Author Profile
- Username
- Lowell
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Soapbox Pokémon Desperately Needs A Rival, But Who's Big Enough To Take It On?
Time to steal some of Pikachu's pie
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Lowell considers how Pokémon could do with a rival to keep it hungry, and who might be able to step up... When Pokémon Sword and Shield brought Pikachu and...
Review Cassette Beasts - An Inventive Monster Battler That's Far More Zelda Than Pokémon
We'd die for Traffikrab
There’s something that feels right about a monster-battling creature-collecting game coming to a Nintendo console. Originally released for PC on 26 April 2023, Cassette Beasts has made its way to the Nintendo Switch where it belongs. At first glance, Cassette Beasts clearly draws quite a lot of inspiration from Pokémon,...
Review Bat Boy - 'Mega Man With A Baseball Bat' Is Fun, But Not Quite A Home Run
Shohei Ohtani meets Rockman
There’s something refreshing about playing a Mega Man-like action platformer in 2023. Instead of expansive open worlds to explore, you get a handful of themed stages to leap through. There’s no deep narrative or lore to invest in, yet the colourful cast of bad guys and allies draws you in all the same with their fun...
Soapbox If Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Isn’t Switch’s Swan Song, It Really Should Be
The most poetic end possible for a legendary console
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Lowell ruminates on the perfect end to a glorious Nintendo generation... When looking back at a console’s lifespan, there’s always a game...
Review Bramble: The Mountain King - Solid Puzzle Platforming In A Horrid Nordic Mythscape
Step aside, Hansel and Gretel
A young boy named Olle treks through dark woods after his missing sister. At first, nothing seems awry, yet he soon comes upon pinecones arranged in strange formations. Not long after, a massive shadow flits overhead. In the distance, obscured by the moonlight slanting through the trees, a massive, insidious shape...
Feature Cassette Beasts Dev On Doing What Pokémon Doesn't In A Zelda-Inspired Overworld
"We wanted to do something with a bit more maturity"
“How can two people make a monster-collecting game that does stuff that Pokémon doesn’t do?” This question was at the forefront of Jay Baylis and Tom Coxon’s early discussions on what would later become Cassette Beasts, a creature-collecting RPG with an emphasis on good tunes that...
Review Afterimage - An Attractive, Sprawling Metroidvania That Struggles On Switch
Don't walk away, Renee
There’s nothing quite like a good Metroidvania. Dense labyrinths to traverse, many kinds of demons/undead/monsters to slay, new equipment to find, hazards to leap, and, most importantly, abilities to acquire that allow you to explore even more. We’ve gotten quite a few stellar genre entries in the last decade, but now we...
Review Final Fantasy I-VI Pixel Remaster - A Beautiful And Faithful Reimagining Of The Classics
Six not-so-final Final Fantasies
Few series are as beloved as Final Fantasy, and given how many re-releases, remakes, and remasters we’ve gotten over the years, Square Enix knows this. Often these remakes and re-releases have questionable quality and design choices that diehard fans lament. Enter the Final Fantasy I-VI Pixel Remaster, which...
Guide Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Regulation Set C - Best Pokémon Teams For Ranked Double Battles
Chi-Yu is gonna be a problem
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are burning through Ranked Double Battle formats like a Skeledirge burning through a Grass-type team with Torch Song. The initial Ranked Series 1 limited the official competitive format to regular Paldean Pokémon. The recent Ranked Series 2 allo
Review Gripper - Slick, Akira-Style Biking Action With An Equal Measure Of Frustration
The music's good, though
Heart Core’s Gripper has a lot to like at first glance. Motorcycle slides inspired by the classic anime, Akira? Yes, please. Starring a stylish half-cybernetic young man named None? Weird name, but cool. A slick art style and a heavy synthwave soundtrack? You’re speaking our language. The opening cinematic introduces an...
Mini Review Storyteller - A Clever, Funny Little Puzzler From Annapurna
We want more!
Whether it’s the eye-popping The Artful Escape or the music-driven masterpiece Sayonara Wild Hearts, Annapurna Interactive has put out more than a few must-play titles on the Nintendo Switch, so when we heard the publisher's next project was a little puzzle game called Storyteller, you can bet we wanted to check it out immediately...
Feature 5 Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Quality Of Life Updates We Still Want To See
Before the DLC, please
The 1.2.0 update to Pokémon Scarlet & Violet brought a lot of nice little additions and improvements to Paldea. A handful of bug fixes — such as accurate reflection of damage done in Tera Raid battles and some quality of life updates for the in-game Pokémon PC boxes — certainly go a long way into taking the
Review Meg's Monster - A One-Of-A-Kind Adventure That Hits You In The Feels
Trust me, bro. You’re gonna cry.
There are a lot of forgettable little indie RPGs floating around on the Nintendo Switch eShop, but it’d be a mistake to lump developer Odencat’s Meg’s Monster in with them. In fact, despite appearances of turn-based battles and an underworld filled with monsters to battle, we’d argue that Meg’s Monster...
Feature Zelda Companions, Ranked - Who Was Link's Best Sidekick?
Hey! Listen!
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild brought with it myriad changes to Hyrule. Staggering levels of freedom. Plentiful shrines instead of themed dungeons. Link wearing blue instead of green. The Sheikah Slate. Breakable weapons of varying degrees of annoyance, and more. A change not often discussed was Link’s lack of a companion...
Guide Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Ranked Double Battles Series 2 - Best Pokémon, Early Teams
Pokémon from the past and future will ruin your day
The most exciting time for competitive Pokémon fans is when we get a new Pokémon game. A close second is when the ranked format changes, specifically the official double battle format. Trainers have been experimenting with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's ranked double battles since December 2022,...
Feature 9 Unanswered Questions We Have About Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
Where's Tingle at?
We’re mere months away from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s debut on 12th May. As it is, perhaps, the biggest release on the Nintendo Switch since the console’s launch year way back, we know remarkably little about the follow-up to Breath of the Wild – a game rightly hailed as one of the best ever made. Sure,
Review A Space For The Unbound - A Beautifully Rendered, Breathtaking Adventure Game
Yes, you can pet all the cats
We began our time with Mojiken Studio’s A Space For The Unbound curled up on our sofa, cup of steaming tea close by, with winter rain softly rapping against the window. Much like reading a good book, it felt right to play this slice-of-life adventure game this way; it pulled us in immediately in with its gorgeous...
Feature Fire Emblem Narratives, Ranked – Which Fire Emblem Has The Best Story?
More Dark Dragon Demon Gods than you can shake a Falchion at
Since Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade — or just Fire Emblem as it was known in the West — made its way to the West on the Game Boy Advance thanks to the popularity of Marth and Roy in Super Smash Bros. Melee, the series has filled a cutthroat, tactical RPG void on almost every Nintendo...
Feature Why Is Splatoon So Popular In Japan?
Nintendo is squids in
It happened almost overnight. One day in May 2015, Splatoon merch appeared everywhere in Japan. Baby inklings dangled from kids’ backpacks. Squid-girl stickers adorned pencil cases. Convenience stores advertised raffles for figurines, coffee cups, and Splatoon-branded bags. This explosion of Splat-swag was perhaps more of a...
Review The Outbound Ghost - A Heartfelt But Ultimately Thin Paper Mario-Like
Pale imitation
Described by developer Condradical as "Paper Mario + Undertale" on the game's Kickstarter page, The Outbound Ghost garnered some attention with its aesthetic and gameplay along with its premise: the residents of the town of Outbound all quite suddenly died. Many of them have lingering burdens that keep them from moving onto the...
Guide Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Ranked Double Battles Series 1 - Best Pokémon, Strategies
Early picks for the most powerful ‘mons and battle strategies
Attention all Pokémon Trainers – are you ready for the first ranked season for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet? As of 2nd December until 4th January 2023 you can participate in Ranked Battles Season 1 online with the ‘mons you captured throughout your playthrough. However, with new...
Review Ship Of Fools - Roguelite Deck Defence That's A Blast With A Mate
Cannon fodder
If you’ve ever played a roguelite, you’ve seen it all before. Head out on a run, collect resources and equipment, fail at some point, use those resources to purchase upgrades, and try again and again, getting a little bit further each time until the Big Evil is defeated. In an increasingly crowded genre, Ship of Fools adheres to...
Feature Poké Ball Onigiri: A Review - Which Poké Ball Tastes Best?
Made with real Pokémon!*
Pokémon – both the games and the anime – have always featured food prominently. Moomoo milk, sodapops, slowpoke tails, and more recently curry mixes and sandwiches – there’s no end to the edible and drinkable in the Pokéworld. We’ve even covered Pokéfood before on Nintendo Life, both reviewing Japan-exclusive...
Review Jurassic World Aftermath Collection - Evokes The Best Film, But Gets Tedious Without VR
Clever girl(s)
Few franchises captured the minds of children everywhere like the original Jurassic Park film did in 1993; it kicked off an entire dinosaur craze while maintaining much of the novel’s poignant message exploring the perils of genetic engineering. Jurassic World – 2015’s revival starring Mario Chris Pratt – had nowhere near the...
