mach7
Pikpik Carrot
Support The Videogame Industry Say No to Pirates (Captain Syrup excluded)
Posts: 103
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Post by mach7 on Jun 26, 2008 2:09:00 GMT -5
Let me begin by explaining how I got this topic in a classic game manual way, My diary: I was in the loo doing a number 2, and i happened to find a game manual, just lying nearby so i decided to read it (i need reading material) that after an idea sparked in my head, "cool!!,game manuals really add an in depth plot line to the story. So I am asking what would it be like to have the game, but lack the game manual?".
Well there, I just wanted to see what you guys would think, if we didn't have game manuals explaining the plot, yeah this topic is kinda confusing, so let me give some examples:
Without the Manual would we ba able to:
Wario land 4: Princess Shokora's name ( would we ever know her name without the manual, her name is not even on the official Wariol and 4 website)
Super Mario Land 6 golden coins: Wario's goal, and link to SML (Wario hired the alien tatanga for the greater purpose of taking over Mario's Castle, only explained in the game manual)
Warioware Inc: Early character description and personalities towards/ against Wario only in the game manual)
Super Mario Land: The name of the invader Tatanga ( never revealed in the game, only in the manual)
As we see in the examples listed above, we would never know the names of some enemies/ allies, and additional plot during the earlier games, if it weren't for the game manual!! so support the video game industry and don't buy pirated games ( NO MANUAL INCLUDED in pirated stuff)
Okay peeps any additional information anyone would like to add towards the importance of game manuals?, asides from cd keys, etc?
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Post by Fryguy64 on Jun 26, 2008 2:18:10 GMT -5
Sure! I've always doodled on things, but Nintendo manuals were my first source of proper drawing inspiration. They're probably the reason I continued drawing long past my childhood. I am hugely disappointed in manuals these days. It says a lot that as games have become more complicated, game manuals have turned into data tables and diagrams - whereas back in the day you would get an overview of characters and enemies, full colour illustrations and so on. Now if you want that kind of thing you have to buy the strategy guide.
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Post by TV Eye on Jun 26, 2008 8:07:12 GMT -5
Wow Fry! That's exactly how I was!
I bought X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse and I drew all the characters shown in the manual.
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Post by wanderingshadow on Jun 26, 2008 8:17:22 GMT -5
I'm poor, so I buy a lot of my games used and sometimes that means no manual. The games I do have manuals for, I read the manuals cover-to-cover.
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Post by Hiker of Games on Jun 26, 2008 12:08:49 GMT -5
Back in the day I used to read the manuals obsessively. Usually after I got the game and while on the way home. Lately I don't ever look at them until I need game play information. I guess the fact that no one drives me to get my games probably has something to do with it. I have yet to master driving and reading at the same time.
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mach7
Pikpik Carrot
Support The Videogame Industry Say No to Pirates (Captain Syrup excluded)
Posts: 103
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Post by mach7 on Jun 26, 2008 12:45:38 GMT -5
Well, It's good to see people appreciating game manuals, until today.
But what I really want to know, if you peeps agree/ disagree that without the game manuals, we would not know the important story lines of the games?, some exceptions to this include pokemon ( prof oak gives an introduction thats why, but I'm referring to some game like Super Mario Land, where the game play does not have plot info whatsoever, unless the game manual for that specific game is read)
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Post by mrmolecule on Jun 26, 2008 13:00:29 GMT -5
I actually have WarioWare, but it didn't come with a manual (from eBay). I remember coming here to look for it... What's most disappointing today is when you get a nice, thick manual, only to discover it's a small manual in half a dozen languages.
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Flint
Bubbles
Im the one and only FLINT
Posts: 482
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Post by Flint on Jun 26, 2008 17:48:17 GMT -5
Most Nes and lots of Snes and GB games had the story in the manual, like since there was no place to put in the games themselves (like how Zelda II had a greatly expanded Story in the manual). There its also the infamous Letter in the Manual of Star Tropics, wich you needed to wet to get a password for the game.
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Post by Dry Mario on Jun 26, 2008 18:47:11 GMT -5
I loved reading manuals for all that details and the fact that sometimes it was the only way to learn all the moves that the game needed. Now every single game has the tutorial incorporated to the story errasing the need of the manual except to look at the art. In the opposite way, I must add that I downloaded Sin & Punishment from the VC recently... I had no clue of what was going on. Granted, the story was contained in the manual, and the manual was not included in the Wii Service Menu. So that's the other downside of manuals, they might think that people actually read them (or have them) and not include important info.
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Post by 8bitretroshit on Jun 27, 2008 1:55:21 GMT -5
I like old manuals, I enjoyed reading them and look at the badguy artwork and read the description of items/powerups with little images accompanying them. Nowadays most games have a tutorial of some sort so reading through them isn't necessary, plus they got rid of the images so it's boring as hell.
Also I recently got that Baby Upa Disk System game, came with a manual. Apparently the baby's a prince of somekind of fantasy kingdom and he accidentally knocked down a vase containing an evil demiguy (didn't Stafy do this too?) who stole all the kingdom's babies. And he sets out to save them. If it wasn't for the manual's 10 page comic telling the backstory I figured it was just some chubby baby crawling through different food worlds because he's hungry or whatever.
So there you have it, yes they were important to plotlines 'n all back in the 8bit days.
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Post by Da Robot on Jun 29, 2008 0:25:11 GMT -5
I have also enjoyed reading game manuals and I read everyone before I started playing a game up until I got the Wii. The manuals for older titles were very important for the game in the small story that they would contain. I was also disaponted with having black and white manuals instead of full colours ones. An example of this would be Star Wars Rouge Squadron III: Rebel Strike when it's predessor (RSII:RL) contained a colour manual.
But it's good to hear some games such as Drill Dozer contain small comic books in their manuals, nice to hear that some modern games keep the old traditions alive.
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Post by TV Eye on Jun 29, 2008 0:54:41 GMT -5
But it's good to hear some games such as Drill Dozer contain small comic books in their manuals, nice to hear that some modern games keep the old traditions alive. Don't the Metal Gear Solid game manuals have comics? I know 2 and 3 did...
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