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Topic: Anyone collect Official Nintendo Player's Guides?

Posts 1 to 18 of 18

MikeLove

I used to have a bunch of them as a kid that I got through Nintendo Power subscriptions or from friends, but all of them were either thrown out or cut up and used for class projects by the late 1990's.

Last year I got the urge to pick some of them up again, and after maybe 6-8 months I was able to score near mint copies of several from eBay. It took a lot of patience sifting through the beat up copies, waiting for the near perfect one to be posted. The eBay app came in handy as well, as I would be quickly alerted to when a certain one was listed, and sometimes I would have first crack at them by using the 'buy it now' button. The most I paid for a single book was the Link to the Past guide, which cost me $41, but I sometimes see copies in the same condition sell for $50-60, so I got lucky.

Anyone else here collect them? If so, what ones are your favorites and where did you get them from?

For me, I just wanted ones from the 8 and 16-bit era and don't have much interest in grabbing ones any later than that. My prized possessions are near mint (I would give them 9.5-9.8/10) copies of A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, NES Atlas and the Official NES Player's Guide from 1987 that looks like it was never read and still contains all the original stickers. The only one I kind of want still is the Super Mario All-Stars guide, but I have yet to see a copy appear on eBay that is in near mint condition or reasonably priced. I would just like to have that one as its the last 16-bit era Mario themed guide I don't have, but if I don't pick it up I don't really care.

MikeLove

Super_Gravy

I used to have a bunch of N64 guides plus some GBA and Gamecube. I stop collecting them because I don't want to use the guide book for games while my parents always buy me guide books in the past. I only used the guide book to find all the secret exit in Super Mario World Advance and the Water Temple in the Ocarina of Time. Man, I was dumbed back then.

Umm… Care to have some gravy?

Joeynator3000

I used to back then...but now, since I'm on the internet often....yeah...xD

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supermario182

i got a collectors edition twilight princess guide at a used book shop because it had the sweet cover and gold etchings. i wouldn't have paid full price for it though when it came out. other than that i haven't really had any other guides. except for some generic snes/nes mario guides i found in the dumpster behind work once, the bosses daughter threw them out there for some reason.

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MikeLove

Hahaha, that dumpster find reminded me of something. Back in 2000 when I was doing a landscaping job in the summer at a local high school, I looked in an empty garbage can outside by the running track and found an NES complete in the box (including styrofoam inserts) with a handful of games just sitting on the top.

I took it home, and everything worked perfectly! I don't know why it was placed there, maybe someone was hiding it for someone else?

Edited on by MikeLove

MikeLove

Ryno

@FuturAlphaMale: Awesome dumpster find!

I love the guides. I still have my orignal NES Atlas, Game Boy, and Top Secret Passwords (though I don't know if I should have told that since its Top Secret) and I recently bought a Super Metroid guide. I also have Earthbound with the scratch 'm sniff cards attached with my CIB copy of the game. I want to get A Link To The Past someday since that is one of my favorite games of all time.

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MikeLove

Cool!

I never got into Earthbound and don't care about the guide, but I routinely see it selling for anywhere between $70-100 depending on the condition. The vast majority of them don't have the stickers either. No point in mentioning the value of the game, that's a given!

I love flipping though the Atlas, it takes me back to those maps in the old Nintendo Power issues. On that thought, I had the urge to pick up the three years of issues I used to have of Nintendo Power on eBay a while ago, but thought better of it. It would have cost me around $200-$250 and several months to gather them all up in good condition. Instead, I just downloaded a bunch of scans of the magazines and viewed a few of them on a tablet. I'm so glad I didn't waste cash on the real issues though, because after about an hour of skimming through them my nostalgia was satisfied hahaha

MikeLove

ogo79

i got 2 earthbound guides with the scratch and sniff pages intact and 2 mother 3 guides. beides that im not big on reading game guides, just those.

the_shpydar wrote:
As @ogo79 said, the SNS-RZ-USA is a prime giveaway that it's not a legit retail cart.
And yes, he is (usually) always right, and he is (almost) the sexiest gamer out there (not counting me) ;)

Tasuki

I use to have the NES Atlas the Game Boy one, Mario Mania and Top Secret Passwords but they all disintegrated because of how much I used them when I was a kid. The only one I have left is the Earthbound one which was bundled with the game. I had a couple of the newer ones Like a Wind Waker one and a Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicle one but I gave them too a friend awhile ago cause I was done with them.

Still I am tempted to do like you and one of these days seek them out on Ebay especially that Mario one which was my favorite of the ones I had.

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KingMike

I have Super NES (my original copy I had as a kid just kind of fell apart, so I bought another years later), Game Boy, Mario Mania (SMW), Link's Awakening (I suspect it must be rare because I never saw it in stores, got mine from the Nintendo Power catalog), Super Mario All-Stars, Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country 2, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Top Secret Passwords, two copies of Super Game Boy (one game was originally packed in my subscriber copy of Nintendo Power December 1994, the second was came with Super Game Boys sold after that date).
Sadly I don't know if I have that NP issue anymore, though I did find a digital copy, and a blurb says Capcom was once thinking about subjecting the SNES to Street Fighter The Movie The Game.

KingMike

MikeLove

The Link's Awakening guide is rare and sells for between $40-60+ depending on its condition. I think the Super Mario World 2 one is fairly rare as well. The rest can be bought for anywhere between $2-15.

MikeLove

ogo79

CountWavula wrote:

@Ogo79
Can i come over? we can both scratch 'n sniff. Oh how i love those smelly nostalgic trinkets of my childhood.

as long as you treat me right

the_shpydar wrote:
As @ogo79 said, the SNS-RZ-USA is a prime giveaway that it's not a legit retail cart.
And yes, he is (usually) always right, and he is (almost) the sexiest gamer out there (not counting me) ;)

nocode

Nintendo Power and guides are my favorite things to collect outside of actual games. I've got the Official Nintendo Player's Guide with all the stickers still intact. And I've got these guides as well...all in great shape.
Mario 2 Inside Out Guide (both issues)
NES Game Atlas
Game Boy
Super NES
Top Secret Passwords
Super Game Boy
Mario Mania
Mario 64 Strategy Guide

I'd love to own the guides for a link to the past, super metroid and mario all stars...but the prices on eBay are just insane.
For example
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/SUPER-MARIO-ALL-STARS-BROS-1-2-3-LOST-...

nocode

3DS Friend Code: 0087-2314-1034 | Nintendo Network ID: nocode

sevex

CountWavula wrote:

I've got a 1989 SMB.2 Official Nintendo Power Guide. It makes me giggle like an 8-bit school girl.

Untitled

I have that too! It's pretty rough though since it went through my childhood. There was also a partial Dragon Warrior guide that showed up around the same time as that one. It has some fantastic art.

Untitled

Edited on by sevex

sevex

Bigglestheman

FutureAlphaMale wrote:

I used to have a bunch of them as a kid that I got through Nintendo Power subscriptions or from friends, but all of them were either thrown out or cut up and used for class projects by the late 1990's.

Last year I got the urge to pick some of them up again, and after maybe 6-8 months I was able to score near mint copies of several from eBay. It took a lot of patience sifting through the beat up copies, waiting for the near perfect one to be posted. The eBay app came in handy as well, as I would be quickly alerted to when a certain one was listed, and sometimes I would have first crack at them by using the 'buy it now' button. The most I paid for a single book was the Link to the Past guide, which cost me $41, but I sometimes see copies in the same condition sell for $50-60, so I got lucky.

Anyone else here collect them? If so, what ones are your favorites and where did you get them from?

For me, I just wanted ones from the 8 and 16-bit era and don't have much interest in grabbing ones any later than that. My prized possessions are near mint (I would give them 9.5-9.8/10) copies of A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, NES Atlas and the Official NES Player's Guide from 1987 that looks like it was never read and still contains all the original stickers. The only one I kind of want still is the Super Mario All-Stars guide, but I have yet to see a copy appear on eBay that is in near mint condition or reasonably priced. I would just like to have that one as its the last 16-bit era Mario themed guide I don't have, but if I don't pick it up I don't really care.

I'd suggest collecting art books.

Bigglestheman

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Ryno

sevex wrote:

I have that too! It's pretty rough though since it went through my childhood. There was also a partial Dragon Warrior guide that showed up around the same time as that one. It has some fantastic art.

Untitled

That would be pretty awesome to have that strategy guide. I got the Dragon Warrior Nintendo Power bonus that included the game and the mini strategy guide which was the greatest magazine promotion ever! I never did complete it though I spent many nights playing it. I should really go back, get my grind on and beat it.
Untitled

@CountWavula: Surprised to see you bought a modern guide. Super Mario 3D World is a great game though!

Edited on by Ryno

To blessed to be stressed.
80's music makes me feel fabulous.
What Would Duane Do?
Rynoggery

Nintendo Network ID: Choryzo

KingMike

Despite that even its direct sequel instantly outdated it, the first is the only game I finished multiple times oddly enough.

I ordered a DW4 cart, even if the seller says they're away. Probably worth waiting for. $50 loose isn't cheap but this game has historically been about a $75 average, so I figure I better get it during a lull.

KingMike

SNESdrunk

sevex wrote:

Untitled

That is very very cool. The artwork on books like this went a long way toward coloring one's imagination since the graphics at the time were limited.

I collect the SNES Players Guides. My favorites are Chrono Trigger, which has fantastic artwork, and Super Metroid which features huge detailed maps of every area. I really wish I could snag the Mario RPG one but it's way too expensive.

http://www.youtube.com/user/1SNESdrunk

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