Why I once subscribed to Nintendo Power

[SkiDragon]

I happened to come across this site with scans from some old Nintendo Power issues, specifically ones that walked through Secret of Mana.

http://secretofmana.planets.gamespy.com/nintendopower.html

I remember reading through this after seeing the game being played, before I actually owned it. See how it's written like a story? And the artwork! Was it made just for this article? Because, I have never seen it elsewhere. I wish magazines still had articles like this.

Anyway, I just had to share that.

[IronBuddha]

Maybe the magazines had an artist that would do work like this for them?

[theoakwoody]

I actually like Nintendo Power and still have a subscription but it'd definitely different than it used to be. NP used to be the Nintendo hype machine and they would tell us kids what games we should buy. Why has this changed? I know kids don't make up as large percentage of the market as they used to but I wish they still took this approach. Now NP seems just like another mag that happens to focus on Nintendo systems. Is it really that expensive to publish a magazine especially when its just a advertisement for your product? Why does NP have to make money? Not that their shouldn't be any ads but why so many? I know NP has caught a lot of flack in the past for biased reviews or whatever but now that they outsourced their publishing the magazine is now officially a magazine.

My two biggest recommendations for NP is to have a slightly bigger retro section and to have more access to "confidential" Nintendo info so that people actually want to buy the mag to learn something new even if its something small like another hidden character in smash bros. that IGN hasn't reported yet. With all the internet review sites reporting every little detail its almost making mags obsolete but if Reggie let some of the staff see some insider info it would give the mag that edge.

[ae.tc]

http://www.sega-naomi.com/forum/images/smiles/045.gif Classic NP!

[Kevincal]

I never understood the hate for Nintendo Power, or Gamepro for that matter. Sure, they are geared toward a younger audience. But let's face it, we play plenty of games geared towards kids, and like them. Ok, most of us anyway... I actually liked reading something geared toward the younger audience, it let me reminisce of my days as a kid caring about nothing more than playing videogames. :)

[Steven]

Nintendo Power was pretty damn good from its inception to the end of the 16-bit era. It was strongest IMHO during the 16-bit era, where each issue had 4-10 pages breakdown of 5-8 current SNES games for that month. NP ranks #5 on my top 5 publication countdown FWIW. Quality mag back in the day. Pretty good artwork, too.

[Cryomancer]

Classic NP art is great stuff. The magazine nowadays is just too much of the same, jus tlike every other magazine, which is just like every other website, only with a delay!

[Berserker]

I had a subscription when I was a kid, but it was during the NES era. It was artwork and overall presentation like this however that would stir my imagination, and made finding out and reading about these games almost as much fun as playing them. I remember getting the Ninja Gaiden II strategy guide and reading the cover foldout that contained all kinds of "ninja tricks" and techniques that had nothing to do with the game, such as using a tree stump as a compass and looking at a cat's eyes to tell the time, and thinking how cool that was.

I have no idea what level of quality (or non-quality) it's at today, but I'm always going to have a heavy dose of nostalgia for those heyday-era issues.

[SeverThe7th]

Semi OT: i downloaded the first 9 issues of Nintendo Power and it was nice to read them as i live in aus and never got to experience them when they actually were out.

I cant find any other issues to download in PDF format. It is legal as i hear any mags that are 5 years old can be scanned and done whatever with. Anyone know where to download say, the first 50 in PDF format without paying?

[Nintendork]

I signed up for a subscription so I could get a free game. That game was Dragon Warrior. Might be the best promotion a magazine has ever done!

[pooch]

I used to love the classic NP too. I liked it so much that although I don't live in the States, I had my relatives who do subscribed it for me and send the mags to me.

[Hawksmoor]

I, too, really enjoyed NP during their heyday. I doubt I'd enjoy the mag as much now, being an adult, although there's a lot to be said for nostalgia. I have subscribed to the mag a few times in recent years just for some of the freebies, most notably the SSBM orchestral soundtrack.

[Rogmeister]

I have had subscriptions to Nintendo Power now and again through the years. The last time, I only subscribed because the extras were, to me, worth the price of subscription alone...an audio CD of the soundtrack to the most recent Zelda game and the official player's guide to that game. I don't see the point in getting it now since I have the DS but not the Wii (yet). Maybe when I get a Wii (if I ever do), I'll then subscribe so more of the magazine would involve games I might actually play.

[Jorpho]

It does not require much scrutiny to find bits in those classic issues that are brazenly inaccurate, or contain glaring omissions, or have a few layout snafus. Understandable, but regerettable nonetheless.

I think today's 3D games just aren't nearly as easy to map as the games of yore.

[Aussie2B]

Nintendo Power had several artists back in the day that would create original art to accompany the game coverage. Some were better than others, though. That Secret of Mana coverage looks really cool. I've yet to get up to that article myself. One of the things I look forward to all year is getting to read more old Nintendo Power issues from cover to cover during my summer vacation. I picked up a large lot of them several years back, which added issues 9 to 78, I think, to my collection. Unfortunately, I never subscribed to the magazine myself until around issue 80, which was near the end of the 16-bit era. I really enjoyed those issues, though, and maybe I'm the only one but I enjoyed the early N64 era issues as well. There was indeed a steady decline, though, so I let my subscription end around issue 130. It was especially annoying because the magazine became so extremely Pokemon-focused, and, at the time, I had never played a single Pokemon game. It really became pointless for anyone that wasn't into Pokemon. It was also skewing more and more towards really little kids, rather than a teenage audience.

So, anyway, all those issues prior to around 80 are new to me, and it's been a blast slowly going through each issue. I think I'm up to around issue 40 now. I've been looking forward to the Secret of Mana coverage, but I don't want to spoil it for myself by reading it before I actually get up to those issues. I remember reading in issue 100 in their Top 100 game list that they were a bit Secret of Mana crazed, heh. It definitely shows, and it's well understandable too.

[Jorpho]

Don't forget the addition of ads. Those terrible, terrible ads.

How'd you feel about the Star Fox and Metroid comics, not to mention Nester? Very far from my kind of thing, those.

[Aussie2B]

Nester got absolutely awful in the later years, especially when it was down to just one page, but when it was still Howard & Nester it was terrific and really helped make Nintendo Power what is was. I loved the Japanese artist they had at the beginning. The art was so cute, as opposed to the hideous art later on that turned Nester from a lovable wise guy to an annoying jerk. I feel they did a better job incorporating the game into the strip back then too and adding the gameplay hint. It's hard for me to pick the best era of Nintendo Power, but I'm really leaning towards the early days when Howard Phillips was editor-in-chief. The magazine had more "soul" and charm at that point than any other. It was still excellent in the Super Nintendo era, but it seemed a little drier, more formulated. It lost a lot of the quirky personality it initially had.

When they started to go comics crazy in the Super Nintendo era, the results were mixed, but I always enjoyed the additions. The Mario strip was just brilliant. The dialogue was funny in and of itself, but I crack up so hard over some of those drawings. The Zelda strip was somewhat dull and the art wasn't nearly as high quality, but it was still a good read.

The only comics that left me scratching my head were the odd, awkward inclusions in the N64 era. I didn't know what to make of the Blast Corps and Star Wars comics. I read them, but I can't say I particularly enjoyed them so they were mostly just a waste of paper, in my view.

[Cryomancer]

Zelda comic is actually done by a LEGENDARY Japanese artist. That's just his style, and it made him plenty of cash before he died: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotaro_Ishinomori

He's also responsibly for pretty much inventing tokusatsu, or at least popularizing it.

Anyway, mario comic is also great. Metroid is ok, Star Foxwasn't really my thing so I don't have much of an opinion on it. Howard and Nester was better when i had more pages, agreed. I love that artist they had too, they should get them to do a full issue of a TMNT comic.

[Aussie2B]

Thanks for the link, I never knew the artist was so famous. I should've been able to tell from the art that Ishinomori was in the industry for a long time. It does very much look like the really old school Tezuka kind of style. I'm more into the manga style of the 80s and 90s myself; the art earlier than that is a bit too rough for me, but I do have great respect for the artists of that era. It's a shame he passed away at a relatively young age.

[kataboom]

My two biggest recommendations for NP is to have a slightly bigger retro section and to have more access to "confidential" Nintendo info so that people actually want to buy the mag to learn something new even if its something small like another hidden character in smash bros. that IGN hasn't reported yet. With all the internet review sites reporting every little detail its almost making mags obsolete but if Reggie let some of the staff see some insider info it would give the mag that edge.

i completely agree with these suggestions for NP!