| In Nintendo Power's Top 30 chart it was 28th, new to the chart, in the January/February 1989 issue, 7th in March/April 1989, and 8th in May/June 1989, when it was 4th in the pros' picks. | printed p. 103 (PDF p. 106), Top 30 | Magazine |
| Blaster Master was no. 27 in Nintendo Power's Players' Picks in January/February 1989 and rose to no. 6 in March/April, when the pros' list had it at no. 10. It was no. 14 with the players in May/June 1989, no. 11 with both players and pros in November/December 1989, and still no. 20 with the players in May/June 1990. | printed p. 104 (PDF p. 107), Top 30 | Magazine |
| In Nintendo Power's Top 30 of January/February 1989, Life Force ranked 25th in the Players' Picks, with 528 points, and 13th in the Dealers' Picks, with 718. | printed p. 104 (PDF p. 107), Top 30, Players' Picksprinted p. 104 (PDF p. 107), Top 30, Players' Picksprinted p. 104 (PDF p. 107), Top 30, Dealers' Picksprinted p. 104 (PDF p. 107), Top 30, Dealers' Picks | Magazine |
| Nintendo Power's January/February 1989 issue gave the NES version a feature. It opens on Agent Grey Fox's last message, "Metal Gear", before he went silent, and praises guards who patrol rooms and see in the direction they face, so the player can sneak up behind them. | printed p. 74 (PDF p. 77), Mission Objectiveprinted p. 75 (PDF p. 78), Prepare for a Realistic Action Adventure!printed p. 75 (PDF p. 78), Prepare for a Realistic Action Adventure!printed p. 75 (PDF p. 78), Prepare for a Realistic Action Adventure! | Magazine |
| Nintendo Power's Top 30 put the NES version third in its November/December 1988 issue, eighth in January/February 1989, and 23rd in March/April 1989. | printed p. 103 (PDF p. 106), Top 30 | Magazine |
| Nintendo Power's feature on the NES game, in its January/February 1989 issue, sets it in the nation of Cherigo, seized overnight by an anti-American faction. The President orders a secret operation, code name Operation Wolf, that drops lone commandos into the country to free the prisoners from its camps and get them out. | printed p. 61 (image 64), Operation Wolfprinted p. 61 (image 64)printed p. 61 (image 64)printed p. 61 (image 64)printed p. 61 (image 64)contents (image 6)printed p. 61 (image 64) | Magazine |
| Nintendo Power's Top 30 table has a Players' Picks column beside Pros' Picks and Dealers' Picks. Its January/February 1989 issue, which introduces the table with "We hear you loud and clear", ranked RoboCop twelfth among the Players' Picks with 1,091 points, between Gauntlet and Bases Loaded. In the May/June 1989 issue it was eleventh with 1,465 points, behind Bad Dudes and ahead of Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!. | p. 101 (PDF p. 105), Top 30p. 104 (PDF p. 107), Top 30p. 104 (PDF p. 107), Top 30, Players' Picksp. 104 (PDF p. 107), Top 30, Players' Picks | Magazine |