Strategy Guides

I was going through my stuff yesterday and was somewhat surprised by how many strategy guides I have, despite the fact that I've read hardly any of them. I typically use them for maps, enemy charts, and hidden collectibles I may miss, although I prefer to find out where I'm going and what I'm supposed to be doing by myself.

Yet I've been following a day-by-day guide for my Persona 5 playthrough because I don't have the time or patience to play it more than once, and I want to experience everything it has to offer, something I almost certainly would not do if I played it blind. I do this regularly with visual novels as well to unlock specific endings, and more than once I've looked at trophy guides so I don't miss requirements.


So, when you're stuck at a point in a video game - or even when you aren't - how often do you find yourself resorting to looking up the answer? Are you the kind of person who will buy the strategy guide with a game to have it "just in case" or do you prefer to rely on online guides written by players or gaming websites if you need help? What are your general thoughts towards using guides - do you consider it "cheating" to have the answers handed to you, or are you OK with using them when you feel it necessary?

When I first started gaming, I was so terrible, I literally played the whole thing with a big fat walk-through by my side the whole time.

Eventually I began to notice it took a lot of the fun away as got older and stopped. By that time, guides were becoming anquaited, as now video walk-throughs were common. Still check something if I get stuck, but only if I'm really stuck.

I wasn't old enough to be around when strategy guides were a thing.

I used to read lots of online guides when I first started playing RPGs, stuck or not. It was fun even if it took away the "exploring" aspect of the game. Thankfully, I'm not the kind of person to rely on those anymore. Well, not usually... I'd really rather rack my brain trying to arrive at an answer when playing. Not only does it make the game more fun for me, it also gives me a sense of fulfillment.

I'm not against using guides when it's necessary and I also don't think it's cheating since we all have our own ways to play the games we own.

I generally avoid them, unless I've explored everything and I just want to move on with a part I'm stuck at. Sometimes puzzles can be obscure, and I don't have the patience at times to get through them.

If I want to play through a game to 100% completion, I will use a guide.

Like ZeoStar said, if I want to complete a game 100% and find every item, I'll usually consult a guide.

With Final Fantasy VII, I already knew the entire plot before playing, so I wasn't afraid of spoilers. The guide was incredibly useful for gathering Materia.

I never played Pearl without this nearby:

I like buying a guide for a game I enjoy since I don't mind spoilers. I will more than likely buy a guide when it comes with rpg's big time to assist me on what I need to do to continue a story or to make sure I get the outcomes for a relationship I want in a game.

I usually figure things out of myself one way or another, but when i want to get every little secret and quest, ill look it up cause I can't remember for the life of me where everything could be.

I like buying a guide for a game too