8-bit hacks

NP + 20: The Infamous Dracula Cover

Nice job, Nintendo. It's only the second issue, and you've already managed to create for yourself a big ol' heap of controversy. Apparently, the choice of cover, depicting Simon holding the severed head of Dracula, freaked out some kids. I'll concede it's a perfectly understandable mistake, as it's pretty difficult to imagine how little kids might be frightened by an omnious figure clutching a severed vampire head with glowing red eyes. I always thought last issue's weird claymation Mario was a lot freakier, anyway.

Do the contents of the magazine measure up to the cover? Let's find out...

NP + 20: We're not the only ones

We're not about to stop bringing you thoughtful original content daily, and there's a first take on Spore coming later today, but the blogosphere is all about sharing, so it's high time we started doing our part. Naturally, we're not the only ones interested in taking a trip down memory lane when it comes to Nintendo Power. This is back from June, but Jeremy Parish over at 1UP did a column looking back on NP and he did a pretty good job of encapsulating the spirit of what made it stand out back in its day. Like any other feature of this kind, it's one part historical, one part wistful nostalgia at pre-tubes days gone by. Find it right here. Choice excerpt:

I cannot lie; many of my 8-bit purchases were determined strictly on the strength of the magazine's slapdash layouts full of level maps crafted through the very scientific process of taking snapshots of TV screens and pasting them together. I remember reading a rundown of gaming pubs of the time in a magazine (an actual news magazine, mind you) and taking umbrage at its description of NP's design as "peanut butter and jelly layouts," but in retrospect, uh, yeah. Messy, colorful, kid-friendly, uncomplicated -- that was NP in a nutshell.

Nintendo Power + 20: The Legend Begins

One score years ago (thereabouts), Nintendo set loose upon the world its own propaganda rag game magazine, and the gaming world was never quite the same. I'll confess I never got hold of NP #1 quite when it first came out, but I do recall finding a box of old NPs at a garage sale in the early 90s and considering it quite the find.

I still have those oldest issues (before they switched to the cheap binding), and I thought what better time than its 20th anniversary to flip through it and take a trip down memory lane?