Remember the 90’s and early 2000’s when the shelves of your local store were rammed with videogame magazines? And how magical it was to flick through these mags looking for features on your favourite games, well I used to do that with Mario, I’d flick through looking for the latest previews of upcoming Mario titles, reviews of the ones which just came out, and of course the tips and secrets to find stuff like the back door into Bowser’s Castle in Super Mario World.
Well those days have long since passed, as the internet became more and more user friendly and accessible in the late 90’s we saw the rise of gaming fansites, and even some big international videogame news sites who made reporting on videogames their business. It was inevitable that many of these classic magazines would die out, and they did. Few remain thesedays, and they aren’t as warm, colourful and packed with secrets as they once were. Many of the old magazines and their amazing content has been confined to the history books, that is, until now.
Perhaps you’re a new Mario fan whose too young to remember those times and have always got their gaming info off the internet? Here’s your chance to take a look at how things were back then in terms of videogame coverage.
The aim of this section is to feature scanned Super Mario series articles from many different retro videogame Magazines from around the world. I’ve curated a massive collection of these magazines from Planet GB, SNES Force, nRevolution, GBX UK, Nintendo Gamer, GBA World, N64 Magazine and a whole lot more and will be posting them up weekly for your nostalgic pleasure.
No mention of Nintendo Power? WTF? Not in this section no, There was so much Super Mario series coverage in Nintendo Power Magazine that it has it’s own standalone section. So be sure to check that out too.
Fourth Dimension: The Four Editors of 64 Extreme Magazine discuss how much more fun certain popular N64 titles are in 4-player. It goes without saying that Mario Kart 64 is at the top of their list. This two page feature was originally published in 64 Extreme’s second issue in May 1997.
This Mario Kart 64 “Keep Road Rage off the Streets” advertisement poster was published in 64 Extreme Magazine Issue 4, published in July 1997. You can use the button below to download the full res version!
A two page review of Super Mario Advance for the Game Boy Advance, originally published in GBX UK Magazines first issue back in July 2001. “Can the moustachioed maestro still thrill? Ian dons the dungarees and jumps to it…”
This two page preview of Mario Bros. the Movie is from the first Issue of SNES Force Magazine which was published in July 1993. “He started life playing second fiddle to an ape in Donkey Kong. Thirteen years later, he’s better known than Mickey Mouse – and now Mario has his own film! SNES FORCE … Read more
This two page retro review of Super Mario Bros. Deluxe for Game Boy Color is from the Autumn 1999 Issue of Planet GB Magazine, a classic UK gaming mag offering coverage of the Game Boy systems.
This article goes way back, and was printed while the Mario Bros. Movie was in the making. It’s from GB Action Magazine Issue 4 which was originally published in September 1992!
This huge 16 page Super Mario 64 Players Guide is from 64 Extreme Magazine Issue 2 and was originally published in May 1997. The guide covers the last eight courses and the Bowser battles. “Welcome back to the concluding part of the complete guide that’ll take you step by step through the last eight courses … Read more
This preview of Yoshi’s Safari for the SNES was published in the third issue of SNES Force Magazine in the Autumn of 1993. “Here’s a nifty new 3D shooter for Super Scope that stars all the wonderful cast of Super Mario World!”