Recent Posts

21

Maps In Progress / Re: FlyingArmor's Map Projects Present and Future

« Last post by Cyartog959 on January 15, 2026, 02:05:05 pm »

A new year has come and I bring with me a new map set!

For a little change of pace, I decided to try mapping a more modern game instead of the SNES stuff I usually gravitate toward, so here's the PC game ElecHead. Given how the graphics are fairly NES-like, it wasn't too difficult stitching rooms together. The main annoyance was getting rid of the particle effects that were present in nearly all the rooms. The rooms with stars had me taking twice as many screenshots just so I wouldn't accidently erase a star I had thought was a stray particle.

I'm fairly certain I didn't forget any rooms, but if I did, I'm sure the ElecHead fans will let me know.

I'll probably try to merge all the stages into a single image some time just for the fun of it. Hopefully 32 GB of RAM should be enough to make that happen, haha. 

Since I've mapped this game, I've been thinking of taking on Nama Takahashi's most recent game Öoo as well, but that'll be something to do later down the road.

Well, that's good. Doing a platform game is a good change of pace for your previous RPG inclined mapping works. Have you thought of mapping the whole Blaster Master Zero Trilogy games sometime? I'm quite curious to see how they are.

Perhaps they'll let you know, should they find this site and contact you.

I think it'd be quite less than 32GB of RAM if you did, given the game's map sizes I've looked at, but, if you do put all of ElecHead's stage maps into one, well, I'd be surprised if it was that close to it.

Did you use Tiled to do the maps? If not, well, give it a go. It helps cut down time. Worked well for eishiya while The Mummy: Demastered was being mapped out.

22

Maps In Progress / Re: FlyingArmor's Map Projects Present and Future

« Last post by FlyingArmor on January 14, 2026, 06:37:51 pm »

A new year has come and I bring with me a new map set!

For a little change of pace, I decided to try mapping a more modern game instead of the SNES stuff I usually gravitate toward, so here's the PC game ElecHead. Given how the graphics are fairly NES-like, it wasn't too difficult stitching rooms together. The main annoyance was getting rid of the particle effects that were present in nearly all the rooms. The rooms with stars had me taking twice as many screenshots just so I wouldn't accidently erase a star I had thought was a stray particle.

I'm fairly certain I didn't forget any rooms, but if I did, I'm sure the ElecHead fans will let me know.

I'll probably try to merge all the stages into a single image some time just for the fun of it. Hopefully 32 GB of RAM should be enough to make that happen, haha. 

Since I've mapped this game, I've been thinking of taking on Nama Takahashi's most recent game Öoo as well, but that'll be something to do later down the road.

23

Map Requests / Re: Mega Man Maps

« Last post by JonLeung 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...

24

Map Gab / Re: Hand-Drawn Game Guides by Phil Summers (NES)

« Last post by JonLeung on January 13, 2026, 10:04:13 pm »

I just received the "Hand-Drawn Game Guides" book on Mega Man!
It came with all these goodies!

In the age of AI and overused CG, we should support efforts like this. There's a real charm to hand-drawn guides!
(I know that seems ironic coming from me, who runs this site, full of screenshot maps... 🙃)

This guide also covers Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge for the Game Boy, if you're wondering about the poster... the other side shows the same art as the book cover.

25

VGMaps Social Board / Re: YouTube channel! (JonLeung1)

« Last post by JonLeung on January 13, 2026, 09:06:13 pm »

Sometimes, I really lean into a joke.

Here are fatalistic ninjas and Funtastic Nintendo 64s.

26

Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« Last post by JonLeung on January 13, 2026, 04:34:10 pm »

Other than the PC, my most-requested platform is the Super NES, but we don't see those map requests fulfilled that often.

But, today we've got maps for the Japanese-exclusive Rudra no Hihou (J) ("Treasure of the Rudras") thanks to Guard Master!
Okay, it's a Super Famicom game, but you know, same diff.

Now, confession time: I haven't actually played this game.
But I requested it, because, well, it's a 16-bit turn-based fantasy JRPG by Square, released late in the Super Famicom's lifespan. Do I really need to say more?

As that's from the "peak Square RPG" era, I'd definitely consider playing it one day.
Of course, maps would be handy for that.

It's truly underrated - the only time I hear anything about it is when people are saying it's underrated.  It seems to get less attention than SaGa, Front Mission and Live A Live. Live A Live sorta-recently got a Switch rerelease, wonder if Square'll also consider giving Rudra no Hihou another shot? It sure seems like something that needs more attention, and now we have the maps for it!

Thanks again, Guard Master!

27

Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« Last post by JonLeung on January 11, 2026, 07:29:57 pm »

We've got the maps for The Jetsons: Cogswell's Caper!, thanks to zagato blackfist, of course!

As I told zagato, this is a funny coincidence.  Earlier today, my brother and I were talking about the NES games featuring The Flintstones and The Jetsons, and trying to remember if we actually rented them back in the day.  We definitely rented the first The Flintstones game, probably not the second (which is a later game and quite rare, and not actually a Blockbuster exclusive as many have claimed), but we were both sure we never actually rented The Jetson's: Cogswell's Caper! at the time.  And then, less than a couple of hours later, zagato sent me these maps, wow!

(I was at a Harlem Globetrotters 100th anniversary show this afternoon, that's why I couldn't get them up right away.  zagato blackfist also mapped the Harlem Globetrotters NES game, would've been funny if that was sent in today too, LOL.)

I recall that something similar happened in March 2024 when he sent in maps for Friday The 13th and A Nightmare On Elm Street on the same day I got those games in the mail from eBay.  Crazy.

28

Gaming / Re: Crater, a Sokoban clone for MS-DOS

« Last post by FlyingArmor on January 11, 2026, 10:44:25 am »

That is such a cool project! There is something incredibly satisfying about coding for MS-DOS—it’s like the ultimate "back to basics" challenge. Using Sokoban as a stepping stone toward a JRPG is actually a brilliant move. It forces you to master the core logic of tile-based movement, collision detection, and level loading, which is exactly the foundation you'll need for those top-down town and dungeon maps later on.

That's all well and good, but have you played the game?

29

Gaming / Expert Software's Casino CD Game, Anybody Remember That?

« Last post by Cyartog959 on January 07, 2026, 04:35:40 pm »

It's been quite at my mind towards memory lane lately, but does anyone actually remember playing Expert Software's Casino CD Game from your young years?

As much as I can remember, I enjoyed playing the many casino based games in that CD, on Windows 98 then, and much I could remember are the recognizable casino sound effects heard in many TV shows before and later on when I was in the midst of selecting any game. I still remember having fun playing them again and again for many days... just not too crazy long, that is.

In case some of your memories are hazy, here are some images as proof.







I love those fond memories, but, so far, I don't see anyone posting gameplay/longplay videos of Expert Software's Casino CD Game online. I've been trying to search for them wherever I could get the chance, and, so far, no dice(no pun intended).

I hope and feel someone who can utilize their time to create and upload said videos online to give us a good time reliving it, wherever we are.

To those who have played it before, what do you remember about that CD game? You can tell us your memories here.

30

VGMaps Social Board / Re: What's gonna be the 50,000th Map in VGMaps History?

« Last post by Cyartog959 on January 07, 2026, 04:07:34 pm »

Well... I don't want people sending in a bunch of low-quality maps just to be the one that hits that milestone.

A few years ago, I offered to old and new mappers that anyone who had submitted like 20 or 50 maps or whatever could get a free "Nintendo Quest DVD" from me (as I had so many after doing an event in 2015 but now needed to move them as they weren't selling)....

But it was around the time that this one person, a new mapper, who probably only just wanted the "free" DVD, started submitting a lot of low-quality stuff.  I'm not one to refuse maps if technically they are maps, but man... is the site always improved with more maps, especially if they're like those?

And as nice as it is to be able to say we have lots of maps, technically maps would work better the fewer there are.  As in, no unnecessary fragmentation.

Before we got complete Super Metroid maps for each area (thanks, Rick Bruns!), someone tried to send in maps they had extracted from the game somehow... meaning that it was hundreds of images, separate files, one for each room.  Come on, a single room isn't really a map...

I want there to be 50,000 maps, sure, but we'll get there.  And if I say we're close, I hope that if anything, that it encourages people to continue to make good maps, not to pivot to making worse maps that they can pump out faster.

I didn't say we'd want maps rushed to that low-quality. I'm just saying of what kinds of commemorations to think of in that honor when it happens.

The overall, updated map count you gave really gave me some excitement, but you do have good points of wanting maps at good quality, and yes, encouragement is necessary to keep on going. We do have universally basic standards to keep.

Yeah, I wouldn't want all rooms of any Metroidvania as their own maps, either. Separate areas, yes, but not all rooms as maps.

Aside from people still wanting physical discs, DVD, Blu-Ray, whichever(new formats can still be made alongside them), and still fighting to preserve them(believe me; certain outlets, like streaming, are like unstable, slippery slopes that can hurt quite badly), I'm sure your Nintendo Quest is a good favorite among others, and whatever you may cook up next for another release afterwards will be more well-enjoyed.

But, other than that, we're sure to have a good celebration for the 50,000th map that we can remember from. There's plenty of time to think of commemoration ideas, but I won't get into them.

I'm sure we'll all be looking forward to that moment when it comes in VGMaps history.