Do you think using Brady Games strategy guides is cheating?

[zimmunky]

uhhmmm, the title is self-explanatory........

[Dreddz]

Yep :)

[Tavrobel]

Not if it's the FFIX guide.

But yes, for anything else, yes. Even Prima and other guide companies are cheating. But if you want to unlock EVERYTHING, and after you have played the game once through, then you earn the right to play the game with someone to hold your hand, since you have proven that you can beat the game alone.

[ljkkjlcm9]

depends, I got the Tales of Symphonia guide for the charts of Skills and stuff, not for the walkthrough, and games like Fire Emblem, yeah it can tell you the number of enemies, where items are, and where the enemies are, but it's still a very difficult game.

THE JACKEL

[Miriel]

God, if you use the Brady Guide for FFXI, you might as well just shoot yourself in the face. It's not cheating when a good chunk of the info they give you is incorrect or sometimes ridiculous lies.

[DJZen]

What he said. You can't exactly call someone a cheater when the cheat they're using doesn't work. You can't call someone who eats tons of ice cream before a boxing match a cheater.

[zimmunky]

Not if it's the FFIX guide.

But yes, for anything else, yes. Even Prima and other guide companies are cheating. But if you want to unlock EVERYTHING, and after you have played the game once through, then you earn the right to play the game with someone to hold your hand, since you have proven that you can beat the game alone.



thats what i do. i usually do it for games that i've heard having a secret ending with 100% completion. on ffx-2, i only got like 90 without the guide, so i didnt get my movie

[*~Angel Wing~*]

I got one for FFX-2. I really only bought it cuz I liked the pictures of the cute outfits, and cuz I HATE games where you need 100% to see a special ending and stuff, and I usually go online anyway if that's the case. But I never used the strategy guide for any other game except that one, which is funny cuz I think that's the easiest out of all the Final Fantasys. (and the worst...:mad: ) I really could have used a guide for FFVII and some of the temple puzzles in FFX, but I figured it out on my own!!! :kaohappy2

[Zeromus_X]

Meh. I usually use the guide the first time for a game, so every other time after that, I won't need it anymore. :cat:

Most of the Brady guides are missing little tidbits of information, so they're really only good for a nice walkthrough. It'd be better to just use an online faq, if you really want help :cat:

[Rengori]

Not if it's the FFIX guide.
Yeah, my friend owns that. He was trying to tell me how to do Olivert since I was there a very long time. I just ignored him.

I think it's just plain cheating until you beat the game once.

Or at least beat it again after forgetting everything the guide taught you.

[Necronopticous]

Don't get me wrong, I love pretty much everything about strategy guides, and I even collect them for my favorite games. However, using a strategy guide the first time through the game defeats the purpose of playing the game, especially in an RPG. You might as well just watch a movie or read a book.

But yeah, the Final Fantasy IX strategy guide is a horrible piece of garbage that contains about as much information as an instruction manual.

[HowlingMonkey]

In England, we have piggyback strategy guides for every game from FFVIII onwards, something for which I'm extremely grateful. In comparison to the shoddy FFVII Bradygames guide, the piggyback are simply awesome.

Yeah, it's kinda cheating, but I've used them in the past and I'd do it again.

[DeathKnight]

Yes, stop struggling and being so damn weak! Using strategy guides are for WIMPS! :irked: :irked: :irked: :irked:

[Crossblades]

I don't think it's cheating. The point of a strategy guide is to help you get the full experience of a video game, or in this case, an RPG. I don't mind using a strategy guide when playing FF or another RPG, because I don't want miss that very important item or that certain sidequest, so I want to do everything right. Plus, I like collecting strategy guides:)

[Chocobo King]

its not cheating. they just say what to do but its u that has to do it like a boss fight in FFX, it just gives u hints or best ways to beat em. u dont have to do what they say to do.:fencing:

[Shiny]

Yes, but if you need it use it. It's just a game.

[DeathKnight]

Yes, but if you need it use it. It's just a game.

It's more than a game :twak:

Strategy guides should ONLY be used when you're COMPLETELY stuck, besides that, do everything you have to do on your own, sheeesh don't you wanna FEEL like you're the protagonist??? Don't you want the rush???

[Tavrobel]

Some people play the game because it is a mere game, (and just a game, so don't get all uptight about it). I remind you that Final Fantasy is not a religion to everyone.








I pity those people who think that FF isn't a religion.

[Yuffie514]

i have Brady game guides for:

* Final Fantasy VIII...for boss fights - never. most often a useful item when i need instructions, but that's all.
* Final Fantasy X...i use this only for bribery costs, celestial weapons or how to acquire advanced Aeons.
* Final Fantasy X-2...i looked through it, but never used it. my brother owns it actually, so it's not really mine.

[Rengori]

i have Brady game guides for:

* Final Fantasy VIII...for boss fights - never. most often a useful item when i need instructions, but that's all.
* Final Fantasy X...i use this only for bribery costs, celestial weapons or how to acquire advanced Aeons.
* Final Fantasy X-2...i looked through it, but never used it. my brother owns it actually, so it's not really mine.
What a waste of money... All that can be found here within an hour.

[ljkkjlcm9]

i have Brady game guides for:

* Final Fantasy VIII...for boss fights - never. most often a useful item when i need instructions, but that's all.
* Final Fantasy X...i use this only for bribery costs, celestial weapons or how to acquire advanced Aeons.
* Final Fantasy X-2...i looked through it, but never used it. my brother owns it actually, so it's not really mine.
What a waste of money... All that can be found here within an hour.
you know technically the game itself is a waste of money because it serves no real purpose. And I mean yeah you can get all this info online, but nothing compares to having charts down in front of you. I could find a skills chart for Tales of Symphonia somewhere online, but nothing is as easy as flipping to the charts in the guide as I play and approach a level where I learn a new skill.

THE JACKEL

[DMKA]

What a waste of money... All that can be found here within an hour.
Or on GameFAQs within 30 seconds.

ou know technically the game itself is a waste of money because it serves no real purpose. And I mean yeah you can get all this info online, but nothing compares to having charts down in front of you. I could find a skills chart for Tales of Symphonia somewhere online, but nothing is as easy as flipping to the charts in the guide as I play and approach a level where I learn a new skill.
The game serves the purpose of entertaining and passing time. If you want it "down in front of you" you can just print it out.

Anyway, as for the initial question...I don't think it's necessarily "cheating"...I just think it defeats the purpose of playing the game to begin with. You may as well just go on the internet and read a summary, saving yourself the time and money. I do however buy the strategy guides, but for collection purposes and not for use to beat the game.

I do take a look at the guides and faqs under only two circumstances: if I'm absolutely stuck I'll look at that specific part and what I have to do, and if I've already beaten the game and I want to do everything I didn't do the first time around. Aside of that, I see no reason to ruin my gaming experience because I'm too lazy to actually play the game...I'd just rather not get the game instead.

[ljkkjlcm9]

The game serves the purpose of entertaining and passing time.

well I suppose if that's the purpose of the game, and the person is still entertained and passing time with the guide, then they're getting what they wanted to out of it, and no I wouldn't consider that cheating. Cheating in a game to me, is something like having a "cheat" code or what not. Having an unfair advantage. And like I said before, no matter what a guide tells you, for a lot of games, if you're not good enough to actually do it, it does nothing for you.

THE JACKEL

[Rengori]

The game serves the purpose of entertaining and passing time.
Having an unfair advantage.
THE JACKAL
A guide does create that.

[ljkkjlcm9]

The game serves the purpose of entertaining and passing time.
Having an unfair advantage.
THE JACKAL
A guide does create that.
you left out my part after that that said, as I have said, no matter what a guide tells you, if you're not good enough, the guide does nothing. It doesn't create and unfair advantage. I don't know a single guide that does. An unfair advantage in the game? if something was programmed into the game, nothing you can aquire in the game is unfair, so if the guide tells you where to get it, that's not unfair. I mean, then I suppose everytime you replay a game you have an unfair advantage and you're cheating. It's not unfair, it's perfectly fair.

THE JACKEL

[Tavrobel]

Well the good thing about some guides is that they have maps as telling you where to go. That's really one of the only reasons I have the guides in the first place. The problem with FAQs on the internet, while useful, and have loads of information, is that they regurgitate the same information over and over, and not much else. You just find the first one, and BAM you're done, or if you have patience, then you find the best written one that is most appealing to your eyes.

Now I understand why my cousin PAID me to take his FFIX guide from him. Lack of maps == bad. Anything that redirects you to get more information from the internet, is like saying "don't buy us, we don't need the money", even if they are supporting an online partner.


you left out my part after that that said, as I have said, no matter what a guide tells you, if you're not good enough, the guide does nothing. It doesn't create and unfair advantage. I don't know a single guide that does. An unfair advantage in the game? if something was programmed into the game, nothing you can aquire in the game is unfair, so if the guide tells you where to get it, that's not unfair. I mean, then I suppose everytime you replay a game you have an unfair advantage and you're cheating. It's not unfair, it's perfectly fair.

Good point. But since you know where to get it, it makes you not waste as much time, scrambling around trying to look for anything extra, but it's really a trade; EXP, or item that helps you in battle? Just collect everything, and move on. Yes, it's in the game, but most people skip that stuff, because it's not readily visible, or they haven't heard about it.

Get guide Not get guide
Know where everything is Have to search
Head directly to item Head in circles, get in battle
Head to next item Get item
Fight battle Fight battle
Leave Area Skip item, head to next area

But yes, if you DO suck at games, then a guide telling you how to prepare for the battle will not help at all. I see guides as convenience, but for the walkthrough part (unless stuck beyond circumstances, like not having MP and Ethers), you have to earn it, but there's not really anything wrong with asking for help.

[DMKA]

The game serves the purpose of entertaining and passing time.

well I suppose if that's the purpose of the game, and the person is still entertained and passing time with the guide, then they're getting what they wanted to out of it, and no I wouldn't consider that cheating. Cheating in a game to me, is something like having a "cheat" code or what not. Having an unfair advantage. And like I said before, no matter what a guide tells you, for a lot of games, if you're not good enough to actually do it, it does nothing for you.

THE JACKAL
Yes, but you're ruining it. It's like eating a big dinner out at a nice restaurant, but wearing a piece of plastic over your tongue so you can't taste any of it. Sure the food is still nourishing you, which is the food's initial purpose, but why bother spending the money to eat at a nice place with good tastey food when you could just stay home and eat that canned stuff in the back of your pantry that no one ever touches because it's gross? You can't taste it anyway, so what's the point in wasting that time and money?

It's more or less the same principle.

[ljkkjlcm9]

isn't the purpose of a game to bring enjoyment to the player? If the player enjoys playing the game even with the strategy guide, then it isn't really ruining it for them is it?

THE JACKEL

[VorpalCyberWolf]

I think every guide I've ever bought was for artwork or stuff of the like. There was also a time when I was making my own Guides, so I would buy them and correct them... you would be suprised what those "guide gurus" miss most of the time. :D

[Vyk]

Most games these days have a ton of stuff in them that you wouldn't be able to figure out on your own. If you want to do everything there is to do you have to get some help from somewhere. If they buy the guide and use it as a walkthrough, then yeah, that's probably cheating. But most games, you have to do that with. There's a lot of stuff where if you miss it. You're screwed. And not everyone wants to play every game twice. I'd play through by myself, and then go back and get stuff. But if you can't do that. Screw it. Either I'm using a guide, or I'll just not be a completionist. I hate games like that. But I think they're made that way on purpose so you'd be more inclined to get a guide and therefor spend more money

[lotink0]

no i don't think it is cheating but if you don't want to use them then don't. it is okay as long as you try o beat it at least onece and don't lean on the guide for everything!

[boys from the dwarf]

not realy. it helps but how you play the battles and how much you levle up is up to you. i use them sometimes but they still dont make the game easy.

[starseeker]

I only dig out the walkthroughs if I die half a dozen times on a boss or get so completely lost that i want to bang my head very hard against the floor. Same goes for if I haven't the foggiest where to go/ what to do.

[look_out_below]

First time through a game, yeah i consider it cheating half the fun of playing a game is getting through it on your own. After passing a game once i think its fine if people want to use a guide to get the extra missions and stuff on the second time through.

[ljkkjlcm9]

First time through a game, yeah i consider it cheating half the fun of playing a game is getting through it on your own. After passing a game once i think its fine if people want to use a guide to get the extra missions and stuff on the second time through.
some people don't have the time to play the long 80 hour RPG's of today two times through....

THE JACKEL