NES Index |
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Hopefully, this section will someday be an index of every hint ever published for NES games. It's not yet complete, as I don't have every hint book or magazine. If you find anything wrong, or have any ideas on how to make this thing more readable or useful, please email me. And if you have any hint books that I don't, let's make a deal!
Before rushing out to buy any of these books or magazines, be aware that most (if not all) of the hints contained therein are available on the web. Also understand that some of the publications are pretty lame, notably the Role-Playing Game book and the Consumer Guide books. Finally, remember that each issue does not have it's own set of unique hints. As of the latest update, there are 36 places to get help with Contra. Without looking, I'll bet most have the 30-man code, and some have nothing else.
I've also tried to indicate which hints/reviews/previews may have maps included with m. Since my definition of maps changes with the tide, you may find some inconsistencies. For example, Nintendo Power often printed pix of entire stages, such as with Super Mario 1 or 2. In such side-scrolling games, with little chance of getting lost, I don't always consider that a map.
A few tidbits about these publications...
Nintendo
The Nintendo Power Index, published with issue #50 (NP50), covers
games in each of the first 50 issues of Nintendo Power. I've
transcribed it here without verifying each and every listing. Some of
the supposed "hints" are short previews and nothing more. The few NES
hints that appeared in issues 51 to 67 have been added. The last
NES Players Poll appeared in NP67, so that's where my collection ends.
If there are NES hints beyond NP67, please let me know.
Several issues were dedicated to one game, or had a small "bonus" mag
included. In the hints section, any page number that has an "i" after
it indicates the hint is on that page of the insert. These are the
NES-related inserts and specials I'm aware of:
Click on the camera to see a pic of the item...
 NP 5 insert: Game Pak Directory NP 7 insert: Super Mario 2, Part 1 NP 8 insert: Super Mario 2, Part 2 NP 9 insert: Dragon Warrior NP10 insert: World of Nintendo catalog NP11 insert: Pak Source NP12 insert: Classified Information NP13 Super Mario 3 Strategy Guide NP15 Ninja Gaiden II Strategy Guide NP17 Final Fantasy Strategy Guide NP19 Four-Player Games Strategy Guide NP44 insert: Super Power Club w/ Star Fox Fighter NP50 insert: Nintendo Power Index |
The early issues had no numbers, just dates. Here's how they translate:
 NP01 = Jul/Aug '88 NP02 = Sep/Oct '88 NP03 = Nov/Dec '88 NP04 = Jan/Feb '89 NP05 = Mar/Apr '89 NP06 = May/Jun '89 NP07 = Jul/Aug '89
|
 NP08 = Sep/Oct '89 NP09 = Nov/Dec '89 NP10 = Jan/Feb '90 NP11 = Mar/Apr '90 NP12 = May/Jun '90 NP13 = (no date)  NP14 = Jul/Aug '90 |
Game Players
Game Players published numerous magazines simultaneously, including
Game Players Magazine(GPM) and Game Players Strategy Guide to Nintendo
Games(GP). The former covered several systems, while the latter was initially
devoted solely to the NES. There were also Sega and Game Boy strategy guides, as
well as guides devoted to PC games, DOS games, and probably others. At some point,
the Nintendo and Sega versions were combined, and eventually (it seems) the various magazines
were all merged into Ultra Game Players before the publication folded altogether.
Any GPM- notation refers Game Players Magazine,
which can be identified by a color band at the top of the front cover of the mag.
GP- references the Nintendo, Nintendo-Sega, and Ultra
versions of the magazine. The Game Players Encyclopedia (GPE) is a compilation
of hints and reviews that appeared in the regular issues.
GPsupp is a supplement that appeared with one of the 1993 issues. It's basically a big advertisement from Ocean, and is a strategy guide for the NES, SNES, and Game Boy versions of Jurassic Park. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to pinpoint the specific issue it was included with.
And there are two different GameTapes labelled Vol 1 #1. The more common one covers Double Dragon, Bionic Commando, Milon's Secret Castle, RoboWarrior, and Wizards and Warriors. The odd one I found covers Double Dragon, Super Mario Bros, Castlevania II, and Ninja Gaiden. All but Super Mario Bros are on other tapes in the series. The odd one is denoted GPT-1(alt) here in the Index.
Electronic Game Player
Electronic Game Player (EGP) seems to be the fore-runner of Electronic Gaming
Monthly, so I've grouped those two publications together.
GamePro
GamePro published several books in addition to the regular
periodical. Although I haven't run an inspection, it's safe to assume
the books contain hints that first appeared in the magazine. Without checking,
I'll bet the SWATPro tips all appeared in the regular issues as well.
GamePro published at least one magazine titled Video Game Greatest Hits (PRO-vggh1). It's dates July/August 1991, and claims to be the first of a series of compilations from the regular issues. Were there any more of these?
Video Games & Computer Entertainment
In Sept 93, they shortened the name to simply "Video Games."
Game Informer
Of all the magazines I've come across, only Game Informer continued
to publish NES material beyond 1994. They regularly have a "classics" section
geared toward many of the old systems. This section often includes a few
hints or codes, and sometimes a quickie review. If you have a subscription or
other access to current issues, please email me...
I'd like to include recent hints in this index.
Finally, with the exception of material appearing in Nintendo's Fun Club News, all hints and reviews from company newsletters have been put in the text file Newsletter Hints. The publications are so rare and so small, it seemed tedious and inconsequential to color-code them and mix the game hints with everything else.
BAT... Battletoads The Official Battlebook (1994) Prima Publishing
BB.... Big Book of Nintendo Games (1991)
CG... Compute!'s Guide to Nintendo Games (1989)
CGA... Compute!'s Guide to Nintendo Adventure Games (1991)
CNS... Compute!'s Nintendo Secrets (1990)
CT&T... Compute!'s Nintendo Tips & Tricks (1991)
CSMB... Conquering Super Mario Brothers (1991)
CZ... Conquering Zelda (1990) by Donald R. McCrary
CZ2... Conquering Zelda Adventures (2nd ed.)(1993) by Donald R. McCrary
CV... Castlevania the Official Hint Book (1992) by Donald and Kristen McCrary
OGMM... Official Guide to Mega Man (1991)
CG:SR... Strategies for Nintendo Games (RED cover)(1989)
CG:SY... Strategies for Nintendo Games (YELLOW cover)(1989)
CG:MS... More Strategies for Nintendo Games (1989)
CG:W@... Winning at Nintendo (Hot Tips for the Coolest Games) (1990)
CG:HTC... Hot Tips for the Coolest Nintendo Games (1990)
CG:WT... Winning Tips / Newest Game Strategies (1990)
CG:MHT... More Hot Tips for Nintendo (1991)
CG:NF... Nintendo Fun (The Book for Beginners)(1990)
CG:MNF... More Nintendo Fun (The Book for Beginners)(1991)
CG:WG... Winner's Guide to Nintendo (1991)
CG:SS... Super Strategies (1991) other cover:
EGP#... Issue number of EGP (Electronic Game Player)
EGM#... Issue number of EGM
EGM1990... 1990 Video Game Buyer's Guide
EGM1991... 1991 Video Game Buyer's Guide
EGM1992... 1992 Video Game Buyer's Guide
EGM1993... 1993 Video Game Buyer's Guide
EGM1994... 1994 Video Game Buyer's Guide
EGM-TS#... Top Score, from the editors of EGM
GCAB... Game Counsellor's Answer Book (1991)
GS.... Games Secrets (1990)
GS2... Games Secrets 2 (1991)
GS3... Games Secrets 3 (1991)
GS4... Games Secrets 4 (1993)
GHV... Game Handler Video (1992)
GI-Mon/Yr... Month & Year of Game Informer issue
GPE... Game Players Encyclopedia of Nintendo Games (1990)
GPE2... Game Players Encyclopedia of Nintendo Games V2 (1990)
GPE3... Game Players Encyclopedia of Nintendo Games V3 (1991)
GPE4... Game Players Encyclopedia of Nintendo Games V4 (1991)
GPE5... Game Players Encyclopedia of Nintendo Games V5 (?)
GPE6... Game Players Encyclopedia of Nintendo Games V6 (1993)
GPE7... Game Players Encyclopedia of Nintendo Games V7 (1993)
GPE8... Game Players Encyclopedia of Nintendo Games V8 (1993)
GPT#... Game Players Game Tape for Nintendo Games (all were Vol. #1)
GPT-1(alt)... alternate version of Game Players Game Tape Vol 1 #1
GP-v#n#... Vol/Issue of Game Players Strategy Guide to Nintendo Games
GPG... Game Players Guide to Nintendo (1988)
GPsupp... supplement to a 1993 issue (not sure which one)
HG... Hot Games (1989)
HTW1... How to Win at Nintendo Games (1989)
HTW2... How to Win V2 (1989)
HTW3... How to Win V3 (1990)
HTW4... How to Win V4 (1991)
HTWM... How to Win at Super Mario Bros Games (1990)
HTWS... How to Win at Sports Games (1990)
HTWB... Best of How to Win (1992)
KOD-905... How to Score More Points on Nintendo Games #905 (1989) 34 min.
KOD-906... How to Score More Points on Nintendo Games #906 (1989) 23 min.
BNM... Beyond the Nintendo Masters (1990)
M1... Mastering Nintendo Video Games (1989)
M2... Mastering Nintendo Video Games II (1990)
TNM... Tricks of the Nintendo Masters (1990)
MPI-1... Vol 1 (1989) 60 min.
MPI-2... Vol 2 (1989) 45 min.
MPI-3... Vol 3 (1989) 45 min.
MPI-SE... Special Ed. (1989) 30 min.
FCN#... Fun Club News
NP#... Nintendo Power
OPG... Official Nintendo Players Guide (1987)
NGA... Nintendo Game Atlas (1991)
NTSP... Nintendo Top Secret Passwords (1992)
NMM... Nintendo Mario Mania (1991)
PRO-Adv... GamePro Hot Tips: Adventure Games (1990)
PRO-Spt... GamePro Hot Tips: Sports Games (1990)
PRO-GT... GamePro Greatest Tips (1992)
PRO-PI89... GamePro Premier Issue (1989)
PRO-Mon/YR... Month & Year of GamePro issue
PRO-vggh1... GamePro's Video Game Greatest Hits 1 (Jul/Aug 91)
PRO-CVG... GamePro's Celebrity Video Gamers (Aug/Sep 91)
SWAT-Mon/YR... GamePro Special Weapons and Tactics Guide
P&C... Passwords & Codes (1994)
POP1... Pop & Play 1st Edition (1990)
DOC... DOC'S 1 Min Enc of Nint. Game Instr (1991)
RPG... Role Playing Games (1991)
ACT... Nintendo Action Games (1991)
T&T-CSE... Tips & Tricks Video-Game Codebook SE (2001)
UHB... The Ultimate Hint Book (1991)
BG3... Beyond Gaming #3 (June 1990)
BG4... Beyond Gaming #4 (1991)
UU.... Ultimate Unauthorized Strategies (1989)
UU2.. Ultimate Unauthorized Strategies V2 (1990)
UU3.. Ultimate Unauthorized Strategies V3 (1990)
UUC.. Ultimate Unauthorized Strategies: Classics (1991)
VGCE-mo/yr... Month & year of VG&CE
VGCE-R... VG&CE Complete Guide to Nintendo Video Games (Reviews)(1990)
VGG.... Video Game Guide (1989) 40 min.
VGQ... Video Game Quest (1990)
VGS... Video Game Secrets (1990)
m... Map
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Index last updated: 07/25/02