The Nintendo Power article that's responsible for my interest in Japanese culture and video games

Here's a piece of news that should shock no one who has visited this blog on a somewhat regular basis: I've been interested in--some would say obsessed with--Japanese culture and video games for a very long time.

How long? According to the filled-out-but-never-turned-in "Player's Poll" I just found in my well-worn copy of Nintendo Power's premiere (July/August 1988) issue, the answer is 26 years. (On the above-mentioned poll, I listed my age as 11.)

As for what the first issue of Nintendo Power has to do with all of this, well, if memory serves, the article above--which I just scanned from said issue--is what prompted me to fall in love with the Land of the Rising Sun in general and its video games in particular.

Seeing that throng of people standing in line, waiting for their copies of the just-released Dragon Quest III set my hear aflutter, as did the screenshot of the Famicom game's overworld. (For whatever reason, making all four party members visible while traversing said overworld completely blew my young mind.)

Assuming at least some of you have a similar fascination with Japan and its games, what pushed you in that direction?

RIP Nintendo Power

I know I'm a little LTTP when it comes to this RIP, but the truth is I wasn't planning to write about this rather sad occasion (Nintendo Power's December 2012 issue will be its last), mainly because I haven't flipped through a copy of the magazine in ages.

Then I came across a photo I took a few years back of Nintendo Power's first issue (below and here), and it brought to mind all sorts of amazingly fond memories.

One of them: If memory serves, the issue above was sent to me and my brother shortly after we acquired our NES. Although we were quite content with the pack-in title (Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt), those first images of Super Mario Bros. 2 blew our young minds.

In fact, I'm pretty sure the timing of Super Mario Bros. 2's announcement and release is solely responsible for Mario's first sequel (in the US) becoming my favorite of all his two-dimensional adventures.

Nintendo Power's second issue (above and here) was only slightly less amazing than its first thanks to features that focused on Bionic Commando and Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. (Oh, and more Super Mario Bros. 2, of course.)

And then, in the magazine's fourth issue (below and here), we got both a (somewhat disturbing due to its use of mannequins) cover image devoted to and a review of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, another game that--at the time, at least--completely rocked my world.

(To see an early Nintendo Power cover that I'm much more fond of, check out this photo of the July/August 1989 issue. Claymation Mega Man FTW!)

Will any of you be sad to see Nintendo Power go the way of the Dodo? If so, what are some of your most cherished memories of this nearly 25-year-old publication?

And now I'm (finally) going to play that copy of Dragon Quest that Darwin Yamamoto sent me

I doubt any of you remember this, but sometime last year--at least I think it was last year--I decided to play through Dragon Quest (actually, Dragon Warrior, the North American version of the game) for the first time since it was released back in 1989.

That playthrough didn't last long, mainly because I had no idea as to where I should go or what I should do. The last thing I remember doing involved wandering into a pitch-black cave and getting ambushed by a giant green dragon that slayed me in about two seconds.

Thanks Darwin Yamamoto's generosity--he bought me a copy of the Famicom version of Dragon Quest while visiting Japan recently, as detailed in this post--I've decided to give the game another try. Because I don't understand a word of Japanese and also because I don't want to recreate my last attempt at playing through this classic RPG, I recently picked up a copy of the strategy guide that Nintendo Power produced (and published) for this game shortly after its North American release.

The scan above is of said strategy guide's front cover, by the way. Because quite a few awesome (or at least interesting) illustrations can be found between its covers, I'm seriously considering featuring this Nintendo Power publication in a future edition of "Manual Stimulation," although I doubt I'll be able to include every single page.

Haggar the Horrible

During my recent three-week stint in Madison, Wisconsin, I discovered the magazine below--Vol. 28 of Nintendo Power--while digging through a pile of old gaming publications sitting in the corner of my childhood bedroom.

That in and of itself isn't all that noteworthy, I admit--unless you're a huge fan of Super Mario World, of course--so why am I mentioning it here? I'm mentioning it here because of what I found on page 78 of said magazine.

If you click on the scan below and then zoom in on the guy standing in the left-hand corner of the page, you'll see what I consider to be one of the most hideous illustrations of Final Fight's Mike Haggar ever created.

Nintendo Power's take on the same game's Cody--apparently he's a mononymous person like Cher and Madonna--isn't much better, sadly:

I tried to wipe these despicable drawings from my mind by finding some filthy fan art featuring this dynamic duo, but all of my searches came up short. Thankfully, this GameSetWatch article--about a pair of rather roid-y Cody and Haggar figures--popped up just in time.

See also: 'Hubba hubba, part deux'