The back of the manual for Kid Icarus (Famicom Disc System, 1986) shows Pit holding up his fist in a confident pose.

20 100
2022-03-02

NES Open Tournament Golf, known in Japan as Mario Open Golf, is often considered the first Mario Sports title.

The game also introduced Mario's stars and stripes outfit, which would eventually be seen in the Super Smash Bros. series.

6 66
2022-02-27

In the late '80s Nintendo released a slew of official Legend of Zelda Valentine's cards to help promote the series.

Since Valentine's Day is coming up we thought we would give them to you 😘

384 1405
2022-02-12

One of the first Garfield video games was 1985's Garfield: Eat Your Words for the Apple II. This educational title revolves around guessing correct words so Garfield will eat healthy food and not ruin his diet.

14 89
2022-02-06

The first entry in the Uncharted series, Drake's Fortune, was initially developed under the code name "Big". Sadly, Tom Hanks was not involved.

2 21
2022-02-04

A Pokédex entry for the godly Arceus states, "It is described in mythology as the Pokémon that shaped the universe with its 1,000 arms." This detail is likely inspired by the Buddhist deity bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, known for having the same number of limbs.

9 38
2022-01-29

Though the original Pokémon Red and Green launched in 1996, development of the games began as far back as 1990.

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2022-01-28

The internet's favorite chonkster, Big Yoshi, comes from the SNES classic Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (1996). Players can encounter a Big Yoshi on Yo'ster Isle by feeding a baby Yoshi enough Yoshi Cookies.

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2022-01-08

Released in 1996, Sonic 3D Blast was the final Sonic game for the Genesis. In Europe and Japan the game was known as Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island.

5 40
2021-12-30

Warios Weihnachtsmärchen (Wario's Christmas Tale) is a comic published in the German Club Nintendo magazine in 1995. The comic parodies A Christmas Carol, with Wario in a role similar to Ebenezer Scrooge and various video game characters in supporting roles.

230 1459
2021-12-22

The original Dragon Quest (FC, 1986) was localized for Western audiences as Dragon Warrior (NES, 1989). The game's box art was also changed, swapping Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama's colorful designs for a classic high fantasy appearance.

32 144
2021-12-17

The Japanese poster for 2018's Rampage (a movie based on the 1986 arcade game of the same name) has no sign of star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, instead focusing on the kaiju-like beasts seen in the film. It rules.

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2021-12-07

The developers of Ōkami considered having main character Amaterasu change into a dolphin when in the water and a falcon when jumping off cliffs. In the end these transformation ideas were scrapped.

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2021-11-06

In October 2014, The Pokémon Company commissioned horror manga superstar Junji Ito to produce a few spooky illustrations of Ghost-type Pokémon.

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2021-10-19

Sly Cooper's devilishly handsome demeanor wasn't always so smooth. The thieving raccoon originally spoke with a stereotypical Brooklyn accent. Hey! I'm stealin' here!

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2021-10-13

When Mario dons the Tanooki Suit in Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES, 1990), he gains the ability to transform into Statue Mario. This statue resembles the monk Jizō, said to be the guardian of children's souls.

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2021-08-12

In Japan, the Street Fighter II character Mike Bison (left) is a boxer modeled after Mike Tyson. This name was shortened to M. Bison and moved to the character Vega (right) for international release, as Capcom feared bad press and potential legal issues.

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2021-07-27

Chocobos first appeared in Final Fantasy II (FC, 1988). It is rumored that these large flightless birds were inspired by the "horseclaws" featured in the popular manga (and later movie) Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

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2021-07-26

Mario's stars and stripes outfit first appeared in 1987's Family Computer Golf: U.S. Course. It would reach players outside Japan with 1991's NES Open Tournament Golf. Happy 4th of July!

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2021-07-05

According to the instruction manual for Wario World (GC, 2003), Wario weighs 308 lbs (140 kg). He's a big boy.

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2021-06-12