View source for Nintendo Player's Guide

{{short description|Video game strategy guides by Nintendo}}
{{Italic title}}
{{One source|date=December 2017}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
The '''''Nintendo Player's Guides''''' are a series of [[video game]] [[strategy guide]]s from [[Nintendo]] based on ''[[Nintendo Power]]'' magazine.

==Original format==
The first ''Player's Guide'' was simply named  ''The Official Nintendo Player's Guide'', featuring dozens of different NES games. The following 22 games were covered in depth, with enemy descriptions, level maps, and strategy tips.

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* ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]''
* ''[[Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!]]''
* ''[[Commando]]''
* ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]''
* ''[[Top Gun (1987 video game)|Top Gun]]''
* ''[[Ghosts and Goblins]]''
* ''[[Double Dribble (video game)|Double Dribble]]''
* ''[[Zelda II: The Adventure of Link]]''
* ''[[Metroid]]''
* ''[[Rad Racer]]''
* ''[[Ring King]]''
* ''[[Kid Icarus]]''
* ''[[Pro Wrestling]]''
* ''[[Castlevania]]''
* ''[[Excitebike]]''
* ''[[Arkanoid]]''
* ''[[Rush'n Attack]]''
* ''[[Rygar]]''
* ''[[Ikari Warriors]]''
* ''[[Spy Hunter]]''
* ''[[The Goonies 2]]''
* ''[[Kung-Fu Master (video game)|Kung Fu]]''
{{div col end}}

Screenshots and short descriptions of other games were also included. As an early published Nintendo work, it featured some errors, including referring to ''Metroid'' heroine [[Samus Aran]] as a male, and referring to the playable bar in ''Arkanoid'' as "Bowse" instead of the proper "Vaus," most likely the result of a translation mistake.

''The Official Nintendo Player's Guide'' was followed in the early 1990s by a number of publications, which were produced under the slightly different moniker of ''Nintendo Power Strategy Guides''. These were sent between the then [[bi-monthly]] magazine issues to subscribers or mailed alongside them. [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] games covered by their ''Strategy Guides'' included:

* ''[[Super Mario Bros. 3]]''
* ''[[Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos]]''
* ''[[Final Fantasy (video game)|Final Fantasy]]''
* ''4-Player Extra'', which covered multiple four-player games on the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]].

[[Nintendo]] ceased production of these bimonthly ''Strategy Guides'' due to a lack of important game releases in the pre-holiday seasons of the year.

==Player's Guide==
After converting ''Nintendo Power'' to a monthly format came the more well-known mainstay of ''Player's Guides''. Early guides covered groups of games in one book. These books covered strategy for:

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* '''[[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]] Game Atlas'''
** ''[[Castlevania (1986 video game)|Castlevania]]''
** ''[[Castlevania II: Simon's Quest]]''
** ''[[Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse]]''
** ''[[Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (video game)|Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers]]''
** ''[[DuckTales (video game)|DuckTales]]''
** ''[[The Legend of Zelda (video game)|The Legend of Zelda]]''
** ''[[Mega Man (video game)|Mega Man]]''
** ''[[Mega Man 2]]''
** ''[[Mega Man 3]]''
** ''[[Ninja Gaiden (NES)|Ninja Gaiden]]''
** ''[[Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos|Ninja Gaiden II]]''
** ''[[StarTropics]]''
** ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]''
** ''[[Super Mario Bros. 2]]''
** ''[[Super Mario Bros. 3]]''
** ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES video game)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]''
** ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (arcade game)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game]]''
** ''[[Zelda II: The Adventure of Link]]''
{{div col end}}

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* '''[[Game Boy]]'''
** ''[[Batman (1989 film)|Batman]]''
** ''[[Castlevania: The Adventure]]''
** ''[[Cosmo Tank]]''
** ''[[Days of Thunder]]''
** ''[[Double Dragon]]''
** ''[[Dr. Mario (video game)|Dr. Mario]]''
** ''[[DuckTales (video game)|DuckTales]]''
** ''[[F-1 Race]]''
** ''[[Final Fantasy Legend]]''
** ''[[Fortified Zone]]''
** ''[[Gargoyle's Quest]]''
** ''[[Golf (1984 video game)|Golf]]''
** ''[[Gremlins 2: The New Batch]]''
** ''[[The Hunt for Red October]]''
** ''[[Kwirk]]''
** ''[[Nemesis (1990 video game)|Nemesis]]''
** ''[[Operation C (video game)|Operation C]]''
** ''[[Quarth]]''
** ''[[R-Type]]''
** ''[[Revenge of the 'Gator]]''
** ''[[Super Mario Land]]''
** ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan]]''
** ''[[SolarStriker]]''
** ''[[Solomon's Key|Solomon's Club]]''
** ''[[Super R.C. Pro-Am]]''
** ''[[Sword of Hope]]''
** ''[[Tetris (Game Boy video game)|Tetris]]''
** ''[[Ultima: Runes of Virtue]]''
{{div col end}}

* '''Mario Mania'''
** ''[[Super Mario World]]'', along with a history of the character, [[Mario]].

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* '''[[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]]'''
** ''[[ActRaiser]]''
** ''[[Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball]]''
** ''[[The Chessmaster]]''
** ''[[Darius Twin]]''
** ''[[Drakkhen]]''
** ''[[Extra Innings (video game)|Extra Innings]]''
** ''[[F-Zero (video game)|F-Zero]]''
** ''[[Final Fantasy IV|Final Fantasy II]]''
** ''[[Final Fight (video game)|Final Fight]]''
** ''[[Gradius III]]''
** ''[[Home Alone]]''
** ''[[HyperZone]]''
** ''[[Joe & Mac]]''
** ''[[John Madden's Football]]''
** ''[[Hal's Hole in One Golf]]''
** ''[[Lagoon (video game)|Lagoon]]''
** ''[[Legend of the Mystical Ninja]]''
** ''[[The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past]]''
** ''[[Miracle Piano Teaching System]]''
** ''[[Nolan Ryan's Baseball]]''
** ''[[Paperboy 2]]''
** ''[[Pilotwings (video game)|Pilotwings]]''
** ''[[Pit Fighter]]''
** ''[[Populous (video game)|Populous]]''
** ''[[RPM Racing]]''
** ''[[SimCity (1989 video game)|SimCity]]''
** ''[[Smash TV]]''
** ''[[Super Bases Loaded]]''
** ''[[Super Baseball Simulator 1.000]]''
** ''[[Super CastleVania IV]]''
** ''[[Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts]]''
** ''[[Super Mario World]]''
** ''[[Super Off-Road]]''
** ''[[Super R-Type]]''
** ''[[Super Tennis]]''
** ''[[True Golf Classics: Waialae Country Club]]''
** ''[[Ultraman: Towards the Future]]''
** ''[[U.N. Squadron]]''
** ''[[Ys III: Wanderers from Ys]]''
{{div col end}}
* ''Top Secret: [[Password (video gaming)|Passwords]]''

Outside of offering an optional ''Player's Guide'' as a free gift for a ''Nintendo Power'' subscription or subscription renewal, ''Nintendo Power'' did not include ''Player's Guide''s with the magazine. They were, however, made available separately, both through mail-order and at book and video-game shops. Nintendo did also once offer a subscription motive that included four of the aforementioned ''Player's Guide''s instead of only one.

Following these four ''Player's Guide''s, a fifth was released to Nintendo Power subscribers entitled Top Secret Passwords, containing passwords for a wide variety of NES, SNES, and Game Boy games. While initially billed as a subscriber exclusive, this guide was eventually sold at retailers.

==Later era==
In its later years, each ''Player's Guide'' published features one specific game, much like the earlier ''Nintendo Power Strategy Guides''. These ''Nintendo Power'' branded ''Player's Guide''s were available for Nintendo-published games as well as select high-profile third party titles, such as ''[[Final Fantasy VI|Final Fantasy III]]'' and ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'', but the concept is now emulated by other publishing companies such as [[Dorling Kindersley|Brady Games]] or [[Prima Games|Prima]] for major releases on all [[video game console]]s. Almost all major video games released today will have one or more official Guides associated with them.

While the rise of the [[World Wide Web]] and the increasing availability of free on-line FAQs and walkthroughs has taken away some of the need for commercial strategy guides, there is still a market for them. Guides often feature extensive picture-by-picture walkthroughs, maps, game art, and other visual features that cannot be provided by a bare text online walkthrough.

Among the games that have been given ''Nintendo Player's Guide''s:

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* ''[[Animal Crossing]]''
* ''[[Animal Crossing: Wild World]]''
* ''[[Advance Wars: Dual Strike]]''
* ''[[Advance Wars 2 Black Hole Rising]]''
* ''[[Banjo-Kazooie (video game)|Banjo-Kazooie]]''
* ''[[Banjo-Tooie]]''
* ''[[Battalion Wars]]''
* ''[[Chrono Trigger]]''
* ''[[Conker's Bad Fur Day]]''
* ''[[Diddy Kong Racing]]''
* ''[[Donkey Kong 64]]''
* ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]''
* ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'' ([[Game Boy Advance]] version)
* ''[[Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest]]''
* ''[[Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!]]''
* ''[[EarthBound]]''
* ''[[Eternal Darkness|Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem]]''
* ''[[Rereleases of Final Fantasy I and II#Game Boy Advance|Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls]]''
* ''[[Final Fantasy VI|Final Fantasy III (VI)]]''
* ''[[Final Fantasy IV#Game Boy Advance|Final Fantasy IV Advance]]''
* ''[[Final Fantasy V#Game Boy Advance|Final Fantasy V Advance]]''
* ''[[Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles]]''
* ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics Advance]]''
* ''[[Fire Emblem (Game Boy Advance)|Fire Emblem]]'' ([[Game Boy Advance]] version)
* ''[[Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance]]''
* ''[[Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones]]''
* ''[[F-Zero GX]]''
* ''[[GoldenEye 007 (1997 video game)|GoldenEye 007]]''
* ''[[Golden Sun: The Lost Age]]''
* ''[[Jet Force Gemini]]''
* ''[[Killer Instinct (1994 video game)|Killer Instinct]]''
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition]]''
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures]]''
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening]]''
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past]]''
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past/Four Swords]]''
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask]]''
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap]]''
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time]]''
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages|The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons]]'' and ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages|Oracle of Ages]]''
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess]]''
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker]]''
* ''[[Luigi's Mansion]]''
* ''[[Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time]]''
* ''[[Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]''
* ''[[Mario Kart 64]]''
* ''[[Mario Kart: Double Dash]]''
* ''[[Mario Paint]]''
* ''[[Metroid Fusion]]''
* ''[[Metroid Prime]]''
* ''[[Metroid Prime 2: Echoes]]''
* ''[[Metroid Prime Hunters]]''
* ''[[Metroid: Zero Mission]]''
* ''[[New Super Mario Bros.]]''
* ''[[Nintendogs]]''
* ''[[Paper Mario]]''
* ''[[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door]]''
* ''[[Perfect Dark]]''
* ''[[Pikmin]]''
* ''[[Pikmin 2]]''
* ''[[Pokémon Battle Revolution]]''
* ''[[Pokémon Colosseum]]''
* ''[[Pokémon Crystal]]''
* [[Pokémon Diamond and Pearl|''Pokémon Diamond'' and ''Pearl'']]
* ''[[Pokémon Emerald]]''
* [[Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen|''Pokémon FireRed'' and ''LeafGreen'']]
* ''[[Pokémon Gold]]'' and ''[[Pokémon Silver|Silver]]''
* ''[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon]]''
* ''[[Pokémon Ranger]]''
* [[Pokémon Red and Blue|''Pokémon Red'' and ''Blue'']]
* ''[[Pokémon Ruby]]'' and ''[[Pokémon Sapphire|Sapphire]]''
* ''[[Pokémon Snap]]''
* ''[[Pokémon Stadium]]''
* ''[[Pokémon Stadium 2]]''
* ''[[Pokémon Trading Card Game]]''
* ''[[Pokémon Red and Blue|Pokémon Special Edition: Red, Blue & Yellow]]''
* ''[[Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness]]''
* ''[[Star Fox 64]]''
* ''[[Star Fox Adventures]]''
* ''[[Star Fox Assault]]''
* ''[[Star Wars: Episode I Racer]]''
* ''[[Star Wars: Rogue Squadron]]''
* ''[[Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader]]''
* ''[[Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike]]''
* ''[[Street Fighter II Turbo]]''
* ''[[Super Game Boy]]''
* ''[[Super Mario 64]]''
* ''[[Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3]]''
* ''[[Super Mario All-Stars]]''
* ''[[Super Mario RPG|Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars]]''
* ''[[Super Mario Sunshine]]''
* ''[[Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island]]''
* ''[[Super Metroid]]''
* ''[[Super Paper Mario]]''
* ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''
* ''[[Sword of Mana]]''
* ''[[Wario World]]''
* ''[[Wave Race: Blue Storm]]''
* ''[[Yoshi's Island DS]]''
* ''[[Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3]]''
* ''[[Yoshi's Story]]''
{{div col end}}

==Discontinuation==
{{Original research section|date=September 2020}}
Around mid-2007, Nintendo discontinued the series after the publication of the guide for ''[[Pokémon Battle Revolution]]''.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}

This end of guide production was apparently due to the <!-- then -->impending switch from in-house publication of ''NP'' to publication by [[Future US]], which occurred in November 2007.

In an issue of ''Nintendo Power'', an ''NP'' subscriber wrote to Nintendo, asking about the status of the ''Player's Guide'' series. Nintendo replied that the series is indeed discontinued indefinitely.{{citation needed|date=December 2008}} They also pointed out that Prima Games was their official partner for making strategy guides, which they have been making for the aforementioned recent releases. Additionally, Prima made special strategy guides for ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass]]'' and ''[[Mario Kart Wii]]''. These guides were released exclusively as bonuses for Nintendo Power subscriptions or renewals. These guides even carry the label "Special Digest Version: Supplement to Nintendo Power Magazine".{{citation needed|date=December 2008}}

==See also==
* [[Game Boy line]]
* [[Nintendo DS]]
* [[Nintendo Entertainment System]]
* [[GameCube|Nintendo GameCube]]
* [[Nintendo 64]]
* [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]]
* [[Wii]]

==External links==
* [https://archive.org/search.php?query=Nintendo%20Player%27s%20Guide&and%5B%5D=mediatype%3A%22texts%22 Archived Nintendo Player's Guide] on the [[Internet Archive]]

{{Nintendo}}

[[Category:Books about video games]]
[[Category:Handbooks and manuals]]
[[Category:Nintendo publications]]
[[Category:Defunct video game magazines published in the United States]]