Video Game Hint Books & Strategy Guides

Pwnyta Jockey

Bees Hate You, Pwnyta!
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    Do you buy them and/or own any?

    Do you feel it necessary to have such a thing handy?

    Ever go to the store to buy a "school subject notebook" for writing your own video game related notes in?

    Most of us have seen gaming magazines for Nintendo or computers. Some magazines are even for certain games, even if in limited quantity.

    As I went through my youth, a number of notebooks have been filled with pokemon related notes. Same thing occurred with my other game intersts such as Kingdom of Loathing, Fable 2, and various titles from the Grand Theft Auto series.
     
    Do you buy them and/or own any?
    Never bought one or owned one.

    Do you feel it necessary to have such a thing handy?
    Well, not really. I like to play my games and figure them out for myself.

    Ever go to the store to buy a "school subject notebook" for writing your own video game related notes in?
    Nope. Never saw the point really. If anyone needed help, I normally remembered what to do and helped them that way.
    I have a good memory when it comes to games.​
    ​
     
    Do you buy them and/or own any?
    I have never bought a strategy guide. I like looking at the pictures, though.

    Do you feel it necessary to have such a thing handy?
    I just use google if I need help, which is often.

    Ever go to the store to buy a "school subject notebook" for writing your own video game related notes in?
    Yes, I used to write down Pokemon IVs when I bred in Emerald. I also used to write down daily events of my Chao (Sonic series). Nowadays, I document such things on my laptop.
     
    I got a walkthrough for Pokemon Red when I bought it for free...or was I tricked into also buying it and never noticed? Well, I don't know. Anyway, it's the only of these things I ever owned, but I do occasionally read some strategy guides on whatever I'm playing on the internets.
     
    Do you buy them and/or own any?
    No. I did have a Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire one once but don't think I bought it myself, and I don't have it anymore.

    Do you feel it necessary to have such a thing handy?
    It shouldn't be, but since manuals tend to contain next to nothing while the official guides contain everything the manual would've if the game were made ten years ago, I can imagine guides are necessary for some... many, in fact, but not necessarily the official ones. In fact, fan guides tend to be more correct and useful.

    Ever go to the store to buy a "school subject notebook" for writing your own video game related notes in?
    Again, this is something game manuals used to facilitate, usually — they'd have a few lined pages at the back entitled 'notes'. I never have personally needed to take notes, though.
     
    I have my Pokémon Gold and Silver Walkthroughbooklet. I bought it when I was a child because of the awesome pictures and a lot of information. I never used it for walkthrough though, I could beat the game without any. It's still handy booklet with egg groups and all the stats and moves, all trainers and their Pokémon, cities, Pokémon jokes, etc. It has one very stupid mistake in it. It has Cerulean City picture in both Celadon and Cerulean city section :D
    If I need information about games, I use google.
     
    Do you buy them and/or own any?
    I own a few, mostly Pokemon and Zelda ones.

    Do you feel it necessary to have such a thing handy?
    The Pokemon books really did help back when I didn't have the internet handy to look things up and needed to get an idea of movesets I wanted for certain Pokemon and such. But no, to be honest, I only used these books after the main game because I usually always miss things my first time around due to not being much of an explorer in games. I've gotten better with that nowadays though.

    Ever go to the store to buy a "school subject notebook" for writing your own video game related notes in?
    I have a few small notebooks from back in the day when I would log challenges and teams that I've used. So yes challengers, if you're reading this, I was a challenger before the forum was even made. ;o; They were color coded and everything, omg. v_v I planned all of my Pokemon teams.

    As for other games, I have random scraps of paper (you'd find them around my room easily) with crop season lists (Harvest Moon), Heart Piece locations (Zelda), how to access secret areas (SMB), etc. I'm really weird. :( Hell, you could even find where I was trying to memorize notes from songs in the games and I was trying to write out the music. STRANGE. You don't see that much in my room anymore. I log it on the computer now.
     
    Do you buy them and/or own any?
    I used to buy them quite often but now I don't bother. Usually the English guides are horrible quality with typoes and mistakes everywhere. :( The only ones I buy are Japanese (usually for extra art, interviews, the sake of owning them, or they come with extra stuff). I also buy all the Pokedexes.

    Do you feel it necessary to have such a thing handy?
    Not necessary, but it definitely helps a lot when you're doing tedious sidequests in JRPGs or something. :P

    Ever go to the store to buy a "school subject notebook" for writing your own video game related notes in?
    Nah, if I ever need to take down notes I usually just use ripped out pages from my already existing notebooks since I rarely need to keep them very long. That or I just open up notepad on my computer.
     
    Do you buy them and/or own any?
    I own a few Pokemon Ones, but that's pretty much it.

    Do you feel it necessary to have such a thing handy?
    Considering that I rarely have 'em, I guess not. Though for some games in the past, I did wish I had one to help me during the tough times.

    Ever go to the store to buy a "school subject notebook" for writing your own video game related notes in?
    Once. I used a notebook so I can write down a few things for Tales of Symphonia (namely how to get through Welgaia) but I don't use it anymore now that I pretty much know the game by the back of my hand (for the most part).
     
    Do you buy them and/or own any?
    I own guides for final fantasies 6-12, excluding 11 and 9. I keep them as collectibles, and I have some other guides as well.

    Do you feel it necessary to have such a thing handy?
    No, Not really. But I like to keep them as a collectors thing, and the guides usually have some awesome pictures in them to look at.

    Ever go to the store to buy a "school subject notebook" for writing your own video game related notes in?
    Nope. But I did start writing an FAQ for Final Fantasy X that I never finished.
     
    Do you buy them and/or own any?: Yes, I do. I currently have Pokemon D/P (part 2), Platinum and HeartGold/SoulSilver.

    Do you feel it necessary to have such a thing handy?: I use them when I need help with a particular area.

    Ever go to the store to buy a "school subject notebook" for writing your own video game related notes in?: No, I haven't.
     
    Haha a notebook.

    I remember back when game instruction booklets came with empty Notes pages in the back. ... I sound like Cranky Kong.

    :| Anyway, I used to buy guides when I was younger because I liked the pictures XD Now I only buy some hardcover collector's editions ones, mostly Zelda.
     
    Do you buy them and/or own any?
    I used to buy them all the time. I have a collection of Kingdom Hearts and Soul Calibur ones. XD I bought the KH ones mainly for the art, but the SC ones came in handy with strategies and such. But for the most part, I was drawn in for the artwork, haha.

    Do you feel it necessary to have such a thing handy?
    I do actually use them sometimes if I'm stuck in a certain area, but if I really tried I could get through a game without ever having to turn to one. So, they're not necessary, but they're nice to have.

    Ever go to the store to buy a "school subject notebook" for writing your own video game related notes in?
    Nah, I'm not that hardcore. XD For the most part I remember them or just refer back to the guides.
     
    I really love game guides, because I'm a completionist. I hate going through a game and knowing I missed out on something. And I like all the art they usually have in them. That said, I don't own too many. They're getting pricey. $$$
     
    Do you buy them and/or own any?
    I own a good many. I don't buy them for every single game out there... but I like to collect them. And that's what it is more so these days, a collectible for me. I mean sure I might use it every now and then to make sure I didn't miss anything, or if I do get stuck then it's there to help.

    Do you feel it necessary to have such a thing handy?
    As far as helping the game along... nah, with the internet I can look stuff up.

    Ever go to the store to buy a "school subject notebook" for writing your own video game related notes in?
    Nah, never did that.
     
    Do you buy them and/or own any?
    I have a few, mainly for RPGs. Because they're so damn long and tedious, I'd hate to miss out on some special items because I made a wrong choice during dialogue or something.

    Do you feel it necessary to have such a thing handy?
    Well, if you're a completionist, then yeah. But most of the time, you can just use the Internet if you're stuck.

    Ever go to the store to buy a "school subject notebook" for writing your own video game related notes in?
    I can't recall ever going out and buying one, but I do remember dedicating two notebooks to video games. One for cheat codes when I was younger, and the other as a RuneScape merchanting log, to get an idea on the money I was spending and making. Essentially the same thing, really. Logs, notes, what's the difference?
     
    Do you buy them and/or own any?
    Yes, I get them whenever possible. I also use GameFaqs as an additional supplement as necessary.

    Do you feel it necessary to have such a thing handy?
    Yes for certain games like RPG's where it's easy to miss items and other secrets.

    Ever go to the store to buy a "school subject notebook" for writing your own video game related notes in?
    No, but my brother does.. well his is a mix of Pokemon teams and Yu-Gi-Oh! card decks.
     
    Replying to my own thread...

    Do you buy them and/or own any?

    Yes I buy them and own a fair few. Most are Grand Theft Auto and Pokemon related. Also have a few for a few Xbox 360 games.

    GTA books: San Andreas, Vice City (1986), Lost and Damned, and Episodes From Liberty City

    Pokemon ones: Gold-Silver Pokedex (bradygames), Emerald, Colosseum (Nintendo Power), XD (Prima), PBR, Diamond-Pearl, Platinum, DP National Dex, Pokemon Ranger, Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia

    Other: Superman Returns, Fable2, Smash Bros Brawl, Gears of War 1 & 2, Shadow of Colossus, FFXII, FFX-2

    Do you feel it necessary to have such a thing handy?

    No, but the maps help. Also use the internet for GameFAQS, game specific "wikipedia" sites (like the kolwiki and castlewiki (Castle Crashers)), and for X360 achievement 'tips/videos'.

    Ever go to the store to buy a "school subject notebook" for writing your own video game related notes in?

    Yes. Dollar stores usually for the books and pens/markers. Most are filled with breeding related info on Pokemon these days, though I also use these notebooks to track the tasks that need to be done and/those that still need to be done. Helps with side questing and those games that feature '100% game completion tracking'.

    Back in the day I also made fan art drawings for a few games and Yu-Gi-Oh ideas. Even thought it was cool to have Pokemon teams based on fictional characters and celebrities, complete with nicknames where appropriate or funny.
     
    Do you buy them and/or own any?
    I only buy them rarely when there are picture in it that I like or when it has special things that come with it like a wallpaper or a map or something like that. I own a couple such as:

    Final Fantasy XII: I only bought this because it has pictures of the espers on them which I scanned and used to create wallpapers.
    Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of the Sky: I bought it mainly for the convenience and for a couple of the pictures.
    Resident Evil 5: I bought this mainly for the convenience and because it had checklists and other things useful for obtaining 100% progress in the game.

    Do you feel it necessary to have such a thing handy?
    No because honestly who the hell needs a guidebook that you have to pay money for when you can find all the information you need online? :)

    Ever go to the store to buy a "school subject notebook" for writing your own video game related notes in?
    No... thats why I have an ipod touch for note writing and a laptops for wordpad and microsoft office.
     
    Do you buy them and/or own any?

    No and no.

    Do you feel it necessary to have such a thing handy?

    I felt like I shouldn't need to spend money on that. I can beat the game on my own, and 3rd Party Assistance is never needed on a game IMO. :U

    Ever go to the store to buy a "school subject notebook" for writing your own video game related notes in?

    No. I don't think I've even considered that. :U
     
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