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[nkarafo]

I call it Super Metroid map because i thought it was the first game using that design, with the simple orthogonal shapes that represent screens, not the actual area shapes, and dots for rooms with items. Then Symphony of the Night used the same design and many Metroidvanias ever since.

But here's the map in Turtles III: Radical Rescue for the Game Boy:

This game was released in late 1993, so before Super Metroid. I haven't played it yet but i hear it also plays like a Metroid game. Looks like Nintendo copied the map design from this game? Or were there other games before it?

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

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[a multicultural team of v]

Define the map, do you mean from a horizontal perspective or in general? Because Wizardry has had a tile based dungeon map since 1981.

Edit: Jesus it's the first paragraph lol, I don't know how I missed that. I guess Wizardry isn't quite applicable.

 

[nkarafo]

Its a bit different in that the map has boxes and each one represents a single room that has the same shape. The map is literally the dungeon as it would look if you zoomed out.

 

[a multicultural team of v]

Did Flashback (or Another World or even Prince of Persia) have an in-game map? It would certainly fit the style if it did - this is one of the areas of Flashback, but this looks to be just the game screens stitched together, not an actual map.

 

[abstract alien]

Maybe not the first, but Rygar was pretty early.

Edit: Oh! You meant the actual map, not the level layout.