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Maps Of The Month / 2025/07: Legend Of Mana (PlayStation) - mechaskrom

« on: June 30, 2025, 09:08:12 pm »

Legend Of Mana

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to mechaskrom's Legend Of Mana (PlayStation) maps.

This is the 250th time we have recognized a set of maps as "Maps Of The Month"!  That's a quarter of a thousand beautiful games with great maps!  (If you include the five April Fool's jokes from 2005-2009, that makes this #255, but that's also a milestone number... in hexadecimal.)  A complete and fully-labelled map set for a truly gorgeous game would be ideal for the 250th selection, and we got that in mechaskrom's recent submission of maps for Legend Of Mana!

In the world of Fa'Diel, the Mana Tree is the giver of mana and life.  Recovering from an ancient war, the Mana Tree currently sleeps.  The hero - which is you - will set out for adventure, collecting artifacts that magically contain various lands and their residents.  By recovering and restoring these areas, you can freely shape Fa'Diel however you like, so venture out into your creation in this open-ended action-RPG in the acclaimed Mana series by Square.

Legend Of Mana is a visual feast, with beautifully-crafted 2D graphics (pixels placed perfectly, and this is on the original PlayStation, a platform that preferred to push polygons).  It's one of the best-looking games in a series already known for being stunning.  Shout-out to art director Kōji Tsuda and the many Square artists!  There are a couple dozen settings with varied environments, like the lush White Forest, the cozy Lumina, the cluttered Junkyard, the harsh Norn Peaks, and many others.  Longtime mapper mechaskrom has captured every pixel of every room and, while some areas do have a fair bit of repetition, that's all the more reason we need these maps!  While labelling treasure chests and room connections are essential for any good RPG map, mechaskrom made sure not to cover up any of the in-game graphics, so we can fully appreciate the magnificent pixel art.

So to recognize the effort put into mapping this incredibly beautiful action-RPG, mechaskrom's Legend Of Mana (PlayStation) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for July 2025.

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Maps Of The Month / 2025/06: Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition (Genesis) - Vertigo

« on: May 31, 2025, 09:30:23 pm »

Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to Vertigo's Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition (Genesis) maps.

Who would want to return to Isla Nublar?

In an alternate continuation to the original Jurassic Park, while Dr. Alan Grant escapes in an InGen helicopter, he spots another InGen helicopter with an armed team of field agents arriving on the island.  He deduces that they are there to recollect eggs and DNA samples for nefarious purposes, perhaps starting another Jurassic Park or creating an army of dinosaurs. Grant reaches for the helicopter radio to warn the Costa Rican army that is already there intending to destroy the park, but a fight with the InGen pilot causes it to crash back on the island.  And so, Grant's adventure on Jurassic Park continues.  (Now with more rampage, apparently.)

As with the first Genesis Jurassic Park game (which Vertigo has also mapped), Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition can be played with one of two characters, either Dr. Alan Grant or a velociraptor.  Though many of their stages are similar, the order differs slightly, and there are some landscape differences, as well as the placement and types of enemies and items, depending on who you play as.  Vertigo mapped out both Grant's and the raptor's stages, as well as both marked and unmarked, if you like to be able to see the enemies, items and weapons, or if you'd rather take in the quiet natural beauty of Isla Nublar without distraction.  That means Vertigo mapped some of these areas FOUR times!  It's a good thing that this game looks great, and Vertigo sure did it justice.

So to recognize the effort put into these maps allowing us to survive Jurassic Park again, Vertigo's Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition (Genesis) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for June 2025.

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VGMaps Social Board / Happy (belated) 23rd birthday to VGMaps.com!

« on: May 07, 2025, 08:42:49 am »

VGMaps.com is now (over) 23 years old!

(Its birthday was yesterday, but I only realized it late at night.)  This is a big deal, since I created the site when I was 22, I've now been unquestionably running it for more than half my life.   

A big (and belated) thanks to Vince/bustin98 for all his technical assistance, and of course, to the many, many video game cartographers that have made over 40,000 screenshot maps and contributed them to VGMaps.com!

(Come to think of it, I should get around to counting the maps again.  It might be over 50,000 by now.)

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Maps Of The Month / 2025/05: Shining Force II (Genesis) - xyzbilliu

« on: April 30, 2025, 09:51:40 pm »

Shining Force II

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to xyzbilliu's Shining Force II (Genesis) maps.

Slade the thief has stolen the Jewel Of Light and the Jewel Of Evil from the Ancient Shrine, releasing the evil "King Of The Devils", Zeon.  Under the guidance of the wise wizard, Sir Astral, Bowie - our hero - along with his classmates, Sarah, Jaha, and Chester, will form the "Shining Force".  In strategic combat, they will repel the forces of darkness that threaten the kingdom of Granseal, as well as the world!

Sega's long-running "Shining" role-playing series has many games in a few different sub-genres, including first-person dungeon-crawling and third-person action.  The fifth game, Shining Force II, is one of the strategy games, where multiple characters are issued commands in a top-down view to clash on grid-based battlefields.  Despite its more tactical nature, it's one of the most popular games on the Sega Genesis (usually better known for its action games).  Shining Force II even made the cut to appear on the Sega Genesis Mini 2!

So to recognize the effort put into mapping this iconic Sega strategy game, xyzbilliu's Shining Force II (Genesis) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for May 2025.

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Maps Of The Month / 2025/04: Wai Wai World (J) (NES) - sprays

« on: March 31, 2025, 09:13:30 pm »

Wai Wai World (J)

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to sprays's Wai Wai World (J) (NES) maps.

Konami Man and Konami Lady set out to save the heroes of Konami video games in this wacky crossover game featuring the company's characters and settings.

In platforming stages, you will rescue and play as Simon Belmont III (a descendant of Simon Belmont from Castlevania), Goemon (the "Mystical Ninja" from Ganbare Goemon), Moai Alexandria (a Moai head from Easter Island, and seen in Gradius), and Getsu Fuuma (from Getsu Fuuma Den).  There are even licensed characters here that were not originally created by Konami.  Still, they had the video game rights to them at the time, including Mikey (from The Goonies) and King Kong (from King Kong 2: Ikari no Megaton Punch).  After those first six stages, there's a vertical shooter stage starring Twin Bee (from Twin Bee) and the Vic Viper (from Gradius), and a finale in an alien base (from Contra).  For Konami fans, it's fun to see how the environments have been adapted from their respective games to this mash-up.

The game got a sequel a few years later, also on the Famicom. Konami would also mix some of their characters in the Parodius games - none of which got a North American release. Konami Wai Wai Racing Advance is a Mario Kart-style Konami crossover that did get a worldwide release on the GBA, as "Konami Krazy Racers", but DreamMix TV World Fighters (combining Konami, Hudson, and Takara) was once again Japanese-only.  So the world hasn't seen much of this "wai wai" action.

So to recognize the effort put into mapping this Japan-exclusive crossover, sprays's Wai Wai World (J) (NES) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for April 2025.

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Gaming / Happy St. Patrick's Day! - Zelda Games

« on: March 17, 2025, 08:57:20 am »

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Link wears green. Are you playing a Zelda game today?

Here's what I've got on my Anbernic RG35XX SP.

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Maps Of The Month / 2025/03: Escape From Mars: Starring Taz (Genesis) - John Brain

« on: February 28, 2025, 07:48:06 pm »

Escape From Mars: Starring Taz

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to John Brain's Escape From Mars: Starring Taz (Genesis) maps.

Marvin the Martian is fascinated with "rare Earth creatures", so when he learns of one called the "Tasmanian Devil", he captures Taz, intending to keep him in a Martian zoo.  Unsurprisingly, the hot-headed Taz is not a fan of this arrangement, so he immediately breaks out and tries to find his way back home.

This is the adventure of "Escape From Mars: Starring Taz" (or, as the title on the box art reads, "Taz In Escape From Mars").  Somehow, via Acme shipping crates, Taz will travel from Mars to other planets, even back to Earth, though he must confront Marvin before he can return to Tasmania.  It's not an easy trek through all these large, sometimes labyrinthine areas, but Genesis fan and cartographer John Brain can help you and Taz escape from Mars, with these 19 maps ranging from Mars to Moleworld to Mexico.

So to recognize the effort put into mapping this above-average Looney Tunes-licensed platformer, John Brain's Escape From Mars: Starring Taz (Genesis) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for March 2025.

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Gaming / Every possible colour combo that Mega Man can be in the NES palette

« on: February 22, 2025, 09:45:50 pm »

Click to view larger, or use these direct links:
https://vgmaps.com/temp/MegaMan-AllNESCombos.png
https://vgmaps.com/temp/MegaMan-AllNESCombos(x4).png
https://vgmaps.com/temp/MegaMan-AllNESCombos-Quadrant1(x3).png
https://vgmaps.com/temp/MegaMan-AllNESCombos-Quadrant2(x3).png
https://vgmaps.com/temp/MegaMan-AllNESCombos-Quadrant3(x3).png
https://vgmaps.com/temp/MegaMan-AllNESCombos-Quadrant4(x3).png

I made this image of every single possible colour combination for Mega Man, based on Wikipedia's NES palette of 54 colours. That's 2916 combinations!

As the NES doesn't have a standard RGB palette, NES palettes are always inexact.  But by using the palette I found on Wikipedia, there are 54 colours (should be two identical whites, two identical greys, but it has two slightly different blacks).  Since Mega Man can have two colours, that's 54 x 54 combinations, that is, 2916 weapons.  Assuming eight per game, it would take 364.5 (let's say 365) games to go through them all, if they all have unique colours (but I don't think they do, and I've never seen Mega Man apply the same colour for both of his tones).  If each game took a day, it would take a year.

This was quicker to make than I thought, and turned out better looking than I thought!   

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VGMaps Social Board / Are there any graphics apps that can remove backgrounds or compare pixels?

« on: February 01, 2025, 09:07:39 pm »

Hey, folks, does anyone know of any applications, or functions in existing ones like GIMP or Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop, that can easily handle these scenarios?

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1. Background removal


Let's say I have something like the two screenshots above: one with foreground elements as well as the background, and another with only the background.
Can I subtract any pixels that match, essentially removing the background, to get an output of only the unique pixels from the first screenshot?

I know there are background removal tools online as well as apps that can do that, though those are usually suited for photos, and usually higher-res.
I don't believe they would work well with low-res pixel art, like screenshots, especially when background colours might be as vibrant as foreground elements.

Keep in mind that this is an example, I know that for Super NES emulation, and a few other platforms, it is possible to disable various background and/or sprite layers.
What I'm thinking of could be handy for isolating sprites in computer games (like '90s point-and-click adventure games), or if I only have existing screenshots on hand.

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2. Pixel comparison


Another function that could also work if we're comparing pixels could be just simply identifying pixels that are the same or different across screenshots of the same size.
I'd like to take two screenshots, and get an output like that third image there, simply a two-colour image, with green showing the alike pixels and red showing the differing pixels.

Or, whatever colour.  It could be black and white, doesn't matter.

This would make it easy to identify differences in similar images (like if I need to check versions of a pixel art image in progress).
I'm sure image masks could be made of that to isolate things (such as sprites, though that'd be similar to the earlier example).

I just had a thought... one could take a screenshot of a point-and-click adventure game before any items are picked up, then pick up all the items on screen and take another screenshot, and the resulting output image would be silhouettes of all the items.
Select just the red, float it, expand it by one pixel, paste the original output so that the expansion becomes an outline, stick that on the original screenshot, and boom, we've outlined all the items!  Or all the changeable/interactable elements.
Could certainly be handy for stuff like that.

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So, does anyone know of any applications or easy methods to do the functions I described above?  Please and thanks in advance for any help.

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Maps Of The Month / 2025/02: Kirby's Dream Land 3 (Super NES) - Jackster

« on: January 31, 2025, 09:49:06 pm »

Kirby's Dream Land 3

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to Jackster's Kirby's Dream Land 3 (Super NES) maps.

Kirby and Gooey are enjoying a nice day of fishing when a dark, monstrous cloud appears in the sky.  It spreads its evil influence around the world, including possessing King Dedede and his minions.  Kirby and Gooey gather their friends - Rick, Kine, and Coo, along with new friends Nago, Chuchu, and Pitch - to again go on a platforming adventure and use Copy Abilities to save Dream Land and all of PopStar!

In this particular Kirby game, besides just making it to the end, every stage has a unique challenge where Kirby or Gooey can earn a Heart Star.  These include playing mini-games, solving puzzles, collecting items, or having a particular partner with you by the end of the stage.  The various challenges often take the opportunity to include some cameos of other Nintendo characters; in 3-4, you'll be reuniting Donbe and Hikari, in 3-6, you'll be looking for parts of R.O.B. and, in 5-2, you'll be eliminating Metroids to help Samus!

Because you'll need all the Heart Stars to be able to challenge Dark Matter, Jackster's been considerate and has explained the conditions for obtaining the Heart Star in each stage.  On top of cleanly mapping every stage of this cute and colourful platformer, this underrated late-release Super NES game has been given the love it deserves.

So to recognize the effort put into helping us collect all the Heart Stars, Jackster's Kirby's Dream Land 3 (Super NES) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for February 2025.

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Gaming / Nintendo Switch 2 - Official "First-Look Trailer"

« on: January 16, 2025, 08:26:53 am »

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Message Board Announcements / 2025-01-14: No AI bots! If you are new, please sound human.

« on: January 14, 2025, 09:01:46 am »

Over the past year or so, I've seen (and removed) lots of suspicious comments from new users.

They typically quote someone's entire post, then often say they agree with it, and then repeat pretty much the same thing as what that quoted person says.  It's just a paraphrasing, a rewording, that adds nothing, no additional information or context, just weird platitudes.

I suspect these new users are really bots, that is to say, not genuine VGMaps fans that are human beings, but AI.

Now, I know some people do come of as "robotic" sometimes, in their choices of words and phrases (I've been accused of that myself before).

But if you are a new user, and I see that your first/only posts are just quoting someone and adding nothing to the conversation, or not saying something convincingly human, don't be surprised if I remove the post(s) and ban your account.

Considering I've removed a lot of these "users", and I haven't gotten any emails in response complaining about wrongful bans, I guess I've got a good track record of targetting the AI bots.

AI has its uses (that's a whole other conversation), but specifically on an Internet forum, I see no reason for thesaurus-like posts of zero value.

If you are a new user that is legitimately human, welcome!  And you are allowed to lurk, if you like.  But for your first posts, say things that sound human, things that AI wouldn't likely say.  Thanks.

If you spot an AI bot, feel free to report the post.  Even when the forums are quiet, I still pop in regularly, almost daily, so I will be sure to take care of any AI bots or spammers (which are still a problem too) before too long.

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Maps Of The Month / 2025/01: Vagrant Story (PlayStation) - VGCartography

« on: December 31, 2024, 05:05:35 pm »

Vagrant Story

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to VGCartography's Vagrant Story (PlayStation) maps.

The city of Leá Monde, once bustling with thousands of people, has been deserted since an earthquake a quarter of a century ago.  Now the city ruins, along with its abandoned mines and monasterial passageways, are a dark labyrinth whose inhabitants are the souls of the dead.

This is the setting for Vagrant Story, where Ashley Riot, a "Riskbreaker" agent of the Valendia Knights of the Peace, investigates the connection between a cult and the Parliament, while also having been accused of assassinating the Duke.  What revelations await in the haunted city of Leá Monde?

The mysteries of what you'll find there or how to find your way around don't have to be mysterious at all; you just have to look at VGCartography's maps.  The only thing cryptic about these (aside from the crypts) is that I haven't honoured these incredibly detailed maps earlier.  Rooms are named, doors are indicated, treasures are itemized, and all the beings that Ashley will encounter have all their stats revealed.  This is video game cartography at its finest!  VGCartography shows us, yet again, that he is quite the master of mapping three-dimensional video games and sparing no detail.  And indeed, no detail should be missed here in particular, as Vagrant Story is considered one of the best video games ever made.

So to recognize the effort put into mapping one of the most acclaimed interactive experiences from a quarter of a century ago, VGCartography's Vagrant Story (PlayStation) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for January 2025.

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Maps Of The Month / 2024/12: Sonic X Shadow Generations (Switch) - G.E.R.

« on: November 30, 2024, 09:35:08 pm »

Sonic X Shadow Generations

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to G.E.R.'s Sonic X Shadow Generations (Switch) maps.

Sonic X Shadow Generations is a bundle, featuring a remastered version of Sonic Generations (originally from 2011), and a new game, Shadow Generations.

While investigating the derelict Space Colony ARK, Shadow The Hedgehog discovers that Black Doom is still alive.  Shadow pursues him, but slips into the mysterious White Space, a timeless limbo-like realm where various areas from space and time may be sent by the Time Eater.  Shadow revisits areas from his previous adventures, and reunites with his creator, Gerald Robotnik, and his granddaughter, Maria, temporally displaced from before their deaths.  As Shadow develops powers, due to the relics that he finds in White Space, Black Doom also gains power.  Will Shadow be able to destroy him, and can he change the fate of his friends?

The maps in this table are for Shadow Generations, as well as anything that has changed for this version of Sonic Generations.  The rest of the maps - those that are unchanged - can be found in the original Sonic Generations list.  G.E.R. made those maps, as well, meaning that G.E.R. has provided us with a complete set of maps for a big 2024 game!  Not to mention several other Sonic games... and mapping these 3D games certainly can't have been easy!

So to recognize their dedication to mapping the Sonic The Hedgehog series, G.E.R.'s Sonic X Shadow Generations (Switch) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for December 2024.

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Maps Of The Month / 2024/11: Magical Quest 3: Starring Mickey & Donald (J) (Super NES) - Will Mallia

« on: October 31, 2024, 09:27:40 pm »

Magical Quest 3: Starring Mickey & Donald (J)

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to Will Mallia's Magical Quest 3: Starring Mickey & Donald (J) (Super NES) maps.

After pranking their uncle Donald, the triplets, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, hide from him in the attic.  While there, they discover a magical book, which is the gateway to Storybook Land.  The evil King Pete kidnaps the trio and plans to also conquer the "outside world".  The Fairy Guardian of Storybook Land teleports Mickey and Donald there to save its inhabitants from tyranny and to rescue the ducklings.  And so begins another 16-bit Disney adventure!

Playing very much like The Magical Quest: Starring Mickey Mouse and The Great Circus Mystery: Starring Mickey & Minnie (later known as Magical Quest 2: Starring Mickey & Minnie in its GBA rerelease), our heroes venture through a handful of stages of platforming action, with jumping, block-throwing, and utilizing outfits that grant helpful abilities.  But this time around, these skills differ between the characters.  For example, with the knight outfit, Mickey dons heavy metal armour and a lance with a boxing glove, but Donald wears a buoyant wooden barrel and swings a hammer.  So the experience varies, depending on who your favourite Disney character is.

Capcom's Disney games in the 8-bit and 16-bit days are examples of licensed games that are actually good.  While there's always the expectation of using character recognition to drive sales, other developers might try to get away with just putting out a game of subpar quality because they know they'll sell some regardless.  But Capcom, already a big name with a reputation for quality games, maintains that by making polished games, regardless of if the intellectual property is their own or licensed from someone else.

So to recognize the effort put into mapping this bright and cheery animated adventure, Will Mallia's Magical Quest 3: Starring Mickey & Donald (J) (Super NES) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for November 2024.