[2024-02-08] Metroid Reborn: A Call to Valor Map

[RT-55J]

The first map of the year is here. It's for the hack *Metroid Reborn: A Call to Valor*, which you can find here.

Stylistically, this map is different from my usual maps, and there's a good reason for that! The author of this hack decided to refactor the level format to optimize it for space, to fit more data into the original 128 KB, so the hack is incompatible with any existing editors and thus incompatible with any reasonable workflow. Because of this, I chose to make a simpler map based off the one I made while playing the game.

What makes this hack special to me is that it is the only Metroid 1 hack to extensively wrap around the confines of the 32x32 grid of the map in order to produce a more interesting world shape. A few other hacks dabbled with this idea, but as far as I know this is the only one that modified the engine to properly support it without any jank.

One caveat with the map as it stands is that there are only 19 missile tanks instead of the usual 21. I couldn't find the 2 remaining tanks, but I think I know where they *should* be. If the author's comments are anything to go by, then it could just be a simple technical snafu causing them to not spawn.

Also the hack was never 100% finished, so the lack of a final area is represented by a bunch of X's.

Enjoy!