Nintendo Power Update: 1992-1993

Part of an ongoing project here at Zelda Dungeon is to try to build a collection of all the Zelda references that we can find in the various official publications. I’ve been slowly but surely updating our Zelda Publications page, including all the Nintendo Power mentions of Zelda. I have added sixteen new issues and they range from early 1992 to mid-1993. Listed below are some of the cool Zelda related features that were found in the magazines.

Starting in January 1992 in Volume #32, Nintendo started an A Link to the Past Comic that greatly resembled Link’s quest during the game. In each of the 12 issues that were released in 1992, 16 pages of the Comic could be found. The Comic would later be released on its own as a stand alone Zelda comic, but you could also see the comic in its entirety within Nintendo Power.

The Legend of Zelda series was featured twice in sections relating to Mario Paint. In Volume #39 Link can be seen in multiple scenes, highlighting the Animation program that was in Mario Paint. In Volume #40 the magazine shows you how to draw Zelda sprites, make animated sequences, and even create Zelda songs with the built in Mario Paint composer.

In Volume #44 Zelda was also featured in the Power Player’s Challenge, in which the challenge was to try to beat A Link to the Past using less than 10 lives. Two months later seven people were listed in having beaten the game without dying once.

Link’s Awakening is mentioned in Volume #44, Volume #46, and Volume #47, before finally being given a full four page preview in Volume #48. One interesting tidbit can be seen in Link’s character description within the preview. “After overthrowing Ganon in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Link was the great hero of Hyrule. Still, he was young and he knew that he had much to learn if he was to keep the kingdom safe. So he set out on a training mission across the sea, but little did he suspect the adventure that awaited him.” This is just another piece of evidence that strengthens the A Link to the past – Link’s Awakening chronology in timeline theories, as there are many theorists out there who believe that the Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages happen before Link’s Awakening instead.

Last but not least and perhaps one of my favorite tidbits in this update, is a middle school teachers experience playing the Legend of Zelda. Originally found in Volume #49, the middle school teacher started playing A Link to the Past after his nine-year-old daughter showed him the game. He states that it took over 100 hours and he used 465 lives, but eventually completed the game. He states that the second time through it took him only 84 lives and he had since mastered it so it was only taking him 2 lives to complete the entire game. A great story about how anybody could play and enjoy a game like A Link to the past.

There were a ton of other references such as inclusions in the Classified Information and Counselor’s Corner, so be sure to check out our Zelda Publications page to look them all up. The next Nintendo Power update will cover the release of Link’s Awakening and the long hype for the release of Ocarina of Time. Until then, enjoy what we have up now and please let us know what you think of these updates by posting in the comments below.