Demian's Gamebook Web Page

Series - Nintendo Adventure Books

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Language:English
Publishers: Mammoth -- United Kingdom
Simon & Schuster (Archway imprint) -- United States
Categories: Complexity Level : Intermediate (Some Game Elements)
Format : Paperback
Game System : Inventory Management
Game System : Scores
Game System : Visual Puzzles
Genre : Fantasy
Genre : Science Fiction
Licensed Property : Video Game Tie-In
Target Age Group : Older Children
Writing Style : Present Tense
Writing Style : Third Person
Translated Into: Nintendo äventyrsböcker (Swedish)
Nintendo kies je eigen avontuur (Dutch)
Nintendo, játék az erővel (Hungarian)

These books, based on the Super Mario Brothers and Legend of Zelda Nintendo games, feature many visual puzzles like mazes and word searches and also require their readers to keep track of inventory items and coins or points. Difficulty and complexity vary somewhat from book to book, with some titles requiring considerably more effort to complete than others. The books were published nearly simultaneously in the United States and United Kingdom. It appears likely that at least some of the author names used here are actually pseudonyms for teams of writers; the books all include a "series development" credit for Dan Oehlsen, Lary Rosenblatt and Barbara Stewart, and some titles also include "text by" credits for Richard Chevat (books nine and twelve) or Roger Peckinpaugh (book ten).

Gamebooks

1. Double Trouble
2. Leaping Lizards
3. Monster Mix-Up
4. Koopa Capers
5. Pipe Down!
6. Doors to Doom
7. Dinosaur Dilemma
8. Flown the Koopa
9. The Crystal Trap
10. The Shadow Prince
11. Unjust Desserts
12. Brain Drain

Related Documents

Play Aid

Nintendo Adventure Book # 1 Scorecard

Nintendo Adventure Book # 2 Scorecard

Nintendo Adventure Book # 3 Scorecard

Nintendo Adventure Book # 5 Scorecard

Nintendo Adventure Book # 6 Scorecard

Nintendo Adventure Book # 8 Scorecard

User Comments

Ever since I was 5 years old I was a big Super Mario Bros. fan. Before I first heard about Nintendo Adventure Books, I never knew that any Super Mario Bros. books existed. I first heard of Nintendo Adventure Books back in the fifth grade. In the classroom I was looking for something in a book shelf when I found the sixth Nintendo Adventure Books, Doors to Doom. When I first read it I really loved it, mainly because while I was reading it, the book felt a lot like a game. Also solving puzzles, keeping track of score and items and the fact that I was a big Super Mario Bros. fan made this book a great read for me. Since then I have been looking for the rest of the series. Unfortunately, these books are very rare and very hard to find. Fortunately, this site has made it a lot easier for me to find these books. I really would like to thank Demian Katz for creating this site. It's a really big help.

[Editor's note -- you're welcome; that's what the site is here for!]

--Mr ?

The "Nintendo Adventure Books" happen to be one of the most promising-sounding cult classic series on paper, a real time capsule of Nintendo's legacy during a creative period of flourishing. Unfortunately, the individual titles are all - admittedly surprisingly - a royal disappointment. With arbitrary, flawed and often-irrelevant puzzles, next-to-no character development (or even interaction), seriously flawed plot holes and looping structures, and oftentimes atrocious and dreadfully underwhelming plotlines and narratives, this is a series that seldom holds faithful to the source material. Sacrificing creativity for mundaneness and conventionality - a decision none of its writers seem to have any reason doing - the video game origins should have been a gold mine for inspiration; really, as an award-winning fantasy writer myself, I've often wondered about the possibilities for Nintendo gamebooks. But quality is in short supply, and the quantity of humor is a short-lived hit-and-miss (mostly miss) conundrum. It's a series of gamebooks that everlastingly forsakes its enjoyment of the franchises it adapts, only barely resembling what fun it could have been if better handled.

--Shadeheart

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