Category: Nintendo

Though key features are missing.

Given the immense popularity of Balatro since its launch last year, it was really only a matter of time before it was unofficially ported over to other systems via homebrew modding.

Well, that time is upon us, folks. Thanks to Haynster over on Github (via GBATemp), Balatro is now available to play on the Nintendo DS. Installation instructions are available, and you’ll need to make sure you have the MicroLUA homebrew development software.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Welcome back, Ninja Five-O.

The Switch has a growing library of Game Boy Advance titles and Konami has expanded this with its latest eShop release.

It’s the GBA action-platformer Ninja Five-O (also known as Ninja Cop). This Switch version was originally announced last month and you can download the title right now for USD $24.99 / GBP £19.99 (or your regional equivalent). Physical copies were also announced, but have already sold out.

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“It’s good to have our games reach more places”.

Xbox has shifted to a new strategy where it’s now bringing more first-party IP to other platforms including Nintendo’s devices.

We’ve already heard from Phil Spencer how the plan is to support the ‘Switch 2’ when it arrives, and now Xbox Game Studios’ head Craig Duncan has elaborated on the company’s “multiplatform” approach going forward.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Keepie uppies.

With Switch entering its ninth year on 3rd March 2025, and with over 150 million units sold and more million-selling games than we’ve had hot dinners, it’s hard to remember a time when Nintendo pooling its portable and home console software teams behind a single system felt like a risky move. As Wii U foundered, it was the slow-starting 3DS that kept Nintendo fans’ candles burning during The Lean Wii U Years™, so putting all its eggs in one basket felt like a gamble.

It wasn’t really much of a gamble, all told. Not only did Nintendo’s vast cash reserves mean it could weather several generations of flops, but by leaning on its IP and investing heavily in non-gaming areas (merch, movies, and theme parks), not to mention its mobile experiments, the company went and got a whole new bunch of multimedia baskets for its eggs. Switch 2 could be a catastrophic failure but Nintendo’s got a long runway; it would multiple catastrophic failures to result in proper Nintendoom.

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Gnarly!

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 has been teased for a good number of months on the trot now, but it finally seems like the skating sequels will be dropping in on Switch soon enough after the as-yet-unannounced title received a rating in Singapore (thanks, VGC).

It’s exciting news, no doubt, made all the more appealing by the inclusion of Switch in the rating board’s console lineup (alongside PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S). And if that wasn’t enough for you, the classification claims that all this will come our way at some point in 2025. Now that’s pretty bodacious.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Or heck, Switch 2!

During Xbox’s recent Indie Showcase, a new gameplay trailer for Hotel Barcelona was debuted ahead of its release later this year.

From writer and director Hidetaka Suehiro (Swery65) and based on an original idea by Goichi Suda (Suda51), Hotel Barcelona looks utterly ridiculous, and we’re sincerely hoping the team at White Owls Inc. has either the Switch or the Switch 2 in its sights as we get closer to its eventual launch. Neither has been confirmed at the time of writing, but we’d honestly be surprised if this title completely skips a Nintendo release.

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Sequel is finally launching later this year.

It’s been a bloomin’ long time coming, but Level-5’s Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is finally making its way to the Switch on 22nd May 2025 following multiple delays.

To really drive the message that this date is likely final, two new commercials have been released (thanks, Go Nintendo) that highlight some tasty gameplay before reconfirming the game’s upcoming launch. They’re not particularly lengthy, but we get a good glimpse at what you’ll be getting up to during the time with the game, including the various farming mechanics, mining, crafting, and, of course, a sprinkling of combat.

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It wants “more fans” to experience Pokémon TCG.

Pokémon Trading Card sets like Prismatic Evolutions are in high demand at the moment and it doesn’t look like things will be slowing down any time soon.

In response to the TCG’s latest spike in popularity, GameStop has announced it has discontinued pre-orders. This includes implementing purchase limits in-store on select SKUs. Here’s the official notice, along with the reasoning behind this decision:

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All eyes are on the Birdman.

Earlier this week, professional skater Tyshawn Jones mentioned how he was in a new Tony Hawk remaster “coming out” soon.

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Kirb your enthusiasm.

Whip up a last-minute cake and bring out the candles because we have a big birthday on our hands, folks. HAL Laboratory, the company behind Kirby, the OG Smash Bros., EarthBound and another boatload of beauties that we’ll get to in just a moment, has turned 45 today.

Yep, on 21st February 1980, Mitsuhiro Ikeda founded HAL with the intention of developing games for home computers. Four years later, Nintendo released a little system called the Famicom, ushering in a new partnership that we’re still reaping the rewards of to this day.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com