Author Topic: Nintendo Power - 1988-1996 cover games  (Read 222828 times)

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Offline JonLeung

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Nintendo Power - 1988-1996 cover games
« on: May 23, 2011, 01:47:09 pm »
As I've certainly said multiple times before, the inspiration behind VGMaps.com: The Video Game Atlas is Nintendo Power.  If you were a gamer in the late '80s and early '90s, back before anyone could just go on the Internet to get their game info, magazines such as Nintendo Power were the prime source of video game news and tips and tricks.  Nintendo Power was among the most popular of these magazines (in North America), and stood out for being published by Nintendo themselves (or at least directly affiliated), not having advertisements (well, for a while, but the whole magazine was advertising already), and, of course, large game maps.

Here at VGMaps.com we've already recreated Nintendo Power's first Player's Guide, the NES Game Atlas.  But why stop there?  Taking a look at the covers of the issues of Nintendo Power between 1988-1996, there are many more games to be mapped.  Let's one-up VGMaps.com's own inspiration by covering all these same games!  Here is the list of all the NES/Game Boy/Super NES games featured on Nintendo Power magazines from 1988-1996.

Quote
Status: INCOMPLETE!

O 1988
O Vol. 001 - Jul/Aug 1988 - (NES) Super Mario Bros. 2
O Vol. 002 - Sep/Oct 1988 - (NES) Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
O Vol. 003 - Nov/Dec 1988 - (NES) Track & Field II

O 1989
O Vol. 004 - Jan/Feb 1989 - (NES) Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link
O Vol. 005 - Mar/Apr 1989 - (NES) Ninja Gaiden
O Vol. 006 - May/Jun 1989 - (NES) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
O Vol. 007 - Jul/Aug 1989 - (NES) Mega Man II
O Vol. 008 - Sep/Oct 1989 - (NES) Duck Tales
O Vol. 009 - Nov/Dec 1989 - (NES) Tetris

O 1990
O Vol. 010 - Jan/Feb 1990 - (NES) Batman
O Vol. 011 - Mar/Apr 1990 - (NES) Super Mario Bros. 3
O Vol. 012 - May/Jun 1990 - (NES) Super C
O Vol. 013 - StratGuide 1 - (NES) Super Mario Bros. 3
O Vol. 014 - Jul/Aug 1990 - (NES) Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers
O Vol. 015 - StratGuide 2 - (NES) Ninja Gaiden: Episode II - The Dark Sword Of Chaos
O Vol. 016 - Sep/Oct 1990 - (NES) Maniac Mansion
O Vol. 017 - StratGuide 3 - (NES) Final Fantasy
O Vol. 018 - Nov/Dec 1990 - (NES) Dr. Mario
O Vol. 019 - StratGuide 4 - (NES) 4-Player Extra (cover features
O (NES) NES Play Action Football, but this guide also features
O (NES) Gauntlet II,
O (NES) Nintendo World Cup,
O (NES) Swords And Serpents,
O (NES) Super Spike V'Ball, and
O (NES) Ivan Ironman Stewart's Super Off Road)

O 1991
O Vol. 020 - Jan 1991 - (NES) Mega Man III
O Vol. 021 - Feb 1991 - (NES) StarTropics
O Vol. 022 - Mar 1991 - (NES) Metal Storm
O Vol. 023 - Apr 1991 - (NES) Power Blade
O Vol. 024 - May 1991 - (NES) Vice: Project Doom
O Vol. 025 - Jun 1991 - (NES) Battletoads
O Vol. 026 - Jul 1991 - (NES) Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves
O Vol. 027 - Aug 1991 - (GB) Mega Man In Dr. Wily's Revenge
O Vol. 028 - Sep 1991 - (Super NES) Super Mario World
O Vol. 029 - Oct 1991 - (NES) Star Trek
O Vol. 030 - Nov 1991 - (Super NES) Final Fantasy II/IV (J)
O Vol. 031 - Dec 1991 - (GB) Metroid II: Return Of Samus

- 1992
O Vol. 032 - Jan 1992 - (Super NES) Super Castlevania IV
O Vol. 033 - Feb 1992 - (NES) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project
O Vol. 034 - Mar 1992 - (Super NES) The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past
O Vol. 035 - Apr 1992 - (Super NES) WWF Super WrestleMania
O Vol. 036 - May 1992 - (NES) Darkwing Duck
O Vol. 037 - Jun 1992 - (NES) Lemmings
O Vol. 038 - Jul 1992 - (Super NES) Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
O Vol. 039 - Aug 1992 - (Super NES) Mario Paint
O Vol. 040 - Sep 1992 - (NES) Felix The Cat
O Vol. 041 - Oct 1992 - (Super NES) Super Mario Kart
- Vol. 042 - Nov 1992 - (Super NES) Super Star Wars
O Vol. 043 - Dec 1992 - (Super NES) Road Runner's Death Valley Rally

- 1993
O Vol. 044 - Jan 1993 - (Super NES) The Magical Quest: Starring Mickey Mouse
O Vol. 045 - Feb 1993 - (Super NES) The Addams Family: Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt
- Vol. 046 - Mar 1993 - (Super NES) Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose!
O Vol. 047 - Apr 1993 - (Super NES) Star Fox
O Vol. 048 - May 1993 - (Super NES) Batman Returns
O Vol. 049 - Jun 1993 - (NES) Battletoads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team
O Vol. 050 - Jul 1993 - (GB) The Legend Of Zelda: Link's Awakening
O Vol. 051 - Aug 1993 - (Super NES) Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting
O Vol. 052 - Sep 1993 - (Super NES) Super Mario All-Stars
X Vol. 053 - Oct 1993 - (Super NES) Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
O Vol. 054 - Nov 1993 - (Super NES) Secret Of Mana
O Vol. 055 - Dec 1993 - (Super NES) Aladdin

- 1994
O Vol. 056 - Jan 1994 - (Super NES) Mega Man X
O Vol. 057 - Feb 1994 - (Super NES) Bugs Bunny In Rabbit Rampage
O Vol. 058 - Mar 1994 - (GB) Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3
O Vol. 059 - Apr 1994 - (Super NES) Ken Griffey Jr Presents Major League Baseball
O Vol. 060 - May 1994 - (Super NES) Super Metroid
O Vol. 061 - Jun 1994 - (GB) Donkey Kong
O Vol. 062 - Jul 1994 - (Super NES) Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers
- Vol. 063 - Aug 1994 - (Super NES) Stunt Race FX
O Vol. 064 - Sep 1994 - (Super NES) Mortal Kombat II
O Vol. 065 - Oct 1994 - (Super NES) Illusion Of Gaia
O Vol. 066 - Nov 1994 - (Super NES) Donkey Kong Country
O Vol. 067 - Dec 1994 - (Super NES) Earthworm Jim

- 1995
- Vol. 068 - Jan 1995 - (Super NES) The Adventures Of Batman & Robin
O Vol. 069 - Feb 1995 - (Super NES) Mega Man X 2
O Vol. 070 - Mar 1995 - (Super NES) NBA Jam: Tournament Edition
- Vol. 071 - Apr 1995 - (Super NES) Stargate
O Vol. 072 - May 1995 - (GB) Kirby's Dream Land 2
O Vol. 073 - Jun 1995 - (Super NES) WeaponLord
- Vol. 074 - Jul 1995 - (GB) Donkey Kong Land
O Vol. 076 - Sep 1995 - (Super NES) Killer Instinct
O Vol. 077 - Oct 1995 - (Super NES) Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
O Vol. 078 - Nov 1995 - (Super NES) Mortal Kombat 3
O Vol. 079 - Dec 1995 - (Super NES) Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong-Quest

O 1996
O Vol. 082 - Mar 1996 - (Super NES) Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars
O Vol. 083 - Apr 1996 - (Super NES) Earthworm Jim 2
O Vol. 084 - May 1996 - (Super NES) Ken Griffey Jr's Winning Run
O Vol. 086 - Jul 1996 - (Various) Power Previews (only one Super NES game not featured on another cover is (Super NES) Kirby: Super Star)
O Vol. 087 - Aug 1996 - (Super NES) Tetris Attack
O Vol. 090 - Nov 1996 - (Super NES) Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble
« Last Edit: November 11, 2024, 02:38:07 pm by JonLeung »

Offline JonLeung

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Re: Nintendo Power - 1988-1996 cover games
« Reply #1 on: May 23, 2011, 01:49:33 pm »
For those of you who noticed the gaps above:

Quote
I noticed this 2D game on the N64, could be mappable, if not, the original three games (and the Ultimate version of 3) should provide a similar result:
X Vol. 089 - Oct 1996 - (N64) Mortal Kombat Trilogy

New consoles surely make a cover but can't be mapped, and Super Mario 64, and Killer Instinct 2/Gold are different beasts altogether.  (Each of them appear on two covers, except for the Virtual Boy.)
X Vol. 075 - Aug 1995 - (Virtual Boy) Virtual Boy
X Vol. 080 - Jan 1996 - (N64) N(U)64 - when it was the Nintendo Ultra 64, before they decided to shorten the name
X Vol. 081 - Feb 1996 - (Arcade) Killer Instinct 2
O Vol. 085 - Jun 1996 - (N64) Nintendo 64/Super Mario 64
O Vol. 088 - Sep 1996 - (N64) Super Mario 64
X Vol. 091 - Dec 1996 - (N64) Killer Instinct Gold


Now if I want to continue beyond 1996, there's more...

3D N64 games can indeed be mapped!
O Vol. 093 - Feb 1997 - (N64) Mario Kart 64
O Vol. 109 - Jun 1998 - (N64) Banjo-Kazooie
O Vol. 114 - Nov 1998 - (N64) The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
O Vol. 117 - Feb 1999 - (N64) Mario Party
O Vol. 141 - Feb 2001 - (N64) Paper Mario

I didn't know whether to include the Game Boy Color games, since they are after what I consider the peak of the awesomeness of Nintendo Power.  However, all of them have been mapped:
O Vol. 125 - Oct 1999 - (GBC) Pokémon: Yellow Version
O Vol. 136 - Sep 2000 - (GBC) Pokémon: Gold Version and (GBC) Pokémon: Silver Version
O Vol. 144 - May 2001 - (GBC) The Legend Of Zelda: Oracle Of Ages and (GBC) The Legend Of Zelda: Oracle Of Seasons
O Vol. 147 - Aug 2001 - (GBC) Pokémon: Crystal Version


I wouldn't have considered GBA games, but there was only one GBA game to grace a cover of Nintendo Power before the end of 2001 (where I stopped, as well as where I first stopped subscribing, myself), which still ought to be mapped since it's a remake of the game featured in Vol. 1.
X Vol. 143 - Apr 2001 - (GBA) Game Boy Advance/Super Mario Advance
X Vol. 145 - Jun 2001 - (GBA) Super Mario Advance


And then there's this...yeah...
- Vol. 100 - Sept 1997 - (Various) The 100 Best Games Of All Time
« Last Edit: November 11, 2024, 04:59:42 pm by JonLeung »

Offline JonLeung

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Re: Nintendo Power - 1988-1996 cover games
« Reply #2 on: May 23, 2011, 01:59:43 pm »
Above, I subtly posted a link showing that you can get scans of Nintendo Power issues up to the end of 1999 from Retromags.com.  It's really handy!

(While writing up that list, I had to check issues 6, 9, 19, 49, 76, and 86.  I only point that out because the ones digits of those are all 6 or 9.  What a weird coincidence.  :P)

That Retromags.com's magazine section has a bunch of other retro magazines.  I could see myself spending all day there.  Ah, nostalgia.

EDIT: archive.org's got Nintendo Power issues too!  The scans seem to be from Retromags.com as well.

EDIT: Looks like they're no longer at Retromags.com or archive.org anymore.  :(
« Last Edit: August 08, 2016, 05:39:31 pm by JonLeung »

Offline Maxim

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Re: Nintendo Power - 1988-1996 cover games
« Reply #3 on: May 24, 2011, 02:49:06 am »
Do you really want maps of Tetris, Dr. Mario, Mario Paint..?

Offline JonLeung

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Re: Nintendo Power - 1988-1996 cover games
« Reply #4 on: May 25, 2011, 09:44:05 pm »
Okay, I can live without those three.  But how about the rest?

The biggest NES omissions are Vice: Project Doom and Felix The Cat.  They're kind of like Ninja Gaiden/Shatterhand and Wacky Races, respectively.  The NES section has slowed down, but these two are a case in point that there are still games to be mapped!

I really loved my Nintendo Power, especially between 1991 and 1993.  1991 was my first year subscribing, and 1992 and 1993 had those awesome comics in them.  I really miss those days.

I wonder if kids today have the same kind of nostalgia with growing up in gaming culture.  I doubt that if they do, it's not like ours.  They probably wouldn't cherish their game magazines because all the info is on the Internet, and any print magazine they might read is full of ads and the same kind of stock artwork/renderings, essentially making most magazines look the same.  And with so many video games, I can see how anyone who gets bored can just move on to the next thing, so there's little reason to replay those tough stages of Ninja Gaiden II after spending a couple months' allowance buying the cartridge, that sort of thing.  Maybe I'm having some kind of early mid-life crisis, wishing I was half my age again...

Offline magicbay

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Re: Nintendo Power - 1988-1996 cover games
« Reply #5 on: May 26, 2011, 08:23:19 am »
hey jon.

i was reading your posts here and it got me to searching for a complete list of all the Nintendo Power Magazine covers starting with the very first issue of the magazine which i own three of them and are packed up somewhere.

anyway, i searched the internet and found this website that has a complete list of issue covers up to issue #261 so here's the link if ya want to check it out and update your list of covers sometime.

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=112004

hope you'll forgive me for posting this website link here, jon?

Offline Will

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Re: Nintendo Power - 1988-1996 cover games
« Reply #6 on: May 27, 2011, 02:16:06 pm »
I have been working on "Track & Field 2". I have mapped 10 out 15 events so there's not long before the game is fully mapped. Some of the maps you will notice are have quite a length, but I can reach so far in the gameplay I don't know the maximum length of the courses like "Triple Jump" and "Hammer Throw". Still I've submitted my best attempt.

Offline JonLeung

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Re: Nintendo Power - 1988-1996 cover games
« Reply #7 on: May 27, 2011, 09:00:21 pm »
Thanks for picking up Track & Field II.  An odd request, to be sure, but hey, it was Nintendo Power's choice.  Note how several of the earliest issues feature a game that is the second part of a series...

Offline Will

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Re: Nintendo Power - 1988-1996 cover games
« Reply #8 on: May 28, 2011, 08:01:56 am »
I have completed Track & Field II now. Check out the long, long Hang Gliding map. My next target is Vice: Project Doom.
« Last Edit: May 28, 2011, 08:02:25 am by Will »

Offline JonLeung

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Re: Nintendo Power - 1988-1996 cover games
« Reply #9 on: May 28, 2011, 08:15:51 am »
Indeed, now that Track & Field II is done, so is 1988!  One year down.  Of course, it wasn't a full year...  :P

Am I alone in my love of Nintendo Power?
« Last Edit: May 29, 2011, 05:38:17 pm by JonLeung »

Offline Peardian

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Re: Nintendo Power - 1988-1996 cover games
« Reply #10 on: May 29, 2011, 09:25:24 pm »
I've had a subscription to Nintendo Power for as long as I can remember, though the earliest issue I remember was the Virtual Boy one with the bees (not that it was the first one I got). I'm not sure why I still keep renewing my subscription, though. I guess I keep hoping it will get better.
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Offline TerraEsperZ

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Re: Nintendo Power - 1988-1996 cover games
« Reply #11 on: May 30, 2011, 10:11:58 pm »
I had a subscription from all the way back to Mega Man III (issue 20) and stopped with Demon's Crest (issue 67), and I kept my collection up until I moved into an apartment for college. Of course, I fell in love with emulation and game mapping a few months afterwards, and regretted giving them away ever since.
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Offline JonLeung

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Re: Nintendo Power - 1988-1996 cover games
« Reply #12 on: June 03, 2011, 08:43:38 pm »
Will Mallia has started off Vice: Project Doom with the first couple platforming stages.

Also, Peardian has submitted 3-7: Monkeys' Favorite Lake from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, always nice to see more of that game.

Offline Will

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Re: Nintendo Power - 1988-1996 cover games
« Reply #13 on: June 03, 2011, 11:40:05 pm »
While my progress on Project Vice Doom continues I have submitted the one and only map of WWF Super Wrestlemania. This one was beyond a cinch.

EDIT: I have already started Lemmings and in short time and have submitted the first quarter of the game.

ADDITIONAL EDIT: I have now submitted the second quarter of the Lemmings level maps.
« Last Edit: June 05, 2011, 09:08:20 am by Will »

Offline Will

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Re: Nintendo Power - 1988-1996 cover games
« Reply #14 on: June 05, 2011, 11:21:25 pm »
The pace is quickening now that I've done the third quarter of the Lemmings maps. Expect the final quarter very soon.

EDIT: The final quarter of Lemmings has been submitted. Soon as they arrive that's another game ticked off. Shall continue Vice: Project Doom.
« Last Edit: June 06, 2011, 12:49:22 am by Will »