Having Issues

Want information on a game? It's instantly accessible, via a few clicks on the internet. Much as I love visiting my favorite gaming sites, I still have a fondness for a few video game magazines. A lot of people say print media is dying, but I don't think it will ever fully go the way of the Dodo bird. There's really nothing like holding a good game magazine in your hands, flipping through the pages, reading reviews, editorials, special features and so on.

I can still remember the very first game mag I picked up. It was Nintendo Power Vol. 13, which was a detailed strategy guide for Super Mario Bros. 3, the entire issue. That particular Nintendo Power issue helped me become as adept as I am at that game today. Many of the tricks and tips I learned are still firmly implanted in my brain. I know the quickest path to get to Bowser once I enter his castle, I became aware that I could rack up extra lives real fast in World 1-2 via Goombas coming out of the pipe, and I knew where each and every warp whistle was. Any secret you want to know about Super Mario Bros. 3 can be unearthed with ease on YouTube and plenty of other places on the web, but in 1990, if you were one of the few people who knew this stuff, you were the coolest kid on the block.

My very first issue of Nintendo Power. I
still have it in my possession.

A few years later I would start picking up Nintendo Power on a regular basis. As I looked through the review section it became increasingly clear that the magazine had a bias towards Nintendo-developed and published games. Back when the magazine used the 5 point rating system, Super Mario World was the only game to achieve near perfect sores in every category until Donkey Kong Country was released. I love me some Super Mario World but visually and audibly, that came had been outclassed by a ton of other SNES games. The magazine would give plenty of praise to third party games but when it came to first party stuff, Nintendo's games walked away with the highest ratings. This was a time when the magazine was owned by Nintendo itself so I suppose such bias was to be expected but it still rubbed me the wrong way.

The Last Nintendo-published issue of Nintendo Power that I bought was the April 1999 issue. I wouldn't buy another issue of Nintendo Power until December of 2007 and boy was I surprised to see that a lot had changed since then. These days the magazine is published by Future US and it's has content much like every other gaming magazine. Walkthroughs and strategy guides from Nintendo Power are now a thing of the past. In fact, Prima puts out strategy guides on big first party Nintendo games. There's a greater focus on previews, reviews and special features on upcoming games. The community section that shows off lots of stuff from readers like hand crafted clothing and figurines is one of the best things about the magazine. Along with this has come a change in writing style. The Nintendo Power of old would never say that Big the Cat should "Die in a fire," (something I wholeheartedly agree with) or use swearing. This kinda stuff was a shock to the system and was a big indicator how much the magazine had changed over the years.

Nintendo Power has changed a lot over the years. I personally
think it has changed for the better.

As much as I enjoyed the old Nintendo Power (despite the bias), I love what it has evolved into. It's becoming one of my favorite magazines to buy each month and I've considered getting a subscription just so I can get it sooner. I've always been a Nintendo fan. Yes, I have beefs with the company about how they do certain things, but I still love them. I'll be a Nintendo fan til the day I die so in that sense, it only seems natural to me to read Nintendo Power.

The second video game magazine that I ever picked up was GamePro. If I remember right, it was the December 1993 issue. I had never seen a video game magazine so think. There were a lot of ads but there was also a lot of content. In this particular issue I got my first look at Sonic CD. I didn't have a Sega CD at the time, but being a huge fan of Sonic, I was still interested in the game, nonetheless. This issue also had reviews for all three versions (SNES, NES and Genesis) of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters. It was just such a joy to read and thumb through. The staff went by oddball names like Scary Larry, which always made me chuckle. I pretty much liked everything about GamePro and  had no major problems with the mag for years. It was the first magazine I ever got a subscription to. Which made getting the mail with a GamePro issue even more fun.

Ah, the memories.

GamePro now.

They say that change is good and I like to think I was there for some of GamePro's evolution, though I honestly can't remember it. In the current GamePro, articles are a major focus and I do think that's one of the new GamePro's best points. The March 2011 issue I read had a very interesting article called Sonic's Dilemma, which was focused on the ferocity and seething hatred of the Sonic fanbase. The reviews section, however, I didn't really care for. While it is nice to know what other game critics think of a game, I'd rather have more of the review be about what the prime reviewer thought. As of now, my opinion on the current GamePro is a bit of a mixed bag. I like that there's a greater focus on articles but find the reviews to be a step backwards. I'm a little saddened by that because I used to love GamePro's reviews.

The first issue of EGM I ever bought.

Electronic Gaming Monthly was the other game mag I was familiar with. The first issue I picked up was one of the summer issues from 1994 that had a special feature on Mortal Kombat II. Starting with the April 1998 issue I would be a regular reader of the magazine for years to come. The four person review system took some time to get used to but it grew on me as it was nice to have more than one opinion on games. EGM was also my exposure to seeing a game get ripped to shreds when it was awful. Games that really stunk up the place were given scores of 4s, 2s and 3s by the mother load and it was a treat to read the review crew's negative feedback on such disastrous products, something that only seemed to get better when Sean Baby got his own regular section in the magazine in the early 2000s.

I wish I could say something about the current EGM, but in truth I haven't kept up with the magazine in years. For a long time, it was my favorite thing to read but in the early 2000s, there was a radical redesign in the layout. Reviews were cut back to three reviewers per game and ads began to take up even more space. I flip through it every now and then and I can say that I the current magazine layout doesn't bother me. Maybe I'll pick up an issue sometime and hop back on board. Oh and fun fact, Major Mike used to work for EGM.

Game Informer, circa 1998.

Another magazine I read for a while was Game Informer. I started picking this one up in 1998. It had the standard reviews, previews and special cover stories but one thing that set it apart from other magazines at the time was a four page section called Classic GI. The focus on this section was for games from the previous generations. Thanks to Classic GI I became ware of Cobra Triangle, Blaster Master and other retro classics that I added to my collection. Game Informer also happens to be the very first magazine that I got a letter published in. It was July 1998 issue, which I still have. Like most gaming mags, Game Informer also underwent change, and sadly the Classic GI section is pretty much gone. I haven't read Game Informer in years but it's certainly something I'd pick up again, even though I don't always agree with the staff.

The current Game Informer.

The latest game magazine I've picked up is Retro Gamer. I had been aware of this magazine almost a year before picking up my first issue. Living in Ohio, Retro Gamer was not sold on newsstands, or at least it wasn't in the city I lived in. When I made the move to Virginia Beach, it was a pleasant surprise to see Retro Gamer in book stores. Being a huge fan of old-school gaming, Retro Gamer and I go together like peanut butter and jelly. Since a lot of old-school games are coming out on downloadable services like PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and Virtual console, there is a review section but it's not quite as robust as other gaming mags. There's also reviews for homebrew games and newer games that have an old-school feel to them like Donkey Kong Country Returns.

One of the best magazines being published.

Content found in Retro Gamer makes it unlike any other gaming magazine or website. Future Classic is a two page feature that highlights a game that isn't all that old and tells why we'll be playing it years later. A few games that made the Future Classic section are Astro Boy: Omega Factor and Luigi's Mansion, I'm happy to say. Readers can regularly see their words in the magazine each month and I'm not just talking about the letter's section. I, myself am an example. Then you have the occasional collector's guide which highlights the obvious and not-so-obvious games you should own for the featured console along with how easy or hard a game is to find. Along with all the magazines wonderful features, it's just a joy to read. It may be a mag for old-school gamers, but I recommend Retro Gamer to anyone that enjoys a good magazine to read. I plan to stick with this magazine now matter what.

I thew a lot of my old gaming magazines out some time after I moved into my first apartment. Looking back, I kinda wish I hadn't. It would have been fun to go back and reminisce, read some of those old reviews. Now that I'm actively reading game magazines once more, I won't repeat that mistake.