Welcome back my readers, YouTube viewers and all others who followed this series of articles focused on YouTube videos worth watching. Have you been searching for something fun or interesting to watch on YouTube? Do you feel bored right now and you crave for something to see on the world’s most popular online video destination?
I recommend you check out the following videos I found.
#1 Retrospective videos of Krull – I was a young boy when I saw Krull inside the cinema way back in 1983. It was an entertaining experience for me as the movie had a clever mix of fantasy, science fiction and even horror in its presentation. As many years passed by, I replayed Krull as an adult on cable TV and DVD, and it still remained entertaining. For those of you who intend to learn more about (or rediscover) Krull, I posted below some videos for your enjoyment. If you have not seen Krull yet, watch the movie entirely first.
#2 The George Foreman Grill remembered – The late George Foreman will be remembered for a long time. He made an impact on the world in professional boxing during his younger days and made a tremendous comeback by becoming the oldest heavyweight champion at age 45. Along the way, he became a preacher of God’s Word, led a local church and managed a youth center. Along the way, the late Foreman found tremendous success by endorsing a product that became the George Foreman Grill. To find out more about the Foreman and the popular grill, watch the video below.
#3 France’s President humiliated – With the way he is leading France as its President and the way he is helping Palestinian terrorists by antagonizing Israel, Emmanuel Macron is on the wrong side of history. He was back in the media spotlight as he got slapped by his wife recently. Watch and learn from the videos below.
#4 Ashleigh Burton reacts to Casper – It has been a little over thirty years since the live-action movie Casper was released in cinemas. As a young boy, I read some Casper comic books and saw some episodes of the cartoon shows on TV but I never was a fan of the character. I did not see the Casper film until it started showing on cable TV. Casper of 1995 does not interest me much but you should see how it draws reactions from Ashleigh Burton in the video below.
#5 PatmanQC examines Cruis’n USA –Cruis’n USA is one of those hit arcade games from the 1990s that I never got to play in Iocal arcades. Most of the time, I received information of Cruis’n USA primarily due to its port for Nintendo 64 (N64) being heavily reported by video game journalists back then. While the original arcade game was successful with both players and game critics, the same cannot be said about the N64 port. To find out more, watch PatmanQC’s in-depth video below.
#6 Ramnexus examines Oblivion Remastered – It’s been over a month since Oblivion Remastered (full title: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion – Remastered) was released, and I still have not played it on my Xbox Series X. While it is popular with gamers, I still was not convinced to return to subscribing to Xbox Game Pass (XGP) for it. The original Oblivion of 2006 is one of my favorite RPGs of the 21st century and I just might consider playing its remastered version someday. For now, I am just watching YouTube videos of the remastered game and I found a recent video by Ramnexus that turns out to be an engaging look at it. Watch Ramnexus’ video below.
Welcome back readers, fellow geeks and electronic gaming fans!
In this edition of the Retro Gaming Ads Blast (RGAB) series, we will take a look at another batch of retro gaming print ads – including arcade flyers – from the 1980s and 1990s.
For the newcomers reading this, Retro Gaming Ads Blast (RGAB) looks back at the many print ads of games (console, arcade, computer and handheld) that were published in comic books, magazines, flyers, posters and newspapers long before smartphones, social media, the worldwide web and streaming became popular. To put things in perspective, people back in the 1980s and 1990s were more trusting of print media for information and images about electronic games and related products.
With those details laid down, here is the newest batch of retro gaming print ads for you to see and enjoy…
1. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Atari print ads
I could not forget the first time I saw this print ad while reading a comic book.
This ad showed the Atari 2600 controller.
Even during its early years under George Lucas, the Star Wars entertainment franchise made its way into video games due to its massive popularity and Parker Brothers really made moves to cash in. This resulted in the Atari 2600 video game adaptation (1982) of The Empire Strikes Back which focused mainly on the memorable Hoth battles between Rebel fighters and the Empire’s AT-AT walkers. Parker Brothers came up with two print ads and each had a different visual concept: one had nicely drawn art along with two screenshots shown while the other had painted art of the AT-AT while showing the Atari joystick. These old print ads still look great and exciting.
2. Double Dragon Japanese and North American arcade flyers
If you read manga (Japanese comics) in Japan, then the art style of this arcade flyer should look familiar to you.
The character designs seem inspired by 1980s Hollywood action cinema.
Released in 1987, Double Dragon became a huge hit in the arcades of Japan, America and Europe resulting in financial gains for developer Technōs Japan and publisher Taito. What I find intriguing was the fact that the Double Dragon arcade flyers for Japan and North America had drastically different art styles used to promote it. The Japanese flyer had art style that is more common with manga while the North American had artwork that seemed inspired by Hollywood action movies (as well as the rise of martial arts films in America during the 1980s). The American flyer even had the two characters identified as Hammer and Spike and they both looked American. This is a classic example of using different approaches to promote a game in each market.
3. Universal Soldier print ad
The people who made this print ad made sure to use the names of the stars to help sell the game.
Even though its worldwide ticket sales did not reach $100 million, the 1992 movie Universal Soldier still caught a lot of attention from moviegoers simply because it had Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren as the stars. Unsurprisingly, the movie had a video game adaptation and because publisher Accolade wanted to cash-in on the film’s hype, they made some deceptive moves by rebranding one of its games (already development) as a tie-in. Advertised as an official adaptation, Universal Soldier was actually a rushed conversion of Turrican II: The Final Fight. This print ad – which even showed the stars’ names – is a reminder of the deception Accolade pulled off.
4. Sega CD print ad
Do you find this Sega CD print ad hilarious?
When Sega was making waves with its Sega Genesis (Sega Mega Drive in Japan), the company was quick to react to the growing use of the compact disc (CD) format as a useful storage medium for video games. The Sega CD (Mega CD in Japan) was released as an add-on device to work with the Genesis console and Sega’s American team came up with a series of promotions. This print ad is just one of the promotions and ad makers came up with a “crazed” or “electrified” gamer dominating one page while showing the Genesis, the Sega CD and screenshots of games (running on CD) on the other page. By today’s standards, the Sega CD print ad is funny and catchy to look at.
5. Snatcher for Sega CD print ad
I find this Snatch print ad looking odd. The ad makers could have done more to focus on the game itself.
First released in Japan in 1988, Snatcher was a cyberpunk visual adventure game that was one of the early works of the famous Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear series). Due to its design and approach on visuals to tell a story, it was not surprising that a Sega CD version of it got released in 1994. To promote the game to the growing number of North American Sega CD gamers at the time, Konami came up with this rather unusual print ad showing the face of a smiling lady dominating the space leaving little room to show the screenshots and the game’s cover. The visual concept is engaging but it takes effort to notice it was promoting the Sega CD version of the video game. This old ad would have worked better had the ad makers increased the sizes of the screenshots and the game cover.
6. Jurassic Park for Sega CD print ad
Does the T. Rex look scary to you?
As part of its drive to add more games to the Sega CD add-on and help it sell more units, Sega acquired the Jurassic Park license and went on to produce an adaptation utilizing the technological features of the Sega CD. To aggressively promote the game, Sega came up with this print ad that had a Tyrannosaurs Rex (looking through spaces) on one page and then several screenshots plus text descriptions on the other. For a click-and-point Jurassic Park game, this ad was really exciting and intriguing to look at.
7. Atari Jaguar print ad
This was indeed an eye-catching ad.
In the early 1990s, Atari made an aggressive move to compete in the arena of video game consoles which they used to dominate from the late 1970s until 1983. This time around, they came up with the Jaguar console which had some pretty advanced technologies for the time. As part of their North American marketing campaign, Atari unleashed an ad showing game screenshots on the first page and huge artwork of a jaguar coming after Sonic, Mario and Yoshi (mascots of Sega and Nintendo respectively) symbolizing that the Atari Jaguar had more power and better technology than the Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNS). While it was engaging to look at early on, this print ad is now an embarrassment as the Jaguar console failed terribly. Lastly, the marketing of the Jaguar as a 64-bit machine was never real.
8. George Foreman, The Simpsons and Spider-Man Game Gear print ad
This ad appeared in a lot of comic books in the 1990s.
In the early 1990s, Sega released the Game Gear handheld gaming device which instantly placed them in competition with Nintendo’s Game Boy. Through its Flying Edge label, Acclaim Entertainment promoted George Foreman’s KO Boxing, The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants, and Spider-Man for the Game Gear hoping to sell well. This 3-game print ad highlighted the popular figures who had a lot of space for attracting attention. The ad maker managed to insert two screenshots per game, the game covers and a text description to inform consumers what they were being offered. A good ad to look at.
9. Time Gal for Sega CD print ad
The presentation here looks nice but Time Gal herself looked like she was drawn by a different artist.
Originally released in the arcades in Japan in 1985, Time Gal made its way to the Sega CD add-on in the early 1990s. It was a highly unusual video game as it was an interactive movie (with lots of anime footage) made with the use of Laserdisc technology for its arcade version. It played lots of anime scenes and players must choose the on-screen options to execute the character’s next action in order to progress. For the Sega CD version for North America, this print was made to capture the attention of consumers using the protagonist’s sex appeal on the cover art with four screenshots placed on the sides to show what to expect. I noticed that Time Gal on the cover art looked different from how she appeared in the anime sequences. At least the ad makers tried hard to sell the game.
10. Mortal Kombat print ad
Still an effective ad to promote a blockbuster game and make people informed it was coming to multiple platforms.
Considering how successful it was in the arcades, the 1993 release of Mortal Kombat for game consoles and handhelds was unsurprisingly highly anticipated and publisher acclaim came up with this single-page ad. The presentation involved the use of a photographic background of many spectators (to emphasize excitement and popularity), media quotes and screenshots to effectively promote the game.
11. Equinox print ad
Take a close look. Tell me if you find it funny.
I never played Equinox but I heard the loud buzz about its design as a 3D isometric game that had elements of exploration, platform play and puzzle solving. The people responsible for this print ad emphasized the concept that the game is so addicting to play, players will still play it as they get older. This ad has a subtle yet effective approach with humor.
12. James Bond 007: The Duel print ad
Timothy Dalton’s image as James Bond was sourced from Licence to Kill for this game’s ad.
Here is another decades-old James Bond video game print ad I found. Released a few years after Licence to Kill, James Bond 007: The Duel was notable not for its gameplay nor game design but for the fact that it used the image of Timothy Dalton as 007 for its print ad and the opening scenes in the game itself. Dalton’s Bond image here was never new nor originally taken for the game as it came directly from Licence to Kill’s publicity library. Each time I saw this ad, I was only reminded of the 1989 movie which I still enjoy watching.
13. Neo Geo AES console print ad
Do you find this ad both sexy and funny?
Decades ago, SNK made a huge splash in the arcades with lots of really fun games released with their Neo Geo (stylized as NEO GEO) hardware. In 1990, they released the cartridge-based Neo Geo AES console in Japan and America and it carried the same technology as the arcade hardware. To promote the console in North America (note: the Neo Geo console and its games were very expensive), SNK came up with this catchy and funny print ad showing a sexy woman feeling annoyed that her man spends more time with Neo Geo gaming than with her. This was a clever way of emphasizing the arcade-perfect experience in the comfort of home, and it was funny to look at.
14. Gradius II Japanese arcade flyer
Great looking painted art was used for this 1988 arcade game.
Since the original Gradius was a big hit in arcades in Japan in 1985, it was not surprising that Konami released Gradius II three years later. With regards to the use of painted art, the artist showed the game’s spaceship in a dominating position emphasizing high-speed travel and excitement. The image, which also looks more colorful, is a complete reversal of the painted art used in the flyer of the previous which showed the rear of the spaceship as it moves towards a larger spaceship (the opposition). This arcade flyer art still looks great as it has a timeless charm.
Welcome back readers, fellow geeks and electronic gaming fans!
In this edition of the Retro Gaming Ads Blast (RGAB) series, we will examine print ads from the 1980s and the 1990s that caught my attention and I will explain why they are worth look back at.
For the newcomers reading this, Retro Gaming Ads Blast (RGAB) looks back at the many print ads of games (console, arcade, computer and handheld) that were published in comic books, magazines, flyers and newspapers long before smartphones, social media, the worldwide web and streaming became popular. To put things in perspective, people back in the 1980s and 1990s were more trusting of print media for information and images about electronic games.
With those details laid down, here is the newest batch of retro gaming print ads for you to see and enjoy…
1. Operation Wolf print ad
Even though there were screenshots from the game, this was still an eye-catching print promoting Operation Wolf for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Looking back at the history of pop culture, the 1980s saw the surge of Hollywood action movies that emphasized or even glorified militarism. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Tom Cruise were just a few Hollywood stars who found success playing military figures. It was not surprising that there were game developers in Japan who noticed the Hollywood military trend and were inspired to make games that had similar themes. The Japan-based company Taito developed and released the light gun shooter arcade game Operation Wolf which became a huge commercial success worldwide. Unsurprisingly, versions of Operation Wolf were eventually made for the existing home computers and game consoles of the time.
The above print ad of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) version of Operation Wolf only showed the official artwork, descriptive text and noticeably no gameplay screenshots. While the ad made the NES version of the game look exciting to look forward to, the actual game looked and felt nothing like the arcade version as the console’s limitations resulted in really small 2D sprites (which made shooting tough) and the 2D art used were rather ugly to see. I can only speculate that the people at Taito knew their product for the NES had sub-par quality and only hoped for the best trying to fool gamers to buy it.
2. Foreman For Real print ad
Apart from boxing and endorsing grills, are you aware that George Foreman is also a worship leader and preacher of God’s Word?
In late-1994, George Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer to reclaim the heavyweight boxing title and the last time he had it was way back in 1974. For the newcomers reading this, Foreman halted his professional boxing in 1977, established his connection with God, preached His Word, opened a youth center and became a major product endorser. Foreman came back into fighting in 1987 and stunned everyone when he became heavyweight champion seven years later.
That being said, it was no surprise that game publisher Acclaim (which already released a video game with the boxer in 1992) quickly returned to Foreman to get him as the titular endorser in the 1995 video game Foreman For Real which was released on multiple gaming platforms less than a year after his championship victory. Apart from showing Foreman’s dominating image and screenshots from the game, the ad even had a promo of a free 2-week membership with Gold’s Gym. This ad was a lively reminder of the significance of Foreman’s presence in professional sports and it was instantly eye-catching.
3. BurgerTime print ad
Arcade hits like BurgerTime also made it into personal computers.
Previously, I showed an eye-catching print ad of the arcade classic BurgerTime. This time, the BurgerTime print ad shown here focused more on the IBM and Apple computer versions. This print ad had a photograph of an actor playing chef Peter Pepper carrying a huge burger bun running away two eggs and a hotdog, and near them were the respective boxes of BurgerTime for IBM and Apple. This is a sharp change of visual style away from the comic book-style art used in the other BurgerTime print ad. I can only imagine how excited IBM and Apple computer users became after seeing this ad back in the 1980s.
4. Shining Wisdom print ad
Even though this was a very eye-catching ad that appeared in several publications, Shining Wisdom went on to become a forgotten game after receiving mixed reviews from game review writers.
Here is another print ad of Working Designs from the 1990s. Released only on the Sega Saturn in 1996, Shining Wisdom was a fantasy action-adventure game from Japan that publisher Working Designs localized with North Americans in mind. This meant taking lots of creative liberties with the story, name changes, insertions of pop culture jokes and even altered the personalities of the characters. Developed by Sonic Software Planning and Camelot Software Planning, Shining Wisdom started as a project for the 16-bit console Mega Drive (Sega Genesis in America) that was revised for the more powerful Saturn console. While this print ad caught the attention of gamers and readers, Shining Wisdom received mixed reviews from critics upon release. Sadly, not too many gamers talk about this game anymore.
5. Cabal print ad
Military action and shooting strongly emphasized in this print ad for the Nintendo Entertainment System version of the arcade smash Cabal.
Like many games released in the 1980s, Cabal had a strong military theme and allowed players to engage in bouts of shooting playing soldiers who have to fight entire armies of bad guys. This print ad about the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) version of the game had really nice art dominating the page, the packaging of the game plus three screenshots showing what gamers could expect. This was a very eye-catching print ad that made Cabal look both exciting and enticing.
6. Metal Gear print ad
Wow! So many weapons and pieces of equipment displayed in this Metal Gear (NES version) ad.
Back in the late 1980s, the NES port of Metal Gear had a notable promotion in America thanks to this cleverly designed print ad. When it comes to emphasizing “gear” from the title, the marketing team emphasized the words “Gear up” and literally filled the ad spaces with lots of pieces of equipment that was not only eye-catching but also gave readers the idea that a huge adventure awaits them in Metal Gear. As for the game box on the lower left corner of the print, the cover art highlighting the character Snake was an artistic copy of a still image of actor Michael Biehn as Kyle Reese in The Terminator (1984). This print ad was both entertaining and intriguing to look at.
7. Dino Crisis print ad
For many gamers, Dino Crisis was like a combination of Resident Evil and Jurassic Park and this visceral looking print ad really got lots of people interested in the game.
In 1999, Capcom released Dino Crisis for PlayStation in America and the timing was almost perfect as millions of gamers who owned the console enjoyed the releases of Resident Evil and Resident Evil 2 (both games from Capcom) firmly establishing the survival horror genre as a popular one. That being said, a lot of RE fans anticipated the release of Dino Crisis due to the fact that the game shared several elements with Resident Evil games in terms of exploration, survival, control and shooting. Not only that, Resident Evil creator and original game director Shinji Mikami was in charge of the making of Dino Crisis. Mikami pointed to the films The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and Aliens (1986) as influences on making the game which for most gamers was perceived as “Resident Evil filled with dinosaurs.”
The print ad above had a very engaging visual design that symbolized action, horror and tension well. Mikami clearly wanted gamers to experience the intense violence of encountering dinosaurs and this ad gave viewers a small sample of that. It’s safe to say that this print ad was effective as Dino Crisis went on to sell millions of copies and established Regina (the red-haired lady in the ad) as another memorable character from Capcom.
8. Airwolf/Knight Rider games print ad
Very clearly, the advertiser focused on the cool look to sell the games of Airwolf and Knight Rider.
Back in the 1980s, Airwolf and Knight Rider were wildly popular TV series that each had winning formulas to entertain millions of viewers with action, suspense and storytelling. It was not surprising that video game adaptations of them were produced on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). This particular print ad was an efficient way of promoting the Airwolf and Knight Rider games which featured two players looking cool with jackets and sunglasses. Acclaim clearly aimed for the TV series’ fans and slightly older players among the NES owners/users.
Author Carlo Carrasco 