FC 26 is probably the best version of the series we've ever had on a Nintendo console. It is has all the modes (including a fun new manager option), is enjoyable to play, especially locally, and even looks good. And you can play it handheld! Unfortunately, if your...
UPDATE (09 October 2025): Well, guess what... it was a Pikmin reveal after all! However, rather than teasing a new game the short updated video (now featuring visible Pikmin) is the first official release (and showcase) for Nintendo Pictures, their new animation...
A review of the Pokémon Friends available for the Switch, Switch 2 and on Mobile.
Comic Con Africa is back (a little earlier this year). Starting today, Thursday, 28 August and running through to Sunday, 31 August, the event held in Johannesburg has promised to be bigger and better than ever. And while this year, that means over 3 halls, 300...
A review of Donkey Kong Bananza on the Nintendo Switch 2.
When even the famed game Director Masahiro Sakurai makes a joke about the fact that his game is somewhat similar (at least in general theme) to Mario Kart World, you'd be forgiven for wondering why Nintendo is dropping another character-focused, item-wielding racer to...
A review of Mario Kart World on the Nintendo Switch 2.
The Alarmo is a bright and colourful little gadget that typifies what we love about Nintendo; It's weird, wonderful and arrived out of the blue. It's going to have fans who are going to absolutely love it. However, its steep price and less-than-ideal functionality...
just be DK’s Odyssey moment. From a young Pauline and crazy transformations to wacky mini-games and a surprisingly deep moveset, here are five things that left us grinning like Cranky in a banana shop.
It's always fun to get some new tech, and after around 8 years, we're thrilled that we received the Switch 2, Mario Kart World, the Switch 2 camera, and a few little extras (including a brand-new Pro Controller) during Nintendo's Midnight Launch Event. We'll be diving...
A review of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD on the Nintendo Switch.
After Nintendo's big Switch 2 Direct earlier this month, Nintendo today (17 April 2025) gave us a show focused exclusively on their first big tentpole Switch 2 title: Mario Kart World. Considering Mario Kart 8 (its original Wii U form) launched back in 2014, it has...
Well, that was the Direct we've been waiting for! Yes, it's been a long time coming, but we now have all the details about the upcoming Switch 2. If you're a big Nintendo fan, it's probably watching the whole around-60-minute showcase, but here's a quick recap for...
Breaking News: Nintendo Official Reveals the Nintendo Switch 2!
A review of Mario & Luigi: Brothership on the Nintendo Switch.
A review of Sonic X Shadow Generations on the Nintendo Switch.
A review of the excellent Super Mario Party Jamboree on the Nintendo Switch.
A review of Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition on the Nintendo Switch.
Should Nintendo fans attend Comic Con Africa 2024?
A review of the Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door remake on the Nintendo Switch.
A welcome re-introduction to Peach’s own adventures with excites us for the future but falls a little flat this time around. I am super happy that Peach finally has her own game. Sure, there have been some solo outings in the past – but with Mario, Luigi, DK, Yoshi...
Splatoon's fresh take on the roguelite genre is interesting in principle but doesn't quite hit the right balance between grind and enjoyment. I really loved Splatoon 3. In fact, it was our 2022 Game of The Year. Sure, it wasn't a huge departure from either of its...
A review of the the Mario Vs. Donkey Kong remake on the Nintendo Switch.
A quick written review of the remake of the Super Mario RPG on the Switch.
Some childishly fun microgames with great use of the Joy-Con motion controls make for a good experience with a friend, however, a strange story premise, Wario's trademark 'humour' and short playtime means it's not much more than a flimsy party trick. WarioWare games...
A simply joyous rejuvenation of Mario 2D platforming that had us smiling from start to finish. A true delight. It's been a while since we got a brand-new entry into the Mario 2D side-scroller franchise. Super Mario Maker (and its sequel) were great in their own...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK18JdBKFQA Superstars celebrates and modernises the look and feel of the original Sonic games. Tight, responsive controls and a few excellent levels/boss fights are real highlights. Unfortunately, a baffling use of Chaos Emerald...
An in-depth review of Detective Pikachu Returns available on the Nintendo Switch. A okay sequel that just isn’t the bolt of brilliance we’d hoped it would be.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meCfaSvfCzE Earlier today (22 September 2023) I got the chance to try the Super Mario Bros. Wonder demo that's been made available to all Comic Con Africa 2023 attendees at the Nintendo booth. The demo was timed and only parts of what I...
Today (21 September 2023) the Comic Con Africa team invited us to a special preview of what this year’s event is going to be all about and all we can say is… we’re SUPER excited! Not only is there a wide range of fandoms, artists and games being celebrated… but this...
A quick recap of the 8 things we’re most looking forward to for the upcoming Super Mario bros. Wonder 2D side-scroller.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FnoHrzjT-s A tight, responsive platformer adorned by beautiful hand-drawn animations and enchanting music. Humourous writing and great voice performances spotlight the whole cast and a good selection of multiplayer options make it a...
Pikmin 4 is like a remastered greatest hits album from that talented indie rock band that everyone forgot about. It brings together everything that thevserieas has done well in the past and packages it up in a way that will appeal to a whole new audience while also...
A quick review of the HD Ports of Pikmin 1 and Pikmin 2 for the Nintendo Switch which launched in July 2023.
A review of Lego 2K Drive as played on the Nintendo Switch OLED. This review focuses on the offline, single-player content of the wacky open-world Kart racer.
The Super Mario Bros movie is the perfect blend of nostalgia and family-friendly fun. Fans of the games will find a huge number of callbacks and references to look for, while some stellar animation, amazing music and a big dose of wholesome humour means almost...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pqfb1ro8_xA Are you a Super Mario Bros fan living in South Africa? Do you want to relive your favourite Mario memories on the big screen? Well, now is your chance! We are happy to announce that Ster-Kinekor (@sterkinekor) will be...
Kirby's adventure into other dimensions with updated comic-like visuals and a mouthful of extra modes probably makes it the best way to play the game today. However, the most interesting and enjoyable platforming is all stuck in the second half of the game after quite...
Here at The Nintendo Gamer we can’t wait for the upcoming Super Mario Bros. movie and we’re so excited that we have a bunch of fun stuff planned for the coming weeks all celebrating our favourite moustachioed man, Mario and the awesomely eclectic gang that call the...
It's always a great time when Nintendo holds one of its Direct events and this morning was no exception. The February Direct was packed full of exciting news, game trailers and surprises, making it hard to pick out the highlights. But, we'll do our best to break down...
Earlier today (7 February 2023) Nintendo revealed their latest sales figures and the numbers for this little hybrid console that could continue to astound and amaze. According to the report, the Nintendo Switch has officially sold over 122.5 million units. That means...
While there is no question that Pokémon Violet suffers from disappointing visual and (occasionally) even game-crashing bugs, it also somehow manages to be the most engaging and refreshing take on the main series in years. I happily sunk many, many hours into our...
Can you believe it... we're somehow just over a week away from the end of the year! Back when The Nintendo Gamer officially launched in January we aimed to provide a friendly space for local Nintendo fans to get news, opinion pieces and reviews. And now after our...
Yesterday, we got the second trailer for the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Movie. After Mr Miyamoto and Illumination CEO Chris Melandri's customary appearances, Anya Taylor-Joy (Princess Peach) and Seth Rogen (Donkey Kong) also said a quick hello - and we even met...
Sonic Frontiers' venture into an open world (especially on the Switch) is a really promising but occasionally flawed experience. While it's already a (mostly) enjoyable game, it is the obvious potential it shows for where the series could go in the future that has us...
Back when Switch Sports launched we already knew that Golf would not be included and would only be added later. As many people's favourite sport from the Wii series, this was quite disappointing. However, it has given us something to look forward to and honestly a...
Earlier today Nintendo not only revealed all the new tracks coming in Wave 3 of the Mario Kart 8 Booster Course Pass, but they also revealed that we won't have to wait long to play them. The eight new tracks will become available on the 7th of December 2022. The...
Yesterday (14 Nov) Nintendo and their 'Squid Research Lab' announced the first big update to Splatoon 3. Officially called " Chill Season 2022" the new content will be hitting all players with an active Nintendo Switch Online membership on the 1st of December. There's...
Yesterday we were treated to another great Indie World presentation and even though it was only around 25 minutes long there was a long list of great titles coming soon to the Switch. Keen to find out what were our favourites? Check out our list below... Venba (Autumn...
Hey, video game fans! We know we've had some great titles hitting our consoles over the last few weeks (check out Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope Review here as an example) but if you're anything like me - you can't wait to find out what's on the horizon... And while...
Sparks of Hope, while a little slow to start off, is the definition of a good sequel (keeping the good stuff while making some welcome changes to the old formula). By adding layers of strategy it is sure to keep fans of the genre engaged and by including a multitude...
We have just watched the Direct for the Super Mario Bros. Movie and although it was super short, it did feature Mr Miyamoto and Chris Melandri as well as a few words from Chris Pratt and Jack Black. However, best of all it also gave us our first trailer for the movie....
While we're all sitting and waiting for the Super Mario Bros. Movie Direct later today, the Pokémon Company has decided to distract us with a 14-minute trailer for Pokémon Scarlet/Violet that dives into a few new features of the game and shows off a brand new...
We already knew a teaser trailer was coming on Thursday (6 October) during the New York ComiCon, however, it seems we're actually going to get some more information about the upcoming Super Mario Bros. movies. Earlier today, not only did we get the first teaser image...
Back in July 2022, you may have heard that Nintendo had acquired Dynamo Pictures. Don't worry if you didn't though, as the acquisition did go a little under the radar. The major reason is that Dynamo Pictures isn't involved in making video games - at least not...
You know the Pokémon marketing machine is in full swing when celebrities start appearing next to Pikachu on the train or in a full-spread advert in your favourite magazine. And this year it seems they've even gone a step further. After dropping a few hints last week,...
Comic Con Africa is back and actually started yesterday (22 Sep) and will be running until Sunday 25 September. If you're still on the fence about attending, we had the opportunity to visit the venue on Wednesday and we're happy to report it's all looking pretty great...
Splatoon 3 improves on almost every aspect of the previous games in the series. And barring some connection issues and making finding modes/new areas oddly tough, Splatoon 3 is an outrageously fun game and easily in our running for 2022's best Nintendo game....
Earlier today Nintendo treated us to another jam-packed video game presentation. While it seemed to show off a few more farming sims than we knew we needed and there were some notable omissions of things we were hoping to see (Mario movie trailer, Metroid Trilogy...
Hey Nintendo Fans... It's finally happening! Yes, despite world events we are getting a Nintendo Direct this week. As announced earlier today, there will be a full-length (Approx. 40-minute) Nintendo Direct happening tomorrow, 13 September 2022 at 16:00 PM local time....
Back in August, I wrote a piece for NAG.co.za where I asked: "So, just how big is Splatoon for Nintendo?" - and basically concluded by saying that it's really become one of 'Nintendo's tentpole franchises – up there with the likes of Mario and Zelda'. Now, if you're...
If you were anywhere near social media over the weekend you probably noticed that Disney was having a big event where they revealed a bunch of new info about upcoming games, tv shows and movies. Yes, so that means a lot of Marvel and Star Wars news probably filled...
This weekend Ubisoft presented their Forward event and while most of the talk was about Assassin’s Creed - those of us with eyes on Nintendo Announcements also got some more info about Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope. First, we got a flashy new trailer showing off a...
Yesterday we got another trailer for the upcoming Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet titles coming to the Switch later this year on the 18th of November. The new trailer gave us a more detailed look at the three main story paths we will be able to take in this new...
As we hurtle towards that last third of 2022 - it's been a bit of an up-and-down year for games. Sure, we've had some monster hits like Elden Ring and Forbidden West on other platforms. However, if you look at it objectively it's hard to argue that the Switch hasn't...
Hey, all your octolings out there! This is just a small public service announcement to remind you that the Splatoon 3: World Premier Splatfest starts tomorrow and the free Demo is already available for download. Having already downloaded it - we can confirm that for...
Kirby's surprise second entry on the Switch in 2022 is a fun multiplayer experience especially in short bursts - providing something for new players and those hoping for a little more strategy too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaFPk_6-uoM On today’s menu, we have...
Yesterday (10 August), the Splatoon 3 Direct happened and it covered and revealed a lot! But never fear - here's a quick bulleted recap of all the news: 1. Stages: Turf War 4v4 is back - new moves Squid Surge (jump up walls in a single move), Squid Roll (jump out of...
Good morning Inklings! We know there are millions of you out there... and you'll be happy to know that we'll be getting more info about Splatoon 3 later today. As announced on Monday Nintendo will be hosting a special Splatoon 3 Direct today. As per the official press...
Earlier today (03 August) we got another Pokémon Presents video showcase and while there were some smaller announcements the big news was all about Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. As explained in the official news release (which has all the details and is worth checking...
Hey, all you Pokémon fans! Be sure to tune in here at 15:00 today (03 August 2022) for another Pokémon Presents video showcase. What's in store for those that watch the presentation? Well, the official announcements said: ...updates on Pokémon apps and video games,...
It's finally here! Yes, after much speculation about when Wave 2 of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass would arrive and what courses would be included, earlier today we finally got the official reveal and announcement. You can watch the official video here:...
Earlier today, Nintendo Switch Sports got its first big update. The headline update (pictured above) now allows you to use the Joy-Cons and Leg Strap during the 4v4 and 1v1 football matches. However, that's not all Volleyball also gets a bit of an upgrade with new...
We recently reviewed Mario Strikers: Battle League and barring the lack of single-player content and a few other tiny niggles we really enjoyed the tremendous multiplayer-focussed arcadey football mayhem (check out our full review here). However, we do know that many...
It's a random Tuesday in the middle of July - so just about the perfect time to announce a new game coming this Summer, right?! Well, Nintendo thinks so. Yup, earlier today we got a surprise announcement (along with a fun new trailer - included below) for Kirby's...
Other than having some content locked behind frustrating pay/pre-order walls, this is an almost perfect nostalgic collection. If you love the original Sonic games, Origins is simply one of the best ways to revisit them! Growing up I was (as you've probably...
Back in 2018, I had the opportunity to review both the Robot Kit and then later the Toy-Con 03 Vehicle Kit for another local site (those reviews still live somewhere on the world wide web if you want to search them out). I had a blast with both kits, they were...
LEGO Super Mario got a big new addition yesterday as it was announced that the Koopa King would be joining the brick-built bunch. Unlike the smaller play-focussed Mario, Luigi and Peach-themed sets that were targetted almost exclusively at a younger audience, The...
After a few eagle-eyed fans noticed that a few videos on Nintendo's various platforms went private earlier today, rumours once again started swirling that the Switch Pro was on its way. Of course, Nintendo fooled everyone again, announcing a special Splatoon 3 Edition...
It's competition time! Yup, The Nintendo Gamer has joined forces with the local Nintendo Distributor team and they're ready to give away prizes if you can swing, kick and spike your way to victory in Nintendo Switch Sports! For the next few weeks, every Saturday you...
Despite a significant lack of single-player fun and some other small but frustrating missteps, Mario Strikers: Battle League provides a visually stunning, madcap competitive experience that has us hooked. For those out there that have been Nintendo fans for years,...
I think this week was a pretty significant week for Nintendo. Not only because we got two (rather) big presentations that were all about the Switch, but more importantly because neither showcase had anything to do with Nintendo’s own first-party games. Now, don’t get...
After the Nintendo Direct Mini Partner showcase finally gave us official news about Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope, today we got a deeper look at the stunning new adventure, led by creative director Davide Soliani, during Ubisoft's special Showcase for the game (which...
Nintendo held a somewhat unexpected partner showcase yesterday. While the mini-Direct obviously didn't have any first-party content - there was still a lot to enjoy and believe it or not even Mario managed to make an appearance! Here is a quick runthrough of all the...
Looks like Nintendo is doing it all their own way this month. While so many were predicting or at least hoping for (myself included) a fully-fledged big E3 this month - they've decided to opt for two smaller hyper-focused Directs. Last week, we got the Xenoblade...
After weeks of speculation, rumours and predictions – yesterday Nintendo presented their (somewhat unexpected) June Direct. Of course, we all assumed it was on its way. However, the fact that the Direct only focused on Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was rather surprising....
The game that probably best typifies 'a true comeback story' at least in recent history, No Man's Sky, finally has a release date for when it will be available for the Nintendo Switch. Yes, earlier today, the official Nintendo Switch release date trailer was released...
Back in May, we got the news that Fall Guys was becoming a Free To Play game and best of all it was coming to pretty much all platforms including the Nintendo Switch. I loved Fall Guys and was an avid player (on PlayStation) but am very much looking forward to jumping...
Just last week I was asking when Nintendo's next big Direct would be happening... and earlier today we got our answer. However, don't expect an all-encompassing E3-type presentation, Nintendo has done their 'Nintendo thing' and surprised us. Yes, we will be getting at...
I'm not one of those Nintendo fans that demands to hear more information about upcoming games every few weeks. That being said, I am a little surprised that we still haven't had any official word from the Mario-makers about their now-quite-traditional June Direct....
There has undoubtedly been a lot of video game-related excitement over the last few days on the AAA front thanks to some big and rather impressive showcases from Xbox/Bethesda and the Summer Game Fest. yet, despite all the fanfare around those presentations - it was...
With Mario Strikers: Battle League launching tomorrow it's understandable that much of Nintendo's marketing push is directed towards the arcadey soccer title. That being said, we know there are many fans out there that prefer an action RPG to a sports title and Fire...
Yesterday (07 June) we got another short but punchy Sonic Central video showcase highlighting all the upcoming projects the Sonic team is working on. Although there weren't any huge surprises there were a few sneak peeks at already announced projects and a collection...
Back in April, we got the (somewhat) sad news that the Super Mario Movie had been delayed. I think, by now, we've all seen that Miyamoto quote many times and understand that (like a game) a delayed movie is not necessarily a bad thing. However, moving it from the...
Over the years Nintendo has had several games or bits of hardware that have become cultural icons. The NES and SNES were worldwide successes... as was the Wii, and the Switch is definitely hitting those marks. On the software side of things, it's hard to find anyone...
Earlier today (01 June), IGN showed off around 7 minutes of actual gameplay for the upcoming Sonic Frontiers game. It's definitely worth watching if you're a fan of 3D action platformers. For many, Sonic hasn't had the greatest of runs in games (especially when they...
Today's Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet trailer was only just over three minutes long. However, in that short time, we got loads of new information including a confirmed November 18 release date, a look at the new professors and new Pokémon we can look forward to...
Surprise surprise Sonic is not only setting the silver screen alight - but if the new preview trailer is anything to go by - his upcoming foray into 3D gaming looks like it's going to be a heck of a lot of fun! The official Sonic Twitter account announced the trailer...
Calling all Pokémon fans! Earlier this week The Pokémon Company revealed that they had seen some huge profits over the last year (and that's pretty understandable thanks to how well just Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl and Legends Arceus did) - you can read all about...
One of the games I'm most looking forward to this year has to be Mario Strikers: Battle League. And while we'll all have to wait until the 10th of June for the full game's release, yesterday Nintendo announced that there will be a demo available on the week of 3 to 5...
