I always check to see the artwork and layout designs.
but I don't always read it. So I don't know if that count as always or occasionally.

:P

first

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well...
i dont BUY games so its a no /
tho on my gba nor any other console game,
i never read those unless i get stuck with a certin thing.
in DBZ:budokai on ps2 i read the manual in order to figure out how to make the specil attack !

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Before games became so tutorial-oriented, I used to read the books cover to cover before I'd ever play them. (This was aided by the fact that I couldn't yet drive, and I tended to read the book during the car trip home.)

Nowadays, I tend to drop the game in first, play for an hour or so, and then skim the manual to see if I missed anything that wasn't immediately obvious.

But there are a couple manuals I really like. The original Wario Ware Inc manual is an obvious favorite. On the DS, I rather like the books that came with Nintendogs, Animal Crossing, and Electroplankton. And from time to time, I'll reread the books for Puzzle Quest and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon for much the same reason that I'll sometimes spend an hour or two reading an old Dungeons & Dragons rulebook -- I like obsessing over RPG rule sets.

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The Izuna manual was kinda entertaining...

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I pretty much read the manuals if I get the game a while before I'll be able to play it, and am jonesing to play it so much that reading the manual takes the edge off.

Otherwise, it's pretty much (a) if I can't figure out the controls or (b) I get stuck and don't have one o' them strategery guides.

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I'll usually check them out, maybe not read the whole thing. Most Wario games have great manuals, and the second Phoenix Wright had the great bonus comic in the back (too bad they only did that once). R

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Always read the manual first. Even when I was very little. When mom watched me play Super Mario Bros she was surprised how well I played and I said it was because I read the manual. Games DO have a lot more in game tutorials in them now lately!

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CPFace said:

(This was aided by the fact that I couldn't yet drive, and I tended to read the book during the car trip home.)




Exactly my thinking as soon as I saw this post.

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I always read them. Usually not before playing the game, but I read them nonetheless.

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I don't read manuals at all since most games nowadays explain how they are played within the game itself. Although it can be tedious going through the same tutorial on multiple playthroughs, it is very helpful when buying used GBA games that only come with the cart.

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I've always liked looking at manuals. Especially the glossy ones. Most of the time I don't need it, but I usually get 1 or 2 things from it I wouldn't have gotten otherwise.

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I have a college degree and I still never read manuals. I put in the games and play with it till i figure it out. Although, as others have stated, most games force you through a tutorial anyways.

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For some reason, when I was younger I would never read them. Similar to CPFace, I would read them when I was being driven home or sometimes I would maybe check out the artwork, but that was it. Nowadays, even with all the tutorials built in, I won't pop the cart into my DS without first thoroughly reading the manual. Even when I buy used games for my older systems and they don't come with manuals, I'll go to replacementdocs.com and find the manual. Of course, I do end up playing a lot of RPG/adventure games, so I've discovered that it holds me back if I don't read the manual.

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Tales of Symphonia was kinda cool. Small character artwork on each page, plus the background artwork was nice even though it was behind a bunch of text.

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I always read the instruction manual on DS games. Often, if I'm buying a game from a brick-and-mortar store instead of just ordering it from Amazon, I'll stop for lunch somewhere and read the manual before I get home.

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When I was younger and trips to go buy games had to be carefully planned affairs (so my parents could take me), I would always read the instruction manual on the way home, just because I was so excited about what was to come. I'd get home and keep reading and play the game only when I had finished reading. Often when I had trouble falling asleep I would read instruction manuals for games, just because I loved the art so much, and back in the days of Gameboys, Dreamcasts, N64s, and SNESes, a lot of games expected you to know the backstory before you even turned the game on, so they could devote more of the tiny cartridge/disc to gameplay and less to cutscenes.

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I usually glance at them to see if they're entertaining. I about always read through them for franchises I really enjoy, such as Zelda or Ace Attorney games. The one for Contact was really great, I'd have to say. I don't read the manual as much for a lot of games unless I start to really love it and want to check it out as much as I can.

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A friend got some Super Mario Advance game for his birthday once and started playing it on the car ride home from the bowling alley we were at while I was sitting in the back seat reading the manual. He got stuck and started yelling at the game, so I asked to see it and blew past the part he was on. Either I'm a better gamer than him, or manual reading is like thumb steroids.

Also, when I get a new game, I usually pop the game disk in, play for hours, realize I have to go to the bathroom, and take the manual with me for reading material. Gives me something to do...

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I always flip through the manual when I get a new game, but I probably will only read it if there's something about the game that I don't 'get'. I recently started Digimon World Dawn, being a fan generally of Digimon but having never played a game. I really didn't 'get it', so I took a second, closer look at the manual and only had my question half-answered- so I went to GameFAQ's ;)

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I use to look at the booklets, but then I got some games that had it printed in black-and-white on folded printer paper. Did anyone else ever buy a game where the publisher skimped on the booklet?

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