Brickman | 4,187 Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 I've been reading through the Japanese manuals of games I've been playing for my backlog this year. It's a great way for me to improve my Japanese and has been pretty fun to read through them to see how things are named in Japan vs the west e.g some Mario Bros characters. Who here also likes to read their manuals? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloves | 12,231 Administrator · Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 I love reading manuals. Totally Rad has one of my favourites. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bearcat-Doug | 5,116 Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 I never read them much as a kid because I liked to figure everything out on my own, but now I'm more likely to read them since I don't have the time or energy to play a game without knowing how it works. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfreakofkorn | 300 Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 I always gave it a go in reading them along w chequing out the artwork Even liked reading the plot s in them 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeatherRebel5150 | 1,089 Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 Ive been big on picking up manuals in recent years and love to read them 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickman | 4,187 Posted September 3, 2023 Author Share Posted September 3, 2023 20 minutes ago, Jfreakofkorn said: I always gave it a go in reading them along w chequing out the artwork Even liked reading the plot s in them Yeah this is pretty handy for RPG's, especially older ones, because you get a good backstory sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Count | 593 Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 Only for Home Improvement (SNES). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Code Monkey | 2,122 Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 I had no idea you could use the Tanooki suit to turn into a statue until I had been playing the game for quite some time and finally read the manual. Nobody had ever mentioned it to me before that. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiztor | 904 Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 when i was a kid, i would obsess over the manuals. even the generic one-pagers that came with rented NES games. it was just another way to live in that world. nowadays, i will usually quickly breeze through them if i pick up a new game (big IF it even comes with s booklet) or a new-to-me game (disc based only). IMO the loss of manuals is a significant decline in the gaming world. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcgamer | 4,965 Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 4 hours ago, twiztor said: IMO the loss of manuals is a significant decline in the gaming world. Yes! The manual was basically the appetizer for the car ride home, or to entertain yourself while Pops was in Lowes or whatever, building up more excitement for getting home and trying out the game. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickman | 4,187 Posted September 4, 2023 Author Share Posted September 4, 2023 43 minutes ago, fcgamer said: Yes! The manual was basically the appetizer for the car ride home, or to entertain yourself while Pops was in Lowes or whatever, building up more excitement for getting home and trying out the game. Glad to hear I wasn’t the only kid doing that. I used to carry my manuals around with me when we would go shopping or on road trips and read them so I could still get a taste of the game even if I couldn’t play it right now 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkTone | 1,007 Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 Yeah. Shame those days are over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickman | 4,187 Posted September 4, 2023 Author Share Posted September 4, 2023 12 minutes ago, DarkTone said: Yeah. Shame those days are over. There’s still thousands of manuals to read of old games it does suck that they don’t print them anymore though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumez | 3,134 Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 I used to love reading the manual whenever I got a new game as a kid. But when getting new old games nowadays I never read the manual unless there's something I really need to clear up. And I just look for the thing I need, I don't read the entire thing. Kinda sad, I'll admit. And even though I usually don't read them, I do miss manuals in modern game releases. The worst case is indie games which actually do have an online PDF manual, and then a company like, say, LRG, makes a physical print of the game but don't include the manual. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcgamer | 4,965 Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 1 hour ago, Sumez said: I used to love reading the manual whenever I got a new game as a kid. But when getting new old games nowadays I never read the manual unless there's something I really need to clear up. And I just look for the thing I need, I don't read the entire thing. Kinda sad, I'll admit. And even though I usually don't read them, I do miss manuals in modern game releases. The worst case is indie games which actually do have an online PDF manual, and then a company like, say, LRG, makes a physical print of the game but don't include the manual. I always receive my games to a post office box near my work. So I'll swing by at lunchtime to receive any packages. Then in the afternoon when my students are eating their snacks, I'll generally thumb through the manuals and what not, building up anticipation for when I arrive home and can actually sit down and game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki | 5,085 Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 Yes so I get them when I can still as they're a great blast to the past. The info often in there outside the controls is helpful or at least cheesy to look at with stories the games lack, character names, hand drawn stuff etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulpa | 3,677 Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 It was the only way I knew you could play as the duck in Duck Hunt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nesmaster14 | 464 Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 (edited) Yes, I think particular with older games when ROM space was premium, I'd consider it vital to the full experience of a game. Useful reference info, tips, and supplemental entertainment. There's surprisingly a lot of useful info that seems obscure even to this day. For instance, the manuals for Abadox and Thundercade both recommend using Turbo controllers to play. Nowhere else would you know that except if you read the manual. On top of its usefulness, I also find many NES manuals very charming; there wasn't a real standard so many have their own personality and quirks, from gameplay photography, graphic design/layout, character illustrations, to creative gameplay and backstory descriptions. One standout for me was Totally Rad (NES), with its use of real photographs seemingly of folks from the company, with fourth wall dialogue throughout. It's unusual but fun. I can say that about a lot of NES manuals, they're not as dry as one may expect. Edited September 4, 2023 by nesmaster14 formatting 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Pac | 7,835 Graphics Team · Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 As someone who plays a fair amount of Atari 2600, I find that reading those manuals can be borderline essential. Without notation on the switch-settings and controls, a lot of those games can be impossible to figure out on your own. I'm a loose-cart collector, but if I'm interested in an Atari game that isn't straightforward and doesn't have an explanatory review from someone like the NoSwearGamer on YouTube, I try to pick up the manual with it so I know what I'm doing when I play. [T-Pac] 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AirVillain | 532 Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 Yes. Reading the NES manuals is fucking hilarious. Also quite helpful. I especially like games that I am kinda good at but a little tip here or there would really be handy (aka what icons are ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPX | 1,402 Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 I loved reading manuals back in the 90s. I saw both playing the games and reading the manuals gives you their full experience and value. Nowadays, I’m more collector-driven and only like staring at manuals but not open them as to preserve their original state. So maybe a philosophical take, the difference between a gamer and a collector is how much they’re willing to dig their fingernails onto the inner pages of manuals? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefaultGen | 5,714 Posted September 5, 2023 Share Posted September 5, 2023 I always read A manual (PDF, etc.), not always my physical copy if it’s not in a jewel case or something. I’ve been gotcha’d too many times with some obscure missing info I would’ve got from the manual. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-type | 2,790 Posted September 5, 2023 Share Posted September 5, 2023 10 hours ago, T-Pac said: As someone who plays a fair amount of Atari 2600, I find that reading those manuals can be borderline essential. Without notation on the switch-settings and controls, a lot of those games can be impossible to figure out on your own. Yes. There’s plenty of Atari games where you won’t be able to play it properly just by jumping in blind. A few NES games are like this too, but those tend to be more intuitive more often 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRobot | 6,011 Events Team · Posted September 5, 2023 Share Posted September 5, 2023 I always read the manual the first time I open a game before I play it. I'll occasionally come back to them, particularly if I am going to take a serious stab at a game that I haven't played for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNESNESCUBE64 | 605 Posted September 5, 2023 Share Posted September 5, 2023 (edited) Reading the manual is a requirement in the arcade/pinball scene and is typically the first thing I reference when I run into issues. It typically answers questions about the machines and many have the schematics. Some good manuals also have detailed troubleshooting steps and theory of operation. They are a good read. That said, there is absolutely no way 85% of people on this site read their video game manuals. Be honest! Edited September 5, 2023 by SNESNESCUBE64 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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