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#31
Maps Of The Month / 2026/05: Ninja Five-O (GBA) - ...
Last post by JonLeung - April 30, 2026, 05:29:31 PM
For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to Spanettone's Ninja Five-O (GBA) maps.
Known as "Ninja Cop" in Europe, Ninja Five-O is a platformer that might remind you of old-school ninja action games like the Shinobi series. Besides jumping around, Joe Osugi will have to utilize stealthy approaches and master combat skills to make his way through 20 stages.
Spanettone, a GBA mapping veteran, has laid all those stages out here, with items and hostages labelled in all of the rooms so you can survive all these missions that will take you from the Bank all the way to the Base.
This game received rave reviews at the time, but didn't sell well. It has since become very sought-after, with the GBA cartridge now going for hundreds of dollars on eBay. Its delayed appreciation made way for its rerelease last year, for the PS4, PS5, Switch, and PC, so that more gamers can appreciate it, despite the original version's rarity.
So to recognize the effort put into mapping this coveted classic, Spanettone's Ninja Five-O (GBA) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for May 2026.
#32
Maps In Progress / Re: VGCartography - getting to...
Last post by YelseyKing - April 30, 2026, 01:51:56 AMExcellent work on the Chrono Cross maps! It's such a visually gorgeous game, with a really stand-out art style, so I'm happy to see it all mapped out.
Partially related, but a few years back, I played Baten Kaitos for Gamecube, and one of the first things that struck me about it was how incredibly similar to Chrono Cross the overall aesthetic felt. And then I learned the two games shared much of the same staff, and that explained *that*.
(Not a request, BTW. Just a little anecdote I felt like sharing.)
Partially related, but a few years back, I played Baten Kaitos for Gamecube, and one of the first things that struck me about it was how incredibly similar to Chrono Cross the overall aesthetic felt. And then I learned the two games shared much of the same staff, and that explained *that*.
(Not a request, BTW. Just a little anecdote I felt like sharing.) #33
Gaming / Super ZSNES... Neat!
Last post by Cyartog959 - April 28, 2026, 06:30:03 PMIt does look really nice for that SNES emulator to have an overhaul, and widescreen support does help with plenty, too.
I'm not well-versed in SNES games, because I was close to Sega Genesis a lot, but not moreso than Saturn and others then, but that's still good for those that have been with SNES quite more.
Of course, we do also have Genesis Plus GX that does widescreen, and it broadened the vision of regular, past games in wider sizes, helps people with a lot of situations, too, but that's not the point.
Those upgrades will surely ease up SNES mapping and ramp up game mapping more! I wonder how these kind of games may do on 480x272 resolution size alongside 424x240?
Maybe GBA emulators, or others, should have the same kind of upgrades, too. Sure, they're really neat, but there's still so much in need of improving, but that's for a later time.
I'm not well-versed in SNES games, because I was close to Sega Genesis a lot, but not moreso than Saturn and others then, but that's still good for those that have been with SNES quite more.
Of course, we do also have Genesis Plus GX that does widescreen, and it broadened the vision of regular, past games in wider sizes, helps people with a lot of situations, too, but that's not the point.
Those upgrades will surely ease up SNES mapping and ramp up game mapping more! I wonder how these kind of games may do on 480x272 resolution size alongside 424x240?
Maybe GBA emulators, or others, should have the same kind of upgrades, too. Sure, they're really neat, but there's still so much in need of improving, but that's for a later time.
#34
Gaming / Re: Super ZSNES - Somehow, ZSN...
Last post by FlyingArmor - April 27, 2026, 01:59:40 PMWow, that's awesome news!
I gave it a try, and while it's gonna be a while before all the bells and whistles get added, it's pretty solid already. It worked without any problems on my Linux Mint machine, so that's a big plus.
The enhancement engine looks very promising as well. It wouldn't be terribly useful for mapping as you said, but nonetheless really fun for normal play. It'll be awesome seeing the eventual enhanced versions of FF6 and EarthBound, for instance.
I gave it a try, and while it's gonna be a while before all the bells and whistles get added, it's pretty solid already. It worked without any problems on my Linux Mint machine, so that's a big plus.
The enhancement engine looks very promising as well. It wouldn't be terribly useful for mapping as you said, but nonetheless really fun for normal play. It'll be awesome seeing the eventual enhanced versions of FF6 and EarthBound, for instance.
#35
Gaming / Super ZSNES - Somehow, ZSNES r...
Last post by JonLeung - April 27, 2026, 08:49:36 AMzsKnight and Demo are back, and working on Super ZSNES, a rewritten-from-scratch GPU-powered emulator, a 17-year-later "sequel" to the original ZSNES, a popular Super NES emulator that I'm sure many if us here have memories of.
Here's Super ZSNES's website.
Some new features include being able to add high-res textures and even some 3D effects. Also enhanced audio. Thanks to a user-friendly enhancement editor, other users will be able to design their own mods.
Now, I'm sure several of us are purists and might not use enhancements, but there might be something here of use for mappers.
For example, as seen in the video, it's possible to play it widescreen, by seeing more of the playfield that's in the game's memory, normally off-screen. I know other tools already exist to see beyond the normal play area, but the extra area might be handy for those who like to map directly from screenshots (by reducing the number of screenshots required and/or getting to hard-to-reach areas without needing location/walk-through-walls codes) or in conjunction with autostitching tools.
In any case, increasing interest in Super NES games can always help get more people intrigued about game mapping... (maybe we'll get the Super Star Wars trilogy and Shadowrun maps yet!)
#36
Gaming / Metal Slug 30th Anniversary
Last post by Cyartog959 - April 23, 2026, 06:19:36 PMI would like to let you know that SNK's Metal Slug series is celebrating its 30th anniversary right now!
From the first game where it started, we've witnessed great run and gunning action and loads of bullets fly against numerous warmongering enemies and threats through the always beautifully pixel made games the series has provided!
Though it started from the Neo Geo brand arcade and consoles, the series went to other systems, too, and even though it retains the look and feel from past games, they're no longer bound to tech constraints of said past systems.
My real hopes for the series is to retain the same gameplay for Metal Slug 8, which a lot of people really wanted time and again, but go straight into putting health systems for players instead of one-hit only(but can become an unlockable for those wanting the original challenge's fidelity), become hi-bit to retain the beloved pixel art style, go for the actual widescreen resolution of 424x240, and perhaps 480x270/2, and have actual health indicators for ALL bosses, as well as plenty of additional side content to have and some good unlockables, including bestiaries, art galleries, sound tests, and more!
This retrospective video SNK just made commemorates the series and its amazing installments so far! Give it a watch!
SNK's come that far, let's keep that series going!
For those of you who played the games, what are your favorite entries and bosses in the series so far?
From the first game where it started, we've witnessed great run and gunning action and loads of bullets fly against numerous warmongering enemies and threats through the always beautifully pixel made games the series has provided!
Though it started from the Neo Geo brand arcade and consoles, the series went to other systems, too, and even though it retains the look and feel from past games, they're no longer bound to tech constraints of said past systems.
My real hopes for the series is to retain the same gameplay for Metal Slug 8, which a lot of people really wanted time and again, but go straight into putting health systems for players instead of one-hit only(but can become an unlockable for those wanting the original challenge's fidelity), become hi-bit to retain the beloved pixel art style, go for the actual widescreen resolution of 424x240, and perhaps 480x270/2, and have actual health indicators for ALL bosses, as well as plenty of additional side content to have and some good unlockables, including bestiaries, art galleries, sound tests, and more!
This retrospective video SNK just made commemorates the series and its amazing installments so far! Give it a watch!
SNK's come that far, let's keep that series going!
For those of you who played the games, what are your favorite entries and bosses in the series so far?
#37
Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests
Last post by JonLeung - April 23, 2026, 06:10:43 PMVGCartography has completed his map set for Chrono Cross!
I remember enjoying this game enough back in the day, despite actually getting annoyed at all the characters I was gaining without having the time to learn how to really use them...
But I don't think I ever did New Game+. Which is silly considering how often I find myself chastising people who don't do the New Game+ in Chrono Trigger.
These maps are tempting me to play this again... maybe one day I will, and I'll surely use these maps if/when I do.
Thanks as always, VGCartography. Your maps of games for the original PlayStation are nothing short of exemplary!
I remember enjoying this game enough back in the day, despite actually getting annoyed at all the characters I was gaining without having the time to learn how to really use them...
But I don't think I ever did New Game+. Which is silly considering how often I find myself chastising people who don't do the New Game+ in Chrono Trigger.
These maps are tempting me to play this again... maybe one day I will, and I'll surely use these maps if/when I do.
Thanks as always, VGCartography. Your maps of games for the original PlayStation are nothing short of exemplary!
#38
Maps In Progress / Re: VGCartography - getting to...
Last post by VGCartography - April 23, 2026, 09:23:01 AMAfter a LONG time, I finally finished Legend of Dragoon and Chrono Cross maps on PS1. Those pre-rendered map sets are kind of a grind but these two I actually had fun finishing, I wasn't too familiar with the back half of them since it had been 25+ years since I got that far.
LoD is up, CC was submitted today. Spyro 3 was also finished. PS1 4eva
LoD is up, CC was submitted today. Spyro 3 was also finished. PS1 4eva
#39
Maps In Progress / Re: deficitattack maps
Last post by VGCartography - April 23, 2026, 09:20:22 AMI am very interested - Star Ocean 2 had some beautiful backgrounds! Love that era.
#40
Mapping Tips/Guides / Clickteam Fusion's Map Extract...
Last post by Cyartog959 - April 22, 2026, 03:11:41 PMWell, given that so far, nobody's gathered information, maybe I may partake, after finding some information, and perhaps educate those that may want to do some map ripping from these games.
I think the tools for ripping Clickteam Fusion game maps requires NebulaFD(Fusion Decompiler) to unpack the game's files and access the mfa or mfa_level files, that's where the maps are formatted to. To use it, though, NET 6.0 is required to download.
For extraction, CTF's "Clone Object" is needed to identify the object behaviors or special tools in order to extract backgrounds/backdrops and active objects. Some may use specialized Level Viewers to capture the maps' layouts in their entirety.
May take effort, but the whole process is worth it.
After finding the level's tilesets, its necessary to capture them and export them into PNGs, then capture the layout's backdrop/active object positions into CSV, JSON, however, raw data conversion to Tiled's .tmx format is a must for that.
To make a tileset for easier and more extreme flexibility, use an image editor that does the job, such as GIMP, paint.net, or whichever, to create the "Master Tileset" from the level's own extracted CTF tiles, then load into Tiled.
Once done, anyone familiar with Tiled may know what to use; create new map, set tile size to match the originals', 16x16, 32x32, so on, then place extracted tiles into Tiled to recreate the layouts, and of course, use the Object Layer to place all the essentials; items, such as power-ups, shields, enemy spawn points, and hazard objects, and converting the CTF active object properties into Tiled custom properties.
For more complex stages, however, its important to write a custom parser(likely using Python as a requirement, for instance, or very similar, maybe C++) to read the CTF map data and export it directly to to the .tmx format, allowing to parse tile grids.
To decompile and convert them all for easier import into another game engine with greater flexibility, such as Hatch Game Engine, that's a whole different story, but saving them and refining collision shapes and data is very important, just as it is for these steps I've talked about.
That, and converting the maps into Hatch's Scene stage structure to ensure they're 100% compatible for importing, such as Stage 1, Act 1, Scene 1, then to Scene 2, Act 2, Scene 1, and so on, for games that have large, multi-map stages, like many of Freedom Planet's stage's Acts that does the exact thing, for instance.
Hope I covered a lot for this.
I think the tools for ripping Clickteam Fusion game maps requires NebulaFD(Fusion Decompiler) to unpack the game's files and access the mfa or mfa_level files, that's where the maps are formatted to. To use it, though, NET 6.0 is required to download.
For extraction, CTF's "Clone Object" is needed to identify the object behaviors or special tools in order to extract backgrounds/backdrops and active objects. Some may use specialized Level Viewers to capture the maps' layouts in their entirety.
May take effort, but the whole process is worth it.
After finding the level's tilesets, its necessary to capture them and export them into PNGs, then capture the layout's backdrop/active object positions into CSV, JSON, however, raw data conversion to Tiled's .tmx format is a must for that.
To make a tileset for easier and more extreme flexibility, use an image editor that does the job, such as GIMP, paint.net, or whichever, to create the "Master Tileset" from the level's own extracted CTF tiles, then load into Tiled.
Once done, anyone familiar with Tiled may know what to use; create new map, set tile size to match the originals', 16x16, 32x32, so on, then place extracted tiles into Tiled to recreate the layouts, and of course, use the Object Layer to place all the essentials; items, such as power-ups, shields, enemy spawn points, and hazard objects, and converting the CTF active object properties into Tiled custom properties.
For more complex stages, however, its important to write a custom parser(likely using Python as a requirement, for instance, or very similar, maybe C++) to read the CTF map data and export it directly to to the .tmx format, allowing to parse tile grids.
To decompile and convert them all for easier import into another game engine with greater flexibility, such as Hatch Game Engine, that's a whole different story, but saving them and refining collision shapes and data is very important, just as it is for these steps I've talked about.
That, and converting the maps into Hatch's Scene stage structure to ensure they're 100% compatible for importing, such as Stage 1, Act 1, Scene 1, then to Scene 2, Act 2, Scene 1, and so on, for games that have large, multi-map stages, like many of Freedom Planet's stage's Acts that does the exact thing, for instance.
Hope I covered a lot for this.