Nintendo Archives

180 Pages·2016·35.07 MB·English

by  Jon White

Welcome to
Nintendo
Archives
Few gaming developers will leave a legacy behind them as rich as Nintendo’s. Founded
in 1889, the Japanese giant started off selling all sorts of diff erent things, including
Hanafuda playing cards and even a taxi service before it moved into videogames in
the mid Seventies, where it found great success with the release of Donkey Kong in
1981. Nintendo really hit it big with the release of its Famicom, or NES as it was known
outside of Japan, and great games such as Metroid, Super Mario Bros. and The Legend
Of Zelda quickly followed, becoming massive franchises in their own right.
The NES turned Nintendo into one of gaming’s biggest publishers, and as the likes of
Atari fell by the wayside, Nintendo grew ever more powerful. The company continued
to make waves by releasing innovative consoles like the Game Boy, the DS and the Wii,
all of which were worldwide success stories.
We’ve hand-picked the content of this book to refl ect the best that Nintendo has had
to off er over the years, concentrating on its numerous home consoles and handhelds
and the greatest games that were released for them. If Nintendo’s games have ever
brought you joy, then you’ll fi nd this tome to be an essential read.
In association with magazine

Nintendo
Archives
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Nintendo Archives First Edition
© 2016 Future Publishing Limited
Part of the
bookazine series
42
08
Nintendo
Archives
Contents
28
38 44
8 THE BIG FEATURE: 44 THE BIG FEATURE: 30 MAGICAL 82 GREATEST GAME BOY GAMES
THE HISTORY OF NINTENDO MARIO MOMENTS Ever wondered what the best games for Nintendo’s
From the arcades to the Nintendo Wii U: we chart Key developers from all generations help relive legendary portable were? With this fantastic reader-
the dizzying highs and lows of one of gaming’s some of the greatest Super Mario Bros. moments of compiled list you can wonder no longer
most important and influential developers all time. How many did you experience?
88 RETRO REVIVAL:
18 THE BIG FEATURE: 30 YEARS OF 66 RETROINSPECTION: GATOR: REVENGE OF THE PINBALL
ENTERTAINMENT GAME & WATCH
This quirky little spin-off to Capcom’s Ghosts ‘N
Masayuki Uemura explains how he helped create Damien McFerran speaks to key experts and Goblins series is well worth tracking down
Nintendo’s 8-bit console, the NES explains why you really should consider collecting
90 THE BIG FEATURE: PLAYING
games for Nintendo’s first portable series
28 GREATEST NES GAMES EVER WITH POWER
We asked readers to name their favourite games 72 PERFECT TEN: GAME & WATCH It’s been over 25 years since Nintendo released
for Nintendo’s 8-bit system. They didn’t disappoint If you’re planning to collect for the Game & Watch its 16-bit follow-up to the NES. Damien McFerran
and the end result is a selection of fantastic games then these are the releases you should consider reveals why the SNES remains one of gaming’s
38 MAKING OF: BATTLETOADS looking for first best-loved consoles
Kev Bayliss explains how he helped create Rare’s 74 THE BIG FEATURE: CELEBRATING 100 TOP 25 SNES GAMES
answer to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles THE GAME BOY Interested in collecting games for Nintendo’s
42 RETRO REVIVAL: SLALOM It might not have had a colour screen, but it did have amazing 16-bit console? These classics are the best
a killer app… We reveal the story behind Nintendo’s place to start
It’s not the most well known of games, but that
iconic handheld
doesn’t mean you should ignore this excellent NES
debut from Rare
6 | NINTENDO ARCHIVES
82
66 100 74
150
166
106 THE LEGACY OF F(cid:2)ZERO 148 RETRO REVIVAL:
Key developers reveal how Nintendo’s 16-bit racer TUROK: DINOSAUR HUNTER
helped influence their own hi-tech racing games Love dinosaurs? Then you’ll love Acclaim’s
adaptation of the cult graphic novel
116 RETRO REVIVAL: SUPER SOCCER
Why you need to experience Human 150 THE BIG FEATURE: CELEBRATING
Entertainment’s Mode 7-based football game THE GAME BOY ADVANCE
118 THE BIG FEATURE: It only lasted five short years, but it made a big
impact on gamers. We take a look at the very last
NINTENDO’S MIDAS TOUCH
console to be part of Nintendo’s Game Boy range
Nintendo 64 developers from Acclaim, Rare and
158 TOP 25 GBA GAMES
Blitz explain why Nintendo’s 64-bit console had a
host of killer games available for it All the best games for the Game Boy Advance,
including Advance Wars and WarioWare
134 TOP 25 NINTENDO 64 GAMES
166 THE BIG FEATURE: CELEBRATING
From Super Mario 64 to Beetle Adventure Racing
THE GAMECUBE
and Banjo-Kazooie, readers reveal their favourite
games to grace the beloved N64 It may have ended up in third place, but Nintendo’s
GameCube is still a fantastic console
142 ULTIMATE GUIDE: SUPER MARIO 64
174 RETRO REVIVAL: RESIDENT EVIL 4
Discover why Nintendo’s first 3D Mario game is still
considered one of its finest examples of the series, Darran Jones reveals why Capcom’s horror sequel
and the genre in general left a lasting impression.
NINTENDO ARCHIVES | 7
The History of
8 | NINTENDO ARCHIVES
THE HISTORY OF NINTENDO
Arguably the most famous videogame
company in the world, Nintendo has a long
history. Join Damien McFerran as he digs
deep into its past, present and future
The games industry has undergone
seismic levels of change over the
past few decades, but since the
Eighties one name has stood out
as a constant in the ever-shifting
sands of interactive entertainment: Nintendo. At
one point, Nintendo was a brand totally and utterly
synonymous with videogames as a medium, such was
the company's domination of the console market. Since
the glory days of the NES we've seen the Nintendo
rollercoaster dip and rise; systems like the SNES, Game
Boy and Wii have achieved the kind of critical and
commercial success that their rivals could only dream
of, while missteps such as the Virtual Boy and the Wii U
have proven that, despite its legendary status, Nintendo
is just as prone to mistakes as any other corporation.
Arguably one of the most infl uential companies
operating in the videogame space, Nintendo has sold
over 670 million units of hardware and 4.23 billion units
of software to date, and despite the less-than-stellar
performance of its most recent home console, is still a
creative force to be reckoned with. With the company
planning its next console and preparing to take its fi rst
tentative steps into the world of smartphone gaming,
now is the perfect time to look back on its illustrious
history and chart the highs and lows which have made
Nintendo such an iconic and noteworthy challenger in
the interactive entertainment arena.
Before gaming
Nintendo may have joined the videogame industry
around the same time as companies such as Sega,
Namco, Taito and Atari, but it has a history that far
outstrips these fi rms – and every other major player
in the videogame arena. "Nintendo was founded in
1889 as manufacturer of playing cards," says Erik
Voskuil, founder of Before Mario, a site devoted to
covering Nintendo's early history. Established by
Fusajiro Yamauchi in Kyoto, the company would focus
almost exclusively on the production of Hanafuda
cards for the fi rst 70-odd years of its life. By the Fifties,
Fusajiro's grandson Hiroshi had ascended to power
and became acutely aware that sticking with playing
cards was limiting Nintendo's potential for expansion.
He signed licensing deals with Disney to maximise the
appeal of its range, but by the Sixties sales had dipped
dramatically, forcing a rethink. "In an attempt to grow
business, Nintendo started branching out in a wide
range of other markets – mostly short-lived endeavours
including instant rice, a taxi company and opening
a 'Love Hotel' – before settling on toys and games,"
explains Erik. It would be the arrival of Gunpei Yokoi
in the Sixties that would take Nintendo in an exciting
NINTENDO ARCHIVES | 9
new direction. "Yokoi provided Nintendo with its fi rst resourceful as ever, Yamauchi proposed using the
original toys and laid the foundation for what would inventory for a new title, and the relatively inexperienced
Nintendo eventually become known as Nintendo's approach to Miyamoto was tasked with creating the concept.
product design, practiced to this day," explains Erik. 1981's Donkey Kong was Nintendo's last throw of the
"It was no surprise that his design philosophy was dice, but thankfully it was a triumph and has gone on
Key Players
embraced by Nintendo, as his inventions became to become one of the most famous videogames of all
million-sellers, earning the company lots of cash to time. "Donkey Kong was very important," states Erik. "It
fund further growth and more innovations." Yokoi's fi rst was a huge arcade hit that established the company as
The key fi gures from Nintendo’s history best-seller – the Ultra Hand – was created during his a worldwide player in videogames and put Nintendo Of
initial role as a lowly maintenance engineer. "A lot of America on the map. The game design by Miyamoto
FUSAJIRO YAMAUCHI connections are often made to the early toys produced has been hugely infl uential in many ways, including
(cid:81)(cid:3)Yamauchi founded Nintendo in 1889 by Yokoi in the Seventies, such as the Ultra Machine," being the fi rst platform game to use a jumping character
as a playing card business. The company says Nintendo Life's Thomas Whitehead. "His role in – a jumping character who evolved into one of the most
grew rapidly, expanding to nearby Osaka. catching the eye of President Hiroshi Yamauchi cannot enduring videogame icons." Erik is, of course, referring
Yamauchi would retire in 1929, leaving be overstated, effectively kicking off the move into to Mario, who has gone on to become one of the most
his son-in-law Sekiryo Kaneda in charge videogame entertainment." The Ultra Hand would be recognisable faces in entertainment.
of the business. He died from the effects of a stroke in 1940. the company's fi rst million-selling product, and the
The Golden Years
follow-up – a baseball pitching device called the Ultra
HIROSHI YAMAUCHI Machine – would be even more successful. The period Donkey Kong was a turning point for Nintendo, and
(cid:81)(cid:3)The grandson of Fusajiro Yamauchi, that followed was packed with invention and innovation, elevated the company's status in North America –
Hiroshi became the third president of with Yokoi dreaming up products which seemed to arguably the biggest market of them all for videogames.
Nintendo in 1947 and would guide the capture the imagination of people of all ages. 1969's Home conversions quickly followed on the popular
company away from playing cards Love Tester gave young couples the means to 'prove consoles of the period, earning Donkey Kong and its
and into videogames. the strength of their relationship', while the Kousenjuu
series of lightgun toys allowed the normally withdrawn
SHIGERU MIYAMOTO Japanese public to live out their cowboy fantasies in
(cid:81)(cid:3)The creator of some of the most iconic the comfort and privacy of their own homes. Despite
games – including Super Mario, Zelda some initial success, these products couldn't give
and Star Fox – Miyamoto joined Nintendo Nintendo the long-term commercial stability that it
in 1977 and his breakthrough success craved. Given the company's penchant for electronic
was the arcade smash-hit Donkey Kong. toys, it is unsurprising that when the home TV
gaming revolution began, Nintendo was one of the
GUNPEI YOKOI fi rst Japanese fi rms to put a product on the market. It
(cid:81)(cid:3)Responsible for some of Nintendo’s distributed the Magnavox Odyssey in 1974, and would
most successful ventures. He came up produce its own console – the Color TV-Game – three
with the Game & Watch, Game Boy and years later. It is at this point that an important fi gure
produced many famous games. He was enters the story. Design student Shigeru Miyamoto was
killed in a traffic accident in 1997. fresh out of college when he joined Nintendo in 1977,
and one of his fi rst tasks was to design the casing for
MINORU ARAKAWA one of the Color TV-Game variants.
(cid:81)(cid:3)Hiroshi Yamauchi’s son-in-law and the
founder and former president of NOA,
Entering the arcade
Arakawa was instrumental in making
the NES a success in the US. He is also While Nintendo's fi rst forays into the world of domestic
credited with giving Mario his name. gaming were signifi cant, the arcades were where
the real money was to be made at the time. Titles
HOWARD LINCOLN like Space Invaders and Pac-Man had turned into
(cid:81)(cid:3)Lincoln assisted Nintendo in its legal money-spinners, and Yamauchi was keen to muscle
case against Universal Studios in 1981. in on this lucrative market. Nintendo wasn't totally
He would join Nintendo in 1983, by 1994 wet behind the ears when it came to location-
he was chairman. He is the current CEO based entertainment, though. "Nintendo's fi rst
of the Seattle Mariners baseball team. arcade games, launched at around the same time
as Atari's Pong in the early-Seventies, they weren't
SATORU IWATA videogames but electromechanical lightgun games
(cid:81)(cid:3)Iwata started as a programmer at HAL that incorporated fi lm and later video footage," says
Laboratory. In 2000 he joined Nintendo Erik. "These were original games, based on Nintendo
and two years later assumed the role of own very early lightgun toys for use at home, but
company president. Iwata sadly passed had no commercial success." The company's fi rst
away after a battle with cancer. true arcade title was EVR Race – designed by Genyo
Takeda, who is still with Nintendo today as a technology
TATSUMI KIMISHIMA fellow – and clones of Breakout and Space Invaders
(cid:81)(cid:3)Mintendo’s current president, followed. None of these gave the company the smash
Kimishima was president of NOA from hit Yamauchi wanted, and 1979's Radar Scope almost
2002 to 2006. His background is in proved to be the fi nal nail in the coffi n. The game had
banking, but he has been with performed well in Japan but had fl opped in North
Nintendo since 2000. America – the market Yamauchi was desperate to
crack – and Nintendo was faced with the prospect
of disposing of unsold Radar Scope cabinets. As
10 | NINTENDO ARCHIVES