Video Power (Throwback Thursday)

By Mark Rodriguez

Now it's really time to go back into the past with the first ever tv show to talk about and review videogames, back when the 8-bit NES was actually new and old-time classics like Mario, Mega Man and Link were just starting to become the videogame superstars they are today. Sit back and get some... Video Power. Talk about a real Throwback Thursday!!!

Ya gotta be pretty old to remember seeing this guy on TV

Starting out in 1990, Stivi Paskoski would play as Johnny Arcade, the host of the show and the guy to give you Video Power. The show would have the following format which varied from episode to episode. The three main things he did was Video Power Reviews, Video Power Previews, and tips and secrets he would give called the Video Power Edge. In between the episodes there would be a cartoon called The Power Team in which Johnny Arcade (though he was voiced by someone else) would lead Max Force (from NARC), Kuro (Wizards and Warriors), Tyrone (Arch Rivals), Kwirk (from the game of the same name) and a talking Bigfoot against fellow villains from the game NARC, Joe, Spike and Mr. Big. Each episode would vary, like start with a tip and a review, the cartoon and then end it with a tip, or maybe a preview first, the cartoon and then end it with tips and a review, and so forth, so you never knew exactly what was coming. 

Now at the time the NES was rather new and uncontested, so most of the games were from that system, though there would also be reviews and so forth about SEGA Genesis and Game Boy games. Offhand I'd remember him reviewing (or previewing) games like Arch Rivals, Kwirk, Micheal Jackson's Moonwalker, Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu, Street Fighter 2010 and my personal favorite, his review on TMNT II The Arcade Game for the NES. You can imagine how excited I was to find out this game was coming to the NES, and this was my first look at the game. The tips would vary from obvious stuff like 'to beat the boss you have to be quick, dodge the gunfire' etc etc, to actual useful things like hidden secrets, button codes and passwords.

The game was full of 80's and 90's cheese with the stage decorated with the kind of random triangles and colors you would see on Saved by the Bell. Johnny himself would review the games either as himself, or imitates the characters or celebrities in the games, or something related, like imitating Mick and Rocky during his review of Mike Tyson's Punch-Out. I remember him playing as a surfer dude version of Robocop when reviewing Atomic Robo-Kid for the SEGA Genesis, acting as if he was his son (my dad is like, so uptight dude!!!). He had a few recurring original characters like this bitter sewer rat that claimed Splinter stole the idea for the Ninja Turtles and is now rich while he's still scavenging for food (I forgot the character name) and a sock puppet. His studio was also powered by talking computer (or something of the sort). 

Johnny imitating Mick as he reviews Mike Tyson's Punch Out.... back when Mike Tyson was still in the game!

Of all the episodes there was one that stood out the most since it didn't have a Power Team episode and it was all about him. In this one, he kinda breaks the fourth wall, feeling lonely and admitting he basically plays all the characters on the show and has a sock puppet, so he goes out to find a female companion. During this road trip he plays some arcades and shows off the Neo Geo System Arcade.

Even back then I thought SNK games were the coolest things ever! I never thought I'd eventually get to play them in real life some day. 

Truly ahead of its time, the Neo Geo System had graphics that blew everything else at the time out of the water. The home version cost 500 bucks and was made with the exact same kind of hardware, so you're not just playing the '8-bit or 16-bit scaled down home version' of Fatal Fury... you're playing the exact same version of the arcade game, graphics, music and all! The most unique feature is one Johnny featured here, is that the arcades and home version had the same kind of memory card. Long before the Playstation and others had them, the Neo Geo would let you play some of Magician Lord at the arcade, and then continue playing where you left off at home due to the memory card. I don't think this kind of thing was ever done again.

Along the way he also hit the Nintendo Power Fest 1990, where gamers fought it out to prove who was number one. He even got to interview some of the players. Man, I wish I was there, LOL. And I'm sure our Johnny (Rodriguez) would have loved the pre-game Nintendo Power Feast.

Man, I would have loved to have own a Video Power shirt back in the day.

Johnny would meet and talk to probably the first girl gamer ever (I'm kidding, I'm kidding!!!) and end the episode with a little skit with this friends (I guess) at his hotel room, as well as the people that played Eddie and Lily Munster in the remade sitcom 'The Munsters Today'. Um... yeah.... this show is THAT old....

Everything would change in the second season as the game would now become a game show. There weren't any reviews or Power Team cartoons anymore, but games were still the main focus. The game would start with Johnny's co-host Terry choosing 4 kids to ask Johnny game-related questions. Whether they stumped him or not, they would become the contestants for the day. They would be wearing Power Vests and Power Helmets, covered in Velcro.

The first part consisted of the kids playing videogames for one or two minutes trying to score the highest points or other similar goals depending on the games. Off hand I remember kids trying to score the highest points in games like TMNT II the Arcade Game and Double Dragon III. The two kids with the highest scores out of the four would advance to round 2.

The second part is videogame trivia where you have to press the buzzer to be the first one to answer. There were three kinds of questions, regular questions, guessing part of a video game tune, and seeing game footage for a few seconds and guessing what it is. As you win and answer questions, you earn points which are represented by foam pizza slices that stick to your Velcro outfits.

What was Sonic the Hedgehog's arch nemesis??? Might seem like an easy question, but remember at this time the game JUST came out and not everyone has played it yet. Also Johnny did not tone down the hyperness when he became a game show host, so I felt to sorry for the kids that had to put up with it.

Finally you play some more videogames, and the one that wins the highest score between the two advances to the prize round. And I gotta tell ya, this prize round is the kind of thing a gamer's dreams are made of. You basically run around a maze/obstacle course that has walls covered with all sorts of games that you can stick to your Velcro vest within a certain time limit. I remember other things being there as well, like game accessories, skateboards and stuff like that. Once you're done you slide down the tube into a pool full of balls. Even if you don't make it to the end by the time limit, you still keep all the games you managed to snag. If you managed to find one particular game that Johnny points out, you earn an extra bonus prize which is sometimes a game console or something just as awesome.... and HOLY CRAP one time Johnny even gave away a NEO GEO SYSTEM. Holy Crap, dude!!!

Similar to the Tiger games... this show brings back memories. As far as I know, it was never released on DVD, probably due to all the licensing from all the different games featured. It was a morning show, so it was the kind of show I was watching while I was stuffing my bookbag and getting ready to head out to school. The cheesiness of it is well.... horribly cheesy and horribly dated (this was also during the TMNT/Bill & Ted Duuuuude!!! era and the beginning of Turtlemania) but as a kid it was funny. Sure it was kinda lame seeing Johnny imitate characters during his reviews, but at the time hosting a video game review show was a dream for me. The Power Team was a cool alternative to Captain N the Game Master, another show with a kid helping out videogame characters, and I liked both equally.

The game show version was a bit of a disappointment, and I remember my surprise and confusion as to how the review show became a game show. No more Power Team and Johnny was too busy hosting the show to review the upcoming games. And since the game show was well... a game show, they would never rerun the first season episodes ever again. The SNES was just coming out and SEGA made their own mascot to compete with Mario, so some of the game questions started to reference Super Mario World and Sonic the Hedgehog. After a while it grew on me as I liked to answer the quiz questions and guess the game music. And I forgot how many times I dreamed I was the one to be running down the maze, sticking all of these awesome and free games to my Velcro vest and winning a Neo Geo. 

Here's to Johnny Arcade.... thanks for the memories man... and thanks for making it fun to a be a Nintendo fan back in the day. Stay tuned as soon I'll be making an episode about the Power Team in greater detail, next Throwback Thursday!!!