There isn’t much to say about Nintendo Power that hasn’t already been said. It was probably the most successful “official” gaming magazine ever. By late 1993 the Super NES was Nintendo’s main system but the NES and Game Boy were also still covered. The September 1983 issue includes:
Super NES
- Final Fight 2 – This side-scrolling beat-em-up by Capcom was probably the first of its type on the Super NES. It had beautiful graphics for the time though it did suffer a bit of slow-down from time to time which was a problem that plagued a lot of early Super NES games.
- Super Mario All-Stars – This was essentially a compilation cart that included the original Super Mario Bros., The Lost Levels (which were quite a bit harder), Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario Bros. 3.
- The Seventh Saga – One of the first RPGs for the Super NES. This one was produced by Enix who would ultimately be bought by Square.
- Rock ‘N Roll Racing – This one kind of flew under the radar for me at the time. Rock ‘N Roll Racing was initially developed as a sequel to RPM Racing but the name was changed with the addition of licensed music. This game was published by the predecessor to Blizzard and has a lot of similarities to games like R.C. Pro-Am and Racing Destruction Set.
- Super NES Sports Games – An overview of several sports games including Legends of the Ring, Super Baseball 2020, Konami’s NFL Football (including a contest), Super Off Road: The Baja Game, GP-1 (a motorcycle racing game), and F1 Pole Position.
- Family Feud – A Super NES conversion of this popular game show.
Game Boy
- Final Fantasy Legend III – If you couldn’t get enough Final Fantasy on the NES and SNES then there were Game Boy options too. I was never particularly fond of the small, blurry, black and white Game Boy screen but this type of game worked pretty well on it.
- Felix The Cat – A side-scrolling platform adventure game featuring Felix the Cat. This is exactly the type of game I didn’t like on the Game Boy. One of them anyway.
- Pinball Dreams – I like the concept of video pinball but not on the Game Boy.
NES
- Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade – The movie had come out several years before so I’m not sure what took so long for the game to be produced. It seems like it would have been more successful if released closer to when the movie was. Being released for a system on its way out probably didn’t help either.
- Cartoon Workshop – A pretty interesting game featuring Tiny Toon characters that isn’t really a game. Instead, it lets you create your own cartoons, at least to an extent.
Tips From The Pros
- Classified Information – Tips and tricks for Bubsy, Cool World, Street Fighter II, Firepower 2000, Sonic Blast Man, Street Combat, The Combatribes, Turrican, Adventure Island II, and more.
- Counselors’ Corner – Strategies and questions answered for Super Ninja Boy, Shadowrun, Battletoads & Double Dragon, and more.
The Info Zone
- The Making of Super Empire – The research that went into making Super The Empire Strikes Back for the Super NES.
- Next Issue – What’s coming in the next issue of Nintendo Power…
Video Updates
- Now Playing – Games that have just been released or are being released in the very near future, including Terminator 2: The Movie, Super Mario All-Stars, Family Feud, Wing Commander: The Secret Missions, Rock ‘N Roll Racing, Super Off_Road: The Baja, Yoshi’s Safari, Super Slap Shot, Legends of the Ring, The Seventh Saga, Rocky Rodent, Wizard of Oz, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Wayne’s World, Final Fantasy Legend III, Jurassic Park, Felix the Cat, Pinball Dreams and 4-in-1 Fun Pack.
- PAK Watch – Games that are coming in the future including Cool Spot, The Lawnmower Man, World Heroes, The Incredible Crash Dummies, Actraiser 2, Inspector Gadget, Mario & Wario, Flintstones II, Ultima: Runes of Virtue II, Lemmings, and more.
Comics
- Star Fox – A comic strip based on the Star Fox game.
Player’s Forum
- Player’s Pulse – The kind of licensed items readers would like to see, envelope art, Slap Shot contest winner, and more.
- Player’s Poll Contest – Answer this poll for a chance to win…
- Top 20 – At the top of the lists this month was Super Mario Land 2 for the Game Boy, The Legend of Zelda for the NES, and Star Fox for the Super NES.
- Power Player’s Challenge – Various game challenges including top scores, reaching certain levels, etc. Games featured this month include Road Runner’s Death Valley Rally, Actraiser, Bart’s Nightmare, The Simpsons: Escape from Camp Deadly, Paperboy, Ducktales, Felix the Cat, Ferrari Grand Prix Challenge, Tetris and more.
…and more!
