Category: Nintendo News

Love them or hate them, the MSU-1 audio enhancement patches are here to stay and the effervescent, passionate community of hobbyist hackers and music producers at Zeldix have been on a non-stop roll of releases during this month. 

We’ve rounded up most of those projects on this news post and who knows, one of your old favourites might have just got an audio makeover.

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It is an odd coincidence we have Irem’s Super R-Type featuring in the news not once but twice in the same month. This early-generation Super Nintendo shmup can now be played to the soundtrack of the Playstation 4 exclusive R-Type Dimensions thanks to the combined efforts of PepilloPEV and FullGameZone.

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While we eagerly wait for Nintendo to once again return us to video gaming’s most famous flight club, you could do worse then replay the original Super Nintendo Pilotwings to a new soundtrack. Credit for this one is all on Kurrono.

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Speaking of Kurrono, he also takes full credit for making Ultraman: Towards the Future slightly more tolerable for anyone outside of hardcore tokusatsu fans by replacing the game’s soundtrack with the music from the TV show. The game remains awful, but at least it sounds epic.

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Another first party Nintendo title and a massive undertaking by Conn, Kurrono and Enmet since Super Mario All-stars soundtrack features over ninety tracks spread across all four games. You are now able to replay some of the finest platform games ever made to a brand new, high quality soundtrack.

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Warning: A huge MSU1 audio patch is approaching! (sorry, we couldn’t help ourselves…). A new MSU1 shmup audio enhancement means that PepilloPEV has been on a roll as of late. Despite some technical difficulties that have stumped even Conn, you can now enjoy Taito’s Darius Twin to the soundtrack of Darius Burst Chronicles (a game we would certainly welcome on the Switch, hint hint). If you are familiar with Zuntata‘s work you already know why this one is rather special.

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Yuzo Koshiro is a celebrated music genius not only because of his mastery of chiptunes but because of his versatility and ability to get the possible best sound out of different hardware. Case in point: Super Adventure Island‘s unique tropical themed soundtrack, different in style to the Streets of Rage techno anthems or ActRaiser‘s symphonic suites. You can now give this soundtrack a new spin thanks to the efforts of PepilloPEV and Kurrono. Master Higgins approves!

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The Super Nintendo version of SimCity is rather special; while keeping true to Will Wright’s original city management simulator it also offers “the Nintendo touch” in several aspects of the game, such as your advisor Dr. Wright, Bowser replacing the unnamed giant lizard creature that attacks your city, the way the colours shift according to the seasons and the delightful soundtrack by Soyo Oka. Thanks to the combined efforts of PepilloPEV, FullGameZone and Car FlightGames you can now manage your city to success or ruin to a lovely high quality soundtrack.

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Disney Pixar’s revolutionary Toy Story can now be played to the PC CD-Rom red book audio or Sega Mega Drive’s chiptune soundtrack thanks to PepilloPEV and Enmet. To infinity and beyond, indeed.

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We will never truly get a definitive conclusion on whether Disney’s Aladdin is a better game on Super Nintendo or Mega Drive – both are excellent in different ways. One thing we can be certain of is that by adding voice overs and the movie soundtrack to Capcom’s version of the game, it is taken to the next level of brilliance. What was the that old saying again? “Arabian nights, like Arabian days,More often than not, Are hotter than hot In a lot of good ways!”

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Last but not least is another huge undertaking by Conn along with daniloroxette who managed to replace the entire soundtrack of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie’s Double Trouble with the Overclocked Remix album Double the Trouble. If you ever needed a excuse to replay Rare’s final accomplishment on the Super Nintendo, this is a great one.

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Any of your old favourites made the cut this time? What other Super Nintendo classics would you like to play along with digital audio? The comments sections is yours.

Merge Games is bringing Red Hook Studios’ Darkest Dungeon to retail, it has been revealed.

The award-winning RPG launched last week on the eShop, but fans of boxed games will be pleased to learn that they will be able to get their hands on a physical version very soon.

It’s due for release in March 2018, and will feature the original Darkest Dungeon game as well as the two DLC expansions: The Crimson Court and The Shieldbreaker. It’s expected to retail for €39.99 / £34.99.

Merge Games’ Managing Director, Luke Keighran, remarked:

We are over the moon to be working with Red Hook Studios. Darkest Dungeon is a fantastic brand and working with the Red Hook team has been a joy. We believe Darkest Dungeon: Ancestral Edition will be warmly welcomed by retailers and fans alike.

Red Hook Studios’ Co-President, Tyler Sigman, said: 

Many fans have been clamouring for a physical edition of the game, and Merge Games was the right partner to help us get this done! We’re thrilled for people to have the option to buy a retail box…and we’re going to be keeping a few copies in our personal libraries, too!

Will you be picking up the physical version of this one? Let us know with a comment.

Consoles like the NES, SNES and Game Boy may just be fashioned from circuit boards, chips and plastic, but they’re a portal to a seemingly limitless world of possibilities and will, for many players, have provided a wondrous backdrop for entire childhoods.

London-based artist Jing Zhang was recently commissioned by Sony to create an infographic for its “Parents’ Guide” which added a little more magic to the reality of gaming tech, and she was then inspired to do the same for other classic hardware – mostly Nintendo-based. The images crack open some of the most iconic consoles of all time and add a little bit of fantasy to the internals.

The series features the NES, SNES, Game Boy, DS, Switch and Wii.

Even though we’re perfectly aware that all that lies inside our beloved consoles is cold, hard tech, we’d much prefer it if they contained some of the elements shown above.

It’s safe to say the Nintendo Switch port of WWE 2K18 didn’t have the best of starts when it launched at the end of 2017 – just check out our review for more grisly details – but can its latest post-release patch get the wrestling machine back on its feet?

The patch, due for release on Thursday, will be the third one for Switch and while the second saw some marginal improvements to in-game performance, WWE 2K18’s woeful slowdown was still a significant issue. The patch is now live on PC, PS4 and XO and its arrival on Switch will, according to publisher 2K, bring it in-line with these other versions. Whether that means it will actually be playable is another matter, but we’ll be updating our WWE 2K18 review next week so look out for the official Nintendo Life verdict.

Would an improved version of WWE 2K18 be enough to coax you back, or do you think the sports sim port is beyond repair? We’d love to hear your thoughts…

Atari is a name synonymous with video games, and though the company may have famously imploded and nearly taken the whole industry with it back in the early 80’s, it somehow managed to still stick around as a software manufacturer. One of the most successful brands in Atari’s portfolio is the Rollercoaster Tycoon series, a sort of real-time strategy game centered around building and efficiently running a theme park. Now, there’s a chance that it could be seeing an entry for the Switch.

Atari recently opened an investment campaign for a brand new Rollercoaster Tycoon on the Switch, with a minimum funding goal of $10,000. Seeing as this isn’t a KickStarter, the minimum donation amount is $250, but those who pay will get their money back plus a little extra, if all goes well. Though it seems a bit strange that Atari has had to turn to crowdfunding for this, it nonetheless would be a welcome inclusion on the Switch eShop.

What do you think? Will you be funding this? What did you think of the Rollercoaster Tycoon series? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

At this point in time, Nintendo has cleanly put the Wii U behind it, and most developers have followed it in abandoning ship. Apart from those few indie studios that made promises long ago to bring their games to the Wii U, the console is all but dead. Still, every now and then, there’s some notable activity surrounding the Wii U and today is one of those rare days.

GalaxyTrail just announced that it put out an update for the Wii U version of Freedom Planet, adding in a new adventure mode starring Milla. Though it’s nothing strictly new—this content has been available elsewhere for some time—it’s still exciting news for those that picked up the game for Wii U. As for Switch owners, Freedom Planet 2 has been heavily teased for a release on the console, and GalaxyTrail has expressed interest in porting over the original game, too.

What do you think? Will you boot up the Wii U to give this a try? Are you excited for Freedom Planet 2? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

If you thought 2017 was a big year for Nintendo Switch, you’re about to have your metaphorical socks blown off because it’s only the start of the year and we’re already racking up an impressive lineup of games. We’ve already shared our recommendations on the biggest retail games headed to the Nintendo Switch in 2018, but now it’s time to show some love to those smaller titles making their way to the Switch eShop.

The ‘Nindies’ revolution is in full swing, and 2018 is only going to further cement Nintendo Switch as the home for independently developed games. From blood-soaked platformers and colourful roguelikes to physics-bending bridge builders and heart-wrenching puzzlers, Switch already has an overflowing schedule, and these are just the ones we know about right now…

Night In The Woods – 1st Feb

One of the most critically acclaimed indie games of 2017 is about to take over 2018 – and Nintendo Switch for that matter – when it launches on the platform in February. It’s one of those games with a central mystery we really don’t want to ruin for you, but imagine if Wes Anderson made a game, sprinkle in some of Life Is Strange’s melancholic Americana and you’re just scratching the anthropomorphic surface. A 2D adventure game with bags of personality you simply need to own.

Dandara – 6th Feb

The Metroidvania subgenre might be a crowded tier of Nintendo Switch, but that doesn’t mean there’s no room for innovation and new ideas. Take Dandara, which sees you exploring an open-ended world of full of mysteries to un-mystify and oppressed people to un-oppress. The big mechanical selling point here, however, is the power to defy gravity and walk, leap and clamber across almost any surface, creating a unique sense of player agency to all that exploring and combat. A Switch sleeper hit waiting to happen.

Gal Metal – 8th Feb (Japan)

Music-rhythm games are a staple in Japan, but when you take that genre, give it to the creative mind of Tak Fujii and throw in the motion controls of Nintendo Switch, you know you’re in for a treat. Gal Metal is all about unlocking your inner little drummer boy/girl by turning your Joy-Cons into virtual drumsticks. TLDR: you’re a drummer in a metal band and you need to use your perfect percussive timing to fight an alien invasion. What more do you need to know?

Owlboy – 13th Feb

One of the most hotly anticipated indie games of the last few years, Owlboy is finally set to arrive on Nintendo Switch in February. Despite the fact Nintendo’s new platform hadn’t even been announced when the game was originally released on PC, its colourful pixel art and challenging platforming mechanics are pure Nintendo in inspiration. Being able to fly, fling objects and explore as a half-human/half-owl creature already has us sold, never mind the ability to play it in handheld mode.

Fe – 16th Feb

The 3D platformer is a well-worn path in 2018 – and a tough one to walk considering the likes of Super Mario Odyssey and Yooka-Laylee already on Switch, but Fe aims to do something a little different by introducing the power of song. The creatures that inhabit the dark Nordic you’ll be exploring can all be controlled by the power of your voice, ranging from birds and bears to all manner of plant life. It’s rich almost Gothic aesthetic brings a new artistic dimension to the humble 3D platformer when it leaps onto Switch this February.

Flyhigh Works has announced that it will be publishing OPUS: Rocket of Whispers on Nintendo Switch.

Rocket of Whispers is the second instalment of the OPUS series, following the footsteps of OPUS: The Day We Found Earth – a game that we really enjoyed in our recent review. This new title takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, telling the story of John, the son of a rocket engineer, and Fei, a witch who awoke from twenty years of cryogenic sleep.

Throughout the game, players will explore and scavenge the snowy wasteland of OPUS through a top-down perspective, overcoming the treacherous weather and terrain. As they gather materials for the rocket, the story behind the demise of their world will slowly unfold through the ruins and artefacts they find.

As mentioned in the announcement tweet, we can expect more details on this release soon. Until then, though, why not check out the launch trailer above and let us know your initial thoughts in the comments? The music alone has us excited already!

With many of Nintendo’s top franchises already seeing huge releases on Switch such as Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey, as well as those featuring in upcoming titles such as Kirby Star Allies and Metroid Prime 4 to name but a few, many fans have been left wondering if and when we’ll see an Animal Crossing game launch for the system.

While it seems almost inevitable that an Animal Crossing title will hit the Switch at some point, a recent trademark filing in Japan gives us reason to hope that we might be hearing something sooner rather than later.

The trademark application reportedly mentions a variety of purposes including software for a home video game machine, portable electronic game machine, and smartphone devices. It even goes as far as mentioning stuffed animals, game machine controllers, board games, playing cards, protective carrying cases, trading card games, and more.

Just because all of these products are featured in the application doesn’t mean that we’ll definitely be seeing a sudden surge in Animal Crossing merchandise across the board, but the ‘software for a home video game machine’ and ‘portable electronic game machine’ listings certainly do sound promising for Switch players.

Of course, until Nintendo decides to officially announce anything, we are still non the wiser as to when we might actually see the next game in the series. Until then, though, feel free to let us know what you’d like from an Animal Crossing game on Switch in the comments.