Let's celebrate the best game manuals

[WolfAmongWolves]

I've seen a number of threads here about favorite games, and as I was thinking about which game is my favorite, I realized how much a game's manual contributes to my overall enjoyment of the game itself. If you are a loose cart collector you may disagree, but I always feel a profound sense of disappointment when I crack open a new CIB game and find that the manual consists of a two-page leaflet, which, after explaining to me how to switch on my Atari and how to hold the joystick (duh) proceeds to describe the game along the lines of "Push the joystick left to move your spaceship left, push your joystick right to move it to the right, push the fire button to fire, destroy as

many aliens as you can before you lose your three lives" and then ends abruptly with the 90-day limited warranty. The game itself would need to be pretty damn good to make up for that letdown, and most of the games that are among my favorites have quality mauals.

What makes Adventure not just a good game, but a great game? In my opinion it's the fact that you're not just being chased by three generic duck-dragons, those are actually Yorgle, Grundle and Rhindle, and they have individual characters as well. In Haunted House you're not just traipsing through some blocky maze, it's Zachary Graves' mansion in the town of Spirit Bay, and you're looking for the magic urn that broke apart during the great earthquake of 1890. The manuals add fun details that the 2600's limited capabilities could not express in the game itself, and that really help define the game and give the player a sense of purpose.

My collection of Atari games is very far from complete, but of the games I own, my favorite manual is Riddle of the Sphinx. Here are a few highlights: "These are dark times. Death's long shadow rests across the Valley of the Kings." "The Son of Pharaoh girds his loins. He prepares to confront his fate on the timeless sands that are Egypt." "Who are they, who wound, heal, barter, and sometimes betray the persistent Son of Pharaoh? Proceed and be enlightened. Ancient Egypt's ways will yet be known to you." It's the pure poetry of the manual that makes Riddle of the Sphinx my favorite Imagic game, and I remember how excited I was when I read those instructions for the first time 30 years ago.

In your opinion, what other 2600 games benefit most from their manuals, and what are your favorite manuals and quotes?

[+save2600]

Great thread.

 

I'd easily say that MOST Atari 2600 manuals did an excellent job of making relatively simple games more compelling. Drawing gamers into story lines and such. Heck, even the Atari Catalogs and Comics included in some games took that concept to the Nth degree.

 

Some of my fav's that come to mind include Superman, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Alien, Cosmic Ark, Atlantis and E.T.

[fiddlepaddle]

I'm not really that into reading manuals, but I do keep them when I find them, and look for manual revisions. I always thought it strange how many revisions there were to the Combat manual... at least 5...

 

Many of the manuals were revised by putting in more illustrations.

 

Also, Atari got quite elaborate when they even included comic books (ala Centipede).

[WolfAmongWolves]

Also, Atari got quite elaborate when they even included comic books (ala Centipede).

 

Thanks for mentioning that, I didn't know that Centipede came with a comic. That'll definitely bump Centipede up on my wanted list. Is the comic included in every game or was it a limited run?

[+SpiceWare]

They had a number of comics

 

http://www.atariage.com/comics/index.html

Edited March 2, 2014 by SpiceWare

[Zwackery]

Thanks for mentioning that, I didn't know that Centipede came with a comic. That'll definitely bump Centipede up on my wanted list. Is the comic included in every game or was it a limited run?

 

The first release of the game came with the comic. The box has a little corner marker indicating the comic inside. Later Atari Corp. releases did not include the comic.

[strudders]

Yeah, Riddle of the Sphinx is a great one, so detailed too.

 

I only collect loose carts, but I always like to have the manual with them if possible. I've got over 200 carts now and about 160 of these I have the manuals for. All bound in protective A3 sleeves

 

I’ve always thought you cannot give a game a fair shot unless you have studied the manual (what I call ‘E.T. syndrome’). Also, it's always nice to see the artwork in large-format. Most of all, any back-story really fires the imagination. Like you say, with the limitations of the system, the art/backstory really adds a lot.

 

Of the manuals I have I would have to say that Atari/Activision/Imagic are the most consistent as far as quality goes – my favourite from these publishers has to be Berzerk. The back-story and drawings are superb.

 

Mentions would also have to go to:

 

Stellar Track – probably the most detailed instructions I could find. Obviously with such a graphically primitive game that is essential.

 

Krull – long intro and game description.

 

Probably my over all favourite is Mines of Minos. I only recently discovered this and love the game and the art and the into is very evocative:

 

“Something terrible has happened in the mazelike Mines of Minos. The smoothly running robot operation has been interrupted by an invasion of monstrous alien life forms! Aliens stalk the corridors of the mine; only a single robot survives to battle them. Desperately he struggles to find and assemble pieces of his fellow robots scattered around the mine while avoiding the pursuing aliens. If he can assemble a large enough robot army, he can battle the aliens to fight his way down to deeper levels of the mine and even destroy the alien command center at the lowest level. But if the aliens catch him he is doomed and his only weapon against them is his stock of time bombs. Can you avoid the monsters and assemble enough robots to expel the alien invaders from the Mines of Minos”

[SpaceDice2010]

Pitfall II. Amazing Manual.

 

I love the Colecovision Root Beer Tapper manual as well. (That one I actually framed.)

 

LLoyd

[WolfAmongWolves]

The first release of the game came with the comic. The box has a little corner marker indicating the comic inside. Later Atari Corp. releases did not include the comic.

 

Thanks for the tip! I'll keep a lookout for the little corner marker then.

 

I was just looking through my collection and another great one is Warlords. Atari basically took a four-way Breakout and, with the help of the manual, turned it into the tale of four feuding brothers, banished by their kindly and peace-loving father King Frederick to a "forbidden land". In naming their four sons, I always thought that King Frederick and Queen Christina must have run out of traditional royal names by the time they got to their fourth son, whom they gave the rather unorthodox name of "Restivo". Now I just saw that Restivo is actually an old Sicilian name meaning "wayward", "contrary", or "obstinate". And "Frederick" is Germanic and means "peaceful ruler". That's just awesome. It looks like Atari put even more thought into this manual than I gave them credit for.

[+Atari_Warlord]

I love the manuals and creativity that went into them. Even games that don't seem too exciting like 3-D Tic Tac Toe had great art work on the cover (a boy and his dog in space playing against a robot).

[Serious]

 

Probably my over all favourite is Mines of Minos. I only recently discovered this and love the game and the art and the into is very evocative:

 

“Something terrible has happened in the mazelike Mines of Minos. The smoothly running robot operation has been interrupted by an invasion of monstrous alien life forms! Aliens stalk the corridors of the mine; only a single robot survives to battle them. Desperately he struggles to find and assemble pieces of his fellow robots scattered around the mine while avoiding the pursuing aliens. If he can assemble a large enough robot army, he can battle the aliens to fight his way down to deeper levels of the mine and even destroy the alien command center at the lowest level. But if the aliens catch him he is doomed and his only weapon against them is his stock of time bombs. Can you avoid the monsters and assemble enough robots to expel the alien invaders from the Mines of Minos”

 

I love all of the CommaVid art. (Well, not the original Cosmic Swarm, but everything else.)

 

I recently posted the cover art from that game on my Instagram, and it got a ton of likes.

[strudders]

 

I love all of the CommaVid art. (Well, not the original Cosmic Swarm, but everything else.)

 

I recently posted the cover art from that game on my Instagram, and it got a ton of likes.

 

Yeah, I'd love to see an original scan of the artwork to see what is outside the 'frame' used on the cover. I've not been able to find out who the artist was. I can't make out the signature on the picture.

[Ransom]

My favorites are the ones for Ultima IV. Really, really nice job there, from the text to the texture.