Mario Golf for N64 (1999)

Original ad published in Tips & Tricks, issue of August 1999, no. 18

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Simple and clean, just like Nintendo

A fun game for the N64, Mario Golf used a distinctive style for its publicity, neither too garish nor too loud, just like you would expect from the Big N.

Granada X for Genesis (1990)

Original ad published in the December 1990 edition of EGM (no. 17)

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An atypical shooter for Sega's 16-bit monster 

One of the earlier shooters for Genesis/Megadrive has a surprisingly cool advertisement that is probably 10 times more interesting than the actual game.

Ninja Gaiden & Ninja Gaiden II (1990)

Original ad published in the September 1990 issue 

of Electronic Gaming Monthly (no. 14).

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No frills advertisement for hard-as-nails series

A game this good needs no supplementary material to extol its virtues. Word-of-mouth built the notoriety of its legendary level of difficulty before gamers repeating "git gud" were even born. Oh, and both NES games were actually fun.

TurboGrafx-16 System (1990)

Original ad published in the June 1990 issue 

of VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (VG&CE).

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An ad only a hardcore gamer would love

NEC's ill-fated TurboGrafx-16 received a lot of publicity during the late 80's and the beginning of the 90s. It was a drastic sales flop for the Japanese electronics giant, but not for the lack of trying.

Heiankyo Alien for Nintendo Game Boy (1990)

Original ad published in the June 1990 issue 

of VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (VG&CE).

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Awesome art, terrible writing

Another puzzle game that comes from a long line of classic PC and arcade versions. The printed material shown here is probably the best I've come across for Nintendo's Game Boy.

Hyper Lode Runner for Nintendo Game Boy (1990)

Original ad published in the September 1990 issue 

of Electronic Gaming Monthly (no. 14).

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Strange artwork for an all-time classic

Released at least on 28 different consoles, the original Lode Runner was a 1983 game developed firstly for Apple, Atari, Commodore, VIC-20 and PC systems. It then spread absolutely everywhere. The artwork for the Game Boy version remains curious, to say the least.

Bill Lambeer's Combat Basketball for Super NES (1992)

Original ad published in the April 1992 edition of Electronic Gaming Monthly (no. 31)
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Crap game, pragmatic advertising

Released around the same time as Base Wars (NES, 1990), Jerry Glanville's Pigskin Footbrawl (Genesis, 1992) and Mutant Football League (Genesis, 1993),  Bill Lambeer's Combat Basketball for Super NES was shoved for Nintendo's 16-bit juggernaut in late 1991. It was the first b-ball game for the SNES, but other than that, it retains no other distinction. Some have called it one of the worst game released for that great console, while others routinely place it the list of most violent video games. Before hitting North America, it was called Future Basketball (Amiga and Atari ST, 1990).