Promotional Consideration: Nester's return

by Eric Caoili { Jun 29th 2008 at 3:30PM }

This month's 20th anniversary issue of Nintendo Power seemed to leave everyone's head spinning with its exclusive Wii news, Mega Man 9 and Castlevania Judgment, so much so, that hardly anyone noticed the magazine's other big item: a new Nester comic!

A lot has happened since we last saw him over a decade ago -- apparently, he now has a Wii, a wife, and ... a son?! Bring your memories of the smart aleck character past the post break for Nester's return!

12th place. Same old Nester.

For those of you unfamiliar with the brat, Nester served as the magazine's mascot during the late 80s and early 90s, starring in the periodical's comic strip, Howard & Nester. Along with former Nintendo Power editor and Nintendo Fun Club president Howard Phillips, Nester helped advertise and provide tips for new games, usually finding a way to embarrass himself in the process.

Though he was initially drawn as a middle-school-aged child, Nester was later depicted as a young teenager after Howard left the strip (and Nintendo), leaving the red-haired gamer to take over the comic, which was retitled Nester's Adventures.

Nintendo Power eventually killed off the strip in its 55th issue, but not before Nester appeared in a few games! He made a cameo as a townsperson in the English localization of Dragon Warrior, served as a commentator in NES Play Action Football, and popped up in Pilotwings 64 under a pseudonym. He even had his own game, Nester's Funky Bowling, which was unfortunately released for the Virtual Boy:

After the disappointing sales for his game and losing his monthly gig, Nester was absent from the magazine until its 100th issue in September 1997. He was shown as a lapsed gamer in college, confused with the Nintendo 64's new Rumble Pak.

He has been missing in action since, only to reappear in this month's 20th anniversary issue. In the two-page comic, Nester recounts old Nintendo memories with his son (!), pulling out his Power Glove and name-dropping The Wizard. He even has his Virtual Boy on display, along with several boxes filled with unopened copies of Nester's Funky Bowling.

The comic never shows the woman who ended up marrying the former mascot, presumably sharing his bed, but Nester does make sure to quickly allude to her. Apparently, he met his wife through Nintendo's Game Counselor Hotline. Good for him!

If you're one of the three other Nester fans out there, make sure to pick up this month's issue of Nintendo Power! The Nester comic is full of great moments like the image on the right (Is it just us, or do they look related to Tekken's Hwoarang?).

Hopefully, we wont have to wait another 130+ issues to see him again!

Promotional Consideration is a weekly feature about the Nintendo DS advertisements you usually flip past, change the channel on, or just tune out.