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11

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

« Last post by Cyartog959 on March 10, 2026, 09:36:53 pm »

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?

As much as I enjoyed the many Mario games before, I'm still not feeling the satisfaction of any game giving more challenge; more longer courses, more original bosses, maybe occasionally a new main villain that isn't Bowser, like how it was with a lot of his adventures.

All the increased memory and CPU Nintendo held for their computers and companies, and yet, the present minds there that made the games could at least spare extra effort to keep on challenging us; but not by shorter, tougher courses, rather the longer courses while still retaining their challenge level. Their minds need to be more open-minded to listening to others, especially their fans.

My thirst for long, challenging stages/courses could never be satisfied. Not to mention those that test our basic know-how of platform gaming for it, including using our minds to solve puzzles.

Sorry you went through an operation. Many prayers for your healing, Jon, and for your recovery!

Also, happy Mar10 Day, Jon! Hope you get well soon! Thought and prayers are all with you!

And, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury is one of my recent favorites. Really great to play!

12

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

« Last post by JonLeung 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?

13

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

« Last post by JonLeung 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.

14

Gaming / Re: "10 Games To Get To Know Me..."

« Last post by dark_lord_zagato on February 28, 2026, 07:10:33 pm »

I could fill this up with Final Fantasy and Zelda games, but to keep this interesting i'll limit my choices to one game per franchise.

These are games that I played obsessively when they came out. Games that warped my mind or left a lasting impression.


Secret of Mana (SNES)
Chrono Trigger (SNES)
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
Final Fantasy III (US) (SNES)
Inindo: Way of the Ninja (SNES)
Xenogears (Playstation)
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Playstation)
Breath of Fire III (Playstation)
Crystalis (NES)
Little Ninja Brothers (NES)

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Gaming / Re: "10 Games To Get To Know Me..."

« Last post by TerraEsperZ on February 27, 2026, 10:32:24 pm »

In order to limit my selection to ten, I went for games that really "connected" with me in some ways despite not always being objectively all that good. Each one became a temporary obsession and I wish I could go back to experience them again for the 1st time:

Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010)
Portal 2 (2011)
FEZ (2012)
Antichamber (2013)
NaissanceE (2014)
Undertale (2015)
INFRA (2016)
Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition (2016)
FAR: Lone Sails (2018)
Outer Wilds (2019)

16

Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« Last post by dark_lord_zagato on February 27, 2026, 11:48:13 am »

I was going to comment about what an odd decision it is to port a Game Boy game to the NES with virtually no improvements, but then I noticed this was originally a PC game from 1989.

It was called "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Action Game" and it was released on a bunch of different systems at the same time.

The crazy part is their decision to port the Game Boy version to the NES instead of the PC or even the Commodore 64 versions, which honestly look a lot better. This came out in December 1993 and it's a massive downgrade to games from 1989, for systems that had less powerful hardware than the NES.

17

Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« Last post by JonLeung 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.

18

Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« Last post by JonLeung 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!

19

Gaming / Re: "10 Games To Get To Know Me..."

« Last post by mechaskrom on February 25, 2026, 11:10:31 am »

Choosing just 10 games is hard, but I tried to pick some favorites from different genres that I really like.
Final Fantasy 6 (SNES)
Super Metroid (SNES)
Settlers IV (PC)
Silent Hill 3 (PS2)
Castlevania SOTN (PSX)
FlatOut 2 (PS2)
Secret of Mana (SNES)
Solomon's Key 2 / Fire 'n Ice (NES)
Guardian Legend (NES)
Super Probotector / Contra 3 (SNES)

20

Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« Last post by JonLeung 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?