Tag: Opinion
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Opinion An Ode To The Fallen Arm, Xenoblade Chronicles' Best Map
How revenge falls
Among all the Switch 2 excitement, we didn't want this to get lost: Xenoblade Chronicles is now 15 years old! To celebrate, Alana recalls something which turned the game from a great one into a special one. Warning: This article contains spoilers for Xenoblade Chronicles, so be wary if you haven't at least made it to the final...
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Opinion Nintendo New York's Switch 2 Launch Event Felt Like Coming Home
48th Street()
With the sounds of construction coming from every which way and the early June summer heat and warm afternoon sun rays shining down, it could have been a normal New York City day. But for today, anybody asking people on the line going along 48th Street had a new answer for the classic question of, “What are you all lining up...
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Opinion Splatoon Brought Me Back To Online Multiplayer, But Octo Valley Shines Brightest
It's basically good in all possible ways
Back in 2015, which is apparently 10 years go now, the shooter genre was packed full of heavy-hitting, very serious, macho video games about firing bullets into people. This was the year, after all, that brought us Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (one of the best ones) and the incredibly shiny Star Wars...
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Opinion Upgraded For Switch 2, ARMS Deserves A Second Shot At Greatness
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...
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Opinion Not Enough People Are Talking About This Early GOTY Contender
Centennial masterpiece
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...
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Opinion I Hope Trails In The Sky 1st Chapter Doesn't Make A 'Big' Remake Mistake
Bigger isn't always better
Of all the RPGs I love, the Trails series is probably the one I have the hardest time recommending. A mix of platform availability, game length, and sheer number of titles is enough to scare anyone away, and even when someone does get into the series, there’s the inevitable onslaught of questions as they try and navigate...
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Talking Point Are You Excited At All For Switch 2 GameChat?
Student lounge around
It's been nearly six weeks since the Switch 2 Direct, and we're now only three-and-a-half more away from the system's launch. Overall, we were pretty impressed with the hour-long presentation Nintendo assembled to officially pull back the curtain at the start of April. Yes, some mixed messaging and unanswered questions could...
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Opinion Switch 2 Finally Gives Star Wars Outlaws A Second Chance
Hoth Take
It's May 4th, Star Wars Day. Or, as we refer to it at Nintendo Life Towers, Oh-god-Jim's-going-to-bang-on-about-Star-Wars-again Day. Heh, it's true, I am a fiend for all things from a Galaxy Far, Far Away, and, if I'm being honest, that has sometimes meant that I'm a little more keen to see the Light Side than embrace the more realistic...
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Opinion Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Best Gameplay Feature Is Straight Out Of Mario's Playbook
QTE in the place to be
If you've been paying any attention whatsoever to and newly released games of late, you'll no doubt already know all about Sandfall Interactive's stunning Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Indeed, this very writer slapped a 10/10 score on the new RPG over at our sister siter Pure Xbox, so yeah, it's quite good, is this...
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Opinion Switch's Secret Best Couch Multiplayer Game Won't Be Playable On Switch 2
Don’t let this gem disappear unloved into the long dark night
After eight years of articles and YouTube content covering the Switch, you might think there are no surprises left to uncover, but I'm here to say that the very best couch multiplayer on the system – a game by Nintendo themselves – was completely missed by seemingly everyone on the...
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Opinion Steam Deck Fans Are Seriously Underestimating The Switch 2
And the comparisons are missing one key point
When the Switch launched in 2017, it was in a league of its own. Literally. Shrinking a no-compromise, home console experience into a portable device that could also double as a dedicated home console was an entirely new concept. Overnight, Nintendo had created another of those blue oceans that they so...
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Opinion Cult Classic 'Tokimeki Memorial' Hits Switch - But 30 Years On, It’s Still Out Of Reach
Forever with you; never with us
True love lasts forever – and so do some games. Tokimeki Memorial: Forever with You, the legendary dating sim from 1995, is hooking up with Switch next month to celebrate 30 years on the scene. Immaculately presented but bewilderingly complex, TokiMemo is a foundational piece of video game history that defined a...
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Opinion It's Time To Get Rid Of Fall Damage
Free faller
Falling. It hurts, right? We’ve all tripped up over nothing while walking and scraped our knees, or tripped up the stairs and landed face-first. It’s not fun. It’s embarrassing, it's painful, and it stands as a persistent reminder that I am the most clumsy of human beings. There’s a reason we can't jump off of buildings and...
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Opinion It's Been 20 Years Since I Was This Excited For A Mario Kart
Double dash it all
It's been a busy couple of weeks in the Nintendoverse, and we're all a bit excited around these parts. Despite some bumps in the road around pricing, if you look past all the noise and the Nintendo-like messaging that can present more questions than it answers, the software looks per-itty good. Sure, for multiplatform gamer
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Opinion In A Post BOTW And Elden Ring World, Xenoblade Chronicles X Is Still Daunting
The Planet between
Whether it’s your first or your fortieth time, booting up Xenoblade Chronicles X and exploring your immediate surroundings is nothing short of incredible. Mira’s huge, biodiverse landscape, populated by monsters both as small as a ball or as large as a four-storey building, with scraps of ruined ships and alien devices dotted...
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Opinion The Switch 2 Is A Powerhouse For The Price
We'll soon be playing with power
There's been a load of discourse about the price tags associated with everything concerning the Nintendo Switch 2, and rightly so. If we can't discuss things like this openly and frankly, you know some big company would look to exploit the public more than they already do. The talk regarding the price of games...
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Opinion A Few Too Many Questions & Unwelcome Surprises Are Taking The Shine Off The Switch 2 Reveal
The camel's back
After going hands-on with the hardware, we can confirm that Switch 2 is exciting. It not only promises fresh Nintendo goodness but also to reinvigorate the OG Switch libraries many of us have been building up over the past eight years. The future is looking bright for Nintendo lifers, though a few too many unclear details and small...
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Opinion Oh No, I'm Not A Fan Of Switch 2's Mouse Mode At All
The big squeak
You've probably read a bunch of thoughts and previews about the Nintendo Switch 2 at this point, many of them from us. I was already a little sceptical of Mouse Mode before it was officially announced in the Nintendo Direct. I don't like playing games on my PC, and if I have to, I avoid keyboard and mouse like the plague. Except for...
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Opinion We'll Never Get A Final Boss As Good As Pokémon Legends: Arceus Again
God-like
Editor's note: As the headline suggests, this article discusses late-game spoilers for Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Ask me what my favourite thing about Pokémon Legends: Arceus is, and I can give you a non-exhaustive list. Being able to catch Pokémon without engaging them in battle. Having actual, proper sidequests with rewards. Shiny...
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Opinion Against All Odds - Why Does RPG RNG Hate Me?
Drop it like it's not
Ah, yes, hello. Here I am, yet again, wandering around the same part of the world map over and over. I’m surprised I haven’t managed to cull the White Tiger population near the city of Muse in Suikoden II, because I've been here for almost an hour and I’ve probably killed over 200 of these things. All for one darn rune...
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Opinion The Best Tony Hawk Game Is Grinding Back, And I Can Only Hold My Breath
Not the same?
When Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 launched, I only had one thought on my mind: “This is awesome, but can we please get 3 + 4?” I had dabbled with the first two entries back in the day, but it was only when Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 launched in 2001 that I properly got hooked on the series. It felt perfect, and despite classics...
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Opinion Legends Z-A's Xenoblade-Style Battles Are Pokémon's Most Exciting Evolution In Years
What? Pokémon is evolving!
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say something crazy: I like the look of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. I reckon I have about five minutes before the torches are lit and an angry mob appears outside my house, so let me throw another bombshell out there. I think the series' turn-based battles have grown stale, and no amount...
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Opinion It's Taken 30 Years, But 'Terminator 2D' Could Right A Childhood Wrong
Judg(e)ment day
One night in 1993, I saw Terminator 2: Judgment Day for the first time. I was nine and I negotiating with my folks to stay up and watch the VHS with a Chinese takeaway. I the sweet-and-sour chicken, chow mein, and prawn crackers. I the lighting and the layout of the living room. I the clanking iron...
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Opinion Nintendo, Let Us Buy The Games Being Delisted From Switch Online
NSO-go
Well, it finally happened: the first game to be delisted from Nintendo Switch Online will disappear on 27th March. For years, the numbers have only gone up, and the total NSO game-count sits at an impressive 182 at the time of writing - with 109 more if you subscribe at the Expansion Pack tier. NSO was a slow starter, but the value has grown...
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Opinion Pokémon Legends: Z-A Looks Cool, But It's Lacking Arceus' Unique Style
We're getting Scarlet and Violet vibes
One year after its initial announcement, Pokémon Legends: Z-A has finally been showcased properly during the most recent Pokémon Presents, giving us a good look at the title's gameplay and features. It wasn't quite the deep dive many of us were hoping for, but it was certainly enough to whet our...
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Opinion Scrapping Gold Points Makes Sense For Nintendo, But It's A Bitter Pill For Loyal Fans
Points taken
We're about six weeks away from Nintendo's Switch 2 Direct in April, and the company presumably preparing furiously for the full reveal of its hardware. Until then, we're left to analyse statements around its financial results and other little announcements for clues about the Switch successor beyond its form factor. The firm's...
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Opinion The Okami Sequel Simply Has To Come To Switch 2
Let's just touch base
It's been an exciting few months for Okami fans, huh? Nearly 19 years after the release of the PS2 original, Capcom finally confirmed that a sequel is now officially in development at The Game Awards 2024. Plus, it's being developed at new studio Clovers under the direction of creator Hideki Kamiya. Speaking of which, the...
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Opinion Miiverse Was Fine, But Does Anybody Really Want It Back In 2025?
Stuck in Miiverse
It probably says something about the system that the question 'y cant metroid crawl?' is one of the most memorable nostalgia nuggets from the Wii U era. Don't get me wrong - while the initial messaging was poor, the GamePad's killer apps never really arrived, and the system itself was slow and bulky, I still loved my Wii U. But...
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Opinion All My Pokémon TCG Pocket Headaches Help It Nail Playground Trading Nostalgia
Jim used Reminisce!
I am a creature of habit, so when The Pokémon Company revealed Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket and its two-packs-a-day hook system, I knew that I was going to be a sucker for it. And here we are, a little over three months since its launch, and that's exactly what I am. My Pokémon monkey brain (Mankey brain?) has turned to...
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Opinion We Need More Couch Co-op RPGs
Our-PG
When the girl ed the party in Secret of Mana, a whole new world opened up to me. Bright-eyed, huddled close to our TV, a second SNES controller plugged into the little grey box, I didn’t just have to sit and wait my turn to play an RPG for once. I could play at the same time my mum could. Secret of Mana was the first time I felt like...
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Opinion With Forecasts Slashed (Again), Absolutely Everyone's Antsy For Switch 2 ASAP
Sobering sales, analyst angst, obvious answer
Nintendo has lowered sales forecasts for Switch hardware sales for the second time in a row with the publication of its Q3 results for FY2024/5. With a 30.6% year-on-year drop in console sales across the Switch range, the platform holder now forecasts 11 million unit sales for the year ending March 31st...
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Opinion Forget Themes, I Want A Switch 2 Start-Up Jingle
Jingles, all the way
I have been banging the 'Theme' drum for so long now, my hands have started to hurt. It doesn't make any sense to me that every Switch menu has been this music-less graveyard when Nintendo has churned out the likes of the Wii Shop Channel, 3DS Theme Shop and a multitude of other bangers in years gone by. But there's another...
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Opinion My Daughter Made Me Realise That Mario Wonder's Difficulty Options Need Work
Yoshi or Nabbit, make your choice
I suspect many of my fellow parents can relate to this, but when you have your first child, a whole bevvy of problems that never existed before are suddenly thrust upon you. “Do we have enough nappies?” “Oh God, she missed the potty again.” “No, you can’t sit there Daddy, my Peppa Pig toy is sitting...
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Opinion The Hyped-Up New Pokémon TCG Set Is A Total Bummer To Open
Pokéntial earnings
It must have been tough for chocolate lovers to get any chocolate when Willy Wonka was hiding golden tickets inside the wrappers. Joking aside, that's more or less been the vibe from Prismatic Evolutions, the just-released, mega-hyped Pokémon card set that’s memorable for its heavy representation of the fan-favourite Pokémon...
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Opinion Nightdive Studios Had Its Best, Most Prolific Year Yet In 2024
And it can only get better
For the younger readers amongst you, I suspect that many 3D games from the ‘90s and ‘00s seem rather quaint at best and downright unplayable at worst. It was a period in which the medium was geting to grips with a completely new third dimension; couple this with the limited graphical capabilities of the PlayStation and...
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Opinion It's Not My GOTY, But This Nintendo Game Was A Standout 2024 Memory
How Nintendo World Championships helped me ‘git gud’
I’ll it, I’ve never been fond of speedrunning. The thought of shaving milliseconds off a time in a video game while playing the same sequence over and over sounds, in theory, more frustrating than fun. Sure, as a spectator, there is definitely joy in appreciating the wizardry of players...
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Opinion The Biggest Question Of The Generation: Er, Why Isn’t Nintendogs On Switch?
All bark and no mic
If there were a trophy for missing open goals, Nintendo would have a fair few in the cabinet. For example, why didn't we get a new Donkey Kong game back when the Super Mario Bros. movie launched last year? Why wasn't the Wii U called 'Wii 2'? And why, for the love of god, is there no Nintendogs game on Switch? There was a part...
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Opinion At Last, Vanillaware Hit The Big Time With Unicorn Overlord
"A unicorn is worth more than riches"
In 2009, in the run-up to Christmas, I poring over a recent issue of Official Nintendo Magazine looking for games I might want for the holiday season. Flicking through the pages and taking in every single word, one review in particular jumped out at me. The art style was something I’d never seen in a...
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Opinion Nintendo Needs To Let Us Block The Crap On Switch 2's eShop
Block and move on
It's been years now since Nintendo opened the eShop floodgates and started letting everything in. In stark contrast to the Wii U days when even established developers had trouble getting their games on Nintendo platforms, the weekly update is now filled with games that would have been unthinkable just one console generation ago...
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Opinion Raise A Glass To The Nintendo DS' Peculiar Peripherals
Let there be cartridge
I've been noodling with my old DS in the last week. Whether it was to celebrate its 20th anniversary, reaffirm it as my favourite system of all time, or simply help me forget that it has been two decades since I first played Nintendogs, I can't be sure. But what I do know, is that I've been having a blast. Naturally, I went...
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Opinion Chrono Trigger Isn't The Only Great Time-Travel RPG On DS
Chronologically perfect
No less than an hour into Radiant Historia, Stocke – a special agent in Astiel’s Special Intelligence Unit and the game’s main protagonist – is on the brink of death. His mission to rescue a spy who has infiltrated the Granorg army has failed, and his subordinates Raynie and Marco have been killed. But it’s not...
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Opinion No, Zelda: The Minish Cap's Worst Sidequest Isn't The Kinstones
Go figure
I've banged the Minish Cap drum so many times by this point that my adoration for Link's littlest adventure is old news. With today marking 20 years since this GBA gem landed in Europe, it felt too easy to sit down at my desk and gush over the tight six-dungeon structure, the brilliant puzzle design or the somehow still under-discussed...
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Opinion Hyrule Really Needs To Take A Look At Its Prison System
In the c(Link)
My first hour in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom left me with a single, unshakeable thought: God, Hyrule's prisons are terrible. Yes, I was besotted with how traditional the whole thing felt and still somewhat in shock that I had a brand new Zelda game in my hands a mere 18 months after its predecessor. But all that went out of...
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Opinion I Didn't Realise How Much I'd Missed 'Traditional' Zelda Dungeons
(Boss) Key to my heart
Last year, hot off the back of Tears of the Kingdom, I wrote a piece expressing my love for Zelda's 'Modern' dungeons. These puzzle-centric areas had been a little hit or miss, sure, but I found that there was a lot to like in each once I got past the general terminal-activation-ness of it all. I thought I was over Zelda's...
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Round Table Let's Talk About Palworld - Comparisons, Controversy, 'Copying'
Lament of the Pal gamer
Less than a week out from its launch in Early Access on Steam and Xbox, Palworld has proved itself to be a massive commercial success for developer Pocketpair and has dominated gaming discourse online since the weekend. Switch gamers can't access it on Nintendo's console, of course, but with its aesthetic parallels to...
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Opinion What Did You Think Of Today's Nintendo Direct?
So many announcements!
Following last week's Nintendo Direct delay due to the earthquake in Hokkaido, the presentation - hosted by Shinya Takahashi - has now been and gone. The broadcast didn't waste any time, immediately revealing Luigi's Mansion 3 would be coming to the Switch in 2019. A brief segment focused on the 3DS was next in line,...
