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  1. Famitsu Issue 0106 (August 3, 1990)

    As seen on the cover, Necky the Fox is so horny for the upcoming release of the Super Famicom he's done something downright desperate.  Let's hope no one was hurt.
    Meanwhile, the editors of Famitsu are so horny for anything that moves that they used the flimsy excuse of having a chick pose like the underwater enemies in Super Darius just so they could print some pics of her in a swimsuit.
    Somebody get these guys a Pulitzer.

    86 downloads

    1 comment

    Submitted

  2. Tech Gian Issue 023 (September 1998)

    ADULTS ONLY
    The CD-ROM included with this issue can be downloaded HERE.

    73 downloads

    1 comment

    Submitted

  3. Family Computer Magazine Issue 011 (May 2, 1986)

    As always, Famimaga is printed Japanese-style and read from right to left, so you'd better switch to Japanese/manga mode if you want the facing pages displayed in the right order.
    This issue has a Q&A with Shigeru Miyamoto about the just-released The Legend of Zelda.

    That's him on the left.  "Miyahon" is a joke, or at least what passes for one in Japanese.  You see, his name is written 宮本 in kanji, and the second kanji (by itself) can be read as "hon," meaning "book."  It's a real knee-slapper if you happen to be Japanese, I bet.
    The other interviewee is "Ten Ten," the co-designer of Zelda, Takashi Tezuka, but I don't know his nickname is also a hilarious play on the kanji in his name or not, because I still haven't recovered from the wackiness overload of "Miyahon" to be able to try to figure it out.
    Miyahon.  Video gaming's gain was standup comedy's loss, I'm sure.
    Still, the man is a legend.  I'm sure there's a nugget or two of invaluable wisdom to be gleaned from the interview.
     

    62 downloads

    1 comment

    Submitted

  4. Comptiq No.246 (September 2002)

    The CD-ROM included with this issue can be downloaded HERE.

    37 downloads

    4 comments

    Submitted

  5. Famitsu Issue 1340/1341 (August 21/28, 2014)

    So big it's bursting out.

     
    Actually, I was talking about the mag itself.  A whopping 338 pages.  
    Of
    SERIOUS.
    GAMING.
    JOURNALISM.
     
    Like this girl's 3 sizes.  Absolutely vital info needed to better understand the completely unrelated article about games these pics accompany.

    Hey...  It says she's from the very same prefecture I live in...🤔
     

    57 downloads

    0 comments

    Submitted

  6. Famitsu Issue 1342 (September 4, 2014)

    I only read Famitsu for the hard-hitting gaming journalism.


    65 downloads

    2 comments

    Submitted

  7. Play Online No.025 (July 2000)

    These issues are full of games I own but have never played.  It's been twenty years since I last bought a game, but from around 1997-2004 or so, I was a game buying machine.  Unfortunately I was also a not-nearly-enough-free-time machine, so most of those purchases went unplayed.  And now that I'm a never-ever-play-games-at-all machine, they will likely forever remain so. 😮‍💨

    64 downloads

    1 comment

    Submitted

  8. Family Computer Magazine Issue 010 (April 18, 1986)

    This issue is a perfect example of why I think CBR is a better format than PDF for magazine scans (there's not even an argument of which is better for comics - CBR readers were created in the first place because PDF is such a godawful format for comics.)  When we have facing pages forming images/text that can't be properly read unless both pages are viewed at the same time, such as the maps for The Legend of Zelda found in this issue, it makes sense that those pages be left as a single jpg.  Whether the CBR reader is set to view single pages or two pages at a time, when it gets to a two-page join that has been saved as a single image, it will display ONLY that two page join.  PDF viewers aren't able to make the distinction between pages of different sizes, and leaving the pages joined would cause the PDF reader to display the joined pages as one page with the following page set as the facing page, thus displaying 3 pages side by side and throwing off the facing pages for the rest of the mag thereafter.   If two 2-page joins immediately followed one another, a CBR reader would display them one at a time, while a PDF reader would put them side by side, trying to squeeze 4 pages on screen at once.
    Stupid PDF reader displaying 4 pages in "two-page mode":

    Also, pages like the Goonies maps, which were printed sideways in the mag, can be rotated into landscape orientation and the CBR reader knows to treat them the same as a two-page join - displaying them one at a time regardless of whether you're reading in one or two-page mode.  PDF readers would take two of those rotated images and display them side by side if you were viewing in two-page mode.
    Another plus of a CBR reader is that pages of different sizes don't cause problems.  You can set the CBR reader to display all pages at any pixel height you like, it will shrink or enlarge the images to match your desired size, giving images of different sizes a uniform appearance.  PDF readers don't do this, so if you had an image followed by another image twice the height of the first, they would be displayed side by side at two completely different sizes (this is the root of the rule that mag pages be saved at a uniform height, even though it isn't actually necessary for CBR readers.)
    Whenever I upload a mag to the Internet Archive, I include a note reminding people that the mag was edited and intended to be read as a CBR.  The preview reader they have is based on the compressed PDF they auto-generate, and it quite often displays things incorrectly (just as any PDF reader would.)
     
    But hey, maybe you prefer PDFs.  In which case... YOU'RE OVERRULED!  This ain't the place to complain, get out of here, ya lousy bum!! 😜
     
    P.S. As usual kids, you've got to set your CBR reader to Japanese/manga mode if you don't want all the facing pages to be in the wrong order.

    122 downloads

    2 comments

    Updated

  9. Family Computer Magazine Issue 009 (April 1986)

    This is the last monthly issue of Famimaga before switching to a semi-monthly (every two weeks) publishing schedule.  Actually, the last monthly issue was probably the previous issue, since although this issue is simply "April 1986," the next issue will be the "April 18th 1986" issue.  So you can tell things are really heating up on the Nintendo Famicom front in Japan.  This same month, both Marukatsu Famicom and Famicom Hisshoubon would also launch, and a couple of months later, Famitsu's first issue will arrive late to the party as well.
    In addition to a complete strategy guide to Super Mario Bros., this issue also takes a look at the recently released The Legend of Zelda, as well as the Famicom port of Portopia, an important and extremely successful early Japanese menu-based graphic adventure game designed by Yuji Horii, someone who would soon blow up the Japanese gaming world with a little game appearing in a tiny preview at the back of this issue: Dragon Quest.

    82 downloads

    0 comments

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  10. Dengeki PlayStation Vol.103 (April 9, 1999)

    Japan doesn't bother releasing most Western games.  But when they do, it's interesting to see how they market them.  Case in point, Spyro the Dragon.  I like Spyro.  I find it a very relaxing game to play.  Just run around looking for hidden gems or whatever (forgive me, it's been 20 years since I played it) without too much danger or difficulty.  Which is appropriate, as it's essentially a kids' game.  So how does Japan market it?  As seen in this issue's ad, Spyro zooms by, blowing up Japanese school girls' skirts.  Because someone looked at the game and thought "what this childrens' game's ad campaign needs is a little bit of sex."  Of course, the Japanese release of Spyro was a mess since they mucked with the camera while trying to cater to the common (at that time) Japanese complaint that 3D cameras made people get motion sickness (I call bullshit, but whatever.  Japan eventually realized that 3D was here to stay, so this isn't a complaint heard anymore.)    So, the Japanese version probably deserved to fail as it did.  But you can also take a gander at the Japanese logo for Spyro if you want to see where the American developers got the idea to name Spyro 2's villain, since the stylized katakana for Spyro looks a lot like alphabet characters spelling "Ripto."

    87 downloads

    1 comment

    Submitted

  11. Dengeki G's Magazine Issue 028 (November 1999)

    The supplement is included at the end of the file.  Seems pointless to release it separately, so I won't.😛

    53 downloads

    1 comment

    Submitted

  12. Play Online No.024 (June 2000)

    First news about the Xbox reveal (still over a year away from launching.)  I imagine the editors of this magazine were some of the only people in Japan looking forward to it.  They might have been the only people in Japan to BUY it as well.  OK, that's an exaggeration.  Play Online only has 4 editors, and I believe there were around 7 or 8 Xboxes sold in Japan.

    62 downloads

    2 comments

    Submitted

  13. Famitsu Issue 1343 (September 11, 2014)

    Just another 276 pages of weekly content making Western mags look lazy.

    58 downloads

    0 comments

    Submitted

  14. Family Computer Magazine Issue 008 (March 1986)

    The main stories this issue would probably be both the release of The Legend of Zelda and the Famicom Disk System, both of which were released on February 21, 1986 (don't forget - Zelda was an FDS game in Japan - it wouldn't be released on cartridge there until 1994.)
    All these background images and maps stretching across facing pages make editing these a real chore. 😮‍💨
    Remember, if you're seeing this:

    that means you're doing it wrong, dummy.😝
    Don't be a dummy.  Set your CBR reader to Japanese/manga mode:

    64 downloads

    0 comments

    Submitted

  15. Family Computer Magazine Issue 007 (February 1986)

    Anyone interested in gaming history should take note: this issue not only features a first look at some game about a guy named Zelda (that's his name, right?), but it also features a very early discussion/interview between Masanobu Endo, the designer of Xevious and The Tower of Druaga, and some kid named Shigeru Miyamoto, who designed a couple of games I can't recall off the top of my head, but I hear he's done all right for himself.
    *This issue is missing an 8-page pullout of maps for the game Challenger (pages 123-130).  You can still see where they were pulled from the mag, along with the note instructing readers to peel the pages off (they weren't stapled in, but rather affixed with a strip of glue.) 
    **Also, as always, Family Computer Magazine is printed Japanese-style and read from right to left.  Your CBR reader must be set to Japanese/manga mode for facing pages to be oriented correctly.  Man, I'm getting tired of writing instructions on how to read Japanese magazines.  You all are smart enough to figure it out on your own, right?  If the text is printed horizontally, you read L-R just like alphabetic languages.  If the text is printed vertically you read from R-L.  Got it?  This is the last time I'm going to mention it! 🫡

    60 downloads

    2 comments

    Updated

  16. Comptiq No.247 (October 2002)

    The CD-ROM included with this issue can be downloaded HERE.

    46 downloads

    0 comments

    Submitted

  17. Family Computer Magazine Issue 006 (January 1986)

    I started out thinking I'd just do the ads for the gallery and then ended up editing the whole thing.  This is probably the earliest Nintendo mag that's been scanned yet, but it's mostly interesting to me seeing how Famimaga itself evolved over time.  This issue has large b&w sections, quite a bit of which is manga, while by a couple of years later, Famimaga will become 100% full color and drop most of the manga, setting it apart from Famitsu, which at this point was still half a year away from launching.
    Another interesting thing is noticing that some of the manga is based on Famicom games published by Takuma Shoten - which is also the publisher of Famimaga.  Famitsu had the same deal - it was published by ASCII, who also published tons of Famicom games.
    How this worked and they were able to maintain any sense of credibility with Japanese consumers I have no idea.  Imagine if EGM was published by Electronic Arts and GamePro was published by Activision - who could trust them to treat the games they covered fairly?  Or if Nintendo Power was published by Nintendo?  Oh wait, it was.  But that proves the point - no one read Nintendo Power expecting honest reviews and uncompromising criticism, they just expected lots of colorful pictures and maps, and that's what they got.
    In that sense, I guess Famimaga could be seen a bit as the Nintendo Power of Japan, since, like Nintendo Power, it was published by a game publisher, was probably the most colorful gaming mag on the stands at the time, and took the high road by abstaining from reviews for the most part.  It also seems to be the most beloved nostalgic mag for Japanese gamers of a certain age despite its lack of any strong critical/editorial stance.  Add a Japanese Howard Phillips to the mix and they'd be twins.
     
    ***Oh yeah, forgot to mention - as usual, Family Computer Magazine is printed Japanese-style and is read from right-to-left.  Your CBR reader must be set to Japanese/manga mode throughout the entire issue if you want facing pages to be oriented correctly.
    Also, the color manga sections were actually a pullout with narrow landscape-aspect pages.  I recommend setting your reader to "fit height" during that portion of the mag, which will basically fill your screen with the entire page and make it easy to read.

    59 downloads

    5 comments

    Updated

  18. Kouryaku Dennou idol Vol.1 (May 1999)

    ADULTS ONLY
    So basically, this is Tips & Tricks for adult games.  Kouryaku Dennou idol was a spin-off mag to BugBug magazine and focuses on strategies/solutions to adult games.  While currently there may only be 3 monthly mags devoted to adult games being published in Japan, back in the late 90s and early 2000s, there were more like 8 or 9, and they were so successful that a strategy-focused spinoff was economically viable.  Kind of like EGM2.  Except everyone is naked.

    60 downloads

    3 comments

    Submitted

  19. Family Computer Magazine Issue 117 (December 14, 1990)

    The entirety of Family Computer Magazine is read R-L, so you will need to set your CBR reader to Japanese/Manga mode if viewing two pages at a time in order for facing pages to be oriented correctly (and you DO want to view it that way to see the lovely two-page ads, right?)
    Featuring games you've definitely heard of, such as
    Actraiser F-Zero TMNT II: The Arcade Game And a bunch of games you might have heard of, some released in the USA, some not.
    Did I mention that unlike almost all other Japanese mags, Family Computer Magazine doesn't have any b&w sections?  100% color from cover to cover.

    88 downloads

    0 comments

    Submitted

  20. Dengeki PlayStation Vol.101 (March 26, 1999)

    There's another 24 pages of FFVIII coverage here, but perhaps because FFVIII already graced the cover of the past two issues, they've given the cover to Chocobo Racing, despite it only getting 2 pages of coverage.  Also getting 2 pages (but no cover - sorry, you-know-who) is Tomb Raider III, pretty much the only non-Japanese game in the entire issue (Spyro the Dragon gets half a page.)

    105 downloads

    1 comment

    Updated

  21. Famitsu Issue 1344 (September 18/25, 2014)

    This is one of those weird issues that was given two issue numbers (it's technically issues 1344 and 1345), and counting all pages individually, this issue weighs in at 316 pages (though the posters and comic spreads are left joined in the archive as they should be).  That's the equivalent of 4 issues of Game Players, only with just one issue of Game Players' worth of ads.  And since these double number issues are also allotted two weeks on newsstands as opposed to one, there were only 3 issues of Famitsu published in September 2014 for a total of 851 pages, though if we count the last issue from August as well (which was printed within 30 days of this issue) it's a total of 1,189 pages in a 30 day period.  Which is just a few more pages than the 76 that Game Players churned out every month.
    Why am I picking on Game Players?  I'm not.  I wish ALL mags I scanned were like Game Players.  Scanning 1,189 pages per month versus 76 pages per month...that's one month of Famitsu vs. 15.6 months of Game Players.  Imagine how many more issues I could scan if only they weren't SO. DAMN. LONG...😩

    62 downloads

    2 comments

    Submitted

  22. Dengeki PlayStation Vol.100 (March 12, 1999)

    Celebrate 100 issues of Dengeki PlayStation with 50 pages of Final Fantasy VIII coverage.  And not one, but two memory card sticker sheets.  Every time I run across one of these, there's always a sticker or two missing and I wonder what games they were for.  And did the person who took them actually put them on a memory card or just stick them somewhere else, like the back of a volkswagon?

    106 downloads

    1 comment

    Submitted

  23. Play Online No.023 (May 2000)

    I see you down there.

    Is this tiny cameo Ms. Croft's first-ever appearance on a Japanese gaming mag cover?  Quite possibly.  Japan was about the only country in the world that never caught Croft Cover Chlamydia.  aHEM. Fever.  I meant, Croft Cover Fever.
    Not that they're really talking about Tomb Raider at all in this issue - it shows up in an article rating how accurate the depiction of guns in various games are.  Poor Lara comes dead last in realism with 2 out of 5 stars.  I'm not sure whose idea it was to include Tomb Raider in any comparative evaluation of REALISM, though.  Have they even played the series?🤔

    50 downloads

    4 comments

    Submitted

  24. Comptiq No.248 (November 2002)

    The manga section is read R-L.  If using two-page view mode, you will need to turn on Japanese/manga mode as well during the manga section.  If viewing pages one at a time, no adjustments are necessary.
     

    51 downloads

    0 comments

    Submitted

  25. Play Online No.022 (April 2000)

    Even Japan got fooled into thinking Daikatana was cover-worthy.

    69 downloads

    4 comments

    Updated


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