Segmented maps are fine, especially if they're segmented logically, such as how they appear in the game.
A full map would be neat. In the cases where the water palettes are different, how would it look if you merged/mixed/averaged the colours? You know, by transparencies or gradients? While it wouldn't be 100% accurate pixel-wise, it might look really cool, and good enough (if not perhaps even better) for practical purposes.
I found this YouTube channel called "Abroad In Japan", which I've watched a few episodes of to learn some things about the sights and culture. Here's a good video about what NOT to do there:
Today on reddit (which in the past few months I've used lots, whereas I rarely ever did before) I found this interesting thread: My Completely-Excessive Japan Travel Megamap, or more directly, here, a behemoth Japan map that redditor CorbeauNoir01483 made when planning a Japan trip and decided to share, because it now has way more information than one traveler probably needs.
On the gaming side of things, I heard Nintendo Tokyo (the Tokyo equivalent of Nintendo New York, formerly Nintendo World Store) is opening (or opened?) in Q3 2019, and Super Nintendo World is supposed to open at Universal Studios Tokyo next spring or at least before the Olympics.
I guess we're straying off topic, but I look forward to anything you share about your trip!
I'm considering going to Japan next year! My co-worker's been twice recently and he says it's easy to get around in Tokyo without needing to know English. (EDIT: I meant "...needing to know Japanese, as most people in Tokyo know enough English.") Let me know how your trip goes!
A second Zelda YouTube video regarding VGMaps.com that I found today, but this one was actually published today! Check it out - a speedrun done with these maps, thanks to our friend Andy Dick at Atlas Vids!
Congratulations on the 20000th post, TerraEsperZ! At least, that's what I assume "msg20000" refers to...
Anyway, The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time had a chant in the Fire Temple removed and EarthBound also had some music that was replaced in later versions. So to Nintendo it was apparently worth replacing the offending/infringing bits.
So while Sega could have included Sonic The Hedgehog 3 with some kind of similar workaround, maybe they just don't think it's worth the trouble to replace the music, or fundamentally don't want to change anything about a classic game.
For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to Geminiman's and Grizzly's Mega Man: The Wily Wars (E) (Genesis) maps.
It's been a while since we've honoured a Genesis (or Mega Drive) game. Besides being overdue, this is also fitting right now, as this month sees the release of the Sega Genesis Mini, a small plug-and-play console packed with dozens of classic Sega Genesis games. One of those games is Mega Man: The Wily Wars, which was not released in cartridge form in North America (fitting that it would be released in parts of the world where the Genesis is known as the Mega Drive), though it was accessible via the Sega Channel. But as the service is no longer available, and hasn't been for two decades, the Sega Genesis Mini is particularly appealing because of the rerelease of this specific game!
And in a way it's more than just one game, as it is a compilation of the first three Mega Man games previously released on the NES, but now with 16-bit visuals and arranged music. A save feature is now available, replacing passwords. And a new challenge, "Wily Tower", has been added, where Mega Man tackles new stages and encounters three new bosses - appropriately called the "Genesis Unit" - based on characters from the classic Chinese novel, Journey To The West, before taking on Dr. Wily yet again.
This month's selection doesn't just recognize a key game included in the Sega Genesis Mini, but also the 30th anniversary of Captain N: The Game Master, where Mega Man was a major character. (Though maybe ironic that we would focus on Mega Man's first non-Nintendo game...)
Geminiman (fitting name) and Grizzly did not actually mean to collaborate on these maps. But they each submitted some maps at the same time, with only one map being a duplicate submission. Great minds think alike! Such a coincidence hasn't happened before or since!
So to recognize the effort put into mapping this mega gem for the Mega Drive or the Sega Genesis Mini, Geminiman's and Grizzly's Mega Man: The Wily Wars (E) (Genesis) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for September 2019.
Thanks to G.E.R. for letting me know that Alex Kidd In The Enchanted Castle wasn't actually completed, as it was missing the aerial "To The Sky" stage, and then submitting it so that the first game alphabetically is now actually complete! To think I was wrong in thinking that was complete for 13 years when it actually wasn't, sheesh...
The Sega Genesis Mini comes out in less than a month, loaded with 40 classic Genesis games. As with the NES Classic Edition and the Super NES Classic Edition, it would be cool to see how far along we've already come to mapping this and how many more could still be mapped.
The Sega Genesis Mini also comes with two more games, Darius and Tetris. I'm not sure what the story is here (I'm sure I will edit this when I do know) so at the moment I don't know if they can be mapped, but if so, they're listed here too.
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MAPS FOR THE BONUS GAMES OF THE SEGA GENESIS MINI XDarius XTetris
For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to RyuMaster's Final Fantasy Adventure (GB) maps.
The Dark Lord seeks a way into the Mana Sanctuary, where he wishes to take control of the Mana Tree. As the Hero, together with the Heroine, you will have to find a way to stop him, and eventually this includes searching for a powerful sword, Excalibur (or the Sword Of Mana).
Speaking of "Sword Of Mana", that is the title of the GBA remake of this game (with its maps recognized here as the Maps Of The Month for February 2012), as this is actually the first Mana game. The Japanese title, "Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden" means that it is a Final Fantasy spin-off, but other than sharing a few elements (such as the Moogle species) the Mana series has grown into something quite different from the typical Final Fantasy games. If you want to get even more confusing, the European title of this game is "Mystic Quest", which is unrelated to the Super NES game, "Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest". (Though the European name for that was "Mystic Quest Legend", and no one should be confusing any of these with the other Final Fantasy games on the Game Boy, The Final Fantasy Legend and its two sequels, which are actually part of the SaGa series...)
Whatever you call it, it's more typically compared with The Legend Of Zelda than Final Fantasy, as it has an overhead perspective and the action is real-time (as opposed to turn-based). But even if it's not turn-based, it's still an epic game, and maps always come in handy for these. One method of mapping that RyuMaster has employed here that should be used more often is indicating the room coordinates with letters and numbers, and underneath having a key indicating items, entrances/exits, anything else noteworthy. While we all love labelled maps, doing it this way means the original graphics are also clutter-free.
Collection Of Mana, a compilation of the first three games of the Mana series, comes out this month in a limited physical edition for the Nintendo Switch, allowing you to play Final Fantasy Adventure if you can't get a hold of the original Game Boy game. Along with the incredible Secret Of Mana (Super NES) and the official North America debut of Seiken Densetsu 3 (Super Famicom), now named Trials Of Mana, it's really quite the bundle of adventure! Though you would think they could have included Sword Of Mana, the Game Boy game is indeed where this all began.
So to recognize the effort put into mapping the beginning of the beloved Mana series, RyuMaster's Final Fantasy Adventure (GB) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for August 2019.
Oh, it's been thought about. I am very well aware that the site looks like something from 1997.
There are a couple of issues, but it's mostly my lack of willingness to put in the time to learn something new (I do have a YouTube channel, other personal projects and things to do), and also my lack of trust to ask someone to do it for me. I realize how really stupid both of those sound, even moreso when I type that out. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", they say. But I guess while not necessarily broken, the site being more than a little unwieldy and outdated isn't really much better...
I would certainly be open to a system that is easier than the current process, such as one that allows maps to be uploaded easily and with all its info automatically displayed without me having to type in filesizes and image areas, etc., basically anything that would save me a ton of time. The trick is figuring out how to start making changes when there is already so much content.
I do have some real-life friends that know about computer stuff. I could bring up the idea of working on it with them. I've shied away from working with friends in case things go sour, because that's happened before, but I'm probably being paranoid.
I'm open to suggestions. Well, open to hearing/reading them at least, I honestly don't want to promise anything.
The three MacVenture games (Shadowgate, Déjà Vu, Uninvited) would be neat. Another tie-in with VGMaps.com's inspiration, Nintendo Power, my first subscribed issue, Vol. 20/January 1991 with Mega Man III on the cover, had a poster of Bart Vs. The Space Mutants but on the back of it was a Déjà Vu map. I always figured these three games could be mapped kind of like that.
VGMaps.com is an archive of video game maps up since May 6, 2002. Optimized for at least 800 x 600 resolution.
This site does not contain commercial ROMs or any other illegal materials. All directly "ripped" game images are the property of their respective copyright holders.
This web site and compass logo are copyrighted by Jonathan Leung 2002-2019.
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