GAME> Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped (1998)
SYSTEM> PS1
SOURCE> FOX Kids Magazine, Winter 1998

Another addition to the category of “Game Tips That Are Actually Just Explanations of Button Assignments.”

GAME> Final Fantasy VIII (1999)
SYSTEM> PS1
SOURCE> InQuest Gamer #57 (January 2000)

For added fun, read this one aloud in your office break room over lunch.

GAME> International Track & Field 2000 (2000)
SYSTEM> PS1
SOURCE> EGM #137 (Dec 2000)

A little-known piece of gameco marketing lore, Konami Man has appeared across generations of Konami games, from Goonies II (NES) to last year’s Castlevania: Harmony of Despair (XBLA).

GAME> Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee (1997)
SYSTEM> PS1
SOURCE> Oddworld Official Strategy Guide, 1997

This strategy guide has a hilariously pretentious interview with Lorne Lanning and Sherry McKenna, where Lanning describes his plans for an Oddworld quintology, and both parties think they invented the concept of fabricating gaming drama by ripping off movie endings.

GAME> Fear Effect (2000)
SYSTEM> PS1
SOURCE> Fear Effect Official Strategy Guide (2000)

From what I can recall, Hana spent most of this game either in short shorts or taking a shower. Here’s some kind of puzzle involving a marionette that I’m sure no one remembers.

GAME> Tomb Raider III (1998)
SYSTEM> PlayStation
SOURCE> OPM, February 1999

This was the “wheels are off the bus” installment. Love those ridiculous cheat codes… L2 L2 L2 L2 L2 L2 R2 R2 R2 L1 L2 L2 L2 L2 L2 L2 R2 R2 R2 L1. Lara says “Oy.”

GAME> Star Wars: Demolition (2000)
SYSTEM> PlayStation
SOURCE> EGM, February 2001

What in the hell was Star Wars: Demolition?

Oh my god. That was that Star Wars Twisted Metal thing, wasn’t it?

Man, we did a lot of stupid crap with Star Wars back then.

GAME> Kagero: Deception 2 (1998)
SYSTEM> PlayStation
SOURCE> OPM, February 1999

I miss the hell out of this series. “Astarte” is the name of the lead character from the first Deception game.

GAME> Resident Evil 2 (1998)
SYSTEM> PS1
SOURCE> Resident Evil Magazine #1, March 1998

Continue on for two full pages of awful RE2 hints. This is one of those “tips that are really just a summarized instruction manual” things. However, I do like the category header “Shove!”