As the 90s dawned, it was time for the Summer of Final Fantasy - Nintendo Power going all out to make it a marquee event and introduce the concept of a traditional roleplaying game to a chunk of the NES audience. 📖: Nintendo Power, March/April 1990

Despite all the remakes with qol enhancements, this og version is still the one I prefer, jank and all 💚

Won't let games say "die", but are more than happy to drop the D-word in their magazine, huh? I see how it is.

That was the first issue of NP I ever got. Loved the art in it. I still have my copy around here somewhere.

It wasn't the first RPG on the NES but it was the first one a lot of people played. I can't remember if this was before or after they made Dragon Warrior free with a Nintendo Power subscription.

Nintendo Power's coverage of the first two Final Fantasy games is definitely how I ended up renting "II"

The hype worked on me. I got it on NES as a kid and have been a fan ever since.

I didn't properly play a Final Fantasy game until I got so hyped for XII that I finally played VII. But I vaguely remember renting this on NES. I was very confused by it and it possibly had someone else's save on the cart so one of the characters was named Phoebe but I pronounced it phobe. 😅

Hey, there's some Yoshitaka Amano art there!