Croc 1 Manual...

[Tyguy]

Aloha!
Does anyone have the original manual for Croc! Legend of the Gobbos? I've looked all over the Internet and still nothing! So, If you do have it and are going to post it here (I'm begging you!), make sure it's exactly the same as in the booklet and not edited in any way at all. Thanks!

[Haruka]

Hmmm, I don't have the original manual BUT, inside the CD-ROM there is a PDF file containing the manual.

[Tyguy]

Oh man, really?
Gosh, is there any special trick to get to it? I'm gonna go check mine right now!

[Tyguy]

Darn.
I couldn't find it. Can I get more help, please?

[Haruka]

Sure, I extracted from my CD and here it is! ;D

rapidshare.com/files/130384997/Manual.pdf.html

[Tyguy]

Thanks!
Just one problem... My computer won't let me go to that site. Sorry to be so picky, but could you just copy-paste the story (from the manual) here? Many, Many thanks!




MUST....HAVE....MANUAL...

[Haruka]

Well, I will try to do that...

[Forte Wily]

I've grabbed the file and will try to type it up later, if that's of any help.

This is interesting, incidentally. I'm guessing this PDF file was included with the later releases of Croc for Windows 95, which didn't come with a printed manual? It's a copy of the paper manual provided with the original release.


EDIT: Ok, here's the text, pasted in from the PDF (I realised that it wasn't one of those PDFs full of JPEGs ). I cleaned up the formatting due to it coming out with random line-breaks here and there, but everything else is intact (including the one or two grammatical errors!). The text has had some of the forum's sizing tags applied to it in order to preserve the distinction between the title, the headings, and the footnotes.

CROC’S TALE

IN WHICH THE GOBBOS ARE DESCRIBED
Who were the Gobbos? Examine ancient paintings from the time of their civilisation and you will find that the Gobbos were a short, furry people who could be politely described as 'gerbilesque'. But what of their soul, their character? One historian wrote that the Gobbos were among the most advanced civilisations of their day, making great strides in science and literature, a people whose intelligence "shines like a beacon in the night." It should be noted that this historian was himself a Gobbo and not only made numerous grammatical errors in his account, but also misspelled 'Gobbo.'

No, the Gobbos were a simple people, a race whose greatest inventions were edible deodorant and the Wind-Powered Cow Moistener. In over two thousand years of existence, the Gobbos only sent three of their kind to college, and two of those were returned postage due. Okay, so they weren’t the sharpest pins in the cushion. But were they loveable? You bet! So loveable that they would often keep each other as pets. But oddly enough, it was their very lovability, their very kind-hearted innocence, that set in motion a chain of events that would send the Gobbos plummeting towards a terrifying fate, a fate worse than death, a fate so frightening that those with heart conditions may wish to STOP READING NOW......although it’s really not that frightening.

IN WHICH A CROCODILE IS FOUND
It all started one morning in the third month of the Year of the Soupspoon1. King Rufus the Intolerant2, ruler of the Gobbos, was down by the riverbank watching the sunrise. He had just finished breathing a sigh of relief that, once again, the sun had returned, when suddenly a small basket floated ashore. He and a group of his Gobbo subjects huddled around it. Peering inside, they saw a baby crocodile. Naturally, they assumed he must be the early leader in the Annual Midget Crocodile Basket Race. Not that there had ever been such an event, but you never know about these things, and many of the Gobbos placed bets just to be on the safe side. After a couple of hours, when no other baskets had come by, the Gobbos decided that perhaps there was no race, or that it had been called off the night before by crocodiles who shared their concern that the sun had gone away for good.

1 At the start of each year, the Gobbo high priestess would announce the kitchen utensil that, when put down their pants, would bring good luck.
Gobbos took this very seriously, although some began to question the practice during the Year of the Electric Can Opener.
2 People far and wide had heard of King Rufus the Intolerant and feared him for his name alone. Of course, the Gobbos knew his full name was King Rufus the Lactose Intolerant and therefore only feared him after a big bowl of cottage cheese.


The Gobbos were at first wary of the little reptile but were quickly won over by his vulnerability and inquisitive nature. King Rufus decided that the Gobbos would raise the crocodile as one of their own and that he himself would care for it and instruct it in all the ways of the Gobbos. The Gobbos fell in love with their new charge. As he was a crocodile, they began to call him "Crocodile," but then someone thought of a clever new name for him: "Croc." (Although to some of the Gobbos, he will always be known as "Mr. Fun Socks" or "Choo Choo McBoogie").

Croc learned quickly from his Gobbo friends. He surprised them with just how Gobbo-like he was. He could sing their anthem backwards and forwards and won every Gobbo dance contest he entered. In fact, little Croc was so Gobbo-like that it had never even occurred to him to take a single bite out of a Gobbo...as far as he was concerned, he was a Gobbo.

And thus, a time of great joy reigned in Gobbo Valley. Croc was healthy, King Rufus was happy, and his subjects hadn't had so much fun since the Year of the Three Minute Egg Timer.

Then Croc grew.

IN WHICH CROC IS A GOBBO NO MORE
In one fantastic growth spurt, Croc grew as tall as three Gobbos stacked on top of each other. He started eating like crazy. For breakfast alone he ate over one hundred and fifty buckets of peas. While walking, he would accidentally smash through buildings and trip over homes. A simple game of patty-cake with friends would lead to multiple contusions and internal bleeding. Despite his friends' efforts to brush off these accidents, Croc began to feel out of place in the Gobbo Valley.

Just as Croc decided to do something about this, a Gobbo ran past screaming, "Dantinis!!!"

IN WHICH TROUBLE COMES TO GOBBO VALLEY
The Gobbos had long told stories of the Dantinis, a band of villains known far and wide for their ruthless burning, wanton looting, and marvellous singing voices3.

What was worse was that wherever there were Dantinis, Baron Dante could not be far behind.

3 The Dantini Glee Club would have won all the big choral contests had they not been disqualified for eating the judges.


King of all villains, Baron Dante was stronger than a thousand Dantinis and he had a long-established hatred for all things Gobbo. He had seen the Gobbos and Croc being blissfully happy and decided that enough was enough. It was time for the Gobbos to suffer.

The valley swarmed with Dantinis as they captured Gobbo after Gobbo and threw them into cages. Dante watched it all, laughing his horrible laugh. King Rufus knew he had to save Croc.

He tail-swiped the Gong that sat in the centre of the village and it rang, summoning Beany the Bird. She appeared immediately and King Rufus instructed her to whisk Croc away to safety. Rufus looked at Croc, "You’re our only hope." Before he could say anything, Beany spirited Croc away in a shower of Magical Sparklies, just as Baron Dante snatched up the king in his iron hand.

IN WHICH CROC REALISES HIS CALLING
Baron Dante had taken over all of Gobbo Valley. He used his magical powers throughout the land, turning good creatures to evil. Ladybugs, ducks, lizards, fish and mountain goats all became horrific monsters under his command. Baron Dante stashed Gobbos under Dantini guard throughout his new kingdom so that if he needed someone to taunt or even bring to tears, a cute little Gobbo would always be nearby. The Gobbos meantime, being a highly social group, were distraught at being separated from each other.

Baron Dante kept King Rufus as a personal pet, locked in a cage in the back of his castle. Rufus was taunted day and night by Dantinis. He consoled himself in these dreadful hours that at least Croc was out of the Baron’s reach.

Meantime, Croc and Beany the Bird watched as their homeland was turned into Dante’s playground. Beany told Croc that he must act, but Croc was confused. what could he do against the might of Baron Dante? Beany grabbed him by the straps of his backpack and shook him with all her little bird strength, "you’re the only chance they have. You must help! Can you imagine what it’s like for a Gobbo being all alone?" Croc sniffed. he could very easily imagine what it was like, and he felt more alone than he ever had before. Straightening himself up, he said to Beany, "All right! But I’m going to need your help."

Here, the legend becomes fuzzy. Historians are unsure as to whether Croc was actually successful in saving his friends. But one thing is for certain, from that point on, he became the greatest champion the Gobbos had ever had...

EDIT (AGAIN): It looks like there are still a few random line-breaks in there (they're pretty obvious, though)... Sorry about that. I think I've gotten rid of all of the remaining line-breaks now.

[Tyguy]

Oh man, thank you SO much! Mucho Gracias!
I just HAD to read that fabled manual! ;D
I can totally see a guy from the Simpsons wrote it.
It was so worth the wait! ;D
Once again, thank you!

[Forte Wily]

All credit to Haruka, there.

And thanks from me for uploading the manual, too. My copies for each version of the game are long lost - it was nice to read it all again.

[Haruka]

Jul 18, 2008 19:38:28 GMT -5 Tyguy said:

Oh man, thank you SO much! Mucho Gracias!
I just HAD to read that fabled manual! ;D
I can totally see a guy from the Simpsons wrote it.
It was so worth the wait! ;D
Once again, thank you!

It was a pleasure to help you with my manual.