Magazine Reviews - Nintendo Fun Club #3

Well, way back in January of this year, I did a recap of Nintendo Fun Club Issue #2 - and then my course-load got kind of crazy (among other things), preventing me from doing further recaps. Well, now I am back, with my thoughts on issue #3.

Issue #3 - Fall 1987

This issue features our first proper front cover - with color art and everything. Fittingly, Nintendo's current big hit, The Legend of Zelda, graces the cover. We also have our first ad in the magazine - for some of Taito's upcoming titles, including Renegade, Arkanoid, Elevator Action, and Legend of Kage. These ads would continue over the rest of the Fun Club News run, but would not survive the switch to Nintendo Power.

We start off with an article on Metroid and, well, while the cover gets color, the interior of the magazine is an odd mix of black-and-white, red (or another color) and white, and full color. I kind of get the impression that part-way through putting this issue together they got the green light for color. This article also features the first appearance in the magazine of screen shots. While this issue isn't nearly as screen shot heavy as Nintendo Power would eventually become, it's a start. I'm getting the impression that the staff is slowly figuring out how they can get screen shots to work in the magazine. We also get a look at Kid Icarus, including a discussion of the sacred treasures and weapons.


In the Pro's corner we get some more hints for Legend of Zelda, including a quick way to grind for cash, as well as a way to trigger a game over in case you need to quit in a hurry, because of dinner, or something else is on TV, or there's a thunderstorm and you don't want to lose your progress due to a power outage. In case you're wondering, the trick is to plug in controller two and hit Up and A. There's also some tips on grinding for energy in Metroid, as well as escaping the grasp of one of the titular Metroids, escaping lava, and also quickly getting yourself a game over (same trick as with Zelda). There are also continue codes for Super Mario Bros, Solomon's Key, Trojan, Ikari Warriors & Gradius. Oh, and if you want to know the last two - the Ikari Warriors code is enter ABBA (like the band) and then hit Start after you die, and the Gradius code is Down, Up, and then enter B A four times, before hitting Start. Frankly, I think the Ikari Warriors code is much less masochistic. There are also some user submitted tricks, but as they're not vetted, I don't trust them.

Continuing with the preview blurbs, there's info on Mike Tyson's Punch Out and Rad Racer, along with some more ads. After that, we get a nice map of the entire first quest of Legend of Zelda, and dungeons 3 through 6 of the underworld, which I've posted here for your consideration.

Anyway, we also get a bit of info on Zelda II: The Adventures of Link, and Pro-Am Racing (which will get released in the US as RC Pro-Am). There's also our high scores for the issue.

In the letters column we have some requests for more tips and tricks, along with a recommendation for what will eventually become the Top 20. I'm kind of considering putting a database togeather of the Top 20 surveys, just to keep my Database-Fu strong. We also get some profiles of the game councilors, and some ads for Fun Club merch. There's also a promo article for the Nintendo Advantage joystick. I actually own one of these, and had used one before this. It's got the kind of durable work that you expect from Nintendo, but the buttons kind of stick - and I recall them being kind of sticky on the one I used before - but I could be wrong. Finally, we wrap up the issue, with full page color ads for Top Gun, and Acclaim's upcoming titles, including Square's 3D World Runner.