Mailbox: Swap 2 FOMO, Spark Video games, Pancakes & BOTW

Hey there! Welcome to our monthly exploration of the Nintendo Life Mailbox. Grab a seat!

Have something you cherish to express? We’re eager to explore your gaming-related thoughts. Each month, we’ll feature a Star Letter, and the writer will receive a month’s subscription to our ad-free Supporter plan. Be sure to check the submission guidelines at the bottom of this page.

Sip on your favorite beverage and join us now for a journey through time, storytelling, and unsolicited thoughts…

Nintendo Life Mailbox – March 2025

“love said bells” (***STAR LETTER***)

As a lifelong early adopter of the latest consoles, I’ve often eyed mid-generation upgrades like the Switch OLED or PS5 Pro, but I’ve never felt a compelling enough reason to shell out money for what seems to be a minor set of enhancements. With the Switch 2 approaching and these mid-gen updates becoming increasingly common, I’m left wondering if I should hold off for a few years for the guaranteed “Switch 2 OLED,” or what do you think? (“Switch 2 Pro”? “Original Nintendo Switch 2 XL”?)

I think I’m experiencing a mid-gen crisis. I have a long enough list of games on my current Switch to keep me entertained for several years (looking at you, Ace Attorney collections), but there’s always that nagging FOMO of not grabbing that sweet physical copy of Mario Kart 9 on launch day. I’ve simply never wanted to spend several hundred dollars more for a console I already own with just a few extra features, so perhaps it’s high time I wait it out and let myself enjoy those bells and whistles. Is this a shared experience? Has anyone else been re-evaluating their commitment to early adoption?
LimitedPower

I joke about my extensive backlog, but if I completed every game I have — and if my OLED Model doesn’t break — I genuinely believe my current Switch library could keep me engaged for a while, not to mention the older games from previous systems. There are already plenty of excellent games out there to keep me quite happy.

However, I’m excited about the future! I definitely have the desire to enjoy what I already own rather than rush into the next new thing like an average consumer, but I need to assess where the medium is heading and ride that wave. Budget constraints are a common limitation for many (I have my responsibilities to blame), but personally, there hasn’t been a Nintendo console I’ve regretted adopting early, even with the eventual upgrades. – Ed.

“just normal”

Completing games – is it really worth it?

I’ve been enjoying video games for over 20 years, but I’ve never felt the urge to achieve 100%.
Like most games, I appreciate the narrative of learning how to play, mastering the moveset and abilities, but once I reach about 70/80%, I feel I’ve done enough to justify my time, and then I’m happy to move on to the next one. Granted, I tend to play the ‘easier’ titles, like Mario/Smash/Spyro, so I find great joy in them, but if I find myself stuck for too long, I’m perfectly fine letting go, knowing I gave it my best shot, and just moving ahead. I can’t seem to revisit those games either, even though I’ve tried hard enough, and that’s that.
Is anyone else like that?
I’ve achieved 100% in some games, but I’ve also never done it entirely on my own. I’ve always used some form of walkthrough to get there…is that just normal?
Kevin Bryant

That sounds perfectly normal and healthy, Kevin! Personally, I struggle with a mind that guilt-trips me until I’ve squeezed every ounce of value from what I’ve purchased, beyond the point of enjoyment. I’ve gotten better at ignoring that impulse and walking away, but I still love finishing things.

Everyone has their own approach, but you can’t do gaming ‘wrong’ and it certainly isn’t a test of character. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with giving up and moving on from, say, Kirby and the Forgotten Land if, for example, you made it partway through but grew a little bored.

Speaking of moving on, let’s do just that. – Ed.

“if you’ll humor me”

Hello Nintendo Life team!

I have a suggestion for the Supporter benefits, for those who’ll humor me. I’d like to propose a monthly/bimonthly Supporters Review Poll that would allow supporters to vote on a review they would like to see. The poll could include games you all wanted to cover or smaller titles that you might review more quickly (even community suggestions, if you’re feeling adventurous). Whichever game receives the most supporter votes would be added to the review schedule for the following month. I think this exclusive poll wouldn’t compromise your need to prevent locking content behind a paywall, but it might be a fun way to show how supporters can influence the content they support.

I know reviews take time, yet they’re by far my favorite type of article on Nintendo Life. I truly appreciate the number of games you cover each year, so I would love to see even more!

Best,
Solomon

I appreciate this idea, although we may not need to exclude non-supporters from participating. We could indeed cover many more entries in the Hentai Waifu series if we didn’t curate the shortlist.

I’ll take your suggestion into consideration, Solomon. Consider yourself humorously noted. – Ed.

“the Birt”

Hello, Nintendo Life
I have a question: what was your spark game (like spark-bird, which is the Birt that gets people into birding)? Mine would be the original Splatoon on Wii U and the Wind Waker HD also on Wii U. I’ve been playing games since I got a Wii around 2008, but I didn’t really get into gaming until Splatoon.
OswaldTheLuckyGamer

Space Invaders on the 2600 was my spark game…

Right from the onset, I dangle (somewhat improbably, I possess personal video recordings of myself enjoying it back in the ’80s), but Fortress of Phantasm on the Mega Drive was undeniably The One™. An outstanding game. What about you, Team?

• “A predictable choice, but it’s Ocarina of Time for me!” – Jim
• “I truly fell for the very first game I ever played, Sonic 3.” – Alana

Additionally, Oswald, I’m sorry. I intended to correct the typo, but it’s Friday night and it makes me smile. So I’m embracing it. – Birt.

“images of game… items”

How do you capture all these brilliant images of games… items… for your articles? Sometimes I stumble upon a random piece such as “Top 10 SNES games that were mistakenly ported to the Sega Pico” (side note: that’s not an actual article, but it definitely SHOULD be), and sure enough, you might need a massive picture of the cases of these ten games. Occasionally the image will credit Nintendo or whoever, but generally, it’s one of you lovely folks. So do you have a collection of video games, consoles, and accessories next to an expert photography studio that I imagine you possess as well? Does the person writing the article send out a message that says something like “I need a picture of 50 Wii games starting with the letter ‘P'” and whoever is available grabs the shot? Or is it something more ordinary, like the writer is creating the article because they actually own the games in question? In any case, I’ve read SO many articles about topics I’m not particularly interested in simply because I know it will be enjoyable to read and admire the visuals, so please keep that going.
Kurt Asbestos

_{*Jots down ‘Top 10 SNES games that were mistakenly ported to the Sega Pico’ in the drafts list}

Thanks, Kurt! Throughout the years, we have assembled a treasury of images, primarily thanks to Hookshot’s editorial chief Damien McFerran and the extensive collection of consoles and classic games he curates in NL Towers, along with his impressive Austin Powers-style skills with the camera.

Recently, video producer Zion and community manager Gemma have contributed hundreds of images to the archive, too, with some of us trying our best whenever time and talent permit (it’s all about the lighting, right?). At this moment, if we’re missing something and cannot capture it ourselves, we throw the request out on Slack to see who’s available.

I’ll sprinkle some of our lesser-used images throughout the page. Enjoy! – Birt

“having mouse”

Do you believe that with the Switch 2 having mouse compatibility, we could witness a new resurgence for RTS games being ported to it? I would personally love to see the classic Command and Conquer games, Empire Earth, and even Starcraft playable on a handheld device using mouse controls on screen or touchscreen.

Kazman2007

I would like to see these classic games reach a new console audience, primarily to fill in the gaps in my own gaming knowledge. How amusing would it be for Nintendo, of all platform holders, to inadvertently open that door – assuming ‘Mouse Mode’ is as straightforward as we envision it to be?

I don’t foresee a sudden boom in the genre, as the audience for these retro RTS games will always be on PC, and I would argue that mouse input isn’t the main barrier hindering ports (you still have the complete UI and scaling issues that come from playing on a TV instead of a screen). But a few extra ports? Count me in. – Birt

“sugar coating it”

Hello NL team!

What’s your viewpoint on the current state of Nintendo’s NSO emulators?

As someone who has spent a significant amount of time working with the actual hardware they emulate, I personally believe that they are among the most serious commercially available emulators known to man (and that’s putting it mildly).

There’s truly no justification for Nintendo to mess up basic emulators when they have an almost endless library of games. It should be SO easy for them to create a quality emulator utilizing their repository of already fantastic ones from years past.

How the Switch emulators run worse than the Wii ones is beyond my comprehension.

What on God’s green earth could possibly be preventing them from including N64, Pokemon games, or titles from well-known partners on their NSO apps?

If they continue this trend with the Switch 2, I’ll stash my money and buy a flashcart for my Super Famicom and Mega Drive.
MetaCrystal

For anyone who has previously experienced them on standard hardware, yes, it’s incredibly disappointing to see games released on NSO that don’t seem to be operating or displaying as they ought to. Whenever you’re paying for the service and they are selling pretty expensive official controllers to use with it, it’s fair to expect certain levels of precision from the company that created these machines. And a few more display options wouldn’t hurt either.

Not long ago, I blamed my failure to execute a landing with a press of ‘Z’ in 1080 on not having played the game in years. It wasn’t until later that I realized the timing could also be affecting me. Yes, indeed, the timing.

Unfortunately, though, they have issues to the extent that it’s ‘good enough’ for most NSO users. I wouldn’t be surprised if the actual player numbers are way fewer than we may think, and the motivation to launch the exact possibilities…