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Thread: Does anybody remember books based on video games?

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    Default Does anybody remember books based on video games?

    I was poking around eBay today when I noticed an auction for a Metal Gear novel based on the NES game, and it got my memory jogging. It was published by Scholastic (i.e. school fairs, book clubs, etc.) and I wasn't able to see the author's name. Of course, these were novels in a loose sense of the word, they're only about 80-100 pages long, and contain hints on how to beat the game.

    I seem to remember reading a Super Mario Bros. and a Mega Man one before, but I haven't seen any in a long time. I thought it was pretty cool.
    "I am a cipher, wrapped in an enigma, smothered in secret sauce."

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    - Wingcommander
    - Warcraft
    - Diablo

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    I remember seeing a Little Golden Book starring Pac-Man (the cartoon version).

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    Pringles had the Choose Your Own Adventure books with Mario....remember those? They used to be all over flea markets, people used to just throw them away by the case load becuase no one wanted them.

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    Gapporin, I know exactly what you're talking about. It was the "Worlds of Power" book series made by Scholastic; I remember you could order these through a full color flyer that Scholastic sent out to schools every month or so. I ordered three of them in grade school: Mega Man 2, Castlevania 2, and Wizards and Warriors. CV2 and W & W are labeled as #4 & 5 in the series while MM2 is not numbered at all (it's also a larger size than the other two). I still have all three books, and I believe that these are the only three that I ever got. I wish I would've gotten more, I doubt they're worth anything, but they're pretty cool to have.

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    I don't feel like editing my last post, but here's a list that I found at the end of the Wizards and Warriors book of other Worlds of Power books that you could order:

    #1: Blaster Master
    #2: Metal Gear
    #3: Ninja Gaiden
    #4: Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest
    #5: Wizards & Warriors
    #6: Bionic Commando
    #7: Infiltrator
    #8: Before Shadowgate

    Junior Worlds of Power:
    Mega Man 2

    The author is listed as F.X. Nine for all the books.

    I have no idea if they made anymore past Before Shadowgate.....man, I hate to admit it, but I'd really like having the entire series, especially that Before Shadowgate book.

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    I remember seeing a Wizards and Warriors book with Fabio on the cover, he was all dressed up in Conan the Barbarian attire, not cool.
    Oh and I have a Megaman and Ninja Gaiden book still in my collection.

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    I can't imagine how you could possibly turn mega man 2 into a book... What the hell is it like?? I really need one of those!
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    From what I remember, it basically describe's Mega Man's various battles with the robot enemies from the game up to his final confrontation with Dr. Wily. The book starts off with Dr. Light telling Mega Man that Dr. Wily has returned. Dr. Light tries to clone Mega Man so that several identical robots can go after Dr. Wily and his helpers, but Dr. Light makes a mistake, which sets up a pretty gay plot twist. I won't divulge it in case you actually want to hunt down a copy of the book and read it for yourself, but I doubt you'd be happy with what they do to Mega Man.

    I think there's one on eBay right now actually. Just letting you know that since this was considered a "Junior Worlds of Power" book, it's shorter and even simpler to read than the other books in the series.

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    I HAVE all the World of Power Books.

    My folks bought them for me years ago when I was a kid and they were new. I enjoyed all of them, and think Metal Gear and Castlevania II are the best (I still read them today).

    I see them for very cheap, though. I don't think they are worth much.
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    SoulBlazer, what's the Before Shadowgate book about? Any good? I'm a huge Shadowgate fan, so I'm naturally curious about what the story is about.

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    After doing some more digging up, I found out through barnesandnoble.com that there's also a "Bases Loaded" book in the series. It's strange, the release date seems to be in-between Infiltrator and Before Shadowgate, maybe it was another Junior book?

    It had to be. You can't write anything pithy based on "Bases Loaded".
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    I was really interested in the Infiltrator book because I thought there would be a hint in there on how to land the helicopter, something I'd been trying unsucessfully to do for months. It was more than a decade ago, but I remember the hint as being just a coy repetition of the manual instructions. I stuffed the stupid book back on the shelf. I never managed to land the helicopter, but I did guess the four letter password that let me play the last two foot missions.

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    Ah, Infiltrator........I will always hate that game. Not only were the helicopter missions impossible, but the foot missions were boring as hell. I was expecting a cool game and I was sorely disappointed. You don't even get any real weapons during the foot missions. Oh well, at least I only spent $2 on it.

    Never heard of that Bases Loaded book, was it part of the Worlds of Power series? It really wouldn't fit in very well with the others, since all of the other books are centered around fantasy/action games. I also found a couple of recently completed eBay auctions for the entire series and no Bases Loaded book was included.

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    This page talks about the Worlds Of Power series, and mentions Bases Loaded (actually, Bases Loaded 2) as being a Junior book. However, like the information I found on Barnes And Noble, hard evidence is sketchy.

    Would be interesting to see if someone could actually track down a copy of it.
    "I am a cipher, wrapped in an enigma, smothered in secret sauce."

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    Well, I always thought it was "Beyond Shadowgate", myself. Oh well. It just covered the Shadowgate game -- it was a good book, probaly the third best in the series, but not my favorite.

    The books did offer hints on the game, but of course they also made some plot changes as needed and what not. They were around 100 pages, yes, and I see them on Amazon for around $1-5 a book, for most of the titles. As I said, common.

    I never heard of the junior ones, though....or that Choose Your Own Adventure Mario book.
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    The Shadowgate book is actually a prequel of sorts to the Shadowgate game. It takes you right up to the point where you have to get into the castle door, as I remember it.

    The books probably aren't worth much because they suck.

    What does not suck, however, are the Infocom novels. The Zork Chronicles, The Lost City of Zork, Planetfall, Wishbringer, Enchanter, and I think a few others were all decent novels that I really enjoyed.

    Another interesting thing to see are video games being made into comic books. I think we had a thread on that a while back.
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    I remember reading Balster Master at my library when I was about 10, and I thought it SUCKED... but then I don't care for the game either.
    I bet the ones based on Ninja Gaiden and Castlevania and W&W and shit were good tho.

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    The Weed Of Crime Bears Bitter Fruit You Old Hag!

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    I don't know if this counts, but my friend has a StarCraft Manga.


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    I have the Wizards and Warriors book. I got it a few years ago at a used book shop. They also had the Blaster Master one and two others that I cant remember. Unfortunately, at the time of my find, I was not too in to video games because I was young and stupid (I think I was 11). Anyhoo, my parents would only buy me one even though they were only 75 cents each, and I randomly chose W and W.
    I like monkeys...and poop...and monkeys that poop...and play video games

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