Author: sick skills

Back in December, Nintendo announced that the 2025 edition of its annual ‘Year in Review’ — where your play stats for the year are collected and displayed in a fun little round-up — wouldn’t be arriving until January this time. We’re still waiting for further word, although at this stage we’d imagine it’ll be coming next week.

One thing worth noting beforehand, however, is that you’ll need to have the appropriate settings turned on for your Nintendo Account in order to receive the round-up. This writer missed out on last year’s review, but a New Year’s email from Nintendo highlighted a couple of opt-ins that needed tweaking.

Here are the settings to check, as per Nintendo’s website (you’ll need to access via a browser):

– Visit the Privacy and Other Settings > Usage Information”>Nintendo Account > Privacy and Other Settings > Usage Information page.
– Click Yes on ‘Allow Nintendo to collect optional device data on Nintendo consoles that you use’.
– Click Yes on ‘Allow Nintendo to process your usage information to customise services, offers and recommendations’.
– Press the Confirm button.

The email points out that you’re able to opt out of marketing emails in separate settings, so you don’t have to accept a deluge of inbox gumph.

While companies and outlets of all sorts generally lean into the end-of-year round-ups well before the holidays arrive and everyone’s out of the office (sometimes going live with hot GOTY content at the start of December), we were surprised but also a little impressed to see Nintendo holding back. Many people add a huge amount of playtime to their stats over the holidays, so waiting until the bells have rung and the balls have dropped will make the end result much more accurate, that’s for sure.

Let us know below if you would have rather seen your stats before Christmas or if you prefer waiting to get the full picture.

The latest Nintendo Download update for North America arrived yesterday, and today we’re combining it with the Christmas Day download we missed last week. As always, be sure to drop a vote in our poll and comment down below with your potential picks for the week.

Switch 2 eShop – New Releases

ARCADE ARCHIVES 2 SPACE INVADERS (Hamster, 25th Dec) – “SPACE INVADERS” is a shooting game released by TAITO in 1978. The origin of the masterpiece that once captivated all of Japan has finally arrived on Arcade Archives! This title includes both the black-and-white and color versions, and the sound has been reproduced to the limit of how it sounded back then. Experience the timeless legend once again! (Also available on Switch 1.)

ARCADE ARCHIVES 2 SPACE INVADERS PART II (Hamster, 1st Jan) – In 1979, and again in 2026, the Invaders are returning! “SPACE INVADERS PART II” is a shooting game released by TAITO in 1979. The enemy Invaders have returned more powerful than ever, having acquired new tactics like splitting and receiving reinforcements from UFOs! With added features like the Rainbow Bonus to aim for high scores, this title is long beloved by skilled experts looking to hone their abilities! (Also available on Switch 1.)

PRITTO PRISONER – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (PinCool, 25th Dec, $10.99) – Unleash the mayhem in Pritto Prisoner, the cute and chaotic 4v2 asymmetrical party game where animal inmates lay poopie traps, spray peepee, and use special skills to outwit robot guards. Inside a notorious island prison, the world’s cutest criminals, including a gangster rabbit, an influencer cat, and even a penguin chef, are locked in maximum security under 24/7 robot surveillance. (Also available on Switch 1.)

Switch eShop – New Releases

12 Party Games Collection (QubicGames, 25th Dec, $11.99) – Dive into non-stop entertainment with 12 Party Games Collection – a bundle packed with exciting games that bring instant fun to any gathering. Jump between fan-favorite hits: Hole io, Paper io 2, Skyline Bowling, Mob Control, Candivity, Golf Guys, Aquapark io, Ball Blast, Helix Jump, Puff Up, Pocket Mini Golf, and Pocket Mini Golf 2.

4 in 1 Sports Bundle (SuperPowerUpGames, 25th Dec, $8.49) – This pack includes the games: Speed Truck Racing, 8-Ball Pocket, Basketball Pinball, Faster Than Bolt.

6 in 1 Power Bundle Vol 2 (SuperPowerUpGames, 25th Dec, $9.99) – This pack includes the games: -Speedway Racing -9-Ball Pocket -Golf Up Tropical -Ping Pong Up -Mummy Pinball -Pirates Pinball

Adventure Reborn (REDDEER.GAMES, 30th Dec, $1.99) – A little girl with a big heart goes on a mysterious journey through dangerous lands ruled by a ruthless cult. Make choices that will help her save her parents. You decide what happens in the story! In Adventure Reborn the story depends on your choices. It’s a magical tale about the power of love overcoming the evil. Become a part of it, help Hope solve all the puzzles and save her parents. This family’s fate is in your hands!

Agent A & Down in Bermuda Bundle (YAK, 25th Dec, $3.19) – Outsmart a villain in Agent A: A puzzle in disguise and unravel the islands secrets deep Down in Bermuda. Two unforgettable puzzle adventures packed with mystery, exploration, and clever twists – all together in one must-have collection.

Animal Run for Kids (Asylum Square Interactive, 26th Dec, $13.49) – Get ready for a fast and fun maths race for 1 to 4 players. Dash across the track as a hedgehog or frog and use smart tactics to slow down your opponents. Solve tricky maths challenges, collect sunbeams, and play action cards to be the first to cross the finish line. Perfect family fun that makes learning mental maths exciting

Arcade Archives SPACE INVADERS (Hamster, 25th Dec) – “SPACE INVADERS” is a shooting game released by TAITO in 1978. The origin of the masterpiece that once captivated all of Japan has finally arrived on Arcade Archives! This title includes both the black-and-white and color versions, and the sound has been reproduced to the limit of how it sounded back then. Experience the timeless legend once again!

Arcade Archives SPACE INVADERS PART II (Hamster, 1st Jan) – In 1979, and again in 2026, the Invaders are returning! “SPACE INVADERS PART II” is a shooting game released by TAITO in 1979. The enemy Invaders have returned more powerful than ever, having acquired new tactics like splitting and receiving reinforcements from UFOs! With added features like the Rainbow Bonus to aim for high scores, this title is long beloved by skilled experts looking to hone their abilities!

EGGCONSOLE Carbuncle Pi MSX2 (D4 Enterprise, 25th Dec, $6.49) – This game is essentially a Carbuncle version of the action-puzzle game ‘Nyanpi,’ which featured a cat protagonist and was included in ‘Disk Station #24,’ released by Compile in 1991. Players control Carbuncle to collect all the gems placed on the map, and then proceed to the girl’s location to reach the goal and advance to the next stage.

Eradicator Genesis (GAME NACIONAL, 3rd Jan, $9.99) – AI has taken over the Earth, constructing machines and carrying out genetic experiments, giving rise to monstrous and colossal creatures. Only two humans can stand against the gigantic bosses, offering humanity a faint glimmer of hope.

FAIRY TAIL: DUNGEONS (KODANSHA, 7th Jan, $13.99) – Fairy Tail: Dungeons is a deck-building roguelike where you combine magic cards and outwit your enemies to win battles. Players control Fairy Tail characters with diverse abilities and skills, exploring dungeons within a limited number of steps. Using decks built to suit their strategy, they defeat enemies that attack them, aiming to reach the deepest part of the dungeon.

Gridz Keeper (eastasiasoft, 7th Jan, $4.99) – In the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse, the world has gone dark. Cities lie silent, their power grids fractured and failing. You are the only remaining repairman that can restore power to the last safe zones of humanity. Gridz Keeper is an action puzzler featuring 50 levels that challenge you to repair all the generators in them to move on. Each generator you repair sparks hope, but the power lines are unstable. Every switch you flip triggers any adjacent ones too, plunging some back into darkness while others flare to life. Master the grid, anticipate the chain reactions and reclaim the light one generator at a time!

Gunner-chan! (kido, 25th Dec, $9.99) – A 2.5D top-down, roguelike shooter set in a base that has been taken over by a revolt of robots.

Hypercar Racing (SuperPowerUpGames, 25th Dec, $5.99) – In Hypercar Racing you’ll enjoy the dirtiest, fastest, and most spectacular races at speeds over 200 Mp/h, avoiding multiple collisions against 8 adversaries. The game has different modes, such as Championship, Arcade, and 4-player multiplayer. Online ranking chart where you can compare your best times with friends and players from all over the world.

JDM Pixel Street Car Racing (Great Escape Games Publishing, 26th Dec, $3.99) – Get ready to dive into the exciting and adrenaline-fueled world of JDM Pixel Street Car Racing, where legendary Japanese cars meet the thrill of high-speed street races and heart-stopping drifts. Whether you’re a die-hard car enthusiast or simply a lover of classic arcade-style racing games, this pixelated adventure promises endless fun and challenges. Build your reputation, fine-tune your vehicles, and show the streets who’s the ultimate drift master!

Juiced Fruit Racing (Cascadia Games, 26th Dec, $14.99) – COUCH MULTIPLAYER CRAZINESS Up to 4 players can compete in spit-screen action. Party scoring means nobody is ever out of the game. Random tracks are picked until a player reaches 15 points. That means each round of fun can be from under ten minutes to as long as it takes to crown a winner!

MarronRoman (MIZUBLUE GAMES, 25th Dec, $1.99) – Marron, a young girl living in the fantasy kingdom of Amestaria, lives a peaceful life surrounded by magic and mystery. But one day, when she touches a mysterious white rabbit named Alice in the forest, she suddenly finds herself transported to Japan! There, she meets a Japanese boy named Ryota Shigure, and together they set out on a journey to experience the wonders of Japan’s beautiful culture. Will you join them on their enchanting one-day adventure?

M.A.U.S (Cascadia Games, 2nd Jan, $3.49) – With his children away on the moon, there is no time to relax for Dr. Cavor. Once again, Victoria is under attack. The aging but brilliant scientist begins research on a new means of defense. After much work, he finds success with Mechanized Assault Unity 19 — M. A. U. S. There’s no time to spare as MAUS must defeat a mysterious robotic horde that lurks on the outskirts of town. With a blaster gun on her arm and the ability to upgrade on the fly, MAUS will travel to outer space, ancient ruins, and an old forest to defeat her enemies. It is a quick, sci-fi adventure inspired by classic 16-bit and 8-bit retro platform games.

Nekomimi Days ~365 Days with You~ (moesoft, 26th Dec, $24.99) – On a rainy night, Yuto, a freelance illustrator, encounters a mysterious girl named Milk with cat ears in a back alley. After taking in the non-human girl, Yuto’s once-quiet daily life becomes lively and warm. Milk’s pure and innocent reactions to modern civilization gently heal Yuto’s heart. As they spend time together, the two gradually form a bond as if they were a true family. This is a heartwarming visual novel about the gentle connections that transcend species and background. Includes Japanese voice acting.

Parcel Push (Asylum Square Interactive, 25th Dec, $7.99) – A Sokoban-style puzzle game featuring 8-bit pixel art, chiptune soundtrack and 100 handcrafted levels. Step into the boots of the newest recruit of the Island Courier Guild and deliver enchanted parcels to seal points scattered across the ocean-touched isles. Play as Kai or Nami, and push, plan, and puzzle your way through a world of clever challenges to prove yourself as the next Master Courier!

PRITTO PRISONER (PinCool, 25th Dec, $9.99) – Unleash the mayhem in Pritto Prisoner, the cute and chaotic 4v2 asymmetrical party game where animal inmates lay poopie traps, spray peepee, and use special skills to outwit robot guards. Inside a notorious island prison, the world’s cutest criminals, including a gangster rabbit, an influencer cat, and even a penguin chef, are locked in maximum security under 24/7 robot surveillance. Will you scramble to freedom as a poopie-dropping prisoner, or hunt them down as a custom-built robot warden? Choose your side and jump into unpredictable escapes, chaotic chases, and laugh-out-loud clashes where no two matches ever play out the same!

SnapCat: Mia’s Cozy Adventure (RedDeer, 6th Jan) – Grab your camera and get ready for the cat-tastrophe of cuteness! No timers, no battles, no pressure—just pure, pawsitive vibes. Your mission? Track down the island’s quirky kitty residents and snap their most purr-sonality-packed poses! Wander across bright, bubbly islands that feel like an endless summer vacation—but keep your eyes peeled! These fuzzy superstars love to hide, lounge, stretch, and strike suspiciously perfect poses. When they’re thirsty, drop off a cute little water bowl to keep them happy!

ULTIMATE BATTLE SIMULATOR (Play Games, 30th Dec, $4.99) – ULTIMATE BATTLE SIMULATOR challenges you to master strategy, foresight, and precision placement. Command your army of NPC fighters, manage resources wisely, and outthink your enemies across varied battlefields. Whether you unleash endless ranks or rely on a few elite warriors, victory depends on your ability to plan, deploy, and adapt.

Up Bundle (SuperPowerUpGames, 25th Dec, $6.49) – This pack includes the games: -Golf Up -Ping Pong Up -Darts Up.

ZenWash (GAME NACIONAL, 27th Dec, $3.99) – Keep everything spotless with your high-pressure washer — no rush, no stress, just pure peace of mind. Enjoy a unique, original soundtrack designed to enhance your Zen experience. Be ZenWash.

So that’s your lot for this week’s North American Nintendo Download. Drop a vote in the poll above, and comment below with your picks!

If you’re a fan of pixel art RPGs with a hint of Pokémon in its gameplay, then you’ll want to keep an eye out for Navinosuke – The Yo-kai Buster – on the Switch. Originally developed in the early 2000s but never officially released, it’s now been updated with improved UI and gameplay for modern audiences. Developer KOHACHI STUDIO announced the revival back in June 2025, but renewed interest online in recent days has compelled us to highlight it (and the release of a certain Nintendo hardware might have overshadowed it back in June).

Scheduled for release in early 2026, Navinosuke sees you explore a fictional version of ancient Japan as you work to solve a series of mysterious disturbances caused by Yo-Kai (supernatural entities). There are more than 150 unique Yo-Kai to discover on your journey, some of which will befriend you, and others you’ll need to battle.

Navinosuke boasts a turn-based battle system that utilises support card mechanics to enhance the strategic gameplay. Much like Pokémon, many of the Yo-Kai will join you as allies to assist in battle, so you’ll want to collect as many as you can to gain the upper hand.

It certainly looks interesting, and we’ll be curious to see if it resonates with Pokémon fans who have felt a bit letdown by the series in recent years. The gorgeous pixel art visuals is more than enough to get us onboard, at least.

– A “lost RPG” from the early 2000s, reborn for modern platforms
– A unique Japanese fantasy world featuring a mechanical onmyoji protagonist
– Turn-based auto-battles enhanced with strategic support card mechanics
– Over 150 diverse yo-kai to discover, collect, and build into your party
– Planned multilingual support (Japanese / English)

What are your thoughts on this upcoming RPG revival? Let us know with a comment.

Konami has been making a bit of a comeback recently, with the studio diving back into the world of ‘AAA’ game development with titles such as Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill f, and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. It also launched Survival Kids as a launch title for the Switch 2, though we suspect that one didn’t make much of a splash, sadly.

Now, Konami appears to be preparing a new game for the Switch titled Enchanted Wonderland, as an ESRB rating has recently been spotted that also provides a brief description of the title. Naturally, no release information has been provided beyond the supposed target platform, so we’ll have to wait for Konami itself to spill the beans.

For now, here’s a look at the ESRB description:

Enchanted Wonderland is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB with Mild Fantasy Violence. Also includes Users Interact. This is an adventure game in which players explore a magical world to gather joy and resurrect a theme park. Players interact with characters, learn magic, and engage in different theme park attractions/mini games. Among the several mini-games, one space-themed attraction involves shooting lasers at UFOs; flashing and small explosions my occur when space ships are hit.

We’ll be sure to keep an eye out for an official announcement from Konami in the coming days and weeks and provide an update as soon as we can.

Are you keen to see a new title from Konami on the Switch? Let us know your thoughts with a comment down below.

Imagineer, the developer behind Fitness Boxing, appears to be teasing a new collab with the Persona series.

An official post on the Fitness Boxing social media account has shared some dialogue, and it’s displayed with a Persona 5-style user interface. Here’s what it says, according to a translation (via Gematsu):

???: What are you getting ready for?

???: Heh heh heh… This time, I’m preparing a training plan that’s a bit different from usual. After all, stamina is essential for a Phantom Thief!

Fitness Boxing has previously done crossovers with series like Hatsune Miku and Fist of the North Star.

When we get an update about this, or something more official is announced, we’ll be sure to let you know. Atlus is also celebrating Persona’s 30th anniversary this year and has already opened a new website for the big event.

Would you be interested in a collab like this? Have you played a Fitness Boxing game before? Let us know in the comments.

It’s a new year, and the video game industry is already gearing up for some absolutely huge celebrations.

The monster-catching powerhouse Pokémon will celebrate 30 years on 27th February 2026, and to kick off this special occasion, The Pokémon Company has now shared its animated logo for the 30th anniversary.

It shows Pikachu through the years and highlights how the series began in 1996. The attached message from the official Pokémon account also mentions how it all started with the release of Pokémon Red and Green in Japan (and Pokémon Red and Blue locally).

This follows on from the news that McDonald’s already reportedly has a Pokémon Trading Card Game promo lined up for the big anniversary event. You can find out more about this in our previous story here on Nintendo Life.

What would you like to see from Pokémon’s 30th anniversary? When did you first start your adventure as a trainer? Let us know in the comments.

Earlier this week, a Nintendo Switch 2 rating for Pikmin 3 Deluxe was spotted on the European age rating board PEGI.

Now, in another development, a Switch 2 version of Splatoon 3 has been spotted on the same website (thanks for the heads up, Gematsu). The difference here is Splatoon 3 already received a free Switch 2 update in June, enhancing the game’s resolution and frame rate.

As you can see below, the Switch 2 version was added on 31st December 2025. It joins the existing Switch version filed by ‘Nintendo of Europe SE’.

Splatoon 3 originally launched on the Switch in 2022, and its most recent update was in September 2025. Nintendo is also currently working on a new spin-off title known as Splatoon Raiders. This game will be a single-player story-focused experience, launching exclusively for the Switch 2.

If we hear any significant developments regarding this Switch 2 rating for Splatoon 3, we’ll provide an update.

Over the holiday season, we’re republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors from 2025. This article was originally published in November. Enjoy!

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It began with a Zelda T-shirt.

I was wearing my “It’s dangerous to go alone! Take this.” shirt while running a quick errand at the bank. The teller spotted it. He was at least 20 years younger than me, but his “Nice shirt!” comment kicked off a lengthy conversation about our shared Nintendo fandom.

Before long, he pulled out a tablet and showed me his digital fan art. It was awesome: detailed, dynamic sketches of Mario, Pokémon, and (my favourite) Metroid characters. His passion was apparent.

I told him I was thrilled by his drawings, because I know how much that work means. You see, years ago, I had a job at Nintendo that involved seeing hundreds of pieces of original Nintendo fan art. And I took some home.

This is the story of that collection, and how a handful of drawings, once marked for the landfill, became some of the most meaningful pieces of my gaming collection.

Player’s Pulse and a Pile of Precious Paper

This will definitely date me, but I interned at Nintendo during the second half of 1996. Before long, I was given complete control of Player’s Pulse, the letters to the editor section. I chose fan letters, wrote responses, and, most importantly, picked the envelope art that was displayed on those pages.

Mind you, this was nearly three decades ago, so the letters and the artwork were on real, physical paper, sent via snail mail. This was before the days of email and file shares.

I absolutely loved sifting through the envelope art because it was pure fandom: earnest, expressive, and often beautiful.

I was shocked to learn that it was Nintendo’s practice to destroy all artwork after it had been screened and scanned for the magazine! That meant dozens, maybe hundreds, of amateur art pieces in the trash bin each month.

It felt criminal to toss that effort, so I kept all the artwork that came across my desk during my short internship.

Here are five pieces of art that define the long journey of that collection:

Naomi Chiba’s Envelopes

Years after I left Nintendo Power, I read a Kotaku article about Naomi Chiba, easily the most prolific Player’s Pulse artist ever. While reading, I remembered that I had three of her original envelopes in my collection!

With help from the author, I connected with Naomi and arranged to return her artwork.

Doing so was surprisingly emotional. I hesitated when it came time to seal the envelope, but then it occurred to me that she might be the first person to ever get back the artwork that they had sent to Nintendo Power.

That’s when it hit me: this coloured paper meant something.

Quid pro Quo with Seth

The success with Naomi led me to find more artists.

Seth Hatland came next. He was so grateful to get his Mega Man X and Mario drawings back that he insisted on trading them for a brand-new piece of art as a thank you. “I’ve gotten slightly better,” he said.

What an understatement!

He sent me an incredible piece of Link that has hung proudly in my office ever since.

The Big Trade

After returning art to several more creators, I was connected with Stephan Reese (aka ArtofNP) and his non-profit Interactive Art Collection. They specialise in original Nintendo Power artwork, although he hadn’t seen much in the way of envelope art – probably because Nintendo had destroyed it all.

I ultimately agreed to add most of my remaining collection to his museum.

In return, Stephan sent me an original, professional piece made for the promotional brochure of the Nintendo Super System arcade, circa 1992. I love it almost as much as the amateur stuff, plus I’m happy to know that the rest of the fan art is in a better place than a binder on my shelf.

(I’m the “ex-Nintendo employee” mentioned in the Nintendo Life post about Stephan’s exhibit a couple of years ago.)

The One I Kept

After all that wheeling and dealing, I was left with one volume’s worth of envelopes, which hangs in my game room. Here’s Volume 92 in all its glory:

Family Fan Art

The most recent additions to my art collection are courtesy of my own kids. Is there anything better than a child’s imagination and fandom put to paper?

My oldest is studying art at Utah State University, but her early work continues to remind me that fan art isn’t just a fun hobby; sometimes it’s a training ground.

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When I look at my art collection, I don’t see discarded mail. I see a bond between the creatives at a massive entertainment company and their fans.

My new bank teller friend, with his portfolio of beautiful, detailed digital sketches, is part of a timeless, vital tradition. He’s doing what fans, including my own daughter, have done for decades: translating their hobby into a personal act of creation.

I may have initially ‘stolen’ art from Nintendo, but in the end, that art taught me a lesson: the true heart of a gaming community isn’t some corporate office. It’s the enduring, incredible passion of its talented fans.

What piece of gaming art — fan-made or official — means the most to you? Let us know in the comments, and enjoy this gallery of just some of the treasures I rescued almost 30 years ago…

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Over the holiday season, we’re republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors from 2025. This epic article was originally published in October. Enjoy!

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We may only be a few months into a shiny, new Mario Kart game with lush open worlds and challenges aplenty, but as I scrap it out in yet another Knockout Tour or pootle about for P Switches and Peach Coins, I can’t help but yearn for something a little more familiar.

It’s a sentiment shared by many, if social media is to be believed. Why not take a break to go back to a Mario Kart game where every course is a set track? A Mario Kart game I know and love? The most recent home console Mario Kart before Mario Kart World rode into town? No, not that one.

Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit turns five today and is technically Nintendo’s most recent home iteration of its behemoth franchise prior to World. I have many fond memories of this curious mixed reality experience. I’ve spent hours careening around my house through Mario’s eyes, zipping through makeshift tunnels under the sofa, dodging my children’s feet as they give chase, giggling with my wife whenever one of them would pick up Mario and plant a kiss on his nose – all blown up on the television in real time.

But as I fire it up again, I’m struck by an option presented to me on the home screen, an option I haven’t experienced in nearly half a decade of ownership of this game. Multiplayer. This seems mad to me. Mario Kart is, after all, the quintessential couch co-op experience. How could I have overlooked this entry in the series?

Quite easily, as it happens. Home Circuit is in last place when it comes to sales for the series, managing less than 2 million worldwide. And come to think of it, I’m not sure I actually know anybody else who owns it.

I need to fix this. I need to organise an all-tracks, all-in Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit Grand Prix.

The starting line

The game supports up to four players, so four players is what we’ll shoot for. My first thought is to sound out the folks who were mad enough to play through every single Mario Kart 8 track in one evening with me last year.

There are a few ‘No’s: Matt is otherwise engaged, Alfie now lives on the south coast, and Tom lives in Australia – clearly, Tom found the experience the most harrowing. Jonny and Mitchell, however, are stupid enough to agree.

They’ll need karts. A quick eBay reveals that the physical toys needed to play the game are very reasonably priced these days. I get a Luigi in box for £50 and a Mario & Luigi together (albeit with no box, chargers or gates) for £45! You only need one set of gates, so this is an absolute steal – and a great Christmas present if you’ve got a Mario Kart enthusiast who’s never tried it.

They turn up at my door a couple of days before the event, and in the interim, I get a few more ‘Yes’s – including a face that may be familiar to long-time Nintendo Life readers. But more on that later.

I ask everyone to download the free game software so we’ll be ready to go on the day. We have the karts, we have the players, we have the game; now we need the venue. My last Mario Kart was a standard living room affair, but an event like this demands something a little more theatrical.

Those who know me know that I have a background in the performing arts, and I’m still in touch with some of the lovely folks at the Watford Palace Theatre. As it happens, they have just opened up some new spaces nearby and are happy to accommodate our strange request in their Workshop Studio. It’s a big space with a wooden floor and nothing in the way – a proper blank canvas. It’s perfect.

Until I realise it’s a blank canvas. We need tracks. There are 10 Grand Prix to play through, each consisting of three races, which means I need to design 30 tracks. In two days. And I have nothing.

A wave of panic hits. I bust out the squared paper and begin drawing huge pixel images – a mushroom, a flower, a star. It’s taking hours, and I’m not sure it’ll work. My wife finds me hunched over the sketch pad – gnawing at the pencil in my hands.

“Why don’t you just use tracks from the games?” She asks.
“Because they’re massive – I don’t know how I’d even do that.”
“What, even those old ones?”

I pause. Stinging sensation of calling something from my childhood ‘old’ aside, she’s made a great point. The SNES tracks are pretty pint-sized creations, but packed with tight corners, narrow passages, shortcuts. There are some pretty iconic ones, too! Even showing up in World here and there. It’s a great idea!

“Thanks, love! Speaking of, do you want to play it for a bit now?”
“I think you should probably get your plan ready.”
“Fine.”

Spoilsport. Completely correct spoilsport.

I pull top-down images of all the tracks from Super Mario Kart and place them under a pixel grid. It’ll work well in regard to planning it out, but how am I going to size it? What am I going to use to create it? I think of genuine go-karting and the big rubber tyres that line the tracks. Big, cylindrical objects with a bit of give. And it hits me. Toilet paper. No, I was not on the toilet at the time.

Looking at my little Mario (again, not on the toilet, not a euphemism), I see he’s about two toilet rolls wide – that’s what I’m going to make my track out of. Perfectly placed pixel toilet rolls. I’ll make the tracks all four rolls wide to accommodate two racers going neck and neck and we can widen and squeeze where necessary to facilitate some overtaking and hot pursuit.

There are 20 Super Mario Kart tracks in all. I couple this with the pixel images I’ve already created (a giant recreation of each of the cup names) and we have our 30. Everything is in place for the big race.

Shopping karts

I set off for the venue with four little cars in the boot of my car. I call up Jonny on the way.

George: “Hello, have you got much toilet paper?”
Jonny: “I have some toilet paper? Why?”
George: “I’m going to pick some up to make the tracks with, I don’t suppose you have one of those big boxes of 48?”
Jonny: “I’m sorry, did you say 48? I don’t think you fathom how much toilet paper that is.”
George: “We get 48 at home. It’s not that much. It’s fine – we can grab some when I pick you up.”

Not long after this call, I pick up our first volunteer for this herculean event, it’s none other than former Nintendo Lifer, current Good Vibes Gamer Jon Cartwright! And he’s packing a spare Mario Kart, too. What a gent.

As Jon climbs into the car, he spots a bag of zip ties in the back seat.

George: “It’s normal – don’t worry about it.”

Fully accepting of this, Jon (henceforth JC) climbs in and a short while later we pick up Jonny (JB) before heading to a big old supermarket. Checking my pixel creations, I know the larger tracks need over 150 rolls to complete them, so we pick up 8 bags of 24 rolls.

Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever had a big shopping trolley stuffed to the absolute brim with literally nothing but toilet roll, but I don’t mind telling you that it gets some odd looks.

JC: “You just got the best side eye from that man.”
George: “Do you think it would be weird to tell him that we don’t have diarrhoea?”
JB: “That will make it look and sound even more like you do.”
George: “I didn’t fathom how much toilet roll this would be.”
JB: “You did not.”

Hauling the toilet paper back to the car and stuffing ourselves in alongside it, I start to break down the day.

George: “I figure each race will only be a couple of minutes. If we can build quickly and allocate 20 mins to each Grand Prix, that’s three and a bit hours. We’ve got the room for four hours – so that gives us a bit of leeway.”

I acknowledge the plan is ambitious, but I think it’s achievable. We arrive at the Palace and the construction begins.

Game Building Garage

Joining JB, JC, Mitchell, and myself this time are Alex, Janek, Artie, and Ossie. This gives us four teams of two and we pair up respectively, but not before setting to work to bring our first course, Mario Circuit 1, to life.

I’ve had the idea to tether some of the toilet rolls together to make runs of three, four, and five to speed up the building. While the rest of the team makes this work, I get the karts online. Well, I try.

George: “No! A tutorial! I need to do a tutorial for these switches.”
JC: “I’m on it.”

Jon grabs a switch and we rattle through the intricacies of ‘pressing A to go’ and ‘pressing X to honk’, amongst others.

George: “Why can you not skip this?!”
JC: “It’s agony.”
George: “Oh my god, they want us to make a track now? I just want to play!”

By the time we have set up the karts, we are already 25 minutes behind. But Mario Circuit 1 is laid out in front of us. Look at it. It’s glorious. Bring on the mushroom cup, it’s time to race!

Mushroom cup: On your marks, get set, faff!

Except it isn’t. At the start of each track you’ve designed, player one has got to drive through gates one to four in order to establish the actual track for everyone else. No big deal. The track is done, to the starting grid, everyone! Let’s-a-

Jon: “I can’t start?”
Mitchell: “Yeah, me neither.”
George: “You just press ‘X’ when you’re facing the gate.”
Mitchell: “No, it won’t let me.”
George: “You need to be looking at the gate.”
Mitchell: “I am – look!”

Mitchell’s Mario is indeed staring down Gate One. What’s going on? What we hadn’t bargained on is the game having a very specific idea about where it wants each player to start, with little floating discs their kart should be on. The trouble is, on our tight little course, this is basically on top of other racers.

Some of us manage to hit ‘X’, but if we then accidentally tap ‘A’ or get nudged as someone else is trying to get started, it undoes our ready state. It is absolutely ridiculous. A full three minutes later, we are finally ready to start track one. And it’s worth it.

It’s madness. Delightful madness. Heads are bowed, watching our screens as the toilet paper hurtles by, our teammates cheering us on at the sidelines. Yells of glee and anguish go up as items connect and the track gets absolutely wrecked. I had hoped a nice fringe benefit of tethering the toilet rolls would be that they would stay quite firmly in place if bumped into, and this worked, but I did not foresee quite how easily the single toilet rolls would be smacked around with the slightest of impacts. By lap five, it felt like we were just driving through a jungle. Look at the state of it!

Mario Circuit gives way to Donut Plains and the teammates swap over.

George: “Okay everyone, I’m going to set out the route. Just watch where my kart goes so you can stay on track and everything should stay intact.”

My words are unheeded. Another course absolutely decimated. Around lap three I notice that a Luigi is just floating around outside the track.

George: “Hang on, is that our Luigi?”
Ossie: “Yeah, I didn’t really know where I was going.”
George: “But I showed you!”
Janek: “The tracks are so narrow, it’s hard to know where you’re meant to be going.”
George: “Not if everyone sticks to the track! I planned them, they’re all wide enough for two karts. I promise. Right, I’m Lakitu-ing this.”

I scoop up Luigi and set him back on track, hastily rearranging the track rolls as I do.

George: “I think this is what we need to do going forward – teammates can be Lakitu and we need to sort of fix as we go along.”
Alex: “Yeah, sounds good.”
Artie: “Has anyone seen Ludwig? I think he’s miles ahead of all of us.”
Janek: “There’s a computer? I don’t think I’ve even seen him.”
Artie: “I think he’s been in first the entire time.”
Mitchell: “Damn it, Ludwig.”

The computer may be dominating, but things start to get back on track with the final race of the Grand Prix – the big ol’ mushroom track. Though there’s still plenty of faff actually getting the race started, the space afforded with this one actually makes for a better experience and a proper hush descends as we compete for the podium. It doesn’t last, though, because as I whip round a corner with rolls streaking by, I can’t help but laugh when I pick my eyes up from the screen and spot my Luigi.

George: “Oh my God! They look so slow in real life!”

I’m not sure I can summon the words to adequately describe the whiplash of speeding through a mountain of bog roll on a screen, to setting eyes upon the reality of a miniature toy jaunting along the floor covering a minuscule amount of floor space, but sure enough the focus we had mustered comes undone as everyone giggles at the lack of intensity the real karts are displaying. Those tight precision corners and bumper-to-bumper collisions look hilarious when you realise they’re just dinky plastic toys. 100cc suddenly feels like 10cc.

The race finishes and the horror of having a CPU take the grand prize with nearly double the points of second place is not lost on us. Time is also slipping away – it’s already been nearly an hour and a half and we’ve only managed one Grand Prix! No time to debrief, we need to get moving.

The Flower Cup. The definitely-a-Flower Cup.

Ghost Valley 1 takes shape with its infamous jump shortcut in place. I had considered building a ramp, but any thought of this is pushed aside as time ticks away. I do, however, plop a toilet roll in the middle of the narrow stretch.

JB: “What’s that?”
George: “It’s for the shortcut. It’s to add a bit of jeopardy, otherwise everyone will just use it as it’s quicker. It’s risk and reward now.”
JB: “No, it isn’t, we’re just going to plough through it.”
Janek: “Could the tracks be wider?”
George: “This one is quite wide, once we get round that first corner, it’ll be good. Ghost Valley is a classic. Trust me.”

Chaos. Everybody wipes out on the first corner except one sneaky Mario that flies through. As predicted, the shortcut also gets massacred. It’s a good race, though – I beautifully cut Luigi on the inside into first but slip down the rankings when I get nudged off course by that damn shortcut roll I had insisted upon on the last lap.

George: “LAKITU!! HELP!”

Mitchell pips it. That one stung. Ghost Valley 1 is my favourite. Onto Bowser’s Castle 1. I’d like to say cool heads prevailed as the pressure to create tracks quickly is sinking in, but –

George: “I wish we could build two tracks at a time to speed things up.”
Mitchell: “We can do that, can’t we? We’ve got the floor space?”
JC: “And another set of gates?”
George: “We don’t have enough toilet roll to build two at the same time.”
JB: “I don’t think lack of toilet roll is your problem here.”
Janek: “I think the tracks need to be wider.”
George: “The tracks are wide enough!”

They really aren’t. I’m slowly coming to the realisation that the tracks I’ve based these recreations on are, by and large, wide enough for 4-6 racers to sit side by side in-game. These are wide enough for two. Sometimes. Nevertheless, after the customary gate faff, Bowser’s Castle begins. And it’s around lap four that things unravel again.

Artie: “Oh, I’ve got a Bullet Bill!”

Cue complete track destruction. The Bullet Bill positively smashes the kart through the toilet roll and decimates any semblance of a track. We struggle to get through the last lap as Roy romps into first.

JB: “No! This is bull! I’ve been first the entire time. I’ve been robbed.”
Mitchell: “Damn it, Roy.”
George: “Of course! The toilet roll doesn’t affect him. He’s just sauntering through a normal track.”
Everyone: “Ohhhhhh.”

We probably should’ve realised this sooner. Mitchell is doing well this Grand Prix, though, and not shy mentioning it.

Mitchell: “Smashed that. I could take this.”
JB: “Nonsense.”

We construct the final track of the GP, and perhaps I should’ve foreseen things getting a bit bawdy.

JB: “Err…what are you making?”
JC: “Yeah, this looks pretty dodgy, George.”
George: “It’s obviously a fire flower you savages. I’m going to set the gates up.”
JB: “Are you going to block off parts of it?”
George: “No! We want different paths and shortcuts and stuff. Mario Kart is all about options.”
JB: “I thought it was all about rage? Blind rage.”

I proceed to drive Mario through the gates.

George: “Oh no. This isn’t going to help my case.”

Everybody loses it and I cannot repeat anything that was said as the karts shot up and down the track. The fact that it’s a nice, big track (stop it) again makes the race really enjoyable. Thankfully, Jon volunteers to demonstrate the actual scope of it:

The looping nature of the track makes for some great bumps and item hits, with howls going up all round the room.

George: “I really like it when there’s a crossover – it’s great to dodge past people when you’re going round.”

Jonny promptly smashes into the side of my kart as I say this, catching my front wheels and dragging me round with him.

George: “No! I was in first!”

The CPU has once again taken the grand prize, but Mitchell was close. We have an hour and a bit left at this point and I concede defeat on any notion of completing every Grand Prix.

JC: “Yeah, I think that would take about nine hours at this point.”

A star-studded finish?

George: “Okay, let’s do one more Grand Prix. We’ll make it a Star Cup as the track I had planned for the Shell Cup is ridiculously narrow. Like, one car wide.”
JB: “Let’s not do that.”
Ossie: “What track are we building?”
Alex: “I think it’s better when the tracks are straighter.”
George: “Agreed. No wibbly wobbly tracks. There is one I wanted to try, though.”

Some toilet rolls later.

JB: “What am I looking at here?”
George: “It’s Koopa Troopa Beach! It’s quite open, so I’m hoping it’ll give a bit more space.”

It does, as it happens. The drive through is pretty good, we’re all happily battling it out, when Alex quietly bends down and casually scoops up his kart.

George: “Are you finished already?”
Alex: “Yep.”
Mitchell: “The utter disrespect. I love it.”

My plan to finish with Rainbow Road before wrapping up on the giant pixel star is scuppered when I hit ‘Next Race’ instead of course creation as KT Beach concludes.

George: “Noooooo! Why is that the first option?”
JC: “It’s very weird.”
George: “It’s like they don’t want you to change tracks each time!”

I think about this for a second.

George: “Oh my god. We aren’t meant to change the tracks each time. It’s meant to be the environment that makes each track different. Then there isn’t so much faff setting up the gates and running through them each time. You can just set off and have a different feeling course.”
JB: “So what you’re saying is, we’ve wasted hours building tracks at your hands as the malevolent dictator of track design.”
George: “No! No, it’s still been fun. Just would’ve been much quicker.”
Ossie: “Can’t we just move the gates?”
George: “Yes! Let’s do that! Just stick the gates anywhere in the room. See, I’m not a dictator.”
JC: “So is this open-world? Are we Mario Kart Worlding it?”
George: “We are Mario Kart Worlding it.”

We spread the gates out across the massive room and proceed to race. It’s mad and brilliant. Watching our karts bomb it across huge straights. Mitchell’s Luigi is storming out front with mine in hot pursuit.

George: “I swear Luigi is faster.”
Mitchell: Of course, he’s the superior brother.”
JC: “Oh no! I’ve got a Bullet Bill but he doesn’t know where the track is!”

Jon’s shuddering kart is a sight to behold as Mitchell and I duke it out for the customary second place behind the CPU.

JB: “Where’s the computer?”
George: “He finished ages ago. He doesn’t care about trivial things like where the gates or toilet rolls actually are.”
Mitchell: “Damn it, Bowser Jr.”
JB: “Evil.”

I’ve managed to climb my way to first (second) place, swooping tightly round Gate Four, keeping my eyes off the screen and on the IRL kart. I just pinch it through Gate One and fist pumps are shot into the air.

George: “Yes! That was a great one.”

But when I look at my screen, something is wrong.

George: “Hey? It says I’m still racing.”
Mitchell: “Yeah, I just came second.”
George: “What? Oh no – I don’t think it registered a gate!”
JB: “Sure, sure.”
George: “No, really! I went through them all! You saw, Mitch?”
Mitchell: “I didn’t see anything, mate.”
George: “I can’t believe this!”

I storm back round the track and, indeed, Gate Four did not register. I feel hollow.

Mitchell: “That’s Mario Kart, baby.”
George: “Don’t even.”

Other plans have meant we are down to just JB, JC, Mitch, and myself now, and we enjoy our chunky Star Cup finale – even if the CPU takes the podium again. Though we agree the fact that none of us have actually taken first leaves us all a little bit unfulfilled…

Mario’s Migraine

George: “Okay, how about one final race, no CPU, winner takes all?”
Mitchell: “Okay – but what’s the track?”
JB: “Yeah, we don’t want any of that tight cornering nonsense.”
George: “I was going to save the best for last – a giant recreation of pixel Mario’s head.”
JC: “We’re going to drive through Mario’s skull? Okay, let’s do it.”

Look at the beauty of that track. I could weep. Now let’s tear holes in it and set the gates.

Removing the CPU element and introducing genuine stakes has the effect I had hoped for all along. A proper, focused hush falls on us as the countdown begins. Then, almost immediately:

Everyone: “Oh!”

There’s a sandstorm on the track and somehow you can feel its impact on the karts? A delightful reminder that Nintendo really can conjure up magic in any experience they put their minds to at this late stage in the day. We zip round the wonderfully spacious track and Mitchell takes first.

Mitchell: “I told you – Luigi is inherently faster.”

Seeing that lean, green machine sitting pretty awakens the green-eyed monster in me. But I play it cool.

George: “That was a great one, though! One more time, just for fun? I think we can squeeze it in. No weather effect this time and we don’t need to reset the gates.”
Everyone: “Sure!”

We replace a few stray rolls and line up again. I’m making steady progress and toward the end of lap four I’ve got a pretty commanding lead. I pull the trigger.

George: “I mean, obviously this is the real final race, right? Winner takes all!”
Everyone: “What?! No!”
JB: “You’re ridiculous.”
George: “Ridiculously good!”

I storm through the final gate. Except I don’t. Because once again, I have failed to register a gate somewhere on my last lap.

George: “What? No! No – NOT AGAIN!”

I’m rattled as I bounce from gate to gate trying to find the offender – it’s Gate Three! And fittingly, it drops me to third. I backtrack sheepishly on my previous gloating.

George: “Maybe we will count the last one as the real final race.”
JC: “Is that because you came second in that one?”
George: “Shh.”

The podium

So there you have it – our final ranked positions on what was essentially a very elaborate, one-race winner-takes-all experience. We decide to take a podium picture holding our gates.

George: “Come on, everyone, grab your rank. Jonny, you came fourth.”
JB: “I don’t accept that.”
Mitchell: “That’s Mario Kart, baby.”
George: “How did you all find it?”
JC: “Life-changing.”
JB: Decent.”
JC: “Incredible response.”
JB: “Nah – I’m only joking. It was lots of fun.”
Mitchell: “A surprisingly civilised Saturday.”
George: “Would you do it again?”
JB: “Yeah, I would. Make better tracks, though.”
JC: “I think it needs more danger. Get a dog in.”
Mitchell: “Yeah, get a dog and I’m there.”

A dog it is.

And what about me? Would I do it again? Yes, absolutely, and you should too if you can – but a few words of advice.

Don’t make a new track for every race! Setting it up is an absolute time sink and the tightness of the game tracks translates horribly into a real-life arena.

Make sure everyone has completed the arduous tutorial before you get there, and for goodness’ sake, give everyone space to start at Gate One. I cannot overstate how much time we lost just trying to start a race.

It’s so, so close to being a gem of a game – it’s just bogged down with a little too much faff and not enough getting going. Classic Nintendo. Turn off the CPU, too. You’re never going to beat a ghost that can drive through walls – keep the stakes between the real-life folks.

I would recommend the huge pixel recreations and letting the in-game effects shape the race. The pile-ups, seeing the hilarious juxtaposition between the thrill of the screen and the meandering of the real karts, the classic Mario Kart gameplay – it’s all here and really worth experiencing in four-player with the right people.

We may have failed on our quest to complete all GPs, but we had a blast trying. And hey, no matter what the outcome, at least we’ll have toilet roll on hand for months.

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Over the holiday season, we’re republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors from 2025. This article was originally published in October. Enjoy!

In the magazine business, the back page is where you’d find all the weird goofs that we couldn’t fit in anywhere else. Some may call it “filler”; we prefer “a whole page to make terrible jokes that are tangentially related to the content of the mag”.

We don’t have pages on the internet, but we still love terrible jokes — so welcome to our semi-regular feature, Back Page.

Today, Kate is confessing to a crime. But let’s be perfectly, legally clear here, just in case: this is a joke, and Kate is not, in fact, the Louvre thief. Hopefully that’s clear.

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Okay, so, look, I wasn’t trying to do a heist. This is all a big misunderstanding.

See, the Louvre is mostly known for its paintings, statues, stealing art from other countries, and being hard to pronounce for anyone who doesn’t have a French tongue. (Loov. Looooov-ruh. Loovuhrrr. Loovurhrh. Never mind.) Also, that one really famous, wildly underwhelming picture of the lady with the mystic smile.

But that’s not what I care about when it comes to the Louvre. The Parisian pyramid is the only museum in the world that used 3DSes as their audio guides, and I’ve never had the chance to try them! And then, tragically, when the museum discontinued them earlier this year, I thought to myself, ‘Well, what are they going to do with all those 3DSes? Put them into the archive, like all the rejected paintings that don’t draw a big enough crowd? I won’t stand for it.’

So, I went to visit the museum. Just a normal visit, you understand! And yes, I went in through a first-floor window via a ladder, but that wasn’t because I was planning to steal things! I just wanted to beat the crowds. And avoid the entry cost. I mean, €25 to walk very slowly through a crowd taking selfies with the Mona Lisa? That’s the real robbery here.

€25 to walk very slowly through a crowd taking selfies with the Mona Lisa? That’s the real robbery here.

It was fully my intention to walk over to the information desk, politely ask about the 3DSes, and whether a caring patron of the arts such as myself could make a donation to the museum in order to take one home, and then once they’d handed me a big box of 3DSes, I would leave down my special museum ladder.

But once I was in, well, the crown jewels were just sitting there. I thought to myself, ‘You can buy a lot of 3DSes with crown jewels money. Maybe you could even afford a single secondhand copy of Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver from CeX!’

Besides, I had a very capacious tote bag with me.

It wasn’t until I was slowly trundling down the ladder back to the streets of Paris that I even realised that I’d done a heist, or that no sane person on eBay is going to buy obviously stolen crown jewels.

So, here I am, with no 3DSes and too many crown jewels, and people keep writing articles about how cool I am, despite the fact that crown jewels can’t play Hotel Dusk or Kid Icarus: Uprising.

Look, I wrote up a comparison:

3DS	Crown Jewels
✅ Comes in many colours	❌ Comes in factory colours only
✅ Take it anywhere	❌ Can only be taken to state occasions or maybe a fancy party
✅ Customisable home menu themes	❌ No home menu themes
✅ StreetPass!	❌ No StreetPass
✅ Playable in 2D and 3D	❌ No 2D option
✅ Can play cult classic Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward	❌ Cannot play cult classic Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward

As you can see, the obvious winner is the 3DS. It’s not even close. And sure, the Crown Jewels make for some very nice hats, but I don’t even want hats. I want to play Pullblox, on a commuter train, with the option to make my eyes feel like they’re being peeled from the inside!

Crown Jewels don’t even have expandable SD card storage, so even if I wanted to take them to fancy parties or state occasions, I’d have to bring a separate external hard drive with me for all my games. Who wants to bring an external hard drive to a masquerade ball, or the coronation of the new monarch? Not me. It’s very unfashionable.

But all is not lost. I have, in fact, started to melt down a couple of the pieces, because I have an amazing idea. I may not have a Louvre 3DS, but I do have a normal 3DS, and it’s one of the ‘New’ ones with swappable faceplates. I’ve had mine protected by an understated Triforce-pattern plate for a long, long time, so I think I’ve earned a little glitz and glamour, haven’t I?

It turns out that gluing 10-carat emeralds to a bit of plastic is a little difficult, but it’s worth it. I feel like a queen, if queens knew what autostereoscopic handheld video game consoles were. It does make the thing bloody heavy, though.

Oh, and hopefully it goes without saying, but please don’t tell anyone that I did the heist, okay? I really, really don’t want to go to French prison. Or any kind of prison, really. I don’t think they let you keep your 3DSes when you’re incarcerated. Thanks.

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