14302 76861 > ^UPCOMING \m? :SUPE§|ibNT^ iCAS SL-EiVANIAT 3 UgAllBEN fe. FFhITnTnTENDOM f" ■S UBEBISHnNQBIli M LG0lliBENrA>XEii • " CjSSTLEMMl fciv . c * »£*■ ;;iJ Kl I I H - v - ' **J$^*'' UI_nJ_3 r 1 II I 1 1 -'KB-' -■ ~ U-yWg '^r ^jj-— —■—~— ©JALECO- Powerful arm y 0 f marauders. R°boWarrior places heavy demands on the player's memory an d Problem-solving ability, as well as his aptitude for dealing with Complexity. If challenge and complexity are what you're looking for, then RobbWarrior is the game for you. Ask for it at your favorite video game store, now! Why RoboWarrior is so exciting! 12 deadly and powerful weapons defeat fearsome enemies. (Nintendo) Sk PER MISSILE SUPER BOMB CANDLE When collected, six powers step up the effect of the weapons. Here are two of these powers. MAGICAL BEE ENERGY CAPSULE THE POWERS! THE ARSENAL! RoboWarrior! Depth... challenge.. .mystery.. .electronic terror that pushes players to the limit. He ‘e's the game Jaleco created as the answer to what players have been asking us for... challenge...complexity...mystery...action. Destined to inspire a cult of its own, RoboWarrior delivers depth of play that takes the Nintendo Entertainment System® Player to his outermost limits. With 27 stages of play, 12 weapons, 14 enemies, 7 Lords, 6 extra powers, a room full of idols, treasures, golden keys... and mr jrej RoboWarrior is set on a man-made planet where the human population has been driven underground by an evil, ©JALECO THE LORDS! GHOLEM, LORD OF STONE THE KEY! At the end of every game stage is the Key, necessary to exit to the next stage. IOOM OF IDOLS! RoboWarrior has to eliminate as many enemies as he can through¬ out the game. Here are some of the 14. WANE LIAN, LORD OF AIR RoboWarrior’s 27 stages include 7 Lords of Evil. Some of these are: WISP RoboWarrior must find the secret way into the Room of Idols. Beneath some idols are hidden valuable objects necessary to con¬ tinue the game. In certain stages the Chalice appears, and unlocks the power of the key. Its magical powers help RoboWarrior toward his goal, so he must watch for the Chalice and carry it forward. THE CHALICE CONTENTS Wlioya gonna call when you’re hav¬ ing problems with your games? T)\e phone counselors, of course! What were the best games of 1989? How about the worst? See if your favorites match ours! See what the Review Crew thinks of current and upcoming releases on all the game systems! Get the final word on nt 3 w rr. h m 3? l % $ n! : r Js lE W i , C m 1 m y PI 2 s Q ■ □ 22 12 [ Jj 0 _ ft 22 THE PACES EEEINE TEE EECNES TINES 8 Has a video game ever gotten you completely stumped? In this article you’ll not only meet the people who provide such valuable information for free, you’ll also learn the do’s and don’ts of how the services work and how to get your questions answered fast! THE BEST (AND WORST) ©E 1989 1C What did YOU think was the best game of the year? What was the worst cart you played in ’89? Find out if your winners and losers match ours in this can¬ did look at Electronic Gaming 1989. TEE 16-EIT EEVCTETICN 73 1989 was finally the year that Americans got to witness the debut of true 16- Bit technology in their home video games. In this special reprint, we examine the current status of "next generation" gaming, and take the first look at several of the systems of tomorrow. THE 1989 VIDEO GAME BUYER'S GUIDE DIRECTORY Back to the Future 40 Ninja Gai Den 2 28 Bad Dudes 22 Ninja Golf 72 36 Nobunaga’s Ambition 22 Baseball Simulator 1.000 18 Phantasy Star 18 Batman 22 Phantasy Star 2 60 Blazing Lazers 52 P.O.W. 22 Boxxle 68 30 Captain Silver 44 River City Ransom 22 Castlevania 69 Robocop 28 Castlevania 3 26 Sentinel 72 China Warrior 57 Spell Caster 48 Chips Challenge 72 Super Shinobi 60 Cloud Master 46 Super Mario Land 71 Double Dragon 2 26 Super Mario Bros. 3 20 Demon Sword 32 Super Monaco GP 60 Fighting Street 16 Super Thuder Blade 65 Forgotten Worlds 61 Taboo 20 Friday the 13th 22 Tennis Ace 41 Gain Ground 61 Tetris 24 Gauntlet 3 72 70 Ghouls and Ghosts 16- Thunder Force 2 22 22 64 62 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 20 Golden Axe 61 Tommy Lasorda Baseball 18 G radius 69 66 Hyper Lode Runner 68 Twin Cobra 34 Keith Courage in Alpha Zone 22 Ultima 18 Last Battle 63 24 Legendary Axe 16 Ultima 4 41 56 Victory Run 24 Lock-n-Chase 69 59 Mega Man 2 18 Willow 28 20 Wonder Boy 3 16 Ninja Gai Den 16 World Class Baseball 18 G E T S E T „ F 0 R Nintendo and Nintendo Entertainment System are registered trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. Stand by, gamers! Capcom introduces two new thrilling games to its Nintendo series. And as always, the graphics are hot and the action intense. First, experience the ultimate character adventure game! As MegaMan, you must conquer and control the eight empires of the evil Dr. Wily. But beware of his sinister robots that rule each empire. Their special *£*£*&&&*£*& 'iVlTajJ i MegaMan 2 Screen Shot Strider Screen Shot powers present a unique challenge at every level. Then, prepare for undercover action as the Strider. Your orders are to enter Russia and infiltrate the Red Army, returning enemy secrets to your superiors. But be extremely cautious. You know what the Russians do to spies! So get set for radical action in these exciting additions to the Nintendo Entertainment System. From Capcom, U S A. CAPCOM’ Call or write Capcom U S A . 3303 Scott Blvd Santa Clara. CA 95054 (408)727-0400 Toll free: (800) 843-4632 In California: (800) 222-0928 THE 19T€ VIEEC GAME ELYEES GEIEE A SENDAI PUBLICATION Publisher, Editor Steve Harris Associate Editors David White Edward J. Semrad Nintendo, Sega, Atari TurboGrafx, Genesis, GameBoy Game Reviewers Donn Nauert Jim Allee Ed Semrad Steve Harris Martin Alessi David White Strategy Consultants U.S. National Video Game Team Subscription Manager, Sherri Harris Retail Sales Manager Ken Glassberg National Advertising Director David Siller 6828 Platt West Hills, CA 91307 (818) 716-0588 arby ... sub¬ scription rates for U.S.: $19.95 - Canada, Mexico: $29.95, and all others by air mail only: $80.00. No commies please. Sinqle issue rate: $3.95. All subs go to 1920 Highland, Suite 300, Lombard, IL 60148. The editors and the publishers welcome, but are not responsible for unsolicited material. No pari of this publication may be reproduced without the expressed written permission of Sendai Publications, Inc Copyriqht 1989, Sendai Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. All materials listed in this magazine are sub|ect to manufacturers change and publisher assumes no respon¬ sibility for such changes. Printed in the USA. Printed with pride! ., Sega is a Registered Trademark of Sega of America _., Atari is a Registered Trademark of Atari Corporation Game titles and characters are the trademarks of the respec tive game manufacturers. Now that the lawyers are happy njoy the mag! GAMES, GAMES, GAMES!!! Welcome to the second edition of the Electronic Gaming Monthly Video Game Buyer’s Guide! In this special 1990 issue you’ll find dozens of reviews on all of the hottest and most talked-about games of the year! You’ll also find sneak peeks and first looks at some of the most radical carts coming next year, including never-before-scene screen shots of Castlevania 3, Super Con¬ tra and Ninja Gai Den 2 for the NES, Gradius, Castlevania, and Lock-n- Chase for the GameBoy, and incredible scenes from the most power-pack¬ ed carts coming for the Genesis and TurboGrafx-16. In addition to these previews and reviews, we’ll also recap many of the ex¬ citing events of the year and award top honors to those games which dis¬ played superior quality in our "Best and Worst of 1989" special. Find out if your favorites match ours in this no-holds-barred look at gaming in ’89! And for those of you who are still contemplating the purchase of a new machine, we’ve compiled and updated many of the stories we’ve run on 16- Bit and other advanced game machines. You’ll also find info on the hand¬ held systems and news you won’t see anywhere else! Its been a great year for electronic gaming, and everything indicates that 1990 will be even better! You can be sure that EGM will be there every step of the way, capturing the breaking stories, latest tips, and tell-it-like-it-is reviews that we know you want! THE EGM REVIEW CREW STEVE The main man around the halls of EGM, our editor-in-chief can cut through an alien horde and type 80 words-a-minute with ease! Steve favors shooters and good action/adventures (he rates Blazing Lazers, Ghouls and Ghosts, and Double Dragon 2 as his favorites) to RPGs, but he’s beginning to real¬ ize the real fun in a good quest. ED The oldest gunslinger in the EGM Wild Bunch, Ed enjoys breaking down RPGs and especially enjoys a good Sega cart. He currently is tackling the Genesis carts and is awaiting the 6-meg masterpiece, Phantasy Star 2. DAVID EGM’s associate editor enjoys carts that require strategy and puzzle-solv¬ ing as well as fast-action reflexes. His current favorites are Tetris for Game¬ Boy, Ultima on the NES, and Dungeon Explorer for TurboGrafx-16. JIM, MARTIN, AND DONN The resident game pros in the EGM offices have what it takes to blast through any game that comes along. From the most sophisticated RPGs to the most mindless shooters to the most intricate action/adventure games, this trio of video champs have racked up more points and completed more titles than any other group of gaming professionals on the face of the planet! 6 Official CNinlendo) ■ Seal of Quality Mail to: SunSoft, P.0. Box 2390, Libertyville, IL. 60198 egm Fester’s Quest takes the skeletons oi of the closet for a trip to outer space. If “space games'' are your thing, heresihe spaciest one yet! With Lurch. Pugsley. Thing^ml the rest of the Addams crew at his side. Unyjffester leads the way in the wildest, wackiapnien shoot- em-up ever! The action ispPc. the graphics explosive, and the stomraguaranteed to leave you howling. So find out for your¬ self how much fun going crazy can be. Get "Fester’s Quest:' At your favorite dealer now! THE TITLEHOLDER! SunSoft * and Fester's Quest" are tiademarks ot Sun Corporation of America Characters tor Fester s Quest* are licensed trom Barbare Artists. Inc television rights for Fester s Quest'" are licensed from Orion Television Inc Nintendo * and Nintendo Entertainment System * are trademarks of Nintendo of America. Inc 1 1989 Sun Corporation of America ' Hot News for Hot Shots! j Get the inside track on Sunsoft games in the | FREE Sunsoft Game Time News. Ane F Arirlrpcc | City State Zip Ml Lru MM Muu Has Ultima got you stumped? Having problems getting Simon through the Castlevania quest? Don't give up - there is hope! Answers to almost all of your gaming questions are only a phone call away! You can dial many of your favorite game companies and get the latest tips and info from best video hot shots around! For the four hundredth time you’ve attempted to fight you way past the seemingly indestructable Boss on level eight, and each time your character gets sent on the express elevator out of Nin- tendoland. You finally work up enough nerve to call the long distance help number you saw in the back of the manual. Three minutes later, equip¬ ped with a few tips and some secret in¬ formation, you’re calmly blasting your way past the once-invincible Boss, on to the final level and new and darker se¬ crets! Who are those people on the other end of the phone? How did they get so good at video games? What are their jobs really like, and how did they get them? First of all, these champions are called "Game Counselors" or "Techni¬ cal Support Representatives" if they are also required to answer questions that pertain to inoperative or defective hardware. Most of them are around twenty-three to twenty-eight years old, although sometimes you’ll encounter a game counselor who is well into his for¬ ties. Regardless, there is usually one factor that all game counselors have in common: they love video games! "That’s a prerequisite for working at VIC TOKAI," explained their game counselor, Tom Grice. "I always played games when I was a kid. I was a game fanatic! I never thought I’d be making money at it though!" Tony Van, the main man at Activision, mentioned the importance of being knowledgeable on as many,different systems as possible. "You’ve got to be familiar with all the systems. If it’s just video games, it’s not too difficult. For computer-related systems, which is the bulk of myjob, I have to know each sys¬ tem, what hardware it can accomodate, what it doesn’t have, and how people can buy it. We have to know what will happen in certain operating systems, what those errors mean, and how we can go around it." While many companies employ their own game counselors, Nintendo is definitely king of the hill in this area. Their operation has more than 90 poeple working phone lines and answering more than 25,000 calls each week! Not only can the Nintendo coun¬ selors answer questions about Ninten¬ do’s own games, like Metroid, Punch- Out!!, and Zelda, they also have a wealth of valuable info on games pro¬ duced by the 36 Nintendo licensees! While we all know that phone coun¬ selors can be extremely helpful in beat¬ ing the games, especially the more in¬ volved RPG titles and quest adven¬ tures, what exactly are the qualifica¬ tions needed to become a phone coun¬ selor? How do these people end up in the positions they’re in? Jennifer Pascal at Acclaim Entertain¬ ment gave a very frank description of how she wound up as one of their game counselors. "When I started working here, I was mainly doing a lot of filing and secretarial work. While I was using the FAX machine, I would have to wait a long time for the transmissions to finish. I would wander over to the video 8 many other joysticks currently on the market, with a base measuring roughly 8" X 6", with a sleek, sloped design and suction cup feet for optimum stability. The joystick graces the left portion of was o (Nintendo) True to its name, this joystick offers playing advantages plus a host of other benefits that together made it unlike anything ever seen before when it was released; both in and out of the ar¬ cades! This attractive unit boasts the sa^ grey/black/red color tones found cy£j NES master unit. Measuring re* 1 * 9" x 7" x 2", the NES Advantage of the first to claim honors for eight direction "arcade-style" tions. The joystick exte: proximately three inches from favoring the left portion of The metal stem is topped wit^ plastic ball just like the joystjj on most of your coin-op fa\ Connecting the NES Adv; the main system is a 6’ cordi at the end to accommodai tick ports. This though makes it easier for two pecj ing between plays to ern^ of playing with the without having to pUi stick (unless, of cours< simultaneous game Bros, or Ikari Warrij The "A" and "B" to the right of the s equally vibrant r< slightly raised frcj and are oversi Directly above "Turbo" knob with rapid fire A 1-2 switch, are also inrj ing well wi j joystick, t] tion is the 1-: excha, games area and play games until the FAX machine was finished." Her su¬ periors quickly realized where her true talents ran and switched her to game counseling. Robert Leitgeb wandered into game counseling in a similar fashion. He was initially an assistant sales manager at Tecmo, Inc., and he began to play more and more of the games from his com¬ pany. "Everybody just started refer¬ ring game questions to me because I started figuring out the games. It was more or less just handed to me." he con¬ tinued. "So I guess I made my own fate by playing the games so much!" Just as Robert continues doing dou¬ ble duty as game counselor and sales assistant, many other people combine counseling and technical support jobs with other company responsibilities. Patrick Bennett, who works at Ko- nami, acknowledges that many of his counseling duties carry over into other ares. "A lot of my job is phone contact with players, and answering mail on a daily basis. But I’m also involved in our computer software department. Test¬ ing our software and Nintendo games at the same time." Mark Margulies, the man with the answers over at SNK Corporation, not only answers phone lines and the in¬ coming customer mail, but also puts out a free monthly newsletter, with re¬ views and interviews in each issue. (You can get your free copy by writing to Mark at SNK, 246 Sobrante Way, Sunnyvale, California 94086). Tom Popelka, meanwhile, assists as technical support rep at HAL Amer¬ ica, when he’s not operating as Vice President of Marketing or overseeing construction of the company’s new of¬ fices. Tony from Activision gives a good description of an average day for a Game Counselor, "My position is tech¬ nical support representative. We’re on the phones from 9AM to 4:30PM every day, and we’re taking all the technical calls. But we do all sorts of other things besides answering phone calls though. We have to figure out the questions when they come through, and if it’s something we’ve never run into before, we have to test for it to make sure it’s not a problem with their system. We also do different kinds of testing on the products as they become available, and make suggestions as to what would be helpful or how the games may be improved." "It’s more than just sitting in front of a television screen playing games all day," remarks Byron Cook from Trade- west. "Really I’m a Product Manager (overseeing the development of new games), but I do the game counseling as well." As Patrick, the game counselor at Konami points out, "As a game coun¬ selor your job is to assist the players and help them get through the game - to make the game more enjoyable. So they’ll call up and ask if you have tips on the game. You try to give them a piece of a hint here, a part of a clue there. You have to allow them to think a little bit for themselves. You don’t want to tell them exactly how to do things, but you give them hints and clues to allow them to do it for themsel¬ ves." Martin Alessi, a member of the U.S. National Video Game Team and phone counselor for FCI agrees that giving clues is better than providing a walk thru of each game, but takes a dif¬ ferent approach with their latest release, Ultima. "Ultima is such a com¬ plex and challenging game, it is often hard to give callers just one or two clues and expect them to get anywhere. Specific tips are needed to get through each of the game’s different challen¬ ges." While it may be intricate and have plenty of RPG and adventure elements, there are some questions that are more common than others. ’Where is Sherri located’, ’Where is the mystic sword’, and ’Where is Ambrosia’ are three of the most asked questions that each have answers that explain other parts of the adventure. Everything is tied to¬ gether and affects another part of the game which players seem to like." Robert at Tecmo notices that "the age group varies, and it depends a lot on the games. For some games, I get a lot of adult calls. Our game Rygar, for in¬ stance, has callers that are a bit young¬ er, while Solomon’s Key had a older fol¬ lowing due to the strategy overtones." Martin Alessi agrees, "most of the calls for Zanac, Seicross, and other ac¬ tion games are from younger players, while those for the others, including A game counselor in his native environment . FCI pros Paul Ojeda and Zack Neal field another call from a perplexed FCI game player! 10 licensed by Nintendo* for play on the Official (Nintendo) (Nintendo) Seal of Qualify CULTURE BRAIN™ and KUNG-FU HEROES™ are trademarks of CULTURE BRAIN U.S.A. INC. TM and C 1988 CULTURE BRAIN U.S.A. INC. All right reserved. KUNCi-fv) This is a comical Kung-fu action game that's lots of fun. You can play this game with your \ parents, friends or neighbors. —«'— Oh, no! The Princess Min-Min and all the treasures have been taken by the evil enemies. Two Kung-fu experts, Jacky and Lee volunteer to save the Princess. Defeat the enemies with the best of your Kung-fu skills and bring peace to the Land. •GUNMAN'S CASTLE The gunmen from the demon circle use powerful fire bazookas! Even the mighty Kung-fu player will tested in opposing the firearms. •DEMON CATS' CASTLE The demon cats clan comes to attack! If you get shot by the Medusa Beam, you may be paralyzed and become stone. (JJLTUR[EJ3R/KIN CULTURE BRAIN USA. INC 15315 N.E. 90TH REDMOND WASHINGTON 98052 Tel. (206) 882-2339 Fax (206) 882-2320 the bulk of the calls for Ultima have been in their upper twenties, thirties, and forties." Mike Arkin works with Jennifer Pas¬ cal at Acclaim Entertainment. He is becoming aware of a growing trend of women and girls playing the games. "We’re getting a lot of calls from female players. They like the fact that we’ve added some female characters into Byron Cook from Tradewest our new games like Knight Rider. The women and girls seem to like it." Nearly all the game counselors we in¬ terviewed had mentioned the over¬ whelming hunger of callers that seek tips, tricks, codes, and other secret in¬ formation that’s not usually printed in the manuals. At Tradewest, Byron Cook says, "The callers want to know about the hidden things in the game, or if there is anything not listed in the in¬ struction book." Robert at Tecmo estimates that most of the calls are for hints and tips also, and sometimes they’ll ask questions about totally unforseen situations. Sometimes, however, these unusual techniques will backfire. "Kids will do things in a game that you wouldn’t or¬ dinarily do, just to see what happens. There’s a spot in Rygar where you can leap off the edge of the floating castle and fall into antoher castle. You never would expect anyone to do that. In¬ stead of dying, you get trapped inside there and because there’s no time limit on Rygar you have to unplug the cartridge and lose absolutely every¬ thing you’ve worked for!" Game counselors also receive a lot of questions concerning availablilty of games. "When’s P.O.W. coming out?", "Will you be making a sequel to Ul¬ tima?", or "Can I buy carts straight from you?" are some of the most frequently asked questions. The majority of callers want code words, secret con¬ tinues, of hidden power-ups and level selects. Free men awards, revealing hidden objects, or improving your fighting abilities are also valuable tricks. There are major differences of opin¬ ion on the practive of giving out secrets and tips such as these. Activision’s Tony Van comments, "A lot of people like the secrets and power-ups. The way I feel about it, it’s kind of a drag for some people to be able to play forever and some people can’t. We like to have all of our info upfront and make the game fair to play for everyone." Robert at Tecmo agrees with the dif¬ ficulty of figuring out some of the codes. "Some of those codes are impossible. Like the one for Rambo (a combination of 32 separate letters and numbers) or Metal Gear (five sets of five letters). Given all the possibilities, coming up with a code on your own would seem pretty much impossible." Tom Grice of Vic Tokai But some of the other Game Coun¬ selors don’t share Robert’s positive at¬ titude towards publishing tips and secrets. Tom Popelka of Hal America views the effect of these tips in this way: "When you see tips or a manual coming out on a game that has taken two years to develop, and there’s a trick that is released thirty days after the game that gives the kids a shortcut to the ending, then where do you go? It can also limit (Continued on Page 82) What to know before you call... Here are some helpful hints on how you can get all of your questions answered without running up the phone bill... Phone counselors often answer hun¬ dreds of calls a day from enthusiastic game players from around the country who want to have the latest tips, release dates, or secrets. To answer you ques¬ tions, however, there are several things that should be remembered before you even pick up the phone. Observing these phone counseling rules will allow you to not only get your questions an¬ swered promptly, but also enable others to call! 1) Read all the way through the manual carefully and play the game as much as you can. Give it a little effort, you may solve your problems by your-- self! 2) Knowwhattoask! Where are you in the game and what exactly has you stumped. Know your questions! 3) Try to limit your questions to three or less. If you tie up the lines more than a couple of minutes you may be preventing others from calling! 12 Center The Power Glove'.' 1 You plug it in like any joystick. But the similarity stops there. Because now you don’t just guide the action. You’re in the action. As soon as you put on the Power Glove, its 3-D sensors track the position of your hand in space. You enter the program code. Calibrate the glove. Center it. And feel the mechanical moves of a joystick give way to free-flowing, instant response. You actually knock out Mike Tyson. Grab the steering wheel of Rad Racer/ Bank and fire your P-38 in 1943 M The Battle of Midway. All simply by moving your hand. The Power Glove has a unique pro¬ grammable keypad that gives the best TY? Iff NES™ players moves they’ve never had be¬ fore—and never will have with a joystick. Twist your wrist for an immedi- ate head butt in Double Dragon. egSj Bend a finger for “Thrash Mode” i —your character turns and A shoots in all possible directions. ® Bend another for “One-Shot Turnaround”: you automatically change direction and fire faster than you ever & could with a joystick. With new moves at your dis- | v posal, it makes your joystick games especially vertical scroll games, new. Different. More exciting. X:*/' And that’s only the beginning. With games specifically designed for the Power Glove, you’ll be blown into another dimension: the third dimension. In the ’80’s, all video game play occurred in two dimensions: up, down; left, right. Starting in the summer of 1990, software designed for the Power Glove adds the third dimension-depth- so that you’re playing in a “virtual real¬ ity.” It’s the future of video games. Years ahead of schedule. Look at Super Glove Ball. The hand on the screen is your hand. Its thumb and fingers move instantly, exactly as you command. You strike the ball. Catch it. Throw it. And experience NES™ like never before. So put on the Power Glove and put on the power of the future. The Power Glove. Everything else is child’s play. fca Look for the 9^ Power Glove in the Universal film W THE WIZARD. Nintendo and Nintendo Entertainment System are registered trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. 1943: 1988 © CAPCOM CO. LTD.’ © CAPCOM U.S.A., Inc. Double Dragon: © 1988 Technos Corporation. © 1989 Mattel, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Power Glove is a trademark used under license. ELECTRONIC GAMING BESTIW0RSM989 What was your favorite game of the year? See if your favorites (and least favorites) match ours when EGM picks the win¬ ners of 1989 and highlights the games, machines, and companies that made this the hottest year in the history of video games!!!!! THE BEST GAME OF THE YEAR - Ghouls and Ghosts With graphics and sounds right out of the arcade and game play that kept us challenged after the first play, Ghouls and Ghosts took the top spot hands down. Ghouls blew us away from start to finish and really showed how good a 16-Bitter could be! THE BEST GAME OF THE YEAR (Nintendo) - Tecmo’s Ninja Gai Den With its cinemascope effects, inter¬ esting storyline, and radical game play, Ninja Gai Den proved to be an instant winner. THE BEST GAME OF THE YEAR (Sega) - Sega’s Wonder Boy 3 Will Wonder Boy’s problems never end?!? Hopefully not, since the games just seem to get better and better! This time around you can change into different animals during your battles. THE BEST GAME OF THE YEAR (TurboGrafx) - The Legendary Axe The perfect blend of action and ad¬ venture make The Legendary Axe a must-have for Turbo owners. Great graphics and sounds compliment the outstanding theme. BEST GRAPHICS IN A VIDEO GAME - Ghouls and Ghosts From the screens full of highly detailed game characters, to the multi-directional scrolling, to the enormous fully animated Boss crea¬ tures, Ghouls and Ghosts is an excel¬ lent example of just how powerful the Genesis’ 16-Bit brain is. This game is so close to the super-charged coin¬ op of the same name you may find yourself looking for a coin slot! BEST BGM AND SOUND IN A VIDEO GAME- NEC’s Fighting Street Thanks to their revolutionary mega¬ peripheral, the CD-ROM, NEC’s first release captured this category 17 hands-down. Fighting Street is filled with CD-quality music, and sounds, not to mention true-to-life voices! BEST NEW VIDEO GAME SYSTEM - Sega Genesis Although it’s catching heat now that the TurboGrafx-16 is sitting along¬ side, the Genesis edges out its wor¬ thy competition with its true 16-Bit processor and superior graphic and sound abilities. With more games, the Turbo could dethrone the Gene¬ sis, but with more games available and over 20 expected by Christmas, the Sega name and the Sega games let Genesis reign supreme! MOST CHALLENGING VIDEO GAME - Sega’s Phantasy Star The Master System finally came into its own when Sega released this little gem. Phantasy Star is a fantastic and futuristic RPG that continues to baffle even the most ardent gamers with its expansive environment and challeng¬ ing situations. Throw in a wide variety of opponents as well as some nicely drawn visuals and you get a game that exceeds its challenge by only one factor - its addictiveness! BEST SPORTS-THEMED VIDEO GAME - tie: World Class Baseball (TurboGrafx-16) T. Lasorda Baseball (Genesis) Baseball Simulator (Nintendo) While this category may be crowded with winners, each title is deserving of the Best Sports Video Game title. Both World Class Baseball from NEC and Tommy Lasorda Baseball from Sega stand out as the premiere baseball simulators, reproducing all aspects of play (batting, fielding, etc.) with breathtaking realism thanks to the mega-powered processors driv¬ ing the games. They both look great and play great (in fact, they look al¬ most identical although the Turbo title came first). Culture Brain’s new Baseball Simu¬ lator 1.000 gets top honors in this category, surpassing other outstand¬ ing efforts such as John Elway’s Qua¬ rterback, Tecmo Bowl, and the Jal- eco library by taking liberty with the sport itself and creating an entertain¬ ing and playable cart. Some of the specific pitches (which will give you an idea of the nature of this game) in¬ clude the "Ninja" pitch and a flaming (literally) fastball that causes batters to EXPLODE if they are beaned! BEST SEQUEL TO AN EXISTING GAME - tie: Mega Man II Ghouls and Ghosts Takingtop honors here we find good old Mega Man back on Dr. Wily’s case. Mega Man 2 succeeds by stay¬ ing true to the nature of the first game but adds a whole new cast of crazy Boss villains, as well as a slew of uni¬ que power-up not found in the first game! This is not so much a new game as it is an extension of the first! Ghouls and Ghosts grabs another award here due to a tie-in with a game called Ghost and Goblins. There’s no comparing the two, however, with Ghouls surpassing the original in more than just name. MOST EXCITING NEW THEME IN A GAME - Tetris Although it had a successful life as a computer game prior to appearing on the Nintendo, Tetris has managed to capture the hearts and minds of Americans despite the fact that the Russians are behind it. An overly addictive puzzle game that’s nauseatingly simply to play, Tetris has already spawned a flurry of sequels that use similar types of re¬ flex/strategy combinations. None of the post-Tetris entries look that prom¬ ising, but Tetris itself will long be known for creating a brand new genre of gaming. BEST RPG VIDEO GAME - FCI’s Ultima Using an award-winning computer game (the traditional breeding ground for RPGs) as a blueprint for a new NES RPG is tough to beat! 18 WATCH FOR THE HIGH SCORE CONTEST! Here’s your chance to see 01 You've spent some time behind the triggers of a plasma-drive galactic fighter. And more than one horde of fungal-faced aliens has bitten the interstellar dust for standing in your way. But now... Star Soldier Sweepstakes! Over 100 Prizes! Anyone can win! Here's your chance to hobnob with the enemy. 1st PRIZE: One lucky hero will win an all-expenses-paid trip to Disney/MGM Studios (home of the alien) for himself and his family. 2nd PRIZE: Another savvy fighter will receive a Sony portable stereo/CD player. 3rd PRIZE: One more galactic pilot will win a Casio digitizing sampler keyboard. 4th PRIZE: One hundred electronic warriors will receive sizzling pre-release copies of the next fast-action Taxan game, before they hit the stores. To enter, just cut out the coupon, attach it to a Star Soldiers game box top, and mail to: Taxan Star Soldiers Sweepstakes, 161 Nortech Pkwy., San Jose, CA, 95134. OFFICIAL f RULES: All entries musf be received by ” Jan. 30,1990. Limit: One entry per person. Not responsible for postal service errors. Winners will be chosen at random. Judges' decision is final. Prizes won by minors may be awarded in the name of parent or guardian. All taxes responsibility of winners. Employees (and their families) of Taxan and their affiliates are not eligible. All federal, state, and local restrictions apply. Void where prohibited. Individuals may_also enter through direct contact withTaxan non-box coupon. © 1989 Hudson Soft. Mfd. under license by Taxan USA Corp. Nintendo and Nintendo Entertainment System are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. Consumer Division I BEST VIDEO GAME CONTROLLER - Hudson’s Sansui SSS In addition to being a good derivi- tive of the standard Nintendo flat pad with all of the variable turbo boosters intact, the Hudson Joycard Sansui SSS wowed us with its ability to simu¬ late real stereo sound on a machine that plays in mono! A nifty plug even allows you to play in private when you don’t want anyone else to hear you! HOTTEST HERO IN A VIDEO GAME - Capcom’s Mega Man Besides blasting away Dr. Wily and his evil minions, that mega-fantastic video game super-hero, Mega Man, also beat the likes of Simon Belmont (who fights a Dracula with more lives than Jason) and Link (what a wimp)! Mega Man’s wide array of imple¬ ments and superior firepower (not to mention his doo) make him number one in our books COOLEST BOSS ATTACKERS - tie: Ghouls and Ghosts The Legendary Axe The number-one games for both the next generation machines wiped out the competition. Loki, at the con¬ clusion of Ghouls is a formidable op¬ ponent who rests upon a fantastic throne. Jagu, from Legendary Axe, may not be as regal, but he’s every bit as mean. You’ll find that the other Boss characters from these two game are equally nasty. MOST RIDICULOUS PREMISE FOR A GAME- Tradewest’s Taboo As non-conventional video games, Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune were fun to play and Anticipation wasn’t overly stomach-churning. But who really needs a video game version of Tarot cards? The mystical responses aren’t even interesting. At this rate a "Learn to Program BASIC on your Nintendo" and "Video Calculator" carts can’t be far behind. Please guys, don’t forget, it’s a video GAME system. MOST EAGERLY ANTICIPATED GAME (That WAS released) Konami’s TMNT While Ninja Gai Den and Strider helped generate a fair amount of in¬ terest, no other game was being look¬ ed for as much as Konami/Ultra’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It didn’t really live up to expectations, but for a while Turtle hunting was the hottest hobby at Kay-Bee. MOST EAGERLY ANTICIPATED GAME (That WASN’T released) Nintendo’s S. Mario 3 The third chapter of the Super Mario Bros, series played to rave reviews and a chart-breaking run in Japan last year. In the states, however, it looks as though we’ll have to wait until some time in 1990 to experience the further adventures of Mario and Luigi. For those of you who just can’t wait, go plop a quarter in a Play-Choice 10 with SMB 3 at your local arcade. You’ll find out why we’re forecasting it as a strong contender for "Game of the Year" next year. WORST PROPAGANDA FILM OF 1989 - Nintendo’s GameBoy Press Conference Tooting your horn for the sake of ad¬ vertising is one thing, but without the flash of the superior 16-Bitters or a color hand-held at the Summer CES, Nintendo made an eager audience sit through a horrible film (starring Mario of course) that tried to convince everyone that 16-Bit machines were unnecessary and boasted no real strengths over the current NES. Give me a break! Nintendo may want us to stay in the Stone Age, but can they honestly think that there’s no dif¬ ference between the games for play on the Turbo and Genesis and their NES? Stuff a pizza in it Mario! THE WORST FILM OF 1989 - Paramount’s Star Trek V Boldly going where no one ever wanted to go before in a Star Trek movie (to sleep) comes episode five, The Final Frontier. To call this movie boring is an understatement, espe¬ cially when you consider that the high point in the flick is when Kirk, Spock, and McCoy sit around a camp fire and eat beans. We don’t even get a fart joke for a cheap laugh! What could have been a summer blockbuster, with a final resolution of the Federa- tion/Klingon conflict ending the cur¬ rent cast’s mission with a galactic bang, fizzles with the only exploding space craft being an old probe. 20 (Nintendo)} X Seal of Quality^ LICENSED BY NINTENDO® FOR PLAY ON THE CNinlendo) Terrorism has reached new heights. AATOM (Atomic Age Terrorist Organization of Miracali) has constructed its own nuclear power plant, and threat¬ ens the world with atomic terror. The world powers have decided to initiate operation THUNDERCADE to stop AATOM. Equipped with a high-performance combat motorcycle, sidecar can¬ nons, and backed by a precision B-7 bomber, you set out on your dangerous mission. Start in the city streets and continue through bases, woodlands and the fortress before reaching the heavily guarded nuclear power plant. With a hit-miss ratio display at the end of each stage, you can improve your attack efficiency. Have a friend join in and save the world together! Simultaneous two-player game! Arcade Megahit! American Sammy Corporation 2421 250th Street, Suite D-104, Torrance, California 90501 Phone: (213) 320-7167 Sammy.™ and THUNDERCADE™ are trademarks of American Sammy Corporation. Nintendo® and Nintendo Entertainment System® are registered trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. fat |W- 8 Q o / 0 M= 0==| BEST MOVIE TO GAME SunSoft’s Batman While this one may get pushed back into the early part of next year (War¬ ner Bros, rumoredly thought initial versions didn’t follow the movie close enough), SunSoft’s Batman video game for the NES is so good that it’s hard not to give the game high praise after we’ve seen and played it. Al¬ though it’s essentially a Castlevania spin-off, the game play and theme do the Caped Crusader complete jus- WORST MOVIE TO GAME - UN’s Friday the 13th No hacking and no slashing makes Jason a dull boy. Unfortunately, LJN has done such a great job of translat¬ ing the James Bond of slashers that they end up with a game that’s as bad as the movies on which it’s based. NO MOVIE TO GAME - Bandai’s Star Trek V Sometimes a movie title can make game development more difficult - es¬ pecially when it’s a space movie with no outer space shoot-ups or laser¬ blasting gun-fights. Is there much more that could be included in this game beyond getting Kirk, Spock, and McCoy to sing "Row, row, row your boat" in unison? Not likely - that could explain why Bandai backed out of the game. MOST POWER-UPS IN A VIDEO GAME- American Technos’ River City Ransom Talk about enhancements! River City Ransom offers more power-up options and weapons than any other game in recent memory. By entering any of the different shops along the parkways, you can purchase books to learn new fighting techniques, buy squid and bagels for energy, or even a FREE smile from a pretty counter girl. All of the diversity makes this car¬ toon version of the classic Double Dragon (also from Technos) even more fun to play! WIMPIEST HOSTAGE IN A VIDEO GAME- President Bush in Data East’s Bad Dudes A cheeseburger-totin’ President held hostage? Whatever happened to good-lookin’ damsels? And what’s with this cheeseburger con¬ spiracy thing? MOST UNPRONOUN¬ CEABLE GAME TITLE - Koei’s Nobunaga’s Ambition Why not just call it "Become a Mean Dude and Take Over a Country!" or "Unite Japan" or something like that? How many kids are going to be as¬ king for a game they can’t pro¬ nounce? WORST STOMACH PROBLEM IN A GAME - Ghouls and Ghosts Pass the pepto! Never before has projectile vomiting been brounght to life with such detailed animation and color tones! WORST SPELLING ERROR IN A GAME - tie: SNK’s P.O.W. Thunder Force II P.O.W. - "Congradurations" Thunder Force II - "Secret Bonuss" *L/. A. •LAJ i* lit* HO S 99 MONEV OOOO SOUND OO EFFECT OO MOST UNINTELLIGIBLE SPELLING IN A GAME - NEC’s Keith Courage To view some strange writing, plug in Keith Courage on your Turbo, turn the game on, and then reset the game by pressing the Run and Select but¬ tons at the same time. Once the game is reset, push and hold down the number one button, then the number two button, then the Run but¬ ton, and then the Select button. Wait for the title screen to quit changing and when the word "Start" appears, push up eight times. Now go find a translator! 22 >fl«laim entertainment, i n c Masters of the Game . Acclaim “ Masters of the Game M and Wireless-Infrared Remote Controllerare trademarks of Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. Nintendo" and Nintendo Entertainment System “ are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. c 1989 Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. GET THE POWER TO MOVE with the ACCLAIM REMOTE! Acclaim’s Wireless Remote Controller gives you the power to really get into the action of your favorite Nintendo® games. With no wires to tie you down, you can roll and tumble through your greatest adventures, It$ accurate from up to 30 feet away and features a Rapid-Fire mode that gives you a shot at super high scores. It even looks and feels like the Nintendo® controller you already know. And the Acclaim Remote carries the Nintendo " Quality Assurance Seal. Now nothing gets between you and the action! BEST ENDING IN A VIDEO GAME • Tecmo’s Ninja Gai Den With super graphics detailing an equally outstanding storyline, the cli¬ max of Ninja Gai Den is better than some movies we’ve seen recently. Not only does the game explain many mysterious secrets, it also leaves the door open for part two (which is com¬ ing next year). WORST ENDING IN A VIDEO GAME - FCI’s Ultima After spending mega-hours to finish this RPG, the virtual lack of an ending makes the adventure seem pretty worthless. THE LONGEST ENDING IN A VIDEO GAME - NEC’s Victory Run At the conclusion of this rally racing game, your alter ego jumps from his car and rushes onto the shoreline and into the nearby ocean. While not tre¬ mendously exciting, the next couple of minutes are spent watching the sun go down in what seems like real time, while a boat drifts by. THE MOST PROMISING GAME COMPANIES - Sega, Konami, Acclaim, Sunsoft, Tecmo With the Genesis excitement in full swing, Sega has an open door with which to fan the flames with some in¬ tense softs. Several of these, The Super Shinobi, Truxton, and Super Monaco GP in particular, show ex¬ treme promise. Konami holds the best all-around line-up with Castlevania - The Adven¬ ture and Gradius for GameBoy, as well as Super Contra (or Super C) and Castlevania 3 for NES. A Gradius 3 is rumored to be released soon in coin¬ op form. Acclaim has a very strong NES li¬ brary, with Ironsword, Double Dra¬ gon 2: The Revenge, Bigfoot, Total Recall, Narc, and Arch Rival due in the next year. Sunsoft has Batman and Tecmo has Ninja Gai Den 2. Need we say more? FADING FAST - Tonka With 8-Bit Sega sales that never quite picked up speed, and a total abandonment of the Master System in Japan, Tonka appears to be on the mat and nearly counted out. When you also consider that the Genesis can play 8-Bit Sega games as well as 16-Bitters, the need for Tonka’s dis¬ tribution becomes diminished. BEST VIDEO TAPE - Warner’s Batman Forget the game tapes (they don’t tell you anything about the games that you won’t figure out yourself or in EGM) and get Batman! You won’t learn anything about playing games, but it sure is more entertaining! WORST VIDEO TAPE - Sweatin’ to the Oldies If I see that obnoxious Richard Sim¬ mons’ commercial one more time, I’ll throw my NES into the TV! MOST LAWSUITS - Tetris This title, which barely beat out Double Dragon 2: The Revenge for top honors (they settled out of court), has been the focus of Nintendo’s at¬ tack on Tengen. It’s too bad, since theTengen NES version of Tetris was a cool copy of the arcade. Now we’re starting to hear that the newly de¬ signed NES’s won’t even play Tengen games (players have been saying they don’t fit). All’s fair I suppose... THE ONE CES PHOTO YOU WON’T FIND IN ANY OTHER GAME MAGAZINE... FORECASTING THE 1990 AWARDS... Here’s a peek into our crystal ball for a look at the possible winners of 1990 may be... Game of the Year - Super Mario 3 Super Shinobi Best New Game System - Lynx Super Famicom Best Sequel - Super Mario Bros. 3 Castlevania 3 Phantasy Star 2 Best RPG - Phantasy Star 2 Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Best Game Controller- Gizmo V_ -J Special thanks to the EGM Review Crew and the U.S. National Video Game Team for their help in compiling this Best and Worst of ’89" special. 24 iJlllWtlitiM 4<