Need to know something? PLAY ONLNE SUCKER!!

Looking back, how awful was that strategy guide sold for FFIX? Don't know what I'm talking about? Basically, the guide made you go online to get key information at a site called Play Online. It was to promote the site for the eventual use of it for FFXI.

Now, I don't use guides when I first play games, but I liked collecting them and then using them upon a second playthrough. So I bought it back in the day not knowing anything about it and I felt ripped off immediately. It was because of this game that started to veer me away from buying strategy guides. Not to mention that Bill Gates lost his entire fortune because of buying the official FFIX guide!

Anyway, I guess I'm looking for a different perspective. I am sure most didn't bother getting an official guide or just went online, like I did, when I discovered how abysmal it was, but did anyone grit their teeth and use the guide in conjunction with the website anyway?

Like you, I too buy them for the collection aspect and remember being very disappointed, especially back then because internet wasn't a big deal. My mom did have internet but I remember the page running terribly slow, and not being able to register for playonline and not being able to find useful information anyway. I am interested to see with the collector's box set coming out next month for VII/VIII/IX how they revamped the IX guide.