Recent Posts

41

Gaming / Re: "10 Games To Get To Know Me..."

« Last post by dark_lord_zagato on March 14, 2026, 05:44:27 pm »

Zagato, why did you pick Inindo: Way of the Ninja? I haven't played it, but it has really mixed reviews online and doesn't seem very good. Plus, it's made by Koei. 

Is it worth playing anyway?

No, it's really not. This falls under the category of bad games that we like for personal reasons.

A friend of mine gave this to me back in the 1990s, when we were in highschool, and showed me the basics of how this game works. The graphics and sound are pathetic for an SNES game, and while the story is okay there isn't anything too special about it.

What really sold us was all the stuff you can do outside of storyline progress. You can just forget about your mission and screw around for years of in-game time. I wanted to explore all of Japan and find the towns that you have no real reason to go to. My friend liked recruiting all the generic characters just to sell their stuff and kick them out of the party. We both liked tracking down the characters that are hostile towards the hero, so we could challenge them to a duel and beat the CRAP out of them. Later on in the game I found out you could take spying and sabotage missions, and even help out in wars between provinces. I tried to turn the entire mini-map of Japan yellow (for Tokugawa Ieyatsu) but only conquered half of it before my generals were stretched too thin.

So that was pretty fun, but I always wished I could have a world map of this game to make it easier to navigate. VGmaps came along some time later, and then after waiting silently for a few years I finally realized that if I ever wanted these maps I would just have to make them myself.

You know what that means. Inindo is the game that got me into mapping in the first place. If this is a list of games that had a big influence on us then Inindo really should be on my list.

42

Maps Of The Month / A Word about the Game's Nod from The Chaotix Casefiles...

« Last post by Cyartog959 on March 14, 2026, 04:32:01 pm »

Apologies for bringing this back after inactivity, but, I really want to say this game got a good mention from Sonic's recent audio show, "The Chaotix Casefiles", the first episode.

Before leaving Angel Island, Vector the Crocodile tried to plea to Knuckles for help on their latest investigation by bringing up a rather distant memory he actually remembered.

That distant memory was the final battle against Dr. Robotnik(yes, still alternatively called Eggman) and Metal Sonic's form, powered by a captured Giant Ring that he turned into a crystallized Dark Battery Ring, Metal Sonic Kai, which he piloted from the inside, and how they were victorious against him in the central structural depths of the Newtrogic High Zone, his main base that was another attempt to conquer the world and build his own park, Robotnikland(or Eggmanland), stationed on the island they were all in, right after Knuckles and his then-newly founded allies got all the Chaos Rings.

Surely, with utilization of Sling Rings(clever name, though; not from me), the ring tethers used throughout the game, that gave them the upper hand to Robotnik's plans.

My heart felt a little down for Vector, though. Even as Angel Island's guardian, you think Knuckles could've been a bit more on-par with his memory when Vector brought the end of their first adventure up to him. I mean, he was involved.

I know, the game wasn't quite well-received because that Sling Ring gameplay mechanic dragged the game on a bit too long, among other reasons, but bear in mind that game was kinda rushed for its launch in 1995, and SEGA tried to get a Sonic game into the 32X before the Saturn became the focus at the time. The least we can do is appreciate their efforts.

I would be elated to think and see the game get a second chance by having it redone under the Retro Engine, with proper care, that is, and be given a more finely thorough polished work effort to it and loads of tiny cosmetics that were missed before the original launch day, especially having the Good Ending fleshed out quite more, to give it good closure to the game's story with the Chaos Rings.

If you haven't listened to that, give it a go.

43

Gaming / Re: "10 Games To Get To Know Me..."

« Last post by mechaskrom on March 14, 2026, 09:52:39 am »

Zagato, why did you pick Inindo: Way of the Ninja? I haven't played it, but it has really mixed reviews online and doesn't seem very good. Plus, it's made by Koei. 

Is it worth playing anyway?

44

Gaming / Re: It's MAR10 today. So what Mario game are you playing or replaying?

« Last post by mechaskrom on March 14, 2026, 09:42:45 am »

I played a few stages in Super Mario World. Happy MAR10 day!

45

Gaming / Re: It's MAR10 today. So what Mario game are you playing or replaying?

« Last post by Cyartog959 on March 10, 2026, 09:36:53 pm »

I'm maybe the only one here who recognizes this day enough to post about it...

I made this collage a few weeks back, with Japanese box art on the top and North American box art on the bottom.  The Japanese like to show the world and a bunch of other characters - the North American ones just seem to show Mario jumping.



But, hey, at least with the Game Boy, they kept the "crowded" box art:



I'm pretty busy currently with a few projects at once right now, including one with a deadline, and haven't been playing my usually-consistent 1½ hours of daily gaming while on the treadmill for almost two weeks (because I just had an operation and can't do anything strenuous), and felt guilty about playing games if I'm not on the treadmill especially as I have other things to do, but I did pick up Mario Tennis Fever on the Switch 2, so maybe I'll squeeze in a few minutes of it today somewhere just to say that I did.

Anyone playing anything with Mario in it today?

As much as I enjoyed the many Mario games before, I'm still not feeling the satisfaction of any game giving more challenge; more longer courses, more original bosses, maybe occasionally a new main villain that isn't Bowser, like how it was with a lot of his adventures.

All the increased memory and CPU Nintendo held for their computers and companies, and yet, the present minds there that made the games could at least spare extra effort to keep on challenging us; but not by shorter, tougher courses, rather the longer courses while still retaining their challenge level. Their minds need to be more open-minded to listening to others, especially their fans.

My thirst for long, challenging stages/courses could never be satisfied. Not to mention those that test our basic know-how of platform gaming for it, including using our minds to solve puzzles.

Sorry you went through an operation. Many prayers for your healing, Jon, and for your recovery!

Also, happy Mar10 Day, Jon! Hope you get well soon! Thought and prayers are all with you!

And, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury is one of my recent favorites. Really great to play!

46

Gaming / Re: It's MAR10 today. So what Mario game are you playing or replaying?

« Last post by JonLeung on March 10, 2026, 08:52:58 am »

I'm maybe the only one here who recognizes this day enough to post about it...

I made this collage a few weeks back, with Japanese box art on the top and North American box art on the bottom.  The Japanese like to show the world and a bunch of other characters - the North American ones just seem to show Mario jumping.



But, hey, at least with the Game Boy, they kept the "crowded" box art:



I'm pretty busy currently with a few projects at once right now, including one with a deadline, and haven't been playing my usually-consistent 1½ hours of daily gaming while on the treadmill for almost two weeks (because I just had an operation and can't do anything strenuous), and felt guilty about playing games if I'm not on the treadmill especially as I have other things to do, but I did pick up Mario Tennis Fever on the Switch 2, so maybe I'll squeeze in a few minutes of it today somewhere just to say that I did.

Anyone playing anything with Mario in it today?

47

Maps Of The Month / 2026/03: Marvelous: Mouhitotsu no Takarajima (J) (Super NES) - Guard Master

« Last post by JonLeung on February 28, 2026, 10:37:56 pm »

Marvelous: Mouhitotsu no Takarajima (J)

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to Guard Master's Marvelous: Mouhitotsu no Takarajima (J) (Super NES) maps.

Three twelve-year-old boys - Dion, Max, and Jack - are on a field trip on an island, rumoured to be the location of "Marvelous", the treasure left behind by the treasure-seeking pirate, Captain Maverick.  Can the three of them work together to find riches and glory in this Japanese-exclusive Super Famicom adventure game?

As you might guess, Marvelous: Mouhitotsu no Takarajima is inspired by The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past, and uses the same engine. This is the first game directed by Eiji Aonuma, which caught the attention of Shigeru Miyamoto, who would then recruit Aonuma to work on The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time. As Eiji Aonuma has directed, produced, and supervised Zelda games since, this game should be notable not only for being influenced by Zelda, but coming full circle by putting Aonuma in a position to shape one of Nintendo's biggest franchises of all time.

So to recognize the effort put into mapping this marvelous and legendary game, Guard Master's Marvelous: Mouhitotsu no Takarajima (J) (Super NES) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for March 2026.

48

Gaming / Re: "10 Games To Get To Know Me..."

« Last post by dark_lord_zagato on February 28, 2026, 07:10:33 pm »

I could fill this up with Final Fantasy and Zelda games, but to keep this interesting i'll limit my choices to one game per franchise.

These are games that I played obsessively when they came out. Games that warped my mind or left a lasting impression.


Secret of Mana (SNES)
Chrono Trigger (SNES)
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
Final Fantasy III (US) (SNES)
Inindo: Way of the Ninja (SNES)
Xenogears (Playstation)
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Playstation)
Breath of Fire III (Playstation)
Crystalis (NES)
Little Ninja Brothers (NES)

49

Gaming / Re: "10 Games To Get To Know Me..."

« Last post by TerraEsperZ on February 27, 2026, 10:32:24 pm »

In order to limit my selection to ten, I went for games that really "connected" with me in some ways despite not always being objectively all that good. Each one became a temporary obsession and I wish I could go back to experience them again for the 1st time:

Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010)
Portal 2 (2011)
FEZ (2012)
Antichamber (2013)
NaissanceE (2014)
Undertale (2015)
INFRA (2016)
Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition (2016)
FAR: Lone Sails (2018)
Outer Wilds (2019)

50

Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« Last post by dark_lord_zagato on February 27, 2026, 11:48:13 am »

I was going to comment about what an odd decision it is to port a Game Boy game to the NES with virtually no improvements, but then I noticed this was originally a PC game from 1989.

It was called "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Action Game" and it was released on a bunch of different systems at the same time.

The crazy part is their decision to port the Game Boy version to the NES instead of the PC or even the Commodore 64 versions, which honestly look a lot better. This came out in December 1993 and it's a massive downgrade to games from 1989, for systems that had less powerful hardware than the NES.