Digital collection of old instruction manuals

[miketheratguy]

Hey everybody, over the last few weeks I've been working on a project and was wondering if it would be of interest to anyone else.

I've been scouring the net and collecting all kinds of old video game instruction manuals, mostly for the NES but also some for the Genesis, SNES, Playstation, and a handful for the Atari 2600, Dreamcast, Gameboy, Sega CD, PC, etc. I've compiled several hundred and put in a lot of time to improve each one. I added the official box art to each game's manual, using scans of the actual boxes whenever I could find them (which results in a nostalgic collection of lightly worn box covers that feature the occasional crease, shrinkwrap, or vintage sticker). The front page of a pdf is typically what's used for the file's icon, so when you put these on an ebook reader that has a virtual shelf display you get what looks like a bunch of game boxes sitting on the shelf of an old rental store. In addition I ended each manual with a scan of the game's rear cover, again using a shot of the real thing whenever possible. The result is a digital collection of classic video game manuals that are bookended by images of the packaging material that you'd have if you owned complete physical copies.

The collection will seem pretty random since it's not all-inclusive, but is rather a collection that represents my own personal history of games that I own, have played, or am otherwise interested in. It takes hours upon hours to find, download, and edit multiple images into hundreds of pdfs and I had absolutely no desire to do this with games that I've never played or don't care about. There are a couple of old torrents and packs out there that do include more complete collections of manuals for a dedicated system, and there are also a couple of sites that archive some of the manuals in my collection as well. The difference is that some of the manuals in the torrents are arranged as multiple jpegs, many of the ones on the download sites are stamped with watermarks, and none of them have the cover art or rear packaging shots that I've added (because I prioritized scans of physical boxes when adding front and rear cover art, it was unavoidable that a few of those covers do have small watermarks. The manuals themselves don't).

I'm assuming that there's no place for the manuals here on the site itself, but maybe some of you guys are like me and would simply like to have them for your own digital book collections as a curiosity or nostalgic keepsake. If any of you are interested let me know and maybe I could pack them up on mediafire or something.

Here's NES classic Castlevania as a sample. http://www.mediafire.com/download/9r2th9ougbscphx/Castlevania_I.pdf

[Areala]

http://www.replacementdocs.com

You're welcome.

*huggles*
Areala

[miketheratguy]

Thanks? I mean like I said, the manuals on websites like that one don't include the packaging art and have huge watermarks on the covers (and sometimes, each of the pages). I really spent a lot of time trying to improve them and was just curious to see if anyone else would like to have them. If you're not interested that's cool, next time just tell me.

Forget I brought it up, you can delete this thread.

[Areala]

Thanks? I mean like I said, the manuals on websites like that one don't include the packaging art and have huge watermarks on the covers (and sometimes, each of the pages). I really spent a lot of time trying to improve them and was just curious to see if anyone else would like to have them. If you're not interested that's cool, next time just tell me.

Forget I brought it up, you can delete this thread.

Sorry, I didn't read your post close enough. I thought you were working on the manual scans because you hadn't found other places outside of torrents. I was posting the link in the hopes that it helped, not because I wasn't interested.

*huggles*

Areala

[miketheratguy]

Sorry, I didn't read your post close enough. I thought you were working on the manual scans because you hadn't found other places outside of torrents. I was posting the link in the hopes that it helped, not because I wasn't interested.

*huggles*

Areala

Oh okay, that makes me feel better then. Linking to a manual site and ending the post with a winking "you're welcome" makes perfect sense in the context of trying to help someone who's looking for such a thing. For me, seeing that post in response to what I'd said read more or less as "Yeah, you know what? We're good, thanks. You know that this other site is a thing, right? Maybe you can try it after you piss off".

Needless to say I spent several minutes utterly confused as to why you hated me.

[kitsunebi]

Oh okay, that makes me feel better then. Linking to a manual site and ending the post with a winking "you're welcome" makes perfect sense in the context of trying to help someone who's looking for such a thing. For me, seeing that post in response to what I'd said read more or less as "Yeah, you know what? We're good, thanks. You know that this other site is a thing, right? Maybe you can try it after you piss off".

Needless to say I spent several minutes utterly confused as to why you hated me.

Well, I'm glad that was settled before it got out of hand. It's one of the foibles of text-based communication - even with the addition of emoticons - that subtleties of tone and intent can be lost unless you're very careful to make your meaning clear.

Mike - you can take your stupid manuals and your stupid face and go take a ride on the stupid bus down to Stupid Land and live there forever you big stupid STUPID!!! :lol: :lol:

See, like that.

Btw, replacementdocs is nice, but a lot of their stuff is black and white, and riddled with their logos/watermarks. I don't personally "collect" manuals, but I sometimes download one for a game I'm currently playing. I'd welcome an alternate source of nice full-color unadulterated scans. I approve wholeheartedly. And so that my emoticon accurately reflects the awesomeness of your endeavor, I have chosen the mighty Dreamcast to convey my sincerity.

[kitsunebi]

In case that wasn't as completely obvious as it was intended to be, I was of course joking (except the part about Stupid Land - it really is a wonderful place, and the housing rates are fantastic. We could be neighbors!)

I checked out the Castlevania manual. What struck me immediately was the cheapness of it (the manual, not your file.) I remember lots of 3rd-tier games coming with thin b&w manuals, but I thought Konami might have shelled out for color, seeing as how they were the best of the 3rd parties early on. I remember actually reading some of the nicer-looking manuals (the Legend of Zelda comes to mind). I guess it was the proliferation of cheap b&w manuals, often devoid of any artwork whatsoever, that slowly trained me to stop reading them. By the time of the Playstation, I probably never took the manual out of the case even once on at least half the games I owned (with the notable exceptions of anything from Working Designs).

Since you seem to have been working on this for a while and have no doubt been perusing lots of old manuals lately, I'm curious as to which ones you find to stand out as particularly interesting/well designed/useful?

[kitsunebi]

A-HA!!!

Er, sorry to triple post, but I think I just solved the mystery of what happened above.

Areala didn't read your post carefully due to being excited and over-eager to promote replacementdocs.com because...she's one of their top contributors! OH, the plot! Such thickness! Such wow!

Talking about manuals and Working Designs prompted me to go there and download the Lunar Silver Star Story Complete manual to take a look (I own it, but don't have it handy) - and lo and behold, who should the uploader of the file be? Indeed, the uploader of nearly 200 files...? Yes indeed.

WHO will be the Retro Game Manual Master??!! The Wily Warrior Nun or the Rascally Ragin' Ratguy??! ROUND ONE! FIGHT!!!!

p.s. Pay me no mind and you won't have to ask for a refund later.

Edited March 3, 2016 by kitsunebi77

[Areala]

A-HA!!!

Er, sorry to triple post, but I think I just solved the mystery of what happened above.

Areala didn't read your post carefully due to being excited and over-eager to promote replacementdocs.com because...she's one of their top contributors! OH, the plot! Such thickness! Such wow!

Talking about manuals and Working Designs prompted me to go there and download the Lunar Silver Star Story Complete manual to take a look (I own it, but don't have it handy) - and lo and behold, who should the uploader of the file be? Indeed, the uploader of nearly 200 files...? Yes indeed.

WHO will be the Retro Game Manual Master??!! The Wily Warrior Nun or the Rascally Ragin' Ratguy??! ROUND ONE! FIGHT!!!!

p.s. Pay me no mind and you won't have to ask for a refund later.

This is actually not far from the truth... *blush*

*huggles*

Areala

[HowardBware]

Games have instructions?!?!?

[miketheratguy]

Since you seem to have been working on this for a while and have no doubt been perusing lots of old manuals lately, I'm curious as to which ones you find to stand out as particularly interesting/well designed/useful?

My favorite manuals were always the ones that took the time to itemize various aspects of the game. The Legend of Zelda is a prime example: One by one it described every special item, every enemy, every dungeon master. Stuff like that made reading the manuals more than just a means to learn how to play, it made the manuals fun little world-builders that helped to immerse me in the games.

It helped a lot when the manuals were in color, and Zelda wins in that department as well. Unfortunately Konami's manuals were almost always shit, mostly black and white and usually filled with dumbass puns. Nintendo was much better with their booklets. Capcom was pretty decent. Square and Enix were phenomenal, going beyond mere instruction manuals by providing full guidebooks.

A-HA!!!

Er, sorry to triple post, but I think I just solved the mystery of what happened above.

Areala didn't read your post carefully due to being excited and over-eager to promote replacementdocs.com because...she's one of their top contributors! OH, the plot! Such thickness! Such wow!

Talking about manuals and Working Designs prompted me to go there and download the Lunar Silver Star Story Complete manual to take a look (I own it, but don't have it handy) - and lo and behold, who should the uploader of the file be? Indeed, the uploader of nearly 200 files...? Yes indeed.

WHO will be the Retro Game Manual Master??!! The Wily Warrior Nun or the Rascally Ragin' Ratguy??! ROUND ONE! FIGHT!!!!

p.s. Pay me no mind and you won't have to ask for a refund later.

Ohhh, so there's an inherent interest in directing people to replacement docs, eh? I'm very disappointed to learn about this shameless self-promotion.

In all seriousness I have no qualms at all about sites like that one. I used to get lots of my manuals from that site and Vimm's Lair. They serve their purpose, even if many of the manuals are slathered with watermarks. That's never something that I even understood. The sites don't own the material, so what's the point of putting their labels on them? Do they receive commission? Is there a competitive manual archiving industry in which they want to be recognized as the leader? Do they get crazy ad-fueled revenue when someone sees a manual with their name on it and rushes to the site with an army of friends? It reminds me of movies I've downloaded where the uploader hardcodes his leet haxxor name onto the picture. It's like, "who exactly are you trying to advertise to"?

So anyway I'm not bothered by Areala's link, sites like that are a great resource for old manuals (the watermarks and pointless download limits notwithstanding). I just figured that after working to compile cleaner and more interesting copies (in my opinion, anyway - I think it's really cool to have the packaging art) for my own personal use, maybe someone else would like to have them too. And I was never going to fight with her about the misunderstanding or anything. Based on what I'd said in my first post her response just sounded like a burn, and I didn't want to think that that's what she meant but I didn't know how else to interpret it, so I figured that the best way to address it would be to just kind of nod with acceptance and show myself out. Once she explained that she'd misread my post things made more sense.

Games have instructions?!?!?

Pfft, no. Not now, anyway. We're referring to a bygone fantasyland where games came with supplemental materials, not web addresses where you can download the instructions along with the 15 percent of the game that's locked away on the disc.

[Areala]

I always took the watermark at replacementdocs to mean the same thing as the splash pages used in the CBR files here: it's not really to claim ownership or anything like that, it's more to point the way for people who stumble across the file somewhere, like what they see, and are interested in finding more.

I really am sorry about the misunderstanding. I didn't mean to come across like an asshole, I skim-read your post and thought, "Oh, he might be interested to know there's a site out there for scanned instruction manuals in case he's looking for more!" I was getting ready for bed, posted the link, and didn't think anything else of it.

*huggles*
Areala

[miketheratguy]

I always took the watermark at replacementdocs to mean the same thing as the splash pages used in the CBR files here: it's not really to claim ownership or anything like that, it's more to point the way for people who stumble across the file somewhere, like what they see, and are interested in finding more.

I really am sorry about the misunderstanding. I didn't mean to come across like an asshole, I skim-read your post and thought, "Oh, he might be interested to know there's a site out there for scanned instruction manuals in case he's looking for more!" I was getting ready for bed, posted the link, and didn't think anything else of it.

*huggles*

Areala

Oh man, those splash pages used to drive me up the wall. There was a time when seemingly every single Retromags download began with one, meaning that I'd have dozens of icons on my computer that were a big black void with the Retromags logo on top. I had no idea what issue I'd be looking at unless I hovered over the icon to reveal the full title. I couldn't bitch though, it was a small price to pay for such an awesome and greatly appreciated resource. And it did cause me to go on a journey to find programs that would enable me to convert and edit the files, allowing me to remove those pages. I've since used those programs hundreds of times, they're very handy (one of them is the very program that I've been using to add the packaging art to the game manuals).

Thanks again for explaining things, it's all good and I appreciate the apology as well as your intent to help. Ultimately it wasn't the biggest deal, I was just really confused and taken aback at first. I started to type and eventually delete probably half a dozen replies because I wasn't sure how to interpret what I perceived to be your dismissal or what I should say in response.

You don't still have any of the magazines that you provided on replacement docs, do you? There are probably still some gaps that I could fill, if I could find copies that aren't marked.

[urko948]

I miss the old days when games had instructions. Especially when they were full color. I buy games that are expensive and having the instructions with it really makes me happy. If not I'll even rebuy an extra copy if I see it has the booklet. The old Lunar games had some of my favorite with the hard back leatherette books. They actually put care into them. Nowadays all it is is a little paper with the games name on it and maybe health warnings. And if you're lucky maybe some DLC codes. Have you guys heard about that monthly box that releases indie games in physcal form? https://www.theindiebox.com/%C2'> kinda reluctant to try it though. I have a copy of retro city rampage from a different box, called the arcade block. It's like an old SNES style box it's awesome.

[Areala]

Thanks again for explaining things, it's all good and I appreciate the apology as well as your intent to help. Ultimately it wasn't the biggest deal, I was just really confused and taken aback at first. I started to type and eventually delete probably half a dozen replies because I wasn't sure how to interpret what I perceived to be your dismissal or what I should say in response.

You don't still have any of the magazines that you provided on replacement docs, do you? There are probably still some gaps that I could fill, if I could find copies that aren't marked.

Don't worry. If I was truly mad or feeling dismissive of you, the word 'Shitlord' would be tossed about with gleeful abandon and Philly would be sending me hourly PMs asking me what on earth was the matter.

I still have most of the instruction booklets themselves save for a few I borrowed from some friends for the purpose of adding to their archive, but I don't have the digital files from my original scans any longer. I did that work on my old computer and a dial-up connection, so I didn't keep them once they had been uploaded because hard drive space was at a premium. :(

I've got a fairly extensive instruction booklet collection for NES, PS1, Genesis and, to a lesser extend, SNES. Might take me a while to find a specific one for a specific game (my Genesis library is over 300 titles by itself, for instance), but I may be able to help somehow.

*huggles*

Areala

[twiztor]

i've got a collection of ~50 game manuals, mostly downloaded from websites like replacementdocs and then photoshopping the logos off. they're for my own personal use, so i don't feel bad about it.

hope your project goes well, rat man.

[pablumatic]

Its hard to find good quality scans of old game instructions online. Any action taken towards addressing this is fine by me.

[miketheratguy]

Thanks guys. Is there some kind of place that anyone's aware of where stuff like this could be uploaded and archived? I mean aside from the aforementioned sites that we already know about? Surely there's got to be a place where manuals could be hosted without watermarks and so forth. Maybe Retromags could consider it.

Don't worry. If I was truly mad or feeling dismissive of you, the word 'Shitlord' would be tossed about with gleeful abandon and Philly would be sending me hourly PMs asking me what on earth was the matter.

Got it. If I see you post a link and say "You're welcome, shitlord", then I'll know that it's time to take the gloves off. Unfortunately for you, I AM a shitlord!!!!

[Areala]

Unfortunately for you, I AM a shitlord!!!!

My suspicions are confirmed: Shitlord walks among us! I, Plunger Girl, have come to flush your ass into the Great Sewer Beyond. You will rue the day you clogged our college dorm toilets. Twenty years now have I sought you--two decades I have trained for this moment. May Charmin protect me; BY THE POWER OF CLOROX!!

*huggles*

Areala

[KiwiArcader]

I have a lot of scans of N64 game manuals which were on my site for ages.

I also have a heap of PC game manuals from DOS days with game for for things like US Navy Fighters and Falcon 4.0 (the huge deluxe ring binder version) but I didn't think there was much interest in high res versions TBH

[miketheratguy]

I have a lot of scans of N64 game manuals which were on my site for ages.

I also have a heap of PC game manuals from DOS days with game for for things like US Navy Fighters and Falcon 4.0 (the huge deluxe ring binder version) but I didn't think there was much interest in high res versions TBH

Some of us should create a site or something. Gather all our manuals and make them available online without intrusive watermarks. Without intrusion by THE MAN!

[nutznboltz2003]

Personally, I loved your example Mike. If there is a feasible way to get me the full collection, I'd happily take them as I'm just not trying to get my kids into the realm of retro gaming and being able to put those on the tablet would be perfect.

[miketheratguy]

Personally, I loved your example Mike. If there is a feasible way to get me the full collection, I'd happily take them as I'm just not trying to get my kids into the realm of retro gaming and being able to put those on the tablet would be perfect.

Thanks, that's cool to know. I have a bunch of them on my ebook reader myself, some of them are just fun to browse through and reminisce.

I've got a bunch of them ready to go as is but I'm still in the process of finishing up some of the titles. I'd say that I'm probably 80 percent done, something like that. In the meantime I noticed some problems trying to test some of the files on Mediafire. I tried a couple of examples before that Castlevania one that I posted and Mediafire wouldn't take them, it just got to a certain percentage in the upload and them reset the counter, over and over and over, always at the same spot. Even when I put the file in a rar container it did the same thing, which is odd.

So, I suppose I'll still be at it for a little bit longer to finish the rest of the titles and try to figure out what's going on with uploading them. Once that's done I should be able to put everything into a single pack and get it online for downloading. I'll keep you updated!

[Areala]

Some of us should create a site or something. Gather all our manuals and make them available online without intrusive watermarks. Without intrusion by THE MAN!

THE WOMAN, on the other hand, can intrude all she likes, right?

*huggles*

Areala

[miketheratguy]

THE WOMAN, on the other hand, can intrude all she likes, right?

*huggles*

Areala

Hey, that's what women do

I KID, I kid. I kid because I love.