NGC Magazine

NGC Magazine
Former editors Jonathan Davies: Issues 1-12
James Ashton: Issues 13-27
Tim Weaver: Issues 28-41
Andrea Ball: Issues 42-56
Mark Green: Issues 57-59
Tim Weaver: Issues 60-72
Jes Bickham: Issues 73-84
Marcus Hawkins: Issues 85-103
Tom East: Issues 104-116
Martin Kitts: Issues 117-120
Categories Video games
Frequency Monthly
First issue April 1997 (1997-04)
Final issue
— Number
June 2006
120
Company Future plc
Country United Kingdom
Website http://www.gamesradar.com/

NGC Magazine (originally known as N64 Magazine until Issue 60, 2001) was a British magazine specialising in Nintendo created consoles; which was first printed in 1997 and ran until 2006. N64 Magazine was the successor to Super Play magazine after it ended in 1996 as it retained many of the staff and the style of that publication. In November 2000 it merged with its sister Future Publishing magazine Nintendo World.[1] In 2006 the magazine finally closed and has been succeeded - this time by NGamer Magazine,[2] which was briefly renamed Nintendo Gamer in January 2012, until publishing its final issue in September 2012.

NGC Magazine was at the time of its closure one of the longest-running gaming magazines in the UK. It was on many occasions first for news (including the 'denied by official source' rumors such as the existence of Resident Evil Deadly Silence and the implication of the Wii controller and the delay of Zelda: Twilight Princess - both later being proved true in parts), due in part to having no official connection to Nintendo and therefore no restrictions on what it could report (save legal ones). The magazine gained a reputation for honest and mainly accurate reviews (again often due to having no games company links) and a reputation for good humor. It had a very large fan base in the UK and Europe.

The Staff

The staff of NGC Magazine varied over the years. Memorable staff members included Jonathan Davies, James Ashton, Jes Bickham, Dan Geary, Tim Weaver, Wil Overton, Mark 'Greener' Green, Martin 'Kittsy' Kitts, Andrea Ball, Dr Mark Cousens, Zy Nicholson, Geraint Evans, Justin Webb, Miriam 'Mim' McDonald, Steve Jalim and Paul 'Shedwards' Edwards.

The magazine took usual light-hearted digs at each of its own staff; Jes was regularly lampooned due to his bald head; Mark Green had an evil alter-ego named Dark Mark; Andrea Ball was apparently permanently covered in grease and fake tan, and also had a reputation for carrying a constantly trademarked "Big Stick™"; Dr Mark Cousens was mocked for his apparent lack of a Nintendo Entertainment System console; Tim Weaver was famed for his patented Emotionless Stare; and James Ashton was ridiculed mercilessly in the magazine's pages for continually failing to pass his driving test. To this very day, he drives his Ferraris on a provisional license. Geraint was often also the subject of jokes, due to his Welsh origins, with regular pokes at him and his culture and lifestyle.

Thematic humour

The many popular, satirical, running gags revolved around:

Wil "FuSoYa™" Overton

Wil Overton was the magazine's chief artist (until issue 42) and was held in a somewhat reverential light by the magazine's readers; this could possibly have been brought about because some of the magazine's readers had followed Wil from Super Play Magazine and felt a sense of loyalty to him, but the N64 staff themselves would more than likely say it was because Wil ensnared them all in the tangled mass of electrical wiring masquerading as hair that he keeps atop his head. Wil came in for much more than his fair share of insults and jokes, but he was a vital part of the reason that N64 Magazine stood out so much on the shelves: his Manga-styled cover art was different from anything on other magazines, and his years of experience, love for RPGs and generally somewhat eccentric nature were comforting for many hardcore gamers.

As a measure of this eccentricity, he was also known by the pseudonym "FuSoYa™". FuSoYa was a wizard character from the game Final Fantasy IV, and Wil, devotee of Final Fantasy that he is, added a ™ symbol to the character's name, and a legend was born: FuSoYa™, Wil's "beardy, RPG-loving alter-ego", as N64 Magazine described him. FuSoYa™ appeared sporadically, sometimes to promote a competition, other times in response to queries in the magazine's letters section; his monstrous visage (actually Wil in a cheap wizard outfit and very unconvincing fake beard) was a comforting sight to many.

Wil Overton eventually moved to Rare, where he worked as an artist for several years. He later returned to do some character design artwork for NGamer, including the cover of the final ever issue

Regular features

Listed below is a set of NGC's recurring features:

Top scored games

These are the top games that the magazine rated where the 100-point system was used. Ratings reflected are the last printed in N64/NGC Magazine before it finished (GameCube and DS games were re-rated for the first issue of Nintendo Gamer, NGC's successor).

Score: Games:
98% The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) - Issue 24
97% Resident Evil 4 (GameCube) - Issue 104
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GameCube) - Issue 81
Metroid Prime (GameCube) - Issue 79
96% Super Mario 64 (N64) - Issue 1
Perfect Dark (N64) - Issue 42
Super Mario Sunshine (GameCube) - Issue 71
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64) - Issue 49 (previous score: 95% in Issue 48)
95% Turok 2: Seeds of Evil (N64) - Issue 21
Advance Wars (GBA) - Issue 61 (previous scores: 5/5, 96%)
Advance Wars: Dual Strike (DS) - Issue 110
94% GoldenEye 007 (N64) - Issue 9
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GameCube) - Issue 101
Golden Sun (GBA) (previous score: 4/5 in Issue 64)
Mario Kart DS (DS) - Issue 114 (previous score: 5/5)
Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 (GBA) - Issue 64 (previous scores: 5/5, 95%)
93% Mario Kart Double Dash!! (GameCube) - Issue 88
Donkey Kong 64 (N64) - Issue 36
F-1 World Grand Prix (N64) - Issue 20
Jet Force Gemini (N64) - Issue 34
Shadow Man (N64) - Issue 32
Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA) - Issue 59 (previous scores: 5/5, 95%)

For two stints, first from 1999 to 2002 and then all issues dated 2005, the Magazine ran a 5 out of 5 scoring system for portable games. This list is all games which scored the perfect five, and thus do not fit in well with the above list.

Score: Games:
5/5 Sonic Rush (DS) - Issue 114

Kirby: Power Paintbrush (DS) - Issue 113
Gunstar Future Heroes (GBA) - Issue 113
Nintendogs (DS) - Issue 112
Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan (DS) - Issue 112
Meteos (DS) - Issue 108
Wario Ware Twisted! (GBA) - Issue 107
Wario Ware Touched! (DS) - Issue 105
Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars (GBA) - Issue 66
Pocket Music (GBA) - Issue 65
Super Mario Advance 2 (GBA) - Issue 64
Doom (GBA) - Issue 62
Wario Land 4 (GBA) - Issue 62
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (GBC) - Issue 57
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (GBC) - Issue 57
GT Advance (GBA) - Issue 55
Kuru Kuru Kururin (GBA) - Issue 55
Chu Chu Rocket! (GBA) - Issue 55
F-Zero: Maximum Velocity (GBA) - Issue 55
Pokémon Puzzle Challenge (GBC) - Issue 55
Pokémon Gold and Silver (GBC) - Issue 54
Mario Tennis (GBC) - Issue 51
Kirby Tilt and Tumble (GBC) - Issue 50
Pokémon Trading Card (GBC) - Issue 50
Cannon Fodder (GBC) - Issue 49
Donkey Kong Country (GBC) - Issue 49
Warlocked (GBC) - Issue 48
Legend of the River King 2 - Issue 47
Harvest Moon 2 (GBC) - Issue 47
Pokémon Pinball (GBC) - Issue 47
O'Leary Football Manager 2000 (GBC) - Issue 46
Perfect Dark (GBC) - Issue 45
Pokémon Yellow (GB) - Issue 43
Driver (GBC) - Issue 42
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (GB) - Issue 41 (Retro Review)
Metal Gear Solid (GBC) - Issue 41
BC Kid 2 (GB) - Issue 40 (Retro Review)
Kirby's Dream Land (GB) - Issue 39 (Retro Review)
Balloon Kid (GB) - Issue 39 (Retro Review)
Dragon Warrior Monsters (GBC) - Issue 38
Mario Golf (GBC) - Issue 36
Stranded Kids (GBC) - Issue 35
Pokémon Red and Blue (GB) - Issue 33
R-Type DX (GBC) - Issue 32
Legend of the River King (GBC) - Issue 32
Conker's Pocket Tales (GBC) - Issue 31
Super Mario Bros. DX (GBC) - Issue 30
Wario Land 2 (GBC) - Issue 27
Harvest Moon (GBC) - Issue 27
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (GB) - Issue 26 (Retro Review)
Tetris DX (GBC) - Issue 26
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (GBC) - Issue 26

Controversial Reviews

The magazine handed out some controversial scores in its NGC years, mainly with some fan backlash found in the letters pages, a couple of examples are:

The Famed "Bad Reviews"

The magazine's reviews of games they considered to be terrible were enjoyed by readers due to the use of comically savage language to more convey the staff's disgust with a particular game - in descending order:

And, two final honorable mentions:

References

  1. "The Future's Square". N64 Magazine (47): 3. November 2000.
  2. "NGamer". Future Publishing Limited. 2008. Retrieved August 8, 2009.
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