Feb/Mar 1988 Issue Of Nintendo Fun Club News

The newest issue of the Nintendo Fun Club News is now shipping to subscribers nationwide. The cover features the upcoming R.C. Pro-Am racing game, which should be sprinting to a retailer near you later in March. Nintendo details the game’s mechanics and gives helpful tips on how to survive the competition. There are lots of special items and weapons to collect to give you the upper hand!

We get a glimpse at Nintendo’s very own Ice Hockey Game Pak, which should also be arriving later in March. This is the first hockey sports game to come to the NES and it’s looking pretty spectacular. You’ll be able to choose your team players from three categories: Lanky, Fatso, and Pee-Wee. Each have their own perks so you’ll want to choose wisely. This one should score big time with the sports fans.

The long wait is almost over for the arcade smash hit Gauntlet! It’s coming to the NES this summer from new third-party licensee Tengen. Well, they’re sort of new – you might know them as Atari! That’s right, the competition is making games for the NES. They’re also bringing over Namco’s baseball game from Japan and renaming it R.B.I. Baseball. Will this one be able to beat the upcoming Bases Loaded and Major League Baseball in a head-to-head matchup? Time will tell which one is the best!

We know you’re itching to jump into the Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and so are we! The game keeps getting delayed! Every single time we see new screens and information we go crazy with anticipation. We’re hearing this one won’t be out until late summer and could even get pushed back to Christmas. This is partly due to the massive chip shortage going on in Japan and we’re hearing that because The Legend of Zelda is continuing to selling so well, Nintendo isn’t exactly in a rush to get the sequel to store shelves, where it could take a bite out of the original’s sale potential.

Zelda isn’t the only major game getting a sequel this year – Super Mario Bros. 2 is expected sometime this summer. We know that it’s not the Japanese version of the game, which looks and played just like the original. This one will have new graphics and music and contain some fresh gameplay tweaks. We still haven’t seen a single screen of the new Mario game, but we expect it to be a big hit once it’s officially unveiled.

Also revealed this issue is a brand new golf game from Nintendo called U.S. Golf. It looks like Mario is taking his battle to the golf course! We don’t know much about this one yet, but we hope to learn more later this year.

Once again Nintendo is teasing the Return of Donkey Kong. We still don’t know anything about this title other than you’re going to play as the big ape himself! Does this mean you’re going after Mario, your sworn enemy? When we know more, so will you.

Have you had a chance to check out The Goonies II yet? It’s another amazing game from Konami that is diabolically puzzling to figure your way about the massive labyrinth of rooms and secret corridors. We gave this one a fantastic review score, and Nintendo gives some insight into the game’s massive world. If you like action/adventure games this one shouldn’t be missed.

There is a lot more to discover in this latest issue of the Nintendo Fun Club Newsletter. You can read the rest below or download it right here.

Craig Majaski

Craig has been covering the video game industry since 1995. His work has been published across a wide spectrum of media sites. He’s currently the Editor-In-Chief of Nintendo Times and contributes to Gaming Age.