Banjo Kazooie and Mario Party 2, simply because I remember reading them on the way home from renting them at the old peace river IGA BITD and just being so excited to play the games. MP2 in particular has a section that describes every characters "favorite item" and I often use that callback joke when playing old school MP's during couch multiplayer
The DKC manuals are hilarious too of course, Cranky is such a ham
Yeah! Always belittling the game and telling us to play something else. The full-color prerendered CG jungle leaves backing the text were a really nice touch!
Since Brock mentioned Fallout 2, I guess I'd have to say I was really impressed with Diablo 2. I remember thinking it was almost like a mini D&D manual. I also remember having it at school and reading over stuff in my free time. My friends and I were obsessed with that game in high school.
Most SNES manuals were good, they had a little bit more to them especially being twice the size.
Agreed. Plus most were in color and had a story introduction in the beginning. A lot of the platformers had color pictures of the enemies and a short description of the levels too. Good stuff.
Super Mario Bros. 2 & 3 manuals seemed extra thick and colorful when I opened them new as a kid. I didn't care anout manuals much back then, but those definitely made an impression with their artwork.
I didnt play them as a kid, but Legend of Zelda and StarTropics got really nice manuals as well.
Most post blackbox first party NES games seem good, with exclusive colorful art. Nintendo really went the extra mile back then as far as quality. The paper and printing itself was insane quality wise, too
Earthbound comes to mind for me, I remember renting it with my bro and they gave us the strategy guide to use.
I was thinning my big box PC dupes the other day and I realized that the original Riven: The Sequel to Myst can include completely different guide books (one Prima, one Brady). Well, not "completely" different: they both take up the same area in the box (nearly all of it!) and they could easily be confused with each other since they both use the box art as cover art.
Including a full-sized guide was pretty common with PC games (I've even got a copy of Wolfenstein 3D like that) but I don't think it was nearly as cool as Earthbound doing that unexpectedly... with scratch and sniff marketing.
For me, my favorite game manuals were the ones that included pictures and detailed descriptions of the enemies. I always loved reading that. I remember being disappointed when I started to notice a trend of that going away. The first strategy guide I ever got was for Super Mario Bros. 3 (I'm betting this was the first game guide for many of us). This guide had a description for EVERY enemy in the game which was super awesome for me.
For me, my favorite game manuals were the ones that included pictures and detailed descriptions of the enemies. I always loved reading that. I remember being disappointed when I started to notice a trend of that going away. The first strategy guide I ever got was for Super Mario Bros. 3 (I'm betting this was the first game guide for many of us). This guide had a description for EVERY enemy in the game which was super awesome for me.
It was my first guide as well. The best part was the page containing all the layouts for the card-matching game! I loved that there were some unspoken secrets only hinted at in the guide, like where they'd just show a music note spring box that sends you to a Coin Heaven without actually calling attention to it, which really got me to study those maps closely! I eventually loaned mine to a friend and his brother ripped it in half while they were arguing.
For me, my favorite game manuals were the ones that included pictures and detailed descriptions of the enemies. I always loved reading that. I remember being disappointed when I started to notice a trend of that going away. The first strategy guide I ever got was for Super Mario Bros. 3 (I'm betting this was the first game guide for many of us). This guide had a description for EVERY enemy in the game which was super awesome for me.
It was my first guide as well. The best part was the page containing all the layouts for the card-matching game! I loved that there were some unspoken secrets only hinted at in the guide, like where they'd just show a music note spring box that sends you to a Coin Heaven without actually saying anything about it, which really got me to study those maps closely! I eventually loaned mine to a friend and his brother ripped it in half while they were arguing.
I still have mine, but it's in pretty rough shape. Not torn in half rough, just pretty beat up.
Also, I'm old enough to remember when you could still get manuals when you rented the games. I used to copy a lot of info out of the manuals and make my own manuals. I still have these. I remember finding them about a year ago.
Jurassic Park map (I LOVED the SNES Jurassic Park game)
I love homemade maps and manuals. That is rad. I've picked up a handful of games with them and always keep them with the game.
A lot of Blizzard games had tons of backstory in the manuals. I remember reading the manual for Warcraft II and was surprised to find mention of the Draenei. They seemed so dumb and random when they introduced them to WoW but apparently they've been around since the early days.
I have memories of the manual of Saga Frontier. Not because it was good but because it was bad. Being the first SaGa game I played the game's mechanics were a labyrinth of mystery so I constantly checked the manual for any useful information. If I recall the manual felt like I was written by someone who had never seen or worked on the game but had someone describe it to them over the phone. So there are rough descriptions of the races and weapons but they are half wrong and completely unhelpful.
Also, I'm old enough to remember when you could still get manuals when you rented the games. I used to copy a lot of info out of the manuals and make my own manuals. I still have these. I remember finding them about a year ago.
Jurassic Park map (I LOVED the SNES Jurassic Park game)
Those. Are. Amazing.
I love finding stuff written by players from back in the day and trying out their old passwords and stuff. I made a thread here last year when I found a strange chart inside my Game Genie manual and didn't know what game it was from. Turns out that it was several layouts of the card matching game from Super Mario Bros 3. The Mushrooms were just smiley-faces and the coins were just dollar signs so it was pretty hard to recognize. It wasn't until I noticed a pattern I remember from my own efforts back in the day that I realized.
I've actually been preparing to make simple instruction cards for a ton of games, kinda like the old 1-page instructions on rental cases. There are a lot of NES games that just seem unplayable without the instructions so I'm starting there, but there's no way I can play everything. If I ever take it all the way then it's going to have to be a group effort!
Comments
Banjo Kazooie and Mario Party 2, simply because I remember reading them on the way home from renting them at the old peace river IGA BITD and just being so excited to play the games. MP2 in particular has a section that describes every characters "favorite item" and I often use that callback joke when playing old school MP's during couch multiplayer
The DKC manuals are hilarious too of course, Cranky is such a ham
Yeah! Always belittling the game and telling us to play something else. The full-color prerendered CG jungle leaves backing the text were a really nice touch!
Loved this one when I was young, something about the artwork that was amazing.
Is he kneeling on water?
Jesus Christ don't got nothin' on Ryu Hayabusa.
Loved this one when I was young, something about the artwork that was amazing.
Is he kneeling on water?
Jesus Christ don't got nothin' on Ryu Hayabusa.
It looks like the place where Major Kusanagi fought with this guy:
Most SNES manuals were good, they had a little bit more to them especially being twice the size.
Agreed. Plus most were in color and had a story introduction in the beginning. A lot of the platformers had color pictures of the enemies and a short description of the levels too. Good stuff.
I didnt play them as a kid, but Legend of Zelda and StarTropics got really nice manuals as well.
Most post blackbox first party NES games seem good, with exclusive colorful art. Nintendo really went the extra mile back then as far as quality. The paper and printing itself was insane quality wise, too
Earthbound comes to mind for me, I remember renting it with my bro and they gave us the strategy guide to use.
I was thinning my big box PC dupes the other day and I realized that the original Riven: The Sequel to Myst can include completely different guide books (one Prima, one Brady). Well, not "completely" different: they both take up the same area in the box (nearly all of it!) and they could easily be confused with each other since they both use the box art as cover art.
Including a full-sized guide was pretty common with PC games (I've even got a copy of Wolfenstein 3D like that) but I don't think it was nearly as cool as Earthbound doing that unexpectedly... with scratch and sniff marketing.
For me, my favorite game manuals were the ones that included pictures and detailed descriptions of the enemies. I always loved reading that. I remember being disappointed when I started to notice a trend of that going away. The first strategy guide I ever got was for Super Mario Bros. 3 (I'm betting this was the first game guide for many of us). This guide had a description for EVERY enemy in the game which was super awesome for me.
It was my first guide as well. The best part was the page containing all the layouts for the card-matching game! I loved that there were some unspoken secrets only hinted at in the guide, like where they'd just show a music note spring box that sends you to a Coin Heaven without actually calling attention to it, which really got me to study those maps closely! I eventually loaned mine to a friend and his brother ripped it in half while they were arguing.
For me, my favorite game manuals were the ones that included pictures and detailed descriptions of the enemies. I always loved reading that. I remember being disappointed when I started to notice a trend of that going away. The first strategy guide I ever got was for Super Mario Bros. 3 (I'm betting this was the first game guide for many of us). This guide had a description for EVERY enemy in the game which was super awesome for me.
It was my first guide as well. The best part was the page containing all the layouts for the card-matching game! I loved that there were some unspoken secrets only hinted at in the guide, like where they'd just show a music note spring box that sends you to a Coin Heaven without actually saying anything about it, which really got me to study those maps closely! I eventually loaned mine to a friend and his brother ripped it in half while they were arguing.
I still have mine, but it's in pretty rough shape. Not torn in half rough, just pretty beat up.
Jurassic Park map (I LOVED the SNES Jurassic Park game)
A lot of Blizzard games had tons of backstory in the manuals. I remember reading the manual for Warcraft II and was surprised to find mention of the Draenei. They seemed so dumb and random when they introduced them to WoW but apparently they've been around since the early days.
I have memories of the manual of Saga Frontier. Not because it was good but because it was bad. Being the first SaGa game I played the game's mechanics were a labyrinth of mystery so I constantly checked the manual for any useful information. If I recall the manual felt like I was written by someone who had never seen or worked on the game but had someone describe it to them over the phone. So there are rough descriptions of the races and weapons but they are half wrong and completely unhelpful.
Also, I'm old enough to remember when you could still get manuals when you rented the games. I used to copy a lot of info out of the manuals and make my own manuals. I still have these. I remember finding them about a year ago.
Jurassic Park map (I LOVED the SNES Jurassic Park game)
Those. Are. Amazing.
I love finding stuff written by players from back in the day and trying out their old passwords and stuff. I made a thread here last year when I found a strange chart inside my Game Genie manual and didn't know what game it was from. Turns out that it was several layouts of the card matching game from Super Mario Bros 3. The Mushrooms were just smiley-faces and the coins were just dollar signs so it was pretty hard to recognize. It wasn't until I noticed a pattern I remember from my own efforts back in the day that I realized.
I've actually been preparing to make simple instruction cards for a ton of games, kinda like the old 1-page instructions on rental cases. There are a lot of NES games that just seem unplayable without the instructions so I'm starting there, but there's no way I can play everything. If I ever take it all the way then it's going to have to be a group effort!
Those. Are. Amazing.
Thanks.
I remember being fascinated with the Legend of Zelda manual.
Legend of Zelda
Dragon Warrior
Ninja Gaiden 2
When I was a kid I used to love drawing the cool artwork from these.