Nintendo Cereal System
The Nintendo Cereal System was a video game themed cereal made by Ralston from 1986 to 1989 based on two popular Nintendo games. The box contained two tall thin bags, one fruit flavored the other berry flavored (aren't berries fruits?). The initial run was based on Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, but a later run was made featuring Super Mario Bros. 2 and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.
Each run featured three different box designs which altered the front and back graphics to include different drawings from the two games. The back of the box also included four "cards" which needed to be cut out, two were Mario themed, two were Zelda themed. Each box design had four different cards, so there were 12 for each run, 24 total.
Personal
My brother and I were suckered by the hype, and we convinced someone to buy us a box of this cereal. I remember it being the original games, and I'm positive I had already played or seen Super Mario Bros., so it was probably around 1987. I know my mother didn't buy it for us, because she didn't fall for cheap marketing gimmicks, and I remember eating the cereal away from home, so it was probably at my dad's house. However, even as a child, I could tell the product was shoddy. The cereal had a bland but sweet taste, the cover drawings didn't accurately depict the game graphics, and the shapes were clearly re-purposed from previous cereals. All in all, it was a disappointment.
Media
Documentation
Some of the cut-out cards.
The horrible video game character shapes.
Fan Art
Comic by Zac Gorman.
Videos
Links
