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we head back to the days of dial-up and wood-paneled computer rooms with "ASCII-ing For Help".

walkthroughs were essential reading for some of the trickier video games of the 1990s, especially legendary RPG titles like "Chrono Trigger", "Final Fantasy 3/6" and "Secret of Mana". the early internet was happy to oblige with fan-created, plain text guides to shepherd you through the trickiest dungeon or puzzle.

these walkthroughs were often decorated with ASCII art to reflect the game's title design, and here we collect some of the best examples in glorious black and white. marvel as some sort of program -- or a person with a great attention span -- makes a bunch of strategically deployed characters look like a whole-ass thing.

check out the who trio with the ASCII Bundle, which includes "ASCII And Titties" and "Musée d'ASCII" for $12.