I Miss Nintendo Power

 In the midst of a fever dream the other day, I started thinking of playing Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo back in the early 90s. The thought occurred to me that the very essence of each Mario game was born of a fever dream, or perhaps a psilocybin mushroom trip, but when I awoke, I could only think of how badly I wanted to play Super Mario again. Since I am in the process of moving and most of my gaming systems are safely packed away, I was unable to satisfy my desire.

Being ill and stuck in bed, I began to reminisce. Games like Super Mario World had so much to offer that the current generation of games seem to be lacking. For instance, hidden levels or bonus stages. Does anyone remember the secret Star levels in Super Mario World? It was this whole other, awesome part of the game. It wasn't necessary for one to complete these stages to be able to complete the game, but it was a great hidden extra. Also, I remember it taking a fair amount of work to be able to unlock all of those bonus stages. There were some pretty specific things one had to do in some very specific levels of the game to be able to access each stage. As I was thinking about it, I started thinking "How the hell did I ever figure stuff like that out?" And then it hit me. Nintendo Power.

 Growing up in a world in which the Internet was not yet commonplace, kids like myself had few options for salvation when stumped in a game. Nintendo Power magazine was that salvation. I had a pretty consistent subscription to Nintendo Power for years, and it was great. Not only did it provide the latest news on all of the latest games that were coming out for the Super Nintendo and Game Boy (and later Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Advance), but it also offered strategy guide quality game walkthroughs and full color maps. It's something that I really miss.

Not only did it give step-by-step instruction on some of the latest games and how to find all of the hidden areas and items, but it also featured contests and prizes. There was always a monthly giveaway from the magazine in which some really, really sweet stuff could be won (I remember one prize was a full, genuine set of samurai armor), but there were also contests based on skills and scores in games. It was this whole community for gamers that brought people together in a very tangible way.

Gaming magazines barely even exist these days. With all of the latest gaming news being instantly available on the Internet, and all of the latest games having full strategy guides available for purchase in store, what use is there for a magazine about games? It makes me kind of sad. I feel like the whole gaming community is becoming more and more isolated even though video games are more prevalent in society than they ever have been before. I miss that feeling of community. I miss Nintendo Power.