Earlier this year I finally got all my old Nintendo Power magazines into a new tote (although I need a bigger tote, WHOOPS), and I decided I'd go through them again and record what I find. I've been sharing it with some friends on Discord, but I've been thinking about making public posts on my website for each magazine. In preparation I thought I'd start a thread about it here and start sharing what I see here first.
Yes, I'm starting with volume 133. Mid-year 2000. It's actually the second issue of NP I got, because for some reason I got issue 134 in the mail and then shortly after got 133 as well. I guess it was due to the time I first ordered it? Also I remember I subscribed after borrowing the issue with Pokemon Snap on the cover from the library, it was several issues before this one I think.
also i'm not sure why they made the cover army men when wario land 3 was right there
-Ah yes the most popular Pokemon, Poliwhirl. and random confused psyduck
-Wait the Pokemon Trading Card Game Video Game Game had an official player's guide? I wonder what kinda art was in that.
-That Mewtwo at the bottom left looks SO HAPPY
Noctowl isn't out yet this is before gen 2! that's illegal!!
Kirby is wise.
Gannondorf
Slurp and Burp
-When I started going through these I was wondering how these power rankings are determined, and learned later that it's through the monthly poll contest. Zelda: Fruit of the Mysterious Tree is a lot more like the Japanese name, but still different I think. Earthbound 64 being on there is funny I'm sorry...
where's wario land 2
ah yes when aN ENTIRE GAME SYSTEM COST LESS THAN A SINGLE GAME NOW
-I like this description of the rating "originally made to resemble actual people"
here's nintendo power celebrating awful crunch... not everything in this magazine is fun silly time. No one should have to work 24-hour shifts! No one should even have to work 16-hour shifts!
i'd argue no one should have to work 8-hour shifts in fact
I really like the icon for "just for fun"
-oh fig 2000s corporate internet
-The era of Nintendo having silly little websites for each game seems so strange now. what was DKTV...
"Monday through Friday from 4 to 7"... an era where you had to schedule chats...
-how many of these websites do you think are still up, obviously nintendo.com and i think pokemon.com still is
23 years later and this website is apparently still up
Oh yeah I forgot NP always included a three-page spread poster
no idea what this game is
-I'm not sure I ever realized how late in the GBC period Wario Land 3 came out, the GBA was less than a year away
-I remember always thinking this map was interesting but having no idea what any of it meant or how the game was played or anything
"The Volcanoe's Base"
GOLF!
-this is just inaccurate? I don't think you have to hold up to use the Head Smash. In fact I think you need to hold up to use the High Jump. Also the Head Smash screenshot isn't even of him using Head Smash
-"If you can't outrun the sun, do it at night when the moon is out like the screenshot we used"
-oh yeah i always forget about this utterly forgettable movie
-i kinda wanna look up gameplay footage because this sounds awful
-okay canon is clearly a typo but why would the use "ventilate" in this way
-ah yes the donkey kong 64 style of "do thing with other character so you can do other thing with other character"
-I kinda wanna look up this game because these questions make it sound insane
-Oh yeah, I forgot old NP had a dedicated Pokemon section. With art!
-oh I adore this vileplume!
-VICTREEBEL RISING
-yup, that's a diglett. and some thin ghosts.
-why would you give dewgong skull bash. why would you give it ice beam and aurora beam. AND NO WATER MOVE? WHEN YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A WATER MOVE ON YOUR TEAM???
-"the utility move, Skull Bash"??? WHAT DO YOU MEAN SWIFT CAN'T BE BEAT WHEN IT COMES TO SPEED???
-I also forgot NP had comic versions of Pokemon anime episodes
-gourd I forgot that was the origin story of their Pokemon, it makes them leaving in Hoenn even sadder
-I like how the Pokemon talk in big, colored font
-look at these cuties
-ah yes Dinosaur Planet, aka hey this guy kinda looks like fox mccloud
Who do you think got the rights to the parts of Dinosaur Planet that didn't get into Star Fox Adventures? Who owns the rights to Sabre??
-waaaaaaaa
-You know I never really thought about it, but at this point in time Gold and Silver had already been released, for half a year, in Japan. It's weird to think about the old days when Nintendo would build hype about an upcoming release in the NA region that had already been out in Japan for a while. (then of course there's the fact they didn't release until the following April in Europe, several months after Crystal had been out in Japan)
Duth Olec