If you’ve played Pragmata on the Switch 2, then you’ll know by now that it’s a pretty solid port from Capcom. Visuals look nice, it performs well, and it’s just a damn good game through and through. But what if you could push the performance even further?
Well, as demonstrated by the chaps over at Digital Foundry, you can, and it’s all tied to GameChat. So essentially, playing the game normally will yield a frame rate of around 47-53fps depending on the situation, but if you shrink the display down while using GameChat, this will actually increase the frame rate.
So when playing with the GameChat display set to ‘medium’, the frame rate will increase up to around 58fps, while shrinking it down even further boosts it up to that 60fps sweet spot. The reason? According to DF, decreasing the size of the display will also shrink the resolution down, with the ‘medium’ size yielding results of 432p, and the ‘small’ size coming out at 360p.
It seems, however, that this is a quirk limited to RE Engine games from Capcom, at least at the time of writing. Similar tests were performed on Layers of Fear from Bloober Team, and it seems that using GameChat at all, regardless of the display size, negatively impacts overall performance.
So, is it ideal? No, far from it. But if you’re adamant about playing Pragmata at 60fps, then it looks like you can do so by loading up a GameChat screen and shrinking the display down. Bonkers, right?
Will you be testing this out? Let us know your thoughts with a comment in the usual place.
The “classic” Zelda format has been on hiatus for a little while now. Echoes of Wisdom certainly tapped into a nostalgic vibe, but for a new top-down Zelda, you’ve got to go all the way back to 2013’s A Link Between Worlds to get your typical set-up of unlockable dungeons, Sage collecting, and puzzles with clearly-designed solutions. Even then, it was a lot more open than the 2D titles before it, thanks to Ravio’s item rental. My point is, Zelda is a different beast in this post-BOTW world, and who knows when Nintendo will next return to its roots?
Fortunately, we don’t need to sit around waiting for the House of N to get that classic Zelda fix. Many other developers have picked up the mantle in recent years, but few have reminded me of SNES Hyrule quite as much as Square Enix’s The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales.
You might recall this one rounding out the July 2025 Partner Direct. I wouldn’t blame you if it slipped your mind, however. The HD-2D art style, while still gorgeous, is hardly as groundbreaking today as it was back in 2018, and that name… talk about word soup, eh?
A demo arrived shortly after its reveal, which, upon closer inspection, had more than a little Zelda in its DNA. All these months on, I see that the Hylian vibes have grown even stronger.
I was lucky enough to go hands-on with an even bigger chunk of the game at a recent Square Enix preview event, where I played through roughly 90-minutes of dungeons, battles, and a good helping of open-world exploration. My biggest takeaway is that ‘Elliot’ is how you remember your first Zelda game, overflowing with mystery, puzzles, and adventure possibilities. Nobody does Zelda quite like Nintendo, but Square Enix is taking a damn good run at it.
Just in case this one slipped your mind, ‘Elliot’ is an action RPG from Square Enix’s Team Asano — the team that brought us the likes of TRIANGLE STRATEGY, Bravely Default, and the Octopath series — alongside Bravely Default II co-dev Claytechworks. It follows a young hero named Elliot (funnily enough), who, joined by his fairy companion Faie, sets out into a monster-filled open world and hops through time to save a princess.
It’s all so very Zelda-coded that if Tingle had cropped up in one of the rooms, I wouldn’t have batted an eyelid.
If that’s not ringing any bells for you, well, the set-up is Zelda to a T, and while Elliot is a little more chatty than the mostly-silent Link, Faie is absolutely Navi, Tatyl or Tri — albeit a slightly more useful variant with a ‘Partner Chattiness’ option to tweak to your liking.
My demo started in the Doorway Ruins, a dungeon that appropriately greeted me with a huge, red locked door. Taking the side routes led me through a series of bouncing-light mirror puzzles, treasure chests, bombable walls and solutions hidden between multiple floors, all before a final boss key kicked me back into the very room I started in to unlock that first passage and face the boss inside.
It’s all so very Zelda-coded that if Tingle had cropped up in one of the rooms, I wouldn’t have batted an eyelid. But there’s more to ‘Elliot’ than mere imitation. While the puzzles and dungeon layouts themselves were immediately familiar, there’s an unexpected depth under the surface.
Take Elliot’s combat skills, for example. We’ve all seen the sword, bow and arrow, bombs and boomerang before, but this hero can wield them like no 2D Link ever could. Aside from the ability to aim in all eight directions, there’s an upgrade system that packs in bonus abilities in return for collectible Magicite — shards of which can be found in smashed pots or monster remains. These boosts include arrows hitting multiple enemies, self-aim projectiles, or more powerful swing in certain scenarios, and they can be toggled on or off as you please.
Adding even more variety to proceedings, Faie comes with a batch of special abilities of her own. A few I saw include granting Elliot a burst of speed or warping abilities, but some of these can also apply to combat. The ‘Ignite’ skill, for instance, lets Faie chip away at enemies on one side of the screen with flame attacks, while Elliot takes a more traditional sword-and-shield approach on the other. It all allowed for a level of customisation that made exploring the overworld a blast.
Once I left the dungeon, I was only able to see a small section of what Philabieldia has to offer, but I was immediately drawn to the snowy Whiterea region; it’s so densely packed with secret caves, micro dungeons and shrines, I could have spent my entire time in a small segment alone and still only scratched the surface. Bearing in mind that the overworld and all its challenges will change as Elliot travels between different ‘Ages’ (think Hyrule as Child Link vs Adult Link in Ocarina of Time), this promises to be a rather beefy adventure.
I spent my time getting to grips with the attack patterns of the impressively varied enemies, collecting cats (yes, really), and uncovering hidden paths to yet more loot, but this was one of those joyous preview sessions where I could scan the room and see 10 different journalists embarking on 10 different missions.
I’m sure that the titular tale of ‘The Millennium Tales’ will be interesting enough to keep us on the main path (I didn’t really get a sense of any narrative in this brief look), but for all those prone to getting lost in a side quest or two, watch out for this one.
It should go without saying, but yes, this HD-2D joint is another stunner. The character sprites are just as detailed as we’ve come to expect from this art style now, but perhaps more so than any HD-2D title before it, the backdrops feel truly alive. Be it the glint of a treasure chest on a far-off platform, or the glow of a fire enemy in a dark cave, Philabieldia is a treat for the eyes — I’m already making an advanced apology to my screenshot button for the repeated mashing that’s in store.
I should note that my preview took place on PS5, but based on everything I saw in last year’s Switch 2 demo, I’m hopeful that the game will hold up every bit as well on Nintendo’s hardware as it does on the more powerful system, especially as it’s only coming to the newer Nintendo console, unlike Octopath Traveler 0. Keep those fingers crossed, folks.
With a final bit of dungeon exploring under my belt (in the wonderfully fantasy-named Dragon Pillar Dungeon, of all places), my preview came to an end. If the demo had my curiosity, this session fully had my attention. June is already looking like a busy one, but I’ll certainly be putting some time aside to see what else ‘The Adventures of Elliot’ has in store for me.
The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales launches on Switch 2 on 18th June.
Will you be checking this one out next month? Let us know in the comments.
Whether the Switch will actually surpass 160 million sales and beat the PS2 is touch and go at the moment, but launching the console in a new region might give it the boost it needs to cross the finishing line.
Yes, according to Day Zero Media, Nintendo may be gearing up to release the Switch in India in 2027 at 20,000 rupees. It’s said that only the original model is being released, so no OLED Model, no Switch Lite, and certainly no Switch 2. That said, this would mark the first instance that the console is officially available in the region, with Redington said to be handling distribution.
You can get the console in India via the grey market at similar prices, and Day Zero Media states that the Lite is also comparable at around 18,000 – 21,000 rupees with the OLED Model sitting at around 35,000. Still, Nintendo hasn’t had an official presence in the region for quite a while – you’re looking at the Wii and DS era – so this could be a pretty big deal.
It’s hard to say just how successful such a launch would be 10 years after the Switch’s original release elsewhere, but with well over 1 billion people living in India, it’s safe to say that the console would probably receive a sizeable boost in sales.
Whether that boost is enough to push the Switch over 160 million lifetime sales is anyone’s guess right now. And hey, Sony could still find another 5-10 million PS2 sales down the back of the couch. Either way, we’ll have to wait until Nintendo or Redington make an official announcement.
What do you make of this? Do you think an official release in India will help the Switch’s lifetime sales? Let us know with a comment.
Suika Game took the world by storm when it first launched back in 2021. The simple gameplay loop of matching pieces of fruit to make bigger fruits has spawned a fair few clones in the years since, and now, Namco’s getting in on the hype.
Developer BeXide has announced that it is teaming up with Bandai Namco on Namco Legendary Mountains, an upcoming Switch and Switch 2 puzzler that throws the likes of Pac-Man, Dig Dug and more of the studio’s iconic figures into the Suika structure.
The objective here is similar to the game that so clearly inspired it: land two matching figures next to each other to transform them into a larger object. The twist is that this all takes place in a 3D ‘dish’, which you can spin around to see the puzzle from all different angles. The figures themselves are little voxel capsules, with more unlocking the longer you play — if the promise of an adorable voxel mouse isn’t enough to keep you coming back, we don’t know what is.
Here’s a rundown of the game’s key features and a handful of screenshots from its Steam listing:
■ How to Play Simple controls. Just toss the Voxel capsules into the field!When two voxels of the same kind collide, they transform into a larger one.Keep them on the field—don’t let them fall! ■ Immerse Yourself in Classic Titles with Dedicated Stages & Sounds Alongside a main stage that blends elements from multiple titles,you can enjoy dedicated stages for these all-time classics:PAC-MAN, DIG DUG, XEVIOUS, MAPPY, and THE TOWER OF DRUAGA! Beyond just the visuals, the iconic music will take your gameplay to the next level! ■ Collect Over 100 Unique Voxels Clear various challenges to keep unlocking new ones! Build your favorite lineup and enjoy a fully customized experience! ■ Build Your Own Gallery Showcase your collection in the “Collection Room.”Arrange them freely to recreate your favorite memories or build the ultimate crossover universe! ■ Aim for the Top in Score Attack! Relive the thrill of carving your name into the arcade high score board. Compete in online rankings against players worldwide to claim the top spot!
BeXide hasn’t given a specific release date for this one just yet, though we do know that it’ll come our way at some point this Summer, so keep those eyes peeled.
Will you be checking out Namco Legendary Mountains on Switch (2) later this year? Let us know in the comments.
Good morning, everyone! It’s a new week, which means it’s time to see what’s going on in the world of boxed game sales in the UK.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle launched on the Switch 2, and so finds itself at number 2 in the top 40. Platform split indicates that the new release vastly outsold other platforms at 99%, with PS5 and Xbox likely hovering at under 1% each.
A great start, then, and a clear message that customers are very eager to get their hands on big ports for the Switch 2. That it’s one of few major releases to come fully packed on the cartridge is a huge bonus, too. Still, it wasn’t quite enough to beat Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream to the top spot.
Nintendo’s weird and wonderful life sim continues to perform well, and this may be sending a message to the higher ups that supporting the OG Switch is going to be a worthwhile endeavour for the foreseeable future, especially as a Switch 2 price hike looms in the distance.
Enough waffling – here’s the full top 40, with platform breakdowns for games available on Switch, Switch 2, and other consoles:
Apple will relaunch Apple Intelligence and Siri platforms with new Apple Foundation Models. Despite Google’s involvement, Apple will maintain its privacy stance.
When Apple Intelligence was revealed during WWDC 2024, Apple had a hybrid system in place that would ultimately fail to deliver. Delays ensued, and it seems that the long wait is over for Apple’s true AI strategy to emerge.
According to the Power On newsletter, Apple won’t be compromising on privacy with its new AI efforts. While the report is colored with suppositions and conjecture about what is coming, it lays out a fairly clear picture.
Apple will not be compromising on privacy for the sake of better artificial intelligence.
There aren’t any new details about Apple’s AI efforts. It repeats everything we know about the upcoming strategy and paints a picture of loss, shortcomings, and desperation on Apple’s part.
Of course, I don’t see it in quite the same light.
Apple’s place in the AI race
The AI industry lurched ahead of Apple with increasingly powerful models that could perform seemingly amazing tasks. The demos have always been something spectacular, like out of science fiction, but the real-world use has been something a little more mundane.
Apple doesn’t need to win the race if it controls the track
People have become upset that their sacrifice of the world’s knowledge and data has led to very little. Some AI is great and accelerates human workflows, but the cost to our financial markets, component availability, and environment has been incredible.
Apple has missed out on the hype cycle around AI, but has thrived in spite of it. It keeps having record quarterly results without any significant updates to its AI systems, which contradicts the grifts being sold to investors.
With ChatGPT set to become cash-poor by 2028 without an influx of cash and the general public becoming increasingly angry at AI companies, Apple’s position couldn’t be stronger. It isn’t one of desperation and failure, but one of success due to patience.
I’m not saying that Apple wouldn’t have been happy to see its initial launch go more smoothly. Nor am I saying Apple wouldn’t have released upgraded AI sooner if it could have.
It all just seems to be a happy accident. But instead of wallowing in self-pity, Apple is doing what it does best.
Apple is about to bust into the industry late with a solution that actually meets people where they are.
Apple’s privacy stance will hold
Expect WWDC 2026 to reveal a lot of what Apple hopes to accomplish through the following year with AI. However, it won’t reveal everything, like explicit details about working with Google Gemini.
There are also rumors of Apple renting AI compute space from Google, which is likely given the state of the market. However, users don’t need to worry that Apple is sending data to Google servers.
Whatever servers and GPU clusters Apple uses, they will be operated no differently than Private Cloud Compute with data privacy protections in place. It is no different than Apple renting data servers from Google or Amazon for iCloud.
Those companies don’t have access to the data. Period.
Apple’s AI strategy
Anyway, the new Apple Foundation Models will be the central backbone of Apple’s new AI strategy. They will run both on-device and in Private Cloud Compute to parse data and complete tasks on behalf of the user.
An on-device AI that stays out of the way
Most users will likely interact with Apple’s AI systems and Siri using these base models and nothing else. It will be the default, and after the Gemini training, will likely be more than enough for the features Apple will reveal during WWDC.
Anyone who wants to ignore AI on Apple platforms will be able to do so.
For those who want other options, Apple is providing developers with an API. The OpenAI relationship is fraying, and Apple will likely boot them from their privileged positions with iOS 27.
Instead, apps like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude will be able to be installed from the App Store and become endpoints for Apple Foundation Models. That means whether you’re invoking Siri or general Apple Intelligence programs, you can send data to third-party AI for parsing and execution.
Such integrations will maintain user privacy through the use of the API. Apple will likely establish that developers must adhere to strict privacy rules to access the API or face being revoked from access.
If Apple doesn’t go that route, then at the least, Apple will warn users of the privacy risks of using third-party models.
Apple has spent over a decade telling users that their iPhone is private and secure
The end result is a new set of (hopefully) capable Apple Foundation Models powering every AI interaction on iPhone with privacy and security intact. Users will also be able to tap into their favorite, arguably more capable, AI models as they need or want to.
Apple won’t need to be the best in the AI space. Instead, it will have a strong enough base offering with the option of supporting external AI models as an expansion of its ecosystem.
Sure, Apple is late in doing this, but coloring it as some kind of desperate move seems odd. It’s Apple doing what Apple does best, and that’s disrupting an established market with a better business model targeted at user needs above profits and grift.
Apple will own the AI ecosystem by playing host to every model on its powerful hardware while offering good-enough models on-device.
WWDC 2026 will begin on June 8 with a keynote address. Expect it to be an AI-focused event considering the amount that will need to be covered in the space.
Yoshi is just days away from returning in the new Switch 2 exclusive Yoshi and the Mysterious Book. After all of the news, previews and other information and footage surfacing online, we’re wondering who will be checking it out on release.
If you haven’t already taken a look at our preview here on Nintendo Life, below is a brief sample. You can also see this new entry in action in our video above.
“Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is much of what made the series so cute and accessible in recent entries, but there is a surprising amount of depth under the hood.”
Yoshi and the Mysterious Book will launch on 21st May 2026 for $69.99 / £58.99 in stores, and $59.99 / £49.99 digitally (or your regional equivalent). So, will you be getting Yoshi’s new adventure next week? Vote in our poll and leave a comment below.
Will you be getting Yoshi and the Mysterious Book? (1,016 votes)
Got something you want to get off your chest in our monthly letters page feature? We’re ready and waiting to read about your game-related ponderings.
Each month, we’ll highlight a Star Letter, the writer of which will receive a month’s subscription to our ad-free Supporter scheme. Check out the submission guidelines at the bottom of this page.
Let’s sit back with a warm beverage and go through our dispatch box…
Nintendo Life Mailbox – May 2026
“Very inspirational” (***STAR LETTER***)
Dear NintendoLife,
The Miis in Tomodachi Life always look like they are having the best life. You could say they are “Living the Dream.” They go through the ups and downs of life in a rapid pace, from breakups to making new friends. Even when they are down in the dumps, they always recover and get back up. Very inspirational.
I had broke up with my girlfriend recently, and it really hurt. Tomodachi Life taught me how to recover, by doing something you love (Playing Tomodachi Life) and talking with others. It really inspired me to recover and get back up, because if the Mii’s can do it, I can. I didn’t think Tomodachi Life would have been so inspiring.
ParakerriRush
Glad to hear you’re doing well. Video games, eh? They’re pretty good. Important to remember the ‘talking with others’ bit, too. – Ed.
“weird pimp sim in a blimp”
Image: Nintendo Life / Nintendo
21 April marked 10 years since the passing of the former performer and artist formerly known as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (or formally speaking, that Love Symbol thing for which no Unicode equivalent exists).
Prince was unapologetically himself: a pop powerhouse; an irresistibly bombastic iconoclast who rewrote the rules of what popular music meant and who it was for; a proud, purple peacock.
…A bit like Waluigi really. Or at least, like what Waluigi could be if he were allowed to realise his true potential.
For the sad fact is, we’ve never had a dedicated Waluigi game.
Wario has had plenty, ranging from his rapid-fire micro-game series to 2D (and even 3D) platformers. Luigi has had his mansions, as well as New Super Luigi U — part of an entire year dedicated to the Green Machine. But Waluigi? Squiddly nowt.
Now, you could argue that Waluigi is really just an extra to make up the numbers in sports games, there for the sake of four-player symmetry and nothing else. And you’d be entirely right. But also missing the point. Because this isn’t about what Waluigi IS, but what he COULD be, given the chance.
If someone asked you, “what would a Tingle game look like?” and you replied “It would would be a sort of weird pimp sim in a blimp featuring the characters from the Wizard of Oz”, they’d think you were mad. But they’d also let you make that very game and it would go on to sell… averagely and never get a Western release. But the point is, it got green-lit.
So I ask you, “what would a Waluigi game look like, should one be miraculously purple-lit?”
Let your imaginations run wild.
I feel it would probably have some musical component, partly because I can’t break the Prince connection, but also because Nintendo has a habit of making music a core part of their games’ aesthetics (Zelda, Mario, Donkey Kong, and even Splatoon follow this pattern). However, in order to justify its existence, it would have to touch on a gameplay-style that Nintendo hasn’t yet put its twist on.
It struck me that Nintendo has never really done a Souls-like. So how about it Ninty? A musical Souls-like in which Waluigi is armed with an array of instruments which act as his arsenal: overwhelm enemies with sonic blasts from Walguigi’s flying-L guitar which he summons with Townsendian windmills (naturally the guitar doubles up as a literal axe); melt off foes’ faces with ripping sax solos; batter your opponents into oblivion as you take them for bongos.
…Either that or they finally release Project Giant Robot but the robot is now an enormous animatronic Waluigi and it plays like Doshin the Giant except set to Jashin mode all the time and it’s called ‘Project Washin Machine’ and your goal is to destroy as much of the city as possible before a super-sized Donkey Kong comes and punches you to pieces.
…Those are just a couple of my ideas. I have more, but I fear I’ve already breached the character limit. So I here I am, humbly soliciting ideas from you, the Nintendo Life writership and readership.
The world is dark. The news is grim. Discord and darkness abound, and I feel we could use a Year of Waluigi to turn this ship around.
Yours purpley, Waaaaaxz
I would very much enjoy Waluigi taking on the ‘big bad’ mantle in the next 3D Mario. Bowser and family need a break, and who better to keep King Koopa’s throne warm? I’m picturing the wiry purple goblin-dude draped over it, possibly holding a suggestive, glowing staff.
Alternatively, Dr. Waluigi. But he’s an orthodontist and each level is a different Mushroom Kingdom regular coming in for dental work. – Ed.
“the ultimate feature”
I think GameShare is an undervalued feature. If you think about it, it’s really hard to play many games in 51 Clubhouse Games without GameShare. Now, what would make GameShare the ultimate feature is if Nintendo brought in GameShare support for Splatoon 2 and Splatoon 3. I don’t have Splatoon 2, but if Nintendo brought in GameShare support for Splatoon 2, I would buy Splatoon 2 (but not the Expansion Pass because i have Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack) the day support launches. Also, if Splatoon Raiders is good and has GameShare support that would be great and I would probably buy it. Ben
It’s definitely a handy tool for anyone who’s still rocking some Switch 1s in the house, though I haven’t yet had much use for it myself. I’d like to see Nintendo design a game around it – something that relied on multiple screens. It’s got potential.
Straight Wii U ports seem possible, too, where the docked Switch 2 streams the GamePad screen to another system in your hands. I’d love to see Nintendo Land playable in some form on Switch. And bring back Affordable Space Adventures. – Ed.
Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life
“quite frankly”
“What’s your favorite Mario game?” “Super Mario RPG.” “No, what’s your favorite mainline Mario?” “Why would you clump SMRPG with the likes of Mario Party?”
It seems to me that more people are assuming that “mainline Mario” is a thing, even though I haven’t seen a definition of what “mainline” even means.
“SMRPG isn’t mainline because it wasn’t directed by Miyamoto.” “Then Super Mario Galaxy is just a spin-off.” “SMRPG isn’t mainline because it isn’t a platformer.” “Then Super Mario 64 isn’t mainline because it’s more of a sandbox game. And Super Paper Mario would be mainline.”
I get it—SMRPG is a very different experience than Super Mario Bros. I think a taxonomy that makes more sense would be having two main groups—Mario “adventure” games and Mario “play” games. Mario “adventure” games tend to be single-player focused and have some kind of a story while “play” games usually focus more on multiplayer. This would make 2D Mario, Mario RPGs, and 3D Mario all types of “adventure” games and Mario Kart, Mario Party, and Mario sports as types of “play” games. Yet this system isn’t perfect—Mario Pinball Land would classify as an “adventure,” but its gameplay feels more arcadey.
I feel that there has to be a better way to classify these games. If SMRPG is just a spin-off, then SM64 is also just a spin-off. Both are radically different takes on the Super Mario Bros. formula, and quite frankly, SMRPG had more actual platforming. Fan of Mario RPGs
Any genre label’s usefulness rests upon how quickly it communicates general meaning to the widest audience. Criticism of ‘Metroidvania’ is 100% valid in that it requires specific knowledge (in this case, the exploratory, ability-limited search-action structure of Metroid and Iga-era Castlevania games) to make any sense. It’s jargon that persists because it’s handy shorthand for those who use it most.
Likewise, most game fans (and even non-gamers, I’d argue) would understand ‘mainline’ Mario to be a 2D or 3D platformer. It signifies Mario games where jumping is the primary verb – where he’s a ‘Jump Man’, if you will.
Lumping everything else together as ‘spin-off’ is just a byproduct of defining the traditional jumping games, not a useful label in itself. That’s why we separate our Mario RPG and Mario Sports and Mario Partys into their own lists, plus further subdivisions. If I were new to gaming, I’d be annoyed if I asked a pal to recommend a Mario game and they made me buy Jamboree.
Then again, I find Mario Party as fun as shingles. – Ed.
Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life
“happy camper”
I gotta say, I wasn’t expecting to be a Nintendo adult! I was raised on PlayStation and my first experience with Nintendo was with the GameCube. Of course, decades later things changed to put it lightly and here I am thinking the Switch 2 is one of my all time favorite consoles.
There’s something relaxing and joyful and fun about playing Nintendo games I didn’t realize until getting older. And in an already difficult world, having something that brings you joy no matter its imperfections means so much.
Now if we can get Doom: The Dark Ages, a Sleeping Dogs port and a Kid Icarus Uprising remake, I’ll be a very happy camper. Antonio Denis (ATD)
Agreed on all fronts. The variety is the real joy, with all the gloomcore survival fare and pastel-coloured cosy confections you could ask for, and absolutely everything in between and out to the sides. And Nintendo games spanning multiple decades. Not a bad offering. – Ed.
Bonus Letters
“I wish I could swap pikmin like I can trade Pokémon. I have doubles and my friends don’t have the same ones and I can’t share ” – alex
I wish I could swap Louie for someone more pleasant. A Waterwraith, perhaps. – Ed.
“I’m not as bothered by how Ganon broke free each time.” – YarrCaptainJuan
That’s all for this month! Thanks to everyone who wrote in, whether you were featured above or not.
Got something you’d like to get off your chest? A burning question you need answered? A correction you can’t contain? Follow the instructions below, then, and we look forward to rifling through your missives.
Nintendo Life Mailbox submission advice and guidelines
Letters, not essays, please – Bear in mind that your letter may appear on the site, and 1000 words ruminating on the Legend of Heroes series and asking Alana for her personal ranking isn’t likely to make the cut. Short and sweet is the order of the day. (If you’re after a general guide, 100-200 words would be ample for most topics.)
Don’t go crazy with multiple correspondences – Ideally, just the one letter a month, please!
Don’t be disheartened if your letter doesn’t appear in the monthly article – We anticipate a substantial inbox, and we’ll only be able to highlight a handful every month. So if your particular letter isn’t chosen for the article, please don’t get disheartened!
How to send a Letter to the Nintendo Life Mailbox
Head to Nintendo Life’sContact pageand select the subject “Reader Letters” from the drop-down menu (it’s already done for you in the link above). Type your name, email, and beautifully crafted letter into the appropriate box, hit send, and boom — you’re done!
It’s time for yet another edition of Box Art Brawl, and we’re going virtual.
Before we strap a plastic peripheral to our faces, however, let’s take a look at last week’s showdown, where a trio of covers for Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind went head-to-head. Despite some close competition from Japan, it was the North American design that came out on top, snapping up 44% of the vote. Japan came in second with 37%, leaving Europe to claim the remaining 18%.
This time, with a bunch of new titles joining the Nintendo Switch Online Virtual Boy collection, we’re taking another look at the library and picking out a pair of covers for Galactic Pinball. It’s pinball on the Virtual Boy, what’s not to like (aside from the headaches)? Naturally, there’s no EU design to showcase this week, so let’s meet the two contenders…
It’s colourful, it’s bright, it’s… pinball? Honestly, while there’s certainly some pinball paraphernalia on display here, it’s not quite as flipper-filled as we’d expect. A bumper and a rail can only do so much heavy lifting when the most iconic part is obscured by the VB logo. Still, it’s not too bad on the eye.
The Japanese cover dares ask the question: what if Picasso painted a pinball machine? It’s a bit all over the place, but there’s no denying that it’s interesting to look at. And hey, there’s a certain charm to those mid-’90s 3D graphics, isn’t there?
Which region got the best Galactic Pinball box art? (722 votes)
North America71%
Japan29%
Thank you for voting! We’ll see you next week for another edition of Box Art Brawl!
Hamster Corporation launched its new retro series Console Archives for the Switch 2 earlier this year, and it apparently wants this library to be even bigger than its Arcade Archives collection.
During a chat with Famitsu recently, Hamster’s CEO and founder, Satoshi Hamada, noted how Arcade Archive’s “target of 800” retro releases should just be a “point” passed by Console Archives at some stage.
While this amount of releases might be hard to believe, if any company can actually achieve this goal, it’s probably Hamster, as it has already released more than 500 titles for its Arcade Archives series and adds new retro games on a weekly basis.
“Arcade Archives had a target of 800, and we’ve already done over 500. For Console Archives we want to beat that. Actually, now we feel like 800 titles should just be a point we pass along the way. Just in terms of the number of titles, there are a lot more home console games than arcade games, so we want to make a series where we can go further.”
You can see the other games for this expanding retro series in our guide here on Nintendo Life.
Have you purchased any Console Archives games yet? What else would you like to see Hamster add to this library and Arcade Archives? Let us know in the comments.
