Forgotten Game Shows: Video Power

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If you want to relieve your childhood from the 90s you have to check out Video Power. You can find the show on Youtube. It is worth watching just the intro for the 90's music nostalgia.

Video Power ran for only 2 seasons but it had over 100 episodes in its short life. The show had kids answer video game related trivia and play video games. The first part of the show introduced the host Johnny Arcade and had kids try to stump him with their questions. The show also featured some segments where Johnny Arcade would give game playing tips. Next players competed in a video game for a high score. This would eliminate players. The 2 top scores would go on to compete in a video game quiz. They would then face off in another video game round. The player with the highest overall points went onto the final round.

The final round was a kids dream come true. They had between 30 and 41 seconds to run through an area covered in video games and toys. They could pick any game they wanted and place it on their velcro outfit. They were supposed to go down a final slide before time was up or not get the prizes but this was rally enforced. There would be a secret game that would give the kid a bonus if they found it. Kids got to keep whatever they had on their vest at the end.

Winners would come back latter in the week to compete against each other. This show would offer better prizes. The winners of this show would go on to compete in the ultimate trophy where they could win a trip to Universals Orland and a $10,000 scholarship.

As a kid I loved this show. The best part of all was when the kids ran through to get their prizes. I always wanted to be on the show and get the chance to grab as many games as I could. The only problem was the show was hard to find. At least where I lived it did not have a great time slot and it would move around. There was a time where I figured out when and where it was on and was able to watch for awhile only to find it went somewhere else and I would have to find it again. Sometimes it even was on when I couldn't watch. It was either on in the morning when I wouldn't be up yet or sometimes it would be on before I got out of school. I got out at 3:05 and after taking the bust might not get home until 3:30 and the show would be on at 3.

Having seen the show again it has not aged well. It is a product of its time. If you never saw it as a kid it might not hold up as well. If you grew up in the 90s though it still can give you that nostalgic feeling anyway. It just oozes with 90s zeitgeist with the 90s Hip-Hop theme song, young adult host in his tubular threads, fast high intensity cuts, and adults trying way to hard to be cool.

That is my experience but what is your? Did you see this as a kid? Did you want to be a contestant? Let us know in the comments below.