I was the local game guru once upon a time. Got a free rental out of it one time after they had a customer who was stuck call me for hints on a game.

Also you could write letters to Nintendo Power. They told me what the spells in Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord did and explained why the "Octopus Eraser" in Earthbound that they showed in a screenshot got changed to "Pencil Eraser" in the actual US release.