Old Magazine Chat

I see they were talking about how Nintendo had released too many games for the GBA. Give it time, fellows, give it time...

Another cracking set of pages there. I appreciate Mr. Chips, doing game industry bull before Sterling and the like got their clammy hands on YouTube.

'PLUSH TOY GREED', though? I'd like to file a charge against Games™ of personal attack. From 2004.

Excellent again Cappa - many thanks for that. As I was reading those, I had the same thought about Retro Gamer magazine! Mind you, I only bought one issue of that and couldn't be bothered to read it all...

I remember those Players Choice adverts with the propeller hat! This was around the time that I was buying games magazines on the regular - usually Gamesmaster at the time, I think.

Great write-up Cappa.

Games TM was great, but one that I'd often sift through in WHSmiths whilst waiting for a bus. It never felt like it was worth purchasing (like an N64 or NGC did), but I enjoyed the Essentials directory as it was the most in line with my tastes at the time.

Continuing on with our theme of ‘Things That Are Out On Their Arse’, here’s a dreadful-looking copy of the Official Prima Strategy Guide for Pokemon Stadium on the N64.



The maker of these strategy guides - over 1,400 of them, according to Eurogamer - shut up shop last November, in light of “challenging market conditions”. By that, I’m guessing that the ease of researching other equivalent walkthroughs online was what humped them in the end. I’m maybe like you, I haven’t paid full-price for a Prima Guide in well over fifteen years. I didn’t pay for this one in 2000 earlier - it came with the game.



























If you’re into Pokemon, this might be quite self-explanatory. There’s not much to be said about this to be fair - I just thought you’d maybe like the pictures.

(squeaks slightly) I had this!  I had this, and I spent hours poring over it because I was a sad child.  Hours poring over it and picking out the mistakes, because I was a sad child and a pedant.  Mewtwo 2, for instance, had Psychic and Ice, not Psychic and Electric.  The game itself was reliant on training the top monsters in RBY, which I wasn't going to be doing any time soon (levelling up Pokémon to level 100, trying to give them good moves using RBY's odd range of one-use TMs, and that's before you get into the weirdness that was the Petit Cup); so this was the closest I got to a lot of the later stages.

I had the Prima GSC one too!  That was more accurate and more detailed: obscure 'coverage' mentions were replaced by the actual moves.

I do normally pick up a guide for the likes of Zelda but nothing else, still nice to see something different.

That strategy guide looks excellent, I would have loved that

I had the Pokemon Yellow guide and that's it I think for pokemon

I used to buy a lot of Prima guides: not even to help me, but because I liked reading what I'd already done.

Balladeer wrote:

I used to buy a lot of Prima guides: not even to help me, but because I liked reading what I'd already done.

uh



I also like Neil Patrick Harris as Brock there...

GameFAQs was the death of Prima Guides and was probably the death of my printing privileges as a wee sprog too, actually - I remember printing off like 70 pages for a Wind Waker 100% completion guide.

I did enjoy picking up a couple of game guides, more as a piece of merchandise for my favourite games than anything else. I think a lot of companies have picked up on that as the only guides I see now are usually well put together with some lovely artwork. I picked up one for Mother 3 from Fangamer a wee while ago.

Jimbob wrote:

Balladeer wrote:

I used to buy a lot of Prima guides: not even to help me, but because I liked reading what I'd already done.

uh

Also the art and stuff were often quite nice, but there was a feeling of smug satisfaction in looking back over the maps I'd conquered. Also to be fair I did use them to hoover up side-quests, e.g. getting all the Heart Pieces in Twilight Princess.

At some point I want to find an early / mid / late issue of this particular magazine, but: my parents were clearing old crap out of their loft, and found this:

Spoiler:

Flongous?! What a bloody time in history. OK, I checked Urban Dictionary for Flongy, and that's not what it meant at the time.

This was picked up by my Aunt and Uncle when they went to the Future Entertainment Show - i.e. when Future Publishing were big enough to hold their own version of EGX! They met Stevie J and Thicky Dyer.
I should also probably scan in the show guide at some point.

I still call people 'twonks' (usually myself), so I'm down for that t-shirt.

HI EVERYONE FREE THING
Clearing out my bookshelf / magazine storage, I (a) was planning to do a thing on 3 issues of TOTAL! (beginning / middle / end). However, I discovered that, due to a subscription error, I have an additional pristine copy of issue 37. I could sell it on eBay, where it's likely to fetch up to a tenner or something (I can't believe these are collectors items). However, would anyone here like it?

Here's the front cover, on some website.

If one person wants it, I'll send it to you.
If more than one person wants it... we'll work out what to do at some point.
If no-one wants it... I guess eBay? Not so much for the monetary value, but so that it goes to a SNES person.

I'd love that magazine if you're willing to post it out. I'd rather swap you for it though, and send something nice your way for your trouble. 👍

Truth be told Jim, I'd love you to send it Cappa's way (for something nice). That maximises the odds of the rest of us seeing the best bits here. Cappa's good at that.

I'd definitely stick that issue up here, nae danger.

I'll stick something else up sometime next week, either an NGC or a C&VG

Blimey, CVG magazine. That takes me back. Mostly it takes me back to buying a magazine when I was too young for it and wondering what all the censored swearwords and barely-dressed women were for.

C&VG would be nice to see as I don't think I've ever read and will cover multiple formats.

Would anyone like to see at some point the official Dreamcast Mags, I recently bought.

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

I'd love that magazine if you're willing to post it out. I'd rather swap you for it though, and send something nice your way for your trouble.

That's very kind of you to offer that; however, you are sending me something nice, in that I can clear this stuff out of my house! Plus, we'll always have Action Girlz Racing. I will PM/MP RP.

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

I'd definitely stick that issue up here, nae danger.

And also that.

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

I'll stick something else up sometime next week, either an NGC or a C&VG

And this!

Jimbob wrote:

Plus, we'll always have Action Girlz Racing.

I was reading these the other day. Belting writing, albeit the four of us had to suffer no end to get there. At some point (NOT NOW ) I'd like to have another shot at that - maybe gifting people bobbins eShop games?

I should make you install an Amstrad emulator and you can play doubly-converted conversions of your favourite arcade games.

Bagsy not Athena

Joke's on you, I have no favourite arcade games!

(Okay it's probably one of the Taiko no Tatsujins.)

Balladeer wrote:

Joke's on you, I have no favourite arcade games!

(Okay it's probably one of the Taiko no Tatsujins.)

Banger. See also Mario Kart, f-Zero, various star wars flying ones, tank tank tank, point blanc. . .