All Issues

Issue 1

NGamer Issue 1

August 2006
Release Date: 26 Jun 2006
Pages: 116
Editor: Mark Green

Introduction

The first issue of NGamer was truly a new era for Futures Nintendo magazine legacy, it now had to compete directly with the Future published Official Nintendo Magazine, and as such had to find its own niche. It did this perfectly with its own mix of Nintendo culture and the usual jokes and writing style that had set it apart for the previous 14 years. It also shunned the single console format for one that looked at Nintendo as a whole, and gave as much focus to pocked consoles as it did to home consoles as well as the culture of Nintendo.

There was plenty of news to cover as the magazine pulled together everything that happened in the previous couple of months, including their regular trip to E3. This also included looking at the three biggest Wii releases - Mario Galaxy, Twilight Princess and Metroid Prime 3, devoting quite a bit of space to these future classics to build hype for their future releases.

With the Wii still nearly six months away, the reviews section focussed on Gamecube and DS games, with New Super Mario Bros on DS and Super Monkey Ball Adventure on Gamecube taking centre stage. Martin scored NSMB 89% and Geraint scored Monkey Ball a dismal 67%. That wasn’t the worst game by a long stretch, Namco museum was also reviewed on Gamecube, scoring a horrible 15%. 

Within the first issue, World of Nintendo was launched, which took over from NGC’s Extended Play, however this was again reinvented, generally showcasing new things you can do with games rather than guides, which were readily available on the internet. As was to become regular, they covered the top 20 Nintendo happenings - a list of 20 things they had found in the last month. Highlights this month included a look at some interesting obscure Mario games and exploring the Akihabara games market. 

In the download section they looked in depth at the PC engine as games were due for release in the Wii’s upcoming virtual console. They also looked at tips for Namco Museums retro games, as well as some of the retro re-releases from previous Nintendo consoles.

This was a pretty good launch issue with plenty to get excited about with the Wii's launch not far away. There weren't many decent games reviewed, but being summer that was to be expected. Plenty of work was put into the back of the mag, which meant that it all fit together nicely and set it apart from the official magazine.
 

Articles

Features

  • New Super Mario Bros Guide
  • New Super Mario Bros Guide
  • Mario's Hidden History
  • The Brain Training Boom
  • 15 Monkey Ball Moments
  • Akihabara Uncovered
  • PC Engine History Lesson

Previews

  • Red Steel
  • Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
  • Super Mario Galaxy
  • The Legend of Zelda: Twighlight Princess
  • Super Smash Bros. Brawl
  • Wario Ware Smooth Moves
  • Magical Starsign
  • The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
  • Needs for Speed Carbon
  • Project Hacker
  • Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam
  • Starfox Command
  • Castlevania Portrait of Ruin
  • Tingle RPG
  • Super Monkey Ball Bannana Blitz
  • Madden NFL 07
  • Bit Generations
  • Pokemon Battle Revolution
  • Super Paper Mario
  • Elebits
  • Super Swing Pangya Golf
  • Bleach
  • Exile
  • Justice for All
  • Hotel Dusk
  • Trauma Centre
  • Pokemon Diamond & Pearl
  • Quiz Kiarmeki
  • Mario Hoops 3 on 3
  • Bomberman
  • Trion Cube
  • Common Sense Training

Reviews

  • New Super Mario Bros
    Author: Martin Kitts
    Country: Uk
    Score: 89%
  • Super Monkey Ball Adventure
    Author: Geraint Evans
    Country: UK
    Score: 68%
  • Radirgy Generic
    Author: Mark Green
    Country: Jap
    Score: 66%
  • Calcio Bit
    Author: Mark Green
    Country: Jap
    Score: 44%
  • Big Brain Academy
    Author: Geraint Evans
    Country: UK
    Score: 80%
  • Pac-Man World 3
    Author: Geraint Evans
    Country: UK
    Score: 56%
  • Point Blank DS
    Author: Mark Green
    Country: USA
    Score: 73%
  • Eyeshield 21 Max Devil Power!
    Author: Jes Bickham
    Country: Jap
    Score: 66%
  • Namco Museum
    Author: Mark Green
    Country: UK
    Score: 15%
  • Electro Plankton
    Author: Geraint Evans
    Country: Jap
    Score: 70%
  • Touch Panic
    Author: Chrissy Williams
    Country: Jap
    Score: 63%
  • Nintendogs Dalmation and Friends
    Author: Chrissy Williams
    Country: UK
    Score: 80%
  • Gouma Reifu Denisuna
    Author: Chrissy Williams
    Country: Jap
    Score: 66%
  • Over the Hedge
    Author: Mark Green
    Country: Uk
    Score: 58%
  • Over the Hedge
    Author: Martin Kitts
    Country: UK
    Score: 51%
  • Over the Hedge
    Author: Chrissy Williams
    Country: UK
    Score: 55%
  • Tringo
    Author: Chrissy Williams
    Country: USA
    Score: 52%
  • X-Men the Official Game
    Author: Mark Green
    Country: UK
    Score: 38%
  • X-Men the Official Game
    Author: Chrissy Williams
    Country: UK
    Score: 59%
  • X-Men the Official Game
    Author: Chrissy Williams
    Country: UK
    Score: 55%
  • Animal Yokocho
    Author: Chrissy Williams
    Country: Jap
    Score: 60%
  • Break 'em all
    Author: Mark Green
    Country: USA
    Score: 59%

Staff

  • Mark Green Editor
  • Martin Kitts Deputy Editor
  • Paul Tysall Art Editor
  • Chrissy Williams Production Editor