Booklet Data Base?

[Pikmin Overlord]

Gaia's manual is anomalous in that it is not only a manual, but also a strategy guide and walkthrough all in one.  It tells the location of all the red jewels as well as step-by-step how to beat the game.  I have no idea why Enix did this and I can't think of another game that does this.  It's no wonder the thing is so many pages long.

The Wizardry manuals for NES are also rather thick, as are most of the Koei games (although these aren't full-height manuals like Wizardry).

I believe the strategy in the IoG manual was provided by Nintendo Power, so there could be a couple of different reasons for its inclusion. Much like how Nintendo sold Earthbound with a Player's Guide, perhaps they were still under the impression that such RPG/Adventure games were a little too difficult for North American audiences (Squaresoft instead created an entirely different Final Fantasy game to address this notion). It could also have been a promotional thing for Nintendo Power. Or, perhaps they just didn't have enough material to publish a full 96/120+ page Player's Guide on the game, and opted to go with this.

Since Illusion of Gaia was actually developed by Enix but published by Nintendo, I have to think that they probably felt that they wanted to ensure that their customers would not be left struggling with the game.

[Plainsongs]

 removing staples isn't required to get quality scans for preservation.

See, that's how I feel, too. I've never had any problems with scanning anything in, and the few booklet manuals I've scanned in and used as reference and such have been fine and just as mint as when they went in to the scanner.

I'd gladly start SNES and N64 myself, though, I only kept a core set of favorite games for each (about 60 per console) and sold off the extra games quite some time ago (and extra manuals finally earlier this year).

We'll just have to keep our eyes open for some manuals that are circulating then. I'd love to get my hands on a copy of the Illusion of Gaia-manual, and besides, being the nerd that I am, I'd probably make a manual out of that to have at hand and archive the old one in a safe place....

larryinc64: I'd really appreciate it if you could cough up some pictures for referencing, that would be awesome!

[larryinc64]

Gaia's manual is anomalous in that it is not only a manual, but also a strategy guide and walkthrough all in one.  It tells the location of all the red jewels as well as step-by-step how to beat the game.  I have no idea why Enix did this and I can't think of another game that does this.  It's no wonder the thing is so many pages long.

Dragon Warrior, when given out free through Nintendo Power had a guide too, the size of a SNES manual, I have that too, and can scan because it folds flat well.

I'll get some picture for reference. The guide is actually not very helpful on some things. I needed help in one part, because I got the second song and had no idea what to do next ad the guide skipped over it. I had to go back to a area and kill a statue. Also I kind of find it funny on what to do with the worker that ran away, it says to "Be a skunk and turn the poor guy in"
I'll post a list of all my NES, SNES and N64 manuals. Some I may not scan in full due to the condition. But will scan front an back.

[WolfAlmighty]

Gaia's manual is anomalous in that it is not only a manual, but also a strategy guide and walkthrough all in one.  It tells the location of all the red jewels as well as step-by-step how to beat the game.  I have no idea why Enix did this and I can't think of another game that does this.  It's no wonder the thing is so many pages long.

Dragon Warrior, when given out free through Nintendo Power had a guide too, the size of a SNES manual, I have that too, and can scan because it folds flat well.

I'll get some picture for reference. The guide is actually not very helpful on some things. I needed help in one part, because I got the second song and had no idea what to do next ad the guide skipped over it. I had to go back to a area and kill a statue. Also I kind of find it funny on what to do with the worker that ran away, it says to "Be a skunk and turn the poor guy in"

Yeah, but the DW book was a separate entity and not part of the manual itself, as DW has its own normal-sized manual as well.

I'm not sure how helpful the walkthrough to Gaia was as I didn't even discover it until I'd already finished the game in earnest, but I just thought it was funny how they gave the location of all the jewels, essentially spoiling the entire minigame, although to be fair they did put up a big warning page before that section so you wouldn't accidentally spoil anything for yourself.

Also, I didn't realise that Gaia was published by Nintendo.  SoulBlazer wasn't so I didn't think the sequel would have been, but that's interesting to know.

[larryinc64]

I did not know Illusion of Gaia was a sequel. Is it necessary to play SoulBlazer first? I am quite a bit into Gaia, I only started playing it yesterday.

NES:
Blaster Master
Castlequest
Dragon Warrior (Travelers Guide)
Duck Hunt
Fisher-Price: I Can Remember
Fisher-Price: Perfect Fit
Mario Bros.
NARC
Nintendo World Cup
Pro Wrestling
Super Mario Bros. 1,2 & 3
Total Recall

SNES:
Battletoads in Battlemaniacs
Doomsday Warrior
Gods
Illution Of Gaia + Posters
Super Gameboy
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Mario Paint
Super Mario World

N64:
NFL Quarterback Club '98
Yoshi Story + Controls Card

Game Boy/Color:
Tiny Toon Adventures: Wacky Sports
Donkey Kong Country
E.T. Digital Companion
Game & Watch Gallery 2
Pokémon Crystal

Genesis:
Aladdin
Cool Spot
G-Loc Air Battle
Jurassic Park
Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures Of Mickey Mouse
Sonic The Hedgehog 1&2

[Plainsongs]

I'm not sure how helpful the walkthrough to Gaia was as I didn't even discover it until I'd already finished the game in earnest, but I just thought it was funny how they gave the location of all the jewels, essentially spoiling the entire minigame, although to be fair they did put up a big warning page before that section so you wouldn't accidentally spoil anything for yourself.

Also, I didn't realise that Gaia was published by Nintendo.  SoulBlazer wasn't so I didn't think the sequel would have been, but that's interesting to know.

That's my best memory of the manual, that it was spoiling and not really helping. My absolute favorite part though, of IoG, hands down will forever be the fact that there are only 13 healing herbs in the whole game, and if you happen to be an excited kid going through the labyrinth in Mu, you will have 0 left and curse like a sailor when you die at the boss.

The Enix/Nintendo-thing was actually quite common; one company makes a game, it's surprisingly profitable -> nintendo buys the publishing rights for the sequel.

I did not know Illusion of Gaia was a sequel. Is it necessary to play SoulBlazer first? I am quite a bit into Gaia, I only started playing it yesterday.

You can play IoG first, I did it that way, too. They're not directly connected so there won't really be a gap in the story if you choose to play them in another order than the official.

[larryinc64]

there are only 13 healing herbs in the whole game,

Fuck, I only defeated 1 boss and i already used 3 or so.

[Arseen]

I did not know Illusion of Gaia was a sequel. Is it necessary to play SoulBlazer first? I am quite a bit into Gaia, I only started playing it yesterday.

And to blow your mind Terranigma is the 3rd game in the serie.

Anyway I'm in proggress of uploading PDF versions of SNES manuals to my Mediafire.
They are collected from the internet.
They are reasdable and some are even near printable.

Collection big so uploading will take hours.

They will be here eventually in 7 files:
http://www.mediafire.com/?519h62divsr7l

NES folder is complete already.

[WolfAlmighty]

Terranigma was never released stateside unfortunately, but yes it's the sequel to Gaia.  IMO SoulBlazer is the better game of the two overall, but like Plainsongs said it's not necessary to play it prior to playing Gaia since the stories aren't connected at all.  Both are great games, though.  The difference being that if the final boss in Soulblazer is giving you trouble, just spend a half hour to an hour grinding the mirror enemies outside his lair and gain a boatload of levels and you can beat him that way.  Gaia's final boss you have to beat fair (well, mostly fair, depending on how you feel about abusing temporary invincibility while transforming ) and square so there's that, I guess.

[Plainsongs]

depending on how you feel about abusing temporary invincibility while transforming

LOL, that's how my best friend always played Dark Gaia, morphing into a puddle most of the time!

This is why I'd love to have manuals for my games! It just helps with the excitement (seeing  thumbnails of bosses), and it helps create a bond between you and characters and most of all it gives you a background story.

[WolfAlmighty]

LOL, that's how my best friend always played Dark Gaia, morphing into a puddle most of the time!

This is why I'd love to have manuals for my games! It just helps with the excitement (seeing  thumbnails of bosses), and it helps create a bond between you and characters and most of all it gives you a background story.

Oh I hear you, which is why I collect manuals along with my carts.  It actually helps regulate my spending, too, since I won't pick up a game unless it's got the manual to go with it and often times the manuals can be a bitch to find.   I don't think I'd feel the same way about reproductions or reprints, though.  Even if the content is the same, I'd always know it's not authentic and it would feel as though I just went on to GameFAQs or some site and printed out the info.  Having the real deal to go along with the cart is perfect, though admittedly not really cost effective in the long run.  But then again I'm just weird like that so pay no attention to me!

[Plainsongs]

Oh, I completely understand you though, I'm the kid who would always buy two copies of a record at the store to put one away in a black sleeve and save it up! But I think I'd like to have a reproduction to have in my reproduced case and a real copy to store away :>

[WolfAlmighty]

Oh, I completely understand you though, I'm the kid who would always buy two copies of a record at the store to put one away in a black sleeve and save it up! But I think I'd like to have a reproduction to have in my reproduced case and a real copy to store away :>

Yeah, that makes sense.  I'm glad it's what video rental stores ended up doing so that their manuals didn't all get completely munged up by renters.  I used to collect boxes, too (I only collect NES games, not SNES), but they're so flimsy and easily damaged that UGCs just made so much more sense.  The manuals, however, are just perfect tucked inside the plastic cases next to the carts.

[Plainsongs]

Gosh yes, the blockbuster-method is the one that I've been using forever. When I was very, very young, and had very very poor drawing skills, I even drew up the whole Overworld map for the original Zelda (NES), took about 8 full sheets of paper, with grids and squares for every screen! And the best part about that was that I drew as much as I could from the manual, but the two upper corners were marked with question-marks, and so I had to fill them in as I went. Tough times for a little kid!

I actually just started restoring some half-good scans of a IoG-manual, so we'll have to see how it goes, and if it ends up well and somebody wants a copy, I'm perfectly fine with uploading it somewhere for personal use! (if anyone has hq pictures of the manuals, at least the covers, i'd appreciate them.)

[larryinc64]

I'll get you HQ scans of the front,