Nintendo Power Issue 002 (September-October 1988)

Features:

• Bionic Commando – Learn the ins and outs of bionic platforming with this massive overview.
• Life Force – Tips to beat the first two stages and a look at all stage bosses.
• Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest – Get the maps necessary to beat the first three Mansions.
• Super Mario Bros. 2 – Fight through World 3 using these helpful maps and strategies.
• Renegade – It’s 2am and everyone in the subway wants to rearrange your face. Get an idea of what you’ll be facing in the first three stages with this short guide.
• R.C. Pro-Am – Take down the first seven tracks using the maps and hints provided.

Counselors Corner:

• Legend of Zelda
• Super Mario Bros.
• Metroid
• Kid Icarus

Now Playing:

• Golgo 13 (released as Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode)
• Blaster Master

Pak Watch:

• Zelda II – The Legend of Link
• Ghostbusters
• Mickey Mouse (Mickey Mousecapade)
• Paperboy
• Tecmo Bowl
• WWF WrestleMania
• Star Trek
• Racket Attack
• Track & Field II
• Friday the 13th / Nightmare on Elm Street
• John Elway’s Quarterback
• Anticipation
• Bubble Bobble
• California Games / Skate or Die
• Sesame Street Series (Sesame Street 1-2-3 / Sesame Street A-B-C)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
• Robocop

The Classics:

• Donkey Kong Classics
• Pac-Man
• Joust
• Millipede
• Defender II
• Galaga
• Xevious

Classified Information:

• Kid-Niki: Radical Ninja
• Renegade
• Kid Icarus

Video Shorts:

• Xenophobe
• Seicross
• Superman
• Indiana Jones: Temple of Doom
• Lee Trevino’s Fighting Golf
• 1943
• Jackal
• Hudson’s Adventure Island
• Magmax

Notable Stuff:

• The strategy section for Bionic Commando incorrectly states that the eagles you can find on the overhead stages work to power you up the same way collecting the little bullet icons does. This is incorrect; the eagle icons grant you one continue.
• The poster this issue features a near-useless world map for Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest. It’s neat-looking, but it doesn’t really explain how the areas connect to one another, it’s just an artist’s concept of the world’s layout. The back features Kaz Aizawa’s illustration for Bionic Commando, which features both a main character and enemies that look nothing like any of their in-game counterparts.
• Birdo is incorrectly indentified as “Ostro” several times in the Super Mario Bros. 2 section. The Ostro is a completely different enemy. The cast roll at the conclusion of the game makes this mistake as well, so it’s understandable how it made its way into the magazine.
• Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode is one of the first NES games aimed squarely at a more adult audience. The gameplay is convoluted enough that children aren’t going to understand what they’re supposed to be doing, your protagonist is a sniper-rifle-wielding assassin who sleeps different female secret agents over the course of the game, and the story is nearly as obtuse as anything Hideo Kojima ever wrote. How this (or its sequel, The Mafat Conspiracy) ever made it to the West intact is beyond me.