Messages

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Map Gab / Hand-Drawn Game Guides by Phil Summers (NES)

« on: Yesterday at 07:18:18 pm »

Hand-Drawn Game Guides

If you go here and scroll down to "The Original Unofficial Guides, for FREE!", you can download .PDFs of hand-drawn game guides for some NES classics: Contra, The Legend Of Zelda, Metroid, and Ninja Gaiden.  When the art is cool (and cute), just generally well-done, there's definitely visual appeal to these.  I like the comic style and how there's just random drawings everywhere.  The Metroid and Ninja Gaiden ones are especially cute; I think the "seriousness" we associate with Samus and Hayabusa makes for an interesting juxtaposition when they don't look or act like hardened warriors.

I swear we talked about them earlier here in these forums, but I can't find that topic.  I know I'd heard about these before, something about issues with crowdfunding, maybe?  Unless that was something else?  In any case, I'd only just (re?)discovered that these guides are free, and it sounds like Phil Summers is working on another one.

Pretty cool stuff, eh?

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Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« on: Yesterday at 05:15:54 pm »

VGCartography is the first one to fulfill a PlayStation request, for Final Fantasy VIII!

It's an FF game that certainly has its detractors, but I have certainly enjoyed it at the time, and seeing as how the FF series is all over the place now, I think VIII being still in a now-classic era with turn-based (excuse me, "Active Time Battle")-style action, there's still much to like.  Looking at these maps brings back memories.

I always knew it would be possible to map.  I'm not sure why Final Fantasy IX wasn't on my request list (I have fixed that now), I think I mistakenly thought it had polygonal backgrounds, but they are actually prerendered, just like for VII and VIII.  VGCartography's taken care of a big chunk of IX too!  Those are up as well.

A bunch of maps by VGCartrography have been put up Saturday, Sunday, and today.  Lots of good stuff, really pushing what's possible.  Might have to rethink what I've deliberately left off my list, now that I see I shouldn't assume PS2 games are off the table.  Though my list is big enough already, LOL.

Thanks yet again, VGCartography!

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VGMaps Social Board / Re: YouTube channel! (JonLeung1)

« on: May 12, 2024, 08:07:06 am »

Happy 1st birthday to The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom! Last month, I posted a strange video where it looks like I didn't know how to side hop.  But anyone who knows me would KNOW I know how to play Zelda games!  Still, did I fool anyone?

Today, on ToTK's birthday, I am finally revealing that that vid is actually a shot-by-shot parody of TeZoKi's video of negaoryx's infamous Breath Of The Wild moment, when she found the tutorial shrine (at 95 hours) and learned how to side hop after having already beat three out of the four Divine Beasts!  Yes, I deliberately avoided the Kyononis Shrine in my actual playthrough of Tears Of The Kingdom so that I could recreate this moment (at 295 hours) after I'd cleared four out of five temples.  (By that point I had also done everything else possible in the game, including finding all the Koroks!)

A year later, have you beaten Tears Of The Kingdom?

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Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« on: May 11, 2024, 03:43:04 pm »

mechaskrom has fulfilled a TurboGrafx CD request!  The first one, actually.  We don't get many TurboGrafx games as it is...

Though The Dynastic Hero isn't a wholly original TurboGrafx CD game, but rather a version of Wonder Boy In Monster World (Genesis), which mechaskrom has submitted unmarked maps for at the same time (to go along with Dammit 9x's maps that we've had for quite a while).  mechaskrom has also mapped and submitted Wonder Boy In Monster World, a European release on the Master System.

Besides wanting more TurboGrafx games specifically, my request for The Dynastic Hero is because I think it would be interesting to compare against Wonder Boy In Monster World.  And now we can do that with this triple feature!  Thanks, mechaskrom!

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Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« on: May 10, 2024, 10:44:38 pm »

Deja vu, indeed.  I'm sure we've seen me thank zagato blackfist for mapping an NES game before.

This time it's for the MacVenture game Deja Vu!

Ironically, I'm surprised we haven't already seen anything mapped of the three MacVenture games on NES (the others being Shadowgate and Uninvited).  Thanks to zagato, that's one down!

I'm feeling like I've thanked you before... you keep coming through on these requests!  Keep up the great work!

With "Beyond Shadowgate" (which I semi-recently supported on Kickstarter) coming soon, the NES Shadowgate - or the TurboGrafx CD game ALSO called "Beyond Shadowgate" - would be cool, too... 

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Maps Of The Month / 2024/05: Dune II: The Building Of A Dynasty (PC) - mechaskrom

« on: April 30, 2024, 09:33:18 pm »

Dune II: The Building Of A Dynasty

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to mechaskrom's Dune II: The Building Of A Dynasty (PC) maps.

Arrakis, a harsh desert planet, is the source of the valuable commodity known as "spice".  Spice has health benefits, including the extension of life expectancy, and can alter the mind, like expanding sensory perceptions and even foresight.  Guild Navigators depend on spice for the prescience required for safe interstellar travel.  Spice isn't so easy to harvest and refine, as there are massive sandworms under the surface, and the native Fremen oppose off-worlders.  Even with these obstacles, the Houses of Atreides, Ordos, and Harkonnen seek to command and conquer Arrakis, as Baron Harkonnen says, "he who controls the spice, controls the universe."

A few years before the first game in their Command & Conquer series, Westwood Studios released Dune II: The Building Of A Dynasty, an earlier RTS (real-time strategy) game.  It even predates WarCraft (by Blizzard).  So besides building a dynasty, it was also pioneering a genre.  Herzog Zwei (by Technosoft) on the Sega Genesis may have come before, but Dune II is certainly meaningful in the history of the genre on PCs, where many RTSes make their home.

So to recognize the effort put into mapping this genre trailblazer, mechaskrom's Dune II: The Building Of A Dynasty (PC) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for May 2024.

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VGMaps Social Board / Re: Is there a program that lets you put text/notes with images? (Not embedded tags)

« on: April 30, 2024, 04:53:15 pm »

As of a few days ago, with the update to v1.92, it now has .GIF support and a thumbnail grid.  Upon opening, it can also auto-load the text file folder if an alternate folder had been specified.

Thanks again to ImJohnJohn for implementing those changes that I suggested!

Maybe no one cares but me, but as I previously said, it's nice to feel heard, and to contribute ideas that actually go into something.  If anyone else needs this image/text association program, maybe a Google search will bring them to this topic and point them in the right direction.  So, anyone in the future reading this... you're welcome. 

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VGMaps Social Board / Re: YouTube channel! (JonLeung1)

« on: April 27, 2024, 10:25:40 am »

I was about to share that I just made a YouTube Short for "Every #SNES Game EVER!" but realized that on these forums I didn't even share "Every #NES Game EVER!" which I made over a month ago.  So, here are both of them!  HIGH-SPEED IMAGERY, so be warned if you are sensitive about that.  Every box and title shot, too.

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Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« on: April 26, 2024, 02:28:44 pm »

zagato blackfist comes through with yet another of my NES requests, this time for Culture Brain's Flying Warriors!

Culture Brain had some interesting marketing back in the day, like some text-heavy magazine spreads, and I remember this game having a 16-page comic in the first video game magazine I ever had, the December 1990 issue of GamePro (a month before I started subscribing to Nintendo Power).

Despite my fondness for this, I don't think I've ever actually finished the game - perhaps zagato blackfist's maps will be of help if I try again.  Personal interest aside, Culture Brain's stuff is underappreciated, so it's nice to have another game of theirs mapped.

Thanks again, zagato!

EDIT: Some more "Flying Warriors" trivia of sorts.  When I made my "One Minute of Music from EVERY NES Game" video, it initially got four copyright claims at the start.  They were all eventually dropped, but then I got one more... for the Flying Warriors tune that is heard at 3:34:00.  Interesting that of all the NES tunes, that would be the only one that is an issue.  It has no dire consequences for my video - it's a copyright claim, not a copyright strike - but it's still interesting.

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VGMaps Social Board / Re: YouTube channel! (JonLeung1)

« on: April 20, 2024, 10:57:14 am »

Finally, here is a minute of music (and clean box art/title screenshots) from all of the remaining SNES games (Mexico, PAL regions, and special competition cartridges).  Enjoy!

You've probably seen earlier on that I did an almost-12-hour one for the NES ones and the exactly-12-hour Super NES (Part 1: US & Canada) earlier.

I don't know if I will ever be able to do Game Boy, Genesis, and Nintendo 64 ones, as I alluded to here...

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VGMaps Social Board / Transformers ONE: First Trailer

« on: April 18, 2024, 08:39:19 am »

Transformers ONE looks decent.  I'd see it in theatres.

Dunno about the humour/tone but I guess they're aiming for kids/families, gotta sell toys, after all.  The designs, animation and action look good, so I'll be there for those.

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VGMaps Social Board / Re: YouTube channel! (JonLeung1)

« on: April 13, 2024, 10:24:42 pm »

Yes, I skipped Kyononis Shrine in The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom.  What's up with that?

EDIT... see three posts later to learn the truth of this video...

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Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« on: April 08, 2024, 08:20:28 am »

Apologies to FlyingArmor as I hadn't realized that Lufia: The Legend Returns on the GBC has been complete since January 22, 2024, over three months ago!  Sorry!  And thanks again!  I'm always happy to get fully-labeled JRPG maps from FlyingArmor!  Will we eventually get every JRPG from this era fully mapped out?

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VGMaps Social Board / Re: YouTube channel! (JonLeung1)

« on: April 07, 2024, 05:39:30 pm »

Here's a review of "NES Endings Compendium: Vol. 1: 1985-89".
If that sounds familiar, it's an upgraded version of a book I'd reviewed earlier, that one only went up to 1988.  1989 was a big year for the NES, so this book is considerably bigger!

Apologies that this took so long.  It's a video I had promised to do, but I had some setbacks, the Japan trip from almost eleven months ago really took a toll on my intended video releases.  I'm glad it's done, and I think it's just as good as any other review video I've done.

I am considering reapplying for monetization soon... so any views you can get on this would certainly be appreciated!

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Maps Of The Month / 2024/04: Knuckles' Chaotix (32X) - G.E.R.

« on: March 31, 2024, 09:48:39 pm »

Knuckles' Chaotix

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to G.E.R.'s Knuckles' Chaotix (32X) maps.

Dr. Robotnik's latest scheme involves stealing the Power Emerald that provides energy for Carnival Island, an amusement resort that is just about to open.  Knuckles rescues his friends, the "Chaotix": Vector, Mighty, Charmy, and Espio.  Along with Robotnik's rogue "Mechanix", Heavy and Bomb, they will use "Ring Power", which acts like an elastic tether between two ringbearers.  Adding snapping and swinging to the usual sprinting action seen in Sonic adventures, Knuckles and the Chaotix can move like never before, and use this new physicality to try to save Carnival Island before its grand opening!

This 32X-exclusive Sonic The Hedgehog spinoff puts Knuckles and Team Chaotix in the spotlight, and Carnival Island is as colourful and vibrant as they are.  Though Knuckles' Chaotix was intended for the Sega Saturn, it was instead released as a 32X game - probably one of the very few must-haves in the tiny 32X library of only a few dozen games.  It hasn't seen a plethora of rereleases, like many mainline Sonic games have over the years and across multiple generations, so it's good that our resident Sonic fan, G.E.R., has mapped this out so that we will always remember the first time Knuckles did his own thing without Sonic around.

So to recognize the effort put into this 32X killer app, G.E.R.'s Knuckles' Chaotix (32X) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for April 2024.