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Sorry it's so late, but here's the full vlog of the Calgary (Comic & Entertainment) Expo 2018!  More geeky (but non-vlog) videos are on the way!

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to BumFengShui's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (GBA) maps.

Summer is upon us!  Bust out your boards, or this sick GBA game!

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 was a launch title for the Game Boy Advance way back in 2001. While scaled down from its console counterparts, what is still here is technically impressive for a handheld at the time (and this GBA game is leagues above the Game Boy Color version). The skaters, despite being small because this is on a handheld, have enough detail and are animated smoothly that you can make out what they are doing, be it an ollie or a 900. (Well, if you can make out what is happening at all on the infamously dark, non-backlit screens of the original GBA model, that is...)

Despite being technically 2D, the isometric perspective does a good job of conveying the three-dimensional landscapes of half-pipes and ramps. From the Hangar to the Warehouse, from the streets of New York to a skate park in France, there are all sorts of opportunities to shred and grind and all the other things you can do with a skateboard!

Fun fact: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 is considered one of the best sports games ever, and according to Wikipedia, shares this recognition with Pong, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, NBA Jam and Wii Sports, all games that not-really-sporty gamers (like myself) can, and most certainly have enjoyed. And we can enjoy this game on the go, and also now with a deep understanding of all the skateable areas of this game, thanks to BumFengShui.  Hit all those crates and spell S-K-A-T-E!

So the recognize the effort put into mapping this GBA launch title, BumFengShui's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (GBA) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for June 2018.

Please don't stress yourself because of this and take your time. I can wait a few more weaks.

I don't actually remember why I never mapped the Hero's Cave in this game. Then again, I remember being under a lot of self-imposed stress at the time, trying to keep up with Revned and probably obsessing over a whole bunch of meaningless details.

A few years back, I played with the idea of doing specific area maps that would include every seasonal variations and also every cave and building interiors. But then I got upset because the regions as they are defined on the minimap didn't fully correspond to how they are separated as separate seasons as you played, blah blah blah... Like for the first time, meaningless details.

I can't promise anything, but I'll try to get the Hero's Cave done over the next few weeks if you can wait that long. Thanks for the interest by the way!

This map and then the minimap in a corner like the others and it would be perfect  It even has full resolution.

I noticed this as well last time I played through the game. I wonder if TerraEsperZ accidentally forgot to submit it, or if we both somehow overlooked it. If TerraEsperZ doesn't get to it, then I can do it at some point (not promising that it will be soon)

I did find a map elsewhere, if you're in a bind:
https://zelda.gamepedia.com/File:OoS_Linked_Hero%27s_Cave_Map.png

I hope it's ok to request a single map in an otherwise already mapped game, but this has bugged me for a long time now.

In The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, there's a second version of Hero's Cave which can be accessed by starting the game per link or with a password. It works similar to Ages' Hero's Cave but has a different layout. It hasn't been mapped yet. Can someone please map it and add it to the other Oracle of Seasons maps?

I was at the Calgary (Comic & Entertainment) Expo last weekend, so here's my first video about it, showing the POW!: Parade Of Wonders cosplay parade!  (Neither me nor my brother participated this year...)

The Legend Of The Mystical Ninja

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to Vorpal86's The Legend Of The Mystical Ninja (Super NES) maps.

In this Konami action game, Kid Ying (Goemon) and Dr. Yang (Ebisumaru) first investigate a ghost woman at the local temple, but soon find themselves fighting against the Otafu army while attempting to save a princess.

The Goemon series is very wacky, and very Japanese. So much so, that only a handful of Goemon games (out of dozens) were released outside of Japan - the first was The Legend Of The Mystical Ninja, for the Super NES, in 1992. But in this game, Goemon (based on Japanese folk hero Ishikawa Goemon) is instead named "Kid Ying", and his friend and partner Ebisumaru is known here as "Dr. Yang". Localization has its quirks, but what isn't lost in translation is the fun and zaniness of these bizarre adventures in a cartoon-like version of Feudal Japan. Ninja, samurai, kabuki, sumo, tengu, tanooki, saunas, cherry blossoms... if it's at all associated with Japan, it's probably in here somewhere.

These solidly-made maps by Vorpal86 show us this colourful and cutesy, yet diverse world. We've got the Otafu base, with rooms that rotate! We've got a bridge guarded by a giant (but somehow adorable) octopus (tip: you can walk by it without fighting it)! We've got villages thoroughly mapped (including price lists of shops)! Do you need passwords? Vorpal86 has provided those too.

So the recognize the effort put into mapping this mystical legend, Vorpal86's The Legend Of The Mystical Ninja (Super NES) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for May 2018.

I did not know about this game, very good that you chose Jazz Jackrabbit as maps of April.
Interesting to note on objects, taken from Sonic's game: springs, item box monitor and final signpost.