Nintendo Power V86

Nintendo Power V86 is the July 1996 issue of Nintendo Power magazine. It features characters from numerous Nintendo 64 games on it's cover.

Power Charts
The "Power Charts" section of the magazine lists the top 20 Super NES games and only the top 10 Game Boy games and top 5 Virtual Boy games as ranked by the readers. The following are the first 5 for each game system from this issue.


 * Super NES
 * Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
 * Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
 * The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
 * Chrono Trigger
 * Final Fantasy III


 * Game Boy
 * The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
 * Donkey Kong Land
 * Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
 * Donkey Kong
 * Metroid II: Return of Samus


 * Virtual Boy
 * Virtual Boy Wario Land
 * Mario's Tennis
 * 3D Tetris
 * Galactic Pinball
 * Mario Clash

E3: Only the Beginning
This 10 page section talked about the Nintendo 64 appearance at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 1996. The article talked about the new console plus games such as Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64, among others.

Previews
This "Previews" section gave readers brief 1-2 page looks at some popular upcoming games. This month, the previewed games were Kirby Super Star (SNES), Tetris Attack (SNES), Waterworld (GB), and Dragon Hopper (VB).

Pilotwings 64
The first Nintendo 64 article is about Pilotwings 64. It describes the different modes of transportation and lists the locations.

Mortal Kombat Trilogy
The next article takes a look at Mortal Kombat Trilogy. It's only a short preview of what's to come for the tournament fighter.

Bass Masters Classic: Pro Edition
The first Super NES article is about Bass Masters Classic: Pro Edition. The article provides maps for 4 different lakes.

F-Zero
This article reviews F-Zero. It has tons of course maps.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
This short article is about Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. It lists a few different maps on the back of the pull-out poster.

The Brainies
This article is about The Brainines. It provides a number of different strategies.

Classified Information
The Classified Information section reveals codes and hidden secrets in certain games. Games featured in this section include:

Great Plays, Great Values
This article listed classic Super NES games that hit store shelves again, but at a reduced price, including Mega Man X and Street Fighter II Turbo.

Epic Center
This article would give strategies for certain role-playing games. Some of the games listed here included Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Eye of the Beholder (SNES), Star Ocean (SNES), Breath of Fire II (SNES), and Sword of Hope II (GB).

Iron Man / X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal
The Game Boy game reviewed is Iron Man / X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal. The article has maps for 5 different levels.

Counselor's Corner
Counselor's Corner is a feature in which the writers of the magazine would respond to game-related questions in the hope of getting the player out of a tough spot in various games. The games featured in this issue are AAAHH!!! Real Monsters (SNES), Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals (SNES), EarthBound (SNES), and Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions (GB).

Beat the Boss
This article gives tips on defeating the "boss" enemy in various games, including Earthworm Jim 2 (SNES), Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure (SNES), Chrono Trigger (SNES), and Mega Man X3 (SNES).

Now Playing
This article lists new game releases and ratings for those games. It also has a very brief overview of a few of them. Some of the top-rated games in this section include (in alphabetical order):
 * Bass Masters Classic: Pro Edition (SNES) and Iron Man / X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal (GB).

Pak Watch
The Pak Watch section showcased games that were scheduled for release. It gave the reader a quick glance at future games. Some of the games seen in this section include Robotech: Crystal Dreams (N64), Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (N64) and Mr. Do! (SNES).