GamePro, Nintendo Power, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Tips and Tricks, I can keep going…

Before gamers could stay in touch with their favorite publishers and developers via online social platforms, many eagerly awaited the newsstand arrival of print magazines for in-depth gaming industry news.

Today, brands’ convenient, colossal livestream presentations and up-to-the-minute social media posts keep us in the know.

But there was something special, almost magical, about thumbing through the crisp pages of a new Game Informer. Even turning the pages of your latest game purchase’s included manual would contain one or two ads for upcoming cool releases.

Big-budget broadcasts and Big Game ad spots are exciting, but these well-designed retro gaming ads from the ’80s, ’90s, and early 2000s leaned into a kind of artistic eccentricity rarely seen from AAA game studios. Check out some of our faves:

Crazy Taxi (NextGen; February 2000)

Hey Alexa, play The Offspring!

Taxi racing game Crazy Taxi is one of the ’90s titles that best encapsulates the era’s “Xtreme” vibe.

Text is formatted to resemble the peak of a skyscraper in the distance, with tires barely visible near the top of the image. Presumably, a taxi’s caught some serious air (probably in aptly-named in-game locale “Big Hills Park”).

Halo: Combat Evolved (Official Xbox Magazine; November 2001)

I’d do some questionable things for some Halo: Combat Evolved and a crisp, cold SoBe…

The slime-green OG Xbox branding, a sarcastic and semi-rebellious saying, and the immersion of a two-page ad?

I’m sorry, but a YouTube video can’t compete where it doesn’t compare.

Donkey Kong 64 (NextGen; November 1999)

So they’re finally here, performing for you / If you know the words, you can join in too…

“DK Rap” was a certified banger when Donkey Kong 64 first swung into stores, but the ads were just as funky.

The franchise’s first 3D platformer was already a title for the ages, and the ads only made monkey business seem even more fun.

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Street Fighter II: Champion Edition (Marvel Comics; February 1994)

Street Fighter II, regardless of your preferred version, set the bar mighty high for any fighting game going forward.

The cool arcade title finally made its way to home consoles, AND the ad had a thinly-veiled swear?! Be still, 1990s tweens and teens!

Grand Theft Auto (NextGen; March 1998)

Most gamers of a certain age have a sweet spot for the Grand Theft Auto franchise.

Still, even before we found out just how revelatory the series would become, the first entry’s adverts were pretty sick.

JNCO Jeans, puffer coats (that shade of yellow, specifically), and, wait, is that a Kangol? Talk about a product of its time…

Mortal Kombat 4 (Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine; July 1998)

By the time the fourth entry in the Mortal Kombat series rolled around, most video game fans knew what kind of gameplay they were in for.

However, in this ad, players got a better look at the franchise’s first 3D title with three gameplay images and more realistic details throughout.

Truth be told, I think even my grandparents could identify the now-iconic dragon emblem.

Dance Dance Revolution (‘Silent Scope’ game manual; early 2000s)

While downstairs neighbors everywhere were writing Konami some strongly worded letters, gamers were stompin’ and workin’ it out to electronic hits and remixes in Dance Dance Revolution.

Vivid neons, the futuristic vibe, those arrows — all unmistakably DDR.

My biggest complaint, though, is how few physical copies of games come with in-depth manuals inside. What a bummer.

Resident Evil (Ultra Game Players; December 1996)

Truth be told, I’m not a big fan of horror games. I’m too ‘fwaid.

My apprehension didn’t (and still doesn’t) prevent me from appreciating the ominous aesthetics of ads like these.

Resident Evil remains many gamers’ favorite spooky game series, and there’s no doubt slick marketing and appealing editorials helped make that happen.

Atari 7800 (GamePro; December 1989)

Oh, Rampage. Few games let me release post-school stress quite like you.

If the 2018 film adaptation with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson had leaned more into this 1980s aesthetic, a la Stranger Things, it would have felt much more like a proper video game adaptation.

Oh, hey, since you’re here — wanna play Pogs?

Banjo-Kazooie (NextGen; July 1998)

Banjo-Kazooie is among my all-time favorite games, and this ad took me right back to the days of Nintendo 64 controller-inflicted palm blisters and Jinjo-collecting.

For the uninitiated, Kazooie (the titular red female bird) hauled her adventure buddy Banjo (backpack-wielding male brown bear) when trekking through treacherous terrain with her Talon Trot.

This whimsical platformer is one I’d love to see remastered in the near future.

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