Welcome to another edition of Playing With Power. The review article that looks at all things Nintendo Entertainment System. It’s been a while, but I think it’s time to talk about some more video game commercials. Namely ones for the great grey box known as the NES. Why? Because I just moved to my new room, and I can’t be bothered to unbox my NES. But don’t fret, there will definitely be a new game review next week.
A commercial can make or break your product, especially in the age before the internet boom. In the NES days, it was certainly important to sell that game, since gaming magazines were in their infancy, and you really wouldn’t know what you’re getting most of the time judging by info on the box. So, to pay tribute, let’s look at five classic commercials from the NES days, in a segment I call Ad Break.
#1. Little Nemo: The Dream Master
This is a game I definitely want to talk about in the near future, but for now, we can cover the ad for the game, which is a rather strange one indeed. We see a van run by Capcom driving around a neighborhood. Inside the van are monitors that can apparently tap into the dreams of children. The dreams will help Capcom create the next great video game. They see crazy sights like snakes, wasps, big lipped tadpoles, a kid turning into a bee. And the craziest of all, a kid riding a purple lizard!
Of course we don’t see any of this, not even through the minor game footage shown, which is mostly of the last boss in the game, the nightmare king. As the ad comes to an end, the driver asks if they’re really going to make a game out of this? For that matter, do the kids even know they’re being spied on by this van? And that their most private of things, their dreams, are being recorded for someone else’s gain? Well, I hope these kids that you’re technically plagiarizing from are going to be paid, or at least given free copies of the game.
Oh, who am I kidding? Capcom has never heard of the word free. If it were this day and age, they’d make the purple lizard DLC for 5 bucks. And hell, if they were scanning my dreams at the time, they’d probably get visions of the ninja turtles saving April O’Neil and Alice from Disney’s Alice in Wonderland from The Shredder, and Judge Doom.
Oh come on, that would make an awesome game and you know it.
But the ad is definitely interesting, and while it doesn’t give too much game footage, does sell the game’s premise okay enough, even if you more than likely had no clue what Little Nemo was since the movie was still a couple years away from hitting North American soil. The ad works, is original, and I liked it.
#2. The Adventures of Bayou Billy
One of my earliest reviews, and the first thumbs down I gave, this is definitely a nostalgic game for me… for all the wrong reasons. I believe I rented it once, and hated the experience. And that rental choice may have been thanks to this ad. This stupid, silly, yet epic ad.
We see our hero Bayou Billy, shilling his video game, while wrestling for his life against a very unconvincing “live” alligator. That is one rubbery gator, but Billy is trying his damnedest to make it tap out. You also get footage of the game’s three modes, beat-em-up, driving, and shooting, which, I have to admit, they actually make look pretty cool.
So the ad works in regards of actually selling what the product is supposed to be, with enough of a gimmick to the ad that draws people in. Though, honestly, does anyone actually buy this guy as the supposed badass Bayou Billy? I kinda think it feels more like cousin Jethro got himself in a big ol’ heap of trouble.
So in shorter terms, the ad works, the gator’s fake, and the game blows. Moving on.
#3. Ironsword: Wizards and Warriors II
Has this ever happened to you? You’re sitting in your room, playing Nintendo on your Acclaim Wireless controller (double shill), playing Wizards and Warriors (and there’s the hat trick), chillin’ like a villain. But then all of a sudden, the door opens, and a psychotic shirtless man is stabbing a dragon, yelling that “Triumph is ours!”.
Of course that’s happened to you, it’s how Kuros greets all his friends.
Kuros hands our youg gamer a copy of the newest Wizards and Warriors game, Ironsword, and informs him that the evil wizard Maklill will take the forms of earth, wind, fire, and water. I guess since he’s evil, heart wasn’t necessary. He then leaves, facing the beast from before, and yelling “THE FATE OF THE WORLD IS IN YOUR HANDS!”
And the dog’s butt smokes. Okay.
This ad is ridiculously cheesy, but you can’t help but get a chuckle out of it. And it does the important job of selling the product, showing us game footage, and telling us of what it’s about. Though one thing I always found weird about the Wizards and Warriors games, and maybe someone can clear this up for me. Why is it that in the games, Kuros is presented as a knight, and on the boxes he’s a barbarian? Was it because Conan was popular at the time?
Or it was an excuse to get Fabio on the box cover. Because, you know, when I think the ultimate badass warrior, it’s the guy on cover of romance novels.
The ad is silly, but sometimes silly works, and in this case it certainly did.
#4. Super Mario Bros. 3
You talk about epic ads for Nintendo, you can’t even make that discussion without talking about this piece of genius. And for what is considered one of the greatest games of all time, that’s pretty sweet. We see a bunch of kids. Some dressed in blue, some dressed in white, others in black. They begin to pump their fists in the air, chanting for their mustachioed hero Mario. The camera pans away, and we see that this isn’t just hundreds of people, it’s billions.
And that they’ve formed is perhaps the most epic thing ever.
This ad has stuck with me for a long time, as it really is an apropos ad. By 1989 and 1990, Mario had conquered the world. Nintendo was a pop culture giant, and still at the peak of its popularity. And Mario 3 was an event in itself. With its first appearance being in the 1989 film The Wizard, it was safe to say Nintendo knew that this was going to be something special. Something that would be a lasting image for all gamers to remember.
Though I do have to ask, why are they chanting Mario and making the face? Did Mario end up in outer space? Galaxy was a whole 17 or so years away. Still, you can’t find any flaws or faults in this ad. It is truly a piece of Nintendo nostalgia.
#5. Nintendo Power
Okay, so I picked this one last not so much for the ad itself, but to get my thoughts on Nintendo Power said now. But let’s start with the ad. It’s full on insanity, with bouncing TVs, faces coming in on your screen, exploding televisions, a guy eating the magazine. It’s a total example of insanity, while still selling the product. And what a deal it was. 15 dollars for 12 nintendo power issues, and strategy guides. That is pretty sweet.
Nintendo Power was honestly one of the greatest magazines of all time. The sheer amount of content it gave gamers was incredible. Reviews, walkthroughs, maps, tips, cheats. It was almost like gaming Shangri-la. I actually bought many of the back issues, and it’s incredible. What other way back then other than a friend perhaps, could you get a full start-to-finish walkthrough of Metroid, or learn the infamous Konami code?
As the years went on, Nintendo Power slowly changed its format, and over the past decade became more of a streamlined review magazine. It was still a solid place for content and info, but it just didn’t feel the same. And sadly, earlier this summer, Nintendo Power would announce that the publication would be coming to an end this year.
So, I simply say thank you Nintendo Power. Thanks for an incredible run, and thanks for being an awesome resource for gamers everywhere. You will be missed. In fact, the name and title for my blog was inspired by Nintendo Power, which shows its importance to my life, and I’m certainly grateful.
And that closes out another ad break. I hope you enjoyed. There are more ads that are definitely worth yakking about, but for now, it’s time to close shop for another week. Next week, this review article will celebrate its first birthday, and with that will come a review I’ve been dreaming about making for a while now.
See you next week.