Mailbox: Big-Screen Slippy, First-Party LEs, Wario/Waluigi Fanfic – Nintendo Life Letters

Well, hello there. Have you come to see what’s in the Nintendo Life Mailbox this month? Excellent timing.

Having survived the first weeks of June and the deluge of gaming announcements — including the first full-fat Nintendo Direct since September last year — we’re all settling down for the summer minus the Fest, but with a lot of Game. Unless, of course, you’re on the other side of the globe and pondering why Geoff doesn’t rebrand it as ‘Winter Game Fest’ down there.

It’s time for our monthly letters page feature. Got something you want to get off your chest? We’re ready and waiting to read about your game-related ponderings.

Each month we’ll highlight a Star Letter, the writer of which will receive a month’s subscription to our ad-free Supporter scheme. Check out the submission guidelines at the bottom of this page.

Let’s sit back with a warm beverage and go through our dispatch box…

Nintendo Life Mailbox – June 2026

“abundance of delights” (***STAR LETTER***)

Something happened for me the moment I went from enjoying the wrap up of the cracking June Nintendo Direct to accidentally catching a glimpse of the negativity in the chat on the sidebar: I started to feel sorry for the haters. I don’t think they are doing it for attention or to feel cool; I think many people are really having trouble enjoying things in our culture now compared to years and decades ago. It’s sad that many people can’t seem to find joy as easily anymore, even in something like video games that are engineered for exactly that purpose.

I also love to play the guitar and I see it more and more in that community, as well. Expectations are so high now and it’s easy for someone to quickly point out the flaws – pricing, features, a stylistic choice, whatever – and turn the discussion in that direction. The reality is that compared to myself as a teenager in the 2000s, I now have access to mind blowing quality games like Tears of the Kingdom and also music equipment like amp modelers that I didn’t even dream could exist, and all for the same or less money than ever if you adjust for inflation. I’m not having any trouble finding things worth my money…the challenge for me is finding time to enjoy this abundance of delights.

At this Direct, I wrote down 8 games that I definitely want (Stellar Blade, Warhammer 40K SMII, Star Fox, Orbitals, Duskbloods, Splatoon Raiders, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Ocarina of Time) and 10 more maybes. I was hoping for a grand revival of F-Zero and a fat update for Mario Kart World…oh well! Maybe those will happen later and I have a ridiculous backlog of fantastic games (and books, and albums, and movies, etc) to feast on in the meantime. Thank you Nintendo Life for keeping the positivity, shout out to the silent majority happy gamers like me, and bless all the haters, hope you see the light soon too.
Scott T / couchguy

Agreed. I’d add that being underwhelmed by a game or a presentation is a 100% legitimate response, too — being positive doesn’t mean maintaining a permanent state of leaf-blower-to-the-face ecstasy while ignoring gut instincts and criticism.

But there’s just so much great stuff coming out, it takes real energy to stay angry over individual disappointments. From a player’s perspective, the bounty of excellent video games, regardless of your platform or budget, is astonishing. – Ed.

“the end of an era”

It’s been a while since I have sent one of these, as I had nothing to say, but something has come to mind. In the last 2 weeks, I finished a game that, if you just take it as 1 game as it was initially intended, I have been playing since 2020/21 or thereabouts. This “game” being the Digital Devil Saga duology. Whilst not available on a Nintendo console, it has inspired me to ask you people some questions: What is the longest it has taken you to finish a game? Since starting the game my life, I’ll be honest, has gone rather downhill. My grandfather, who I was very close to, passed away due to medical malpractice. I moved to a decrepit house in the dead centre of nowhere. Various political decisions have impacted me negatively to an unreasonable extent. But as they say, it’s swings and roundabouts, and there have been some good things. I got a job, even if I am basically on young peoples’ minimum wage. I might have the opportunity to go to university next year, though it will be extortionate (there’s only one place in the whole country that offers the course I am after, and it’s the priciest). This is all somewhat expected, as it has been maybe 5 years. When I started playing it I wasn’t even old enough, but now I am old enough to drink. Digital Devil Saga has been something consistent throughout, and it has been a spectacular game. It feels like not just the end of a video game, more like the end of an era. I will admit, I am considering starting again. I didn’t even try the superbosses. Although clearly this means that I am not escaping the cycle of reincarnation. Oh dear.
Scooby-Doo

Depends how you define ‘finishing’ and if breaks in between count. I 100%-ed BOTW just a week or so before TOTK came out, so what’s that? Seven years? But it’s not like I was playing it daily and hunting Koroks for that entire period.

And can you ever really ‘finish’ an Animal Crossing game? – Ed.

“just plain unpleasant”

Do you ever feel like some seasons are just right for a game series? I do, and I often subconsciously hope for Nintendo to match a game’s release date with the season it vibes most with. So without further ado, I give you, the right seasons for different Nintendo series:

First, Pokémon and Summer feel like they just go hand and hand. It’s such an adventurous and outdoorsy series, and if Summer isn’t the season which most encapsulates that vibe, then I don’t know what is. The upcoming Pokémon Winds and Waves especially, with the tropical setting, really demands that Summer release.

As for Kirby, I feel like Spring suits it just right. Spring being the season of new beginnings and blue skies coming again perfectly matches the optimistic and cheerful vibe of Kirby.

Zelda, like Pokémon, has an adventurous spirit to it, but I also detect an aspect of coziness from those games that makes Autumn (and to a lesser extent, Spring) feel more appropriate than Summer in terms of vibes.

Finally, I feel that Super Mario is most apt in the holiday season, when it’s really cold and just plain unpleasant to go outside (in the Northern Hemisphere) but warm and welcoming indoors. Mario feels a lot more at home with the whimsy and childlike joy of the holidays than the adventurousness or coziness of the other times of year, so I think the end of the year is the right time for Mario.
UpsideDownRowlet

Mario Party is definitely a game for the holidays – specifically Christmas Day afternoon when you’re transported to an alternate timeline where you never existed, and everything’s bleak and dreadful…but then an angel gets their wings and you can play a good game instead. – Ed.

“after the victory”

G’day,

Quick question that’s been on my mind after finishing Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom: You beat the final boss, watch the cutscenes, pleased with yourself at the liberation of Hyrule. Then, when you load back in, you’re basically dropped into the same plagued Hyrule like nothing changed.

I get the practical reasons, but I kind of wish there was an option to explore a “peaceful” Hyrule after the victory. A chance to finish some of the side quests with slightly less stress knowing Zelda’s safe. How do you feel about this admittedly industry-standard approach? Do you enjoy being placed back in the incomplete world? Personally, it will irritate me to no end.

Cheers!
Ollie

I’ve often thought the same! I wrote to N64 Magazine once wishing I could ride into Kakariko Village a hero, bask in my victory, and escape the perma-peril having finally rid Hyrule of the ‘dorf.

Some games manage it, though. I remember finishing EarthBound for the first time in the Wii U era and thinking, ‘Yes! It can be done!’ – Ed.

“positively foxing”

This has without a doubt been one positively foxing year for Nintendo fans. Almost 10 years pass since StarFox Zero; a mark of shame so sore on the company, we never received a Switch port.

But every McCloud has a silver lining as the famous saying goes. Far from foxgotten, within the space of a few months this year, we were treated to StarFox on the silver screen, and then suddenly an out of nowhere StarFox 64 remake, again.

Can you imagine if someone told you this time last year that there would be this much Fox? With TWO different character designs, or three if you count his animated segment in the Mario Galaxy Movie?

In fact can you believe we have seen Slippy Toad on the big screen? What Is this world, how did this happen!?

I am truly Starfoxed. I love the character and it’s great to see him and his wisecracking pals back. But I don’t know how to feel.

I felt he didn’t really add much to the Mario Galaxy Film… And by re-releasing StarFox 64 for the bazillionth the time, that also in a way doesn’t add much to the plate.

But on the other hand…. Both of these things were and are incredibly cool and fun.

So…. How am I supposed to feel? I can’t Unfox my foxed up brain. Please help me Editor, tell me, how should I feel about this weirdly unneccesary but impressive feast of Barrel Rolls before us??
YoshiTails

Despair is the appropriate feeling, YT. We’ll just have to take the L on this one – such an unprecedented influx of Slippy content! Yet another downer for the games industry pile right now, I’m afraid. – Ed.

“lower my cortisol and bathe me”

Once every few months I clean the storage drawers under my bed and as I open it up a rush of dopamine hits me. One look upon the boxes of all the limited/deluxe/ultimate editions of games I have collected over the years is enough to lower my cortisol and bathe me in that warm feeling of nostalgia. Mind you, cleaning takes a significantly longer time now that I am enticed to open the boxes of my favorite editions and peruse its contents. I am once again reminded that opening a fresh new limited edition game really feels akin to opening presents on Christmas morning.

After the recent spring cleaning, however, one question has stayed with me: where are the first party limited editions of games this generation? The most recent game to receive a proper boxed limited edition that I can think of is The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom. After May 2023 these types of releases seem to have become a rare sight and Switch 2 has yet to receive this deluxe treatment at all (correct me if I’m wrong). Of course, third parties are still releasing proper limited editions, but I want a Yoshi and the Mysterious Book box shaped like Mr. E – à la Octopath Traveler – just to name one example. This drought of limited editions has me fear the upcoming release of Fire Emblem Fortune’s Weave, a game series that historically has been blessed by editions large enough to dwarf a Playstation 5 slim, and so happens to be my favorite Nintendo game series of all time.

What do you guys think about my limited/deluxe/ultimate editions query? Do you guys at NL share my worry? Or do you reckon something has changed within Nintendo’s approach to the marketing and promoting of their first party releases?

Happy Pride Month to all,
Jolteon23

“DAGDAN COLLECTION!!!” everyone screams – although Jolteon’s letter came in just before that reveal, so calm down. But yes, you’re getting a spicy-looking special edition of Fortune’s Weave, so hurrah!

I don’t see a change in approach as much as production and distribution headaches in recent times. For Switch 2’s launch year, just getting enough of the standard product into the pipeline and on store shelves is the main objective for hardware and software. I’m sure we’ll continue to see chunky Limited Editions for future games. All eyes on Ocarina. – Ed.

“descent into villainy”

Dearest Nintendo Life staffers,

Reading about Waluigi in your recent mailbox article has left me with Waluigi on the brain, and reminded me of a project I embarked upon in high school, which was (of course) to write a 116-page fan film detailing Waluigi’s backstory and descent into villainy as (naturally) a grounded crime drama set in 1990s Arkansas. I’m feeling wah-imsical today, so while my past self planned to clutch the pages of this manuscript tight in my decrepit aging hands until the day I could hand-deliver them to Miyamoto himself, I now offer them up to you, should your curiosity be piqued. Who knows, perhaps it could make for some form of Good Content. You have to read through the whole thing, though. Otherwise you’ll miss the part where Wario and Waluigi kiss.
Sincerely,
Waluigi Enthusiast
(I’m serious about this, by the way. Both about being a Waluigi enthusiast and about the 116-page fan film. It’s been sitting in my Google Drive for years and it whispers to me in the night, begging to be released.)

Nah, you’re alright. I’m never going to get through our existing ‘War/Wal Ship’ slush pile, so I’d say you’re better off self-publishing that one. – Ed.

Bonus Letters

“I can’t think of a single person who said, “Oh, golly! Larry Koopa’s drivin’ a Mercedes-Benz! Gee, I better buy myself one o’ them thar Mercedes-Benzes so that I can be cool like Larry Koopa!”” – Anonymous

We simply cannot evaluate that ad’s effectiveness until all the MK8-playing kids hit their 40s with enough disposable income to buy a Benz. I know I didn’t get one. So yeah, a fail for old Ian Benz there. – Ed.

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That’s all for this month! Thanks to everyone who wrote in, whether you were featured above or not.

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