Google Maps has pulled off yet another great April Fools Day prank. I didn’t even realize this until two days later. As much as I enjoyed the prank, it was sad to find out it wasn’t real.

The day before April Fools Day, I went onto Google Maps to figure out directions and what was in the area of what I had planned. When I saw the Quest button, I almost cried at the excitement of seeing this. The whole map was in 8-Bit graphics and there were hidden items and monsters. You could go into street view to see what buildings and landmarks would look like. It reminded me of  The legend of Zelda. Google even went as far as making a video promotion, saying it would be coming out in the NES cartridge. I was so happy, I even called the Chief Bean. Everything seemed legit.

I went back a couple of days later, and it was gone.  I just can not believe I fell for it. I am still upset that it was just a prank. Google Quest is one of those things that you could waste your whole day playing with. The joke was on me. That is, until I was in the middle of writing this article, and came across a savior.

While researching, I fell upon Dragon Quest. They wrote a story of Google Quest, and saved the link to the 8-Bit Deliciousness. I almost fell out of the chair. It may be a simple thing to some, but I see full potential to waste hours of my day. So it may have been an April Fools joke from Google, but the joke is on them. I am still enjoying it.