I review insane 90's gaming magazine covers that'll make your jaw drop

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Intro By: / leemounseysmith
Skelematt art by: / donwoka
#mattmcmuscles #90s #90sgaming

[@scottnotpilgrim]

Growing up in this era I can truly say there were some unhinged covers. Which was the style at the time

[@Prohass]

In the 90s we hadn’t yet invented anatomy

[@phoenixlich]

16:01 how many of those "NEW FIGHTING GAMES" have gone on to be featured on The Worst Fighting Game?!?!?!

[@Peannlui]

answer: yes

[@Babymech]

9:15 The Simpson's... what? The Simpson's revenge? The Simpson's bustin out? What does the Simpson have? The Simpson's *_WHAT_*

[@emilysong2000]

So the XG in "Get Ready for XG" stands for eXpert Gamer, the successor to EGM2. Focusing on strategy guides and codes, Expert Gamer would last three years and 39 issues before ceasing publication in October 2001. I had actually forgotten that Expert Gamer magazine was a thing until I saw the "Get Ready for XG" inscription in this video!

[@bluespaceman7937]

I didn't know they were an evolution of EGM2. That's neat trivia.

[@Peannlui]

Without finishing the video: Paul Kidby, the current artist of the Discworld series, painted a Phantasy Star 3 cover for a gaming magazine back in the day. I need to find the name of it. Hold this space for me.

[@martincann5052]

Kidby started out as the cover artist for Games Master magazine in the '90s.

[@dealt]

I still own all the 90s gaming mags I ever bought. Oldest one is a 1993 issue of GamePro featuring SF2 Turbo on the cover.

[@NachtKaiser666]

9:34 I'm sorry, whomst and Jimmy Lee? This is Double Dragon III, it's Bimmy's game!

[@Drpaul227]

I was a huge Gamefan mark as a teenager, but I’m still kind of salty about them never giving me my free subscription for winning one of their tips and tricks contests, haha.

[@rimjobledouche5201]

I am 100% certain that nobody who won any of their contests received anything. I was a massive fan too, but theirs was a very troubled publication.

[@Drpaul227]

@@rimjobledouche5201That doesn’t surprise me at all. I seem to remember a few times when they threatened to go out of business, just to somehow come back a couple months later.

[@Grinnar]

I remember these covers. Always giving me nostalgia, Mr. Muscle Skeleton Warrior.

[@mayday0341]

That DOA PSM cover... I liked the artwork so much that I got a tattoo of Kasumi in her pose on my right leg at the time :)

[@skeletonofsociety]

Game Players: The Gloves are off! ...Mario is clearly still wearing his glove. Couldn't even get that right lol

[@rimjobledouche5201]

Gamefan and PSM were my absolute favorites. That art you featured with Cammy and Deejay is unmistakably Terry Wolfinger's work. He's very prolific now and worked with the mag up until Patrick Spaziante took over in the late 90's ('98, I would guess). I'd buy posters of some of the PSM covers if I could. Adam Warren's Wipeout 3's cover is a favorite, for example. Edit: that SFA3 Gamefan issue is one of the rarest issues of the entire mags' run. It's a true collector's item.

[@C.V317]

God, I remember that MK4 issue. Also included a summary of every Tekken 3 ending, it’s like a Fighting Game Theater

[@Peannlui]

Also at 22:40 - Kronos was a spinoff company from Deep Silver, the studio that made Eternal Champions. That's why the CG style for the characters from Criticom look so similar.

[@RGF91]

Kids today won't understand

[@cubansupreme]

Yeah, all they understand is Fortnite this and Roblox that. BAAAAH, KIDS TODAY AMIRITE?

[@Syntox]

​@@cubansupremehawk Tuah this and skibbidi that WHAT IS HAPPENING

[@marshallw1902]

Lol, depraved adults of today like yourself won't understand, either.

[@RawrX32009]

I do I do! :D

[@twitchykun]

Matt, I forgot just how RADICAL gaming magazines were. We were royalty, not knowing how good we really had it.

[@certainpovmedia]

So the magazine "Video Games", originally was "Video Games and Computer Entertainment". They shortened it at some point. I don't know why but it was extremely available in the DC area when I was growing up, so I read almost every issue.

[@steelcurtain187]

I definitely owned quite a few of these growing up 😂 never really thought much about em at the time being weird or anything if you can believe it

[@chriswest6988]

4:31 "they almost got it" Narrator: they did not almost get it

[@white-Beard-Michael]

This was a really nice throwback. Very nostalgic.

[@almightycinder]

I remember some of the early Ninja Turtle stuff having Mikey with red and Raph with maroon. I know I had a comic that was an adaptation of the first episode of the 1987 cartoon and it had those colors. That cover looked like it was using that version. SWAT was their secondary magazine. No reviews or news, just strategy guides and code. I only had one issue of it, from the early N64 ear. I had a ton of Gamepros. Dr Zombie was one of the editors for Gamepro and he did a lot of their artwork. The Motaro vs Nightwolf was his.

[@JT-iw3dp]

I've said it before... All of us who grew up seeing Francis Mao's GamePro artwork need a support group, or something.

[@0ring0]

S.W.A.T. PRO!!!! My folks, (and I can't thank them enough for doing this, or any gaming stuff we requested) Got us a magazine subscription for a X-mas gift one year. I still don't know how or who told them about this spinoff magazine, but this is the one they got for my brother and I. There were no preview or cover issues, just guides and codes. So while it was a bummer because there weren't any hot news or gossip. We did learn a lot stuff about games, so whenever we went to friends' houses, we had a good idea of what to do whenever we played a new game. Also we knew all MK2 fatalities.

[@13amproduction]

Billy Lee Cuts Into The Fascia of the Universe

[@KalkiMaitreya]

"Eternal Champions CD...CD...Challenge from the Dark side...huh. I just noticed this now."

[@jeanief.6036]

Oh wow, the Diehard Gamefan magazines. Some of the stories I've heard about working there, you should do a Wha Happen about that magazine.

[@nicolasray1571]

The background track at the start made me think I had my VITA turned on!

[@tyrus1235]

I should look into my old EGM issues I have stored away. Might have some golden covers in there. I remember an issue that was focused on "sexy" games... What a time.

[@AnimeFluxYT]

17:51 Man that takes me back. Drawing SF and MK characters in class and stashing them in my trapper keeper. Precious memories.

[@LeandroFTW]

The 90s box art was cursed too.

[@Kol-Fox]

I'm kinda reminded of Beckett magazine with a lot of these old magazine cover art.

[@fangjokerLS]

All the kids love seeing dynamic illustrations of Kano getting kicked in the face.

[@ryantorres9518]

I think I started collecting these magazines around 90 to 92'. I remember cool version of street fighter and mortal kombat on the covers for years. My mom worked in an office and had a copy machine so I photocopied like a 100 black and white EGM covers for ya know....early 90s reasons. Who knows.

[@JamesJohnson-tr1gu]

I had subscriptions to GamePro and EGM magazines for for years, and I would pick up Tips & Trick magazine from the store every month. By the end of the year I’d have like a 3 foot tall stack of gaming magazines. The good old days

[@SmrtPhonRtistCF]

I remembered for the FF10 cover, I found the magazine right outside my local CVS back in 01 and snagged it and would read it nearly everyday while taking the yellow bus to school.

[@alex_-yz9to]

12:57 Grunkle drunkle wins the splunkle hunkle

[@sda2911]

i had to comment on that timestamp too, loving that representation of our favorite grunkle

[@Syntox]

The nostalgia of these covers, many of which I owned, cuts me like a sai

[@WeXMajors]

Just wanna shout out the music picks for this episode and being almost song for song MY specific nostalgia really added to the overall Radical-ness of this ep!

[@yakumoyomi5765]

That S.W.A.T cover makes Megaman look like some knockoff M.O.D.O.K.

[@felipeaguena5289]

12:35 When did Hockey masks HAD MOUTHS FOR GOD'S SAKE, WHAT WERE THEY SMOKING

[@loneshewolf74]

I remember that Sonic cover. My cousin used to subscribe to Gamepro and other game magazines. It looks like they took a cartoon clown, colored his red nose black, and gave him blue spikes. But what's embarrassing is that back then I thought it was cool.

[@Karoth313]

Fun fact: Video Games: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine was published by Larry Flint (of Hustler fame).

[@blackmagefelix6548]

Tips and tricks was too.

[@toryficarola]

Gamepro's Guile looks like an eyebrow less Super Saiyan 3 who cut his hair to maintain the trimmed flat top. 😂

[@BromanEntertainment]

I had every issue of GamePro from I think May 1993 until around May 2006. Sadly I had to move around a decade ago and wasn't able to bring them along. There were tons of EGMs, Game Informer, Nintendo Power etc. as well, but GamePro was my favorite, I just felt like it had more reviewers whose opinion I could trust and who had similar taste as me growing up.

[@John_TheDrummer]

That GamePro with the WeaponLord cover was one of the first video game magazines I ever owned! I think i still have it too! 🙏

[@danielurquidez6130]

I had all the Psm magazines that you showed nostalgic af especially the memory card stickers and disc drive sticker covers

[@BloodWraith777]

53:20 When Tidus is *RIPPED* his name is pronounced Tide-us (because he is a tidal wave of death and destruction, and he's also in his 30s) When he's not ripped, it's pronounced tee-dus.

[@zevenenzeta]

Splatter house made me think of that quiet riot album 😂

[@marcespinoza6068]

I feel bad making fun of the Sonic ice cream bars after seeing that GamePro cover.

[@HazzardousEco]

26:10 Now THAT unlocked a Core Memory for me; I had completely forgotten I was subbed to Game Players back in the day and this image just jolted me back =D

[@StretchDude]

Game Players was my jam as a kid. I remember feeling the covers lost some oomph when they changed to Ultra Game Players, but they had some cool ones. The Super Metroid cover with the purple-haired Samus always sticks out in my memory.

[@Endocrom]

Game Players 95 - There was a Seaquest DSV game? Nintendo Magazine System - I think they saw Thunder's fingerless gloves and assumed his redish skin tone was part of some kind of claw glove.

[@bronco5591]

Would love a vid like this but looking at Wizard magazine

[@rowster64]

0:49, IS THAT THE JONKLER

[@monstercombo007]

Why is Jonkler standing in the explosion. Is he Stupid?

[@IffyJottere]

6:35 - I actually still own a dog-eared copy of this very issue of this book. I am now immensely glad the cover fell off over 20 years ago LOL :)

[@bargaintuesday812]

Gamepro skateboard guitar cyborg: "I asked for this!"

[@nigralurker]

This is this just tip of the iceberg. We need one solely on Nintendo Power from early 90s.

[@Prohass]

53:30 superchad tidus

[@BenetteG]

Chadus

[@AntiSocialHero]

Dan Ryckert cameo at the end! 😮

[@gbizzleizzle]

12:34 looks like if you told an ai image generator to generate cover art for Splatterhouse.

[@rotomwash0355]

Matt McMuscles brought me here without me knowing he was gonna be here.

[@raymondrjstanford]

I didn’t know Sans starred in Splatterhouse 2.

[@danhectic5629]

god i wanted to write for a mag so bad when i was in school but was too busy smoking weed and watching bad TV to put any effort into it.

[@Peannlui]

There's still time, and opportunity to apply! My friend writes for online and print publications!

[@danhectic5629]

@@Peannlui i have no education or writing experience- but have seriously considered just uploading something. maybe i'll just have it in the background of my next music vid (at least i put effort into SOMEthing!)

[@alexandrebelair4360]

@@Peannlui And makes almost no money for it!

[@FourArmedGrimace]

Oooh, Bill Donahue is in the beginning.

[@bluespaceman7937]

Man, I remember a bunch of these! Especially the GamePro and EGM (plus EGM2!) covers.

[@KalaniHaupia]

I remember Kano vs Sub-Zero (VideoGames Magazine) issue on a kids face? He won some contest where he got to have his face on the front cover…literally 😳

[@mrdudetou]

I still have all the PSM Swimsuit Issues. 😆

[@bluespaceman7937]

I have one of them. Wish I had more.

[@Shadoestar]

21:32 I had this issue! I was really psyched for the Eternal Champions Sega Cd game. I really wish it would get reissued somehow.

[@sozaj]

I have an idea! How about reviewing the magazine ads of video games from the 90's and early 00's - especially the terrible ones that poorly represented the games they were advertising!

[@Catterjee]

Video Games magazine had previously been Video Games and Computer Entertainment. Despite the clunky title, VG&CE was a fantastic magazine. Video Games, not so much.

[@navaash6086]

100% the truth. I had running subscriptions to VG&CE, GamePro, EGM, and Nintendo Power simultaneously. VG&CE was clearly the best of the four and the reviews were well written and showed their work, even if I disagreed with them. There were a few bizarre takes, like when the magazine's editor went on a crusade against Dr. Mario for promoting abusing OTC drugs to children (?!?!?), but they were largely his bugbear. When they dropped computer game coverage and overhauled the magazine, their reasoning was that computer games were in a rut and that the technology wasn't advancing fast enough compared to consoles. This was in September 1993. This also means that they missed reviewing OG Doom by 3 months.

[@thegigbelltoles]

Billy on the VideoGames cover looking like Eric Bischoff 😆

[@Toaster81]

I used to have a bunch of egm, gamepro, & flux. My favorite was flux.

[@mainelement420]

20:20 that sub zero foot is giving The Maxx vibes

[@jcdesign11]

I believe the artist for that Virtua Fighter cover is Katsuya Terada. So sick.

[@mrwoka]

Dude, Katsuya Terada is king. That virtua fighter cover is awesome. (Also, if you want your mind blown, check Katsuya Terada's Monkey King comic)

[@karimgideon]

The golden ear of gaming magazines.

[@joeyjoejoe1394]

I wish I had a PSX or PS2 so I could have subscribed to PAM, they had a lot of great original art from some of my favorite guys in comics including Art Adams, Adam Hughes, J. Scott Campbell and Joe Madureira as discussed, and my man Mike Wieringo (RIP Ringo, he was #1)

[@riemaennchen]

God that Mario on the Game Players Magazine is horrifying.

[@oak8194]

I always enjoy looking back at old mags, what a great piece of time capsule! (especially the articles, those that don't age well in particular! XD). Maybe you can take a look at the Japanese mags? Famitsu covers are nice, though it might lack in "variety" (as well as comical value from bad art...) as it's all done by the same artist, Susumu Matsushita (who also did the art for Maximo games).

[@cubansupreme]

I'm a simple man. I see Balloon Animal Classic Sonic as part of this video's thumbnail, I click on it with a smile on my face as big as Sonic.

[@121Karateka]

A lot of these 2D covers remind me of Brazilian fan-made manga. Wouldn't be surprised if they ripped some of it off to cut cost.

[@kaiokendo]

12:56 the purge

[@cowboydandank]

16:36 ain't that Deejay's crouching slide kick? I always wondered why he had a leg up during that.

[@Endocrom]

Video Games Oct'93 - That white background looks suspicious, look at Kano's hair, like it was a hastily made change to cover up something in the background. Mysteries lost to time I guess.

[@ajshiro3957]

I remember having this catalog or something of a bunch of Genesis games.

[@jean-philippetessier6354]

I had that RE cover gamepro. Still thought it was cool AF 😂. Official Playstation Magazine had top notch covers. And they had demo discs in every issue !

[@benmcreynolds8581]

I feel so lucky to have been born in 1989. The 90's and 2000's era had the best vibes. Xtreme to the max. When mag's had demo discs & amazing unhinged art. When they showed the game development process & they deeply cared about making their fans happy. I miss seeing the behind the scenes stuff, the process of putting ideas together & finding out what works best through a play testing process. I think we just need to see glimpses of gameplay more and stop with all this "radio silence route that game companies take now.. its awful." Their current approach is definitely creating this sorta reverse psychology effect because they just aren't approaching how to handle this gaming world "in these long spaces between game's." While projects are being worked on sorta thing. The entire gaming industry needs to find better ways to approach & do these things. It will benefit gaming as a whole. The companies & the customers will be in a better place. We gotta improve things. If they want to keep making $$$ they gotta improve things.

[@silverroddo1468]

I like Corporate Memphis Goro, because what more fitting for an evil character to be represented by corpo art?

[@seanmcallister2752]

I remember Psm mag if sf3 alpha with chung blanka and ryu cool cover but the he best part it came with stickers of all the characters that fit over your memory cards

[@FretzlemaniaPod]

That Sonic Gamepro cover is burned into my memory

[@AbuOmar]

I remember that Bison and Kintaro one. I practiced that jab because i wanted to be a cool guy.

[@Evergrey06]

Was a long time PSM subscriber. So many sick covers.

[@dreamlandnightmare]

55:33 - I can see that kind of terribly off-model artwork coming off of a cover from 1989, but 1999?

[@cabbitkisser2620]

this is how we got our info on the upcoming game's. before the internet came along

[@jordanjones6119]

Absolutely no notes on that Gamepro RE cover. Cant critique perfection.

[@dragonchaserkev]

15 minutes in and can safely say I can do better art than everything shown thus far. 😊. Feeling good.

[@UserCastlvaniaCode]

The TMNT cover look like if they were Garbage Pail Kids spoofs

[@Thaumic89]

17:50,20:06 they hate each other so much...TO THE EXTREME 👍

[@jacobg8707]

Weird how a Joe Mad fan doesn't know J Scott Campbell, lol