Areala

With how wildly successful the Trophy/Achievement systems have become in the last few console generations, it's not surprising to see a group of people banding together to do the same with old-school systems. Enter RetroAchievements.org (not affiliated with RetroMags in any way), where you can use your favorite emulator and put your money where your mouth is to earn Achievements on old school games!

I thought this was a fun idea when I ran across it, so I created an account and will be testing it out here before long. The list of supported games is simply staggering, so I guarantee there's one you can find in there that you like.

They support the DuckStation emulator for PS1 games, along with RetroArch and their own builds of other emulators. If you join up and want to add me, my username there is Areala21.

*huggles*
Areala

3 hours ago, Ferneu said:

WOW!

"the first issue of EGM is actually Buyers Guide. Which in turn is not the really the first issue because EGP came before it. And if you dig a little bit deeper you will also notice ... and ... and ... and therefore we can safely conclude that Steve Harris shot Kennedy and knows where Hoffa was burried."

Thanks for all the help. You guys are awesome!

PS: you guys just gave me a lot of cool information and I was going to suggest the creation of a new field in the database where things like this could be added. Then I went to the database entry itself and saw that there is already a "Notable Stuff" item inside the contents and, had I read that before creating this topic, I would have saved us all a lot of typing

PS2: in my defense, I thought the contents of the... contents would have only... the contents. You tricked me!

PS3: if you were asking me, I'd vote to separate the "Notable Stuff" in a new field, instead of leaving it inside the "Contents." Anyway, I'm glad all those cool tidbits exist and are associated with the magazine itself inside the DB, now that I know where to look for it...

You're more than welcome. I indexed that issue of EGM for the database, and I tend to go overboard when I write mine. If you check some of the other entries, they are more simplified. I'm just a big nerd.

*huggles*
Areala

Did anybody else want to be a member of the US National Video Game Team back in '89-'90?

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Areala

41 minutes ago, Ferneu said:

So,  is it really issue #1? Or is it #2. Maybe the magazine changed names between #1 and #2 and that is the cause of the confusion? If so, anyone knows the name the previous issue was published as?

The answer to all questions is "yes".

Technically the first issue of EGM is "Electronic Gaming Monthly's 1989 Buyer's Guide", published in February 1989. This kicked off what is now known as EGM, and three months later in May, EGM #1 was born. The Buyer's Guide was a one-shot intended to test the waters, while EGM #1 was the first issue in what was intended to be a bimonthly, and later monthly, publication.

Neither the 1989 Buyer's Guide or the 1989 Preview Guide (which is recorded as EGM #1 here) have official titles in their respective mastheads (the page where the staff and publication information are listed). EGM's second issue was published as "Volume 1, Number 2", meaning the second issue of its first year of publication, so we know that's officially their #2.

The more I look into this, the more I wonder if we may actually have it backwards in the database. Since subsequent issues of the Buyer's Guide were published as actual numbers of EGM's monthly catalog, it may be more accurate to have the '89 Buyer's Guide set to issue #1, and the issue we have labeled as #1 relegated to a subsection, since the masthead seems to indicate that the Preview Guide was meant to be its own thing, while the Buyer's Guide was the regular feature. Of course, later in the magazine's life, the Preview Guide became incorporated into the standard issue numbering, so your guess here is as good as mine.

But the point is that, yes, there was an issue of the magazine published prior to issue #1, it's the '89 Buyer's Guide, and we set the database entries up in chronological publication order because that's what seems to make the most sense. I hope that helps.

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Areala

On 10/6/2017 at 8:56 PM, E-Day said:

I'm convinced that their one-offs like 16-Bit Video Gaming, their Celebrity Gamer issue, CD-ROM Video Gaming, Video Game Greatest Hits July-August 1991 and so on are counted, and because they aren't proper issues, they didn't want to show them.

Anyhow, I think we need an entry in the database for issue 81-90. Phillyman's post can be the description for it. Maybe I'll get to that this weekend 

So I've been combing through my back issues, and I've finally found an official statement from GamePro on the matter!

In the letter column for issue 154 (July 2001), page 18, they printed this letter:

Quote

150 - 10 = 150

I just recently received your 150th anniversary issue [March]. I saw on page 52 and 53 that you made a creative two-page diagram showing all the magazine covers you've ever published. This was a very cool spread indeed, so I, for some reason, began counting the issues on the two pages one by one. When I got to the end, however, I was surprised to find that I'd counted only 140 issues. If this was your 150th issue, there would naturally be 150 issues on those two pages. I have counted again and again. I am fairly good with math and so I don't think that I made a mistake in counting. Where are your other 10 issues?

Nick Caputo -- Springfield, OH

The response:

Quote

Nick, you stickler for detail, you. Surely you peeped the little note on the lower-left side of page 52 that says, "Note: Not all covers shown." Those other 10 covers are special issues of GamePro that we put out in the old days--stuff like Celebrity Video Gaming, 16-Bit Video Gaming, The Adventures of GamePro and other skeletons we don't like to exhibit. Thanks for pouring salt on the re-opened wounds.

So there we have it, finally, confirmed in black and white from the editors themselves: the missing 10 numbers do correlate to the various one-offs, specials, and short-lived spin-offs published by GamePro in the past, and there the matter can finally rest because E-Day has been right all along!

Gawd, what a horrible thought...

In any case, I've updated the blurb on the GamePro Issues 81 - 90 entry in the database with this explanation, and hopefully this is the last we'll need to worry about it.

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Areala

Ah, Hudson Hawk...a game where you hit rhinos with tennis balls while angry Dachshunds try to throw you off buildings. I wonder why it didn't do better?

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Areala

Welcome, @Moonshadows78!

It's hard to say, since every magazine and every reviewer has their own personal biases, and the 90's were certainly no different. My first thought is EGM, simply because they had multiple members of their Review Crew play and rate each of the games they reviewed, and it's easier for a lone reviewer/editor to let their personal bias slip into a review than for four separate reviewers to do so in the same way. Of course, if you look at the letter columns of any magazine that covered multiple systems in the 90's, you'd see constant accusations of favoritism towards one company or another, but that doesn't mean there was anything biased in the mag itself; some companies were simply more forthcoming with information or preview/review builds than others, and sometimes the editors themselves could see the writing on the wall long before the public would in general. It didn't make sense to devote 20 pages to Atari Jaguar or Panasonic 3DO coverage once it was clear these systems were done for, even if games were still coming out.

There were also publications like NextGen that covered multiple systems, including the PC, and were aimed at a slightly older audience than, say, GamePro and EGM, and for that reason tended to stick to features that limited the degrees into which bias could creep.

It's also good to consider that bias, by and large, isn't necessarily negative. Magazines like PSM or Dreamcast Magazine are "biased" in that they only covered one specific system, and GameFan practically cornered their segment of the market and grew their fanbase by being biased towards import and niche titles other magazines weren't willing to devote column inches to.

This was a great question! I'm curious to see what other answers people have.

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Areala

Oh, this is exciting! I love magazines of the MKII-era, and I've never seen this one before!

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Areala

I'll be the first to admit, I'm a terrible cook. I can ruin cereal. I've ruined Pop Tarts before. Cook books make me throw up my hands in surrender; if it calls for more complex steps than "Boil water, add noodles, stir in sauce packet", I panic. Despite this, there are some things I've learned to make over the years that I'm not ashamed to serve others, mainly because they're not complicated and almost impossible even for me to screw up. So, with that in mind, and knowing gamers still have to eat sometimes, I thought it would be fun to start a thread for people to share their own personal gaming cuisine. Got a favorite food dish you like to make for game night? Throw it in here for others to try out and modify to their hearts' content. I'll get the ball rolling.

Areala's Game-Blasting Crock Pot Chili

Whether you're cooking it to feed yourself for a week, or a bunch of friends for a single game night, this dish is both easy and inexpensive! To make it, you'll need the following ingredients:

• 1 pound of ground beef
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes with green chilis
• 1 can of hot chili beans
• 1 can of Serious Bean Co. Sweet & Sassy Dr Pepper Baked Beans
• 2 packets of chili seasoning mix
• 1 can of diced/cubed potatoes OR 1 can of fire-roasted corn
• 1/4 cup of dried, minced onions
• 1 cup of shredded cheese
• 2 tablespoons of black pepper, sea salt, paprika, and cumin

Brown the ground beef in a skillet. Dump the ground beef and everything else except the cheese into your crock pot and stir it around a few times to get a nice, even distribution. Add the cheese on top. Cook it on High heat for two hours, stirring every 30-40 minutes or so. Voila! You have just made the best chili in the universe, and if your friends disagree, then I'm sorry they still play everything on 'Easy' mode.

*huggles*
Areala

Hooked up the PS2 and started doing a playthrough of X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse. And you know what? It's not perfect, but I'm still having a blast.

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Areala

On 4/22/2021 at 9:58 PM, CrazyMax46 said:

If I download this, is it just going to be a giant GIF that says April Fool's?

Who would ever do such a dastardly, vile, evil, dirty--oh, wait, yeah, we would probably do that. Excellent question! Please reply here once you've checked it out and learned the truth. 

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Areala

Talk about dedication...you're insane, E-Day, and I love you.

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Areala

11 hours ago, Bel said:

Just out of curiosity, and I'm not complaining mind you, but how did you manage to get this pass Halverson? Hasn't he shown up in the past, thrown a fit and had ya'll take them down previously?

Quick answer: we didn't "get them past" him. At the time he requested we remove the old files, he was working on a project of his own to archive digital editions of GameFan for sale. As that project has been defunct for a number of years, and copies are no longer available for purchase, we decided to tentatively add GameFan back into the rotation.

As with all of our files, should the copyright holder for any of these magazines request we remove them, we honor that request. But Dave hasn't had any interaction with this site or its staff for over a decade now, and the GameFan brand is in limbo as best we can tell.

*huggles*
Areala

Welcome to our newest Newbies!

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Areala

Well, this is definitely a new one to me. Never heard of this one, but I'm also based in the US. We do have some members who are more in-tune with the Japanese magazine scene. Hopefully one of them can shed some light on it.

Welcome to the forums, valet98!

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Areala

6 hours ago, JonnyCGood said:

That is an ugly cover. Yikes.

You are not wrong. "Yikes" is right.

*huggles*
Areala

On 8/25/2019 at 2:15 PM, Pyccko said:

I've been looking for a magazine from probably 1993-1994 that had a big feature on Way of the Warrior, the garbage Mortal Kombat clone Naughty Dog made for the 3DO back in the day. There was a character guide with big shots of the portrait sprites and bios for each character, including what actors portrayed them (I remember Jason Rubin, former president of Naughty Dog played Konotori, the ninja character). I must have read that feature 1000 times as a kid, but all other memory of what magazine it came from has completely left my head. The search continues!

I am way, WAY late to the party on this, but I guarantee this was issue 4 of the US "Tips & Tricks" magazine:

https://www.retromags.com/magazines/usa/tips-and-tricks/tips-tricks-issue-4/

That write-up made me want a 3DO (and that game) so badly. The same issue contained a massive strategy guide for the Jaguar-exclusive "Alien vs. Predator" which made me want that system too.

*huggles*
Areala

I have a number of PC Gamer magazines from this era, but this, alas, is not in my collection. I'm always on the lookout for 90's PC gaming magazines, and if I run across this one, I'll be happy to grab it and post it to one of the scanners.

Also, welcome to Retromags, @shadownate!

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Areala

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Areala  

The "All Arnold, All the Time" issue of VG&CE.

Also, "Acclaim" and "exciting game" go together like "tampon hamburger". 

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Areala  

Free pin-up inside?! Oh boy, count me in!!

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Areala

1 minute ago, daemonZ said:

Oh awesome, that makes me really happy - I hate get rid of these things! I'll get my catalog together and reach out. Thank you for the super fast response and also for the awesome site!

My pleasure! And you're welcome, although I don't really do all that much around here except index the occasional magazine and upload cover images (which I've been busy working on for most of the day today). @Phillyman and @E-Day are the owner and second-in-command -- the place exists because of their hard work. I'm the one who goes around filling potholes.

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Areala  

Absolutely! We're always interested in donations from people who can't scan themselves. We only have a few active scanners at the moment (I'm more of the database admin and general forum moderator), but your best bet would be to reach out to @E-Day by sending him a PM with the information on the issues you have. He's working his way through a massive donation that came in last year, so he'll be able to cross-reference what he already has with what still needs to be scanned. If what you've got fills in some gaps, and you're willing to ship them out (the USPS Medium Flat-Rate boxes work best for this, since magazines are heavy and its the most economical way to ship heavy things), we can go from there.

Even if you have material we already have archived, it's not the end of the world. Some of the scans on this site came from rough or incomplete magazines, or are several years old and in need of an update, so don't assume that just because we already have a copy, we couldn't use on in better condition.

Thanks for reaching out! Good luck with your move, and if there's anything else we can help with, just let us know. Otherwise, enjoy your time here and thanks for being awesome!

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Areala  

Gamefan is one of the magazines we've been asked not to keep scans of, so any information on it will have to come from peoples' personal collections. I don't have many issues of Gamefan in my collection, but I'll help as best I can and hopefully some other people can chime in with more info.

The good news is, Gamefan loved RPGs, so almost any random issue you open will have something about the scene, either domestic or international.

The oldest issue of Gamefan I have in my collection is Vol. 1, No. 5 from April of 1993, and this one contains a hefty import RPG review section: Fhey Area, Aisle Lord, Lunar: Silver Star Story, Final Fantasy V, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Quest V, Villgust, Shining Force, and King Colossus. It doesn't have anything on any of the games you're looking for, alas, since it's a few years too early for them.

All my other issues are from the PlayStation era, so they wouldn't cover the games you're looking for either. Vol. 5, No. 4 includes some stuff on Final Fantasy VII, Wild Arms, and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Vol. 5, No. 7 has info on Front Mission, Tobal No. 2, and Alundra. Vol. 6, No. 2 has articles on Breath of Fire III, Final Fantasy Tactics, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Super Mario RPG 2, Mother 3, Shining Force 3, Tactics Ogre, Princess Crown, and a tiny bit on Pokemon Stadium.

Sadly, that's all I can help with. Any other Gamefan collectors in the house?

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Areala

I'm not 100% certain, but my guess is these are issues which were scanned by someone but are awaiting editing and thus have not been uploaded yet. I don't have them in my site backup archive, and they are not on the QNAP file server, so I don't think we've ever had them available for download here, but I could be wrong.

Another possibility is that a few years ago we used to link to files from off-site, either on other similar pages like OldGameMags or Out-of-Print Archive, or from uploads to file lockers like Mega. We've since stopped doing that, but it's possible those files were available that way, and thus marked 'Preserved', but were lost when we transitioned away from that model once Phillyman set up the file server.

*huggles*
Areala