This week on Brain Lords special guest MinovskyArticle helps us explore the lost art of the video game manual, the paper portal to the rules, themes, and stories of worlds beyond. Aka that thing you used to read on the way home from Blockbuster. Why did the manual die out and what is the future of guides? In this jam packed episode we spend over an hour alone gushing about some of the most breathtaking manuals described in detail for our audio audience.
Questions, Comments, Suggestions?
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THINGS DISCUSSED
Wonder Festival at Momocon, Zimmerit aka Colony Drop, The Okefenokee Swamp, The Great Dismal Swamp
So why did games have manuals? (0:21:08)
When did we start seeing the decline of the video game manual? (0:36:47)
Ultima Series, Illusion of Gaia, Final Fantasy IX, Darkstalkers, Brave Fencer Musashi
Is a manual even needed anymore? (0:50:23)
20XX/30XX, Super Mario RPG Remake, Super Mario Odyssey
Game Ratings: Video Game Comic Tie-ins (1:02:48)
Super Mario Adventures, Shinkiro - Fatal Fury, Jademan Comics - Street Fighter, Elden Ring Manga, Megaman: Fully Charged, Pitor Kowalski - Bloodborne, Maken X, Shadows of the Damned, Danganronpa The Manga
What is the purpose of the modern manual? (1:28:40)
The Banished Vault, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Blue Prince, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, Blazblue, Mario Odyssey, Silksong Journal, Hand Drawn Guides
What is the ideal video game manual? (1:47:33)
Secret of Mana, Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Donkey Kong Country, Lunar Silver Star Story Complete, We Love Katamari, WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames!, Contact, ChucksGuides.com, Infocom Games - Zork, Wario World, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Pokemon Red and Blue, Earthbound, Mother 3, The Legend of Zelda, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Racoonus, Super Mario RPG, Cubivore, Snatcher, Oddworld: Abe’s Oddyssee, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Link's Awakening Japanese Manual
The Question Zone (2:43:14)
Ghost and Goblins, Dragon Quest, King of Fighters, Kirby series, Super Mario World 2, Super Smash Bros Melee, Ninja Gaiden (2004), Megaman X2, Ys Book 1&2, Kid Icarus, Into the Breach, Simon’s Quest, Hades, Etrian Odyssey series, Shin Megami Tensei Series.
I've been replaying the second Klonoa game recently for a partner, and oftentimes they'll have questions about the setting or monsters that I'll tend to just go "Oh yeah, there was something about that in the US manual," and it made me recall how badly I missed having supplemental information like that just come with the game. So my question is: Do you have a favorite game manual with a feature like a map or bestiary? This will probably come up in the pod itself too, but what are some of your favorite pieces of information to see included in manuals? Does it have any effect on how you engage with the title you're playing once you're able to start? I find they always managed to whet my appetite but this is already multiple questions and pretty long so I'm going to submit it. Thanks, have a good one! Hope today goes well. - Lili
Does anyone have any memories of a game manual sending them on a wild goose chase? -John Gaming
You ever have a crazy video game manual story? I walked into a store once saw a ps1 re2 manual and the owner told me I could just take it. - TheFool
Some of the video rental places in my town would give you the actual manual with the game and I can remember the feeling popping to the back and seeing who had left notes or passwords for the next renter. It was a really cool analogue kind of feel being helped out or helping random kids in your neighborhood with your tips. Any times where a mysterious note in a manual saved your ass ?
Do you have a piece of art that lives rent free in your head from a manual ? Mine will always be the Zelda artwork in the NES manuals - Gavadon
When I was a kid our family was stuck with a 286 as game specs marched into the 486 and pentium era, but somehow I'd ended up with a copy of Sim City 2000 I got through a PC magazine subscription. I was fascinated with the manual for it. One hundred and forty pages, detailed explanations of everything and a set of essays and artwork at the back. When we finally upgraded I finally got to make good on all those years of hoping. Genuinely one of my most treasured books as a kid. I remember A-Train, also from Maxis, had a similarly sized manual also with technical specs for trains, essays and poetry, but since I was able to play it on a 286 there wasn't that same degree of importance in my childhood. - Cliomancer
Beyond maps and the attempts at injecting story into early 8-bit games that often didn't have enough room for even vague gestures at cutscenes, I really loved when video game manuals would include EVERY ITEM in the game with what I can only assume was concept art of the item in question. I really love Dracula's Heart from the Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest manual because it looks like a weird little bean. What are some of *your* favorites? Extremely hype for the episode, much love - D
P.S. It is still wild to me that the Simon's Quest manual includes common enemy illustrations under the heading "Dracula's Best Buddies" - Dia "SORCERIAN IS THE BEST TO EVER DO IT" Lacina
When I got my copy of Astro Bot on launch day, I was pleasantly surprised to see that one side of the double-sided poster that came with the game also served as an instruction manual in the form of a comic. What was the last major release in the past decade or so that you were surprised came with a manual, and do you think posters are an acceptable replacement for them? -REDRUM DUMDUM
The manual for Pokemon Red/Blue, as well as the pack-in player's guide for Earthbound, gave a real sense of visiting and exploring another world before starting the game proper. As in, you're not just flipping on a game to be beaten, you're an active tourist who will be rewarded for paying attention. Meanwhile, the in-game manual for Tunic plays on that familiarity as the player gradually retrieves a couple pages at at time referring to an adventure already in progress.
MY QUESTION for the podcast: is there a game manual you especially wish would have been more immersive toward its setting? A game whose players screamed out for verisimilitude but were silenced by a simple controller diagram? - Rant Howard
Sometimes the monster drawings in the manual have little resemblance to the sprites in the game. Are there any monster designs from a manual you’d like to see given a fresh interpretation in a game? -Peony Pete
The Rec Room (3:07:44)
Elemental Gimmick Gear, American Graffiti, Backrooms, Mina The Hollower, The Adventures of Elliot, The Legend of Kamui
