Category: Nintendo News

Despite this being a Nintendo site, we’ve never made any secret of the fact that we hold a tremendous amount of affection for the Kyoto company’s erstwhile rival, Sega. Here in Europe – where Nintendo Life is headquartered – Sega was the dominant force during the late ’80s and early ’90s. While the NES, SNES and Game Boy were popular, chances are if you were a serious gamer, you had either a Master System or Mega Drive under your telly and enjoyed the likes of Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap, Sonic the Hedgehog, Streets of Rage 2 and Shining Force after you got home from school each day.

Times have changed since then. Sega’s retreat from the hardware arena may have been a sad moment, but its resurrection as a third-party publisher helped keep the company alive and has given an even wider audience the chance to enjoy the firm’s output of titles. However, Sega knows the value of nostalgia – it was one of the first to support the Wii Virtual Console for example, and more recently scored a critical hit with its 3D Classics series – so it should come as no surprise to find that it has regularly mined its back catalogue to generate extra revenue.

Sega Forever is perhaps the most concerted effort yet by the company to not only monetize its past glories but ensure they are available to as many people as possible. Exclusive to smart devices like Android and iOS phones and tablets, the Sega Forever range is made up of stone-cold gems – mainly from the Mega Drive / Genesis era – all of which are entirely free to download and play. For a small fee, you can remove the rather annoying adverts which are plastered over each game, and – despite a rather bumpy start – the level of emulation is now pretty satisfactory; Sega should certainly be applauded for ensuring that these games are available and accessible.

The big problem with Sega Forever – and retro games on smartphones in general – is one of control. These titles were designed to be played with a physical controller and require precise and accurate input. It seems that Sega is aware of this, as it has licenced the production of a Bluetooth pad which is marketed as the ultimate interface for the Sega Forever range (on Android, at least – it doesn’t appear to be compatible with iOS devices at the moment). It’s perhaps worth noting at this stage that this pad is manufactured by gift company Paladone Products, rather than produced by Sega itself.

Encouragingly, Sega has chosen what is perhaps the greatest of all its controllers as the basis for this new device. The Sega Saturn pad is simply fantastic; it has the six-button layout essential for fighting games like Street Fighter II, as well as two easy-to-reach shoulder buttons. Best of all is the rolling D-Pad which made Sega’s 32-bit underdog the console of choice for fans of 2D titles. Even today, in an era where analog control is king, the Saturn pad feels amazing.

The first problem with this new controller is that it’s not an exact replica of the original; it’s heavier and thicker, for starters. The D-Pad is still a ‘rolling’ one rather than a Nintendo-style ‘cross’, but doesn’t feel as responsive as the original. We found that the Up and Right directions were often unresponsive and needed a really hard push to register. It’s possible to become accustomed to this over time, but the bottom line is that the D-Pad isn’t as good as the one on the original controller – and given the fact that that was one of the most appealing things about the Saturn pad, that’s a crying shame.

Elsewhere, things don’t really improve. The six-button setup doesn’t feel as responsive as before, with each button feeling soft and spongy. To make matters significantly worse, there’s a fault with the controller involving the Z and C buttons; when any other input on the pad is pressed and then either of these buttons is held down, the controller thinks they’re still depressed even after you release your finger. To illustrate the impact of this fault, imagine you’re playing Sonic the Hedgehog and you’re pushing right on the D-Pad. Pressing C to jump will only work once – because the pad thinks you’re still pressing C when you release your finger from the button. In short, it makes many games totally unplayable. (On a side note, we installed an input tester to ensure this fault wasn’t something to do with the Sega Forever range or the other titles we downloaded, and it delivered the same issue).

Despite being listed on the packaging as being compatible with all of the Sega Forever games released so far, the controller works less than perfectly with several titles. We fired up Streets of Rage in the hope that the pad would improve our criminal-busting skills, but the in-game settings refused to allow us to map the pad’s buttons to exactly how we wanted, which is a real shame. The first time we loaded up Sonic CD, on the other hand, it thought that we were pushing right on the D-pad even when we weren’t touching it. Clearly, some of these issues may simply be down to the rather inconsistent nature of Bluetooth gamepad support in Android, but nonetheless, they’re frustrating problems that show how awkwardly controller support has been factored into these games.

There are positives to mention here; the bolt-on phone holder can be rotated a full 360 degrees, so if you’ve got any games which use a portrait orientation, they’re perfectly playable. You can totally detach the holder the use it as a desk stand for your handset, too. The fact that the unit is powered by two AAA batteries may be both a blessing and a curse; you don’t need to worry about charging it as long as you have a supply of batteries to hand, but we imagine that many users would have prefered an internal power unit instead.

When we first clapped eyes on this controller we thought our prayers had been answered, but sadly it would seem that Paladone Products has created a half-baked device which will it no doubt hopes will sell on the Sega brand alone. It’s a real shame that Sega lacks the capabilities to manufacturer such a controller itself – even the upcoming Mega Drive Mini is being produced by a third-party – because we’re sure if it were Sega behind the wheel, the end result wouldn’t be quite as crushingly disappointing. As it stands, Paladone’s controller is one to avoid, even if you’re a diehard fan of the firm once known as Service Games.

The SEGA Smartphone Controller for Android is available for pre-order now, with an RRP of £29.99.

August has been a pretty stellar month for eShop releases, and Nintendo has shared another highlights video to plonk some of the best ones right before your very eyes.

We get quick glimpses of Dead Cells, Overcooked 2, Prison Architect: Nintendo Switch Edition, Minit, Morphies Law, Iconoclasts, and Flipping Death, all of which are great ways to spend your time if you’re looking for a new game to play.

As it so happens, we’ll be sharing our monthly Nintendo Life eShop Selects feature over the weekend, listing our top picks from all of August’s gems. You can check out our July picks right here, but make sure to keep an eye out over the next couple of days to see which games top the list this month (spoiler: one of the games mentioned above seems to have made it into our top three).

Have you played any of these games? Are there any that you’d like to recommend to other readers? Share your top picks in the comments below for others to discover!

Bigben and Kylotonn Racing Games have released yet another trailer for the upcoming Switch racer V-Rally 4, this time showing off the final mode (or ‘discipline’) we can expect to see in the game.

‘Extreme-Khana’ is said to be the “most demanding and spectacular discipline” in the game. Drivers must complete acrobatic courses as quickly as possible while providing the best show they can, all without making a single mistake. Dominating these challenges requires a well-rounded knowledge of the game, as well as a lot of practice across all disciplines.

We’ve already seen the V-Rally Cross’ and ‘Buggy’ modes, as well as the ‘Rally’ and ‘Hillclimb’ variants, so this final video rounds off the five different options in style. If you’re interested in picking this game up when it does arrive on Switch, these sets of trailers should give you plenty to sink your teeth into while you wait.

V-Rally 4 is scheduled to be available on 11th September on other platforms, with the Switch version still reportedly coming “at a later date”. Hopefully, with that initial release date being just around the corner, we’ll soon hear of a confirmed date for Nintendo’s console, too.

Do you like the look of V-Rally 4? Have you been waiting for this one since it was first announced? Tell us below.

Yesterday saw the release of The Messenger, an “epic ninja adventure” that has been received exceptionally well by players and critics alike almost immediately. To celebrate, a short film has been released featuring all the live action ninja fighting you could possibly hope for.

Titled Shinobi No Kikan, this film was directed and produced by Imagos Films. Sabotage and Devolver Digital, the game’s developer and publisher, have said that the film acts as “an abridged story of the game’s hero”, mixing live action, animated sprites, and gameplay to present the tale of a seemingly impossible quest. You can check it out for yourself below.

If you’ve missed our coverage of the game, or want to know a little more, feel free to check out our recently posted review. We awarded it an ‘excellent’ 9/10, saying the following:

“2D side-scrolling action games like The Messenger may be a dime a dozen these days, but you’d be missing out on something special by passing this one up. Featuring a surprisingly long campaign, an incredible soundtrack and tight, challenging level designs, The Messenger stands as a shining example of great game design. We’d highly recommend you pick this one up; it’s the very definition of a modern classic.”

Have you been playing The Messenger? What are your thoughts so far?

Capcom is releasing a solid gold Mega Man statue that would look great on any collector’s shelf. The catch? It costs nearly $22,000.

To celebrate the character’s 30th anniversary – which actually took place in December last year – this statue has now been put up online for pre-order. It measures in at approximately 100mm (which is just under 4 inches), is made up of 99.99% pure gold, and weighs 90g. As mentioned above, as lovely as it is, the thing isn’t cheap, costing a whopping 2.4 million yen (approx. $21,673 / £16,711). If you’re planning to go through life without a family, mortgage, vehicle, or food, this one might be for you.

If that model is slightly too expensive, a smaller model is also on offer. At 60mm tall, weighing just a third of the original model at 30g, this smaller variant will cost you 690,000 yen (approx. $6,227 / £4,800).

If you’re sitting on an actual goldmine, or if you’d like to check out the product listings for yourself, pre-orders are being taken right here. They come with their display cases as standard, which you’d certainly be hoping for considering the price.

Are you a Mega Man fan? Would you like to have one of these on your shelf at home? Feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

If you’re not familiar with the Nintendo 64 mouse, after this video you certainly will be. YouTube channel Critbox has managed to complete Super Mario 64 using this rare and official peripheral. 

Exclusive to Japan, the mouse was bundled with the 1999 Nintendo 64DD title, Mario Artist: Paint Studio. It has two buttons – acting as A and B – and relies on swiping movements to mimic the analog stick on the Nintendo 64 controller. Unsurprisingly, Critbox found the mouse to be exceptionally accurate when firing Mario out of cannons. 

Is this the most impressive gaming feat yet? This follows a Mexican speedrunner who completed the infamous Turbo Tunnel in Battletoads blindfolded and various other people in the past who have beat games using DDR dance mats and racing wheels. 

Take a look at the supercut video above and tell us if you’re impressed. 

Given the success of the Nintendo Switch right now, it’s no surprise it continues to break existing sales records. 

According to Game Data Library, Switch retail game sales in Japan have already smashed lifetime Wii U retail game sales within the country. Compared to the five years it took the Wii U to reach this amount, the Switch hit this milestone in about 18 months. 

Taking into account the combined retail and digital game sales for Wii U in Japan, the total is 15 million. In comparison, the Switch was already at the 16 million mark in June, and is estimated to be at anywhere between 18 – 19 million in sales by now. 

Nintendo’s hybrid system has made headlines in recent months for being the top-selling system and shifting more retail and digital sales than other platforms. It’s also been doing particularly well in Japan, with games like Octopath Traveler selling out time and time again. 

Are you surprised, impressed or even relieved by this latest milestone? Tell us below.