Nintendo Letterbox is Nintendo's third offering of a free application via the eShop (excluding Nintendo Ambassador titles) -- the first being the Pokedex 3D app. Nintendo Letterbox is very much like PictoChat on the Nintendo DS, only difference being vastly expanded to suit natural functionality of the 3DS; StreetPass and SpotPass, to which further adds to the package along other surprises you discover the more you use Letterbox. Upon booting Nintendo Letterbox up for the first time you are charming introduced by Nikki -- your personal tutorial avatar.

Read the full Swapnote review here!

There's no doubt that Nintendo has milked Mario brand name for all its worth -- and why not? Mario is the most recognizable figure in the gaming world, to hardcore gamers and casuals alike. The character has appeared in over 200 games along with countless pop-culture references. Out of all the Mario spinoff and sports games, however, Mario Kart is by far the best, and has been ever since the original Super NES outing. Nintendo's 3DS already has its Mario Kart title, creatively named Mario Kart 7, but does it bring enough to the table to make gamers put down Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart Wii?

Read the full Mario Kart 7 review here!

The chief goal of any great story is to create likeable characters that the audience will connect with. This is true not only for books and movies, but for video games as well -- especially in this age of high processing power where developers can tell their story through epic cut-scenes that bridge the gap between gameplay and narrative. Not every game makes use of emotional connection, so it begs the question: what is emotion's role in gaming?

Continue reading Emotion's Role in Video Games here!

Nintendo of America today announced that Xenoblade Chronicles, the epic Wii JRPG developed by Monolith Soft., will finally be heading to North America.

Xenoblade Chronicles will release in the region sometime in Spring 2012. The game is being sold exclusively at GameStop locations, and the NA trailer shown seems to indicate that the voice acting from the PAL version will be staying in the game.

Be sure to check out our comprehensive Xenoblade Chronicles review here.

via Press Release

No matter what Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime may claim, the Wii's last great title has already released; that is, of course, unless gamers are really looking forward to Fortune Street and Mario Party 9, which are essentially the same game. Fils-Aime is, in all likely-hood, blowing smoke when he says that there's still great content to come on Wii. If he's referring to an incredibly unlikely localization of The Last Story and Xenoblade Chronicles in North America, the point still stands as those games have released already in other regions: the Wii's days of producing high quality content are over.

Continue reading Wii's Lifecycle in Review here!

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword has some of the best dungeons in the entire Zelda series. They aren't as large in scope as the dungeons in Twilight Princess, but they're denser and more compact as each room features its own puzzle. How do the dungeons in Skyward Sword rank. Note: this article contains spoilers.

Continue reading Ranking Skyward Sword's Dungeons here!

Carl, Joey, Christian, and Austin take time off from playing Skyrim to grace the Internet with episode 11 of the official iNintendo podcast. The crew discusses Joey's disappointment with Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Carl's The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword review, and what games there are to look forward to next year. Be sure to like iNintendo on Facebook and follow the site on Twitter.

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Download the show here.

With all the new gameplay mechanics and innovations that Skyward Sword has brought The Legend of Zelda series, it borrows some ideas heavily from one other title in the franchise: Majora's Mask. These mechanics borrowed from Majora's Mask vary in level of influence, and many go far and above what was present in the N64's second Zelda title -- these two games have more in common that just sharing the same type of save point system.

Continue reading The Similarities Between Skyward Sword and Majora's Mask here!