A Strategy Guide for your Strategy Guides
It’s been awhile since I had an unboxing video! I received a smorgasbord of goodies from Prima Games this week, which included two Collector’s Editions, one of which I’m unboxing in this video. I’ll have the other two up next week over the Thanksgiving break.
But for today, here’s my unboxing of the Assassin’s Creed Unity collector’s edition strategy guide, which is, by far, the prettiest of all of the CE AC guides I have. Check it out below!
The first Bayonetta game was an absolute beast, despite how simple it seemed on the surface as an action game. Hidden levels, a grading system, and more collectibles than should be allowed filled Platinum Games’ game to the brim. If you had any hopes in securing all of the collectibles or finding all of the hidden levels, both of which only appeared on certain difficulties, then the strategy guide was almost an requirement. Bayonetta 2 isn’t as crazy as that, but finding all of the collectibles is still a horrific issue. and I know I couldn’t have found all of the Muspelheim and other hidden levels without the Bayonetta 2 strategy guide. If only the strategy guide could have also given me mad fighting skillz so I could have finished all of the Muspelheim levels or found all of the collectibles, but that’s more about me learning to suck less than anything else.
Bayonetta 2 is combo heavy, but the brilliant thing about it is that you don’t have to be perfect at it to get through the game. However, don’t you want to earn those Pure Platinum medals and beat the game on the ∞ Climax difficulty? I thought so. And if your combo-pressing skills are about as abysmal as I am, then you will want to look in the Combat Primer chapters of the Bayonetta 2 strategy guide. The primer goes over the tutorial information found in the game itself, but it also goes above and beyond what you can learn when purchasing new techniques. Many of the combo presses are confusing to say the least when the game tries to show you what they are. Those who are more versed in these types of games may understand completely what the instructions are trying to say, but I needed a translator. The Beginning Primer and Advanced Primer explained how some of these more complicated techniques were executed, which made far more sense than the in-game instructions. In addition, the Advanced Primer gives several useful tips for improving your technique.
The meat of the strategy guide is of course the main story walkthrough. I apologize in advance for not being able to scan in some of the guide pages to illustrate how useful the book is. For those who missed it, the baby did a number on my copy, and well, the whole thing is close to ruined.
Each chapter is divided into the corresponding Verses, and if the verses are hidden, the guide does explain where to find them on the map. For each Verse, the enemies are listed, and a quick strategy is detailed for the 1st/2nd/3rd Climax difficulties. A separate strategy is set for the ∞ Climax. And then yet another strategy is set aside for Pure Platinum tips. A table sits at the bottom of each Verse that lists the requirements for each medal in each Climax difficulty. I personally loved the assistance for the Muspelheim challenges, as for a few of them, I had zero clues how to even attempt them.
When the chapter shifts to a new location, the chapter in the strategy guide kicks off with a complete map of the area, marking all of the collectibles. Fortunately, all the collectibles are also marked in the main walkthrough as well, including when you can get them (some you have to come back for with certain abilities) and what abilities you need to get them. For the Umbran Resting Places, each has its own tips for snagging all of the memory fragments efficiently.
The back of the Bayonetta 2 strategy guide contains behind the scenes goodies, such as an interview with the lead designer, a look behind the concept art for the villains, and a letter from everyone’s favorite angry man on Twitter, Hideki Kamiya.
Many people complained that this strategy guide wouldn’t be as great as the original Bayonetta strategy guide, but I strongly believe the Bayonetta 2 strategy guide is just as great as the guide for the first game. I wasn’t surprised by anything the bosses and enemies threw at me, it had great tips for completing the Muspelheim challenges, and I was able to get the collectibles with ease. It’s hard to ask for much else in a strategy guide.
Author: Geson Hatchett
Publisher: Prima Games
Editions Available: Hardcover
Acquired via Publisher
I’ve heard a lot of great things about the Tales series, and that holds true for Tales of Xillia 2. This is a series that many love and adore, and it is finally making its way to the United States. When I beat the game, I understood why this is so popular. Complimenting this solid game is the Tales of Xilia 2 strategy guide by Prima Games. Yup, you’re gonna want this add-on!
Considering this is a JRPG, and I’ve also never played a Tales game, I spent a hefty amount of time with the game basics section. Between the cat dispatching, crazy combat, and even how various choices change the game, there is a fair amount to take in. The game itself does okay at breaking in new players, but I was extremely thankful I could go back to the guide and read a bit more detail on anything I was left questioning. This was especially true in those moments where the memory got a bit weak.
Before hitting the main story walkthrough, the strategy guide goes into some immense detail on the characters. This is a lot more than just plain backstory or a grid of miscellaneous stats. Sure, there is an overview which gives vital info for quick reference, but I found things such as the tactics and recommended combos to prove the most beneficial. If there is a specific character that is giving you trouble, chances are this might give you some pointers to make gaming life just a smidge easier. I know it did for me!
Is this where I connect the dots?
The walkthrough and side quest sections are, well, bursting with content. Each chapter comes with maps that are simple enough to quickly glance at and utilize. Yes, the maps even include all the locations of the cats, thus making it easier to snag all 100 of those friggin furballs.
It is also nice to have each new areas enemies detailed per location, instead of just one massive index in the back. This made it much easier to plan how to tackle new places and not be totally blind going in. I do wish there was more detail on the boss fights. Some of the bigger boss battles have just enough info provided to make the battle not entirely controller smashingly frustrating, but some of the bosses only get a paragraph. I found myself asking for more detail in this regard more than once.
Also, if you’re a side quest junkie, there is plenty of love given to that section. It follows the same flow as the main walkthrough, and I found it pretty painless to jump from main story to side quest with the guide. There is a lot to do, so plan on doing a good bit of reading.
Finishing off the guide are sections dedicated to Item Data, Shop Data, and Trophies/Titles/Skits. Anyone that loves Excel will totally dig these sections. I liked how the author broke down the various items so that it was easier to find a specific piece of armor or consumable. There is just so much, it can take a minute or two of page flipping to find exactly what you’re looking for.
Now for the one area I skipped over, and that is the character story section. While I deeply appreciated this, I became turned off by the spoilers. The layout doesn’t change from the main walkthrough/side quest chapters. However, it was too easy to stumble upon a spoiler as to what was going to happen next. While this was still a useful section, it highlights one of my only gripes with the guide: spoilers.
Let me be fair and say that almost every strategy guide, outside of the racing and fighting games, contains spoilers of some sort. It’s just the nature of the beast. Sometimes I read what I need to do next and continue to read ahead a bit, and that is my fault. I am asking for spoilers with this action. However, this guide moves from one place to another, often right on the same page. There were a few times that it was far too easy for me to read a paragraph on what I needed to do at a specific point and run into a spoiler of how the story progresses. While most of the spoilers can be avoided with some effort, it just sucks that they are there and so easily stumbled upon.
You had one job, printing press!
One other gripe, and it might just be my guide, but I had some pages which clearly slid around during printing. Thankfully these were towards the end, and only a handful of pages. However, with the guide being so nice, having badly inked pages hurts. I hope this is a rare coincidence and not indicative of an entire run.
There are two things that caught me by surprise with the guide. The first is the letter from Hideo Baba at the beginning. I know that getting this game to various countries was a lot of hard work, and seeing the producer take some time to thank fans for all their support is a splendid touch here.
The second item that caught my attention was the Q&A with Hideo Baba. This gave me some great insight into the history of the series, as well as why the game was the way it was. It’s a wonderful look into some of the thought process that goes into designing a game. This is a short read and well worth the time.
Despite the spoilers and bad printing on a few pages, I loved the Tales of Xilia 2 strategy guide. It made my first foray into a Tales game completely enjoyable. This is one of those strategy guides that when you go to buy the game, just do yourself a favor and buy this along with it. Heck, it even looks pretty to boot.
Authors: Howard Grossman
Publisher: Prima Games
Editions Available: Hardcover
Acquired via Publisher
Tecmo Koei and Nintendo have both repeatedly said that Hyrule Warriors is not, repeat, NOT a Legend of Zelda game. It is, in all forms, a Dynasty Warriors game with a Legend of Zelda theme. Since Dynasty Warriors games pretty much hack-n-slash with a teensy bit of real-time strategy, why would one need a strategy guide for Hyrule Warriors? I’m glad you asked that question! While Hyrule Warriors is indeed a Dynasty Warriors game, it has enough Zelda puzzles and collectibles to warrant documentation and assistance for those who want every piece of the heart, every weapon, and every one of those blasted gold Skulltullas. Not only that, I’m not sure there’s a way to get through the Adventure Mode portion of the game without the strategy guide and without pulling out your hair in frustration. So yeah, the Hyrule Warriors strategy guide has been my own personal Bible for Hyrule Warriors.
Do you need it to get through the Legend (story) Mode? Definitely not. You can swing your way through that with little trouble. The game tells you which rooms to go to and what to do to advance the story, and none of the combat moves are complicated. It’s not hard to force your way through the campaign without help.
It’s gathering all of the collectibles where the strategy guide is vital. Each level has two gold Skulltullas to find (one only appears in Hard mode), and they only appear under certain circumstances. In addition, when they do appear, you’re given only the area where they are, not where they are. Sometimes they’re in plain sight, but more often than not, they hidden. They also only appear for a short amount of time, so it’s crucial to get there and nab the little devil as fast as possible. The strategy guide will tell you not only where he is and how to get him, but when is the best moment to get him. Sometimes those areas are locked too early in the level, or a certain story sequence will prevent you from backtracking. Since the Hard Gold Skulltullas have even more stipulations to trigger their appearance, this info is quite precious.
Not only that, but each level has pieces of the heart and heart containers (gotta have those for any Zelda game!) only found when clearing certain keeps. Each of these collectibles can only be nabbed if playing as a particular character. Since you can’t get over half of these in your first playthrough, the strategy guide helps plan the additional playthroughs. There are so many levels, no one wants to play through each one over and over with a different character to find whose heart container can be unlocked.
Most of the Hyrule Warriors strategy guide is devoted to the Adventure Mode, and this is the largest chunk of the game, time-wise. The map in Adventure mode is the overworld map from the original Legend of Zelda, and each square represents a scenario to complete. Finishing levels in the Legend Mode unlocks scenarios, but you also have to reach a certain rank in scenarios to unlock future ones. Each scenario has the opportunity to unlock more weapons, Item Cards for Adventure Mode, characters, heart containers, and more gold Skulltullas. If it sounds confusing, it’s because it is and it’s completely overwhelming to boot.
The strategy guide breaks it down by each square, A-1 through H-16 (now that should take you back), goes over what the scenario requires, the coveted A Rank prerequisites, and how to complete it without too much stress. This section alone makes purchasing the strategy guide worth it. This will eliminate potentially several hundred hours of game time spent in frustration. Plus, the overview breaks down the code in how to get both gold Skulltullas in every scenario.
The back section of the Collector’s Edition has an additional treat, a behind-the-scenes look at making Hyrule Warriors. This includes the overarching story they wrote with the game, concept art, and how they developed the characters, including the Zelda history behind the characters. It’s a fantastic addition that any Zelda fan would love to read through.
The Hyrule Warriors strategy guide has been by my side through each and every foray into Tecmo Koei’s version of Link and Zelda’s struggle against Ganondorf. I honestly couldn’t imagine exploring Hyrule any other way.
Author: Garitt Rocha
Publisher: Prima Games
Editions Available: Hardcover Collector’s Edition
Acquired via Publisher
If there’s one thing the strategy guide industry often does well, it’s their collector’s edition strategy guides. I’ve kept strategy guides for games I don’t even have anymore simply because they are collector’s edition guides and are amazing in so many ways. The collector’s edition strategy guide for Dragon Age Inquisition looks to be just as amazing.
They call it the Inquisitor’s Edition, and it includes a hefty bit more than the gorgeous hardcover book you see on the left. The second box on the right includes four leather bookmarks stamped with different faction emblems and a stylized Inquisition pen.
It also includes 3 bonus in-game items thanks to BioWare.
Not going to lie; this is pretty pricey. Its retail price is $119.00, which is a lot for one strategy guide, but at least Amazon currently has a preorder sale going on, allowing you lock it in for $81.88.
Of course I’m interested, but I’m also swayed by shiny things, especially shiny strategy guides. Are you interested?