Recent posts

#1

Gaming / Ys 1 and 2 releases collage

Last post by mechaskrom - Yesterday at 10:52:55 PM

All the different Ys 1&2 releases are quite confusing so I made a collage of all of them (I hope) from 1987 to 1991 to give me a better overview. It's a bit simplified with one entry per platform. The FM-7 got an extra release of Ys 1 for the more powerful FM77AV with better sound for example. And Ys 2 was only released for the Sharp X1 turbo and Fujitsu FM77AV (hence its nicer title screen). Finding details of all the different Ys 1&2 releases is hard though.

I've played a lot of different Ys 1&2 versions and I think that TG16 Book 1&2 is superior to all of them. Good graphics, good controls, voiced dialogs, not that grindy or difficult and awesome music. The TG16 music is even better than what modern versions have in my opinion. It's really strange that no remake used it as far as I know. Maybe some licensing issue?

Ys I & II Chronicles is also quite good if you want something more modern, but it's missing the TG16 music and the graphics style, although very pretty, doesn't really capture the look of the old Ys games. That together with many other changes makes it feel like a new game rather than a remake of Ys 1&2.

Which Ys 1&2 versions have you played and which is your favorite?

#2

Mapping Tips/Guides / Re: What map-making feature wo...

Last post by Guard Master - Yesterday at 05:23:54 AM

Good news. SuperSNES9x does have the option to display "accurate SNES colors". I haven't tested it, but it's there in Video -> Color Correction.

That's great. Tried it myself with the latest release. Getting my hopes higher for the emulator to be the next one I use as default. Here are additional features I'd like to see:

1. Support to combine multiple of the "tools" windows (e.g., the viewers, debugger, cheats, etc.) into a single window, offering tabs to switch between them. Having all these windows opened while I'm also alternating between other external windows becomes overwhelming.

2. Support to enable "widescreen" view. More emulators are supporting this including the latest Super ZSNES. Also, support to disable overscan (to allow 240 pixel height viewable instead of the typical 224 pixels in most games). Lastly, not sure if even possible, but the best would be support to have the emulation screen be the same size as the tilemap viewer and display as much as possible of bg + sprites.

#3

Map Gab / Re: Coming Soon: Undertale Map...

Last post by collinseyes - September 18, 2026, 02:06:12 AM

(Seeing this website go nearly a decade without any maps from Undertale fills you with DETERMINATION.)

Truth be told, I was already making these maps and then remembered I used to frequent this website back in the day. I returned to see how this site handled maps from this game and was surprised to see there were none. (But nobody came!) Kind of a pleasant surprise, though, because now I get an opportunity to share my maps with this place!

They're still in progress, but I'm putting the finishing touches on Hotland, then they'll be ready to roll. I'll go into more detail about my methodology in a later post, but the gist of it is, I'm using the UndertaleModTool, which has rips of each and every single room in the game. So I'm stitching all those rooms together. However, the rooms are rather imperfect compared to what you see in-game (especially the Hotland ones, what with all their complicated backgrounds and whatnot). So I'm using Paint.net to polish the rooms so they look as close to how they appear in-game as I can get them.

There will be two different varieties of maps I'm doing: labeled maps (the rooms in the mod tool include a lot of interactable elements you can't see in-game, most of which I'm keeping for this variety--which is great as a visual guide to what you can and can't interact with, ideal for those on a second or later playthrough who want to experience everything). These maps include spoilers such as late-game and post-game NPCs, puzzle solutions, etc.

And then I'm doing unlabeled maps (without all the game data labels), which still include items and NPCs, but only ones you would see on a first visit--and no puzzle solutions either. This type will only show what you can actually see in-game and will be as close to spoiler-free as one can get with an Undertale map.

Anyway, I look forward to sharing more in the near future! (Fun fact: These will also be the first ever video game maps I've ever done. )

It's mind-blowing that VGMaps hasn't had a proper Undertale atlas after all these years, seeing someone finally take on this project fills the community with determination. Looking forward to seeing the final renders published on the site. Take your time with Hotland, and good luck.

#4

Mapping Tips/Guides / Re: What map-making feature wo...

Last post by ReyVGM - September 13, 2026, 02:31:38 PM

6) I took a screenshot of SMW in the title screen using both BSNES, SNES9X  and SuperSNES9X and the colors looked exactly the same. Do you have any pics that show otherwise?

Regarding screenshots, you'd have to compare the RGB values of the same pixels, preferably as close to dark and white as possible, as the differences wouldn't really be obvious visually.
Apparently, BSNES also does gamma correction by default, so that might also affect the video output.

6) I took a screenshot of SMW in the title screen using both BSNES, SNES9X  and SuperSNES9X and the colors looked exactly the same. Do you have any pics that show otherwise?

I just did the same and compared specific pixel colors. The result I got is that they are the exact same, as you said. Perhaps my memory is failing me or perhaps there are special cases where inaccuracy may occur. Nevertheless, it doesn't seem to be a concern overall.

Good news. SuperSNES9x does have the option to display "accurate SNES colors". I haven't tested it, but it's there in Video -> Color Correction.

[zagato blackfist]

#5

Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

Last post by JonLeung - September 04, 2026, 08:36:48 AM

Last night, zagato blackfist got through THREE of my four NES requests, Bomberman, Crash 'N The Boys: Street Challenge, and Stanley: The Search For Dr. Livingston...!

Bomberman I requested because I think it was the remaining NES game whose protagonist is still a (somewhat) known character today, so it's just nice to get the history of legacy characters.  Not that the remaining NES games all have nobodies... I'll have to check again, but I doubt there are many games (certainly in the North American library) with characters still currently having games so that younger games would recognize them.  The first Bomberman game has random stages that look rather "samey", but I'm glad zagato still thought it was worth doing (aside from wanting all the NES games mapped anyway, that is).

Crash 'N The Boys is always enjoyable.  I always like the River City/Kunio-Kun games.  Almost every time that my brother and I play, the three events we play are the 400 Meter Hurdles, Hammer Throw, and Swimming.  The Hammer Throw music often gets stuck in my head, randomly!  As a short game, I was kinda surprised this wasn't mapped yet... now that's not an issue.

Stanley: The Search For Dr. Livingston I have more memories of reading about it in Nintendo Power and being impressed with how epic it looks, than actually playing the game.  Still, I like to see games that present an actual adventure get mapped.

Thanks again and as always, zagato blackfist!

The current remaining NES game map request is for Bill & Ted's Excellent Video Game Adventure, which again is like Stanley... though I had attempted to play it back in the day and didn't get far, so maps would be great for if I ever try again!

I wonder if I should add more NES games to my requests list... surely there must be something else I want to see nearly as much or even more than Bill & Ted.  But I think we've only got a little more than 100 official North American games remaining, so it's not surprising if there's not much that I personally really want to see other than that every one mapped gets us closer to the goal of having every NES game here on VGMaps.com!

EDIT: Though I would like to see the North American NES library prioritized, I had to add the PAL exclusive, Parasol Stars: The Story Of Bubble Bobble III (also known as "Parasol Stars: Rainbow Islands II/2", as if the series isn't confusing enough already).  After all, there are still new Bubble Bobble games, I think?  So Bomberman wasn't the last character still recognizeable by younger gamers today from unmapped NES games if including European NES games...

#6

Mapping Tips/Guides / Re: What map-making feature wo...

Last post by Guard Master - September 01, 2026, 08:02:18 PM

6) I took a screenshot of SMW in the title screen using both BSNES, SNES9X  and SuperSNES9X and the colors looked exactly the same. Do you have any pics that show otherwise?

I just did the same and compared specific pixel colors. The result I got is that they are the exact same, as you said. Perhaps my memory is failing me or perhaps there are special cases where inaccuracy may occur. Nevertheless, it doesn't seem to be a concern overall.

#7

Maps Of The Month / Re: 2026/09: Quest 64 (N64) - ...

Last post by VGCartography - September 01, 2026, 07:38:55 AM

Here's a secret. I never played Quest 64 before I made these maps. I just wanted to play with some N64 polygons. And if I didn't have some Gameshark cheats to skip the grind, I wouldn't have gotten through it

Some interesting ideas but just not enough juice. Minimal combat system and no dungeon design to speak of. The outdoor areas are OK.

#8

Mapping Tips/Guides / Re: What map-making feature wo...

Last post by TerraEsperZ - August 31, 2026, 09:11:45 PM

6) I took a screenshot of SMW in the title screen using both BSNES, SNES9X  and SuperSNES9X and the colors looked exactly the same. Do you have any pics that show otherwise?

Regarding screenshots, you'd have to compare the RGB values of the same pixels, preferably as close to dark and white as possible, as the differences wouldn't really be obvious visually.
Apparently, BSNES also does gamma correction by default, so that might also affect the video output.

#9

Maps Of The Month / 2026/09: Quest 64 (N64) - VGCa...

Last post by JonLeung - August 31, 2026, 08:19:58 PM

Quest 64

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to VGCartography's Quest 64 (N64) maps.

The Nintendo 64's release in North America was 30 years ago from the end of this month! This would be a great time to honour the map set for Super Mario 64... but we did that already. The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time? Mario Kart 64? Super Smash Bros.? Paper Mario? Already recognized. What else is iconic on the Nintendo 64 that we could praise on this milestone anniversary?

Why, Quest 64, of course!

That's a bit of a joke, of course, but though derided for being short and simplistic, Quest 64 is also acknowledged as being one of very few RPGs on the Nintendo 64. Perhaps because of, and despite, its infamy, it has its fans, and not all for irony.

One such fan is VGCartography, who has mapped out all of the polygons of the island of Celtland.  The apprentice Spirit Tamer, Brian, sets off to find his father, who disappeared while searching for Eletale's Book, a powerful tome of magic that has been stolen and misused.  With these maps covering Kennishire all the way to Brannoch Castle, all marked with elemental gem locations and monster stats, you may be able to help Brian save Celtland!

So to recognize the effort put into mapping this infamous Nintendo 64 RPG, VGCartography's Quest 64 (N64) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for September 2026.

#10

Mapping Tips/Guides / Re: What map-making feature wo...

Last post by ReyVGM - August 31, 2026, 07:36:14 AM

Other than that, there are other emulators that may need familiar features added, such as MelonDS, VisualBoyAdvance, to make mapping games quite easier. Can't forget them.

I know I asked an open ended question, but SuperSNES9X is the only emulator in which I talk to the author directly and I can push for features to be added.

1. All layers have priority in SNES games. You can think of priorities as "layers" themselves. Even though order layer is technically BG1 then BG2, with priorities, the order is actually BG1 priority 1, BG2 priority 1, BG1 priority 0, BG2 priority 0. Thus, if the game very effectively used priorities for the background, simply putting BG1 over BG2 may not have an accurate result. This seems especially true in later developed games. In BSNES, you can turn priorities on and off in the emulation screen but not in any of the viewers.

https://nesdoug.com/2020/05/22/layers-priority/
https://snes.nesdev.org/wiki/Backgrounds#Priority

3. Managing image files isn't always ideal for all situations. When you want to do something at the moment, quickly, and only once, copying to clipboard is the approach. Using print screen is one approach, but why not implement a feature that captures just exactly what you want? Having a hotkey (especially one you can manually set) would be even more useful than right clicking. BizHawk effectively does this.

4. Rather than capturing the full view, you may just want a specific portion of tiles or sprites, especially to patch any mistakes or grabbing specific sprites. This saves the effort to have to take extra steps in the paint software. BSNES sprite viewer already allows multiple objects to be selected (but not copied/saved).

6. Palettes for SNES emulation should be more aligned with BSNES. The original SNES9x appears to be inaccurate.

1-4) I'll keep this in mind.

6) I took a screenshot of SMW in the title screen using both BSNES, SNES9X  and SuperSNES9X and the colors looked exactly the same. Do you have any pics that show otherwise?