Sure, some of them are absolute stinkers, but a good percentage of them--like this one, included with Hakuhodo's PlayStation oddity Mad Panic Coaster--are the complete opposite thanks to their silly backstories and top-shelf illustrations.
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| Manual for the Atari 2600 version of Ms. Pac-Man |
Because I own a number of examples of the latter (i.e., non-stinker manuals), I've decided I'm going to scan them and then share them here--along with some hopefully witty commentary--over the next few weeks, months and (maybe) years.
Anyway, as I'm sure you've already surmised thanks to the headline above, all of these posts will be grouped together henceforth under the oh-so-mature header of "Manual Stimulation."
8 comments:
What an awesome idea, Bryan!
I've always been a fan of great game manuals but now they seem to be a dying breed. I mean, really, look at all these modern games which include basically two pages as a "manual"! I'm especially fond of the really beefy manuals that came with games from time to time :).
Hey there, Marcus -- and thanks! I'm glad you like the idea. I'll be posting the first installment in this "series" in just a few minutes, by the way.
Anyway, yes, I agree with you -- good instruction manuals are, sadly, a dying breed. That's why I want to showcase and discuss them here.
I decided to go ahead with this series, BTW, while flipping through the pages of a manual for a game that I don't like very much (Barunba, for the PC Engine). Even though the game sucks, its manual doesn't -- so I thought I should let people know about that.
Anyway, hopefully you and others will get a kick out of these posts :)
My pickup of solatorobo had an interesting manual
Ah, I remember seeing your Barunba post a few days ago. It's really enjoyable to see games that have had really nice manuals (especially ones in color!). Now you're making me want to crack open some old manuals and see if any are really great.
Ah, that's great to hear, Motherplayer! Honestly, I agree with Marcus when he says good manuals are a dying breed.
Also, you're reminding me that I *really* have to grab Solotorobo at some point...
Yes, Marcus, go back and look at some of those old manuals. Some of them will suck, but some will surprise you, I'm sure. I fully expected the Barunba one to suck, for instance, but it's the complete opposite!
I love it. Can't wait. My favorite manual of all time is the one for Super Mario Bros. It comes complete with sweetly strange illustrations, and even weirder descriptions of the enemies. Who knew Bowser was an evil sorcerer and that all the blocks were made of the mushroom people?
Ah, yes, the Super Mario Bros. manual! I wish I still had my US copy of that game -- and all of my other NES games. Oh, well. I have the Famicom version, but I honestly haven't looked at its manual yet. I wonder if it's the same or similar to the US one?
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