The year is 1991 and the month is May. Backdraft was heating things up at the box office, the Smashing Pumpkins released Gish and Azealia Banks is born. I'm not entirely sure who Azealia Banks is, but I do know that we're going to look at the five most interesting nuggets of information I pulled from the May 1991 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly.


For many kids of the 1990s, this was their first exposure to Sonic the Hedgehog. This cover managed to stand out on the competitive newsstand, thanks in large part to the vibrant colors of the Green Hill Zone and Sonic's patented smirk. But for as exciting as the cover was, Sega's mascot only managed a two-page spread. Still, that was just enough to whet our appetite for the June release.

For what it's worth, this was not Sonic's first time on an EGM cover. The speedy hedgehog was featured two months earlier, in the March 1991 issue. Although it was little more than a tease, the game's "Best of Show" win should have prepared gamers for what Sega was about to unleash. (And in case you were wondering, GamePro didn't feature Sonic on its cover until June of that year.)

This issue brought the first look at the game that would become Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom. Unfortunately, information about the hotly anticipated sequel was kept to a single paragraph and a few tiny pictures. Still, this was enough to get me excited about Ryu Hayabusa's next adventure.


Not surprisingly, the thing that got me even more excited was the sexy robot girl sharing the same page. Usually I'm a fan of using a robot to advertise your import game shop, but does it absolutely have to be a phone sex robot?


Speaking of which, this was the issue where Brendon Smithes called the magazine out for publishing 16-bit breasts. In the letter section, the Atlanta native asked this valid question: "Whoa! Do my eyes deceive me or did you and another magazine publish nude photos of a fairy in the game Stormlord for the Genesis?"


As it turns out, Electronic Gaming Monthly and GamePro accidentally printed very small, barely recognizable images of naked women in Stormlord. Not only did they apologize to their readers, but they assured Brendon that the fairies would be fully clothed in the final game. Whew, that was a close one.

After the success of Shadowgate and Deja Vu, Kemco felt emboldened to release yet another point and click adventure game on the Nintendo Entertainment System. That game was Uninvited, and Electronic Gaming Monthly was not impressed. Of the critics that weighed in, only Ed enjoyed the game enough to give it a 7. Steve, Martin and Sushi-X each gave the game scores as low as 4 and 5, complaining that the game is too complex for its own good.


Not content to have four critics tee off on the slow-paced adventure game, it looks like EGM tried to fit in a fifth review. While nothing is written, you can clearly make out a four just under Sushi-X's write-up. Clearly this is just a layout mistake, but it's one of the few times it happened in the magazine's two decade run.

In other reviews, EGM liked Whomp 'Em on the NES, as well as Phantasy Star III and PGA Golf on Genesis. They hated Laser Invasion on the NES, James Pond on the Genesis and Tour de Thrash on Game Boy. It wasn't a stellar month.

Only a few months ahead of its North American release, the Super NES was still a mystery. But don't worry; Electronic Gaming Monthly hired an unnamed artist to create a possible mock-up of the system. This is what that person came up with ...


It's not even close. This drawing includes an unnecessary cartridge flap and a two-tone color scheme. Even more confusing is the redundant logo, which suggests the 16-bitter's name is the Nintendo Super Nintendo Entertainment System Entertainment System. And I thought New 3DS was a dumb name.