One thing I've thought about doing (and now I wonder if I will regret doing so if I don't get around to it) is going through the Atlases with a fine-toothed comb.

When I was going through the NES atlas, I noticed a few Japanese games that weren't indicated as such with the (J) after the title. So I suppose I could go through those two atlases when I check the Japanese and European completion rates and e-mail you a report of the inconsistencies and which games are unlicensed, homebrew, etc.

Thanks again for your email about the NES/Famicom page.  If you refresh that page now you should see that all the filenames have been corrected to say "(Unlicensed)" if so, plus the "(E)" and "(J)" fixes (and one "(T)" fix).  So that's one major page vastly improved!

EDIT: Drat, looks like I have to fix all the past yearly news pages to say "(Unlicensed)" or correct the region...  It's late so I'll do that tomorrow...

Also, going through this ordeal made me think of posting these completion lists up here on the forums (akin to the various Atlas posts), so mappers can see the vast array of games that haven't been touched yet. I have to wonder if the forum software can handle posts being 1000+ lines long?

One thing I've thought about doing (and now I wonder if I will regret doing so if I don't get around to it) is going through the Atlases with a fine-toothed comb.  The NES and Super NES could use a check-over to see if the games are properly indicated as unlicensed, and (E) for European ones, and for the Japanese ones, to come up with a consistent way of presenting the title (there are often two ways to spell anything in Japanese, and do I prioritize the English translated title, and what if it doesn't officially have an English title but you know what it obviously would have to be (like Kyatto Ninden Teyandee (J) on the Famicom, which should obviously be Samurai Pizza Cats (J))?  Do I just put up title images for every region for every game?  There's stuff like Blaster Master which has the exact same gameplay as Meta Fight (J) despite having different stories.  (Maybe that doesn't have anything to do with anything here though.)  Lots to consider.

Hard to say if multiple request lists work.  But at the very least, they might remind people of games that are likely to be mapped anyway.  Recreating the NES Game Atlas and the library of the NES Classic Edition were easy, but the Super NES versions of both of those took longer, the Super NES Classic isn't even done.  Same with my Nintendo Power magazine cover games topic.  The Game Boy "Game Atlas" recreation topic is stagnant despite having only Super Mario Bros. Deluxe remaining...

What if there is a way to put up the lists of official games, and have them somehow votable?  Like people could click checkboxes or somehow indicate ones they'd like to see.  Logistically this could be tricky - can there be multiple votes per person, can the same person put multiple votes on the same game, how often can people change their votes, etc.  It would be interesting to see what people want to see most.

Ultimately, you'd have to have mappers interested in the games.  Might have to have a disclaimer that the votes are for informational purposes only and that there's no guarantee of those maps being made, especially if the top games are technically unfeasible.  But if a mapper is looking for something to do, such a poll could be very helpful.

[Donkey Kong Classics]

Let's see if I can help clear up the numbers you have, though it's not going to affect it by much, percentage-wise.

My count for official North American NES releases is 677, like the number you have.

There are five compilations of individually-released games.  These should be:
Donkey Kong Classics which includes Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. (is this the extra game that you think you have?)
Sesame Street ABC & 123
Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt
Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt / World Class Track Meet
Super Spike V'Ball / Nintendo World Cup

Not to be confused with compilations of games that were never released on their own, that is, Back To The Future: Part II & III and Short Order / Eggsplode!  (And if you've seen Super Mario Bros. / Tetris / Nintendo World Cup, that's a European release, not a North American one.)

For curiosity's sake if anyone else wants to know what the count includes, be aware of these other tricky ones:
-There are two Indiana Jones And The Last Crusades.  One is by Taito and one is by Ubi Soft, and they are vastly different games.  Doesn't help much that the box art is of the exact same photo still from the movie where Indiana Jones is pointing a gun while riding a horse, but is zoomed in closer on the Taito one.
-There are two official Pac-Mans.  I recall reading that there actually is a faint colour difference between the two.  One is published by Namco and one is by Tengen.  "But Jon," you may say, "Tengen games don't count."  That's actually not quite correct.  There are three Tengen games released in both the official standard cartridge but also in the black, upside-down label Tengen style.  Aside from Pac-Man, the other two are Gauntlet and R.B.I. Baseball, so these officially count.  Do not confuse the Pac-Man situation with Tetris, where there is a Nintendo release and a Tengen release, since the Tengen one never got Nintendo's blessing (though some people prefer the Tengen version because it actually has a two-payer mode).
-I'm counting Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! and Punch-Out!! as separate games.
-I'm counting World Class Track Meet and the incredibly rare Stadium Events as separate games.
-There are numerous variants of boxes/covers, many of them subtle, like the "Bros." on the cover for Super Mario Bros. 3 being moved from the left to more to the right, though these are subtle and unannounced changes.  Some rereleases are distinct, like with The Legend Of Zelda, but the biggest change is Metroid, where the pixel art is entirely replaced by an image of Samus (actually from Metroid II, considering the orange Varia Suit with the bulky shoulder pads).  While a collector of actual cartridges might like all variants, this is still just one game.

My count for official North America Super NES releases is 718, but this number can be 720 or 721, if we're really talking about NTSC releases for the "Americas".

Again, there are some compilations.
Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World is quite the package, too bad it didn't come in an official box since it was a pack-in.  Super Mario All-Stars is already a compilation, but of remade NES games, just like Ninja Gaiden Trilogy (though the sound got worse), and in a way, Tetris & Dr. Mario, though that one also has a "Mixed Mode" which mashes them together too, so it's more than a strict rerelease compilation.
Exertainment Mountain Bike Rally / Speed Racer - these are two games for the Exertainment exercise bike peripheral, which came separate but also together.  These three carts are quite rare, along with Cannondale Cup - of which Mountain Bike Rally is a reskin of, if I'm not mistaken.  Confusing enough?  (Is this a compilation you didn't count?)

Speaking of reskins,
Chavez is a reskin of Riddick Bowe Boxing, and
Chavez II is a reskin of Boxing Legends Of The Ring.  Sometimes the Chavez games aren't counted not just because they are reskins, but because they are sold to a limited market, supposedly the southwest US and Mexico.  That brings us to 720 if you count them (I personally would).
Super Copa is a reskin of Tony Meola's Sidekicks Soccer and was only released in Brazil and perhaps elsewhere in Latin America.  Counting this brings this to 721 (but when I made a poster of all the game covers, which you can see in some of my YouTube videos, I deliberately left this one out, because 720 is a much easier number to work with).

(I've sometimes pointed out the incredible coincidence that the number of Super NES games equal the number of Pokémon up to the sixth generation.  It seems there's 718 at first, but then when you look further and find these three games from down south or the three mythical Pokémon, the actual number is 721.  Furthering the coincidence, the Super NES added X and Y face buttons, and the Pokémon sixth generation is, you guessed it - Pokémon X & Y.)

Thank you for working out the math, FlyingArmor!  Wow!  It's certainly interesting, and cool to have my assumptions mathematically confirmed.  Seeing that we're a tiny bit less than 2/5ths of the way through the NES and a tiny bit more than 1/5th of the way through the Super NES (if we're only counting the complete games) - or an average of a (kind-of-neat) 29.99% or just under 3/10ths done.  Counting partially complete games adds a bit, but not a whole lot since the number of complete games is multiple times more than the incomplete (which surprised me for some reason - I mean, I know we have more complete games than incomplete games, just didn't think it was multiple times more).

I'd heard of The Messenger, but thought it was like any other deliberately-retro-style indie platforming game.  I wasn't aware of the switch from an action-platformer to a Metroidvania.  Reading more about it, I'm intrigued.

I guess that was a spoiler, but you know what?  I think I'm glad I know that now, because I probably wouldn't consider playing the game otherwise.  Assuming I ever have time to get to it...

Ah, and you mentioned Shantae.  Guess I didn't think much of it since I think I played each one already.  Though Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero looks the best for sure, I feel it might be a partial step down from Shantae And The Pirate's Curse, which, if memory serves, felt more challenging as a platformer and as a Metroidvania.  Unless the retro-style of graphics of The Pirate's Curse reminds me of Super Metroid or even Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night, unlike the cartoon graphics of 1/2 Genie Hero, cute as they are.

I guess that's why many of the games in my original post (assuming I don't edit it later) are recent releases on the PC (or modern consoles) but deliberately try to look like they are from the 8- or 16-bit era, or at least hand-drawn raster graphics sprites in a tile-based environment.  I suppose retro-style is popular among many indie games, but the overall feel and gameplay of Metroidvania somehow feels more authentic than, say, a run-and-gun game that you find on an app store that doesn't feel like a Super NES game even though it has 16-bit graphics.  Am I rambling?

I get what you're saying about the difficulty of these, particularly since I've asked for a lot of PC games here.  Like any request, I'm just putting these ideas out there, not going to hold my breath for maps of these anytime soon.  But if someone does send in maps of these, I would probably drop whatever I'm doing and put these up right away!  Not that I don't put them up timely these days, but I mean I'd be really tempted to leave work early to get home to put maps of games like these up even sooner, maybe...

[Alwa's Awakening (PC / Switch)]

You know what I love?  "Metroidvania" games!  While we have most of the Metroid and Castlevania games (though we're still missing the Castlevania games on DS), I'm also interested in those of the same genre that aren't in the series that spawned that term.

As my Steam wishlist falls into a backlog that may never be caught up on, there are some games on there that might be cool to have maps for, if I ever get to playing them... in the meantime, consider these my requests.

Alwa's Awakening (PC / Switch) - definitely NES-inspired, I can't help but love the look of this game.  Though it came out in early 2017, somehow I didn't hear of this until sometime last year, and immediately fell in love with its look.  Haven't played it yet, though...

Iconoclasts (PC / PS4 / PS Vita / Switch) - if a Super NES or GBA game had more pixels to work with, and bigger sprites and fancy effects, it might look like this game.  So colourful, it almost hurts.

Timespinner (PC / PS4 / PS Vita) - see how I described Iconoclasts, but with a more subdued palette.  Also Castlevania-ish.

Odallus: The Dark Call (PC) - this might have comparisons with Castlevania, which is not an issue at all.  It's a little dark and not as vivid as the above two games, but I would welcome maps of these just the same.

Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon (PC / PS4 / PS Vita / Xbox One / 3DS / Switch) - this very-obviously 8-bit Castlevania-inspired game was put out while we're all waiting for Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night, which itself is a spiritual successor to Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night, and made by a team led by former Castlevania series producer Koji Igarashi.  I heard of a guy who's bought and rebought Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon for every platform it's available, because he loves it so much.  It sounds like it's more in the style of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse than Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night, so if that is indeed the case, it's just a platformer, not a "Metroidvania" (which would involve more upgrading and backtracking), but, sure, whatever, I'll just keep this on the list.

Monster Tale (DS) - I apparently requested this before.  Not sure how much demand there is, since as a DS game it's not as easily accessible as the Steam games listed above.  Still, my request still stands, but priority is a bit lower.  I did notice that The Spriters Resource has maps of these (under the "Backgrounds" section), however, these are ironically foregrounds (the actual platforms, walls, obstacles) without backgrounds at all but pure green, which is just not appealing to me - it'd be nice to have them look closer to how they look in-game, with items marked, etc.

I am sure there are more I could request, but for now this will probably do.

That's a bit of a different topic, but anyway, for the Americas, there are 677 official NES games and 718 Super NES (up to 721 if you count the Mexico/Brazil ones).  Again, that's just for the Americas...  Europe and Japan have their exclusives too, and we do also have maps of unlicensed games, which I've been wondering about if I should somehow indicate those.

While the NES and Super NES sections are definitely the most popular, I know we are still not close at all to having mapped everything.  Many of the obvious ones are, sure, like the popular games that the consoles are particularly remembered for.

That's part of what this topic fulfills - if a game was good enough to get on the cover of a then-popular magazine, then it should be worth mapping.  Nintendo Power was known for having screenshot maps, so if we complete this topic's request, it sort of "obsoletes" those magazines... (well, no, I kid... it's hard to replace the feeling of finding a new issue of Nintendo Power in the mail, especially in the pre-Internet age.)  Okay, each magazine featured multiple games, so maps of just these wouldn't be enough to replace all those mags... but knocking out the covers is a start.

[Batman Returns]

Some Batman Returns for the Super NES (and just a few days after its sequel was put up, both by G.E.R.), and that's another one for 1993.

Thanks, Will Mallia.  Wow, it's been a long time since I updated the list.

Can we get some Gauntlet II done?  I know it's not "really" a cover game since it was only alluded to in the title of the "4-Player Extra" special issue, but it is heavily featured inside.  But it would make it undoubtedly clear that we've covered all of 1990 and all the NES games.

Do you guys like point-and-click adventure games?  I know some of you here must!  I finally got around to making this review of "The Art Of Point + Click" by Bitmap Books!  I especially like how this review turned out, but feel free to let me know what you think!

Tried to make this post yesterday, but for some reason VGMaps.com was inaccessible for a few hours starting from literally when I was about to hit "Post", and then I didn't have access to the computer and didn't feel like posting from my phone.

But I was going to say, yay, a request here has actually been fulfilled!  You can thank G.E.R. for these maps.

The Flintstones: The Surprise At Dinosaur Peak!

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to TerraEsperZ's The Flintstones: The Surprise At Dinosaur Peak! (NES) maps.

Fred and Barney find Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm trapped on the other side of some lava flow on Dinosaur Peak. Our two heroes must venture around the islands to get to a pterodactyl nest to fly to Dinosaur Peak to save their children. But before that, they'll have to cross prehistoric terrain - and also a giant's house, a witch's tower, and play hockey and basketball in minigames for some reason...

Maybe the story isn't the greatest, but The Flintstones: The Surprise at Dinosaur Peak! is an above-average licensed platforming game. The graphics are colourful and cartoony, just like one should hope for something based on the Flintstones. You can now switch between Fred and Barney, each with different abilities (unlike the first Flintstones game, The Rescue Of Dino & Hoppy, where you could only play as Fred). And the areas have nice variety, something that regular mapper TerraEsperZ has found joy in mapping for us.

And the other thing definitely above average about this game is its price. Probably due to its late release, it was produced in limited numbers, and is now considered one of the rarest NES games ever. If you are a collector, you might expect to pay around or over a thousand dollars for an original cartridge!

So to recognize the effort put into mapping this rare game, TerraEsperZ's The Flintstones: The Surprise At Dinosaur Peak! (NES) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for February 2019.

I was going to make a reference to "light and darkness" also relating to the lunar eclipse this month, but I forgot.  Plus, it's more notable as a "super blood wolf moon", and a solar eclipse probably would fit the "light and darkness" theme better anyway.

I think this was also the first time you sent in maps of a PC game, which kind of surprised me.

Any Donkey Kong or Kirby fans around? 

Christmas was a couple weeks ago, but I finally got around to editing the footage from that fateful morning when I gave my brother Jason ten awesome NES games, include a few rare ones!  For those who have seen "Nintendo Quest", you know of two of them in particular that share a moment!