I'm turning this over to the experts and hopefully.. someone who actually has a copy and can confirm it. Years ago.. I bought a copy of the Official Game Secrets Secret of Mana guide by Squaresoft (actually.. I believe it's published by Prima). We've all seen it a hundred times.. it's the full sized 162-page guide with a picture of the tree on the front (same as the game box, same as the poster in the game).
Now I'm trying to sell it. I listed it as a 162-page entirely monochrome guide because that's what mine is. A couple of people have asked me if the map.. or poster is included. Honestly.. there is NO mention of a map, poster.. or for that matter.. even a COLOR section on the front OR back cover. Looking at the guide on end.. NOR is there any evidence that anything was ever removed from the guide (as in a gap in pages or the spine, torn serrated remnants of a flap inside.. etc.).
Nevertheless.. I did a search of several other listings for the guide. Some like me.. mention nothing; and there IS one person who mentions something about a map/poster and the other seller mentions a "full-color" map section. There is absolutely nothing like that in my guide.. but NO missing page numbers.
If there is someone out there who bought the guide brand-new and never "disassembled" it, could you tell me if indeed there was any "bonus" material and exactly where (in between what pages) in the book it was?
I suppose there could have been two issues of this guide much like some nowdays.. but I can also theorize that the people who ARE mentioning it may have gotten it confused with the poster in the game itself.. especially since the two people that mention anything of the sort.. don't show pictures of it.