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[Callego]

I don't know anyone that does (or... did. RIP manuals) and I would never even think about it.
I always wanted to keep everything as pristine as I could, and taking a pen to the glossy pages seemed sacrilegious.
I remember one friend of mine bought an Xbox game preowned, and that's the only time I've ever seen anything written there. It was just a bunch of cheat codes, nothing you couldn't look up on the internet at the time.
So what about you? Did you use the notes section? If so, what did you write in there?

 

[marcincz]

I don't know anyone that does (or... did. RIP manuals) and I would never even think about it.
I always wanted to keep everything as pristine as I could, and taking a pen to the glossy pages seemed sacrilegious.
I remember one friend of mine bought an Xbox game preowned, and that's the only time I've ever seen anything written there. It was just a bunch of cheat codes, nothing you couldn't look up on the internet at the time.
So what about you? Did you use the notes section? If so, what did you write in there?

My man.
Couple of years ago I bought a few games on SMD and they have level codes in notes. That's frustrating for me.

 

[MaximusPayne]

There's a notes section?

 

[Aztorian]

I did not even throw away the used PSN code flyers or promotion flyers, does this answer your question?

 

[batman2million]

hahaha! I remember those OP, but I never used them.

Good times.

 

[Taco_Human]

I used to write down cheats in the back of the Animal Crossing manual. Those we're some lengthy codes.

 

[Rhetorical Question]

I used the notes section quite frequently for the Sega Mega Drive games as a kid. For games like Schooby Doo Mystery, where you had to solve a lot of shit, and also to write down some continue codes. Good times.

 

[Wubbyz]

So I recently started ebaying all my old games and I came acrossy my copy of megaman x3 which is worth a lot for some reason. The manual was coated in scotch tape to hold it together because of how much I used the notes section. Those damn progress codes were writtten all over the manual because the notes section had filled up.

 

[zenspider]

What's a manual?

 

[JordanN]

I wrote down cheat codes in the back of my Gameboy and Gameboy Advance manuals.

Those were the days.... 😄😄😄

 

[BTHR Zero X]

In a way yes, I wrote notes on a separate piece of paper and put them in that section or behind the manual

 

[NahaNago]

Never did and always thought it was weird to have it included in the manual.

 

[BANGS]

I used to for certain games. One in particular I remember was Armada for Sega Dreamcast. There were hidden planets all over the map and I would write down their coordinates in the notes section...

 

[Velius]

Yes and it was embarrassing.

Granted I was only like 8.

But my family still makes fun of me at Thanksgiving. It's a tradition

 

[Alex Anderson]

Nope. I didn't want to mess them up. Any pre jewel case game I typically lost the box/manual to anyway. I mostly played very straightforward sports games or platformers as a young kid, not like I was lacking any important included maps, etc.

 

[PaulBizkit]

I never wrote on the manuals themselves, but in 2nd grade, a girl gave me a "secret diary" as a present and I filled it with game-related stuff like passwords and codes (like smrpg's toadofski song patterns)

 

[meerak]

I didn't back then but I would now, if I we still had them. I take much more notes / draw my own maps / etc than I ever did as a kid. I've always wanted games to have internal notes.

 

[Teuoxton]

I would write down level passwords for Super Empire Strikes Back and Super RotJ because I wasn't good enough to blast through all the old levels again when trying to beat the game.

 

[Rafus]

God, no.
But a few pre-owned games I bought had some writting on them.

 

[Weevilone]

I have never opened a manual that I can recall.

 

[PrimeBeef]

I used my own notebooks for notes and graph paper for maps.

 

[Revolutionary]

I remember using it in Twisted Metal 2, for the special move combos and secret codes hidden in some levels.

 

[BadHand]

I used to write down all the fatality combos in Mortal Kombat and also cheat codes.

I might have used it occasionally in RPGs to keep track.

 

[meirl]

Never.

 

[Martinski43]

Never.

.

 

[Shifty]

Not even once. I remember considering it the equivalent to writing in the back of a textbook or novel.

 

[Blam]

log off.

 

[EdwardTivrusky]

I used my own notebooks for notes and graph paper for maps.

Me too. I was at school so i always had a pad, graph paper and a pen to hand and the paper in the manuals was usually too glossy to write on properly. Also tiny. Most manuals for the ZX Spectrum were on cassette inlays and were too small for useful notes which is why i remember the old ACG/Ultimate games as they had bigger, nicer boxes and manuals... and they were too nice to scrawl on so i always made my own seperate notes.

I still do, it feels odd to play a game without a pad and paper to hand to jot down notes, plan a character build, map things out or jot down something interesting to visit later.

 

[WhupTroyGAF]

What's a manual?

It's something you do on a skateboard.

 

[Raptomex]

I think I used them once or twice as a kid. Cheats and stuff. But not often.

 

[kharerit]

Back in the 90's... Used to use them to write down codes for a lot of PS1 and NES games I played.

Specifically James Bond Jr. & Iron and X-O Man-O-War

 

[mikeebi3]

Fun fact, the notes pages usually exists because those pages are printed in sets of 4 (front and back, both sides of the binding/staple) and there was extra room after the manual content. Something that worked well for some games, but just became common practice after a while.

 

[sublimit]

On manuals no i never did that thank God.I even regret that i wrote notes on my Dragon's Dogma strategy guide (even if the guide itself kinda sucked).Thankfully that was the only strategy guide i did that (i think).

However i sometimes took notes on a seperate piece of paper that i kept within the game's box. I still do this from time to time.

 

[kingbean]

Sometimes for games like tomb raider and soul reaver I would put hints for places I got stuck. I wrote special moves that weren't listed in the mortal kombat booklets and wargods booklets too.

I did some codes for ps1 command and conquer and for a racing shooter game called red asphalt.

I would also write in strategy guides if it felt like I needed more information.

I've got mild ocd and it makes me want to take notes and keep things in order by writing them down. I've been on klonopin the past 2 years for that and I don't think I've made a note for anything other than in excel for work lol.

 

[Parapraxis]

I always felt like I should leave them blank, in case any professionals (at the game)wanted to use them in the future. I am not joking. That's how my young brain worked lol

 

[landymess20]

Used to write codes in them.

 

[BibiMaghoo]

No and as someone that bought and sold used a lot in my younger days, fucking hated everyone that did. Do not write your shit in the manual. Use some paper. I don't care if there is the suggestion you are supposed to use them. If instead of 'notes' it said 'write the names of all the people you wish dead on this earth' would you do it? No, because it's fucking stupid.

/rant

 

[EdgeXL]

Generally, no.

During the NES era I kept notes in notebook binders. Made my own maps from graph paper. Almost everything went into the binders except passwords. I'd wrote those on 3x5 index cards and keep them in the dust covers with the cartridge.

 

[ClaptoVaughn]

I was too protective of my stuff to write on them. If I needed to write codes or something I'd put a post it note on the back of the box and write on that.

 

[Northeastmonk]

I opened up my copy of Silent Hill 4 for Xbox this week and noticed it has a themed notes section at the end, front and back.

I always ignored it. I'd write my notes down or print them off. I never wanted to ruin the manual with handwriting.

 

[Chaper]

My brother had the SNES Killer Instinct Manual filled with combos and special moves. Every page was for a specific character, like a small guide. We had no internet back in those days so it was very handy.

 

[Hoya Destroyer]

Generally I didnt, but maybe I wrote a code in one manual once? It was so long ago.

 

[Scopa]

I was like you OP. I always tried to keep everything as mint as possible and wouldn’t dream of writing in the instruction manual.

I always used to see codes scrawled in them when I’d rent games from the video store though. People don’t care if it doesn’t belong to them.

 

[Soleil rouge]

Nah, I'd just use a notebook instead. Wanted my manuals in pristine condition. Though I had a short phase where I'd write all over my Source magazines for some reason. Circling album release dates, etc. No idea why I did that lol

 

[Taliban Stan]

Maybe once or twice to write down a save code, but not really. I hate the concept of notes though. I feel like games should show you the information you need when you need it. Like in Civilization games, character x may ask you to stop trading with character y. I've played Civ 4-6... not one of them lets you see what you have going on with character y on this screen. You're literally locked into that screen and you can't do any research. That's cool in a 3 player game of civ but if you have 15+ Civs going.

Some would say that's a great reason to take notes, I say the only reason I need notes is because the UI is boneheaded when this option occurs.

 

[Soodanim]

The closest I've ever gotten is folded up A4 with San Andreas chests written on and kept inside the case with the manual.

I'm like you OP, I couldn't do it.

 

[Zambatoh]

Used to do this all the time with the Resident Evil games.
The first game had the V-jolt puzzle solution written on the wall.
RE2 had a safe lock combination.
RE3 had Gunpowder combinations.
RE4 had a few combination puzzles.
And Code Veronica had it's fair share of passwords.

 

[ShinZed]

Used them once. Wrote down how many resources I needed to build combat drones in Deuteros before I set off the war with the Methanoids. Mining had never been so much fun, because now I could kick their condescending asses.

Old skool manuals were kickass. The civ 1 (or 2, been a while) manual was over a hundred pages long and filled with historical stuff just because it could be. Carrier Command was good too. And Captain Blood.

 

[Helen Keller the Musical]

For passwords like for Megaman games yes.

 

[Redmond Barry]

Only time I would have ever used them was for writing down passwords. That never happened; just wrote down on whatever piece of paper I could find.

No way in hell would I write on the notes section of a manual that even has a notes section for a game that even has a manual (basically any game pre-2009/2010) in this day and age.