Category: Nintendo

Drain the core.

Drainus. Whether a ham-fisted portmanteau of Darius and Gradius, or relating to the game’s core mechanic, it’s a silly name any way you look at it. Japan-based developer Team Ladybug, more recently known for the rather good Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth, has had the Switch shooting game hardcore waiting eight months since the game’s Steam release, but does it live up to the hype?

Drainus pays homage to many genre classics; a touch of Border Down in its ship functions and styling, a nod to Einhander in the aesthetic of its stage-two train assault, and plenty of Gradius V in its transforming boss phases. The one influence that’s been touted heavily in previews, inexplicably, is Ikaruga, as if it’s the only other title in the genre the mainstream gaming press has ever heard of. While Drainus features a system of absorbing enemy fire that can be returned in a flurry of homing lasers, the execution here has far more in common with Takumi’s Giga Wing than it does Treasure’s puzzle-shmup hybrid, making it a largely erroneous comparison.

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Shaken not stirred.

Well here we are folks. It’s the final week of January and we have had our first big Nintendo release of the year. Consider 2023 to be well and truly underway!

This week at Nintendo Life, we got all kinds of excited for the eventual release of GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo Switch Online N64 library and suggested a quick fix for those pesky controls. We also looked ahead to the year, running through the 9 questions we still have about Tears of the Kingdom and breaking down everything coming to Disney Dreamlight Valley in 2023.

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Would you like more remakes and remasters?

It seems Square Enix is once again calling on fans to have their say about what games they would like to see next. In a recent Japanese survey, the company known for the Final Fantasy series asked local residents of Japan what games and genres they would like to see from Team Asano in the future.

Team Asano, in case you need a refresher, most recently worked on the HD-2D Switch exclusive Bravely Default II and also Triangle Strategy. In the same survey, Square Enix asked fans about future remakes and remasters. These were the two questions featured:

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Papa Geno.

Mozart and Mario might sound really similar in name, but they don’t have too many other similarities — except for that one time that Mozart was in a little-known SNES/NES game called Mario’s Time Machine, but let’s not worry about that for now.

Our point is that you have to be pretty darn creative to mash the two up into an opera, but that’s just what the LA-based Pacific Opera Project has done with their retelling of Mozart’s opera, The Magic Flute — or as they’re calling it, #Superflute.

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Just unplug the 2P controller already.

My partner is the most patient man I’ve ever met. It’s one of the things I appreciate about him the most — especially since I’m the opposite. He’s the Lawful Good to my Chaotic Neutral. I’m a cyclone and he’s calm waters. Opposites attract, right?

For most of our relationship, this dynamic — his patience, combined with my spontaneity — has made us a pretty great team, able to support each other in exactly the ways that we ourselves are lacking.

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Only on the Italian version of the game.

We are used to finding game glitches at a pretty early phase in our playtime (heck, opening week for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet saw our Twitter feeds flooded with ’em), but this isn’t to say that there aren’t more out there. One such example has been brought to our attention today and it is, predictably, to do with Super Mario Sunshine.

Anyone who has played Sunshine is bound to have come across the odd glitch once or twice. Perhaps you saw Mario fall through a floor and plummet to his death, or maybe you found yourself leaping in and out of walls like Marvel’s Nightcrawler. Fortunately, most of these are at the ‘freaking annoying’ end of the glitch spectrum; the other end is reserved for those like the Gelato Beach softlock glitch which was recently demonstrated by YouTuber Gaming Reinvented.

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Alear-ning curve.

Fire Emblem Engage has been out for one week now and it is fair to say that we loved it (it did get a 9/10 in our review, after all). While many of us who like to have our games in boxes found no issues with getting our hands on the physical edition, it seems that the popular demand of the title meant that not everyone has been quite as lucky, including the game’s lead voice actor.

Brandon McInnis voices the male version of Alear (‘The Divine Dragon’) in Engage. If you have played the game already or indeed watched anything from the massive pile of promotion that came in the run up to its release, then you will know that this is a pretty big part. The biggest part (if you play with a male protagonist) in fact. Yet the actor recently took to Twitter to share his difficulties in getting his hands on the game’s special ‘Divine Edition’ come release date.

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Physical retail edition also confirmed.

Developer Giant Squid and publisher Annapurna Interactive have a treat lined up for Switch owners next week – announcing The Pathless will be coming to the hybrid platform on 2nd February. This title originally launched exclusively on PlayStation consoles as well as Windows and Apple devices in 2020.

The developer is the same team behind the underwater hit ABZÛ. In this new adventure, you take on the role of a hunter – a master of archery who will travel across a mystical island to dispel a curse of darkness. Alongside your eagle companion, your task is to hunt corrupted spirits as you explore misty forests, solve puzzles and engage in some epic battles.

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Find out what’s changed behind-the-scenes.

Nintendo has today updated its Switch Online N64 library with the addition of GoldenEye 007. It’s also bumped up the app to Version 2.9.0 – so what’s changed?

As you probably know by now, the video game giant doesn’t normally share patch notes about these app updates. Fortunately, well-known dataminer OatmealDome is on the case – uncovering everything this latest update has to offer.

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Seen it already? Watch it again.

The iconic first-person shooter GoldenEye 007 returns today after a 25 year wait. If you’re not familiar with the game’s history or are just curious to know more about this legendary N64 title, don’t worry – Rare has got you covered.

Back when it released its Rare Replay collection on the Xbox One in 2015, it actually prepared a short documentary about “the making of GoldenEye 007” – with hopes this classic might one day overcome licensing issues and see the light of day once again.

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