The Strategy Guides Gallery
Two countries, two ways of selling the same help.
Japan and America built two different shelves for the same need. Japan's shelf holds several official books for one game, made by rival publishers at the same time. America's shelf holds one licensed book per game, made by a named publisher whose logo became the promise, plus unauthorized rivals standing beside it. Every cover below is a door, and every gap tile is honest: where no cover could be verified for this page, the gold owl stands in and the caption says what the book is.
JAPAN: SEVERAL BOOKS FOR ONE GAME
Twilight Princess, 2007, and the shelf around it
Japan · Enterbrain · 2007
The Perfect Guide: 256 pages, green Link cover, Wii branding. One of four licensed Japanese guides for the same game.
Japan · Kadokawa · 2007
The Complete Guide: the white cover, and the biggest of the four Japanese books at 350 pages.
Japan · Shogakukan · 2007
The official guidebook, Wii only. Japan never got a GameCube guide for this game.
Japan · Official Guide Book
The Japanese Sonic official guide book for the Mega Drive: a reminder that the multi publisher guide shelf ran far beyond Zelda.
AMERICA: ONE LICENSE, NAMED PUBLISHERS
BradyGames, Versus, Nintendo itself
Cover gap · BradyGames · 1997
No verified cover staged for this page. The book behind the gap: the official Final Fantasy VII guide, 224 pages, which sold over a million copies.
Cover gap · Versus Books · 1997
No verified cover staged for this page. The book behind the gap: the Completely Unauthorized guide reviewers recommended over the official one.
Cover gap · Nintendo Power · 1995
No verified cover staged for this page. The book behind the gap: the EarthBound Player's Guide, packed inside the game's oversized American box.
CROSSING OVER, AND STILL IN PRINT
Ultimania in English, and the hardcover survivors
America · Dark Horse · Ultimania Archive
Japan's Ultimania line in English dress: Amano panels on white. The Japanese originals remain a Japanese only shelf, explained behind this door.
Cover gap · Future Press
No verified cover staged for this page. The book behind the gap: the Elden Ring Books of Knowledge, 512 page hardcovers that sell out and sell out again.
Cover gap · Piggyback
No verified cover staged for this page. The books behind the gap: Piggyback's limited hardcovers, built as collector's items with art the licensor supplied exclusively.
Start anywhere. The Zelda and Castlevania doors lead to shelves the Library already holds. The question doors lead to the cross series frame built around them.