Grim Fandango: Prima's Official Strategy Guide [Paperback]

Jo Ashburn (Author)

Book Description

Series: Prima's Official Strategy Guide | Publication Date: October 28, 1998

Of all the travel agents in all the cities of the afterworld, the trouble had to happen to Manny.

• Full-color inserts
• Designer Diaries by Tim Schafer, creator of Grim Fandango
• In-depth descriptions of all exotic environments in the Land of the Dead
• Detailed walkthroughs of all four years
• A solution for each puzzle
• Complete lists of all items
• Everything you need to bury Hector LeMans–permanently!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Buenos dias, señor. Welcome to the Land of the Dead. Meet Manny Calavera--he'll be your travel agent and friendly neighborhood grim reaper during your four-year journey through this strange new world. Sound weird? Well, this is just the tip of the iceberg for LucasArts' eagerly anticipated new adventure epic, Grim Fandango. In keeping with the game's film noir atmosphere, Prima's guide to Grim Fandango is written in a narrative style. The author walks you through the entire game by telling you the story of the game. As you follow along, you'll pick up the solutions to all of the game's puzzles. The manner in which the book is written is especially helpful for habitual strategy-guide readers, who may pass too quickly over a key plot point by following a no-nonsense walkthrough too closely. With this Grim Fandango guide, however, the walkthrough is the story, so even if you follow it to the letter and play the game with your eyes firmly glued to the book (and not on the screen) you'll still absorb some of the splendor that makes Grim Fandango such an impressive, unique, and compelling gaming experience. --Michael Ryan

Review

Of all the travel agents in all the cities of the afterworld, the trouble had to happen to Manny.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Prima Games; First Printing edition (October 28, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761517979
• ISBN-13: 978-0761517979
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,654,898 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A guide that gives as much or as little help when required., June 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Grim Fandango: Prima's Official Strategy Guide (Paperback)

Make no bones about it Prima's strategy guide for Grim Fandango written by Jo Ashburn proved to be the ideal solution for this almost (but not quite) lazy gamer! I love long, involved and challenging games but I hate getting stuck for too long and here is a guide that gives as much (or as little help) as required. The system of tiered answer that become more specific the stupider you are (and I can be very stupid sometimes!) is not a new idea but the way these clues and hints are set out is truly excellent. They give you enough information to avoid frustration whilst retaining the game's essential challenge. Here is a strategy guide that has been produced by someone who obviously loves the game and it is beautifully crafted. It also contains a narrative account of Manny's exploits in the Land of the Dead, some full colour design sketches and the diary of Grim Fandango's creator Tim Schafer. It truly enhanced my enjoyment of a wonderful game which is the best compliment I can give to the author.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm in love with Manny ... and his guide!, July 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Grim Fandango: Prima's Official Strategy Guide (Paperback)

The game's great and this helpful strategy guide only enhances the enjoyment of your trip to the 9th Underworld ... the only thing I'm going to hate is the end of the line ... but next time I'm going to try to play WITHOUT the guide, and see how much I remember from my first trip! The game and its guide are a must for anyone - even someone who's not particularly into computer games, like myself. Bravo! (PS - Any you guys out there anything like Manny????)

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish more game guides were done as well as this, February 18, 2000

By 

Auros (Palo Alto, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Grim Fandango: Prima's Official Strategy Guide (Paperback)

It has both progressive hints (with the real spoilers upside-down, no less) and a walkthrough written in a sort of short story format, and some nice samples of storyboard art and cool stuff like that. Even the brief character sketches are amusing -- most of them contain puns that you understand after you've played the game.

My only complaint was that the game itself had a few really weird and arbitrary puzzles. I loved the look, and the characters, and the cut scenes, but I don't see how you could possibly solve the game without either the hints, or randomly trying every permutation of actions.