For more than two decades, Nintendo Power was one of the main sources of information for millions of players and fans of Nintendo consoles and their games. Unfortunately, the traditional format of the magazine had no choice but to give way to the dynamics of the Internet, but instead of disappearing completely, it has become a key piece in its own preservation. Thanks to Archive.org's resources, the first 13 years of Nintendo Power are available to everyone, free of charge.
July 1988. The NES had been on the US market for just under three years and had single-handedly rescued an entire industry. In the pre-Internet era, getting information about a game was much harder, and so was sharing tips or making suggestions. Nintendo itself filled that void by initially promoting the so-called Nintendo Fun Club, which distributed news among its members in newsletter format. However, after the seventh issue, Nintendo Fun Club was retired in favor of a much larger project: Nintendo Power.
24 years on the market. 3.6 million copies distributed with issue number 1 alone. In-depth reviews, tips, strategies, previews, and a most unusual subscription gift (multiple copies of Dragon Warrior-Dragon Quest that didn't sell well in the US market) shaped this magazine, which began as a bimonthly and then adopted a monthly schedule in June 1990. History tells us that Nintendo of America managed the magazine until December 2007, after which it passed to Future US, which extended its life for five more years. Today, news portals, fan-created wikis, YouTube videos, and social networks spin traditional video game magazines like a top, but the Internet doesn't close doors; it opens them. Anyone wishing to explore and download the first thirteen years of Nintendo Power can now do so through Archive.org, without restrictions.
The excellent cover art, the games it promoted back then (Batman, Duck Tales, Mega Man II), dozens of pages dedicated to a single title, and even the advertisements create a true nostalgia storm. Archive.org offers several download formats, but personally I recommend CBR (which is essentially an RAR with JPEGs inside), because it has the best quality images. In short: if you never managed to finish the original Final Fantasy or the first Zelda and want to cross that off your list, you'll surely find a whole issue of Nintendo Power dedicated to them. What are you waiting for?
