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Information in this article is about real-life people, companies, and objects, which do not relate to the in-universe Sonic series. |
The Nintendo Power logo.
Nintendo Power was a monthly magazine published by Future US. First published in July/August 1988, it exclusively featured Nintendo systems, third party and Nintendo published games, and also gave video-game trivia constantly. Ever since Sega became a third party company, Sonic-related information has been featured in many volumes of Nintendo Power. The magazine, however, stopped publishing by the end of 2012 after Nintendo announced that they will not renew a licensing agreement with Future Publishing on 21 August 2012.[1] The last issue was released in December 2012.
Star Power[]
In every volume since #256, Nintendo Power had given two whole pages just for a character and its info, such as Yoshi. Some Sonic characters have been chosen for Star Power:
- #263: Sonic the Hedgehog
- #282: Dr. Eggman
[]
Main articles[]
The following Sonic games were the cover article in a volume:
- #158: Sonic Adventure 2: Battle
- #195: Shadow the Hedgehog
- #213: Sonic and the Secret Rings
- #222: Super Smash Bros. Brawl
- #225: Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
- #232: Sonic and the Black Knight
- #247: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
- #256: Sonic Colors
- #268: Sonic Generations
Sub-main articles[]
These articles appear secondary to the main article (i.e. A Pokémon article is the main article, but a Sonic game appears after it; in some cases, a Sonic game is the main article, but other Sonic games also have their own articles, as seen with #195). Sub-main article titles are often mentioned on the cover (i.e. #221's main article is Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, but Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity is still mentioned below). The following Sonic games have been featured in sub-main articles:
- #195: Sonic Gems Collection, Sonic Rush
- #221: Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
- #222: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii)
- #259: Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I
- #283: Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (Wii U)
Reviews[]
As many other game magazines do, Nintendo Power has reviewed several games in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. When Sonic games were first featured in Nintendo Power for review, they used a five-star ranking system that also comprised of five reviewers who each gave their own scores, starting from Sonic Advance in the February 2002 issue (#153), with Sonic Advance 3 in the August 2004 issue (#182) being the final Sonic game to utilize this system. Starting with Sonic Gems Collection's review in the September 2005 issue all the way up to the Wii U version of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed's review in the December 2012 issue (#285), games were scored out of 10, and scores were only given by one person instead of five.
Sonic the Hedgehog games reviewed by Nintendo Power generally receive positive feedback, with Super Smash Bros. Brawl being the only game in the series to receive a perfect score, regardless of the ratings system. Due to Nintendo not renewing their license agreement, Nintendo Power's last issue was released on December 2012, meaning that the last Sonic game reviewed by Nintendo Power was Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.
Old ratings system (February 2002 - August 2004)[]
| Andy | Chris | Jason | Jenni | Scott |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★½ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ |
| Andy | Chris | Jason | Jenni | Scott |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★★★★½ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★½ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ |
| Chris | George | Jason | Jenni | Steven |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★★½☆☆ | ★★★½☆ | ★★★½☆ | ★★★½☆ | ★★★½☆ |
| Alan | Chris | George | Scott | Steven |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★★★☆☆ | ★★½☆☆ | ★★★½☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★☆ |
| Alan | George | Jessica | Scott | Steve |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★½ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ |
| Alan | George | Jessica | Steve | Steven |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★★★½☆ | ★★★½☆ | ★★★★½ | ★★★½☆ | ★★★½☆ |
| Alan | George | Jessica | Steve | Steven |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★★★½☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★½ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★½ |
| George | Jessica | Scott | Steve | Steven |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★★★½☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★½☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★½ |
| Chris | George | Scott | Steve | Steven |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★½ | ★★★★½ | ★★★★½ | ★★★★½ |
| Alan | George | Jessica | Steve | Steven |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★½☆ | ★★★★½ | ★★★★½ |
New ratings system (September 2005 - December 2012)[]
- Sonic Gems Collection - 8.5/10
- Sonic Rush - 9.0/10
- Shadow the Hedgehog - 8.0/10
- Sonic Riders - 8.0/10[2]
- Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis - 6.0/10
- Sonic and the Secret Rings - 8.5/10[3]
- Sonic Rush Adventure - 9.0/10[4]
- Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii) - 7.5/10[5]
- Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Nintendo DS) - 7.5/10[6]
- Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity - 7.0/10[7]
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl - 10/10
- Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood - 8.0/10[8]
- Sonic Unleashed - 8.0/10
- Sonic and the Black Knight - 8.0/10
- Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Wii) - 7.0/10[9]
- Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Nintendo DS) - 8.0/10[10]
- Sonic Classic Collection - 7.5/10
- Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (Wii) - 8.0/10
- Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (Nintendo DS) - 6.0/10
- Sonic Colors (Wii) - 9.0/10[11]
- Sonic Colors (Nintendo DS) - 7.5/10
- Sonic Generations (Nintendo 3DS) - 8.0/10
- Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Wii) - 7.0/10[12]
- Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Nintendo 3DS) - 7.5/10[13]
- Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (Wii U) - 8.0/10
Reviews Archive[]
The Reviews Archive sections allows reader to see the scores assigned to games from previous issues. Another reviewer may also give their thoughts on a previously-reviewed game in a newer issue via the Reviewer Notes section. For example, Casey Loe initially reviewed Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood in the November 2008 issue (#234), but Chris Hoffman would give his quick thoughts on the game in the May 2009 issue (#241).
| Game | Reviewer | Issue | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood | Chris Hoffman (Chris H.) | #241 - May 2009 | Turn-based role-playing is about as far from traditional Sonic platforming as you can get, but the hedgehog has made the transition very well. BioWare has done a fantastic job expanding upon the Sonic characters' personalities and retaining their tradermark abilities while fleshing out their universe. The purely touch-driven interface is well-implemented, too, especially in battle. |
Wii Channels/Download[]
Following the launch of the Wii, Nintendo Power began a section called "Wii Channels", later re-named to "Download" once the Nintendo DSi was released. This section covered channels available to download on the Wii Shop Channel, including non-game channels such as the Everybody Votes Channel, Virtual Console, and WiiWare titles.
When the Wii Channels section began, the editors would only give their quick thoughts on each new channel and some titles were given a Spotlight (i.e. Virtual Console Spotlight) alongside a "Staff Pick!", where each of the editors pick their favorite title from each selection of titles; the ratings system used in the "Reviews" section was never applied to the Wii Channels section. Eventually, Nintendo Power established a new ratings system for downloadable titles called the "Evaluation Station", where they rate titles by either a positive ("Recommended"), indifferent ("Hmmm..."), or negative rating ("Grumble Grumble").
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Wii Virtual Console) [Staff Pick!]
- Sonic Spinball (Wii Virtual Console)
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Wii Virtual Console) [Staff Pick!]
- Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I (WiiWare) [Recommended]
Interviews[]
Nintendo Power has also done interviews with developers either regarding upcoming titles or regarding the developers themselves. Interviews regarding a specific title are often placed near or at the end of a main or sub-main article, while interviews regarding developers are featured in a section called "Power Profiles", detailing a developer's bio, early life, how they got into game development, gameography, etc.
Occasionally, Nintendo Power also does retrospective interviews on a specific game, covering the history behind said title, the people who worked on it, and its legacy, as seen in #211, when developers of the original Sonic the Hedgehog were interviewed for the franchise's 15th anniversary.
List of interviews by game:[]
- Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
- Birth of a Hedgehog (Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, Hirokazu Yasuhara, Masato Nakamura, & Reiko Kodama) - January 2007[14]
- Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
- Sonic's New Friends (Greg Zeschuk & Ray Muzyka) - February 2008[15]
[]
- Takashi Iizuka - February 2008[16]
- Greg Zeschuk & Ray Muzyka - November 2008[17]
- Yuji Naka - June 2009[18]
- Jun Senoue - October 2010[19]
Nintendo Power Awards[]
Nintendo Power has also hosted the "Nintendo Power Awards" ceremonies since the magazine's inception, where the editors and readers vote for their favorite titles released in the previous year in various categories (i.e. "Best Platformer", "Best Action Game", "Best New Character"). The nominations and results are featured in the issues following the year they are hosting (i.e. the 2005 Awards were featured in the May 2006 issue). Sonic titles were first featured for nomination in 2002 up until the final ceremony in 2011.
2005 Awards (#203)[]
Both Sonic Rush and Shadow the Hedgehog won "Best Platformer" from both the editors' picks and readers' picks (the editors picked Sonic Rush, while the readers picked Shadow the Hedgehog).[20]
Trivia[]
- In #285, their final issue, they listed their 285 top games of all-time for a Nintendo-hardware only. Sonic Colors was ranked 91 on the list, and the Nintendo 3DS version of Sonic Generations was ranked 150.
- Every volume that a Sonic character is chosen for the Star Power section has a Pokémon-themed main article story.
- #192 (June 2005) is the final issue to use the old logo since the first issue and the five-star rating system, while #193 (July 2005) is the first issue to use the new logo up until the magazine's discontinuation and the new ratings system.
- Incidentally, both issues feature previews of Shadow the Hedgehog.
- Sonic Advance 3 would be the final handheld Sonic title and final Sonic title in general to use the old ratings system, with Sonic Heroes being the last console Sonic title to use it.
- In contrast, Sonic Gems Collection would be the first console Sonic title and first Sonic title in general to use the new ratings system, with Sonic Rush being the first handheld Sonic title to use it.
- #195's "Power Quiz" section is Sonic the Hedgehog-themed.
- In the "Nintendo Power Holiday Buyers' Guide 2007" featured in #223, all Sonic titles released on Nintendo consoles in 2007 (Sonic and the Secret Rings, Sonic Rush Adventure and the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games) were featured in the section.
- The Sonic Rush Adventure section also teases the then-upcoming release of Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood.
- As a result of the magazine ending shortly after the Wii U's launch, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed would be the only Wii U Sonic title reviewed by Nintendo Power.
References[]
- ↑ Nintendo Power coming to an end. Joystiq.
- ↑ Thomason, Steve (May 2006). Reviews: Road 'Hog. Nintendo Power. pp. 87. Archived from the original. Retrieved on 23 February 2022.
- ↑ Shepperd, Chris (April 2007). Reviews: King of the Rings. Solid Gold. Nintendo Power. pp. 84.
- ↑ Nintendo Power (221): 100. November 2007.
- ↑ Nintendo Power (223): 79. Holiday 2007.
- ↑ Nintendo Power (225): 88. February 2008.
- ↑ Nintendo Power (225): 90. February 2008.
- ↑ Nintendo Power (234): 96. November 2008.
- ↑ Nintendo Power (247): 80. November 2009.
- ↑ Nintendo Power (247): 88. November 2009.
- ↑ Nintendo Power Gives Sonic Colours 9/10. TSSZ News.
- ↑ Nintendo Power (273): 82. November 2011.
- ↑ Nintendo Power (275): 84. January/February 2012.
- ↑ Nintendo Power (211): 70-72. January 2007.
- ↑ Nintendo Power (225): 40-41. February 2008.
- ↑ Nintendo Power (225): 78-80. February 2008.
- ↑ Nintendo Power (234): 84-86. November 2008.
- ↑ Nintendo Power (242): 80-82. June 2009.
- ↑ Nintendo Power (259): 78-80. October 2010.
- ↑ "2005 Nintendo Power Awards - Best Platformer". Nintendo Power: 56. May 2006. Archived from the original. Retrieved on 10 June 202.