Nintendo

The Man Who Does The Impossible in Super Mario 64

Before the world knew him as Mario, Nintendo’s iconic plumber had a simpler name: Jumpman. That name makes sense, when you think about it: Mario is defined by his ability to jump. But lately, I’ve become fascinated by the people who play—and beat—Super Mario 64 without jumping a single time. Heck, sometimes they don’t even…

Everything We Know (Not Much) About Nintendo’s New Hardware

Nintendo just surprised everybody with the announcement that its working on some new hardware, codenamed “NX.” Pretty much everything about “NX” besides its codename remains a mystery, however. Lest we devolve into wild and errant speculation, let’s review what Nintendo has said publicly about its new hardware. They ‘Already Have A Clear Idea’ Of What…

You Might Not Like The Company Making Mobile Games With Nintendo

This morning Nintendo announced apartnership with Japanese company DeNA to produce games using Nintendo properties on mobile platforms. As the owner of mobile platform Mobage, DeNA is one of the most powerful names in mobile gaming, but the sort of games it’s known for won’t make traditional console gamers happy. DeNA Co., Ltd. (pronounced D.N.A.)…

What Made Super Mario 3D World So Great

We all know Super Mario 3D World is super rad. Just how rad is it? YouTuber Mark Brown took a look at the modern classic for his semi-regular “Game Maker’s toolkit” video series, and makes a case for putting 3D World in the time-honored “totally hella rad” category. That might not be the name of…

Nintendo’s Next System Is Code-Named The NX

At a press conference announcing their big mobile gaming deal, Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata has also spoken briefly (and surprisingly) about Nintendo’s next piece of dedicated hardware. Seeking to put off questions that Nintendo’s future would be entirely mobile, Iwata says that Nintendo is still very much in the “dedicated video game system market”, and…

Nintendo Will Make Smartphone Games As Part Of New Deal

Oh, don’t be upset. You knew this day would come. Nintendo announced today that the company has entered into a “business and capital alliance” with Japanese online giant DeNA. UPDATE – Nintendo also revealed that the company will remain in the “dedicated video game hardware business”, and that their next gaming platform is code-named the…

Lego Jurassic World: The Basics

What is it? Lego Jurassic World, another of those Lego games we’re always getting, this time covering the four Jurassic Park movies (including this summer’s Jurassic World). Who is making it? TT Fusion, who previously made the superb Lego Movie Videogame. Here’s a trailer… Did we play it? Yes, briefly during a demo session at…

SpotPass Exploit Gives 3DS Owners Unlimited Special Guest Miis

While recovering from a corrupted SD card on his 3DS, YouTuber Anthony Schwader discovered a means to delete Nintendo-issued mii visitors and respawn them endlessly. It’s actually pretty simple. It works like this—use your special mii character, such as the Abraham Lincoln mii sent to promote Code Named S.T.E.A.M. in all the StreetPass mini-games you…

I Wish I Liked Code Name: STEAM More

Over the last week, I’ve put in about 15 hours into Code Name: STEAM, a steampunk turn-based strategy game from Intelligent Systems. As Intelligent Systems has proven itself before with games like Fire Emblem and Advance Wars, it’s pretty easy to get hyped up about the idea of Code Name: STEAM. It’s a new Nintendo…

He Saw Her Face – Why We Still Love Metroid Prime

I left our own Kirk Hamilton with a challenge when we last discussed one of the greatest games of all time—a game he had never played: “Let’s not do it again until you see Samus’ face.” Ladies and gentlemen, people of exquisite taste, I am happy to tell you that Kirk has seen the face…

Custom “SNES” New 3DS Is Pretty Much The Perfect Nintendo Handheld

Some versions of the New 3DS share a (button) colour scheme with the original JP/PAL Super Nintendo, but you know, for some people—like me—that’s not enough. We want a complete SNES tribute. This decal pack (via Tiny Cartridge) does just that. Logos, graphics, colour schemes, it basically turns your New 3DS into a tiny Super…

Zelda Stop-Motion Animation is All About The Clay Monsters

Here’s a really cool claymation short by animator Johnny McHone, featuring Link and angry plasticine monsters. It totally looks like a Robot Chicken sketch with a little bit of Neverhood and Skyward Sword added. Must have taken a while to film the whole thing, since it was made entirely using an iPhone and Vine To…

If you’re hoping to track down the golden Mario amiibo, this Wal-Mart poster spotted by the amiibo reddit suggests you’re going to have a hard time. It’s not even out yet, and it’s already rare! Good luck!

Surely The Best Way To Play Mario Party

Step 1: get a sweet setup like this. Step 2: drink. Step 3: love/hate your friends to death. The custom N64 here (made by Zoki64) is nice, but it’s the controllers that really make it. One for each character, with the added bonus that you can also use them for Mario Kart! (via it 8-bit)

The Amiibo Rap Knows Your Frustration

This song is for anyone who has made a beeline for the video game section of their local retailer and cursed loudly at empty shelves. Musical comedy group Hot Chocolate Party apply their lyrical mastery to the Amiibo phenomenon, singing the praises of immobile plastic married to computer chips, at least until they try to…

Monster Hunter Is Killing It With The Free Extras

This is how you do downloadable content. I have nothing but good things to say about Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate’s DLC. Today, the developers released a new batch of content, all of it free. It includes new quests, Palicos, weapons, and gear—including some stuff themed after The Legend of Zelda. The DLC lets you craft…

All The Indie Game News Out Of GDC

The Game Developer’s Conference is indie game central this year. There’s so much indie new that it’s difficult to keep track of it all. Here are the major announcements compiled into one great big list for your convenience. Release dates, as always, are vague and subject to change. Super Dungeon Bros. A four-player co-op brawler,…

Nintendo Needs To Seriously Consider Making Zombiibos

I haven’t bought a single Amiibo yet, but maybe that’s because Nintendo hasn’t made one I’m looking for yet. Reddit user darkdreamr has spent some time modifying their Princess Peach Amiibo and came up with a potential line of NFC-enabled figures I can get behind: zombiibos. There’s even more detail on the backside of the…

What’s Your Monster Hunter Weapon Of Choice?

Okay, it happened. I’m hooked on Monster Hunter. I’ve held off diving into the series for years now, but the latest game, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate on 3DS, has got me. We just added it to our list of The Best Games for 3DS, and it earned its spot. This game is great. I’ve been…

A New World Record For Beating Super Mario 64 With No Stars

Did you know it’s possible to beat Super Mario 64 without ever getting a single star? Ah, the wonders of speedrunning. As spotted by Digg, here’s run by akira06072525 where they manage to beat Super Mario 64 in 6 minutes 54 seconds with zero stars. This feat is accomplished via glitching, yes, which allows akira…