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I don't usually have much reason to buy strategy guides back in the States. With apologies to Prima and Brady, they're usually cheaply bound, with stock artwork reminiscent of the stuff that you might find in your average Nintendo Power. They're good for getting the job done, but they aren't exactly collectables.
The guides in Japan are a bit different though. When I was at Super Potato last year, it was pointed out to me by the Retronauts crew that Japanese guides make for excellent collector's items because they practically double as art books. Even better, Super Potato has quite the substantial collection, featuring a few shelves of newer guides on one wall, and several more containing guides for Famicom, Super Famicom and other games.
Keeping that in mind, I ended up picking up a couple guides for a couple of my favorite RPGs when I was in Japan this year. Both are nicely bound, and contain some pretty excellent artwork. The Valkyrie Profile one in particular features massive, gorgeously detailed maps of Midgard, as well as profiles of each character complete with new artwork and the face patterns that appear in the game (what you see during the dialog), and it's all printed on high-quality, glossy paper. You can get a pretty good idea of the quality of the content just by looking at the cover, which is why I chose it (guides and art books are often shrink wrapped in Japan).
The Super Robot Taisen Alpha guide is a bit more of an impulse pickup. I happened to be at my local Hard-Off not too long ago, and I found myself browsing through a container of strategy guides. As it happened, the SRW Alpha guide was not only in pretty decent condition, it was only 300 yen. Definitely one of those, "Oh, what the hell moments." As you might expect, the content isn't quite as robust as what's found in the Valkyrie Profile guide, but it does feature nice profiles of all the series contained within the game, which I think is worth 300 yen.
I don't want to say that RPGs make for better collectible guides than other genres, but I do think that the best games in that genre do inspire a certain amount of attachment to the characters and the content. After spending hundreds of hours on a particularly, I kind of want a memento of my journey, and maybe of the journey, I suppose. An art book (or, in this case, strategy guide) can be quite a cool way to remember a favorite RPG, particularly if they are well-made.
On the whole, I'm not actually much of a collector, but I'm willing to make an exception in this case, particularly for the Valkyrie Profile book. If you happen to be in Super Potato or another specialty shop, you might want to see if you can find a guide for your own favorite RPG. You might be surprised and pleased by what you find.
more here
your thoughts GF readers?
The guides in Japan are a bit different though. When I was at Super Potato last year, it was pointed out to me by the Retronauts crew that Japanese guides make for excellent collector's items because they practically double as art books. Even better, Super Potato has quite the substantial collection, featuring a few shelves of newer guides on one wall, and several more containing guides for Famicom, Super Famicom and other games.
Keeping that in mind, I ended up picking up a couple guides for a couple of my favorite RPGs when I was in Japan this year. Both are nicely bound, and contain some pretty excellent artwork. The Valkyrie Profile one in particular features massive, gorgeously detailed maps of Midgard, as well as profiles of each character complete with new artwork and the face patterns that appear in the game (what you see during the dialog), and it's all printed on high-quality, glossy paper. You can get a pretty good idea of the quality of the content just by looking at the cover, which is why I chose it (guides and art books are often shrink wrapped in Japan).
The Super Robot Taisen Alpha guide is a bit more of an impulse pickup. I happened to be at my local Hard-Off not too long ago, and I found myself browsing through a container of strategy guides. As it happened, the SRW Alpha guide was not only in pretty decent condition, it was only 300 yen. Definitely one of those, "Oh, what the hell moments." As you might expect, the content isn't quite as robust as what's found in the Valkyrie Profile guide, but it does feature nice profiles of all the series contained within the game, which I think is worth 300 yen.
I don't want to say that RPGs make for better collectible guides than other genres, but I do think that the best games in that genre do inspire a certain amount of attachment to the characters and the content. After spending hundreds of hours on a particularly, I kind of want a memento of my journey, and maybe of the journey, I suppose. An art book (or, in this case, strategy guide) can be quite a cool way to remember a favorite RPG, particularly if they are well-made.
On the whole, I'm not actually much of a collector, but I'm willing to make an exception in this case, particularly for the Valkyrie Profile book. If you happen to be in Super Potato or another specialty shop, you might want to see if you can find a guide for your own favorite RPG. You might be surprised and pleased by what you find.
more here
your thoughts GF readers?