Strategy guide collector's corner

[MiamiSlice | 3,095]

I know there is a club for strategy guides but clubs are mostly dormant so I'm starting a thread here. 

As you all know I love collecting strategy guides and I try to keep up with the new ones that are coming out at any given time. These have gotten really niche, there aren't many being made. One of the few modern guides I picked up in the last couple years was the Ni No Kuni II guide which was $39.99 when I bought it in June 2021. 

Fast forward to today and a sealed copy is going for $100 shipped on eBay. 

The next guide I'm planning to pick up is the Animal Crossing New Horizons v2 guide which is up for pre-order. Unlike the first guide for this game, the v2 one will be hardcover and will have way more content. Here's an article explaining the updated version with a link to pre-order.

Feel free to chat about strategy guide collecting here! 

Edited February 7, 2023 by MiamiSlice

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

I love strategy guides and magazines as well. I just finished cataloging my comic collection and plan on doing my strategy guides and VG mags next. 

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

Im big into to strategy guides. I have a real hard time staying focused when reading on a screen. But I can read through print media with WWIII going on right next to me and never lose my place. So I will always take print guides over web based stuff. 

Side note I don’t know how anyone has ever used GameFAQs. Just a giant wall of text. Least useful guides ever.

I have what I consider (to me) a nearly complete N64 strategy guide collection. Which for me means I have one guide for each game that had one. So I’ll have a guide for say Majoras Mask. But I only have the Nintendo Players guide version not the Prima or Brady versions. 

I had a prioritization list to my collecting these guides. So my priorities in order:

1. If a title has a guide, get one.

2: Get the “official” guide over the “unofficial” guide. If only an “unofficial” guide exists. Get that one.

3: Nintendo Players guide take highest publisher priority on a title.

4: If Nintendo didnt produce a guide then see if the game publisher made one. (This really only applies to Akklaim)

5: Then what’s left boils down to games who have official guides made by both Prima and Brady. Prima takes priority over Brady. I don’t have any reason foe this other then my perception that Prima was “better” at making guides. Though I don’t know how true that really is

[Tanooki | 4,933]

I'm big on the guides too, older ones though from the 90s and 00s really.  I still prefer them over the free stuff you get online in text (gamefaqs) or some who do text/pictures on various sites.  It's just far more handy when you can hold it, flip the pages, save your place and get back to it instantly.  I still actively look for them, but mostly just at half price books or elsewhere locally more or less (same with Nintendo Power which given how those worked I lump into it.)

I prefer the official guides, mostly ignore the unofficial unless they do something better, or it's just so cheap and in front of me I don't mind.  Nintendo Players guides come in #1 with their authorized (usually to Prima) coming in #2.  If it's not a Nintendo game or Nintendo didn't bother, whatever works, if the content is good.

I'd post a list, but I know I've got over 80 guides/books (not including Nintendo Power/Fun Club) so here's a link: http://tanooki.byethost8.com/strategyguides.html

[MiamiSlice | 3,095]

6 hours ago, LeatherRebel5150 said:

I had a prioritization list to my collecting these guides. So my priorities in order:

1. If a title has a guide, get one.

2: Get the “official” guide over the “unofficial” guide. If only an “unofficial” guide exists. Get that one.

3: Nintendo Players guide take highest publisher priority on a title.

4: If Nintendo didnt produce a guide then see if the game publisher made one. (This really only applies to Akklaim)

5: Then what’s left boils down to games who have official guides made by both Prima and Brady. Prima takes priority over Brady. I don’t have any reason foe this other then my perception that Prima was “better” at making guides. Though I don’t know how true that really is

I’m the same way up until the last point. Brady had some good guides! And in some cases the Brady guide is the official one. I will actually look up reviews and try to see which guide is better to decide.

Also, the early Brady guides that were unauthorized and used their own artwork are really funny. I like collecting those just for the cheesy artwork.

Edited February 8, 2023 by MiamiSlice

[Brickman | 3,986]

I was never really into strategy guides but I saw some GC guides for a cheap price and I haven’t looked back since.

I’m aiming to get all the GC Official Nintendo guides at a minimum but will probably end up getting all the third party ones too.

They’ve been super helpful, especially the Mario Sunshine and Pikmin guides.

The collection so far:

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

5 hours ago, MiamiSlice said:

I’m the same way up until the last point. Brady had some good guides! And in some cases the Brady guide is the official one.

 

Right, but when they have official ones typically so does Prima. So I go with Prima. There are about half a dozen games where there are only Brady guides, remember  I’m only referencing N64 games, and I have those guides. Earthworm Jim 3D is a good example 

[phart010 | 1,707]

https://www.thriftbooks.com

[Tanooki | 4,933]

Thriftbooks sometimes hides some quality, problem is they don't have scans so it's kind of a trust system unless you can reach out to the vendor and they're willing.

 

With these spreads and singles showing up I'm kind of tempted to lay out what I have in a few spreads and snap enough images to get a the fronts done at least.  Considering what I have largely focused on Nintendo first party and of the peak 90s early 00s stuff they do look nice on those covers.

[twiztor | 851]

19 hours ago, LeatherRebel5150 said:

I had a prioritization list to my collecting these guides. So my priorities in order:

1. If a title has a guide, get one.

2: Get the “official” guide over the “unofficial” guide. If only an “unofficial” guide exists. Get that one.

3: Nintendo Players guide take highest publisher priority on a title.

4: If Nintendo didnt produce a guide then see if the game publisher made one. (This really only applies to Akklaim)

5: Then what’s left boils down to games who have official guides made by both Prima and Brady. Prima takes priority over Brady. I don’t have any reason foe this other then my perception that Prima was “better” at making guides. Though I don’t know how true that really is

this is exactly what my hierarchy list for strategy guides would like like as well.

[MegaMan52 | 2,445]

Some of the guides I have: 

Have had many of these guides since the '90s/early 2000's.

Edited February 10, 2023 by MegaMan52

[phart010 | 1,707]

7 hours ago, Tanooki said:

Thriftbooks sometimes hides some quality, problem is they don't have scans so it's kind of a trust system unless you can reach out to the vendor and they're willing.

 

With these spreads and singles showing up I'm kind of tempted to lay out what I have in a few spreads and snap enough images to get a the fronts done at least.  Considering what I have largely focused on Nintendo first party and of the peak 90s early 00s stuff they do look nice on those covers.

The key to thrift books is you don’t buy anything more than $10, and always look for good or very good. And buy over $35 so you get free shipping. I’m not super picky about manuals. As long as it’s in decent shape and I don’t have to pay to much

[Tanooki | 4,933]

So they have manuals too?  I'd agree with your price idea, decent quality, decent cheap price.  That's kind of what I do with half price books since it's along my route.  They tend to ask largely $5-15 for guides depending which, not often higher but I've seen some really dumb greed too.  I turned down a Zelda guide I needed, it was like 20 but the cover was in tatters, spine broke too, suck as it was for the two oracle titles.  Yet I've found quite a few other great guides so it's a long game of luck I'm willing to play.

I got into some console, hybrid... eh ...virtual boy resurrection this evening so didn't get a change to do pictures.

[MiamiSlice | 3,095]

Armored Core series guides got expensive. Not even surprising.

[MiamiSlice | 3,095]

My latest pickup. Got it in a trade. 

[greenthunder | 115]

On 2/7/2023 at 4:22 PM, MiamiSlice said:

 One of the few modern guides I picked up in the last couple years was the Ni No Kuni II guide which was $39.99 when I bought it in June 2021. 

Fast forward to today and a sealed copy is going for $100 shipped on eBay.

Dang, makes me glad I picked up my copy for around $16 at a secondhand bookstore (then proceeded to forget I owned it when I went to actually play the game). Outside of that, I think I only have a beat up Luigi's Mansion Nintendo Power guide I got super cheap at a library sale ages ago and a Super Mario Odyssey guide I picked up cheap at a random Walmart. I'm not particularly a big guidebook collector, but if my bookstore got the Super Paper Mario and Prima Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon guides in, I'd go for those.

Contrary to some of the replies above, I do find myself using GameFAQs a lot and find it pretty useful. I do play a lot of JRPGs though, which tend to have random obscure stuff going on.

If artbooks are also on topic, I have the Super Mario Odyssey one and the Japanese Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Alrest records, which are both pretty cool.

[MiamiSlice | 3,095]

This preorder just got a nice price drop 

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Official Complete Guide https://a.co/d/13EKyvQ

[MiamiSlice | 3,095]

Holy cow 

[Brickman | 3,986]

How do you guys display your strategy guides? Currently I just have them stacked on a bookshelf but would like to hear some cool ideas on how to display them. Maybe some document holders or something?

[Tanooki | 4,933]

I don't.  It would eat up a considerable bit of a shelf or top of my gaming shelf to do so and it wouldn't really look all that awesome.

This is a converted 1950s style ranch home former garage and the rear has the old back closet for storage with shelves.  One of them I have all the guides, another has all the NP issues.  Easy access to walk in and pull the string for the light.

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

On 2/24/2023 at 2:03 AM, Brickman said:

How do you guys display your strategy guides? Currently I just have them stacked on a bookshelf but would like to hear some cool ideas on how to display them. Maybe some document holders or something?

I know this is way late, but I use the magazine holder things

Tunnkit Magazine File Holder,... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09S9VMXBR?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

[Brickman | 3,986]

5 hours ago, LeatherRebel5150 said:

I know this is way late, but I use the magazine holder things

Tunnkit Magazine File Holder,... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09S9VMXBR?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Those look nice. I haven’t got anything since I made the post but I think I’ll look into these.

[Tanooki | 4,933]

I've got a number of those (not that actual one) for all my video strategy guide books.  It's pretty handy to be able to slide one of those out and get at what you want, but it does cause them to eat up a little more room but I think it's worth it.

[Estil | 1,265]

I sure am glad I still had my Battle Network strategery guides because right after its Legacy Collection came out they got expensive on Feebay!

[Tanooki | 4,933]

That happened with the Dragon Warrior GBC and Dragon Quest DS guides from Prima too.  I just sold off my DQ4 DS game since I have it on mobile, but I kept the guide as the price is not great.  It has happened to a number of guides which is why I hold onto the ones I have, and when I can find an old school price on one I'm missing locally I'm all over it.