streets of Rage, Sega has gone all-in here, even getting down and dirty and making suggestions regarding the game's art style, the like of which, Fiquet says, is usually reserved for animated movies. Indeed, 1990s Sega hits, The Lion King and Aladdin games, which were sublimely animated it has to be said, are reference points in the look and style being adopted for Shinobi: Art of Vengeance. Images: Lizardcube, Dotemu, Lizardcube In the end, such is Sega's passion for the project, Toru Ohara, a designer with over 30 years experience at Sega, got fully involved with a team of his own, acting as chief producer on the Sega side in order to ensure the correct level of expression, the right brush strokes and, of course, the right amount of respect paid to the old Shinobi games whilst modernising for a new audience. Ohara himself seems excited and happy with what's being created this far, as he puts it: "The game starts out as a normal action game, but it does feel much more like a fighting game in the end, where you have all these different combos that you could choose from because you can learn to do more and more and be able to do more and more the further you go." It's hardly a surprise that the teams involved seem to be killing it thus far, you only have to play Streets of Rage 4 for a very short period of time before realising the high level these folks are working on. The full interview goes into lots more details on how much Sega decided to get involved, alongside lots more info on some other classics, so make sure to check it out for more tidbits on those. Meanwhile, we're off to do some backflip training and then down the supermarket for a pack of plastic shuriken. Not that we're beyond excited for new Shinobi or anything. Excited for the return of Shinobi? Make sure to sneak into the comments and take us down with your opinions! Neo City showcased in new trailer Pre-orders are "coming soon" [source gameinformer.com] Related Games See Also Share:0 1 PJ is a staff writer across Pure Xbox and Nintendo Life. He's been playing video games pretty much nonstop since the early 1980s, and enjoys boring people with tedious stories about how long ago that really is. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles 27 Upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 Games We're Excited For In 2025 The very best Switch 2 games coming soon Round Up: The First Impressions Of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Are In Here's what players are saying Nintendo Expands Switch Online's Game Boy Library With Four More Titles Available today Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Switch Update Arrives Next Week Here's what you can expect

Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life Now that multiple Nintendo theme parks have been built (with potentially more coming down the road), it's likely on the minds of many whether they should save up the large amount of funds to make a trip out for this. While we can't make that decision for you, we've written in the past about the overall experience you'll find visiting the smaller scale version of Super Nintendo World located in Hollywood, California, and we've just visited the larger park in Orlando, Florida. We did our best to capture the lands in these early stages from as many angles as possible. From the shops and snacks, the collectible relics, and games on offer to the staff that help keep the place under control. So get ready to take a walk with us through Universal Epic Universe, Super Nintendo World, the new home of Mario, Luigi, Peach, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and co. We'll soon be sharing our own thoughts on the Donkey Kong Country portion, but for now we hope you enjoy this Nintendo Life look inside the park... You'll enter Super Nintendo World through this portal — Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life The sheer height of everything does a great job of convincing you you're no longer on earth — Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life Gambling in the Mushroom Kingdom? Not really, but a fun minigame to play, no doubt! — Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life Look through these telescopes for long enough and you may get a quick glimpse of a different world... — Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life We weren't allowed to take photos on the ride itself, but we hope these help illustrate how chill and lovely Yoshi's Adventure is — Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life The queue itself wasn't as vast and intoxicating as the Yoshi portion found at the Hollywood park, but we still enjoyed the little details — Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life Bowser Jr. and more baddies are waiting for you in the underground — Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life Even the queue for Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge has been extended, more in line now with the Japanese park — Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life Once you exit the Mario Kart ride, you'll drift around a few corners and find yourself in this massive gift shop, decorated in racing decor and equipment — Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life Peach's Castle at sunset is a sight to behold — Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life and look, there's the Princess herself! If you ask nicely, she may even take a photo with you — Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life Located in Celestial Park (just outside of Super Nintendo World), you'll find a store adorned with stone statues of Nintendo's characters — Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life Just like in Super Mario 64, don't forget to look up while you're in the shop for a surprise! — Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life Again, we beg of you. Let us buy miniature versions to take home — Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life We're so glad to see Mario and Bowser could set aside their differences for a moment to pose for this photo...unless Bowser is planning a sneak attack? — Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life Just outside the shop, you'll find this fountain which makes for a nice spot to stop and take a breather if you need, just make sure you've applied some sunscreen to help beat that angry heat — Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life Now let's head back inside and roll on over to the Donkey Kong Country portion of Super Nintendo World! — Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life Believe it or not, you can choose to get tossed through that barrel — Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life Aside from the main Minecart attraction, there are a few other ways to spend your time in the countryside — Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life We found Funky's plane, which some humans seem to have converted into a shop for him! You'll find lots of swag featuring the dynamic duo, but nothing here features Dixie or even Funky Kong. At the time of writing, Funky himself remains to be seen as well — Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life Donkey Kong, however, was out in full force! At the ready with fist bumps for anyone willing to admire his banana hoard — Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life DK only comes down from his hut every now and again (probably just to make sure the batch of bananas remains safe and sound), so go say "OKAY" and snap a picture with him if you can! — Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life Cranky Kong and Squawks can found within the park bickering away at each other, but we'll let you discover them on your own... — Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life If you're feeling something cold and sweet, you can try the DK Crush Float! An chilly desert made up of banana and pineapple soft serve, pineapple Fanta soda, sprinkles and...uhhh...caramel popcorn? — Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life Alright, it's time we make our way into the queue for the main attraction of Donkey Kong Country, Mine-Cart Madness! There's not as much to see here as there is in the Mario Kart queue, but there are two key players that make this line completely worth the wait... — Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life We weren't allowed to take photos on Mine-Cart Madness either, but we did our best to capture a few areas we could see from within the park! For Donkey Kong Country fans, it's something you absolutely have to ride if you're here and able — Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life The park takes on an entirely new image at night, adding a soft neon glow to most things, even turning the ride itself into something more reminiscent of a dark ride at times — Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life Now that we've somehow managed to spend all day in Super Nintendo World, let's make our way back through the Mario portion and head towards exit gate. Just make sure to not wake any of the piranha plants on our way out — Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life With that, our time at Super Nintendo World comes to a close! We hope you had fun roaming the park with us. Let's give a round of applause to all the park staff that made our day so special and smooth! — Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life Universal Epic Universe is now officially open to the public. Travel costs for this trip and access to the park were provided by Universal. Get the most from your visit to Hollywood, CA Share:0 1 Zion's been crafting videos and photos with our team for over half a decade now. While you'll usually find Zion playing RPGs, platformers, and adventure games, anything with a good story is sure to be right up his alley. For an on brand example: MOTHER 3 may not be recognized much by the Western side of Nintendo, but he still found a way to play it anyways and hopes it makes it way to the West officially so others can enjoy it more easily. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles Feature: Universal Won't Say Anything About A Zelda Theme Park, But They Don't Have To Let's use the Lens of Truth Gallery: Nintendo Gives Us A Closer Look At Its New Store In The US Update: Now open!

Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo LifeAnd we're back, once again, on the road to Mario Kart World - and we're in the final stretch. On the two previous laps we've looked at every console Mario Kart game from the Super NES up to the Wii. For this final go-round, we're looking at two console entries which span a massive 14-year period. MK8 got some significant expansions across two consoles, so we've split that into two separate sections. And if you're keen to hear more about Mario's non-console karting exploits, we'll take a quick look at those next week before starting our engines up for Mario Kart World on 5th June.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube813kWatch on YouTube This week's Nintendo developer interviews delved into the game in much more depth than the lacklustre Mario Kart Direct back in April, firing up our excitement once more. Once we've been able to leave the tracks, we wonder what it'll feel like to return to the restrictive circuits in these past games...but that's another article. Let's kick off this final lap with lucky number seven... Lap 1 - SMK, MK64 & Super Circuit Double Dash, DS, Wii Mario Kart 7 (2011) Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life Ah yes, seven entries in and we finally arrive at the first numbered game in the series (pipe down, MK64). There was always something that made me laugh about this being called 'Mario Kart 7', made all the more hilarious by Mario Kart World not being called 'Mario Kart 9'. After cool names like Super Circuit and Double Dash!!, '7' felt decidedly uncool. Which is ironic because the game was anything but. Image: Nintendo Sure, it lacked the local multiplayer pull of the home console releases, but I got to drive a kart that could fly and go underwater, which I'd say is a fair trade-off. I distinctly remember driving around Cheep Cheep Lagoon for the first time and its aquatic appeal blowing my little mind. I played with the 3D slider cranked up to the max, you see, and drifting around that seaweed felt like the future. You know what else was cool? Customisable karts. I didn't particularly care for stats at the time and would instead set out to build the most horrific abomination ever committed to the track. Not getting to see my masterpiece was one of the main reasons why I rarely used the game's first-person driving mode — that and the fact that I tried it out in the back of the car once and it made me sick. - Jim Norman Standout tracks: DK Jungle, Rock Rock Mountain, Cheep Cheep Lagoon Fun fact: Despite the Nintendo Network servers shutting down in April 2024, it wasn't until November that year that the final Mario Kart 7 player finally crashed out of the last-standing game lobby. That's quite the victory lap! What does Mario Kart World take from this? Gliding has had a winged makeover in World, but it's the same fundamentals that we first saw in MK7. Underwater driving is another obvious one, although from what we've seen so far, racing atop the waves is the only option in MKW. The Fire Flower appears to still be going strong after making its series debut in the 3DS entry, though. What score would you give Mario Kart 7 (3DS)? (1,329 ratings) 10 - Outstanding14%9 - Excellent28%8 - Great35%7 - Good17%6 - Not Bad5%5 - Average1%4 - Poor1%3 - Bad  0%2 - Terrible  0%1 - Abysmal1% Mario Kart 8 (2014) Images: Gavin Lane / Nintendo Life, Nintendo There was an audible gasp when I told my colleagues that I'd spent more time playing Mario Kart 8 on Wii U than I have 8 Deluxe. It has nothing to do with preference — Deluxe is clearly the version to play now. But my life was pretty different between 2014 and 2017. Other than a few Virtual Console RPGs and Xenoblade X, Mario Kart 8 was one of the few games I actually played on the Wii U, a console I don't have a lot of love for otherwise. I was at university and barely in my 20s at that point; I also preferred playing stuff on the big screen, so I'd sort of skipped over MK7. Image: Nintendo 8's extravagantly bright courses and colourful worlds were like revisiting my childhood, except now we have anti-gravity and huge courses that look like they stretch for miles and miles. Gorgeous sky-high races and crowded city streets were back on the menu, and I got that old Mario Kart Wii feeling back. The biggest thing I remember was the downloadable content. Nintendo had been dabbling in DLC for a few years then, but I was still a sceptical student who only wanted to spend money on things I thought I would love. Then, Mario Kart 8 dangled the ol' Animal Crossing carrot. Oh gosh. Look, a free Mercedes-Benz was all well and good (though a bit weird), but Zelda, Animal Crossing, and F-Zero courses coming to a Mario Kart game? It's like Smash Bros. but Mario Kart. Oh, Baby Park's back? No, thank you - Hyrule Circuit awaits. I really like all of the DLC courses, but I admit I was a little disappointed by the Animal Crossing one. It's a little basic and while the seasonal changes are beautiful, I'd have loved a little more variety in the course obstacles per season. The big surprise were the F-Zero ones, a series I never really got into. It took Mario Kart to make me want a new F-Zero game. Big Blue on 200cc? It's pure magic. - Alana Hagues Standout tracks: Toad Harbour, Sunshine Airport, Cloudtop Cruise, Big Blue (DLC) Fun fact: Firehopping, or frogging, was a common technique used online to maintain longer boosts from a mini-boost. Nintendo removed this in Deluxe, meaning it was probably an unintentional glitch. What does Mario Kart World take from this? Hmmm... okay, well, since 8 Deluxe is essentially MK8 but better, maybe let's save this... Second Lap It's natural that the Switch version has totally supplanted the original in most players' memories - which is why I was keen to break out the Wii U version in its own section here. Besides disappointment around the Battle offering, this was a substantial, massively satisfying racer with a fun anti-grav hook, and there's something homely and attractive about MK8 on that chunky GamePad minus the bloat and the 'more, more, MOAARRRR'. I say 'bloat' - the Deluxe additions were great, I just quite enjoy the comparative simplicity and 'strangeness' of this version after eight long years with the upgrade. Deluxe is better, but it was all armour over this game's brilliant body. Gavin Lane Editor, Nintendo Life What score would you give Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)? (1,085 ratings) 10 - Outstanding33%9 - Excellent42%8 - Great18%7 - Good5%6 - Not Bad1%5 - Average1%4 - Poor  0%3 - Bad  0%2 - Terrible  0%1 - Abysmal1% Mario Kart 8 Deluxe & Booster Course Pass (2017, 2022-2023) Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life It's the best-selling game on the Switch, although I wonder where it stands in the Most Played rankings. Even if you were one of the Nintendo faithful who'd bought a Wii U and unlocked every Cup, got the DLC, and played MK8 to absolute death, you still had to buy 8 Deluxe. The proper Battle Mode and the ability to hold two items were major boons (although I still miss the strategy that comes with being able to switch between the items à la Double Dash), but it was really the convenience of having full-fledged Mario Kart on the go with two pads that made MK8D indispensable for any Switch owner. You just had to have it. Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life It was interesting to hear the devs discuss "kicking the can down the road" and using the Booster Course Pass as a stopgap. Still, what a stopgap! 48 new tracks, with returning courses, some reimagined, some borrowed from Tour, a couple of totally new ones - with so many new courses, it was tough to get upset with the odd dud, especially if you were getting access to all these via an Expansion Pack sub. And the real-world locales added a different flavour to the mayhem - they generally weren't up there with the best of the other courses, but I liked seeing Nintendo's take on London and Madrid. Throw in all the oddities from before (I loved the amiibo Mii outfits), plus a host of new ones (Labo controls, anyone?) and no wonder it's taken Nintendo eight years to come up with a sequel. - Gavin Lane Standout tracks: Bone-Dry Dunes, Mount Wario, Yoshi's Island (DLC) Fun fact: As of 31st March 2025, this has sold 68.2 million copies and is Switch's best-selling game - that's 59.74 million copies more than the original sold on Wii U, although MK8 was also that system's bestseller. What does Mario Kart World take from this? In some ways it feels like the end of the road for old-style Mario Kart on self-contained tracks - MK8D's completeness gave Nintendo the impetus to push beyond the bounds of the circuits into a bigger world. You might even say a Mario Kart W— *blue shell explodes* What score would you give Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch)? (2,863 ratings) 10 - Outstanding43%9 - Excellent34%8 - Great17%7 - Good4%6 - Not Bad1%5 - Average  0%4 - Poor  0%3 - Bad  0%2 - Terrible  0%1 - Abysmal1% Image: Nintendo And that brings us up to date!... Or does it? In fact, there are a few byways to travel before we hit the highway in Mario Kart World. Join us next week for a lap of honour where we take a quick look at the side-games and also-rans in the Mario Kart series. The sweat, the tears, the evil babies Related Games See Also Share:0 1 Gavin first wrote for Nintendo Life in 2018 before joining the site full-time the following year, rising through the ranks to become Editor. He can currently be found squashed beneath a Switch backlog the size of Normandy. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles Shigeru Miyamoto Explains Why Donkey Kong Has Been Redesigned You want expressive? You got it Here's A Look At The Size And Inside Of Switch 2 Game Cases Arriving in store next month Talking Point: The Switch 2 Pre-Order Situation Sucks, But Can Nintendo Do Anything About It? 503sier said than done Random: Miyamoto Can't Talk About Switch 2, Talks About Switch 2 Anyway I do what I want, bruv!

Ready..? Fight!Well folks, the weekend is finally here... Wait, what do you mean it only feels like yesterday when we did our last What Are You Playing? Yeah... time flies, huh? The Switch 2 will be here before you know it!Anyway, this week saw the release of four new titles for the Game Boy app on Nintendo Switch Online, which is awesome. We also finally got an explanation from Shigeru Miyamoto as to why Donkey Kong has gone through such a major redesign. Spoiler: it's not as dramatic as you might think.Read the full article on nintendolife.com