Topic: strategy guides - do or don't?

[ryanmt]

just bought beyond good & evil yesterday for the $19.99 price, and i saw the strategy guide there as well for $14.99.  i didn't buy it, because i kind of think it's cheating to just do everything that the book says.  when i get stuck on games i'll seek out the solution, but i've never bought a strategy guide before.  does anyone else buy them or stay away from them?  people must buy them because they sell them for a lot of games.  thanks for your input!

ryan

[SearanoX]

Don't buy strategy guides.  They're a waste of money.  If you must resort to outside help when trying a game, ask friends who have played it, or consult online guides.  GameFAQs has an excellent selection of them.

I personally don't use guides a whole lot.  It detracts from the game for me.  However, when I get really, really stuck, then I will use them.  

[Molobert]

I try not to use any guides, especially for a game like BG&E that is so short. In some cases, it is good to have the guide though, like in getting the blue coins in SMS. I used to use guides a lot, and now I regret it. Unfortunately I used them for pretty much all of MP, OoT, LttP, Golden Sun, and some others. .

[Bill Aurion]

Finding out things for yourself is half the fun in playing a game that makes you think...

Only use a guide as a last resort(after you've finished ripping your hair out )...

[Hostile Creation]

Only guide I used this time around was to find a few extra Shine Sprites in Mario.  And maybe a few trophies in SSBM.  I don't use them, generally, especially not for the actually challenging stuff.

[nitsu niflheim]

I try and play games on my own, but if I am spending a half hour running around trying to do something and getting nowhere then I will look at a guide.  I like challenges, but I hate it when developers make tasks so vague that you have to be luck and run into what you need to get done, like most of Golden Sun 2.  While it was fun, the majority of the time you have no real idea of where to go, or what to do that you just wander around and hope you visit the place you need to be.

[Ian Sane]

I have only ever bought one guide and that was for Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.  The reason I got it was because that game has so many character classes, abilities, weapons, etc. that I felt it was worthwhile to get it.  In the end it was and I have made sure not to look at the specific strategies for the individuals missions.  However that is an exception and I normally would never buy a guide.

I do look at FAQs but that's only if I'm stuck and have absolutely no clue what to do.  Often in these situations when I read the solution my first thought is "who the hell would think of that?"  Usually if I'm that stumped it's because the game designers threw in a really nonsensical puzzle (like playing Saria's Song to Darunia in Ocarina of Time; that logically made NO sense at all).  One thing that does bug me about online FAQs is that it's hard to find a good one.  Too many of them have inconsistencies or leave out really important details.  I hate it when you look up info on a boss and the advice is "the boss is really easy, just do this" and you HAVE been doing that from the beginning and it doesn't work.  Turns out the writer forgot that you have to wait until the boss' eyes turn green which only happens when you use water magic.

If a developer does a good job then you won't ever have to look at a FAQ to beat the game.  That's REALLY rare though.  I think Ikaruga is the only Cube title I own that I've never ever looked at a FAQ for.

[KDR_11k]

I needed a FAQ for the first puzzle, first dungeon in Link's Awakening. How in hell am I supposed to know you can move those blocks?

Saria's Song was logical. It has leaves flying around you and IIRC is called "a song of the woods" once, while Darunia (That WAS this living rock, right?) prompts you to play a song of the woods. Took like 5 seconds to figure out.

[Ian Sane]

"Saria's Song was logical. It has leaves flying around you and IIRC is called "a song of the woods" once, while Darunia (That WAS this living rock, right?) prompts you to play a song of the woods."

Never noticed any "song of the woods" reference before.  I always assumed that the only way to come up with using that song was that you just got the song and thus would need to use it (game logic vs real world logic).  In Majora's Mask whenever I met someone and couldn't figure out what to do I would play every song I had.

[Ms.Pikmin]

I am also a believer in not buying guides.  If I am truly stuck on a game there is always GameFaqs.

I did purchase a guide for Animal Crossing though.  Not because of gameplay, but because there is such a huge catalog of stuff.  I wanted to see everything you could buy/win/seek from another town.

[evil intentions]

Buying strategy guides is a sin. Cheating is against my religion. to cheating.

[Hostile Creation]

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I needed a FAQ for the first puzzle, first dungeon in Link's Awakening. How in hell am I supposed to know you can move those blocks?

I was stuck on the second level of LA, when you're supposed to kill those enemies in a certain order to get the boss key.  I was stuck on that part for years, and finally got it by coincidence.

[The Omen]

Never use a guide, walkthrough, game genie or anything.  Thats old school laws of gaming.

[Uglydot]

I don't.

[ThePerm]

for prince of persia i didnt use a guide...however after i beat it i wanted prince of persia classic...so i looked a gamefaqs...

[The Omen]

Quote
for prince of persia i didnt use a guide...however after i beat it i wanted prince of persia classic...so i looked a gamefaqs...

Tis okay to go back with a guide once you've beaten the game to find something hidden, me thinks.  Unless you're talking about a game like RE remake which has several endings, then i implore everyone to beat the game fully before using a guide to find secrets.

[Jdub03]

Warning!!! Views expressed in the underlying paragraph are not meant to suay anyones viewpoints.  Relax guy its just an opinion, so if you feel angered, your blood pressure is probably too high.  Read up and remember ITS ONLY AN OPINION.

Whats the point of buying a game to play just to follow someone elses instructions on how to beat it.  That takes away from the enjoyment of the game.  The only reason I would see doing this is if you beat it already and want to get everything possible, or the storyline is so good and your gaming skills are so bad that you need a strategy guide

[Jale]

I only use a guide if I am completly stuck and I am not enjoying the game because of that.

[Berny]

Quote
Originally posted by: Jdub03

Whats the point of buying a game to play just to follow someone elses instructions on how to beat it.  That takes away from the enjoyment of the game.  The only reason I would see doing this is if you beat it already and want to get everything possible, or the storyline is so good and your gaming skills are so bad that you need a strategy guide

Well said. That's exactly why I don't use them Jdub. to Strategy Guides. Although, some of them have some official art and cool posters occasionally. But I could prolly find that on the internet.

[GoldShadow1]

Never use a guide for a linear game, especially brilliant games like OoT.  *shudder* They will ruin the game for you.

However, guides can be useful for some games - for example, strategy games.  They can give tips that improve your ability to play (and thus your enjoyment) without spoiling elements such as puzzles or story points.  But never by them brand new.  Like in the example above, the guide can often cost almost as much as the game!  I routinely find them used for $2-$3 at a local Music/Movies/Games store.

[Jdub03]

The Only strategy guides I will ever buy would be for fighting games or sports games.  I havent bought any yet but if I do those are the only types I'd buy them for.