The Lost Art of the Video Game Instruction Manual
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- Опубликовано: 15 сен 2024
- Hi everyone, it's Dutchess! Today I'll be discussing video game instruction manuals. In this video, I'm talking about instruction booklets enhanced the gaming experience and how it is a feature that is noticeably absent in the modern gaming sphere. If you enjoyed it, let me know and be sure to leave a like and subscribe!
Timestamps:
▶ 0:37 - Enhanced Gaming
▶ 2:07 - Provides Narrative
▶ 3:15 - Nurtured Devotion
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As one who began gaming in the late 90s, I have a fascination with instruction manuals.
I consider myself lucky to have grown up in the middle of the Nintendo 64 era. My enduring love for the Super Mario series was due in large part to the rich manuals throughout the first jump to 3D.
In particular, I love seeing the official render art of various Mario characters. Luigi, Bowser, Yoshi, Peach, and Daisy looked great in the N64 generation. I also like how beefy the Donkey Kong 64 manual is with its contents, complete with snarky statements from Cranky Kong.
I am a huge fan of Mario sports and Mario Party games. Their manuals up until the Wii era often show off the starting playable rosters alongside the maps you open up with in-game. Occasionally, they tease some hidden content, but more often than not I would have to find out how to obtain the unlockables in the actual games.
As time went on, instruction manuals became more and more obsolete. Indeed, by the time the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U rolled along, Mario games often came with abridged "action guides". One noted exception is Super Smash Bros. 4; both the 3DS and Wii U versions have a manual that highlights all the default fighters, each with their respective colors. A nice one!
If I ever want to relive some classic gaming memories, I am more than happy to crack open some manuals. The Wii U has a neat feature that allows you to look at classic instruction booklets for Virtual Console games on the N64, GBA, and DS. In addition, I enjoy skimming through certain strategy guides as "king-sized" manuals, but I digress.
Solid video.
Instruction Manuals were awesome! It really sucks they don't make them anymore. Very few games these have instruction manuals. It was fun to read more about the game's lore or the character's bios.
My favourite manuals have to be the Grand Theft Auto manuals. The attention to detail was amazing! I can't tell you the amount of times I have purchased a retro game and have no idea what the controls are as the manual wasn't included 🤣
I miss the golden era of gaming :(
Nice! I wanna go and check out a GTA manual now. XD My siblings and I weren't allowed to play it when we were kids so I never got a decent look at the manual. No time like the present, though. :) And I totally get what you mean! Like I mentioned in the video, tutorials were sparse in games back then so people really did need the manual to get the rundown on what to do lol. I miss this era of gaming, too. Thanks a bunch for watching my video! I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)
Interesting topic. I don't think I've seen anyone talk about this yet. I have a stack of Ps3 and Xbox 360 gameboxes with all kinds of insightful booklets. I specifically remember always looking through the one for Halo Reach. As always, great work. 👍
Yeah, you get it! There always used to be so many helpful tips and tricks in those manuals lol. I remember I kept going back to the Super Mario 64 DS manual for some reason when I was a kid. I think my problem was that I kept forgetting how to long jump. XD Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment. :)
Yeah the Halo manuals are all pretty thick too, they all have pages with pictures of the different weapons and enemies, and little paragraphs of lore for each. Really good manuals.
I have a core memory of smelling a used copy of super mario galaxy 2’s manual on the ride home.
Fun times 👍
Haha! I love those types of really distinctive memories. I remember smelling the manual for one of my old DS games and that smell has lingered with me ever since. Thanks so much for watching, friend! :)
Yeah I always used to read the manual on the ride home too. As a kid I'd often only buy a game if I was out on a big family shopping trip, so after hours of having to wait for my family to finish their shopping I'd usually be feeling quite impatient to get home and actually play it lol.
Wow, these videos are so high quality but you have hardly any following yet. I know you are bound to take off soon!
Thank you so much, you're very kind! :) I'm glad you've been enjoying my videos. I'm always looking for ways to improve, so if you ever have any suggestions or comments, feel free to share them. Thank you for the sub, too! :D