It’s one of the finest games on the system — Image: Berzerk Studio
“the main personalities”
So I noticed a long standing trend of Nintendo life staff adapting other writers’ reviews for the video version. I understand that maybe the main personalities on Nintendo life can’t possibly play every major game thoroughly enough to put down their review, but the other issue I see is sometimes the video reviews come across like it’s your personally experience when it really isn’t. Or a reviewer puts in personal info into the review (eg. Mario Kart World) that doesn’t really make sense out of context. So my question – why not have these other reviewers also do the video version? Is it simply they aren’t as much of a personality or video reviews aren’t their thing? Thanks for answering!
BFahey3
For one, we’ve got a three-person YouTube team who earn their beans from making videos and whose expertise in that department outstrips everyone else on staff by a very wide margin. Capture cards and mics are the least of it – it’s a different skillset, and while some of our writers may have the ability, Alex, Felix, and Zion have the know-how, gear, and camera charisma to deliver the best results in the speediest time.
And yes, some of us are just better in writing. Ask my wife. – Ed.
“entertaining but useless”
Good evening and tsufufum to you, NL,
Inspired by your recent nostalgic trip through the pages of NGC Magazine, I was compelled to do the same, taking about six weeks to chew my way through all 61 issues under the NGC banner. As I went through each issue, I compiled a spreadsheet of every review featured so I could more easily refer back at a later date, and having now finished I am sharing this document in case it is useful to you as well.
Each review is listed with the issue it appears in and the score awarded, plus some feeble attempt from me to label the game with a genre. Of course, the real reason you read NGC is for their spectacular way with words, and a dry spreadsheet would be meaningless without paying heed to that, so I have also included snippets of many of the reviews in the manner of their (and your!) letters pages.
Also part of the document is a tab of “interesting” features. What counts as interesting obviously varies from one person to another so it’s got a definite slant towards things I am interested in myself, but I’ve tried to highlight features that might also be of interest to the retro public at large… like the reported Pilotwings title being developed by Factor 5, and their repeated insistence that “Nintendo DS” was a temporary name. Oops!
Finally is a list of their fake games, seen as examples in features like their Directory. Often crass, they’re mostly jabs at the various staff members who wrote the mag. This tab would probably be reviewed as “entertaining but useless”.
I would encourage anyone with even a passing interest in the Gamecube-DS era to take a look into NGC. They were scrappy, chaotic and anarchic, far moreso than their contemporaries, and the magazine has a lot of personality as a result. It’s also just fun to look back on old things that were new at the time and see how things have changed (and how they’ve stayed the same). Their speculation on what Mario’s waterpumping backpack did, what Rare would do after Starfox Adventures, the inevitability of Wind Waker 2, and what Nintendo’s “third pillar” would come to be, is all entertaining when read with the benefit of living in the future. At the very least, you’ll learn some new words to call your friends.
I wonder if any NGC alumni are around and available for interview? I’d love to read some 20-years-later gossip about how things actually ran, if Greener regrets giving Melee 95% (he was right!), and if Shedwards still has his pigs. Not including that Ed guy, of course- he already works for NL.
Thanks for the words, NL. You are the ship I jumped to when NGC sank, and I’m grateful that you in some manner keep that 100% Unofficial spirit alive.
Beebs
Babybahamut
Eyy, now you’re speaking my language! N64 Magazine was my ‘era’ (and is the reason I’m here doing this today), with that talent and spirit flowing very directly into NGC, just as Super Play fed into N64. Thank you for this – and for the massive compliment.
Alumni-wise, I’ve had plans for something vaguely in this area for a long while now. It’ll be a ways off, but keep the googly eyes peeled.
Anyway, I’m off to play some Baldy’s Pate. – Ed.
Image: Gavin Lane / Nintendo Life
“before the torches arrive”
Ok, this probably won’t go well with NL readers, but we need to talk about Game Key cards. Is it necessary to complain about them every single time a new game is announced?
Don’t get me wrong, I understand the issue for game collectors and game preservation, but as a business practice it’s nothing new. Also, players across all platforms purchase far more digital games than physical these days.
For those of us that have gone digital only for several years now, the constant complaint for Game Key cards feel similar to complaining about the lack of discs when new albums are released in Spotify or something.
I support you in your criticism of Game Key cards and I’ll keep reading the articles and watching the videos regardless if you mention Game Key or not. It just annoys me since I don’t agree that it’s as relevant to the average Nintendo gamer as the community makes it sound.
Now excuse me as I find somewhere to hide before the torches arrive. Thank you!
RenanKJ
They are rubbish, though, no?
Sure, it’s irritating when people demand two points docked from a review score because Game Key-Card, as if modern games haven’t been shipping with massive required downloads for a couple of generations. But if people want to voice their displeasure in a respectful manner, let’s not crack out the copium just yet. – Ed.
“I expect more”
How long has Sakarai needed a break for? Everytime his name comes up, any YouTuber or Journalist or random comment poster will say “Ah give that guy a break, he’s worked too much.” Well guess what? He had his break. The last DLC for Super Smash Bros Ultimate was released in October 2021. So it’s time we stopped cutting the guy slack, he’s rested and ready and it’s about time he made Kirby Air Riders and then about time he made another Smash Bros after that! He is only 55, so I expect more and I don’t feel guilty saying so. So come on Sakurai, let’s have some more games son!
YoshiTails
You hear that, Slakurai? Doing your little dev tutorial vids out of your own pocket for the benefit of the wider gaming and dev community. Everyone was here, and now they’re leaving because you’re off on a jolly. Get back down that there Smash dungeon where you belong!…
Just thinking about another Smash makes me age like I’ve drunk from the wrong grail. Get out, man. Get out while you still can! – Ed.
You got a real attitude problem, Sakurai. You’re a slacker! — Image: Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games
Bonus Letters
“If Charla (a female Charizard with eyelashes and pink bow on her head from Charizard’s burning ambitions) comes to Pokemon GO, Pokemon Gen 10, potential johto remakes and johto legends and in the future, it would be epic.” – Scott Devine
You made me google this to see if it’s a thing, Scott. And it is. – Ed.
“I had a random idea a while back: Nintendo should start producing its own anime. Hear me out: a high school romance where a boy and girl bond over their love of the Nintendo Switch. An anime adaptation of Akira Himekawa’s Twilight Princess manga. How about an adaptation of the Splatoon manga while they’re at it? And don’t forget the potential of an Xenoblade anime either. I would watch all of those.” – ShieldHero
The anime potential of Xenoblade is hard to forget. – Ed.
“Anyhoot, ever thought of a ranking article?” – Mana_Knight
On Nintendo Life? We don’t really go in for that sort of thing here. – Ed.
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.)
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How to send a Letter to the Nintendo Life Mailbox
Head to Nintendo Life’s Contact page and 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!
Gavin first wrote for Nintendo Life in 2018 before joining the site full-time the following year, rising through the ranks to become Editor. He can currently be found squashed beneath a Switch backlog the size of Normandy.