Well, now I'm declaring this Konami-made puzzler's instruction manual to be among my favorites as well.
This time, though, I'm going to go a step further and say that the booklet showcased in the scans below is one of my all-time favorite game manuals, period.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfSSci_y0EMUj6R3_PKIBYdMfj_Nsrm2xbVEtAEZ3HGyLOsTStWymDPTnvB5xY7mG61F37wte3KeaOdHL4jGjRP_KEnpFMphCZ8gzU0T706hekgbaI0cgf6YDELjI3OJBYa77cAw/s400/MoaiKun_Famicom_manual_cover.jpg)
Some of you likely will feel the same way about it once you finish perusing this post. Hell, I'll bet at least a few of you will feel that way about it after taking in the front and back covers of Moai-kun's manual.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjelDOLIXBHzhlzQ783P-LlnYqTnW2e4xCRnzohYWzqgkulWa770JrUwQjSl0MGSDA1Cf_s-e8xaUiEOEr95VsN3W7DCwr_vtpI5bZr1wg8IcWdSY7NVvo9zgHGu-uv3vR3qI4VLA/s400/MoaiKun_Famicom_manual_pg1-2.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqoIHx9P3UcYQTK-i9D7gf5BldBf-ugHUCz4LHVumQfjS9965H8fcmYyo0hJsjBR3AaqKZwAZZfjhFuxaVvbTjAyREAqdD9R69WPPpt9-BgOYbaIYP2V23RGJHnNlhGfd0Awj8Ww/s400/MoaiKun_Famicom_manual_pg3-4.jpg)
One of the best things about this how-to pamphlet, if you ask me, is that every single page of it features an illustration or some other piece of art.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28drpIuToie1EDtDVVgY9wYXpYeg1Q-HOeP_gzK799vSlmPA_af_aQCfIV0be3mxbmKzZjhca0kV7iYfoMhPa8ZbR0gVlHsBPp-J2DfDy1hVED0u4uVPBi9ywcPrQF8VlF9B68A/s400/MoaiKun_Famicom_manual_pg5-6.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFlAcvfIiyPkMi00wwO1epaMmBeUmOtpg2lU0BXeQ_YINlVrnXTSc4xSIqRZTeYAde29OmW4Wkg2AEu-BOTh8yLTKtwZP2F8U7BqzM9Jweh-k3mI3Gf4bP8j7A51-MUngVUpQU3g/s400/MoaiKun_Famicom_manual_pg7-8.jpg)
The pops of color and the additional elements that keep each two-page spread from being anything even approaching boring only add to the appeal of this Moai-kun instruction booklet.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNZcb6oCZ9dCimynOp6Dipgz8QvzDLS3NEFY6hZI_KcVO5K8NFcOuu5OzxF66rkM8pOeIhYPP7OqrviDCDw4oZWqQiuCDjwWQiroyHku63gAl8AhjM0DKpfrGiH7M33gmPj5Eq8A/s400/MoaiKun_Famicom_manual_pg9-10.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp5HAepEJqjVwZK3pNk3LXFJHz4oy1ODI-vq5RAJfrFrbfQ59kbAWOJGriIh2JjBrTFjd8CXmW-oRPKxUzHZUhJdVKzxk9prfir49XSudKIfHCjgjc9wWbW90UtjR_OtlQBQgSwQ/s400/MoaiKun_Famicom_manual_pg11-12.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfrHtYNl14-mca2e608R9xhdm3_C_2WluQZYfmU_GEn5nrtv5exeweJlZ6UtYR9bFqp85xI3657hzGyPTcyauEZHioKVMExfNkaR0EgQrfHLVjte33hsnAqdwK3f1dEOM2lQ6How/s400/MoaiKun_Famicom_manual_pg13-14.jpg)
As is so often the case with old Konami manuals, the one the company produced for Moai-kun--which is a puzzler-platformer, if this is the first you're hearing of it--includes a couple of pages that introduce the game's enemies.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLYzkcTLnZ-tKmsm-twpY1jW3Xdqcd08zzEwp0c3UiwjvOnpa-v8L33pKs8EHgPUiDRQUw2DNxJit7va6sCC_hKy9RpHYGyp0GC45ege_wMdao5-1F3SnqiXk0UZqEX3I4KqwJJQ/s400/MoaiKun_Famicom_manual_pg15-16.jpg)
Sadly, the baddies that do their best to keep this 1990 title's hard-headed protagonist from rescuing his fellow "Pucchis," which the invading "Skull Empire" strangely has deposited throughout each of Moai-kun's 50-plus stages, aren't the most thrilling in terms of design.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi67gVJhDrIOJmTOW3NthsHifie6iWLOS50eEFMZJe-VVX4GBtskQZaZDSeqQUAXX54Zzr2BU7YhEcStPpDMYq8iqQZagyFtsTRv7MP-_r5mwE_cAD_DotELiMqdVC3Hg5MpDtW6g/s400/MoaiKun_Famicom_manual_pg17-18.jpg)
The same could be said of the overall aesthetic of this Famicom's levels. There are some nice details here and there--the chartreuse vines that act as platforms in one group of stages, or the pink clouds that show up in another--but I doubt many people would call this a visual standout for Nintendo's first real games console.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglM6hXVM632Xnyo2BawzW4a__vFacSN3lSyDRd6C6iJxVNaYqrwKGDuUM8Ppofpe5AmAHLgyFmryIT_c8Wg9RthNP9I-LrbcvtVlHeivOYulTS-AKFZXFk386DYmI3vo3W2AzyEg/s400/MoaiKun_Famicom_manual_pg19-20.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGnSnsSjKJETrG562mHgBH4MoD4pWIN_0HZ6OpmexOA7M39N9wys-3eQ3pEasO_d2m2sjtQuH_J4BA3awTJagbP5HsbkuMdXBrpq-oDXhQJTiqd3Oejr-L9tPH3xVwnDzkPFmqhA/s400/MoaiKun_Famicom_manual_pg21-22.jpg)
Speaking of Moai-kun's stage designs, they're introduced in a rather unique fashion on the booklet's final pages.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYerZOdfVpxuAGvBUgiGC-jgKOLhNc0js4h_QA8-ql4m3syFisE__JgT4bOFxpLN_5I3Tu_bLYfhokSWTIHXgTJDtpuHy57h6Aof1T5qfhjBCKNL0JK_xsnNud6GVpdpn4muo8PQ/s400/MoaiKun_Famicom_manual_pg23-24.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy4e_6izNB_oNDAiGiH8-EMueBTp8TAtpqx0ppoj6cGpThqN7lwQ7axOL6OlzlDEGKs80mwB5tGZyRbuaAwdi8WgpebN9JzM5w8bCjEu0wOZx0n0ke_e4WEP2PBQ1NaQW1jyEvYg/s400/MoaiKun_Famicom_manual_pg25-26.jpg)
Want to learn a little more about this curious Konami creation? Check out Hardcore Gaming 101's Moai-kun write-up.
See also: 'Manual Stimulation: Yume Penguin Monogatari (Famicom)'
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