Messages

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

« 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?

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

« 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.

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Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« on: February 26, 2026, 04:29:01 pm »

Can we expect the other Last Crusade NES game to be mapped too?

Well, what do you know.  On the topic of comparing things, zagato blackfist came through again by providing us with maps of Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (UbiSoft)!

This is the more action-oriented UbiSoft version.  Its palette is very limited, and when you compare it to the Game Boy version earlier mapped by Gennadiy_Master, it appears they just made the Game Boy one first, or with it in mind, and then just ported it over to the NES, just adding a palette but not increasing the number of colours much (sort of like a Game Boy game on a Super Game Boy).

It's nice to have both NES versions of Tetris, both NES versions of Ms. Pac-Man, both NES versions of Rainbow Islands, and now both NES versions of Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade.

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Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« on: February 26, 2026, 01:30:04 pm »

Castlevania Crypt.com has now allowed VGMaps.com to host the maps of Castlevania: Harmony Of Despair!

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the series (the Famicom version of Castlevania came out in September 1986), so it's nice to finally have full maps of Harmony Of Despair, a game that includes past Castlevania locales and characters.

Of particular interest to me is Chapter 10: Origin, a DLC stage based on the entirety of the original 8-bit Castlevania.  It has some modifications, like the underground part being extended and the following stage being reversed, an extra floor added to the purplish dungeon area, among other changes.

Compare it for yourself:

Revned's unmarked Castlevania (NES) map:
https://vgmaps.com/Atlas/NES/index.htm#Castlevania


Castlevania Crypt's Castlevania: Harmony Of Despair's Chapter 10: Origin map:
https://vgmaps.com/Atlas/X360/index.htm#CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDespair


I'll probably be saying it again in the autumn, but happy 40th anniversary, Castlevania!

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Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« on: February 24, 2026, 05:30:46 pm »

We've got the maps for Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (Taito), thanks to zagato blackfist!

This is the Taito version, not to be confused with UbiSoft's "The Action Game" version.  Seems silly to have two games on the same platform with the same name... and their box art is pretty much the same too, based on the same still from the movie, no doubt opening the door for more confusion.

Thanks as always, zagato!  Can we expect the other Last Crusade NES game to be mapped too?

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VGMaps Social Board / Are there any graphics apps/plugins that can reduce an image to integer scale?

« on: February 20, 2026, 06:17:16 pm »

Since I got some help from the forums about a specific graphical editing need before, I have another one that I hope can be solved...

Let's say I have a screenshot like this:


Specifically, this is from Mega Man 9, in the PC version of Mega Man: Legacy Collection 2.  This collection has a problem of not scaling with an integer scale, so the graphics aren't cleanly 1:1.  I believe they should be 256 x 224 of 256 x 240 like NES games should be, not 874 x 768.  And then Mega Man 10 screenshots are 922 x 767.  So weird.  The "pixels" aren't consistent in height or width, obviously if they were all perfect squares I could resize them down to 1:1 with no issue.

Now I have tried to use some "ReShade" thing I downloaded that's supposed to fix this problem, with setting for specific games, but I can't seemingly get it to work quite right.  That's a moot point though, as I'd like a more general fix for any screenshot like this from any game.  (Mega Man 9 and 10 have already been mapped by Revned, anyway, but I just want certain screenshots, is all.)

I imagine there must be a way for a dedicated tool, or perhaps a plugin, to compare each column to adjacent ones, and each row to adjacent ones.  If columns or rows are identical, then it could reduce them to just one row or column.  It might take multiple takes, but I would think that by the end what should remain is a 1:1 screenshot.

Does that make sense?  Is there already some way to do that in GIMP or Paint Shop Pro, or a plugin for Paint.net, or if not, could one be made?

Thanks in advance!

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

« on: February 11, 2026, 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...