Video Power

Although everyone up here has pretty much summed up the show, I will do my best to offer my own unique story. At the time, I was 10 or 11. I will say that the first season of the show was pretty cool. However, things would have been even better if they stayed on the video game tips and previews instead of cutting to the corny Power Team Cartoon. When I saw the first episode of the second season, I was in shock. Not only did they cut out most of the previews and tips from the first season, they converted the set into a circus. But it was a circus that I wanted to be a part of. Back then, I would have given anything to be on that show. I knew that I could whoop every one of those kids and stump Johnny Arcade. So many times the questions would be wrong in the quiz round. I remember a time when it was the music question and the music was clearly from the NES game Snake's Revenge and the answer they had for it was Top Gun. Any one who is a true video game afficianado, (and I'm not talking about the Playstation generation) would recognize that. Another thing that further fueled my need to be a contestant was the fact that the winner would always get to go through that maze of games and grab whatever the heck they wanted. Finally, perhaps the biggest reason I wanted to go on the show was because I wanted to win the prize of all prizes, a Neo Geo Gold System. But of course that wouldn't happen because almost 500 miles of America separated me from New York City and there would be no way that my parents would take me up there to be on a stupid kids show. Now that I look back on it and I have a Neo Geo (CD) system of my own (after waiting 9 years), I would still jump at the chance to be on that show even going on 22 years old.

The 90's for video games was no doubt a silver age as the subculture was one the rise and it was practically just about everywhere and growing at a rapid rate even to this day. So, a game show based upon the subculture wasn't a surprise. This is an under the radar gem as it's became slightly overlooked and forgotten. It's also another one of those childhood gems as I remember watching this early morning on the weekdays on cable.

Watching this was a lot of fun, that theme song which is an honorable mention on favorite theme songs. It's catchy with its 90's hip hop tone, but hearing it, it really got you pumped up knowing you in for a good game. Really like the game show setting as it a bit sci fiish but also a little rough urbanized which fit giving the show a 90's cool atmosphere and reflecting the video game subculture.

The host Johnny is good, he has sort of this wacky personality. Though I'll admit that's one bad thing about the series, I feel the host is overacting, which is why some of the comedy with him doesn't always hit at least for me. And even the contestants had some of the same awkward looks that we did in places, I couldn't help but think "Is this guy for real." I just feel in some of his hosting he could of toned down the comedic persona in places, which would of made contestants and even the audience feel a little more comfortable with him, which is part of what being a game show host is about guiding players comfortably while having fun at the same time.

Though one highlight was that in the middle of the show he would sometimes give out some pro tips on certain games that are currently out or new, which was pretty helpful because back then we didn't have "Youtube" we couldn't access video guides, which shows why this show is a product of it's time. We have a video game tournament portion which is similar with "Starcade" and "Nick Arcade" where if you have the highest score you gain points. It starts of with the basic quiz show questions to answer to gain points but of course we're all here for the video game playing. There a bit of a participator sense to those segments, I remember as a kid always being excited when they play a game and saying things to the team on the screen to go here on this game, get that, nail that guy, oh how could you miss that, things like that it was that exciting. The video games that were played were one mainly for the Nintendo Entertainment System which makes sense since that system was the biggest best-selling console at the time. It's true that none of the other systems we're familiar with are around like the "Sega Genesis" and "Super Nintendo" which could of added more variety to the show, but both systems didn't come out till a little latter and didn't gain big popularity yet, which is why I can look past the slight lack in variety.

And of course, the highlight no doubt is the video game shopping spree, which is just awesome it's every gamers dream to get as much video games as you want and desire without a worry in the world. Though this game is also a scavenger hunt, as you have to find specific games in a limited amount of time and stick them onto your Velcro suits, though the only bad thing is the Velcro doesn't always work as the games sometimes slip off the suits, someone should of retested a few of them.

But anyways at the end you go down the slide and then your collected game are counted and if you have enough of the specific games to find you would get a big price like in one episode a "Neo Geo" console which is an awesome price from the fact that system is now a bit rare and extremely pricy than ever before; let alone the fact it's a awesome system. Hopefully the contestants were able to find Neo Geo games as they weren't soild in a lot of stores except "Toys R Us" and some video game shows like "Software Inc" damn I miss both places.

Overall, it's a solid game show, like any of the Nintendo games on the show it's a good piece of game show and video game history worth a play.

Rating: 3 stars

"Video Power," in the late season, featured Johnny Arcade, who appeared in segments to teach kids game tips for the 8-bit NES and Genesis systems. The show included a kid's gameshow where 3 contestants would answer video game trivia (what is the game has this background music? Who is the main character of Master Blaster? etc). The winning contestant wore a velcro suit and was given one minute to run through a maze and stick Nintendo cartridges to the suit, which they would keep if they made it to the finish line. After Video Power came the cartoon "The Power Team," featuring the video game characters Querk, Kuros, Bigfoot, Arch Rival punks, and the N.A.R.C druglord. This show is practically impossible to find on tape today.

I woke up with Johnny Arcade everyday for as long as this show was on the air. At first, half the show was a cartoon with video game characters as the heros and villains, while the other half of the show was Johnny giving video game tips, and previewing new games. Later, it turned in to a game show that Johnny Arcade hosted, with kids playing against each other, where the winner got to run through an obstacle course thing, picking up video games while they went (as somebody mentioned before, the games were all crap, except for the few times when the gave away Neo Geos). Now, while this version of the show wasn't as good, it did leave us with one of the funniest tv moments ever. After a kid lost a round, the announcer for the show announced his consolation prize, a Game Boy game. Just as the announcer was finishing, the kid whined, "But I don't even have a Game Boy." Johnny looked directly in to the camera, smiled a smile of extreme embarrassment, and got the kid off camera as fast as he possibly could. Thank You.

As a kid, I first caught the series when it was retooled into a game show for the second season. If I had started watching from the beginning when it was mostly a cartoon, I doubt I would've held such nostalgia for it. The cartoon segments are generic action junk with lesser known Acclaim characters- they're certainly no Mario. In-between those segments, a teenager named Johnny Arcade gave gameplay tips and previewed upcoming games. That was really the draw of the program, but because Johnny was delivering a monologue instead of interacting with others, he was a lot more subdued.

By contrast, the second season had him really cut loose, since he was co-hosting a game show where he had to be high energy to pump the kid contestants up. There are many moments when he's hosting that I just burst out laughing because of how over-the-top he was acting, certainly helped by the kids' awkward reactions.

Yes, the game show hasn't aged gracefully- it definitely screams early '90s in the wardrobe/hair styles, music and set design, but you have to understand that as a kid, the second season was like crack. Not only did the gameplay tips from season 1 continue (yes, game magazines existed back then, but it was different and exciting watching actual gameplay footage), but we got kids trying to stump Johnny with video game trivia questions, which was always something kids wanted to see: Outsmarting the adults (okay, Johnny was an older teen but you get the idea). Then we got to see four kids competing against each other in a video game playing round while it was being commentated on like a professional sport with rapid cutting and camera swoops- again, exciting for a kid. Then the questions round, which allowed the kids to prove their NES knowledge. Again, fun in that nerdy "look how much I know about this hobby" way.

Of course, the biggest highlight for the series was the final round, where the winner would run through aisles of video games and velcro as many as they could to their vest and helmet before time ran out. A grand prize could be something as huge as a Neo Geo system. Talk about a kid's wet dream. This is before having more disposable income as an adult, so unless you were loaded, you probably only got a few games per year, if that. So vicariously, this was exciting to watch. You kind of envied the kid and wanted to be in their shoes.

Watching the second season today, it's still entertaining, especially to watch Johnny goof around. Just don't expect it to have a timeless quality. Skip the first season, though, unless you want to be a Video Power completist.