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Retromags Presents! Gamepro Issue 135 December 1999 Database Entry! Download Directly! Scanned by Phillyman. Edited by Melki All the 1999 issues are preserved now!

For the love of god, take care of your mags, people. A scanner will thank you someday. 4 freaking hours this took me...

I've decided to jump straight into the prequel, because it will be applicable to the most people. If you're reading this and are not actively contributing scans, then this guide applies to you. No Scanner, No Problem - Anyone Can Help Magazine scanning isn't for everyone. Not everyone owns magazines that are in need of being scanned, for one. An even more common problem is lack of access to a scanner. And even if a decent scanner and a stack of magazines is at hand, very few have the brass cojones needed to debind the mags so that they can be properly scanned. But that doesn't mean they can't help. Far from it, there are a number of ways to assist in the preservation of magazines without actually scanning any magazines. EDITING Debinding and scanning are only the first steps towards preserving a magazine. The most time consuming part of the process is editing. This is usually done in Photoshop, but there are a number of free alternatives such as Gimp which are just as capable of making scans ready for release. "But wait," you say - "I don't have a scanner - just what exactly am I supposed to be editing?" As it turns out, Retromags has a repository of raw scans (over 20 issues' worth at the time of this writing) just waiting for someone to volunteer to edit them. Anyone serious about doing so has simply to contact one of the staff and we can hook you up with a trial issue for you to edit (following Retromags' editing guidelines, of course). Even moreso than scanners, we are in desperate need of people willing to dedicate some of their time towards editing. If your edit is approved for release, you'll be promoted to Team Member and be recipient to all of the acclaim and riches which that entails. (*It entails no acclaim or riches.) I'd personally be happy to help you on your way, so what are you waiting for? DONATING This is a bit less vital, but is still a good way to help out, especially if you don't have the time to dedicate to editing. Donated mags usually take priority when a scanner is deciding what to scan next, so donating something you want to see preserved is a good way to ensure that it happens sooner rather than later. However, I do have some advice and words of caution for anyone looking to donate: There are (currently) very few active scanners to whom magazines can be donated, and all of them already have a queue of donated mags waiting to be scanned. So before you send someone that giant box full of 50 mags, make sure you are comfortable with the fact that it may be quite some time before they get scanned. Sending a small number of mags or even just a single "must-have" issue might actually increase the likelihood of seeing it scanned sooner. Of course, if you're cleaning out your closets and need to get rid of the mags regardless, then by all means, donate them to one of our scanners rather than tossing them out or contributing to the problem that is eBay. It may take a while, but they'll be scanned eventually. Don't expect to get the mags back. Our scanners debind all magazines in order to get the best possible scans, so all that would be left is a pile of loose pages. And even if you were OK with that and wanted those loose pages back, it's unlikely (though not necessarily out of the question) that the scanner is going to want to be bothered with arranging a return shipment in addition to doing all the work of scanning and editing the issues. Another thing to consider when donating is LOCATION. Retromags currently has scanners living in the USA, Canada, and Japan. Magazines are quite heavy, and international shipping is very expensive. Finding the scanner nearest you should definitely be a priority. Alternatively, it is always possible to donate magazines by buying them via auction or online store and having them shipped directly to a scanner. This isn't really something we've ever done before, so far as I know, but could actually be the most cost effective way of donating for some. Using myself as an example: I live in Japan, so shipping anything to me would be cost-prohibitive for most of our members. However, Japanese game magazines can be bought quite cheaply on Japanese auction sites, and there are several online stores in Japan which carry vast amounts of magazine back issues for prices much lower than what a typical American magazine costs on eBay. Theoretically, if there was an issue of a Japanese mag someone desperately wanted to have scanned, they could always purchase it (or arrange to have it purchased) and shipped directly to me for scanning, which would be FAR cheaper than either shipping the issue internationally or trying to acquire the magazine outside of Japan. Obviously this sort of thing would have to be arranged with the scanner on a case by case basis, but could be helpful for anyone wanting to see magazines preserved that they don't personally own or have an easy way of acquiring. ✪ SAYING THANK YOU ✪ Wait, what? How is being grateful going to help preserve magazines? Actually, this could very well be the most important way of all to help. Preserving magazines is a lot of work. For every mag you download, someone put in hours and hours of work, giving up their free time and getting nothing back for their efforts but the satisfaction of having helped contribute to a hobby they enjoy. But no one wants to contribute to a vacuum. Nothing saps a scanner's enthusiasm more so than an unresponsive reception to their efforts. Let's say I spend all day slaving away in the kitchen making an elaborate feast. You silently let yourself in through my front door, remove a plate from my cupboard, fill it with food, and then walk out the door again without so much as a glance in my direction, let alone a "thanks for the food." Now imagine dozens of other people doing the same thing, every single time I prepare a giant feast. Would it surprise you if I eventually decided to just stop cooking for anyone but myself? As a matter of fact, this has already occurred at one of the other major scanning sites, which got so fed up with people downloading everything under the sun without so much as a word of thanks that they've recently made the decision to become a closed community accessible only to people who contribute scans or donations. Retromags won't be going that route and will continue to be open to everyone, but I completely understand and sympathize with what led them to their decision. It sucks to put in so much personal time, effort, and money for other peoples' benefit and then not have them acknowledge it with a simple thank you. Retromags has a handy button located on every single download which with a single click can leave either a "like" or a "thanks" to show your appreciation. That's actually one less click than the two it took you to press the download button and then save it to your computer. It's likely that the scanner/editor spent at least 4-5 hours working to make that scan available to you. Surely it's not too much to ask one second of your time to click a single button? Feeling like people are actually appreciative of their efforts is the greatest motivation a scanner can have. I can't stress enough how important this is towards ensuring that the scans continue to come on a regular basis.

So I've had quite a few boxes of magazines I planned to scan eventually but have no idea when I'd find the time to do it, I already run a site where I scan in manuals boxes etc. of everything I can get my hands on - www.gamingalexandria.com that keeps me busy enough. Someone alerted me to 1dollarscan.com and I thought what the hell I'd try them out. They ended up doing a pretty nice job I thought! Here's an example - http://www.gamingalexandria.com/tapedumps/Nintendo Power Jun1991 104p.pdf I had them do these at 600dpi which with how they price scanning in "sets" ended up being about $50 for 7 issues, plus it was another $16 to ship them to them. Not exactly cost effective... but a huge potential time saver. So I contacted them letting them know I had a large collection of gaming magazines I'd like to scan but needed the price to be cheaper. They agreed if I did a large enough lot they'd do them in 600dpi for $2 every 100 pages (a set). I'm considering this but would need to save up the dough to do it and/or solicit donations if others were interested in 600dpi scans. Also if there's already good quality 600dpi scans out of magazines out there then I'd rather not waste my money and destroy these issues if it's unnecessary. Does anybody have any clue what has been scanned already in 600dpi? If Retromags wants to host the scans they're more than welcome to as well, and I can post links to the other 6. Thanks, - Hubz

Well, this is a fine situation. It turns out that the tutorial I posted can't be viewed by anyone because the tutorial section is currently only accessible to staff. This, along with an otherwise fully-scanned and edited issue of Famitsu for which I'm waiting to receive a missing 20-page section so I can release it as a complete mag, means that a lot of stuff I've been working on lately can't be shared just yet. I won't even mention the two-page ads I've been stitching together but haven't been able to post all year ever since our site had a technical hiccup in early January won't allow such images to be uploaded. (oops, I guess I mentioned it. again.) So yeah. A little frustrating, but just imagine: one day, the site will get fixed, the pages will come in, and everyone will be awash in an abundance of riches. OK, well awash in a few things, anyway. Luckily I still have plenty to do in the meantime. I'm sort of amazed how, judging from the information I've researched, I've only got maybe 15% of the Japanese mags added to the database, and yet there are nearly as many Japanese mags as USA mags in the database currently. By the end of the year, Japanese mags in the DB will outnumber the USA mags. It's a shame there aren't more people in Japan contributing scans. But then, it's a shame there aren't more people everywhere contributing more scans. If only there was one one-hundredth the amount of people interested in magazine preservation as there are people interested in slinging mags on eBay. Hell, if just 1% of Retromags members scanned ONE magazine per year, we'd be able to have a new mag out every 3 days.

OK, so I've had Famitsu issue 43 fully scanned and edited for a few weeks now, but I'm still waiting to receive scans of the 20 pages that were missing from the copy that was donated to me. Once I get those, I'll get the mag released toot-sweet. In the meantime, I figured I'd go ahead and report on the rest of the content of Famitsu's "Best of 1987" awards, since I figure even if the mag was already downloadable, there will be some interested parties out there who can't read the game titles anyway, so listing it here might be useful. These are the games chosen by Famitsu staff, unlike the top 10 list I posted earlier, which was the reader's choice top 10. Best Overall Dragon Quest II (gee, what a surprise. #1 on the readers' choice top 10 games of the year list) Best RPG Dragon Quest II Best Adventure Game Hokkaidō Rensa Satsujin: Okhotsk ni Kiyu (This was also #3 on the readers' choice top 10. How much of that is because it's a good game, and how much is because the scenario (story) was written by Yuji Horii, the same guy responsible for Dragon Quest? Do you have to ask?) Best Action Game Yume Kōjō: Dokidoki Panic (This is the game that would later be converted into Super Mario 2. It didn't actually place anywhere on the readers' choice top 10 list. They comment about how unfortunate it was that such an excellent game failed to be a hit.) Best Shooter Fantasy Zone (Sega on the Famicom. Also not in the readers' top 10.) Best Sports Game Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (not in the reader's top 10. Famitsu readers prefer baseball, apparently, since #2,4 and 5 are baseball games) Best Action RPG Zelda II (#6 on readers' top 10) Best Puzzle Game NOTHING (yes, they don't consider any puzzle games from 1987 worthy of an award) RUNNER UP: Shanghai (kind of praise, kind of an insult, I guess. This is the best puzzle game of the year, it just isn't good enough to get an award. Not in the top 10.) Best Simulation (strategy) Game NOTHING RUNNER UP: SD Gundam World: Gachapon Senshi - Scramble Wars (once again, not good enough for an award, and not in the top 10.) Best Board Game Tetsudou Ou ( Railroad themed board game neither popular enough to make it into the top 10 nor to be listed anywhere at MobyGames.) Best Leisure (casual) games Mezase Pachi Pro: Pachiokun (pachinko game.) Side Pocket (pool/billiards) Best Mahjong game Professional Mahjong Gokū SPECIAL AWARDS: Long Seller Award: Pro Yakyuu Family Stadium (aka RBI Baseball) Best Character Design: Momotarou Densetsu Best Story: Dragon Quest II Best Graphics: Faxanadu Best Game Design: Nakayama Miho no Tokimeki High School Best Ports (games ported from the arcade/other systems): Wizardry, Salamander (aka Life Force) Best 3D Game: Highway Star (aka Rad Racer) Best Music: Momotarou Densetsu, Exciting Billiards Critics' Choice (staff picks for favorite games that didn't win awards): Tsuppari Ōzumō (sumo game from Tecmo) Zombie Hunter (action RPG) Shin Onigashima (graphic adventure, #8 on readers' top 10) Golf: Japan Course, Golf: US Course Bubble Bobble Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei (#7 on the readers' top 10)

Mario IS fairly popular with children, although I think he's more successful as a game character that's used to sell merchandise. Pokemon, Monster Hunter, and Splatoon are the games the kids actually care about. Zelda is much less popular and pretty much unknown to anyone except the kids who are really into games. It has zero name recognition for casual gamers. Japanese gaming is extremely monochromatic in the sense that almost all of the popular games fall into a couple of categories and are all very similar to each other. The West chooses what to import, and so we pick out the interesting stuff, giving the West has a much different view of Japanese games that would lead one to think that there is more variety than there actually is. Famitsu's 2012 Top 100 games of all time list is almost comical in how little variety is on display. 8 of the top 10 are RPGs. Jesus, 17 out of the top 20 are RPGs. All in all, 57 out of the top 100 games of all time are RPGs, most of which are only superficially different. Apparently. As for Mario, he doesn't show up till #21. Mario 3 usually places in the top 5 of Western all-time lists, but here it places at #99. Mario 64 doesn't even make the list. 3, count em, 3 Western games make the list. The admittedly influential, yet terrible and unplayable in this day and age Wizardry (originally released in 1981), Vice City, and Sim City. Anyone who feels this is a fair representation of Western games hasn't played any Western games. Which to be fair, is true of most Japanese gamers, since so few Western titles are released in Japan. Final Fantasy X (2001) Final Fantasy VII (1997) Dragon Quest III (1988) Dragon Quest VIII (2004) Machi (1998) Final Fantasy IV (1991) Tactics Ogre (1995) Final Fantasy III (1990) Dragon Quest VII (2000) Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998) Dragon Quest V (1992) Far East of Eden II (1992) Sakura Wars (1996) Dragon Quest IV (1990) Final Fantasy V (1992) Xenogears (1998) Dragon Quest II (1987) Sakura Wars III (2002) Kingdom Hearts (2002) Street Fighter II (1992) Super Mario Bros (1985) Final Fantasy VIII (1999) Tokimeki Memorial (1995) Final Fantasy IX (2000) Final Fantasy VI(1994) Metal Gear Solid 3 (2004) Valkyrie Profile (1999) Chrono Trigger (1995) Kingdom Hearts II (2005) Dragon Quest (1986) Zelda 3 (1991) Final Fantasy X-2 (2003) Resident Evil (1996) Dragon Quest VI (1995) F-Zero (1990) Sakura Wars II (1998) Mother 2 (1994) Mother (1989) Virtua Fighter (1994) Dragon Quest 5 (PS2 remake) 2004 Zelda Windwaker (2002) Metal Gear Solid 2 (2001) Animal Crossing (DS) 2005 Tales of the Abyss (2005) Ogre Battle (1993) Legend of Zelda (1986) Virtua Fighter 2 (1995) Mysterious Dungeon 2 (1995) Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) Metal Gear Solid (1998) Pokemon Red and Green (1996) Ys 1 and 2 (1989) Romancing Saga (1992) Toke Meke Memorial (PC Engine) 94 Super Robot Taisen Alpha (2000) Resident Evil 2 (1998) Tales of Eternia (2000) Digital Devil Story Megami Tensei II (1990) Shin Megami Tensei (1992) Final Fantasy II (1988) Super Mario World (1990) To Heart II (2004) Final Fantasy (1987) Puyo Puyo (1992) Family Stadium Pro Baseball (1986) Wizardry (1987) Hokkaido Murder Mystery (1987) Fire Emblem (1994) Super Mario Kart (1992) Dynasty Warriors 4 (2003) Monster Hunter (2004) Best Play Pro Baseball (1988) Grandia (1997) Resident Evil 4 (GC) 2005 Gran Turismo 4 (2004) GTA: Vice City (2004) Super Monaco GP (1990) Torneko Mysterious Dungeon (1993) Tales of Destiny (1997) Street Fighter II Turbo (1993) Dynasty Warriors III (2001) Final Fight (1990) Monster Hunter Portable (2005) Final Fantasy Tactics (1997) Monster Hunter G (2005) Mysterious Dungeon 2 (2000) Kung Fu (1985) Toke Meke Memorial (Saturn) (1996) Tales of Destiny II (2002) Kamaitachi No Yoru (1994) Sakura Wars IV (2002) Tales of Rebirth (2004) Sim City (1991) Saga 2 (1990) Pro Baseball Family Stadium 87 Tetris (Gameboy) (1989) Secret of Mana (1993) Gradius (1986) Super Mario Bros III (1988) Resident Evil 4 (PS2) 2005 Famitsu made another top 100 games of all time list last year (apologies for the numbers going in the opposite direction from the first list.) Well, at least Final Fantasy X is no longer considered the best game ever made. Because that is a !$@#ing JOKE. This time, only 2 Western games. Once again, Wizardry, which I think is getting by more on its name than by anyone actually enjoying playing it. And The Witcher III, probably one of the better games on this list, yet all the way down at #98. Which for a Western game in Japan is about as good as it gets. This time, Mario doesn't appear until #33 (SMB). It is the only Mario game on the entire list. Japan doesn't give a shit about Mario, apparently. So put that in your pipe and smoke it, Nintendo fanboy. 100. Zelda: Majora’s Mask 99. Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer 98. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 97. Super Smash Bros. Melee 96. Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Arcade 95. Kowloon Youma Gakuen Ki 94. Arc The Lad II 93. Final Fantasy VIII 92. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney 91. Lufia 90. Valkyrie Profile 89. Shiren the Wanderer 2 88. Tengai Makyo II: Manjimaru 87. Seiken Densetsu 3 86. Final Fantasy Tactics 85. Sonic Unleashed 84. Phantasy Star Online 83. Shadow of the Colossus 82. Final Fantasy IV 81. Shadow Hearts II 80. Kirby Air Ride 79. Dragon Quest II 78. MAG 77. Romancing SaGa 2 76. Steins;Gate 75. SaGa Frontier 74. Bloodborne 73. Animal Crossing: New Leaf 72. Wizardry 71. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain 70. Metal Gear Solid 3 69. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 68. The Legend of Zelda 67. Pop’n Music 66. Ico 65. Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner 64. Machi 63. Phantasy Star Online 2 62. Demon’s Souls 61. Valkyria Chronicles 60. Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd 59. Final Fantasy V 58. Kirby Super Star 57. Sonic Adventure 2: Battle 56. Monster Hunter Freedom Unite 55. Dragon Quest IV 54. Kantai Collection 53. Sakura Wars 2 52. Dragon Quest VIII 51. Romancing SaGa 3 50. Final Fantasy VI 49. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne 48. Final Fantasy XIV 47. Pokemon Red/Blue 46. Kingdom Hearts 45. Persona 4 44. Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair 43. Final Fantasy IX 42. Sakura Wars 3 41. NieR 40. Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X 39. Final Fantasy XV 38. Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Arcade Future Tone 37. Dragon Quest X 36. Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai Deluxe 35. moon 34. Kingdom Hearts II 33. Super Mario Bros. 32. Persona 3 31. Fate/Grand Order 30. Tactics Ogre 29. Sonic Adventure 2 28. Monster Retsuden Oreca Battle 27. Xenogears 26. Final Fantasy X 25. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 24. Dragon Quest V 23. EarthBound 22. Danganronpa 21. Danganronpa 2 20. Final Fantasy XI 19. Suikoden II 18. Xenoblade Chronicles 17. Okami 16. Persona 4 Golden 15. Otoca D’Or 14. Yakuza 0 13. Hatsune Miku Project Diva Future Tone 12. Shenmue 2 11. Danganronpa 1.2 Reload 10. Shenmue – 217 9. Sakura Wars – 223 8. Chrono Trigger – 231 7. Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony – 257 6. Final Fantasy VII – 287 5. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – 350 4. NieR: Automata – 369 3. Splatoon – 411 2. Dragon Quest III – 612 1. Persona 5 – 835 What becomes obvious when reading lists like this is that it's a miracle that Japan manages to produce interesting games at all, since the gaming public are all clamoring for the same old same old stuff. Luckily, every now and then, someone in Japan makes an interesting game, releases it to the Japanese public where it receives a cold-to-lukewarm reception, at which point it gets exported to the West and becomes a beloved classic to non-Japanese gamers. The more I learn about the history of Japanese games, the more I feel lucky and privileged to have grown up in the West, where we not only get to pick the cream of the crop from Japan (not just the stuff that's popular there), but also have access to a vast and rich library of games of our own.

Yes, knowing the composition of the computer market and how it evolved over the years would give a better understanding, but it should be less than surprising than 1. the Japanese protected their market and slowed down the arrival of western computers, 2. as a consequence, lots of western games didn't come out there, or with some delay. But this doesn't bother me, au contraire. What I love when I browse old mags from another country is discovering a new vision of this universe, local publishers and local games unknown out of their own country. With Japan, I know there's a whole world of detective games, hentai RPGs, baseball games and horse riding management software waiting for me. The problem is that these magazines aren't available online and that I don't read Japanese - and I suppose it would take years to hardly understand a paragraph. And if the discovery of Japanese computer games contradicts the narrative of legions of Nintendo fanboys trying to convince us that Mario and Zelda are perfectly representative of the spirit of Japanese video games, it's even better.

I've got about 20 issues of Login and maybe 50 issues of Comptiq (and a few issues of some other titles that cover PC games), but I've only very briefly flipped through most of them, so while I'm sure there's probably a list like that somewhere, I'm not really sure where to find it. I just grabbed the issue at the top of a pile. Actually, if I'd just turned to the next page I would have seen the reader's poll top 20 for the month. I'm not familiar with a large percentage of Japanese computer games, but these are ones I recognized. 1. Princess Maker 2 2. Romance of the Three Kingdoms III 5. Puyo Puyo 7. Nobunaga's Ambition (one of the sequels, don't feel like figuring out which) 9. Winning Post (what is it with Japanese and horse racing games?) 11. Derby Stallion (what did I just get finished saying?) As near as I can tell, there isn't a single Western title on the reader's top 20. Looking at the new software release schedule, one of the reasons for Japan's odd computer gaming scene is the fragmentation of the market. A big list of PC-98 games, followed by a smaller list of FM Towns games, followed by a tiny list of DOS and Mac titles.

Sure, but after a certain point, PC games stop being something you can take seriously here. Nowadays it's nothing but visual novels. I just opened up to the top 20 sales chart in a Comptiq from March 1994. The #1 game is Take the A-Train 4. The #2 game is Rance IV (a porn RPG). What makes the PC gaming scene in Japan interesting is that unlike the console markets, Western titles would often find themselves on the bestseller lists as well. Granted, this was mainly due to most Japanese PC games being so lame by comparison, but still. In this particular issue, Ultima Underworld is #6, Dungeon Master II is #11, Alone In the Dark is #12, and Sim City 2000 is #18.

Just be careful if you're buying a used ADF that it doesn't have any scratches on the scanning glass. I'm sure it could be replaced, but that would probably be more trouble than it's worth.

OK, here it is again, in its new, improved, actually viewable by all members glory: part 1 of kitsunebi77's Guide to Magazine Preservation https://www.retromags.com/tutorials/article/4-kitsunebi77s-guide-to-magazine-preservation-part-1-pre-scan/ Not a lot of new information in part 1. It's pre-scan only, after all. Further guides will go into detail on my actual process of preserving a mag from start to finish. A de-binding guide has mostly been written already, but I've got to decide how to best go about incorporating video before I post it.

Retromags Presents Play Online No.8 January 1999 Database Entry Download Here

kitsunebi77's Guide To Magazine Preservation This guide is not meant to invalidate the separate pre-scan/debinding/scanning/editing/compiling guides in our support section or suggest that it is a better way of doing things. Rather, it is simply an alternate approach to the process based on my own personal preferences. No single guide will be applicable to everyone, since different scanning hardware and/or editing software will require different steps to be taken. Hopefully by sharing this alternate approach, the different viewpoints and advice found in both guides will allow a greater number of people to find them useful. All advice given in this guide is based upon the hardware and software I use to preserve magazines, which is as follows: Fuji Scansnap ix500 Photoshop CS6 ver 13.0 Weimall 1800w heat gun Scissors Part 1: Pre-Scan So you want to be a Retromags scanner. It's understandable. The fame. The prestige. The irresistibility to members of the opposite sex/same sex/non-binary gender sex/durrrty freaky anywhichway sex. Who could blame you? But wait. First, there are a few important questions you should ask yourself. Do you have the goods? You're gonna need magazines, a scanner, and some kind of editing software. Not all of that stuff is free, so if you don't already have it, there will be costs involved. I can personally recommend the Fuji ScanSnap ix500, since that's what I use. Barring that, I recommend that you find some other nice ADF document scanner. Magazines CAN be scanned with a flatbed scanner, but good god on a stick are they SLOW. I'm fairly certain that most people who begin scanning a magazine on a flatbed scanner realize before they're even halfway finished what a horrible, horrible mistake they've made and vow never to scan another mag on a flatbed again. At least, that's what happened to me and prompted my purchase of the scanner I currently use. For that matter, in my experience, flatbeds don't deliver results that look as nice as scans from a decent ADF. This is not to say that you CAN'T use a flatbed, especially if that's all you have and you don't want to invest in a better scanner. But if you choose to go the flatbed route, you'll need one more thing before you get started: the Patience of Job. You might be able to find those at Amazon, I'm not sure. OK, you've got the goods, but have you double checked to see if the mags you plan to scan are needed/allowed? There are several sites besides this one that release magazine scans. It would be a shame to put hours of work into scanning and editing a mag only to find out that it had already been scanned elsewhere. This is not to say that you can't make a better scan of something that's already out there. Lots of magazine scans at places like the Internet Archive are of dubious quality, and even here at Retromags a lot of our older scans could do with a higher quality re-scan. But unless having a better quality version of something that's already available is especially important to you, it's probably best to concentrate your efforts on scanning magazines that are as of yet unavailable in digital form. Some titles are not allowed to be hosted here due to specific requests from the copyright owners not to share scans. Others are not allowed because the publishers sell digital PDFs of back issues, and we are not interested in depriving them of their right to make money off of their products. So magazines like Diehard Gamefan, Game Informer, and Retro Gamer (to name the top 3 most well-known no-no mags) are not allowed to be hosted here. We have a 15-year cut-off date for magazines still being published, and a 10 year cut-off for magazines no longer in publication. As of 2018, that means that currently published mags up through December 2003 are allowed, and out-of-print mags up through December 2008 are allowed to be hosted here. Every year on January 1st, those cut-off dates roll forward one year Are you fully aware of what scanning a magazine entails? This might seem like a silly question, but a lot of wannabe scanners don't really understand the sacrifices that must be made. Your magazine will be destroyed. Yes, Virginia, all the mags you see here are scanned the same way - by placing the loose, de-bound pages into an ADF document scanner or else onto a flatbed. I know you think you can lay that still-bound mag flat enough on a flatbed to get a decent scan, but you'd be wrong. While technically possible with something extraordinarily short, such as a 20-page supplement, even a short 80-100 page stapled mag is going to have gutter distortion if scanned by pressing the still-bound mag against the glass of a flatbed (a square-bound mag will be even worse.) If you want to scan mags that way, it's your choice, but don't expect them to look good enough to be allowed to be hosted here. To be a Retromags Scanner ™ and lay claim to all that fame and sex appeal we discussed earlier, you're going to have to be willing to tear those mags apart like a chicken dinner. Keep the loose pages in a bag when you're finished if you must, but unfortunately good scans require sacrifice. Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime. Yeah, click on that link. Listen to it on repeat a few million times. BELIEVE IT, SON. Debinding is fairly quick. Scanning (assuming you aren't using a flatbed) is also quite manageable. But editing is no joke. It takes time. And then it takes more. And this isn't the sort of thing you multi-task, like watching TV while eating dinner or making mental plans for the weekend while "listening" to the boss's presentation. Editing is a dull, repetitive task that nevertheless requires your full attention for hours on end. I don't think I'm out of line to say that it's extremely rare that a mag would be edited from start to finish in a single day. An hour here, two hours there, and eventually you'll finish and wonder if it was all worth it. Um, hello? Were you paying attention earlier? Did I mention the groupies? Part 2 to follow... *disclaimer: scanning for Retromags does not guarantee attainment of fame, sex appeal, or groupies, however it does come fairly close to guaranteeing you'll never have any of those things. What did you expect? You still read magazines about video games. Nerd.

Retromags Presents PCGames January 1993 Thanks to Whiskcat for donating this issue to be scanned! Database Entry Download Here

Your selfless humanitarianism is inspiring. Anyone interested in the %$#ed up state of affairs of sex in Japan might find this a good watch:

It'll be a while yet till I get the whole mag finished, but I thought this was interesting enough to post here. This is the reader's choice for the Top 10 Famicom games of 1987: Dragon Quest II (yeah, big surprise there. The only time a Dragon Quest game isn't at the top of the charts in Japan is if there wasn't a DQ game released that year) Pro Yakyuu Family Stadium (released in the USA as RBI Baseball) Hokkaidō Rensa Satsujin: Okhotsk ni Kiyu (a Japanese-style 1st-person menu-driven graphic adventure designed by the same guy who did Dragon Quest) Pro Yakyuu Family Stadium '87 (proving that Madden wasn't the first to offer annual updates, this is the exact same game as #2, but with more teams and updated rosters) Moero!! Pro Yakyuu (released in the USA as Bases Loaded) Link no Bouken (released in the USA as Zelda II: The Adventure of Link) Digital Devil Story Megami Tensei (the first in what would become a sprawling franchise of different series like Shin Megami Tensei and Persona, this one is a hard-as-nails first-person dungeon-crawl RPG) Shin Onigashima (a menu-driven graphic adventure for the Famicom Disk System) Momotarou Densetsu (a Dragon Quest clone from Hudson, the first in a series) Sanma no Meitantei (a 1st-person menu-driven graphic adventure starring Japanese TV personality Sanma Akashiya) So there you have it. The people of Japan have spoken. The best games of 1987: 3 baseball games (two of which are essentially the same game) 3 menu-driven adventure games (very few of this type were made in the West. Think Shadowgate or Deja Vu) 3 RPGs (one of which is a DQ game and one of which looks and plays exactly like a DQ game) Zelda II (fight amongst yourselves as to what genre it belongs to)

PRIMARY SYSTEMS COVERAGE THIS ISSUE ColecoVision Intellivision Odyssey Coleco ADAM Atari VCS - 2600 Amiga Power System (aka Amiga Power Module; 2600 add-on system; news coverage, never released) Commodore VIC-20 Atari 400 - 800 - 1200XL Atari 600XL - 800XL - 1400XL - 1400XLD (news coverage) Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer Atari 5200 Ultravision (news coverage, never released) stand-alones arcade pinball --- (The following is loosely based on this issue's table of contents with select article taglines and/or excerpts (noted in quotes) included. (Notes) and bullet lists added for clarity.) (This issue of VI introduces a new "Chip Ahoy" feature - essentially a gallery of misc. photos, screenshots and artwork related to games covered elsewhere throughout the issue. Also, the video game review section is expanded to now formally list the game publisher and platform for each review, along with a new scoring system (grade scale) for a game's gameplay and graphics.) (The 'RAMblings' feature synopsis below is incomplete. If you have access to this issue of Videogaming Illustrated, please consider updating this synopsis. Thank you!) The Keyboard (editorial by Executive Editor Tim Moriarty) Eye On (news section; column headlines:) Let The Games Begin (upcoming games sorted by system:) Atari 2600 (from Imagic, Activision, Atari, 20th Century Games) Atari 5200 (from Atari, Tigervision, CBS Electronics) Intellivision (from Imagic, Mattel, CBS Electronics) ColecoVision (from Coleco) River Of Sticks (joysticks and hardware:) Triga Command joystick Prostick II, Prostick III Amiga Power-Stick, Power System (cassette add-on system for 2600) The Blaster (turbofire add-on) The Obelisk (gaming furniture) Super Champ Joystick Z-Stick Zircon Track-Ball Lemon Aid (used video game stores) Battling Binoculars (Tomytronic 3-D handheld games) Hi, Billy! Videogaming Illustrated! (online networks; The Games Network, Gameline) Short Notes (new game developers; game developers going out of business; Ultravision cancelled) Summer and Smoke (upcoming arcade games) Out Of Pocket (Video Coin Holder personal quarter dispenser) Just Doing My Duty, Sir (US Army, colleges opening arcades) Market Blur (Odyssey Command Center (shown); video game, computer markets) Mountain or Molehill? (Romox ECPC programmable cartridges for game rentals) Quartet (upcoming Atari computers; 600XL, 800XL, 1400XL, 1450XLD) Characters In Search Of A User ('The Movie Maker') Give That Player The Psycho-Hook (Synapse developer profile) Preview E.C. Meade and Jim Clark review the latest videogames. (console videogame reviews, most with box art and screenshot) Room of Doom (2600) Dishaster (2600) Tanks But No Tanks (2600) Cosmic Corridor (2600) Vanguard (5200) Keystone Kapers (2600) Happy Trails (Int) White Water! (Int) M*A*S*H (2600) (MASH) Mines of Minos (2600) Cosmic Swarm (2600) Pepper II (Col) Truckin' (Int) Strawberry Shortcake: Musical Match-Ups (2600) Solar Storm (2600) G.I. Joe: Cobra Strike (2600) Focus On: Video Devils of the Deep A new school of videogames beckons players to explore the silent savagery of the deep sea. (running commentary discussing the following games:) Seaquest (2600) Shark Attack (2600) Jungle Hunt (2600,5200) Shark! Shark! (Int) Dolphin (2600) Fathom (2600,Int) Atlantis (2600,5200,Int,Ody) Bermuda Triangle (2600) Airlock (2600) Sea Battle (Int) Sub Hunt (Int) Polaris (2600) Sub Chase (Armored Encounter) (Ody) Fishing Derby (2600) Frogger (2600) Frog Bog (Int) Frog and Flies (2600) Behind the Scenes: Magnavox vs. Mattel A Blast From the Past. (by Stephen Bent) Conquering: Space Panic In space, no one can hear you scheme. (by Michael J. Sittnick; game overview and strategy) Conquering: No Escape There is literally no escape from this Imagic cartridge for the Atari 2600. There is no winning it either; you play it until the wrath of the gods wears you down. Can this be construed as a theological statement from Imagic? No, just a game that will remain an exciting challenge from now 'till doomsday. (by Robert J. Sodaro; 2600; game overview and strategy; includes 'The True Myth of Jason and the Fleece!' sidebar) Print Out E.C. Meade looks at books. (book recommendations and warnings) Maze Warps by Vladimir Koziakin That Game From Outer Space by Stephen Manes Hello, Mr. Chips by Ann Bishop Chip Mitchell: The Case of the Stolen Computer Brains by Fred D-ignazio Input Our readers write. (letters column) Media Preview Motion Pictures (Jaws 3D, 3D in film) Radio ('The Screen Fiend' radio show, featuring video game coverage) Home Video (Tape-Mender VHS/Beta repair kit) Championship Videogaming (reader submitted game strategies and trivia; usually addendums to game guides published in prior issues; this issue:) Super Pac-Man Dragonfire Dragonstomper Tron Pac-Man Defender Stargate Qix Zaxxon Conquering: Xevious (by Randy Palmer; arcade; game overview and strategy) Conquering: Arcade Games Arcade Game Strategies by Randy Palmer. Front Line Star Trek Tron Burgertime Arcadia: Hand Helds 'You've Got The Whole Arcade In Your Hands!' Call them "Portable," "Table-top," "Pocket-size," or "Hand-Held," but the mini-arcade games are opening up a whole new market. (by Richard Meyers) Computereyes: Adam "Adam is a computer system which includes a stepped keyboard, letter-quality printer, mass memory drive for its 80K of RAM memory, a word processor built in in ROM, two game controllers, a BASIC program, and a Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom (super) game program. The system will sell for around six hundred dollars." (system overview) Chip Ahoy A Preview of Upcoming Games. (image gallery; box art, screenshots, arcade cabinets) Computereyes: Hardware Atari's 1200XL. Unto the third generation shall be born a sleeker, friendlier, more versatile and expandable computer. (by Martin Levitan; system overview; includes mention of future 600XL, 800XL, 1400XL and 1450XLD models) RAMblings Computergame reviews. (THE FOLLOWING LISTING IS INCOMPLETE:) Pinhead (400,800) Keys Of The Wizard (TRS80) Serpentine (VIC20) Trashman (VIC20) Pipes (VIC20) Rat Hotel Apple Panic Choplifter (VIC20) The Alchemist's Laboratory (TRS80) Shark Treasure (TRS80) Computereyes: BASIC On The Software Side. Programming in BASIC - it's as simple as 10,20,30. (by Dale Rupert) VCI Special: Book of Videogame Lists (list index of videogames, many with screenshots, sorted by genre or frivolous category; part one; includes 'Don't Get Mad, Get Even!' section requesting readers submissions for future Worst Video Game list) Slide & Shoot Streak & Shoot Pivot & Shoot Gambling Flight Stationary Shoot Drive Mythic Adventure First Person Games Paddle Controller Games Whose Titles Were Changed Prior To Release Underwater Games With Titles Of Four Letters Or Less Alliterative Titles Video Victor (comic strip) You Read It Here First "The novelists named herein were never consulted, and no blame should be attached to them." (comical game ideas and concepts publicly proposed by the Videogaming Illustrated staff) Winky by Stephen King Narcissa's Whim by Judith Krantz Love's Heaving Hickey by Barbara Cartland

The Retromags collection at the time of this tutorial is over 1300 releases. Therefore in order to keep a project of this size organized we ask that items submitted into our Download Manager are accompanied with an MD5 checksum value. These checksum values act as digital fingerprints of the files found at this site. This fingerprint does not change if you rename the file or change the file extension. Only by modifying the contents of the file will the checksum value change. For example, just changing one pixel of one page in our Nintendo Power Issue 1 file, would change the checksum value for that file. So how do you calculate these checksum values? OnlineMD5.com http://onlinemd5.com/ Nothing to install, just open the web page and drag and drop the .CBR/.CBZ or .PDF file into the box above (1) and 15 seconds later you should have a checksum value in the highlighted box (2). MD5Checker http://getmd5checker.com/ MD5Checker is a free Windows based application that just unzips and runs from your PC. Again you just drag and drop your file onto the application and 10-15 seconds later the MD5 value appears. You are able to drag entire folders of files to be calculated for checksums with this program. It is also a portable application that can run off of a USB flash drive. WinMD5 http://www.winmd5.com/ WinMD5 is yet another free program to generate MD5 checksum values, this application only does one file at a time though. Still works the same as above, just drag and drop to get the checksum value. This program also can run off of a USB flash drive.