For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to MagnetiC's Pocky & Rocky (Super NES) maps.
In a world based on Japanese mythology, Shinto shrine maiden Pocky, along with her new friend, Rocky the tanuki, must restore order after the Nopino Goblins seem to have gone insane. It turns out the Goblins' rampage is due to the hypnotic influence of the evil Black Mantle, who seeks to conquer all of Japan.
Pocky and Rocky traverse six stages on the way to facing Black Mantle in his floating fortress, including a kappa-filled river, a cemetery plagued with tremors, and a battle aboard a demonic airship. Playing like an arcade-style shooter (unsurprising, as it is a sequel to the Japanese arcade game, Kiki Kaikai), its stages are indeed quite linear. However, these maps by MagnetiC are due praise for capturing one of most colourful and cutest games on Nintendo's 16-bit platform. It really dives into the mythology, with kappa and yokai and other creatures of folklore, which gives it even more charm.
So to recognize the effort put into mapping this fascinating journey across feudal Japan, MagnetiC's Pocky & Rocky (Super NES) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for July 2022.
