Game Player's Magazine: December 1989

Back in the day, before the fancy interweb was a common household appliance, we had to get our video game tips from our friends on the schoolyard. Most of the time these so called "tips" were complete BS. If you really wanted to take your game to the next level you had to pony up some scratch and purchase a magazine like Nintendo Power, Game Pro and even to a lesser extent Game Player's Magazine. I picked up the issue above all the way back in the golden ages of December 1989. Obviously, the main reason I grabbed this specific magazine was to get tips on how to beat one of the hottest games at the time, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the Nintendo Entertainment System. This issue did not dissapoint! It gave us 10 whole pages of coverage on this blockbuster game that I am about to share with you....NOW!

Hopefully this extensive guide gave you the tips and tricks you needed to defeat The Shredder and save your beloved sensei, Master Splinter! I know it didn't help me much, the farthest I ever got was to the giant Mouser! Anyway, Game Player's Magazine didn't just cover games, but it gave us an in depth look at how some of Hollywood's biggest stars enjoy their games.

Wow! That's some great info about Married With Children star David Faustino! Who knew his favorite game was Double Dragon and his biggest thrill as an actor was being on the cover of TV Guide? What's that you say? You want more tips? Game Player's Magazine has your questions answered!

Great stuff! Even though the game content is exquisite, I can't in good conscience finish this post without showing off some of those classic advertisements!

I could do a whole month of posts on the ads! So chock full of greatness! Thank you for going on this journey with me through a 30 year old magazine about retro video games. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! What was your favorite gaming magazine from back in the day/ Let me know in the comments below!

It Came From The Attic: Part III

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Valentines

Well, here we go, one last time! Staying with my Mom at my childhood home for a few weeks brought back a ton of memories and nostalgia, but looking through all the totes of stuff I own that have been stored in her attic really kicked those feelings into high gear. Today I will share a few of these TMNT items I have saved for decades with you.These Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Valentines are from the early 90s and there actually were still a few uncut cards left in the box. Was I the only one who picked out my favorite Valentine card from the box and gave it to myself? Also, why don't they include "Teacher's cards" on packages anymore? What up with that?

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pencil 

I remember getting this from a local Hallmark store back in the mid-90s. It was quite a tough decision on which Turtle to pick. I usually go with my favorite, Donatello, but this time I went with Leonardo. Not sure why? I remember my Mom bought it for me to use for schoolwork, but it was used sparingly since this thing was like gold to me!

 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Burger King Toy
I remember these being a big deal on the playgrounds back when they hit Burger King in 1989. This was right before the movie came out at the height of Turtle-mania! I even remember them previewing the TMNT movie in their BK Kids Club Adventures Magazine!

 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Handheld Game
This bodacious Konami handheld game came out in 1989. That was the same year Nintendo introduced the Gameboy to America. Even though these LCD handheld games were fun, the Gameboy came along and they became an afterthought. Before that time though, these games were the only way you could play your favorite games on the go. This Turtles game was a little tricky, but it definitely killed a few hours while on those family road trips during spring break! 

 Topps Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Card Set
This set was released by Topps in 1989. This was the first set of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cards ever released and contained 88 base cards, 11 stickers and 22 Mirage Studios Art cards. This set was special because it was the only way you could get these Mirage cards that featured artwork from the original comics. Each card was also given an upgrade from their standard release and came with a glossy finish. This is a very cool set that I am glad is in my collection!

Leonardo Cyber Samurai Action Figure
A lot of people did not care for the Cyber Samurai Turtles, I on the other hand liked the futuristic take on our heroes in green. This series of figures came with the 4 Turtle brothers, Bebop, Rocksteady and Shredder. The figures by Playmates were also accompanied by a 5 part comic story that started in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures published by Archie comics with #62. Check them out in all their radical glory in the commercial below! COWABUNGA!!!!

It Came From The Attic: Part I

The Real Ghostbusters: ECTO-PLAZM

 Well, here we go again! Staying with my Mom at my childhood home for a few weeks brought back a ton of memories and nostalgia, but looking through all the totes of stuff I own that have been stored in her attic really kicked those feelings into high gear. Today I will share a few of these items I have saved for decades with you. First is this partially full can of The Real Ghostbusters ECTO-PLAZM! This can came with our Firehouse playset and was super sticky. It would stick to our figures and be a real pain in the butt to clean off after we slimed them through the grate on the roof. I can't quite remember why the wrapper is so torn up, but let me tell you, old ECTO-PLAZM smells horrible!

 Batman Returns: McDonalds Fry Box

Yes, I collected McDonalds French Fry boxes back in the day. I still have a bunch of unused Dream Team ones somewhere. This one was used and after the delicious fries were eaten, it was added to my ever growing early 90s Batman collection. I loved this movie and would save anything and everything that had the caped crusader or his foes on it. Not sure where the rest of this stuff went, but at least I still have this box to remind me of the Bat-Mania of 1992.

 Ninja Turtles Fair Prize

This cheap but AWESOME prize came from the New Jersey State Fair in the early 90s. Sure it's a cheap piece of particle board with a paper frame, but it's got an AMAZING picture of my favorite boys in green, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on it and I earned it by popping a bunch of balloons with darts. Such an wonderful award for such an astounding achievement.

Ghostbusters II: Slime Time Button

I loved this button! I used to pin it to any hat that I had. Most notably my hot pink surfing Ninja Turtles hat and my checkered Simpsons Bartman cap. It's a fashion statement that can mix with any licensed character clothing item.

Farley's Ninja Turtles Fruit Snacks Package

Holy CRAP! I am so glad that I kept this. We had fruit snacks in our lunches almost every day. Super Mario, Zelda, Shark Bites and even Michael Jordan, but nothing could top the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Sure, they still make TMNT themed fruit snacks today, but they just don't seem to taste as good as they did back when I was 11 years old!

Kellogg's C-3PO's Cereal box

I really don't remember ever eating this cereal as a kid, but I am glad to own this sweet piece of Star Wars memorabilia. I used to work at a mom & pop toy store in Ledgewood, NJ on Route 10 and one day the owners purchased a large Star Wars collection. They picked out the items they wanted to keep for sale and then let me scrounge through and pick out what I wanted from the left overs. I grabbed a parachuting Darth Vader, a Darth Vader eraser, Star Wars PEZ display with dispensers and this box of C-3PO's.

Sealed Commodore 64 Games

Never owned a Commodore 64, but once again I was given these sealed games from a former employer. I used to work for Clear Channel Radio and we had to clean out old offices before we moved into our new building. We found some cool old stuff that I am sure were supposed to be used for giveaway prizes at some point. These games were among those items. Since I love retro video games, they gave these to me as a gift.

I hope you enjoyed taking a look back at some items from my Mom's attic and I hope you are all staying safe and well. Check back next week for part 2! There may be more Turtles items, Freddy Krueger and Keith Hernandez!

SEGA Game Gear Manuals

Recently my son has been on a Legend of Zelda video game kick. He goes through phases so fast. One week it's Kirby the next it's Godzilla. This past week it was Zelda. He wanted to play the Wii game "Link's Crossbow Training". That was fine by me, but he would not play it unless we found the Wii Zapper attachement. I looked everywhere for that thing and still have yet to find it, but while on the hunt I did come across mine and my wife's old SEGA Game Gear systems. Mine is the black and hers is the blue. In the same box were a few games like Sonic, Lion King and Football. Also included were the original manuals and advertising papers included when my wife got her Game Gear as a gift back in 1992! I scanned a few of these papers and had to take photos of the others due to size. Looking through these was a trip back in time and now I would like to share them with you.

I hope you all enjoyed this look back into the early 90s when SEGA and Nintendo waged a battle against each other in the great video game wars. Of course we all know who came out on top, but back then it was a blue streak of sassiness vs. the plucky plumbers from Brooklyn. Let's relive a little bit of that rivalry with this SEGA ad below:

Throwback Jam of the Week: 8/26/19

Throw on your orange bandana and grab your nunchucks as we take you back! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK...

Artist: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Song: Pizza Power
Album: Coming Out Of Their Shells (1990)

Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: N/A
Bonus Fun Fact: The TMNT Coming Out Of Their Shells Tour began at Radio City Music Hall on August 17th, 1990. This tour was sponsored by Pizza Hut where you could buy your own copy of the soundtrack. This song was used by Konami for the intro music to their arcade game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time! You can view the video below.

Weekend Antique Excursion #2!

A few weekends ago, myself and my family went downtown and visited a few antique stores. I enjoy going to these kinds of stores, because you'll never know what you're going to find. Most of the time the cool stuff that I like is way over priced, but it's cool to know it's out there if I really want it. below are some of the items we found this time around.

 The Dukes of Hazard Personal Radio: $14.95

I was never a huge fan of The Dukes of Hazard television program. My sisters loved it though and that's where my introduction to the series happened. We never had this specific radio in our home, but my sisters had a very similar one with the Charlie's Angels logo emblazoned on it and that's where the nostalgia kicked in for me. I remember sitting in my sisters room and playing with the tuner on that radio hoping we could actually get a signal from the local radio station. Good times!

 Smurfs Lunch Box: $29.99

As I've said many times before, I love old lunch boxes! This Smurfs one was actually complete with the Thermos which is pretty rare. That's why I had no problem with the asking price of almost $30. It's a fair price, but I passed. I loved the Smurfs as a kid and had a big collection of the figures, but I never toted my PB&J sandwiches around in this box. I am still on the lookout for a complete Thundercats, Ghostbusters or Super Mario Bros. box. Those are the ones that really bring back the memories for me.

 Mattel Electronics Star Strike game for Intellivision: $10

It's always cool to see old games still in the box at these antique stores. The Intellivision was a little bit before my time. The first system we owned in my house was the Nintendo Entertainment System. If I saw any of those original NES games in box for $10, you better believe I'd be all over that!

 Parker Brothers Star Wars Board Game: $25

I've seen similar games go for way more money than this. So why the lower price? There were a bunch of pieces missing and the box had some minor wear. With all that considered the box art alone is worth the $25 asking price.

Batman Forever The Riddler Action Figure: $14.95

I actually liked Batman Forever. Of course the movie doesn't hold up when compared to the Tim Burton masterpieces that came before it, but it actually was a fun movie. I enjoyed Jim Carry's portrayal of the Riddler. He added some of his own personality into the character and that's what I like to see. I don't want a carbon copy of how someone else played the character. All that said, I never collected nor played with this series of figures, so it was a pass for me!

The Simpsons Colorforms Set: $9.99

This was the item I would take home! I love the early look of The Simpsons cartoons. They are classic. I remember watching the Simpsons Christmas Special when it aired on FOX on December, 17th, 1989. One watch of this episode and I was hooked! 30 years later and I am still a big fan of the Simpson family. A sealed Colorforms set from the early 90s for $9.99! Yes, please!!! Below you can enjoy an early episode from The Simpsons run on the Tracey Ullman show in the late 80s.

Whatever Happened to Johnny Arcade?

In 1990 I was introduced to the show Video Power! I remember the show aired early in the mornings on weekdays on either WWOR or WPIX. The show was originally split into 2 segments. The first would be 15 minutes of pure video game bliss as the show's host Johnny Arcade would give us tips, hints & cheats on our favorite games for all of our favorite systems. Johnny would also do sneak peaks of upcoming games and reviews of current ones. 

He would do this all from the comfort of his AMAZING hangout/room. This place was total nirvana for any young video game fan at the time. If you would have asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up during these years, I would have said "Johnny Arcade"! The guy got paid to play video games! It was amazing. He was a role model to us all.

The second part of the show was a cartoon called "The Power Team". It featured the Acclaim video game heroes Kuros from Wizards & Warriors, Max Force from NARC, Tyrone from Arch Rivals, Bigfoot and Kwirk. They fought the bad guys Mr. Big and Malkil in order to save the world.

Occasionally Johnny Arcade would be seen in cartoon form in order to assist the Power Team in their exploits to defeat the forces of evil. The cartoon lasted for 33 episodes during season 1 of Video Power.

Then during season 2 of Video Power the cartoon was dropped in favor of a game show segment! The game started off with 4 contestants picked from the audience as they played a video game in order to get the high score within the 2:02 time limit. The top 2 scorers would move on to the Quiz round. Players were asked video game related questions and had to identify games based on the music. Each right answer gained them points. Finally it was on to the final head to head game play challenge. Whoever had the highest score after playing the game earned 50 points. 

The player with the most points at the end earned the right to go to the prize round where they would grab prizes like games, accessories and consoles. They were only given 41 seconds to make it through the course and velcro as many prizes to their vests and helmets as they could handle. 

Whatever they had, they won and Johnny Arcade would help identify each prize on camera. After season 2 ended in 1992 Video Power was not renewed for another year. So what happened to the Video Game icon Johnny Arcade?

Johnny Arcade was played by actor Stivi Paskoski. After his starring role on Video Power, Paskoski went on to act in shows like Franny's Turn (1992), Homicide: Life on the Street (1993) and the movie PCU (1994). Then after taking almost 10 years off, he returned to the screen in Third Watch (2003) and has had a steady acting career since then. Highlights include his role as Charles Bell in Law & Order and Lead SVR Agent in Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Who would have thought that Johnny Arcade would become a member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Christmas 2018 Fallout

 Now that I am a parent Christmas is mostly all about making the kids happy and helping Santa get them the toys that were on their list. But every year I still look forward to unwrapping my own gifts from my kids & wife. They typically do a great job of getting me some sweet presents and this year they did not disappoint. I know it's a little late, but lets look behind the wrapping paper and see what goodies were under the tree for me this year!

 Ghostbusters: The Ultimate Visual History Book

I love this book! I have been a huge fan of the Ghostbusters since the awesome foursome hit screens in 1984 and I thought I knew a lot about the series, but according to this book I didn't know as much as I thought I did. This book goes deep into the creation & production of the 2 original films. This is a fantastic read for any Ghostbusters fan with some bonus extras included inside.

Funko Pop Doctor Octopus & Blanka

I collect Funko POP figures, but I am not a ravenous collector. I usually grab the figures I like from series that hold a special place in my life. My wife picked me up these two guys because she knows I am a fan of ol' web head and she heard me say Blanka was my favorite Street Fighter II character while I was playing the game with my kids. I guess my wife does listen to me every now and then!

Super Mario Kart Piranha Plant & Rosalina Figures

My wife admitted that she picked these up for me because they were on a smokin' clearance sale at Barnes & Noble. I think they are pretty cool, but I will probably hand them down to my son so we can add them to his Super Mario figure collection.

Movies!

I rarely make it out to the movie theater to see a movie above a PG rating these days, so my wife picked me up a great selection of movies I have missed over the last year. Included are Spider-Man: Homecoming, The Death of Superman, Justice League, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Avengers: Infinity War, Rampage and Stephen King's IT. Can't wait to find the time to watch these flicks!

Stocking Stuffers

I freakin' love stocking stuffers! Ever since I was a kid I couldn't wait to rip into the stocking on Christmas morning to find the cool little gifts Santa had brought in addition to all the edible goodies inside. This year was no different. I got a mini Horn Head Madball, Batman Fidget Spinner, Ghostbusters Ecto Plasm container, Ninja Turtles Playing Cards and some sweet treats!

Guitar Hero Live for the WiiU

I kind of looked at my wife confused when I opened this one. I hadn't played Guitar Hero since it was on the PS2 and really hadn't shown any interest in picking my guitar back up, but once again my wife found this on a great Black Friday deal and thought I would enjoy it. I was skeptical, but I plugged in my pretend amp and myself and the kids had a blast playing this game again!

Well, that's it for this past Christmas. I hope yours was merry, bright and full of good tidings. Now enjoy a full hour of Christmas commercials from the 90's to tide you over until next year! Merry Christmas!