All There in the Manual: Difference between revisions

[[File:zelda 2 backstory 5390.jpg|link=Zelda II: The Adventure of Link|frame|Above: You see how epic and [[Tear Jerker|tragic]] the [[Save the Princess]] plot is. Below: You probably pressed "Start" before this text even showed up. ]]

 

 

Information not actually mentioned within the show, but only found in other material related to the franchise. The difference between this and normal merchandising is that this information may actually be relevant to understanding the plot, making the audience wonder why the writers didn't put it ''in'' the show to begin with.

 

Compare [[Deleted Scene]].

{{examples}}

* The incidents between the ''[[Martian Successor Nadesico]]'' TV series and movie were explained in various Japanese-only video games, novels, and radio shows, leaving American fans puzzled at the movie's very different tone.

* A large amount of key information useful in understanding the story can only be found in the supplemental materials for ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''.

** Essentially the only way to even ''try'' to make sense of NGE's plot is to look at the "classified files" in the spin-off game for the Playstation 2, which was coincidentally [[No Export for You|never released in the states]].

** There was actually another Manual that was released later, then basically overtook the previous manual in canonicity. No one had translated that into English yet. This is technically the third time it happened, since the Spin-Off Game decanonized the first manual called the Red Cross Book. It's likely they'll continue making new Manuals with mildly and noticeable different interpretations of what's going on until they finally go Bankrupt.

* The ''[[Koko wa Greenwood]]'' OVA literally directs the viewer to a specific chapter of the manga to explain a reference.

* ''[[Bleach]]'' has a series of databooks that contribute to a broader understanding of how the main manga should be interpreted in certain places as well as offering both further information on events and characters and also adding teasers and hints for events and characterisations that might be revealed much later in the storyline.

* For an example of a series where ''all'' the materials are becoming officially translated for the West, see ''[[.hack//Sign]]'' and [[.hack|its sequels]]—to get the full story, you need to read a novel, watch a [[.hack//Sign|26 episode anime series]], play four games, watch the four OVA anime episodes bundle one with each game, read four more novels, and read a three volume manga (and/or watch the 12 episode anime adapted from it, but that isn't canon so it won't really help you), preferably in that order. That's not counting the non-canon spinoffs or the sequel project, which consists of much the same combination again.

** [[Crack is Cheaper|.Hack//Your Money is Ours]] ......

** Not everything has made it to the west. .hack//Zero still hasn't been translated. Seeing as it was set in The World R:1 and they've moved on past R:2 to R:X, it's doubtful it will see light of day. Or be finished in Japan for that matter.

* Like ''[[Moonlight Lady]]'' enough that you [[I Read It for the Articles|watch it for the plot]]? Too bad—lots of vital information was left behind in the visual novel, from explanations for why some people are even around the Kuraki Manor to begin with, to ''whole plot points''. At least there's lots of other fun stuff to distract you from the plot holes.

* In ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'', there are various questions in the anime that are All There In The Manga, mostly characters' backstories.

* Want to know the [[Backstory]] for ''[[One Piece Strong World]]'''s villain, Gold Lion Shiki? You have to either go read the supplemental "Chapter 0" or watch the OVA based on said chapter.

* The OVAs of ''[[Gravitation]]'' take place after nearly the entire manga, only obliquely hinting at its events in flashbacks; Yuki's [[Dark and Troubled Past|troubled past]] isn't even ''mentioned''.

** It also helps if you've read all [[CLAMP]]'s ''other'' manga, particularly ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura]]''.

** Don't even try watching the second [[Original Video Animation|OVA]] without having read the manga. [[Mind Screw|Or having read the manga for that matter]].

** ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam F91|GundamF91]]'' may be the biggest example of this in the MSG franchise. As a result of originally being a TV series that was cut down and compressed to a movie partway through production, most of the story is completely dropped from the movie. The movie does not show how Seabrook and his friends defeat Cosmo Babylonia and the Crossbone Vanguard. So, to actually finish the movie's story as well as find out various things that happened within the movie but were skipped because of time constraints, you have to read the manga or novels. Which have never been officially released in the US.

* See also ''[[Zoids]]'', whose ''main continuity'' (Battle Story) is almost entirely told in the model kits. None of this information ever gets translated.

* ''[[The Five Star Stories]]'' by Mamoru Nagano contains some of the most ambitious worldbuilding in anime and manga history, a lot of which gets little exposure in the series proper. Fortunately, the English editions come with sections from the sourcebooks printed in the back of each issue, including full-colour illustrations.

* ''[[Devil May Cry]] [[Devil May Cry: The Animated Series|The Animated Series]]'' doesn't bother to fully explain Dante's connection to Trish or Lady, their respective histories being found in the first and third game. Amongst others.

* At the end of every ''[[Mirai Nikki]]'' volume, there is an [[Omake]] that may explain certain things that were not very obvious, such as how and why the 3rd, 4th and 9th were targeting each other, and how they began to focus on Yukki. It also gives a little background info on some of the other future diary holders.

** There is also ''Mosiac'' and ''Paradox'', which focus on the Ninth and Akise, giving more info on the Sixth as well.

** The DVD releases come with audio dramas. The first one is about the cat that appears only in the [[Title Sequence]]. The third one expands on Kyoko's past, and how she knew Mami. The second one is [[Slice of Life|probably]] [[Affectionate Parody|not canon]].

* Much of the back stories and family life for [[Ronin Warriors]] in Yoroiden Samurai Troopers can only be found in supplemental books and Drama CDs.

* A lot of additional information for the ''[[Tiger and Bunny]]'' series shows up in the audio dramas (which are included with the Blu-Ray releases) or in supplemental guides. Information within them ranges from [[Fandom Nod|amusing tidbits]] (such as all the heroes' first crushes) to more plot-relevant elaborations (like who Kotetsu's wife was and how he met her).

* ''[[The Idolmaster (anime)|THE iDOLM@STER]]'' - Some events in the anime series make a lot more sense if you've played through the game it's based on and unlocked the backstories for the idols.

* Supplemental materials for ''[[Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex]]'' have very detailed information about the world of the show, including the political backdrop of the story (which is only hinted at in-series) as well as plenty of weapon descriptions.

 

== Comic Books ==

* ''[[Legion of Super-Heroes (comics)|Legion of Super-Heroes]]'' v.4 had a role-playing sourcebook that included various pieces of info and backstory not in the comic itself. It's particularly notable because Volume 4 was set five years after the previous series and featured a radically different status quo, with many unexplained situations and characters which had histories the audience knew nothing of.

* Very few of the characters in ''[[Fables]]'' get their origins explained in much detail (or at all). This is fine for say [[Meaningful Name|Bigby Wolf]] or Snow White but some of them are very obscure and Frau Totenkinder's name can't be found in an actual fable because [[Word of God]] says she's every ''unnamed'' witch in [[Fairy Tales]]. So the background before they come to earth is all their in the manuals, the dozens and dozens of not internally consistent manuals.

** This is actually extensively played with in the course of the story. All Fables that join Fabletown are granted a General Amnesty - meaning that their pasts are essentially 'forgiven' and thus, never need to be spoken of, ever again. As for Totenkinder herself, there is an in-universe theory that mundane recognition grants power - neo-revolutionary Goldilocks, for example, does not seem to be capable of dying because of how incredibly popular and enduring her story is. Totenkinder has stated she doesn't think much of this theory and has gone to great lengths to keep stories featuring her as low-key as possible, and yet she seems to display the same ability, dying again and again but always coming back. The one story she appears in that simply 'won't go away' - heavily implied to be Hansel and Gretel's story, in which she meets her end burned to death in her own oven - her name is never mentioned. 'Totenkinder', which literally means 'Child Killer', is very likely not remotely her real name.

** Lack of background does in fact have a role to play. In ''Jack of Fables'' we meet an African fable who says all his stories were censored by the villain who intends to wipe out fables by removing all their stories. (It was Little Black Sambo.)

** The spin-offs are pretty much necessary to understand some of the points. ''1001 Nights of Snowfall'' makes Totenkinder's identity 100% certain, along with clearly up various other backgrounds of characters, and "The Great Fables Crossover" is downright nonsensical unless you've been reading ''Jack of Fables''.

* The ''[[X Wing Series]]'' comics, after their [[No Ending|abrupt end]], had an issue of Star Wars Handbook come out, which elaborated on various ships and the backstories of a number of pilots, major villains, and [[Monster of the Week|villains of the arc]].

* In ''[[The Transformers (Marvel Comics)|The Transformers]]'', a fair bit about the origin of the Transformer [[Civil War]] is only provided in text stories in the annuals.

* ''[[Chassis]]'': Due to the short run of the title (and the fact that it moved between three publishers), many details of the world where only spelled out in #0 issue which was intended as an introduction for new readers. This included profiles of characters who never made it into the series proper.

* When ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)|Archie Comics' Sonic Universe]]'' released the Silver Saga storyline (which Silver the Hedgehog aided the alternate universe daughter of Knuckles, Lara-Su, against her power mad father), they released a number of blogs that told the story of Lara-Su before and after the storyline.

 

* Arguably in ''[[Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality]]''. (Note: Spoilers even if you've read every chapter) The fact that {{spoiler|Voldemort turned the Pioneer plaque into a horcrux}} is heavily implied, but by no means confirmed, in the text. It is explicitly stated in the author notes.

* In the ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'' fanfic ''[[Deva Series|Academy Blues]]'' (As [[Lyrical Nanoha/Fanfic Recs|recommended here.]]) If you want to fully understand how some characters' powers work, and the personality of many of the [[Loads and Loads of Characters]], you need to read the review replies the author gives, as well as read the [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3510860/1/Academy_Blues_Side_Stories side stories for the series.] Which is ironic, given that the author [[Word of God|has declared his]] [[Pet Peeve Trope|dislike for this]].

* The same can be said of ''[[The Open Door]]'', at least in so far as knowing more things, though to Academia Nut's credit the main story is fully comprehensible without needing the [[Word of God]].

* ''[[Aeon Natum Engel]]'' and ''[[Aeon Entelechy Evangelion]]'' has quite a considerable amount of extra info on their respective spacebattles.com threads

* ''[[Renegade (fanfic)|Renegade]]'' features a number of Codex entries similar to the Codex in ''[[Mass Effect]]'' that details additional notes about the setting.

* The bonus chapter for Season Two of ''[[Calvin and Hobbes: The Series|Calvin and Hobbes The Series]]'' reveals [[Only Sane Man|Andy]] is homeschooled, and both him and Klein are named for their ([[Script Fic|proposed]]) voice actors (Andrew Lawrence and Robert Klein, respectively).

* In ''[[Stars Above]]'', a [[Intercontinuity Crossover|crossover]] between [[Lucky Star]] and [[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]], {{spoiler|the true names, natures, and backstories of the Demons called the Nine are revealed almost exclusively through [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7920813/1/ the Demon Profiles], written in the style of the Witch Cards from the official Madoka website.}}

 

== Film ==

* The 2001 remake of [[Planet of the Apes]] had a bizarre [[Gainax Ending]] in which {{spoiler|Leo returns to his time, only to find that the Earth had been conquered a 2nd time by General Thade before he got there.}} If you visited the (now defunct) official website, it would explain that {{spoiler|Thade accessed the Oberon's computer system while he was trapped in it and learned about the real history of the world. Afterwards, he managed to escape, fishing Leo's pod out of the swamp where it had crashed and fixing it to working order before riding off to the electromagnetic storm and arriving back on Earth before Leo did, where he staged a second rebellion.}}

** Even worse, the VHS version of the movie claimed that everything you needed to know to understand the ending was already in the movie, showing a series of clips that apparently explained it for you. All the clips explained, though, was that the planet was actually Earth, a plot twist that had reached [[It Was His Sled]] status ''long'' before the movie came out.

 

== Literature ==

* The ''[[Aubrey-Maturin]]'' canon has ''A Sea of Words'', a 500+ page lexicon and handbook for readers who can't parse the series' prolific nautical jargon, drop-in historical references, and other arcane miscellany.

* Plot-wise, ''[[Ulysses]]'' is a sequel to ''[[A Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man]]''. This isn't mentioned much.

* ''[[Les Misérables (novel)|Les Misérables]]'' contains vast amounts of information on most of its named characters, regardless of their individual significance in the story. Although no adaptation of the novel thus far has made use of all the information, several of them, in order to remain canon, therefore end up retaining the names of the many minor characters and therefore confusing the intended audience. Possibly the instance where the background information in the novel has most effect is in the importance of the real historical figure Lamarque as a pivotal part of the plot. As this historical figure is only every referenced rather than actually appearing, it is virtually impossible to understand this sequence in any adaptation without reading the either a historical source or the original novel.

* The ''[[Horatio Hornblower]]'' stories have a separate book that has diagrams of the sea battles and maps of the settings. It takes work to follow some of the technical parts of the battles without it.

* The last ''[[X Wing Series]]'' novel, ''Starfighters of Adumar'', has a set of articles called [http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=starwars/article/sw20040401adumarmain Adumar: Pilots Wanted] made for the roleplaying game, which are partly in the form of the characters talking about those events for a documentary. It reveals something more about what happened after, while casually mentioning other things, like how Wes apparently died in [[Marvel Star Wars]].

** The entire [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]] is based on being a multi-medium experience. Characters and events flip back and forth from movies to novels to cartoons to comics to video games to non-fiction sources all the time, making entire plotlines incomprehensible to readers/viewers without the complete picture who did not resort to online sources for clarifications. Those who read only novels would wonder where the heck did all those things the characters are alluding to happened, the gamers will not appreciate the appearance of random extras who are actually fan-favorites and important events and backstories being elaborated upon only in Visual Guides and RPG sources are commonplace.

*** ...It's not nearly that bad. The games are all ''full'' of new characters, and those who are carried over from prior media don't really stand out. The only cartoon to get books written about it is [[The Clone Wars]], which introduces those characters itself. Most games which aren't rehashes of the films have tie-in novels. Kyle Katarn is the most major game character to get any kind of role in the books without such a novel, and that role is extraordinarily minor - save for the fact that he's never killed, he doesn't stand out among the many other Jedi who are mentioned to be present. It's true that you don't get the whole story if you stay with only the novels - for example ''[[Shadows of the Empire]]'' shows different aspects of the same chain of events in the novel, the comic book, and the videogame - but generally storylines keep to themselves and wrap up without needing tie-ins to complete things, and when aspects are carried from one medium to another they get an explanation.

* In case you were wondering just what the hell Gilead was, what purpose the Gunslingers had, and why the Tower's down to two Beams, try reading a book called ''Black House'' by Peter Straub and [[Stephen King]]. You'll actually get more information there about what ''[[The Dark Tower]]'' is all about that you will in all seven of King's books.

* [[Brandon Sanderson]] likes to include a lot of background and world information in his annotations that aren't necessary to understand and enjoy his books, but are still quite useful. These include things like [[Hidden Depths|rather detailed backgrounds and motivations for minor -even completely throwaway- characters]], additional details about [[Magic A Is Magic A|the magical system]], world mechanics and history, and the occasional "offscreen" happenings that the characters didn't catch.

* [[Eoin Colfer]] released a tie-in book to the ''[[Artemis Fowl]]'' series which contained some "interviews" with the main characters and the author, the substitution cipher for the Gnommish alphabet, and two short stories involving Holly Short and Mulch Diggums.

* Scott Westerfeld made a tie-in book for the ''[[Uglies]]'' series called ''Bogus to Bubbly'' which talked about all the world building and research that went into the series.

* The [[Honor Harrington|Honorverse]] has the [http://infodump.thefifthimperium.com/series/Harrington/ Pearls of Weber], containing almost 20 years of collected statements from the author.

 

== Live-Action TV ==

* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' has a whole bunch of stuff contained in non-show stuff. Hell, the universe is continued in the comics.

* The miniseries ''[[Rose Red]]'' has a tie-in novel that fills in some of the background. Not required, but nice. Unfortunately, it refers to a website with lost excerpts from the novel (including one that implies [[Ho Yay]] between Ellen and Sukeena), but that site is gone.

** More overtly, there were two serialised webisodes (totaling 30 minutes each) preceding Seasons 3 and 4.5 which expand on many important elements. The Season 3 webisodes show life on Cylon-occupied New Caprica, how Duck and Jammer ended up where they were in the opening episodes of S3, how Tigh and Tyrol's morality was gradually eroded until they were willing to consider the use of suicide bombers and more. The Season 4.5 ones are even more important as they show exactly how Felix Gaeta lost faith in the battlestar's command crew, setting up later events in the series, and explain why he stabbed Baltar and lied on the stand in late Season 3. The existence of these webisodes is not well-known outside of the USA, as they tend not to be included on the Region 2 DVD releases.

*** The 4.5 webisodes haven't been included on ''any'' DVD releases.

* Many of the new-gen ''[[Kamen Rider]]'' series are prone to this.

** Although, this is usually minutiae such as weapon or attack names or height and weight. You don't need to know that [[Kamen Rider Kiva]]'s Rider Kick is called the Darkness Moon Break and that it has the strength of 30 tons of TNT to enjoy the show.

** And then ''Gaoranger'' itself is something of a manual for its adaptation, ''[[Power Rangers Wild Force]]''. [[No Export for You|Guess how much of the extra material got translated into English?]]

** During the Disney era of ''[[Power Rangers]],'' there was a lot of things that were placed on the shows website or in promotional materials that never actually showed up on screen. During ''Dino Thunder,'' Disney's site for the series said that Ethan developed a way for them to teleport across the city by text message. ''Jungle Fury'' gave Lily's name as Lily "Chill" Chilman, a nickname she was ''never'' called by. Finally, never once in the entire season was it mentioned exactly what ''RPM'' stood for (It's Racing Performance Machines, if anyone cares.) Whether it's All There in the Manual, [[Aborted Arc]], or [[They Just Didn't Care]] is a matter of debate.

** Also, you have to play the video game to find out how Crichton came to have a favorite gun that he names Winona.

* ''[[Twin Peaks]]'' had several print and audio media (The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer, Diane:The Tapes of Agent Cooper, e.g.) which offered teasing insight into the developing plot.

* The motivations of the players of ''[[Survivor]]'' are often utterly inexplicable to those who have not watched the supplementary videos on CBS's website (and sometimes remain inexplicable even then until interviews with the players after the game has ended make things more clear). This is often the case for 24/7 [[Reality TV]] shows which only use a tiny percentage of their filmed footage to form the narrative of the show.

* Some of ''[[Carnivale]]'''s mythology was given in information and notes from series creator Daniel Knauf outside of the show, later presented by the fans via [https://web.archive.org/web/20120208131345/http://savecarnivale.org/html/rousties_month_thalidar_gospel.htm The Gospel of Knaufias]. While it's not essential reading for the show, it does answer some mysteries and fill out some gaps concerning the show's plot and characters.

 

== Music ==

* The CDs of ''Standing Stone,'' a mostly-instrumental classical work by [[Paul McCartney]], includes a poem that includes the storyline for the piece. The [[NPR]] broadcast from when it was released did not.

* [[David Bowie]]'s [[Rock Opera]] ''1. Outside'' has a short story in the liner notes setting up its storyline and major characters. Unfortunately, this only takes the story so far because the album was intended as the first of three; Bowie decided not to write/record the follow-ups, so we will probably never know how everything was going to work out.

 

== Newspaper Comics ==

* As the clock ticked down to the retirement date planned for Lynn Johnston's comic strip ''[[For Better or For Worse]]'', she attempted to wrap up numerous loose ends in her ongoing story arcs. The sudden surge of activity in the previously glacial pace of the strips was too much to fit into her three- or four-panel a day limitation, so she set up a website containing letters written by the characters to their fans. In the letters she explained in more detail some of the sudden changes in plot or personality, and indulged in major retconning in response to fan outrage at some of the more absurd developments. Nonsensical in-strip events that were explained in the characters' letters became so commonplace they were a [http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.comics.strips/browse_thread/thread/bccd712ad44044f6/93196d1a9c75dd69?q=explained+letters+group:rec.arts.comics.strips#93196d1a9c75dd69 running gag] in [http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.comics.strips/browse_thread/thread/24951daaa8e2970c/36a68034b152b4d5?q=explained+letters+group:rec.arts.comics.strips#36a68034b152b4d5 discussions] on the Usenet newsgroup [http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.comics.strips/browse_thread/thread/15a446adb2e6fec4/75c1509c8aef080b?q=explained+letters+group:rec.arts.comics.strips#75c1509c8aef080b rec.arts.comics.strips].

* The comic strip ''[[Pluggers]]'' uses a cast of [[Funny Animal]]s to illustrate "Pluggerisms" sent in by readers (granted, the definition is a sliding scale). The now-defunct website used to include mini-bios for each characters, but their traits rarely, if ever, showed up in the actual strip. For instance, Sheila the kangaroo is supposed to be an aerobics instructor according to the [https://web.archive.org/web/19970208084918/http://www.pluggers.com/cast.html 1997 character bios], but ''not once'' was she ever shown being one. The character bios were done away with less than four years later.

 

== Tabletop Games ==

* ''[[Anima: Beyond Fantasy]]'' is another good example. The game has a fairly rich setting that, however, is scattered among a RPG (and its manuals), a miniatures game (better said, its manual), several card games, and a videogame. No doubt [[Crack is Cheaper]].

 

* Almost all traditional [[Theatrical Productions]] have this to an extent—whereas a film or TV series have credits in them, and books feature acknowledgements, etc. etc., if one wants to know who the cast and crew of a particular production are, or sometimes even what the setting is, one needs to have a program from that production (or look it up online...), which will have all that listed. With the exception of ''[[Les Misérables (theatre)|Les Misérables]]'', no shows generally use title cards to indicate things, and with the exception of ''[[Passing Strange]]'', no show usually has the names of the cast and crew listed aloud at any time during the run.

* If you want to completely understand the underlying themes, vague plots, and significance of all - well, most of - the peculiar characters and acts in a given [[Cirque Du Soleil]] show, you will probably have to buy the souvenir program and/or explore the official website. According to the 20th anniversary book ''20 Years Under the Sun'', the creators prefer that people watch the more abstract shows (such as those of director Franco Dragone) and create their own interpretations of them rather than have the creators' ideas in mind all along.

* In [[The Drowsy Chaperone]], Man-in-Chair never names Trix or Geroge's actors, but the CD case to the 2006 recording gives them names. Because this could have been created for the CD alone, it could also be considered [[Loose Canon]].

 

== Theme Parks ==

** Or you speed through the line too fast to even see them. For an example at another theme park, the ride for ''[[The Mummy Trilogy|The Mummy 1999]]'' at Universal Studios is based around the concept that you're participating in a filming of another Mummy movie. If you take the Fast Pass-style line, you'll go through too fast to even figure this out.

** Disney is an odd case of this, as their official policy regarding a ride's backstory is that it is whatever the Cast Members working there that day decide it is. Most rides have a generally accepted story that most Cast Members will stick to, but any details are subject to change at a moments notice, and some of the best parts come from some guy one day deciding to change it up a bit.

 

== Toys ==

** Only the extended fiction explains why the powerful and numerous Brutes are not seen in the first game.

** ''[[Halo: Reach]]'' is notorious for this: the significance of Dr. Halsey, why she distrusts Noble Team, the {{spoiler|Forerunner artefact, Cortana, the ''Pillar of Autumn''}}, and even the ''setting'' won't make full sense unless you've played the first game and read both ''[[The Fall of Reach]]'' and ''[[Ghosts of Onyx]]''.

* ''[[Fire Emblem]]: Path of Radiance'' and its sequel ''Radiant Dawn'' had its backstory explained at the official Japanese website for the series, namely {{spoiler|that <s>Sephiran</s> Lehran and Altina founded Begnion together and they were the first couple to bear a Branded child.}}

** This information could be found in game if the player was willing to go through a second time while performing certain extra tasks.

* Trying to make at least some sense of the [[Gainax Ending|confusing ending]] of ''[[Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty]]''? See ''The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2'' which explains some things such as {{spoiler|the existence of both real and AI Rosemary'.}} All this and more were eventually compiled into the ''Metal Gear Solid 4 Database''. Good thing [[Regional Bonus|Europe got lucky in getting ''The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2'']], although the latter has quite a few errors on its part.

** ''Metal Gear Solid 2'' also featured a fictional novel titled ''In The Darkness of Shadow Moses: The Unofficial Truth'', a tell all account written by Nastasha Romanenko exposing the true events of the Shadow Moses Incident from her perspective. This novel elaborates a lot on the Shadow Moses Incident from the support group's end.

** Also the [https://web.archive.org/web/20100117015531/http://ordainorder.net/fear/ Armacham Technologies brochure (aka "Field Guide")], which was a promotional bonus for US pre-orders of ''[[First Encounter Assault Recon]]'' 2: Project Origin, and contains massive amounts of background and supplemental plot information for the FEAR game world.

* ''[[Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri]]'' has this in ''spades''. Additional information on the faction leaders' personalities, the backstory of the game before arriving on Planet, trivia on the planet and the solar system of Alpha Centauri...you name it.

* Parodying this trope, the manual of puzzle game ''[[Sub Terra]]'' contains a backstory that is not found in the actual game, but is also completely unrelated and irrelevant.

* Illwinter strategy game ''[[Dominions]] 3'' has a massive 300 some-odd page manual including a complete list of the hundreds of spells and a description and sample strategy for all of the myriad nations, alongside the admittedly limited backstory to the game.

* Each ''[[Escape Velocity]]'' had more in the manual than the predecessor: the original game was not this trope at all, ''Override'' has a couple of things that were never explicitly stated in-game, and ''Nova'' has eight 'preamble' PDFs, one of which is a timeline, six of which goes into deeper detail about the important<ref>That is, each corresponds to one of the major and exclusive to one another storylines of the game</ref> civilizations and groups of the 'verse, and [[The Last of These Is Not Like the Others|one which is an example of a traditional song sung by one minor group]].

* In the first ''[[Shenmue]]'' every single character, from Ryo to Nozomi to the guys who exist only to get beaten up in the 70 Man Fight, has their own name and backstory, most of them fairly detailed and interesting. Did you know that the girl working outside the thrift shop is really the daughter of a wealthy family who ran away to escape an arranged marriage? Or that the reason Nozomi is in love with Ryo is due to him defending her from bullies? Unless you've gone out of your way to search for the bios most likely not.

* The ''[[Ar tonelico]]'' series is blatant about this, between the scarcity of information on world history in-game and the [[Translation Train Wreck]] that plagues it. What are the [[Our Elves Are Better|Teru]]? What is a [[MacGuffin|Will of The Planet]], and why do [[The Atoner|Jacqueli]] seeks it? Why is [[Barrier Maiden|Saki]] so important? {{spoiler|Who is this [[Giant Space Flea From Nowhere|Ciela/Horus]]?}} All of these are found in the Ar Ciel=Ar Dor booklet.

* ''[[The Reconstruction]]'', sort of. There's an in-game glossary that has background information and history on tons of things, some of which are part of the plot that the game itself only half-explains to you. Fortunately, though, none of it is really vital to understanding the actual plot.

* Inversion: Early on, ''[[Erfworld]]'' inserts explanatory material from Parson Gotti's website ''between its conventional story pages''. "Parson's Klog" functions identically to the supplemental online sources that other users of this trope provide, giving needed information about the rules of the game-cum-world Parson finds himself trapped in ... except, in this case, it only ''looks'' like a separate web source. In short, this time The Manual Is All In There.

* ''[[Samurai Princess]]'' has some smaller info like character ages that are not mentioned in story on the cast page.

* ''[[Fetch Quest: Saga of the Twelve Artifacts]]'' has the Historical Codex of Bideogamu, which has enough information to understand the plot in a more in-depth point of view. One should read it to see why, for instance, demons are [[Exclusively Evil]] in this world.

* ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'' has had several conversations and references to other events which are only explained in extra stories in the print versions of the story. The author has ''kindly'' pointed this out.

* ''[[Adventure Dennis]]'' has its final chapter devoted to an "information booklet" that reveals some information about the story and specifically acts like an old game manual.

* [[Maggot Boy]] has a [http://maggot-boy.com/extra.html written version] that goes into a lot more detail than the comic. Sketches on the artist's deviantart page also give information on some of the characters before the events of the comic.

* [[Universal Compass]] has a lot of this in the comments below the webcomic page due to the complexity of the plot.

* ''[[Cucumber Quest]]'' has [http://gigidigi.tumblr.com/ Gigi's Tumblr].

** And then there's how Michelle got turned into a catgirl...

* The story of ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Special Edition]]'' is entirely contained in its [http://lparchive.org/LetsPlay/Sonic%202%20SE/manual manual.]

 

== Western Animation ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Tropes of Legend]]

[[Category:Fake Difficulty]]

[[Category:Creator Speak]]

[[Category:Canon Universe]]

[[Category:Pandering to the Base]]