ONM Remembered – #161
“REVIEWED: SUPER MARIO LAND – THE GAME THAT LAUNCHED THE PLUMBER’S CAREER ON THE GAME BOY”
from N64 Magazine issue 12 (February 1998)
Another good reason N64 Magazine stuck out from the crowd was, being an unofficial Nintendo magazine, it found the time to talk about the unofficial-est of unofficial Nintendo magazines – fanzines! And this wasn’t just some one-shot ordeal – they reviewed these fanzines every month for a fair while.
I’m afraid fanzines is one of those phenomena that I’m not quite familiar with. Like, my dad worked on a few fantasy and sci-fi zines in his heyday, but it’s a bit of culture that’s effectively eluded me. Pardon my cynicism, but some of the unofficial Nintendo magazines on newsagent shelves were well and truly cack, and one can assume those magazines had editors and news hounds and whatnot – what quality can you expect from some blokes operating out of their own house? That Super Mario Land review better rock my goddamned world, man.
(having said that, i gotta respect the gusto to produce such unrewarded labours of love. big ups, ’90s ‘zine guys!)
Retro Gamer (no relation to Retro Gamer) still has an online presence, it seems, and still based in the same location! No idea if he still ships out mags to ordering customers, but hey, nice to see the chap still around.
