In fact, no matter which one I play, I only ever seem to get a handful of levels in before I bail because I become hopelessly stuck.
That includes, of course, the game that's the focus of this blog post, 1994's Lolo no Daibouken (Lolo's Great Adventure, basically).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgrYH-o_kxkHrq7QVPAF6lKfElQyQotQLOIsHILEjKpcEqavh00EMsgPOQ2Bhg6D0AwcXN1RxI4NpMiFVSd5p4dJ9mcVkiu03LuygbwmHqPxReL5pryk4fao1pySN5HSqfU4Pd-Q/s400/fullsizeoutput_ba6.jpeg)
Thankfully, I was pretty sure that would be the case when I bought the copy that provided me with the instruction manual you see here.
Speaking of this manual, it was one of the main reasons I picked up Lolo no Daibouken. So many Japanese GameBoy instruction booklets have blown me away in recent years; surely this one would continue that trend, right?
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDW7-6G55CnE2JdjFrp5CqYlWhwgktIfJCv62mdksOSio85wt1pFFMYRDX2wZ8Rn9LC0tmA5It5wgxkMlAlQ98gv53TsHfPBIyslYScAduCoGV5A5W2pnjPQ20zs94oVbRubwIYA/s400/fullsizeoutput_ba8.jpeg)
Sadly, I can't say it does. The Lolo no Daibouken manual is by no means a dud, but it's also not as fabulous as I expected it to be.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgthIVl-MJHrCcTr4GI680MQUHTTtSI8npmim1bAD0raI74CGyXmgt9AzcFzWYz-3oJjxOryU18Wa_5QNTSsui7O-NrJtaSp4Ph8RMcjSXVI5yl4nboQeqiXrJxKVcvs4ZHIyjtXQ/s400/fullsizeoutput_baa.jpeg)
It certainly gets off to a good start, with the beautiful cover that can be seen in the first scan above.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZTpZT9yQjaVWU5zH4IZnUmDN5aQ7VyAv7p4DoSrlW7op7FGkfSrH48xJrKGfTbefOF8FFIlaSoCTEiyCbX0htchzV6X7OePjUcccwBUGAr67Ny_6wcVVuxsynbDgtp6wIq_WBfw/s400/fullsizeoutput_bac.jpeg)
After that, though, there's nary an illustration of Lolo or Lala to be found--other than the one that appears in the upper-left corner of nearly every page.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgboWB3FAh-6TDqzGYZfepQRM3uCdGzC8g8udCO6Rgj1CmIPVlD9dF3k2bEpkWQMbVzr2ydXmb9j-dDoYgOJlVvbS2jZ2M5u9BclS0_mQjFFKFTCB1HMrDzE2uFFM5oQI5EpKQ-4A/s400/fullsizeoutput_bae.jpeg)
That's quite a missed opportunity on the part of publisher Imagineer, if you ask me. I can't help but wonder if the manual that accompanied the game's European release, which was published by Nintendo in 1995, is better in this regard or if it's similarly disappointing.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicv7TOlpEJ5x50mEzkV7vnQvMamIIFPiD1UfiVu-7S9zqv4Ny6PLFB5eVLNRtr122iLxpvnFDcqnNDNTrfUwX9Lee8FjPmB5Fy_rzquRpQXh85dLzES8b_6nBG6PqGYu6Tjz_uxw/s400/fullsizeoutput_bb0.jpeg)
Oh, well, at least readers get to ogle a bunch of rose-tinged screenshots, right?
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU2quY6HHIV-z9ah-2cJQwjOMG5uFQupZPrjny4S8lxFqY-Soj-S6VeRnvw_5DffZvML3fOn7afiljRBJHVtI9YLcpdS0qkClIg_gR-KC3WU1sZdxEEyaRISKOrsLNL0elgeHGtA/s400/fullsizeoutput_bb2.jpeg)
I say that somewhat facetiously, although I've also got to admit some of the screen grabs that are used near the end of the Lolo no Daibouken manual are pretty darn nice.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgowR0pRNEVvSjcHW__HKK7noM0SWm4lwVpy1LqcEKm7N9SUouzFSPTnZDBtD-CcHykj75-nnw92j8hS8vLauLNKn8VNcEEuvFB-9odSQnNoJbmgpr2Sv1O1m6DkpMriSCorpsK6w/s400/fullsizeoutput_bb4.jpeg)
Unsurprisingly, perhaps, I like the ones of the game's enemies the best. Still, I would've preferred seeing those baddies depicted using good old pen and ink.
Now that you've had a chance to take it all in, what do you think of the Lolo no Daibouken instruction manual? And what do you think of the game itself--if you've ever played it?
See also: previous 'Manual Stimulation' posts about Bubble Bobble Junior, Penguin Land, Snow Bros. Jr., and Tumblepop