With the advent of digital downloads the physical format in video games is a thing of the past and more if it’s manuals. The instructions that were once included in the game boxes have gradually ceased to exist and have become a PDF or a web link. Fortunately, there are people like Kerry Hayeswho took on the task Get All Super Nintendo Game Guides to scan them and offer them for free download.
Hayes, better known as Peebs, has been streaming Super Nintendo games on Twitch for 8 years. streamer comments that one of the reasons he decided to make this compilation was because there was no good source of SNES manuals on the internet..
After a couple of years of searching the Wayback Machine, buying a scanner, making a lot of good friends, and having almost 100 people on the Internet submitting scans, now I can present you: a complete collection of SNES manuals in English.
Web SNES Manual Archive includes a list of 844 manuals, all with a link to the Internet Archive. To avoid the wrath of Nintendo, these files are used for non-commercial and educational purposes. There were no donations, ads, or rewards from Patreon, just dedicated people who scanned the guide and sent it to Peebs.
Although much of the content is taken from the English NTSC versions, there are PAL manuals in Spanish such as Disney’s Aladdin or Sensitive football. The list includes decorations such as Super Metroid, Mega Man X, super mario rpg or Illusion of Gaia. There are also more modern guides, such as starfox 2which have been adapted to the original format as if they had been published in 1992.
The project covers not only Super Nintendo, but all consoles.
In accordance with NPR, Peebs started his collection with 650 scans. and asked for support from other internet users to collect as much as possible. The SNES manuals website also has links to other projects, such as a (still incomplete) list of Super Famicon versions, or manuals for the Nintendo 64 and Virtual Boy.
The project manager sets goals repeat this project on all consoles in order to preserve as much of this material as possible.
Preservation for me is everyone who has access to these things when they want and where they want.
Peebs asked people who have access to the manual, poster, or some special edition to scan it and send it to him. Witha selection of Super Nintendo can be downloaded from Internet Archive or access each individually using the Internet. There is also a link to 724 high resolution manuals by another user, although Hays’s list is the most complete in English.
Peebs compilation is one of the most wonderful things. He not only took it upon himself to put together all the manuals, but also make sure the scan was of high quality and the final version was offered for free for all.
Instructions are a dying art. Over three decades ago were an important component of the video game where controls and instructions on how to play were included. In some cases, guides for the first levels, tricks or a map were offered. As console generations have progressed, manuals are outdated. In the days of PS3 and Xbox 360, companies like EA or Activision only included a sheet with warranty information and links to the internet.
Source: Hiper Textual
