RPGCast – Episode 481: “Hairy Man-Back Makes Me Hungry”

1. I *would* say the Versus Books guide for Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, but a) that would be incredibly biased of me, and b) it never came out because Super Mario Sunshine drove them to bankruptcy. 🙁

   I’ll go with Mother series guides: either the Earthbound one included with the game, or the Fangamer-produced one for the Mother 3 fan translation.

2. Even though I’ve left he poor book in tatters, I would have to say it’s the Versus Books Phantasy Star Online: Episodes I & II guide. I especially liked the little references to the original Phantasy Star games, such as enemies in PSO that are based on earlier monsters and the many forms of Dark Falz/Force. It made me want to play the original games.

3. Final fantasy 6! It’s full of some of the greatest video game art work in Amano’s character designs.

4. My old Revelations: Persona strategy guide (yes, it’s for the inferior Playstation version of the first Persona game, which also happens to be in the West’s PSX Classic lineup) received more use than any other, since it had valuable demon fusion information. It also auctioned for a very nice price when I sold it.

   I’d like to give an honorable mention to the Bard’s Tale II Cluebook (sold by Electronic Arts – I had to mail-order one to beat the game), which told a fantasy-adventure story along with the usual maps and answers to riddles.

5. The only guide that sticks out was my X-Wing strategy guide, which had the benefit of not only providing strategies for the missions but also including a story to read in between each mission. The story in that strategy guide set the stage for how TIE Fighter expanded to include a cohesive narrative. Space sims from the 90’s… good times.

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