Before the Internet was a commonplace utility, if gamers wanted to learn some incredible secrets and tips to help them complete the game, they would look into purchase a strategy guide. These are still commonly sold today, but the act of buying a physical strategy guide has mostly been disregarded and more favored for different videos or sites dedicated to them. One Kickstarter campaign known as Hand-Drawn Game Guides wanted to recapture the nostalgia of the older gaming strategy guides, with three guides to some popular NES games. The campaign was a huge success, with the team netting the funds needed to start the project. However, in the last few days of the funding period, the entire project was forced to be canceled.
Hand-Drawn Guides were unauthorized and unofficial strategy guides of popular NES games, which were all done by hand. This includes the art, text, and colors, captured in a style that embodies the entirety of early gaming. These guides covered the original NES The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, along with Ninja Gaiden and Contra in a special combined book. Each part of the book depicted the walkthrough in a special comic book artstyle, that also includes tips and secrets hidden within. A lot of praise was directed to this tribute for its amazing art, even earning praise from the official composer of Ninja Gaiden. While the campaign managed to reach its goal and even reach a lot of its stretch goals, the entire project was canceled altogether.
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The announcement went up on the team's Kickstarter page, as well as a tweet indicating that it was the end. The project creator, Phillip Summers, said that the project's plug had to be pulled, due to "legal trouble" that he wasn't able to navigate around. Despite the disappointment of the project's cancelation, he was still happy that it received the amount of love and support during the month. He understood making a fan project using Nintendo's IP could always be canceled, but he was grateful for it.
Despite the project's wordblock, Summers hoped that he would be able to continue it in some fashion. The designers are currently in the process of how to continue the project, saying that it's not over. He further says that the digital versions of the books, which are now going unnamed are currently being distributed for free.
Even with it being canceled, Summers holds no ill will towards the company that forced them to shut it down. The news that this project had been canceled comes after another fanmade Nintendo project, a 2D Metroid Prime game, was shut down not too long ago. After all the work that was put into the campaign, fans hope that the Hand-Made Game Guides could continue in some fashion and see the light of day.
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Source: Kickstarter
