Topic: Super NES Game Atlas (a "continuation" of the original NES Game Atlas)

[JonLeung]

EDIT: As of Mar. 31, 2012, this is now complete!  Thanks to everyone who contributed!

Well, since Will Mallia reminded me, I did want to look at continuing on from our "NES Game Atlas" recreation topic with a "Super NES Game Atlas" topic.

While the fourth Nintendo Power Player's Guide did focus on the Super NES, and was an incredible book at the time, it was meant to cover as many games as possible for the then-new Super NES and mostly had lots of tips and screenshots and the like.  Some of the bigger games did have more than a couple pages and even had some maps (The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past's Light World map was clearly constructed using pasted-together photos, then Super Castlevania IV had some cool renditions, and then there was Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts and Final Fantasy II/IV) but it was certainly not what one would call an "atlas".  This topic considers what games would've been in a "Super NES Game Atlas", had Nintendo Power ever made it.

There are certainly some new franchises in this era and lots of other games worth mapping (such as all of those RPGs!) but imagining a "Super NES Game Atlas" as a mere continuation of the NES Game Atlas, the focus in this topic would be on the original eight franchises - though it's been reduced to seven.  All of them have had less "main" games than on the NES - Zelda and Mega Man have the same number only if you include the spin-offs, and Mario has much more because of them.

I expect, as always, that people will map what they like when they feel like it, but for what it's worth, this would be the list of games as far as I know.

Status: COMPLETE!

Mario Mania
Super Mario All-Stars
Super Mario World
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
+Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars
+Mario & Wario (J)
+Super Mario Kart
+Yoshi's Safari

Amazing Zelda
The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past
+BS Zelda (J)

Mega Mechanical Mayhem
Mega Man VII
Mega Man & Bass (J)
+Mega Man's Soccer
+Mega Man X
+Mega Man X 2
+Mega Man X 3

Disney Dizziness
The Magical Quest: Starring Mickey Mouse
The Great Circus Mystery: Starring Mickey & Minnie
The Magical Quest 3: Starring Mickey & Donald (J)
Goof Troop
Aladdin
Bonkers

Ninja Magic
Ninja Gaiden Trilogy

Turtles In Trouble
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time
+Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters

Castles Of Horror
Super Castlevania IV
Castlevania: Dracula X

[JonLeung]

Double post!  Though I'm doing this because I expect that the first post may be edited in the future as more games are mapped.



Currently, most of the major games on the list have already been done long before I made up the list.  The biggest games remaining include SMW2: Yoshi's Island (Peardian?), TMNT IV: Turtles In Time, and Super Castlevania IV (TerraEsperZ?).  And some Disney/Capcom games, and of those The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse is probably the most memorable.



(If you count the Mega Man X games as Mega Man games (even though many would consider them separate from the non-X classics), then Mega Man X & Mega Man X 2 are on the list, though they're probably on their way to completion by Geminiman anyway (who's also done some maps for Bonkers).)



I don't expect this to be finished as quickly as the NES Atlas, if ever at all.  I'm just throwing it out there (glances in Will Mallia's direction)...



If you were wondering, earlier I had Mickey Mania, Mickey's Ultimate Challenge, Maui Mallard In Cold Shadow, Pinocchio, The Lion King, and Toy Story on the list for the "Disney Dizziness" chapter, but have been removed as they weren't made by Capcom.  Some may have been published by Capcom in certain parts of the world but the games were not developed by them.  Not that there were ever "rules" that the games in this chapter had to be Disney games specifically developed by Capcom (the original NES Game Atlas only had Duck Tales and Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers, after all), but aside from The Lion King (already mapped by Grizzly) and Mickey Mania (looked good from what I remember, at least), the other games just aren't any good, in my opinion.  I doubt anyone would even want to map them.  They're certainly not worth mapping over so many other games available on the Super NES.  I wouldn't miss them.

[Eggz]

I'd love to add my contribution to this, but I'll think I'll just stick to mapping one game at a time, what what a whopper of a game it is. If this topic is still around in about, oh... two years, I'll see what I can do, haha.

---

This looks like a job for Science!

[Will]

Hello again Jon. I noticed that you added Mario is Missing and Mario's Time Machine to the SNES recreation list. If you don't mind me asking, how come you didn't put the NES versions of those two games in the NES recreation? I have reason to believe that they are certainly not as good as their SNES generations, because in Mario is Missing NES, there are no Koopalings and I particularly don't like the gameplay of Mario's Time Machine NES, because it reminds of a hack version (nothing personal). It's just my curiosity.

[JonLeung]

Hmmm, I hadn't really thought about it, Will.  Those two games are kind of in the era of the Super NES where the NES still had support so they made NES versions of those same games.  So while I may have been aware of the NES versions at the time, I would've only had the Super NES ones in mind if I had any inclination to play them.



I guess I also didn't think those NES games counted at all when I was making the NES Game Atlas recreation topic.  I only had platformers in mind (though I did end up leaving All Night Nippon: Super Mario Bros. (or whatever it's called) off the list).



When I was putting together the Super NES list here, I was thinking that this was about the time big franchises were big enough for spin-offs (Super Mario Kart, Mega Man Soccer), even if there were some a generation earlier.  Then remembering that you like to send in a couple cities at a time to me of the Super NES version of Mario Is Missing!, I did remember those "edutainment" titles this time around.



I'll think about it.  I may add those two NES games onto the NES list (arrgh, that makes it incomplete!), or I may even remove those two games from this Super NES list.



The point is absolutely moot, though.  Once you've finished mapping both versions of both games, people are going to look at those maps if they want to, because they are those maps, not because I chose to or didn't choose to put them on this list.



The purpose of this list is to enourage people to map certain games, and since you're well on your way to finishing Mario Is Missing! (Super NES) anyway, that shouldn't change anything.

[JonLeung]

Well, Mega Man X is now done, and I'm sure marioman will check that off his Mega Man checklist as well.



Guess we're still waiting on a few more from X 2...oh, yes, and the fields from Soccer...  

[Will]

Jon, remember you said you were thinking about whether to add Mario is Missing! and Mario's Time Machine in the NES Recreation section or to remove those two games from the SNES Recreation section. Well I just finished and sent in the complete set of NES Mario's Time Machine maps to you, so by the time you take a look at them, making the difficult decision should be a whole lot easier. I would not be surprised if you made the latter choice. After all I don't find these two edutainment games as impressive as other additional Mario games like Mario RPG. Megaman 2X will no doubt shortly be finished. Also do you think something ought to replace the Startropics Chapter seeing that they is nothing in that chapter?

[marioman]

...Megaman 2X...

That sounds like a hard game.  I have enough trouble beating the Mega Man at 1X speed.

[Ryan Ferneau]

I thought it was supposed to be MegaMan ZX.  



The SNES version of Mario's Time Machine would probably be really easy to map, since each area is only a screen or two long with nothing really happening.  If you wanted to make it useful, you could try superimposing the pictures of the conversations and what items you can give and take at each place.



Do you think the surfing sections are mapped in the ROM like those ball-gathering bonus games in Sonic, or are they just random?  (You can see I care way more about those silly Mario edutainment games than is called for.)

[Eggz]

I don't quite see the point of mapping the SNES version of Mario's Time Machine when there's already a perfectly good finished version of the game, even though it's a NES port, as Jon previously pointed out. Unless someone finds an absolute need to...



Ryan, it would probably do you some good to read entire threads before making a post; you'll might find the answer to your question before you ask it sometimes.

---

This looks like a job for Science!

[Will]

Ryan, the purpose of the edutainment game is to educate people, not to go through using maps. These maps are merely a collection of the Super Mario Bros. Series. If I were to show what items go where and what conversations to choose, the player would never ever learn from the game. Understand? Plus Megaman ZX is completely out of point in this discussion. If you want to chat in this particular topic, why not make maps of Aladdin, Mickey Mouse or something while you're at it?

[Ryan Ferneau]

But the NES version of Mario's Time Machine is completely different from the SNES one!  Sorry I didn't notice there were already maps of the SNES version, though.  I didn't care to guess what "X", "O", and "-" meant.  But the NES version might be useful to map to try to show where invisible blocks and breakable blocks are.

[Will]

You were not talking about the NES version of Mario's Time Machine before and I already said that I have completed and sent in the maps. Are you going to contribute to making maps or not?

[JonLeung]

Will, chill pill.

[Will]

I have just finished both overworld maps of Yoshi's Safari, so it is technically complete once the maps arrive. But I don't think with just those two, the game would be considered as complete. Mapping the areas what with their appearance in 3D mode is another matter. I think someone should be able to make maps of the 12 areas in the form of bird's eye view showing all the possible routes in the track. I'm not that kind of mapmaking turning one platform or genre into another, although I did sort of transform SNES Eye of the Beholder from the 3D style into a bird's eye view map by ripping graphics from parts of the game screen and making it just like an in-game-map. Still its different between an RPG and a target shooter game, it's like a constant moving version of Time Crisis. The only game which has a similar genre to Yoshi's Safari that I know of is Jazz Jackrabbit, The bonus levels. I think one of you April Fool mapmakers has what it takes to transform the remaining Yoshi Safari maps. I could only do it myself if I were provided simple but approximate original maps of the areas.