AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted September 28, 2004 See topic. We often take them for granted, some of may even throw them away sometimes. A lot of us like to hate them, though, and hate when EB/Gamestop gets rid of them, since we'd be more likely to buy the games if they had everything with them. However, sometimes the manuals are actually worth reading. Maybe it's actually useful, riddled with mangled Engrish, decent jokes, or is flat out bizarre. Two that come to mind are: the Donkey Kong Country games, filled with wise-ass comments from Cranky Kong which aren't too different from a lot of bitter old-school gamers who diss games for relying on fancy graphics. Ecco the Dolphin's manual...the manual itself isn't the thing, but rather...what's in the very back of them. Anyone who has played the Ecco games probably has an opinion formed about the developers as being tree-hugging hippies, but the back of the manual has an odd, somewhat admirable, if strange appeal... It has a list of recommended books about dolphins. They sure love their dolphins. List yours. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Exslade ZX 0 Report post Posted September 28, 2004 Def Jam Fight for New York's manual...>_> The things like 2 pages. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Astro Report post Posted September 28, 2004 Super Punch Out with the fighters bios Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sfaJack 0 Report post Posted September 28, 2004 The manual for the first Ken Griffey SNES game was pretty cool. It had a timline for the beginning all of the MLB franchises (including moves and name changes), and others bits of info on the game of baseball itself. Much more than your standard game manual. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Special K 0 Report post Posted September 28, 2004 Working Designs' Manuals are always awesome, and usually packed with little jokes. Squaresoft had wonderful manualsfor a while there. The original Final Fantasy came with maps of half the dungeons, stats for every enemy in the game, class charts etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Astro Report post Posted September 28, 2004 The manual for the first Ken Griffey SNES game was pretty cool. It had a timline for the beginning all of the MLB franchises (including moves and name changes), and others bits of info on the game of baseball itself. Much more than your standard game manual. NCAA Football for SNES had something similar with the History of College Football Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Renegade 0 Report post Posted September 28, 2004 People read game manuals? Well the Jpn Sonic CD comes to mind Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Black Lushus 0 Report post Posted September 28, 2004 Red Dead Revolver's manual was always a good toilet read...same with Vice City... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted September 29, 2004 Super Punch Out with the fighters bios Ah yes...sucks I only have the cartridge now. For a brief period I'd stupidly sold my SNES and games... Also, the EWJ manual had plenty of corny jokes and the comic strip. While I loathe the game, KI Gold had a VERY in-depth manual, telling you the basics all the way to the more advanced stuff. Even had a cart with quick-referece move lists, ultimates, supers, etc. I seem to recall the SNES KI manual being really good as well. That's quite a contrast to the SF games' manuals. You'd have basic stuff like special moves and throws/holds described, and they'd vaguely hint at those mysterious things called "combos." Nintendo's manuals always seemed to be better. Usually the SNES ones would be in full color with awesome page layouts/backgrounds. Sega's usually would be black and white on the inside, and they got to the point where even the covers of the manual were cheap-ass xerox-looking paper. Of course, Genesis game boxes kick the asses of SNES ones, so it's a trade off. But once Sega switched to the paper boxes which weren't even half as durable as the SNES ones, that was quite lame. People read game manuals? Well the Jpn Sonic CD comes to mind Since I own Sonic Jam, I'm well aware of how much cooler the Japanese manuals were. The little illustrations in them remind me of the ones that Versus Books had in their SFA2 strat guide. You and I have both established that, while only the game itself matters to you, to me presentation counts for a lot. Does anything released in the US beat the huge leather-bound manuals found in the Lunar 1 and Lunar 2 Complete editions? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Renegade 0 Report post Posted September 29, 2004 Eh...well I did buy a jpn Gunstar heroes just for the art... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted September 29, 2004 Eh...well I did buy a jpn Gunstar heroes just for the art... Heheh--that's cool. Sure beats the US-Alex-Kidd looking crap that's on the US one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anya 0 Report post Posted September 29, 2004 I like how Twisted Metal Black's was written by No-Face. Parappa's fold out poster manual was pretty cool. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted September 29, 2004 I like how Twisted Metal Black's was written by No-Face. From Spirited Away? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Corey_Lazarus 0 Report post Posted September 29, 2004 My favorite manual of all-time is from SNES' Alien 3 game. The game was "blah" at best, but the manual made up for its blandness by having the whole thing written in first-person perspective...by Lt. Ellen Ripley herself. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skywarp! 0 Report post Posted September 29, 2004 Super Mario 2 with all the enemy descriptions and strength/speed comparisons between the 4 playable characters. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubq 0 Report post Posted September 29, 2004 I remember when old WWF games used to include bios of the wrestlers in their manuals.. I'm so glad they got rid of that. They were always riddled with mistakes and errors.. it pissed me off just to know that the developers of the games *cough*ACCLAIM*cough* didn't even know enough about the WWF to get the info correct. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrVenkman PhD 0 Report post Posted September 29, 2004 The GBC version of WWF Attitude had a pretty funny bio of The Godfather as they were trying to keep his character description suitable for all ages. Sadly, all I remember is his finisher being called "The Drop". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted September 29, 2004 I said this before but it bares repeating. Madden '92 was the first time two people could play on the same team, and the manual mentioned this. In Madden '93, the feature was still there, and the manual was a carbon copy of the '92 manual, except for one added paragraph, which said "if one person is unhappy with the playcalling of the other person they should pause the game and talk it over. Disagreements like this should never resort to violence..." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Special K 0 Report post Posted September 29, 2004 I believe Anachronox had a pretty funny manual too. I loved all the happy/violent 50's art in the Fallout games. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Justice 0 Report post Posted September 29, 2004 I believe Anachronox had a pretty funny manual too. I loved all the happy/violent 50's art in the Fallout games. The Fallout games, along with Icewind Dale, will forever have the best opening cutscenes in my opinion. Especial Fallout 2 with "Kiss to Build a Dream On" playing in the background. In all honesty, Baldur's Gate had a huge manual, and reading Volo's and Elminster's own (and often) contradictory commentaries were neat. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Neil-o-Mac 0 Report post Posted September 29, 2004 Bangai-O for the Dreamcast is right up there. Well, the European version anyway: dunno if the manuals in other versions are more sane. I suspect that the Japanese version is equaly bonkers, if not more so. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Special K 0 Report post Posted September 30, 2004 You know, I own that game and never read the manual. If it's anything like the translation in the game though, I imagine it's absolutely jaw-droppingly insane. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrVenkman PhD 0 Report post Posted September 30, 2004 "pushing the B BUTTON causes you to deliver a bodyslam (unless you're the Ultimate Warrior, in which case the move is a power throw)". From the WWF WreslteMania challenge book, I find that funnier than it has any right to be. Courtesy: Vimm's Lair Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Amazing Rando 0 Report post Posted September 30, 2004 From the site Venkman posted: Back to the Future 1 for NES: "Poor Marty McFly, he's not having a very good day. First his friend Professor Emmitt Brown is shot by a bunch of gun-toting crazies, all because he cheated them out of a little plutonium. Then Marty was just barely able to escape using the Prof's new sports car turned time machine." I find the first two sentences to just be the greatest synopsis for the first 20 minutes of that movie ever. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Staravenger Report post Posted September 30, 2004 "Poor Marty McFly, he's not having a very good day. First his friend Professor Emmitt Brown is shot by a bunch of gun-toting crazies, all because he cheated them out of a little plutonium. Then Marty was just barely able to escape using the Prof's new sports car turned time machine." Who wrote this, some 80 year old who never saw the movie? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Toshiaki Koala 0 Report post Posted October 1, 2004 I wonder what kkk thinks of Ecco... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Staravenger Report post Posted October 1, 2004 I wonder what kkk thinks of Ecco... The Ni**er hating Dolphin? They probably love him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted October 3, 2004 You know, I own that game and never read the manual. If it's anything like the translation in the game though, I imagine it's absolutely jaw-droppingly insane. Sadly, the NA version of its manual is rather mundane. Tech Romancer's is kind of odd. From the description of Love & Punch.... "Watch the screen. If Junpei appears, kiss him quick. If a girl appears, give her a tap." ...to the profiles. "G. Kaiser posseses overwhelming power and is made of highly advanced metal, giving great strength to the armor." "Pulsion has achieved legendary status by saving the Earth from impending doom!!" "Bolon was created by its pilot, Polin, who used her magical ability to make this unusual robot" .... "Bolon uses a very unique style of attack." "Its huge sword Zankouken is extremely destructive." "This armored, land-based robot is equipped with heavy artillery capable of inflicting intense damage on an opponent. While this robot cannot jump, he possesses strong armor and devastating weaponry." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Use Your Illusion 0 Report post Posted October 3, 2004 The European release of Metal Gear Solid 2:Sons of Liberty had only a short comic strip for a manual, which very briefly ran over the basics. A more comprehensive manual was located on the bonus disc, that also featured a documentary and the many trailers released prior to hype the game. UYI Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest curry_man2002 Report post Posted October 3, 2004 GTA 3 for ps2 had a strange advertisment page for things in the game (mabitsu thunder, pogo the monkey etc) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
