diff --git a/src/StageCatalog.cpp b/src/StageCatalog.cpp
index 0637c21..fad0033 100644
--- a/src/StageCatalog.cpp
+++ b/src/StageCatalog.cpp
@@ -115,16 +115,9 @@ bool ParseStageCatalog(const std::vector<uint8_t>& bytes,
         entries->push_back(std::move(entry));
     }
 
-    if (r.tell() != bytes.size()) {
-        if (error) {
-            std::ostringstream message;
-            message << "stage_param.dat has " << (bytes.size() - r.tell())
-                    << " trailing bytes after " << count << " records";
-            *error = message.str();
-        }
-        entries->clear();
-        return false;
-    }
+    // game471's loader trusts the leading count and stops after that many
+    // records. GC 4.75 appends a version-specific metadata block, so requiring
+    // EOF here rejects a catalog whose complete declared record array is valid.
     return true;
 }