Messages

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Mapping Tips/Guides / Re: How to map Miracle Piano

« on: Yesterday at 09:22:31 pm »

The Miracle Piano Teaching System is a game that I was glad to find for a decent price on eBay, boxed and everything, in great condition (the keyboard especially) so I like to flaunt it where I can.

On the Internet, on notable sites including GameFAQs and MobyGames, that box scan is a photo of my very own box (though cleaned up a bit digitally), which I contributed myself when I couldn't find a good scan of it online.  (Same with Super Scope 6, yup, that's mine too...)

Both the box scan and the Miracle Piano keyboard appear in my "We Didn't Start The Fire" NES parody at 0:27.  One thing I hope viewers appreciate about my "We Didn't Start The Fire" parody in particular is that every line matches with the original at least somewhat, they're not just totally random like similar parodies I've seen (there seem to be at least three for the PS2 alone, but as far as I know, mine is the only NES one).  So thankfully, replacing "Marilyn Monroe" with the similar "Miracle Piano" also has the benefit of having a brief wordless part of the chorus (I'm not sure of my musical terminology, but I think you know what I mean) right after, which gave me the perfect opportunity to show off the Miracle Piano keyboard (though it's my brother who's playing it).

Anyway, that's very interesting that the codes you (zagato) found happen to work the same way on the NES, Super NES, and Genesis.  Is that a common occurrence, codes being interchangeable between games that appear on multiple platforms?

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Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« on: February 03, 2026, 05:18:32 pm »

We've got maps for Spanky's Quest, by Guard Master.

This is a bit of a random request, just because it's a cute game, but anyway, Guard Master stepped up, and even mapped the Japanese version, Hansei Zaru Jirou-kun no Daibouken (J).
It's always curious when there are stage layout changes between regional versions... like, why?  But in any case, Guard Master covers it all!

Thanks for helping Spanky the Monkey, Guard Master!

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Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« on: February 02, 2026, 01:55:01 pm »

zagato blackfist takes a step away from mapping NES games to take on the original pack-in game for the original Game Boy, Tetris!

This is one of those games that just about everyone has (being a pack-in game at all), so, of course I feel it was an absolutely must be mapped. (Still waiting on that Keith Courage for the Turbo Grafx 16, though...)

Being Tetris, well, what can you map besides the "well"?  That would have been fine, but we didn't even have that.  And yet zagato decided to bring us the menu and animated scenes as well, because, why not?

Fitting to get this "map" of screens this month... on Facebook, X, Bluesky, Reddit and Discord, I had posted in the last couple of days that February 2026's calendar looks like a Tetris... that is, the four weeks are four perfect lines (as in was in 2015, and will again in 2037 and 2043):

...this assumes you have your weeks start on Sunday and end on Saturday.  Most North Americans do this, but that's not the case in other parts of the world (as I was quickly reminded).

I do think the days of the week match better with numbers if Monday is first!
Mon = rhymes with "one", "mono" means one
Tue = TWO
Wed = 9 letters = 3 x 3 (a stretch, I know...)
Thu = thUR is like foUR
Fri, Sat, Sun = same first letter as Fifth, Sixth, Seventh...

Anyway, that was a little tangent there...

Thanks for fulfilling this Game Boy request, zagato!

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Maps Of The Month / 2026/02: Blades Of Vengeance (Genesis) - John Brain

« on: January 31, 2026, 09:15:16 pm »

Blades Of Vengeance

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to John Brain's Blades Of Vengeance (Genesis) maps.

The Master has summoned three adventurers, The Huntress, The Barbarian, and The Wizard, as they are the only ones who can save The Kingdom from the evil Mannax, The Dark Lady.

It's not much of a story, but everything else about Blades Of Vengeance is quite venerable. Two-player simultaneous co-op games are always a treat, for one thing, but it's also got solid gameplay, great graphics and animation, and even the sound and music are pretty good! And so are the level layouts. There are many hidden rooms and shortcuts (there's even one by the area in the thumbnail here), all thoroughly indicated on the maps we have here made by John Brain, who has mapped several other Genesis games, as well. Thankfully, he hasn't overlooked this cult classic.

So to recognize the effort put into mapping this hidden Genesis gem, John Brain's Blades Of Vengeance (Genesis) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for February 2026.

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Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« on: January 30, 2026, 10:22:34 am »

I thought I had Jack Bros. for the Virtual Boy on my list, but apparently not?  Still worth mentioning, since I did ask Guard Master in an email about it, and he delivered!

It's the first Megami Tensei game released outside of North America.  That's a series with many branches, including the Persona games.  What makes it funny is that the box art covers up the face of Jack Frost, who's supposed to be the main character of the whole franchise!  It's like a Mike Wazowski thing...

Anyway, I'm glad we got another Virtual Boy game mapped.  It's been 16½ years since the last time that page was updated, which is more than halfway to 1995 when the Virtual Boy was released!

The Virtual Boy "Nintendo Classics" app is coming to Nintendo Switch Online next month, with several games at launch but more games coming out later this year, including Jack Bros.!  There are going to be two previously-unreleased games, D-Hopper and Zero Racers, so I think there will be at least some increase in Virtual Boy appreciation this year!

Thanks for your continued work, Guard Master.  You sure have been keeping me busy with daily submissions in the last couple of weeks!

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Gaming / Mega Man: 15 Games Where You Face Cut Man

« on: January 21, 2026, 10:14:36 pm »

Sometimes I think of random things and then I have to do things like make a collage, just to express it, so I can move on...

I was thinking about how Cut Man is one of the optional bosses in just the Sega Saturn version of Mega Man 8, and then recently learned he's a hidden boss in Mega Man X 8, as well.

Being from the first game, he's one of the earliest and most well-known Mega Man Robot Masters, so he's had more appearances than many.

I count 15 different Mega Man games where you can fight Cut Man, and made this collage.

I was thinking about adding the cartoon appearances - along with Guts Man, he's one of the Robot Masters that shows up in every episode of the Ruby-Spears cartoon, and as "Cuts Man" (with an "s") he's the most powerful of the original Robot Masters in the Captain N: The Game Master episode... but I thought that might be a bit much.

Also, there are other cameos, like his appearance at the end of Mega Man 3, a database card in Mega Man & Bass, and, like the other Robot Masters from the original game, he's a good guy in Super Adventure Rockman.

I find it funny that he has more appearances than there are main Mega Man games...

Anyway, can you name all the games in this collage?
Am I missing any?

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Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« on: January 21, 2026, 11:01:09 am »

We've now got maps for another Japanese-exclusive 16-bit game, Marvelous: Mouhitotsu no Takarajima (J) ("Marvelous: Another Treasure Island") for the Super Famicom, thanks again to Guard Master!

This is a game that I've heard a bit about.  It is the first game directed by Eiji Aonuma, the director or producer of almost all of The Legend Of Zelda games since after The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past, which Marvelous: Mouhitotsu no Takarajima is influenced by.

Considering Guard Master's recent submissions, it looks like we have another 16-bit RPG mapmaking master!  Keep up the great work!

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Gaming / Re: Crater, a Sokoban clone for MS-DOS

« on: January 17, 2026, 01:20:08 pm »

The map for FlyingArmor's game, Crater, are now up here... by mechakrom...

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Map Requests / Re: Mega Man Maps

« on: January 13, 2026, 10:12:33 pm »

As I mentioned in the Hand-Drawn Game Guides topic, I just received their latest book, the one on Mega Man (NES)!  It also covers Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge (Game Boy).

It's nice to see that people still care about Mega Man games. I bought it to support Phil Summers's efforts, so I'm glad that he is working on one for Mega Man 2, which is good since as you probably know, my brother and I sure have a lot of Mega Man 2 stuff between us...

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

« on: January 13, 2026, 10:04:13 pm »

I just received the "Hand-Drawn Game Guides" book on Mega Man!
It came with all these goodies!

In the age of AI and overused CG, we should support efforts like this. There's a real charm to hand-drawn guides!
(I know that seems ironic coming from me, who runs this site, full of screenshot maps... 🙃)

This guide also covers Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge for the Game Boy, if you're wondering about the poster... the other side shows the same art as the book cover.

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

« on: January 13, 2026, 09:06:13 pm »

Sometimes, I really lean into a joke.

Here are fatalistic ninjas and Funtastic Nintendo 64s.

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Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« on: January 13, 2026, 04:34:10 pm »

Other than the PC, my most-requested platform is the Super NES, but we don't see those map requests fulfilled that often.

But, today we've got maps for the Japanese-exclusive Rudra no Hihou (J) ("Treasure of the Rudras") thanks to Guard Master!
Okay, it's a Super Famicom game, but you know, same diff.

Now, confession time: I haven't actually played this game.
But I requested it, because, well, it's a 16-bit turn-based fantasy JRPG by Square, released late in the Super Famicom's lifespan. Do I really need to say more?

As that's from the "peak Square RPG" era, I'd definitely consider playing it one day.
Of course, maps would be handy for that.

It's truly underrated - the only time I hear anything about it is when people are saying it's underrated.  It seems to get less attention than SaGa, Front Mission and Live A Live. Live A Live sorta-recently got a Switch rerelease, wonder if Square'll also consider giving Rudra no Hihou another shot? It sure seems like something that needs more attention, and now we have the maps for it!

Thanks again, Guard Master!

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Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« on: January 11, 2026, 07:29:57 pm »

We've got the maps for The Jetsons: Cogswell's Caper!, thanks to zagato blackfist, of course!

As I told zagato, this is a funny coincidence.  Earlier today, my brother and I were talking about the NES games featuring The Flintstones and The Jetsons, and trying to remember if we actually rented them back in the day.  We definitely rented the first The Flintstones game, probably not the second (which is a later game and quite rare, and not actually a Blockbuster exclusive as many have claimed), but we were both sure we never actually rented The Jetson's: Cogswell's Caper! at the time.  And then, less than a couple of hours later, zagato sent me these maps, wow!

(I was at a Harlem Globetrotters 100th anniversary show this afternoon, that's why I couldn't get them up right away.  zagato blackfist also mapped the Harlem Globetrotters NES game, would've been funny if that was sent in today too, LOL.)

I recall that something similar happened in March 2024 when he sent in maps for Friday The 13th and A Nightmare On Elm Street on the same day I got those games in the mail from eBay.  Crazy.

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VGMaps Social Board / Re: What's gonna be the 50,000th Map in VGMaps History?

« on: January 07, 2026, 11:53:21 am »

Well... I don't want people sending in a bunch of low-quality maps just to be the one that hits that milestone.

A few years ago, I offered to old and new mappers that anyone who had submitted like 20 or 50 maps or whatever could get a free "Nintendo Quest DVD" from me (as I had so many after doing an event in 2015 but now needed to move them as they weren't selling). And, perhaps because DVDs are passé, or that a different version of "Nintendo Quest" is now on YouTube or whatever, very, very few people actually took that deal.

But it was around the time that this one person, a new mapper, who probably only just wanted the "free" DVD, started submitting a lot of low-quality stuff.  I'm not one to refuse maps if technically they are maps, but man... is the site always improved with more maps, especially if they're like those?

And as nice as it is to be able to say we have lots of maps, technically maps would work better the fewer there are.  As in, no unnecessary fragmentation.

Before we got complete Super Metroid maps for each area (thanks, Rick Bruns!), someone tried to send in maps they had extracted from the game somehow... meaning that it was hundreds of images, separate files, one for each room.  Come on, a single room isn't really a map...

I want there to be 50,000 maps, sure, but we'll get there.  And if I say we're close, I hope that if anything, that it encourages people to continue to make good maps, not to pivot to making worse maps that they can pump out faster.

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Map Requests / Re: Mega Man Maps

« on: January 07, 2026, 09:28:57 am »

Just came across this one... Mega Man: Space Rescue.  (Not a Mega Man: Star Force game... just looks like classic Mega Man but in a spacesuit.  Weird.)

I know we have at least one J2ME expert here, LOL...