Nothing beats those old ascii art guides. When you're playing an old games, you know they won't let you down.
To the rapidly aging person reading this: GameFAQs is 30 years old, and people are sharing their memories of the venerable guide hub
Submitted 3 weeks ago by Agent_Karyo@piefed.world to games@lemmy.world
Comments
The_Picard_Maneuver@piefed.world 3 weeks ago
vrighter@discuss.tchncs.de 3 weeks ago
everything is fucking videos now. You get stuch at a very particular place? Prepare to sift through literally hours of video instead of, for example, just searching for the name of the place you’re in ingame
M137@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Nah, there’s a lot of text guides too. But the problem is that they’re often just copied from one source that somehow manages to get basic shit wrong every damn time. And videos definitely have their place, so many times I’ve first searched for a text guide and only got more confused. As long as the videos are short and to the point I always appreciate them. Found some great channels that way that have helped me through several games.
schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de 3 weeks ago
everything is fucking videos now
did you know that the more inappropriate the place you put the word “fucking” in is, the more seriously people will take your comments? :D
Toldry@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
WorldsDumbestMan@lemmy.today 3 weeks ago
I was fascinated at one point by ASCII art. I had seen someone manually drawing some ASCII emoji on a cup as a kid. Weird…
binarytobis@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
When I was 14, I got in a flame war with another kid in the pokemon forum. I dropped a “What do you know? You’re probably 12!” He replied “Yeah, I’m 12. This is a pokemon forum. What are you doing here?”
I felt so thoroughly burned that I stayed out of internet arguments as much as possible from that point forward. A real valuable lesson early on. Thanks, GameFAQs!
DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 2 weeks ago
Funny, dunking on some old dude back in the day got me hooked on internet arguments.
binarytobis@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
MudMan@fedia.io 3 weeks ago
Hm... I'm a bit mixed on that, because GameFAQs became relevant a bit later than that, but at the same time that type of format for ASCII game guides predates GameFAQs being the main place you went to get them, so... it evens out?
I probably didn't start going to GameFAQs for this stuff until like 2000, but I certainly was using text guides for games in the 90s.
nocturne@slrpnk.net 3 weeks ago
The first guide i know i got from GameFAQs was Star Wars Masters of Teräs Käsi, which came out in '97. I may have used it before that.
I also had printed out game guides (on the supersede white and green paper) in the early 80s.
Damage@feddit.it 3 weeks ago
which came out in '97
unlike many printed guides, gamefaqs guides came out some time after game release, because average people didn’t have preview versions of the game to play
ampersandrew@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
GameFAQs was definitely responsible for anyone knowing the fatalities in Mortal Kombat games for a while. I was using it plenty in the mid 90s.
MudMan@fedia.io 3 weeks ago
I mean... MK1 predates it by what? 3-4 years? Which in 90s tech time is an eternity.
MK fatality guides were mostly in print. Magazines were all over that type of stuff at the time. But it wouldn't have been strange to get a familiarly formatted ASCII guide for them with, say, your pirated floppies of the DOS or Amiga versions.
OneOrTheOtherDontAskMe@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Prior to Gamefaqs, I myself was perusing Gamewinners.com…a similar forum site lol
MIDItheKID@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I got in trouble in Middle School for printing out an entire FF6 guide from GameFAQs. It had all of the items and their stats, all of the spells, espers, maps etc. It was absolutely massive and the administration was not happy about me using all of that paper and toner. Already printed it, sucks to be them. 3 hole punched it at home and put it in a binder. It was awesome.
Speculater@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
That say you learned a very valuable lesson about permission and forgiveness.
WorldsDumbestMan@lemmy.today 3 weeks ago
It’s easier to ask for forgivness, than to ask for permission.
Got it!
FordBeeblebrox@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Having hypothetically done similar things with work printers, there’s also a lesson to be learned about not using too much paper and ink in one go, space it out over a few restocks.
paraphrand@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I did the same! But never go caught.
Kolanaki@pawb.social 2 weeks ago
So I basically started using it the year it was made. Cool.
ICastFist@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
RIP Kolanaki’s SNES
I loved Secret of Mana and on several playthroughs, the hardest boss, for me, has always been that damn tiger in the witch’s castle. When it zig-zagged like a spike ball, the chances of getting wiped were huge. One hit = unconscious.
rigatti@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Kind of similar story of ancient gaming tragedy, I was a young lad going for 100% in FFVII, and after spending however many hours getting everything ready, I saved right by Emerald Weapon, deciding to tackle him right after school the next day. Aaaaand then I came back to everything on the memory card being gone due to some dumb glitch. Still never beat Emerald Weapon.
taiyang@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Before the Internet got social media, we had the GameFAQs voting thing; you’d get head to head popularity contests of coolest characters. Cloud always won, but it was nice to check daily to see who was most popular.
I still use GameFAQs, though. Even after the buyout, the guides are important to those of us RetroAchevement-ing through some older titles.
Katana314@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I once tried writing a guide for Paper Mario, and it was then I realized how much effort, consultation, and typing all of these are. It’s in some ways not a surprise that walkthroughs are now just video playthroughs of the game (often involving someone backtracking 3 times as they figure out a puzzle) - that takes a lot less effort than conscious text recorded outside of a game.
jqubed@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I’ve never written a game FAQ but when I’ve done documentation for other things on a computer I’ve found that I prefer recording myself doing the task and then writing the guide while going back through the video. It’s too easy to skip steps otherwise.
Damage@feddit.it 3 weeks ago
And explaining actions in text is much more difficult than just showing them
Ashtear@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
Even just revising my guide for the new Final Fantasy Tactics remaster is way too big a project for me right now. It’s amazing how much work it is.
smeg@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
Don’t go for a whole guide, pick something smaller like all the recipes or a map of Dry Dry Desert (two things I remember printing off back in the day!)
therealzordon@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
lol I remember discovering this website as a kid, thinking I could stop buying strategy guides for like 10 to 20 bucks, then proceeding to print like 60 pages at a time. Bless my mom for not complaining about the paper and ink!
ICastFist@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
Printers worked better back then. Also the cartridges came with more ink lol
redwattlebird@lemmings.world 2 weeks ago
Coincidentally, i was just thinking about this site the other day because i was so sick of video walkthroughs!
RebekahWSD@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The only time I like a video walkthrough is for some visual based puzzles because screenshots aren’t always precise enough.
The other 99 percent? Screw that, gone a step by step guide damn it!
meathappening@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
Big shout-out to the absolute GOAT CyricZ, who has perfect guides for every single Yakuza game in existence.
LaunchesKayaks@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
When I was a kid, I played Black and White constantly and my dad printed off a complete guide from GameFAQs and put it in a binder with page protectors and everything. It was so awesome.
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
yup i was using gamefaqs when playing the older generation pokemon games very useful. the subreddit was best for friendsafari.
SailorFuzz@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
kurushimi@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Got banned from LUE by posting this
DrDystopia@lemy.lol 2 weeks ago
- I need help with Final Fantasy 7.
Buddy recommends this site I’ve not heard about, Game Facks.
It did not contain game FAQ’s.
Also, whitehouse.com, as was the style of the time.
goombakid@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I remember being the first one to make a guide for the game “Bust A Move” (Rhythm dance game). I think it’s still there. My own little contribution to the gaming world.
kaklerbitmap@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Waa there a Bust a Move rhythm game? Are you thinking of Bust a Groove?
goombakid@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Yes and no. In the US, it was released as “Bust A Groove”. The original Japanese release (first release) was “Bust A Move”. That’s the game I first played and based the FAQ off of.
kurushimi@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
I feel this; I did the same but for Summoner 2. Man I loved that game. Tried getting back into it once and it was tough :(
Mist101@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Had a binder for FFVIII. Printed the entire walkthrough from GameFAQs. Fond memories.
JargonWagon@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I printed out a list of gaps in THPS2 from GameFAQs. I didn’t realize it was 80 pages. My mom was really upset. I think I got every single one though.
DarkFuture@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Honestly been one of the most useful websites for me over the years.
BreakerSwitch@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Good memories. I was a regular on the boards at one point in time, and regularly contributed to the secrets/cheats/bugs sections
BrokenGlepnir@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I used to print armored core walkthroughs and take them to my room. I think that’s why my parents let me have a computer in my room. So I could use a floppy to bring them over without printing
recklessengagement@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Do we have backups/mirrors of the guides?
SlurpingPus@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Good question, especially considering that the site is owned by Fandom, Inc. now.
UniversalBasicJustice@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
I do and will share via PM if you promise to seed!
recklessengagement@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Absolutely, I’ve got ~27TB of free space left to fill! I’ve never seeded soemthing from scratch before though, what do you reccomend?
LucidNightmare@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
I have some. I haven’t gone through them just yet. I got them from the Internet Archive, I believe!
ABetterTomorrow@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Bring back gameFAQs!
mesamunefire@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
I remember the game grumps did a walkthrough of some sonic game and they were going through some guys 10+ year walkthrough that was really well done. It was hilarious some of the comments the walkthrough person wrote.
HiTekRedNek@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
laughs in Nintendo Power magazine
Get off my lawn, kids! 🤣
odelik@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
Escuse me, but I’m aging at just the right rate. Not rapidly, not slowly, but exactly as the universe planned it as we hurtle through time and space on our planet size space ship.
paraphrand@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I would take the txt guides for RPG games and print them on the laser printers at my high school.
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
i’d strip out useful information into my own guides. never published any, but they are useful
P1nkman@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I was around 8-9 when i was stuck in Sam & Max: Hit the Road for a long time. Restarted the game and got stuck on the same spot. Finally caved and asked my brother how proceed, at which point he showed me a walkthrough. It blew my mind that that was a thing!
samus12345@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Which spot were you stuck on?
P1nkman@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I was never able to figure out that you had to put the “long” hand onto the magnet, and then put the magnet into the giant ball of yarn to grab something.
nocturne@slrpnk.net 2 weeks ago
I was stuck on getting the light bulb from the fireplace in their office for far longer than I care to admit. Thanks for the help GaneFAQs.
Jinarched@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
I feel like I could… like I could… like I could… TAKE ON THE WORLD!!
whelk@retrolemmy.com 2 weeks ago
I don’t think you should drink that…
Blackmist@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
I hope there’s a giant archive of these guides we can download, should anything happen to that site. Any older games you might be stuck on, this is about the only place to go for help.
And I’ll tell you now, old games can be obscure as shit. They didn’t care if you finished them or not.
UniversalBasicJustice@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
There is and I will share it with any and everyone willing to seed it.
AntiBullyRanger@ani.social 2 weeks ago
heythatsprettygood@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
It is funny how GameFAQs is so old I end up going to posts on there about the original releases of games when I’m looking for help with a remake. Props to the site admins for keeping it up this long, so many other resources have withered away over the years.
Malix@sopuli.xyz 3 weeks ago
I absolutely love the no-nonsense approach of gamefaqs (and the likes). <3
if I’m stuck in a game (usually some 90’s point&click adventure), more often than not I just want an easily ctrl+f searchable walkthrough, and does the site ever provide.
nul9o9@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
I remember how useful the FFX-2 guide was. We didn’t have a computer at home when I was a kid, but I was able to head to the town library and print off the neat formatted text only guide.
Malix@sopuli.xyz 3 weeks ago
man, the mention of printed-faq’s opened a core memory. I had One Must Fall 2097 and Mortal Kombat move-lists printed out