Sunclub (November 1987 - February 1989)
Sunclub started as the newsletter for Sunsoft's official fanclub, Sunsoft Club (サンソフトクラブ). Besides the newsletter, Sunsoft Club members also got a neat membership card and priority access to fan meetings hosted by Sunsoft staff. If you're interested, artm wrote a recap of the first Nagoya fan meeting. It must have been nice to be able to meet the people who made your favorite games in person.
The original version of Sunclub is also undoubtably the best version. It contains tons of unique art, news about upcoming games, reports about what the Sunsoft staff were up to, reader-submitted fanart, news about Sunsoft Club meetings, and more. It's truly something special and shows how much Sunsoft cared about their fans.
The recurring segments were:
- Nazoler Box (ナゾラーBOX): A mailbag section where two characters, Tomo-chan and Idol, respond to questions and comments from Sunclub readers.
- We're Waiting for Games Like These! (オレ達はこんなゲームを待っているぜ！): Taking readers' "selfish" requests for new games they want Sunsoft to make.
- Fun Factory in Tokyo: Coverage of the trials and tribulations faced by the developers at Sunsoft's Tokyo office.
- Sun Denshi Theater (さんでんし しあたあ): Humorous comics about Sunsoft games.
- NES Special (NESスペシャル): Coverage of games that Sunsoft is developing for the Western market rather than Japan.
Vol. 0
| Date | # Pages |
|---|
| November 1987 | 28 |
(Image from Koi's blog)
Contents:
- Miss Nazoler Contest interim results
- Introduction to Pixel Art
- Sun Denshi Theater (Wing of Madoola/Fantasy Zone)
- Nazoler Box
- We're Waiting for Games Like These!
- Fun Factory in Tokyo
- It's Rakugaki (sketches from Sunsoft designers)
- Shanghai
- Ripple Island
- Sun Denshi Theater Part II (Nazoler Land Special!! Quiz Ou wo Sagase)
- Metafight/Nazoler Land 3
Vol. 1
| Date | # Pages |
|---|
| January 1988 | 28 |
Contents:
- Ripple Island
- Metafight (feature)
- Introduction to Pixel Art
- Sun Denshi Theater (Dead Zone)
- Nazoler Box
- We're Waiting for Games Like These!
- Fun Factory in Tokyo
- Ripple Island (feature)
- NES Special (Freedom Force/Spy Hunter)
- Nazoler Land 3
Vol. 2
Contents:
- Metafight (feature)
- NES Special (Freedom Force intro)
- Fun Factory in Tokyo
- Nazoler Box
- Color Illustration Feature (fanart)
- Black & White Illustration Feature (fanart)
- We're Waiting for Games Like These!
- Ripple Island Impressions
- Sunsoft Club Meeting Held in Three Major Cities!!
- Sun Denshi Theater (Ripple Island)
- Nazoler Land 3 (feature)
- Arcade Version of "Shanghai" Announced at AOU Show
Vol. 3
Contents:
- Spring Meeting Photo Album
- Metafight Strategy Guide
- Crossing the Japanese Archipelago!! (more Spring meeting coverage)
- Fun Factory in Tokyo
- New Release Information Corner (Nankin Adventure and Red Dragon King)
- NES Special (Platoon and Xenophobe)
- Fantasy Zone II
- Mito Koumon II
- Sunsoft America News
- Nazoler Box
- Message Board Corner
- We're Waiting for Games Like These! (besides the usual reader submissions, includes Moriken's concepts for Dead Zone II and Wing of Madoola II)
- Nazoler Junior Detective Agency: Escape from the Professor's Secret Room Strategy Guide
- Software Maker Softball Tournament (Sunsoft placed 4th, behind Namco)
- Illustration Feature 2 (fanart)
Vol. 4
Contents:
- Fantasy Zone II
- Mito Koumon II
- Sunsoft TV Commercial Special Feature
- Sunclub Summer Meeting Information
- Nazoler Land Special "Find the Quiz King" Strategy Guide
- Sunsoft Character Popularity Poll Results
- Pen Pal/Doujin/Etc. Message Board
- Fun Factory in Tokyo
- Red Dragon King
- Nankin Adventure
- NES Special (Blaster Master US story & intro cutscene)
- Nazoler Box
- We're Waiting for Games Like These!
- Color Illustration Corner (fanart)
- 3D Model Special Feature
Vol. 5
| Date | # Pages |
|---|
| September 1988 | 28 |
Contents:
- New Release Review
- After Burner
- Alien Syndrome
- Fantasy Zone II
- Sunclub Contributor Popularity Poll
- Sun Denshi Theater II (reader-submitted comics)
- Red Dragon King
- Summber 1988 Meeting Report
- Nazoler Box
- Message Board
- Swimsuit Special Feature (fanart)
- Color Illustration Corner (fanart)
Vol. 6
| Date | # Pages |
|---|
| November 1988 | 28 |
This issue has a notice saying that some people need to renew their subscriptions to continue receiving issues, but there's a stamp over it saying that Sunsoft is no longer accepting new Sunclub members. I guess by the time they sent this issue out, Sunsoft knew that Sunclub wouldn't continue in its current form for very much longer.
Contents:
- Sunclub First Anniversary Big Giveaway
- Shady Software (mockups of game ideas submitted by readers and rejected ideas from the Sunsoft staff)
- We've Received Postcards Like These Too!
- We Want These Games Ported! (reader submissions of what games they want Sunsoft to make ports of)
- Sun Denshi Theater II (reader-submitted comics)
- Submission Classroom (tips for how to get your submission accepted)
- Moriken-sensei Married on September 11th!
- New Release News (Alien Syndrome, Fantasy Zone II, Red Dragon King, After Burner)
- Sunsoft Releases Anime Videos!
- Nazoler Box
- Message Board
- Uniform Special Feature (fanart)
- Color Illustration Corner (fanart)
Vol. 7
| Date | # Pages |
|---|
| February 1989 | 28 |
(Image from Tad's site)
I don't have this issue, but the cover story is about Out Live. Artm (@sunsoftfan on twitter) kindly posted an image of the last page of the issue. It has a notice that Sunclub would no longer be published bimonthly but would turn into an "irregularly published newspaper". Sunsoft also sent out refunds for people who would no longer be receiving all the issues in their subscription. I think they stopped holding Sunsoft Club meetings after this point as well.
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