NEXT STREAM PLANNED FOR: Aug 10th, 12:00PM PDT
https://www.twitch.tv/kaubocks
I absolutely adore retro games. I fully understand and in most cases agree that modern games are just better; we’ve learned a lot about making games over the years and we’re capable of so much more! But there’s something about retro games gives me the warm fuzzies that I just can’t deny.
When I think about retro games, it’s always Nintendo; never Sega, never Sony. I’m a Nintendo boy through and through. It can’t be helped. The first games I remember playing were on the family NES, I would run home from school to play Super Mario World on our new SNES, and when we finally bought an N64 they let me set it up in my room! My bedroom!! I sneaked my Game Boy and Game Boy Color to school to trade Pokémon in the schoolyard, and the Game Boy Advance was the first video game platform I bought solely with my own money.
I didn’t own a lot of games, though, and my parents were none too happy about how badly I wanted to play them all the time. I wasn’t allowed to play games on weekdays due to school, but I was allowed to read about them. Through my early teens I had a decent chunk of Nintendo Power magazines that I’d read cover to cover; looking at the video games that I couldn’t afford and wouldn’t be able to play most of the time even if I could. It’s easy to say they were glorified advertisements for their own system-- of course they were! But they were still so much fun for me to read, and I’m dying to revisit them.
Nintendo Power Quest is a series of streams where I’ll be picking an issue of Nintendo Power, reading it, and playing any game that piques our interest. Maybe it’s something I looked at as a kid and wanted to play but never could! Maybe it’s an old favorite that we’d all love to talk about! Maybe it’s just something we thought looked hilarious! For whatever the reason, these videos will be chill background reading with smooth video game jams interspersed with fun looks at retro games.
Due to the length of the streams and how much work they can be, I’m aiming to stream at least every other Saturday with the archive uploaded to my YouTube channel by the next day. If I decide I can do another stream earlier than that, I will update the thread as soon as possible. As with my other stream-related videos, all YouTube uploads will be included with the Twitch chat available as Closed Captioning so you have the choice of turning it on or off. I’m hoping to use this thread as a springboard for any discussion that couldn’t be had in a chat format. Did you see a game that you know has a cool LP available for it? Link it! Did we read about a game that you loved as a kid? Tell us about it!
Let’s cozy up on the couch and read about games~
Episode #1: Vol 143
Episode #2: Vol 150
Episode #3: Vol 114
Episode #4: Vol 92
Episode #5: Vol 11
Episode #6: Vol 60
Episode #7: Vol 20
Episode #8: Vol 64
Episode #9: Vol 108
Episode #10: Vol 23
Episode #11: Vol 41
Episode #12: Vol 77
Episode #13: Vol 69
I’ve got two updates ready to go for this new thread!
Episode #1: Vol 143
Points of discussion:
- most sentimental gaming moment
- Lufia II and the Tower of Death
- Razor Freestyle Scooter’s extreme menus
- Googling images of Darunia
- Pokemon Stadium 2’s incredible quizzes
- the launch of the Game Boy Advance
- Chu Chu Rocket and its questionable icons
- Iridion 3D, space janitor
- Aidyn Chronicles versus Final Fantasy VII
- Magi Nation’s iconic Tony Jones
- How Project M fucked me up (not THAT Project M)
- Toki Tori waddles into adventure
- Scott’s terrible opinions
- Toy Story Racer brings 3D to the Game Boy Color
Episode #2: Vol 150
Points of discussion:
- women in gaming
- Seattle’s cubistic humans
- Charlton Heston controls like an arthritic hippo
- cracking coconuts with Donkey Kong
- the funky beats of Luigi’s Mansion
- 150th issue celebration
- Bob Burnquist’s longest benihana ever
- Rogue Squadron II nails the aesthetic
- Tekken Advance brings 3D fighting to the GBA
- move over, Tony Hawk, it’s more Razor Freestyle Scooter
- the fastest version of Doom
- the best 2001 GBA game for 12 year olds
- does Wario Land 4 hold up?
Seems a bit redundant to triple post, but I want to get in the habit of posting here to announce when a stream is coming up.
I currently plan to stream a new episode of Nintendo Power Quest tomorrow (Saturday the 16th) at 12:00PM PST!
https://www.twitch.tv/kaubocks
All planned future streams will be kept up to date at the top of the OP, so check there to remain informed.
New episode available! This time we looked at issue 114 – the issue released around the launch of Ocarina of Time and the Game Boy Color!
Episode #3: Vol 114
Points of discussion:
- the rough customers of James Bond 007
- Ocarina of Time’s missing heart piece
- Rogue Squadron predating Mass Effect’s codex
- the only good part of Buck Bumble
- Mission: Impossible’s humongous head mode
- discovering new profanity in Twisted Edge
- Rockstar North’s finest game
- love the glove
- the launch of the Game Boy Color
- we can’t avoid Superman 64 forever
- creating phat beatz in Game Boy Camera’s DJ Mode
- the selling points of the N64 Expansion Pak
Additionally, Episode 2 got blocked on YouTube last night due to a copyright claim.I filed a dispute but the complainer doesn’t have any obligation to lift a finger for a fucking month so it’s just gonna be blocked for a while I guess?? In the meanwhile, I’ve updated the link in the OP to the Twitch VOD.
It’s been a couple weeks, so as a reminder to those of you who have this thread bookmarked I will be streaming a new episode tomorrow at 12PM PST! If you wish to catch it live, you can do so on my Twitch channel: https://www.twitch.tv/kaubocks
Suggested by a friend, we’ll keep going back earlier in the Nintendo Power lifespan and check out volume 92, covering Shadows of the Empire, Mario Kart 64, Donkey Kong Country 3, and more!
The new episode is up on YouTube! Sorry I couldn’t look at Shadows of the Empire as much as I’d have liked to-- I wasn’t going to make people watch me fail at Hoth over and over.
Episode #4: Vol 92
Points of discussion:
- people care a LOT about manila envelopes
- what does it take to be a game tester?
- Dash Rendar, the true hero behind the scenes
- hot new upcoming N64 titles
- 64DD will create INFINITE RPGs
- Dual Heroes’ Gun’s funky jams
- Dash Rendar blends so seamlessly into the Star Wars universe you can’t even see him
- infinite Whizz
- the best shortcut in Mario Kart 64
- Cruisin’ (across) USA in a school bus
- why Donkey Kong Country 3 is my least favorite Donkey Kong
- reviewing games from a decade ago
- tiny Q*bert
It’s been another couple weeks, so as a reminder I will be streaming a new episode tomorrow at 11AM PDT! This is starting an hour earlier than usual due to obligations I need to take care of later in the day. Sorry!
If you wish to catch it live, you can do so on my Twitch channel linked in the OP.
I’m really itching to dig deep into the archives and look at a really old issue, so tomorrow we’ll be looking at Volume 11 which covers Super Mario Bros. 3, Final Fantasy, A Boy and His Blob, and more!
The new episode is up on YouTube! Come check out my death-defying stunts, such as “dumping a half full glass of ice water on my desk/me” and “trying to wrangle chat into doing a CYOA”.
Episode #5: Vol 11
Points of discussion:
- the Video Warlords are the most hardcore gamers known to man
- the best world of Super Mario Bros 3
- reporting from the 1990 CES
- 3D and isometric are basically the same thing, right?
- Pinbot is going to hurtle you into the sun
- throwing jellybeans on the ground in A Boy and His Blob
- 4 butts travel the lands in Final Fantasy
- Dragon Warrior’s choose-your-own-adventure
- Kaubocks VS Mr Dream
- take your best shot at the NES Power Trivia Quiz!
- Sara Gilbert’s NES review
- Tim Follin is a chiptune god
It’s time for that “it’s been another couple weeks” reminder post! I will be streaming a new episode tomorrow at 12PM PDT.
If you wish to catch it live, you can do so on my Twitch channel linked in the OP.
At the end of the last episode I had a random hankering to look at whatever issue had Super Metroid on the cover, so lo and behold I found it-- we’ll be looking at Vol 60!
The new episode is up on YouTube! The issue starts with Super Metroid but thankfully once that game that nobody cares about is out of the way we get to look at REAL video games like Spectre, Tetris 2 (the sequel to Tetris), and reading every known piece of information about Future Zone.
Episode #6: Vol 60
Points of discussion:
- Nintendo fans are milk cap crazy
- the oppressive tone of Super Metroid
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7u9hP4r1S8
- the virtual battlefield of Spectre
- who is the editor who gave up on Knights of the Round
- opening a game with hot ant mating rituals
- combining the SNES and Game Boy, it’s the Super Game Boy!
- breaking every known rule about Tetris in Tetris 2
- a brief glimpse into Project Reality
- the only known information about Future Zone
- the warlord Raptor rules Neo New York in X-Kaliber 2097
Ah, the Super Game Boy. A machine that combined the limitations of the SNES and the Game Boy! Definitely the best way to implement a hybrid home console/portable. Nintendo truly fucked up with the Switch, and you wonder why when they had such a shining example in their own back catalog.
Here’s that “new stream tomorrow” reminder post! I will be streaming tomorrow at 12PM PDT.
If you wish to catch it live, you can do so on my Twitch channel linked in the OP.
Last episode I said I wanted to do something with Mega Man on the cover and the thread over on SA has graciously delivered. Tomorrow we’ll be looking at Vol 20-- covering Mega Man 3, The Immortal, the extremely bad version of Dragon’s Lair, and more!
The new episode is live! Lots of really cool stuff in this one, in my opinion; most notably coming across a couple games unknown to me I’d love to revisit in my own time (Dragon Spirit, Daedalian Opus), getting an excuse to play Mega Man 3 again, and more information about games that never actually came out.
Episode #7: Vol 20
Points of discussion:
- Steve Wozniak’s Tetris high scores
- 20 whole pages of Mega Man 3
- more technical information than you’d ever want to know about game paks
- revisiting the first Let’s Play ever made
- debugging our way through Dragon Spirit
- deciphering scribbles left behind on Gremlins 2: The New Batch
- the worst version of Dragon’s Lair
- Daedalian Opus is a surprisingly quaint puzzle game
- having hooks for hands in Werewolf
- scouring for information about the New Kids on the Block
You may have thought I forgot about the weekly reminder post, but I haven’t! Just decided to put it off until the day of the stream, for whatever reason. Seems to make more sense in my brain?
Mortal Kombat 11 came out a few days, so let’s take a look at the issue that covers Mortal Kombat II which is definitely the same game! In one hour we’ll be reading Volume 64, featuring Mortal Kombat 2, Killer Instinct, Secret of Mana, and more!
Seems like I randomly stumbled on a good magazine! There was a bunch of cool games and oddities in this one, in my opinion. Also some exceptionally good art.
Episode #8: Vol 64
Points of discussion:
- does Mortal Kombat II still hold up
- Sabrewulf mirrors all night long
- Bomber Bob backs us up in Pocky & Rocky 2
- Blizzard’s secret best video game
- the Super FX chip lives on in Vortex
- how did they make Donkey Kong Country look so dang good
- getting hopelessly lost in Secret of Mana
- Ninja Gaiden Shadow’s super cool equalizer
- the awful chiptune Power Rangers theme
- CHRIS BERMAN CHRIS BERMAN CHRIS BERMAN
Hey folks! It’s Saturday! But sadly there will be no Nintendo Power stream this afternoon. Just… no real energy on this hot, hot day, unfortunately. Pushing it back a week instead – see you on the 18th!
Oh hell yeah, it’s Saturday! Let’s do this!
In one hour I’ll be taking a look at an issue i picked entirely randomly volume 108, covering Banjo Kazooie, Harvest Moon, Pokemon, and the one sports game I weirdly care about!
New episode is up! Finally we get to take a look at Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr, the game I’ve been vaguely hinting about whenever sports games come up. Also some other games? But who CARES it’s KEN GRIFFEY JR!!
Episode #9: Vol 108
Points of discussion:
- why don’t all video games have blood and gore??
- the one sports game I weirdly care about
- Banjo and/or Kazooie’s unskippable cutscenes
- total opinion whiplash on Forsaken 64
- Final Fantasy Adventure II’s aggressive sound test
- the Pokemon craze is here!!
- Goldeneye 007 sweeps the awards season
- a bunch of Game Boy games that should catch my attention but don’t
- Nintendo HUD quiz
- we unfortunately play Iggy’s Reckin’ Balls
- a Gex omen
- F R E A K B O Y
Turns out I’m a big smart guy who forgot to ever update the OP of the thread. Well, for the sake of getting out the word as soon as I can, the biweekly stream is still on for tomorrow, June 1st at 12:00 PM. The issue in question will be volume 23, because I opened it randomly and the cover art is incredible.
Hey I’m a big smart guy who published the latest video yesterday and posted it on Twitter but forgot to update my thread. Oops! Here it is!
Episode #10: Vol 23
Points of discussion:
- Game Boys on the battlefield
- Power Blade answers the age-old question “What if Mega Man had a boomerang?”
- wishing Totally Rad didn’t make us look at Zebediah Pong
- jumping through random levels in TMNT II: The Arcade Game
- YO SWORD MASTER IS THE GREATEST NES GAME EVER MADE
- a quick read about English game developers
- make sure you bring your bionic buddy when playing with S.C.A.T.
- gotta show off that Game Boy R-Type
- why did Game Boy Bubble Bobble rate so low?
- Jeremy Miller’s celebrity profile
- very important reasons why you should not import a Super Famicom
