Game: Magical Quest 3: Starring Mickey & Donald (J) (Capcom, Super NES)

Compiler: Will Mallia

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to Will Mallia's Magical Quest 3: Starring Mickey & Donald (J) (Super NES) maps.

After pranking their uncle Donald, the triplets, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, hide from him in the attic.  While there, they discover a magical book, which is the gateway to Storybook Land.  The evil King Pete kidnaps the trio and plans to also conquer the "outside world".  The Fairy Guardian of Storybook Land teleports Mickey and Donald there to save its inhabitants from tyranny and to rescue the ducklings.  And so begins another 16-bit Disney adventure!
 

Playing very much like The Magical Quest: Starring Mickey Mouse and The Great Circus Mystery: Starring Mickey & Minnie (later known as Magical Quest 2: Starring Mickey & Minnie in its GBA rerelease), our heroes venture through a handful of stages of platforming action, with jumping, block-throwing, and utilizing outfits that grant helpful abilities.  But this time around, these skills differ between the characters.  For example, with the knight outfit, Mickey dons heavy metal armour and a lance with a boxing glove, but Donald wears a buoyant wooden barrel and swings a hammer.  So the experience varies, depending on who your favourite Disney character is.

Capcom's Disney games in the 8-bit and 16-bit days are examples of licensed games that are actually good.  While there's always the expectation of using character recognition to drive sales, other developers might try to get away with just putting out a game of subpar quality because they know they'll sell some regardless.  But Capcom, already a big name with a reputation for quality games, maintains that by making polished games, regardless of if the intellectual property is their own or licensed from someone else.

So to recognize the effort put into mapping this bright and cheery animated adventure, Will Mallia's Magical Quest 3: Starring Mickey & Donald (J) (Super NES) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for November 2024.
 

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Game: Sweet Home (J) (Capcom, NES)

Compiler: zagato blackfist

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to zagato blackfist's Sweet Home (J) (NES) maps.

Hoping to recover some valuable paintings, five filmmakers explore an old mansion owned by a famous artist.  They soon find themselves trapped, as the ghost of a mysterious woman threatens to eliminate all trespassers.  Will you be able to solve the mystery of the Mamiya mansion and escape with all five characters alive?

"Sweet Home" is based on, and developed alongside, the horror film of the same name, though the game is generally considered the better of the two.  This Japanese Famicom exclusive horror RPG is a landmark video game, paving the way for survival horror.  It would be the inspiration for Resident Evil, also by Capcom.

zagato blackfist has carefully mapped out the twisted and dangerous mansion in great detail.  Its over 100 doors are labelled, and its many items are described.  To get the best ending, you'll need as many of your team alive as possible by the end, and referring to zagato's efforts here might be your best bet!

So to recognize the effort put into mapping this influential horror game, zagato blackfist's Sweet Home (J) (NES) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for October 2024.
 

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Game: Gimmick! (J) (Sunsoft, NES)

Compiler: TerraEsperZ

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to TerraEsperZ's Gimmick! (J) (NES) maps.

Yumetaro, a small green yokai, has been given as a birthday gift to a young girl.  One night, her toys (also alive, apparently) kidnap her and take her into another world.  It's up to Yumetaro to rescue her!  Using his power to create a bouncing star, used as a weapon or platform to ride or jump from, he will traverse seven colourful levels of late-era NES platforming!

It's a short game, but pretty solid.  The music is particularly top-notch, especially in the original Japanese Famicom release.  As one of the last 8-bit games from Sunsoft, it's not to be missed, so it's great that TerraEsperZ has mapped this out for us to appreciate!

TerraEsperZ also mapped Trip World for the Game Boy, another cute Sunsoft platformer that originally didn't get an official release in the Americas, as we saw when it was honoured here two years ago, also in September.

As of last year, Gimmick! is more accessible worldwide, as it was released for the Evercade as part of the "Sunsoft Collection 1" cartridge (under its original Scandinavian name, "Mr. Gimmick!"), and a rerelease, "Gimmick!: Special Edition", also came out in 2023, for the Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and on Steam.  And this month sees the release of a long-overdue sequel, Gimmick! 2, more than three decades later.  There's definitely lots of love for Gimmick! now!

So to recognize the effort put into mapping this once-obscure platformer, TerraEsperZ's Gimmick! (J) (NES) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for September 2024.
 

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Game: Shadow Of The Ninja (Natsume, NES)

Compiler: sonyball

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to sonyball's Shadow Of The Ninja (NES) maps.

In the year 2029, Emperor Garuda tyrannically reigns over New York City.  Can anyone save the world from his evil plans of domination?  Well, one or two ninjas might.  Playing as Hayate and/or Kaede, this adventure for one or two players has your ninja(s) of the Iga clan penetrating Garuda's defenses and making their way to the madman himself.

From last month's theme of sunlight to this month's theme of shadow, we recognize Shadow Of The Ninja in time for the release of Shadow Of The Ninja: Reborn, a remake on all the major consoles and PC.  But if you want to enjoy the NES original, too, sonyball has maps of this.  It may be short and linear, but it is one of those great-looking 8-bit action games with sharp, detailed graphics, reminiscent of Batman, Vice: Project Doom, Shatterhand, and the Ninja Gaiden games.

So to recognize the effort put into mapping this oldschool ninja platformer, sonyball's Shadow Of The Ninja (NES) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for August 2024.
 

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Game: Boktai: The Sun Is In Your Hand (Konami, GBA)

Compiler: qwert_vs_qwerty

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to qwert_vs_qwerty's Boktai: The Sun Is In Your Hand (GBA) maps.

It is the Age Of Darkness.  Energy known as "Dark Matter" is corrupting the world and destroying life.  Undead creatures and dark beings called "Immortals" threaten to bring the human race to extinction.  But, even in these dark times, there is a ray of hope.  You play as a boy named Django, a descendant of legendary vampire hunters, and wielder of the Gun Del Sol, a weapon powered by sunlight.  Go charge up your solar battery and show those Immortals that the power of the sun is in your hand!

Yes, you should go outside to play.  That seems to be the message of legendary game designer Hideo Kojima (of Metal Gear fame).  Especially now that it's summer!  This game's cartridge has a photometric light sensor, so when exposed to actual, out-of-game sunlight, you charge your in-game solar battery so that you can combat the forces of darkness.  The sensor is a bright idea (pun intended), as the game spawned two GBA sequels (though the third game is exclusive to Japan).  The series also includes a DS game, Lunar Knights, in which a light sensor was not possible to include on the DS card itself, but sun-based gameplay is optional through the use of the DS's GBA slot with any of the previous games' cartridges.

As for the original GBA game, qwert_vs_qwerty has mapped out all of its areas so you can find your way around quickly.  They are pretty handy to make the most of your daytime hours, especially if you don't have much time to get outside while the sun is up.  Whether you're blazing your way through Dark Castle or Firetop Mountain, or navigating the many, many roads, qwert_vs_qwerty is your guide as they are all laid out here!

So to recognize the effort put into mapping this brilliant game, qwert_vs_qwerty's Boktai: The Sun Is In Your Hand (GBA) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for July 2024.
 

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Game: Dune II: The Building Of A Dynasty (Westwood Studios, PC)

Compiler: mechaskrom

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to mechaskrom's Dune II: The Building Of A Dynasty (PC) maps.

Arrakis, a harsh desert planet, is the source of the valuable commodity known as "spice".  Spice has health benefits, including the extension of life expectancy, and can alter the mind, like expanding sensory perceptions and even foresight.  Guild Navigators depend on spice for the prescience required for safe interstellar travel.  Spice isn't so easy to harvest and refine, as there are massive sandworms under the surface, and the native Fremen oppose off-worlders.  Even with these obstacles, the Houses of Atreides, Ordos, and Harkonnen seek to command and conquer Arrakis, as Baron Harkonnen says, "he who controls the spice, controls the universe."

A few years before the first game in their Command & Conquer series, Westwood Studios released Dune II: The Building Of A Dynasty, an earlier RTS (real-time strategy) game.  It even predates WarCraft (by Blizzard).  So besides building a dynasty, it was also pioneering a genre.  Herzog Zwei (by Technosoft) on the Sega Genesis may have come before, but Dune II is certainly meaningful in the history of the genre on PCs, where many RTSes make their home.

So to recognize the effort put into mapping this genre trailblazer, mechaskrom's Dune II: The Building Of A Dynasty (PC) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for May 2024.
 

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Game: Knuckles' Chaotix (Sega, 32X)

Compiler: G.E.R.

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to G.E.R.'s Knuckles' Chaotix (32X) maps.

Dr. Robotnik's latest scheme involves stealing the Power Emerald that provides energy for Carnival Island, an amusement resort that is just about to open.  Knuckles rescues his friends, the "Chaotix": Vector, Mighty, Charmy, and Espio.  Along with Robotnik's rogue "Mechanix", Heavy and Bomb, they will use "Ring Power", which acts like an elastic tether between two ringbearers.  Adding snapping and swinging to the usual sprinting action seen in Sonic adventures, Knuckles and the Chaotix can move like never before, and use this new physicality to try to save Carnival Island before its grand opening!

This 32X-exclusive Sonic The Hedgehog spinoff puts Knuckles and Team Chaotix in the spotlight, and Carnival Island is as colourful and vibrant as they are.  Though Knuckles' Chaotix was intended for the Sega Saturn, it was instead released as a 32X game - probably one of the very few must-haves in the tiny 32X library of only a few dozen games.  It hasn't seen a plethora of rereleases, like many mainline Sonic games have over the years and across multiple generations, so it's good that our resident Sonic fan, G.E.R., has mapped this out so that we will always remember the first time Knuckles did his own thing without Sonic around.

So to recognize the effort put into this 32X killer app, G.E.R.'s Knuckles' Chaotix (32X) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for April 2024.
 

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Game: Alone In The Dark (Infogrames, PC)

Compiler: VGCartography

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to VGCartography's Alone In The Dark (PC) maps.

In 1924, Jeremy Hartwood, the owner of the mysterious Derceto Manor, dies by apparent suicide.  His niece, Emily Hartwood, believes a piano in the attic of the mansion has a clue to her uncle's death, while a private investigator, Edward Carnby, is asked to procure the piano for an antique dealer.  You choose to play as either character and, upon entering the mansion, you find yourself trapped inside.  As you look for a way out, you will learn of the evil that inhabits this place, and how the world at large might also be dependent on your survival.

Alone In The Dark is significant in gaming history.  It is often cited as the first 3D survival horror game and one of the best games ever made.  A remake is coming out this month, with Hollywood talent Jodie Comer and David Harbour.  The original game's legacy includes being an influence on the Resident Evil series, whose director, Shinji Mikami, has said that the first Resident Evil game might have had a first-person perspective, if not for Alone In The Dark and its fixed camera angles.

Indeed, the fixed camera may have been due to technical limitations, but also allowed for scenes to be framed in intentional ways to build tension.  Games with such a look make for interesting "maps" and, thanks to VGCartography, who is quite skilled at his craft (and we love his craft!), we not only have all the screens you may see, but also hand-drawn interpretations of the Derceto Manor and the Underground Maze below.  These original diagrams serve well as actual maps and require artistic and interpretive skills beyond taking screenshots.  These maps that are both "original" and "ripped" are a feast for the eyes, and are quite helpful if you ever find yourself... alone in the dark (in Derceto Manor).  Great job, VGCartography!

So to recognize the effort put into mapping this landmark horror classic, VGCartography's Alone In The Dark (PC) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for March 2024.
 

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Game: Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2 (Banpresto, GBA)

Compiler: qwert_vs_qwerty

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to qwert_vs_qwerty's Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2 (GBA) maps.

As Edgar or Aera Colthearts, you are an aspiring Craftknight.  When investigating some ruins, an evil Summoner named Gedharm Camcarossa arrives and forces you to lead him inside to a seal holding back an ancient evil, the Summon Beast known as Goura.  With the seal broken, Goura's return is a threat to the world, so it's now up to you and your Guardian Beast to find a way to defeat and seal away Goura again.

As the title suggests, there is a focus on crafting in this adventure.  You can craft five varieties of weapons by using the appropriate Shapestone and various materials that you will find on your journey.  Action RPGs have sprawling worlds, and Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2 is no different.  Whether you're hunting for Rare Medals in underground caves or just trying to navigate through the many doors and pits in Goura Labyrinth, qwert_vs_qwerty's fully-marked maps will certainly have you covered as you play this underrated GBA epic!

So to recognize the effort put into crafting this story's maps, qwert_vs_qwerty's Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2 (GBA) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for January 2024.
 

Discuss the Maps Of The Month here!