Nintendo

Looks pretty darn easy, based on a video from Austin Evans. The key part starts at 5:33.

While we all await a return to Hyrule next week, Nintendo held its latest indie game showcase, which included everything from Game Boy-style adventures to a co-op raccoon simulator. We also finally got a release date for one of my most-anticipated games: My Arms Are Longer Now. You can catch up on the full event here.

I love the idea of waking up to a The Legend of Zelda themed alarm clock, but I’m less in love with the idea of silencing an alarm by handling a tiny pointed replica of the Master Sword when I’m still half asleep. The alarm clock, and a collection of other Zelda-themed items, will be available as part of an upcoming Banpresto merch lottery in Japan.

We have mixed feelings about AI, but 0:22 in this video made my inner kid jump for joy! This is what I hoped Magic Leap would be. Instead, it’s game reverse engineering bringing all my childhood dreams to life. This one’s based on the full open-source Mario64 decomp, says creator Lucas Martinic, with assist from Claude Opus 5.5. He says he’ll release a repo so people can try.

While all of the attention right now is on the upcoming remake of Ocarina of Time, Nintendo announced that it’s going to stream an indie-focused showcase tomorrow. It’ll be around 15 minutes long and air starting at 10AM ET.

Service for both the mobile and Nintendo Switch versions of the free-to-play Pokémon-themed MOBA will end on March 23rd, 2027, just after the previously announced Aeos Crown 2027 Tokyo competitive tournament is scheduled to conclude. New memberships are no longer being accepted starting today.

A quick peek at eBay reveals that just the manual for the US version of Jaleco’s Avenging Spirit currently sells for over $150. The game (with its coveted artwork) has just been added to Nintendo Switch Online’s Game Boy library along with the Shigeru Miyamoto-produced Mole Mania and Pinball: Revenge of the ‘Gator.

This is so rad — and if you have a Quest 3 or 3S and a copy of Super Smash Bros. Melee (1.02), you can try it too. It’s called Xelee, and yes, the mixed reality part is AI-coded: “Claude wrote every line of code.” The game part is from the Melee decompilation, though. I hope game companies are paying attention to the possibilities in this brave new world!

EasySMX’s upcoming $54.99 S05 Pro wireless controller doesn’t seem to leave out any features. It has a similar design to the X05 Pro, but with TMR sticks and more Switch features, like amiibo support, six-axis gyro, and one-button wake-up. More surprising are its two-stage Hall effect triggers that have dedicated rumble actuators (plus rumble in each grip). I’ll be testing it soon.

The new paid Expansion Pass adds content in waves: first, some Three Houses-themed weapons that are available today, then new playable characters and outfits coming this holiday season, and finally new stories featuring four characters that will launch in 2027.

I’ve really warmed up to the game’s art style, especially in this new trailer. And after reading my colleague Cameron Faulkner’s hands-on preview, I’m looking forward to returning to Hyrule even more. The game launches on Switch 2 on November 5th.

The latest additions to the NSO Game Boy Advance collection include Monster Rancher Advance, Metal Slug Advance, and Kururin Paradise which is a sequel to Kuru Kuru Kururin that has players guiding a spinning rotor through complex mazes. The game was only released in Japan but it now available to a larger audience.

A special edition Beats Pill puts Mimikyu and a (visibly worried) Pikachu onto the portable speaker’s grill. It also comes with a lanyard with a Poké Ball charm.

Bill van Zyll, Nintendo’s VP and general manager in Latin America, told Youtuber Coelho no Japão that the company will “go off what the consumer prefers,” and that it knows “how much the fans like” physical games. It’s no big surprise given the Switch 2’s card slot, with shareable licenses linked to its game cards, but follows Sony killing PS5 discs.

The new Switch Sports installment is coming to the Switch 2 on October 22nd and is available for preorder now. But this is the clearest look we’ve gotten at gameplay of the new sports like skateboarding, boxing, archery, power cruising, prop plane flying, and — the weirdest one by far — thumb wrestling.

Some of the earliest gamepads with analog thumbsticks were beefy devices (I’m looking at you, Duke) with quirky designs. Modder ChaosBench pushes the limits of what can be considered a playable gamepad with a supersized version of the N64 controller that requires heavy-duty springs to get its giant buttons to pop back up after being pressed.

Nintendo describes it as an “NFC Reader Writer,” and I found a vague diagram in one of the files. Maybe it’s something for amiibo? An update to the old Nintendo 3DS NFC Reader/Writer accessory, for some reason?

I’m finally playing Wind Waker for the very first time on original hardware — with my 9-year-old along for the ride! The controls and graphics are pretty rough on GameCube, though. This static recomp “BlueWake” looks amazing and runs on iOS, Mac and Windows… should I? Should I wait for the decomp?

That’s according to Gal Silver, a technician at GameTraderZero who’s modded and repaired more than 1,000 Switch 2 Joy-Cons over the past year. You can read their findings on NintendoLife but despite using older thumbstick tech, the new Joy-Cons have much improved durability with fewer issues and no instances of “drift issue straight out of the box.”

The company is hosting a “Customer Appreciation Sale” from September 13th through the 26th, calling it one of its largest promotions ever, because of the $300 million US tariff refund it received. It’ll knock 30 percent off “dozens” of Nintendo Switch games (digital and physical), DLC, accessories, amiibo, and more. Is this sufficient appreciation for you?

After installing the recent version 23.0.0 update on my Nintendo Switch 2, I can’t access the VRR settings option while it’s plugged into the Jsaux OmniCentro dock (I haven’t tried Genki’s Covert Dock 3 yet). The good news is that this dock still works post-update, but the ball is in third-party makers’ court to deliver a patch that enables VRR.

The Direct ended with the reveal of an all-new Kirby game that launches in 2027, in which the adorable pink ball seems to discover that the world is much larger than he realizes. He also gets a pretty big sword this time around.

Danganronpa 2x2 comes to Switch and Switch 2 on January 14th, 2027. It includes the original story from Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair as well as a new story in what’s called “Slayhem” mode. I cannot wait to find out what Slayhem entails.

We still know basically nothing about the game, but we do know it’ll be on Nintendo’s handheld console at some point.

The free update adds 10 courses based on ones from the original Super Mario Kart, including Choco Island 1, Vanilla Lake 1, and Ghost Valley 1. There are also two new routes coming to Knockout Tour.

Nintendo’s next sports title hits the Switch 2 in October, and it continues to look like a blast. The new trailer also details some surprisingly deep Mii customization.