Since the digital age has now taken over, the dawn of retro gaming isn’t spoken about by the younger generation, and gaming companies no longer invest in custom booklet printing. Over the last decade, this discussion has been taken to Reddit, Quora, and Facebook, and there are even multiple articles about this interesting and commonly asked topic. Video game manuals are one of the biggest things gamers miss about gaming growing up.

Game Guides Manuals (Image credit: Rebecca Spear / iMore)
 

Considering it only costs as little as £0.35p to print a booklet, and EVEN LESS when placing booklet printing orders in bulk, it begs the question, why haven’t gaming development companies kept instruction manuals?

Many avid gamers have asked this question, with responses like, “I used to love flicking through the instruction booklet on the way home from the video game store” and, “Remember the time you’d open up a new game and go straight to find a map in the manual?”. Not only are game manuals handy, but they also bring a sense of nostalgia to all gamers out there, even today!

We will explore what video game manuals are, what we used to find inside them if they should ever make a comeback, and the best video game manuals of all time…

What Exactly Are Video Game Manuals?

Video game manuals are small booklets found on the left side of the video game case that contain all the information you need to know about the game before you play! Including the controls, different attacks and moves you can do, and any items you can collect to level up your character. And in deluxe/collectable editions, it could even include a code for bonus items, weapons, or upgrades for your character.

They used to be an essential part of a video game, obviously, other than the disc, of course! Despite finding the controls through the game itself, everyone still loved reading through the manuals.

On collectable edition game resell or trade-in, missing the game manual is even used to devalue the secondhand price. Manuals are still sold separately today for retro video game collectors or if their game is missing the instruction booklet.

Why Don’t We See Gaming Manuals Anymore?

These small booklets aren’t produced anymore in order to save money, paper, and ink and to utilise the in-game tutorials. Which is understandable, but also sad to see an era disappear in front of our eyes. In-game tutorials and control screens just aren’t enough to fill that void. Dramatic, I know! But the majority of us feel exactly the same way. You can save money and trees, but it doesn’t stop us from missing an essential part of our childhood gaming experience.

The Best Gaming Manuals Of All Time

Let’s take a look at what some of the best gaming manuals were and what they included.

The Legend of Zelda:

The Legend of Zelda Gaming Manual was one of the best instruction booklets to come out, read, and even collect - especially for its time!

It is entirely in colour, and illustrated with characters, drawings, and screenshots of the game. All of this brought the game to life before you played, and it is loved by every original Legend of Zelda fan out there!

It even had hints on how to destroy Ganon, including an in-depth description of the game controls and functions, which was well ahead of its time!

Super Mario Bros. 3:

We all know Super Mario Bros is one of the most defining games ever.

The Super Mario Bros. 3 manual had it all - from artwork and controls to different moves you can do in the game, and is by far the most well-thought-out, simple, and constructed manual to date! At the time, most NES lovers were children, the images really helped show exactly how to control Mario, with a description of how to do the moves and what buttons to press, then Mario doing the move. Smart thinking by the developers!

Metal Gear Solid 2 ( Sons of Liberty):

I don’t think the term ‘manual’ could hold its meaning any more than it does with this one. Even in-game instructions don't have this much content! The Metal Gear Solid 2 instruction booklet couldn’t possibly have any more information about the game if it tried. It contained everything you needed to know about moves, weapons, items, controls, difficulty level, walkthrough, characters, techniques, and how to play the game. It even had a short manga section you could enjoy and read! Everything was in colour and very well designed - it’s a piece of art, not just a manual!

Why can’t instruction manuals be like this now?

Would Gaming Companies Ever Bring Back Manuals?

The short answer is we don’t know…but they definitely should!

Just because you can now find everything you need to know on YouTube and even on the game home screen itself doesn’t mean we don’t want gaming manuals to make a comeback. Anyone who purchases a video game, no matter what should be able to get the full experience of the game by referring to a manual if they need help or just want to appreciate the work the developers did.

Then there’s the nostalgia of being a kid on Christmas morning, opening up your brand new video game, unripping the seal, and the first thing you do is read through the instructions and walkthrough. Oh, to be a kid again…

I think all of us still tie the festive season in with reading those colourful, informative gaming manuals on Christmas morning, and if we admit it to ourselves, we miss it too.

Nowadays, we get thrown into Elden Ring with no instructions, getting told to jump off cliff ledges, and being wiped the floor with by a man on a horse, all whilst you’re still trying to learn the controls!

So, to summarise…

Calling all gaming development companies reading this, we would like gaming manuals back in our game cases! A lot of us still collect disc copies like the old days over digital, so gaming manuals should definitely make a comeback.

There’s so much love and nostalgia for gaming manuals, even now!

It shouldn’t be the end of an era just yet…