How we build the Battle City atlas

The atlas describes the original Battle City (J) first 35-stage cycle. Tank 1990 is a separate modification: following a link to that player does not launch the original stage you are reading. This methodology is currently published in English.

Stage numbers and map decoding

Our primary reference is the stage-numbered NES-Games-Disassembly repository pinned below. Each 91-byte record stores 13 rows of terrain. We decode half-tile details on an 8-pixel grid, then apply the base perimeter and spawn clearing. The SVG renderer adds coordinates, terrain legends, lower return corridors and conditional firing lines.

Cross-checks and disagreements

The historical disassembly table in the primary repository agrees with all 35 stage records; it is another representation in the same repository, not an independent cartridge test. We also compare two other implementations. vgrichina's set has reordered stages and a stage 5 geometry discrepancy, so its array order does not determine our stage numbers.

The cattle-bity comparison differs in map cells on stages 2, 5, 10, 12, 15, 21 and 32. Some differences concern cleared spawn or base regions. Stage 26 also has an enemy-type discrepancy: the primary source gives four basic and four power tanks, while the comparison gives five and three. We retain these discrepancies rather than silently treating every source as identical.

What is verified and what is editorial

Maps and enemy sequences are data-checked. Enemy movement, firing, timing and pickup positions are not fixed routes. Tactical prose is our analysis of the map geometry, not evidence of completing every stage on an original cartridge. Each stage remains labelled as not play-tested until a version-specific observation and reviewer are recorded.

Sources and rights

Our annotations and renderer add explanation; the underlying layouts remain third-party game material. Attribution, public source access and an implementation's open-source licence do not establish permission to redistribute the game or use its assets commercially. Rights review remains separate from these data checks.

Explore the 35-stage atlas · Send a correction or rights enquiry