Remember when.. we used cheat and guide books? [Pt1]

I've been going through some of my old game memorabilia and as is to be expected, I'm all nostalgic.

As a result, this is the first in what may be a short series of posts looking at some stuff which has been buried in drawers and boxes for who knows how long.

Hopefully, it may stir some pleasant memories for you as it has for me, and if so - please do comment below! I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions.

In this thrilling installment of "sifting through my old tat" I present to you: cheat books and guide books.

It struck me in the not too distant past that these must be more or less obsolete for the majority of people now because, lets face it, who would want to thumb through a book looking for answers when you can get them in an instant somewhere like Google or Youtube?

There are of course lengthy and glossy official game guides available for many titles, but the little volumes of concentrated wisdom I'm referring to here often came free with gaming mags.

I don't buy too many gaming mags now so I'm not sure if they do them these days, but I'd imagine not so much - if at all - due to the above reason..

Here we have what must be my oldest cheat book, The Complete A-Z Game Boy Secrets (pictured above in the middle and an excerpt below).

Some handy tips for Super Mario Land 2

It appears to have been published in 1999 and as the cover proudly boasts, there are more than 2,000 individual cheats for over 220 top Game Boy titles!

At the time, I don't recall having much use of the internet - if I did, I hadn't thought of searching for tips and I certainly don't imagine there would be anywhere near the wealth of input from gamers all over the world that we have now.

So this little book really was what I'd turn to if I was stuck, or if I wanted to get more out of my games with different codes and secrets. It was amazing.

I imagine not so many people use hard copy guidebooks now either, with the plethora of easy-to-digest walkthroughs online, but I'd like to think they're still used and enjoyed by some.

This Super Mario Sunshine guide on the right came with an A-Z Gamecube tips too - bonus!

Take the Nintendo guides above for example. Even as more and more tips and hints became available online (via my then-cutting edge Nokia N-Gage if memory serves) I still recall using and loving these books instead of turning to Google.

Maybe it's the reason I prefer actual paper books to E-books; the enjoyment of flicking through the pages, putting a book mark in it, putting it in your bag and reading it on the bus, in your lunch break etc.

They may be a bit long winded or old fashioned by today's standards, but I feel that's one of the reasons I still love them.

That and the fact that they're so deeply associated with my childhood gaming experiences.

Have you kept your old cheat books and guides? Let me know your thoughts below!