Messages

196

VGMaps Social Board / No Weekend Update?

« on: March 10, 2008, 06:45:18 am »

Crap! There were no updates this weekend. I wonder why--oh wait, Brawl came out this weekend. ;-P



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"So this is what it's like..."

- Spark Mandrill

197

Map Requests / RE: Mega Man Maps

« on: March 01, 2008, 10:08:44 pm »

ZOMG - Xgasm!



Geminiman has decided to return to the original MMX and gave us an extra map, that of Flame Mammoth's stage. We can only hope this is an indicator that he's planning on finishing off the SNES X series maps soon! =D



(And take a wild guess as to what my two favorite games are in the Mega Man franchise. =P)



---

"So this is what it's like..."

- Spark Mandrill

198

VGMaps Social Board / RE: New Forum

« on: February 13, 2008, 08:31:07 am »

Wow, quite a fossil you've dug up here, Koopa! In other news--this forum has avatars?? Who knew? Well, I have an avvy now myself. (Old school X FTW!) As well as a sig.



April 2006. That was the beginning of a very happy time for me. Ah, would that I could return to those blissful days. (Though I see it was a less than pleasant time for poor Jon Leung. =P)



---

"So this is what it's like..."

- Spark Mandrill

199

Map Requests / RE: Mega Man Maps

« on: February 11, 2008, 10:21:59 am »

Not too bad, not too bad. Bah, I just wish the maps for X1 and X2 would be completed already! =P



But I guess that's all up to Geminiman. It's just hard with them being the only incomplete ones so far (well, except the BN maps of course). ;0)

[Mega Man 2, 3, 4, 6]

200

Gaming / RE: What are your favourite game soundtracks?

« on: February 05, 2008, 02:44:06 pm »

Woohoo, necromancy FTW!



Yes, I've become a huge VG music enthusiast in recent times. Here goes my list:



NES



Mega Man 2, 3, 4, 6

MM2 and MM3 have arguably the greatest soundtracks on the NES. MM4 and MM6 follow in their noble footsteps even if not all their tracks are quite up to par. I don't know what happened to MM5, however; it just seemed so uninspired compared to its NES MM brethren.



Zelda 1 & Zelda II

Everyone knows how good the music of LoZ is. But not much attention is given to AoL, and I think that's a shame--heck, in many ways, I enjoy AoL's music better than LoZ! I especially like the battle/cave theme, improvised overworld, palace theme, the Great Palace, etc.



Super NES



Donkey Kong Country 1 & 2

These are among the two best ST's on the SNES, especially DKC2. Whereas the music in the Mario series is mainly dopey and kiddish, and you'd expect the music in these games to be the same, yet they're both groovy and profound at points. God only knows how the music in DKC3 turned out to be such a disaster after these two gems.



Mega Man X

When most people think of great Mega Man music, almost invariably MM2 and the other NES classics come to mind. This game, however, beats them all out as the greatest Mega Man soundtrack of all time, period--IMHO. Try to find a dud on here. Almost every single piece of music is either rockin', moving, thrilling, or some other component of pure awesome. All three ending themes, in particular, I can listen to over and over and over again. This game is only narrowly beaten out by DKC2 as the greatest game music on the SNES ever.



Mega Man X2

Not quite as awe-inspiring as its elder brother, yet this game also contains some of the best music in the series--and a couple tunes that even top anything else in the original X (e.g. X-Hunters Base theme 1). The distinct "guitar" sound on this one is what it gives it its unique flavor and lasting luster. Too bad X3 turned out to be such a dud musically (that seems to be a problem with SNES trilogies apparently).



Super Metroid

It has Norfair Ancient Ruins theme and Brinstar Vegetation theme. And Theme of Samus Aran, and Mother Brain's theme. 'Nuff said.



Yoshi's Island

Musically in contrast to the rest of the Mario series and their relatively annoying themes, this one is a gem. It succeeds at being childlike without being childish. Far and away the best theme on the soundtrack, however, is Crystal Cave, which almost sounds like it could fit in a Zelda game.



(I'll finish this list later, when I have more time. ;0)

201

Map Requests / RE: Mega Man Maps

« on: February 04, 2008, 08:22:52 pm »

Yeah, I actually like the first map you did of MM1's ending, Terra. It looks more "NES-esque," whereas the second one, with the blended colors, looks a bit more artificially contrived. In other words, the "fingerprints" of the mapper are more evident in the second one than the first, so I prefer the first even though you don't think it looks as good. =0)

202

Maps In Progress / RE: Donkey Kong Land 2 (GB)

« on: February 01, 2008, 09:53:30 pm »

Well, I know of a certain Koopa will be quite excited about today's update! =P

203

Gaming / RE: XX days until Super Smash Bros. Brawl! (SPOILERS!)

« on: January 17, 2008, 07:29:41 am »

*still wistfully waiting on Mega Man*

204

Map Gab / RE: Mega Man IV (GB)

« on: January 13, 2008, 07:20:10 pm »

Wow, those look great, Terra! An excellent addition to the GB Mega Man map collection. Can't wait to see MMV!

205

Map Gab / RE: Mega Man V (GB)

« on: January 13, 2008, 07:17:02 pm »

I also prefer method #2. It's more aesthetically pleasing, and it's really not misleading. After all, maps are supposed to be maps, not strategy guides. (I find maps that err on the side of being guides somewhat annoying.)



Besides, as you said, method #1 is confusing. I think #2 simplifies it and makes it look better.

206

Maps In Progress / RE: Donkey Kong Land 2 (GB)

« on: January 07, 2008, 10:44:00 am »

This thread made me giggle. =D



Koopa: If you're *this* excited about the DKL maps, oughtn't you at least give it a try yourself even if it's more difficult than maps you've attempted in the past? I think you should at least try it and see what comes out.



Or maybe have Fearnav give you a tutorial or how-to on how he does it. That way he wouldn't have to bother with it anymore (and judging by the fact that he's been at this one level since at least the summer, I'm guessing he's sort of lost interest in the project as a whole)--and you can have the maps just as you want them, and as soon as you'd like too.

207

Mapping Tips/Guides / RE: Labeled vs. Unlabeled Maps

« on: January 02, 2008, 08:18:51 pm »

@Revned: D'oh! I almost inserted he/she just in case but then thought otherwise. Blast. ;-P



@Terra & Jon: Thanks for your responses and experience-borne insights. I actually wish I was a mapper. I just have no idea how. I love dropping by here from time to time and looking, though--the Mega Man maps tend to be my favorites.



@MagnetiC: Oh, hey! Hehe. So that was your first map, eh? Sorry if my post came across too critical (looking back over it, I did seem a bit brash). I think it'd be cool if you replaced the red font with the in-game font off to the side of the map and maybe a Cut Man frame too (from stage select screen, which is what I think Revned and Geminiman do). Again, I feel a bit ironic giving advice like this when I've never mapped myself. =P

208

Mapping Tips/Guides / RE: Labeled vs. Unlabeled Maps

« on: January 01, 2008, 08:35:15 pm »

I'm in a nobody here, but I'd still like to add my input on the matter.



Truthfully, I'm of two minds here, and I do agree with whoever said that it basically depends. For one thing, when it comes to Zelda games, I really love how snesmaster maps--with all the enemies, items, etc. fully visible. In fact, I don't think there's a 2D Zelda game where that wouldn't work. But I confess I'm really not a fan of labeling--i.e. putting text onto a map or even next to it. I think the only way it works aesthetically is to use text that's the same as the in-game font. Then it can work really well! I think Geminiman furnishes an excellent example of this on his Mega Man maps. And I also have to voice my general dislike of mephea's mapping style (I was looking at his Bubble Bobble map earlier tonight since it was recently released on the VC). He definitely puts a lot of work into it, but it looks so gaudy. But the visual walkthru can be helpful, though--I suspect that if I get stuck on Bubble Bobble at all, he's going to be the first one I check instead of GameFAQs!



Switching over to Mega Man maps, I think the MM maps work better without all the enemies placed in there. I like how generally on those maps, only items and bosses are shown. I'm thinking all the maps should show the larger enemies too (the ones whom you have to defeat in order to advance--like the giant mechanical cat in I think Wood Man's stage).



One thing that I'd really like to see, though, is map consistency. Going back to MM, look at the maps for Mega Man 1 on NES. Revned did most of those, and they look great--what little info there is at the top he deliberately did to make it look in-game. But MagnetiC's Cut Man stage isn't the same style--he has this gaudy red font at the start and end of the stage (and in his info) that doesn't look right at all, especially since his is the only contribution to the MM1 maps. ABStartSelect clashing with Revned in MM4 is another example.

209

VGMaps Social Board / RE: XX days until Christmas!

« on: December 25, 2007, 11:27:41 am »

Merry Christmas/happy winter festivity of your choice, everyone! =D

210

Maps Of The Month / RE: 2007/12: Mega Man 8 (PSX) - Zeric

« on: December 19, 2007, 08:32:45 pm »

*enthusiastically endorses Terra's decision to map MMIV and MMV*



BTW, I'm really looking forward to your MMZ maps (which is saying a lot because I've never even played the Zero series before, LoL).



Yeah, I remembered the 20th anniversary. I spent the evening after work listening to the soundtracks to MM1-7. I didn't have time to squeeze in the MM8 OST, but that's what I'm listening to now. ;0)