My Very First Video Game Magazine

Tricks and tips from 2006.
Edited by Sam Essig and Scott Wozniak
Main Channel: ‪@ScottTheWoz‬
Twitter: / scottthewoz
Facebook: / scottthewoz
Instagram: / scottthewoz

[@BugsyFoga]

There’s definitely something nostalgic about getting your gaming news from a magazine back then.

[@LynCubed]

I swear to god I see your comments on literally, no exaggeration, every one of Scott’s videos lol

[@fishactivation5087]

I miss getting GameInformer.

[@PuppetMasterIX]

Once when I was a kid, I read an issue of Tips & Tricks while my mom was in the Pharmacy, and continued reading it throughout the store and outside. It wasn't until we were putting stuff in the car that we all realized I accidentally took it out of the store without paying. That's the story of how I accidentally committed my first and only shoplift.

[@LampHatScott]

I am calling the cops.

[@davidpedron1675]

Calling rite aid the D tier wonderland for kids is so spot on

[@maccamachine]

These type of videos just looking through old magazines are always so nice man

[@JMenitta]

I remember the one time I saw a video game in a Rite Aid, I was blown away. A sealed copy of Drakengard on PS2. This was in 2015.

[@glazelf]

That's crazy LOL i hope you picked that up.

[@cthrugrl]

that is possibly the wildest game you could've possibly found in that context, incredible

[@Dante...]

I used to work at a Walgreens from 2015-2019. and they had 3 random Wii games in the photo center for some reason. One of them was Sonic Colors and the other 2 were shovelware games. All 3 of them just sat there for a couple years until finally they got rid of them. I thought at least someone would've bought the Sonic Colors in that time, but I guess not lol.

[@AndrewIthink328]

@@Dante...maybe it was overpriced? Sonic colors is too good to let pass at 19.99 or something

[@Dante...]

@@AndrewIthink328 I think they were $10 each.

[@jerrysgardentractorsengine2243]

Thanks for the Driver 1 cheats at 22:33, Scott. Been looking for those for years EDIT: Two days after I wrote this, I bought a new copy of Driver and the previous owner left a piece of paper in the manual with all the codes on it

[@bobbydazzler329]

With all the shovelware Scott used to play I'm surprised he actually has a passion for gaming today

[@xm1808]

Only way is up

[@EvaFull]

At that point in time Sonic R, Sonic Jam, Sonic Fighters & Sonic Spinball had all been released to negative to mixed reviews. So that’s where they’re getting “Bad Sonic Games” from Scott. I remember this discussion vividly from that era of gaming before KZbin took off.

[@DryPaperHammerBro]

Hey, Spinball didn't do anything wrong!

[@EvaFull]

@@DryPaperHammerBro I personally enjoy the game. Was just going off memory of magazine reviews & friends takes from back then. Spinball was never high on the list of “Genesis games we need to play this weekend during the sleepover”.

[@jakob87]

Video game magazines will always be special to me because they feel like you’re going back in time to when all of this was new.

[@zmbdog]

Yep. I still read a ton of them on webarchive.

[@jordanschmidt9772]

I remember this magazine! I also had this one as a kid and probably read it 100s of times 😂 the cheat codes in it were awesome.

[@myriadmediamusings]

Toledo Ohio must be where the best Rite Aids are, because the ones where Im at would at best only have DVDs or Blu Rays as far as electronic entertainment goes.

[@Yami-no-Raiden]

Oh God! I still have that one! Tips & Tricks were my favorite magazines to collect back in my youth.

[@PlayMadness]

Regarding the "there was already a discussion on bad Sonic games before the release of Sonic 06" discussion: I'm a fair bit older than Scott, so I was already an adult in 2006. I can remember clearly that there was a sizable gap between fans and critics regarding Sonic that started with the release of Sonic Adventure. Critics at sizeable video game review outlets like Game Informer, GamePro, and Game Revolution all had pretty universal negative opinions on every Sonic game released during and after the Dreamcast. Sonic Heroes was a bit of a punchline for Game Informer for years, being "the bad Sonic game" up until the release of Sonic 06. The whole "which Sonic games are good?" debate centered around this divide between critical and fan reception at the time, with fans being outspoken about how Adventure, Adventure 2, Heroes, and Shadow weren't "that bad," and detractors pointing out that most of these titles got universally mid-to-poor reception from critics. Sonic Genesis on GBA and Sonic 2006 did a lot to make the previous games better in retrospect. But at the time, Sonic as a 3d game series was absolutely a punching bag and laughing stock among critics.

[@TheGuyWhoIsSitting]

I’d argue Shadow wasn’t even that bad. It probably would have been held in higher regard if it didn’t require so many repeat play throughs of the same stages over and over again to get the true ending. Like, replay value has always been part of Sonic games but it would have been nicer if you could just play all the levels from the stage select to count for the final ending. Sonic fans range from more sensible to “every Sonic game is an 11/10” and in my opinion some games are good, some are bad, but a lot of newer ones have just been boring; which is arguably worse than being bad.

[@EvaFull]

Don’t forget the negative to mixed reviews for Sonic R, Sonic Fighters, Sonic Jam & Sonic Spinball from that same era.

[@carck6442]

Metacritic puts SA1 and SA2 on the Dreamcast on the high 80s. I was 10 at the time and most magazines i read have it praise. Are you perhaps misremembering or thinking about the gamecube versions

[@jasondavidstapleton8337]

i loved the drawing pages you fill in the small blocks it will show you a game character

[@JG1980z]

The 80s and 90s were the best times for video game magazines.

[@Peashooter_theplant]

06... Sonic... oh no. EDIT: I didn't mean to make a fight over "Sonic is bad", I was just saying 06 was not a great year for Sonic.

[@PaperMarioParty08]

IN HIS WORLD (HIS WORLD) WHERE LIFE IS STRONG IN HIS WORLD (HIS WORLD) LIFE'S AN OPEN BOOK Wait a minute. Open book.

[@overdadeirowillsmithreal1479]

​@@PaperMarioParty08MAKE BELIEVES REBORN

[@aldenaoc8847]

Ty peashooter

[@ericamaya2467]

You guys should try sonic project 06 ITS SUPER COOL

[@LampHatScott]

Am I the only one that thinks the 'Sonic is bad' narrative was basically driven into the ground? It was essentially "Sonic is bad. End of disscussion."

[@LampHatScott]

I played Sonic Riders and it was pretty good. Sonic 06 wasn't that bad, I found it to be okay. The other 2 I have not played but I might play them at one point.

[@SuspiciousScout]

Riders is one of the more original racing games out there, and it was executed pretty well imo. The only problem is there's literally no tutorials whatsoever, so it can be difficult for newcomers to understand all the game's mechanics.

[@LampHatScott]

@@SuspiciousScout I think it's because Sonic Team fully expected people to read the manual. Not having a tutorial really sucks when playing for the first time especially for a game as complex as sonic riders.

[@zeliardforty-two4692]

Shout out to GameFan magazine! I use to buy it every time I could ever since I found it on the shelf. Man I miss magazines. Technically my first was “Winning tips for Nintendo” by the editors of Consumer Guide! More of a book I found in that school scholastic book fair. So when I found out there was actually magazines for video games I was ecstatic! Sure there was Nintendo Power but you couldn’t get that in stores

[@StarkMaximum]

"Are there any bad Sonic games? We would say no. Sonic has had some mid-ranking games, but nothing truly terrible, and we think that's a testament to the quality of Sonic as a franchise that he's never had a truly bad game. Anyway, look forward to our sneak preview images of *Sonic 2006,* coming out very soon!"

[@thepack9070]

He's had plenty of bad games.

[@neetpride5919]

Scott can truly make a video about anything video game related.

[@Markimark151]

I remember when Rite Aid was the Blockbuster Video of drugstores! They once had VHS rentals in some locations, sold bargain video games, even old arcades like Pac Man and Street Fighter II. I remember getting GamePro magazine as a kid for SNES and N64 cheat codes, they wrapped the magazine in a cellophane.

[@Doommaster677]

Mine was a Nintendo Power, I THINK it was Issue 156 (it had Spiderman on the cover). I also remembered having the code section for the Zelda Oracle games so I could find all the secrets and password locations

[@G8S.]

I’m surprised Scott didn’t get the Indiana Jones game.

[@leighdappa]

❗️The very first games magazine I ever bought was called 'Advance' (for the newly released GBA) back in late-2001. I STILL have that magazine and the seven other issues released. I even got my email published in Issue 6. 26:43 I'm texting because I want to see more...

[@GamerFunOriginallyAarush]

That’s a cool magazine!

[@TomTerrible789]

Bro the way you say Rite Aid exposes your Ohioness.

[@starlightviga]

Love the PSP love here. That was my choice as a yougnin. Loco Roco, Gurumin...

[@taeahn6065]

I love the carpet videos

[@Megaman.ExE7]

I really can't believe my eyes. This too, was my very first video game magazine. I haven't even watched the video and I know there are Sonic Battle codes in there. I remember using these when I played the game when I was younger. Wow you really unlocked a memory there Scott!

[@THNF89]

I loved Tips & Tricks lol back when it was an actual magazine not just the codebook. I had a stack of them wish i still had them

[@IVR02]

I didn't have this magazine, but this video made me nostalgic for late 00s/early 10s gaming magazines. I had a cheat code book that I bought at a Scholastic Book Fair when I was in elementary school, and also had a ton of issues of Boys Life magazine, which often had a pretty decent gaming section. Your comment about looking back on old reports about upcoming games/consoles reminded me of a preview of the 3DS I saw in an issue of Boys Life before it launched, where I distinctly recall that they said it looked like a fancy DS Lite. Not sure why that stuck with me, but I digress.

[@drakesterX]

OMG. I have the same exact one. And it was *my* first magazine too. Got it at a Safeway Grocery store all those years ago myself.

[@ceeb420]

I loved Tips & Tricks as a kid. I always would ask my parents to get me a copy when I saw them at our local Walmart. Almost positive I had this Sonic issue, too!

[@sopebarrofficial3557]

And it had Sonic on it, makes it 100x better

[@TeamSoraPresents]

That's so funny, I think one of my first gaming magazines was a Tips & Tricks... or a GameInformer, I forget. I also had a Nintendo Power strategy guide for Mario 3 (still have all 3).

[@Tur713]

I was a long time subscriber to Tips & Tricks magazine. My first issue was May 1998, which my dad brought home for me. I'm sure I still have a copy of this very same codebook in storage.

[@bluestar5812]

5:20 Veteran Sonic fan here. Regarding the magazine's article about bad Sonic games before 06 came out, there's an explanation for that mindset at that time. When Sonic Adventure 2 for the Dreamcast was released it got great scores from the press at the time. When the same game released for the GameCube months later it got worse reviews, despite being the same but with more content. When Sonic Mega Collection released for the GameCube some reviews were quick to point out that some of the old Sonic games were never good to begin with. My theory is that because of Sonic's status as Sega's mascot in the west, when the Dreamcast was discontinued and Sega left the hardware market the press was quick to shift their perception of the Sonic IP to a failure. To a lot of people Sonic is a relic of the past that Sega keeps around, but has no real need anymore. SA1 and SA2 were very well received by players and journalists when they first came out. The revisionism began when these two games hit the GameCube - to be fair the GC port of SA1 is dog water. Another detail is that the best selling version of Sonic Heroes was the god awful PS2 version, the worst version of Sonic Heroes. Far more people around the world played Heroes on PS2 than on the GameCube. So many people wrote Heroes as a bad game. Also the PC version is also trash. By the time 06 released it was just the final nail in the coffin for many people.

[@RetroCollecto]

UMDs really did feel so awesome back in the day, it took the PSP to an entirely new level of entertainment comparison to its contemporaries

[@yeshuamaitreya6954]

I remember the first games magazine I bought. SEGA Pro. They were explaining what a polygon was.

[@Kenzie.Avrahm.Fraser.Gelbart]

That was also my first magazine. You are mega-chad. Like, literally him.

[@supergravy6104]

I miss getting my copy of EGM every month. Even after the internet was the go-to place for video game info, I still had fun looking through all the pages and especially looking at reviews and previews.

[@ray0ken853]

I used to have a subscription to Tips & Tricks! They used to have fun activities to do on some of the magazines, and had a sick code section!

[@AngelCam7]

OMG! I still have that same Tips & Tricks Sonic Special Magazine! So cool! 😁

[@joshtoten]

My first was either Official Playstation Magazine, GamePro, or Electronic Gaming Monthly. Really don't remember which lol. I do remember pulling up to the library book sale in like... 99 or 2000 and they had a whole crate of old Nintendo Power for dirt cheap and I happily snatched them up and read over them for hours.

[@MrMario501]

I don't think I've ever read a videogame magazine but they seem fun to page through

[@MSGSlayer1]

My first was a buyer's guide from Electronic Gaming Monthly. It featured articles and guides for MK II, Super Metroid, Donkey Kong Country, etc. Basically all the classics of the 16-nit era.

[@andyc6542]

Never in my life heard subsequent pronounced as sub-sequenced!

[@BanditsBest686]

tips and tricks was dope

[@videobeta5324]

I had this as a kid. Man, I hope I still have it somewhere.

[@badassmotha2k]

My first was a tips & tricks from an Albertsons. It had a gundam on it. Issue 93. I read every word of that guide even though I only had a GameCube.

[@numbersevenforthewin]

My first magazine was also Tips and Tricks, but the issue that had the cover of Robotech, Gundam Vs Zeon and some other mech game.

[@shimshambam]

I loved Tips & Tricks

[@JoshTheWoz]

0:40 Scott's Stash has actually turned into a mini Scott The Woz 😂 Actually a skit in a Scott's Stash video wow

[@Vantoxify]

I love video game magazines, my childhood consisted of having a lot of them. Mostly nintendo power but dont hate on Sonic Riders, that game is goated

[@louiewang8428]

Those folded corners will haunt me forever

[@ThisIsCSDX]

This video taught me that Sonic Spinball has a level select code.

[@yungfella666]

Tips and tricks was my shit was a kid like how have I not found digital uploads of the puzzles yet lol

[@kirbyeatsyou5248]

9:50 I suddenly remembered SomecallmeJohnny's old Sonic 3 review where he had that segment of trying to input the secret title screen code lol

[@timothymckane6362]

I have that very magazine as well when (if I remember correctly) Blockbuster's Game Crazy was around. Later gave it to a deceased friend of mine back in the day just for him to borrow it. Some pages or pieces of those pages were missing due to him keeping some of them for those cheat codes.

[@Useless831]

PSP is cool!

[@DamonAkuma92]

holy crap this was also my friend game magazine it's on my shelf behind my desk atm.

[@triledink]

The first time I manged to input the sonic 3 stage select code was when I lost all my lives at the last boss. I was playing the game on original hardware and I chose no save at start too, and due sheer determination I actually managed to input the code.

[@thenewsupermonkey122]

PS1 and N64 being on a 2006 magazine is super weird

[@YoDzOnHalo]

Console generations were super short then. At the time n64 was only 10 years old. To put that in perspective the ps4 and xbox one are 10 years old. Console gens back then were like 4-6years compared to 8-10 now. Within 10 years Nintendo released n64, GameCube and Wii. Compared to just the switch since 2017. Sony did ps1-2-3 within 10 years. If Microsoft did a console in the 90s they surely would have done 3 in a decade as well

[@thenewsupermonkey122]

@@YoDzOnHalo i know. I was there. You could BARELY find even used ps1/n64 games on store shelves by 06.

[@Kneevirus]

Sonic riders is really good just has a steep learning curve

[@scarlyrot]

today i learned I'm way closer in age to Scott than i thought 😂

[@randomreviews4278]

4:58 shadow the hedgehog was great

[@PurpleLink11]

That "How to Kick Ass" icon next the Bower's Brawl render is very amusing to me for some reason

[@Ubebread1]

I oddly remember this magazine

[@Fenneccinos]

SCOTT DO NOT SAY SONIC RIDERS IS BAD it's genuinely an amazing racing game hop off 😭

[@NASCARFAN160]

Holy shit I have this one, and many many others around that period of when these kinds of things were legit reading material. I had a shitload of them in the car usually and would often read them and Nintendo Power on car rides whenever I wasn't playing games in the car. That shit, especially the ads, were peak living Of course I did use a bit of the codes, but still

[@MisterSheeple]

Just for future reference, it's pronounced sub-suh-quent, not sub-see-quent.

[@suntannedduck2388]

Interesting look. What's the music at 19:32 or the minute or so of that section of the video. Sounds great. I have a smaller guide book for some PS2 games, tips for Gran Turismo 3, Jak and Daxter, GTA and others. Otherwise I looked at forums/wiki pages barely care for cheats for some. Medal of Honour Frontline, Spyro, Ratchet, learning the Gran Turismo 4 and PSP ones later when people discovered them. The modern gaming magazines I own were ok whether old games, modern games and such news yeah they aren't great and I knew about more than the writers did and they had inaccuracies in some places.

[@RandomPlayer02]

The music is from Meteor Herd stage from Sonic Adventure 2

[@mistermonday1994]

Nintendo Power 177, was my first Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Cover

[@simtek3475]

IDK why the Sonic 06 Town Mission music goes so well with this

[@MonochromePixel]

this issue was also my first magazine and i still have it!

[@Yourmomgoestocolledge]

Up, Down, Left, Right, hold A press Start. Sonic level select code. First code i ever learned as a kid and its stuck with me still at 38. It works on the Genesis Collection too 😂

[@fshoaps]

These videos are better than normal Scott The Woz. I like him talking about his memories of gaming, espically in the 2000s.

[@zmbdog]

Weird that they have no Dreamcast logo across the top but still have PS1 and N64 logos.

[@sparkedlemur1065]

Good video

[@randomreviews4278]

7:20 they had a viewiful joe cartoon

[@aweiz6265]

Sonic Heroes was not considered good at the time and was seen as a negative turning point for some after SA1/2 - it wasn't universally loved until the Boost generation had been around for a bit

[@igeljaeger]

I owned tons of these but it's almost impressive how you never threw these away lol. I dont have a single one left

[@superjew837]

My first video game magazine was the Kane and Lynch 2 issue of Game Informer, and my first Nintendo Power was the one advertising this new feature for the DS called Nintendo Wi-Fi (🤯) Crazy to think that I can find the exact month I first gained my virginity

[@YacAttacks]

Please send this to retromags so it can be preserved!

[@toby-wankanobi1385]

I have the sonic toy on the back of that cover lol

[@Nope2479]

Jesus. 2006 was the year I graduated high school and I had more than a decade of gaming magazines under my belt. I’m old AF.

[@Nerdtendo6366]

“1991 = 2006” Yeah not sure about that

[@daviddonnell2153]

We know the kind of work you do with magazines 😂😂😂

[@Starrlytts]

Me when I don't remember my first

[@3Leches]

10 years later I still get chills from this

[@GUNUFofficial]

It's okay, 06 is getting It's redemtion with project 06.

[@crithon]

.... I so want to know the Tenchu codes! ACK!

[@zappiestmango6043]

I used to collect Guinness World Records Gaming edition and that's where I found a lot of gaming information.

[@ghastly_grin00]

this was mine too! 🤯

[@sleazebaggano]

wait, Tips & Tricks Magazine was published by **Larry Flynt** of all people? Excuse me? And yes, it's absolutely the Larry Flynt that comes up when you google Larry Flynt.

[@EvaFull]

He printed a lot of popular magazines that most people don’t realize. Like his long history with Heavy Metal magazines.

[@metalstargaming4662]

You and me both used to buy these at the drugstore. My first one was the one with Superman returns on it anybody remember that

[@ducky-iu2pu]

i want to go back

[@patrickjones4371]

I thought I was hearing Doug Demuro at 0:00

[@JT-qw1cn]

I'm at a loss. I love videos where Scott talks about video game stuff, but I don't like the videos of his friends.

[@fake_butters]

i hate that scott hasn’t thoroughly played the halo franchise bc there was a good quote opportunity at 4:10 😭😭