This is something I never hear anyone talking about. More common during the retro age than now, game manuals often have a section towards the end aptly titled "Notes" or sometimes a more clever title.
In the old days, there were basically three valid uses for these pages:
1) Cheat codes. If you were big on cheating, whether for assistance or to extend your interest in the game, there was no better place to jot those button combinations down. You almost felt like you were completing the manual itself, filling in the blanks.
2) Passwords. Passwords stunk, plain and simple. Even when I was first introduced to them, the thought of progress being held was meager compared to my frustration of this damned system. Hastily, I would scribble down the numbers and letters so as to get right back into the game. Later, when I wanted to resume, I often struggled at guessing which case a letter was, whether O was the number or letter, whether that is an intentional space or just poor spacing in my own writing. God damn you to Hell, Metroid.
3) Strategies. Primarily Megaman boss weaknesses. Star Crash beats Gravity Man. Hard Knuckles beats Top Man. Ring Boomerang beats Dust Man. This shit be important, yo.
Now I still see some Notes sections in modern games. They seem more common in Nintendo games, than any others. Despite the complexity of today's games, I don't really see the use of a Notes page. What would you write in there? Cheat codes aren't as prevalent as they once were. Password systems are a thing of the past. Strategies usually consist of "Shoot until it dies". What else is there? Maybe you could write down some plot predictions. Well, that'd work if Nintendo games had surprising plots.
