The Video Game Critic

I have some fond memories of the hotline. I remember first seeing it in the movie "The Wizard" (where I learned most of my SMB3 skills mind-you) and giving it a call. They actually had real people helping you out, it was pretty cool.

Later on down the line they automated the entire hotline, and bogged it down with a slow talking robot that spouted off 5 minutes of advertisements before you could even get to the main menu.

Those were some good times.

I used that all the time when I was a kid!

You'd get stuck, you'd ask mom if you could make a phone call, and in no time you'd have your answer and be on your way. It was freaking awesome. I used to have that number memorized but it's been 20+ years since I last used it.

Anyone remember the number?

I know I called at least once around 1990-1991 for some hints about Battle of Olympus for the NES. Don't remember much about the experience, other than the guy who helped me was polite and did a good job of explaining what I had to do.

I stumbled on to this article the other day, which lead to this thread:

http://kotaku.com/5980638/nintendo-powe ... google.com

There are several mirrors of the article, and all act like they are dissapointed to find out the help line guys had binders full of tips. If anyone has seen the movie "The Wizard", the Nintendo helpline guys are all shown flipping through these binders to find the information the kids are looking for.

Yes. I called about Super Mario Bros 3. I remember calling at a buddies place so my phone bill wouldn't go up, lol.

Ha, ha, ha. I'm surprised anybody actually called that hotline. I remember seeing it in the Wizard & thinking, "Why are they wasting their money on the phone. Jimmy should be using that money to play in the arcade."

Tron wrote:Ha, ha, ha. I'm surprised anybody actually called that hotline. I remember seeing it in the Wizard & thinking, "Why are they wasting their money on the phone. Jimmy should be using that money to play in the arcade."

In the days of no internet and having to rely on someone to drive you to a store that carried Nintendo Power, sometimes the hotline was all you had.