1989 wasn’t just a good year, it’s a year that changed entertainment in a lot of permanent ways. Thing is, you pretty much had to be there, or maybe been alive long enough to get a at least a minor lay of the land before it to see how things changed after. The arrival of multiple Genre-changing beat ’em ups, the 16-bit invasion of America with the Genesis and Turbografx-16, handheld gaming changing forever (thanks to Nintendo’s Game Boy and the Atari Lynx), mutant mania hitting video games (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and X-Men), are just part of why 1989 is so amazing, and that’s why this site celebrates that year on August 9th. Without further yapping, here’s the new content:

Custom Sprites
– Crime City: Mayor (tied up)
– Crime Fighters: Final Boss/Mr. Lee
– Final Fight: Cody (new FF JPN flyer pose), Poison (Street Fighter V stance with FF, SFV, and FF marquee outfits), Andore (stand), Jessica (kidnapped, red dress)
– Golden Axe: Skeleton (redone), Ax Battler, Tyris Flare and Gilius Thunderhead (MD cover art poses)
– Shinobi: Hayate Musashi (Shadow Dancer arcade)
– Wonder Boy: Leo and Purapril (Wonder Boy III:Monster Lair)
– TMNT: April (kidnapped, cinema pose)
– Literature: Chu Liuxiang (Master Chu and Drukard Hu/the Chu Liuxiang series by Gu Long)
– DC Comics: Batman (1989 NES title screen/movie still pose),Robin/Tim Drake (debuted in 1989)
edit: couldn’t help it, decided to add:
– Kunio-Kun/River City Ransom: Downtown Nekketusu Monogatari/River City Ransom NES style sprite of Freddy Krueger from Nightmare on Elm Street 5 (1989) added.

GFX Generator: all the new content that fits in the generator have been added, and the main generator gets a remake of the Electoric store in the second stage of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.The Marvel vs. Capcom 1 Ending option in the main generator and standalone MvC 1 generator now has more backgrounds based on and/or from Final Fight, Pac-Man games (Pac-Land debuted for the PC Engine in 1989), DC Comics (including the Batman 1989 stage remake I did years ago), Friday the 13th (LJN for NES remake), and all the arcades.

edit (Aug. 10, 2019): added Sunsoft blue top NES box to “Boxes, Flyer & Posters 160×192” in the main generator. “Hey, that background in the Crime Fighters box isn’t in the generator!” That’s one of the many unfinished things that didn’t make it in this time, and is also why there’s three tied-up sprites in the update.

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates, Site News, Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: Batman, Batman 1989, Crime City, Crime Fighters, Final Fight, gfx generator, Golden Axe, Nightmare on Elm Street, Shadow Dancer, The Revenge of 1989, tmnt, Wonder Boy
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I hinted at not having something ready for the 19th Anniversary update and it was this: the complete version of ScrollBoss Sprite Showcade’s episode 000!

This episode is basically a test of the main template of the show’s format of three separate showcases, and each showcase has:
1.) a gallery mode that shows single or groups of sprites by character.character type (usually with a “character select” screen theme)
2.) sprites in scenes (done in Anime Studio Pro 10), usually with multiple characters grouped together.
3.) work progress .GIFs that show many of the steps I saved while making some of the sprites.

The showcases in this episode are Golden Axe (stars in the original ScrollBoss banner pic), Final Fight (series I’ve made the most fan sprites for), and Castlevania (already had lots of sprites, backgrounds and I wanted a platformer with a different theme).

The biggest thing for me was getting permission to use a remix from the CPS2 sound maestro, WizzyWhipitWonderful, to use for the Castlevania showcase. I don’t know how he does it (my remixes for the Golden Axe and Final Fight section prove that), but he can make BGM tracks that sound like Capcom never stopped producing CPS2 Vs. fighters while managing to tap into character and setting vibes to create themes perfectly fitting any character or theme he’s paying tribute. That’s not even his only musical style, either. His Poison Mind remix is so dope that I added and extended clips just so it’d have more of the hype part of the song!

I’ve got ideas for the future of Showcade, and I’m checking feedback on episode 000 to figure out what to change for future eps. One hint I’ll give you is that if you look at what’s missing from the game select screen, you may be able to figure out one of the other ideas I have. Feel free to let me know what you think of the episode or format and which games you’d like to see in future Showcades!

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates, Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: CastleVania series, Final Fight, Golden Axe, Sprite Showcade
1 Comment »

In the year 2000 AD, the first version of this website was cobbled together with a some brief game reviews, a few tips and some sprites. Now it’s pretty much just a lot of sprites. But how many sprites are really enough? There’s never enough! So here we go with the 19th Anniversary Update!

– Final Fight: Maki (scratch-made FF2 fight stance)
– IREM: Ryno (Ninja Baseball Bat Man)
– Metroid: Ridley (classic)
– NuChallenger: Lisa Santiago (new pose, better style than my 2014 sprite)
– RAK Graphics(new page): Chakan the Forever Man
– Marvel: The Kingpin, Nick Fury (scratch-made “Punisher” Capcom fight stance in three versions)
(added July 20th)

– Denjin Makai: Amazoness, Silf, Valkyrie

Ryno was done for EddieMountainGoat, one of the main people I know who want to see the NBBM team finished! The female acrobats from Denjin Makai were added for SKB, another friend of the site!

By the way: I’ve had a chance to meet Robert A. Kraus, the creator of Chakan, a few times at events in the area this year and I was able to give him a printout of the Chakan sprite (and mini-logo) at the Youngstown Comic-Con a few weeks ago. Not only is he a great indy comic creator, writer and artist, but he’s a toy customizer and just a really cool person to talk to if you find him at a convention. If you’re like me and always wondered what the Chakan comics are like, check out the RAK Graphics site for a look at the Forever Man and more. There’s a mix of horror with sword & sorcery/fantasy and I’m glad I’m finally getting to read it.

Mini-logos: the Kingpin (Marvel gallery), Chakan (RAK Graphics gallery), Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (Midway/Williams gallery and DC gallery)

GFX Generators: Various improvements and bug fixes were made to the main engine, including allowing you to change text and font on the Picture Modification screen. I added that part a few days ago, but needed to make a few more fixes to it. Please let me know if you run into any problems with this.

the new sprites, mini-logos and more have been added, along with…
– other updated characters: Mega Man, Cammy, Chun-Li, Sakura, Vega, Apocalypse, Iceman, Rogue
– idle/fight stance added: Adon, Balrog, Blanka, Sagat, Blackheart, Captain America, Colossus, Gambit, Magneto, Juggernaut, Omega Red, Sentinel, Silver Samurai, Spider-Man, Shuma-Gorath, Storm (Marvel), Thanos
– fighter-sized screenstyles: Marvel Legends updated with X-Men Sauron-series box.

Here’s possibly the biggest part of the site update: Marvel vs. Capcom 1 endings have been added to the Fighter sprite generator (edit 2019-07-23: or just go to this separate generator page I just added that’s specifically Marvel vs. Capcom)!

Choose up to five characters, pick a background (65 so far), sprite layout (mostly based on actual endings) and frame, add your own text.
edit 2019-07-21: added MSHvsSF and SFA/Z3 looks (still MvC1 layout and character limits) and over a dozen SFA3 backgrounds to MvC 1 ending

ScrollBoss Shop: All prints are on sale for the rest of July! 8×10 and 8×11 prints are $4.00 each!
11 x 17/11 x 14 prints $8.00 each! Sale prices are also in effect for the main Illmosis print page, which has more than game or pixel-related prints.

I may add more to the update through the weekend, so don’t be surprised if this post changes. There’s one more thing I’ve got, but I may not have it ready before the day is over, but I’ll add it here once it’s done. It’s about 95%, but I’m waiting on a gift from a guest contributor you should recognize.

Whether you’ve been here before or this is your first visit, thank you for stopping and I hope you enjoy this mess of a site!

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates, Site News, Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: Chakan, Final Fight, gfx generators, marvel comics, Metroid, Ninja Baseball Bat Man, Street Fighter, Treachery in Beatdown City, X-Men
3 Comments »

The Youngstown Comic Con is this weekend!

I’ll only be there on Sunday the 7th, unfortunately, but I’ll have line art (including the new Carol Danvers/Warbird pic) and pixel art prints with me, along with the pixel art mini-prints:

I’ll have previews of other stuff, including pixel art that isn’t o the site yet, so be sure to stop by if you’re there!

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There are two things coming up in the near future:

Two weeks from today, this site will be 19 years old. I know, that’s ridiculous, but it’s true. I’m still kinda waffling on what will be in the update, but there will definitely be some newness.

Then, on August 9th (8th month, 9th day), The Revenge of 1989 returns to celebrate the 30th anniversary of one of the best years of video games (and more)!

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates, Site News, Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: Youngstown Comic Con
2 Comments »

I put up a poll on Twitter without saying what it was for and it was won by Shinobi, so here’s a mostly Shinobi update!

All-new sprites of Joe Musashi (O.G. Shinobi gear), Masked Ninja/Nakohara, Mongo and Crawler were added to the Shinobi gallery and new Zubaroka amazon sprites were added to the Golden Axe galleries. As usual, all these things were added to the GFX Image Generators where you can make screenshots like the one at the top of this post!

Well, that’s all for thi – – you know what? No. That’s not all. That’s not all at all.

I’ve had this idea in my head for a long time and it’s time to give you a taste. People, here’s the first segment of… episode 000

Later this summer, you will see the full Episode 000 of the ScrollBoss Sprite Showcade.

I’ll be at the Youngstown Comic-Con on July 7th (sorry, Sunday only this year). Come through both days, because they always have a great artist’s alley and lots of game-related stuff there!

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates, Site News, Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: Golden Axe, Shinobi, Sprite Showcade, The Revenge of Shinobi
3 Comments »

As usual on this day, besides the weird index page and main menu headers that only show up today, the update is here to let YOU make a bunch of fakes to show your friends!

GFX Generators

The Street Fighter Alpha 3 Vs. screen screenstyles (also found on the separate SFA3 page) now have ISM selectors with X, A, Z and V.

backgrounds added to the various generators: Fatal Fury 2 (Mai), Marvel Super Heroes (Hulk dark and light modes), Street Fighter II WW (Ken, Dhalsim, Vega, Bison), Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Sakura, Vega).

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Elsewhere on the internet:

View this post on Instagram

#pixelart #streetfighter #Chun-Li #wonderwoman

A post shared by James Beaver (@illscroll) on Apr 1, 2019 at 12:59pm PDT

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That’s all for now. Expect a few announcements on a day that isn’t known for pranks. Right. So, until then…

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates, Site News, Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: Final Fight, gfx generator, Marvel Super Heroes, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Street Fighter II
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Today’s update has brand new sprites of Black video game heroes, including a couple of new favorites, the return of a ScrollBoss original, and lots of new content for her section of the site!

Custom Sprites
– Illmosis Network: Vernacula (one new pose added, 2 earlier updated)
– Combat Core (new separate gallery) Squaz added
– Mortal Kombat: Jax
– Mystic Warriors (new gallery): Brad
– River City Ransom: Provie from River City Ransom: Underground
– Marvel Comics: Misty Knight (improved sprite)

By the way, I’m mad late with this, but huge congrats to MABManZ on Combat Core hitting the Nintendo Switch. Any fan of 3-D arena combat fighters like Power Stone should check it out on Switch or PC. River City Ransom: Underground, of course, remains dope and highly recommended to beat ’em up fiends.

As usual, all new sprites have beed added to the main GFX Generator, where you can make your own pics with a bunch of game and custom-made sprites and graphics.

Info Center – Irritated at the current state of the sections with which she shares a name and also has to help maintain, Vernacula threatened insisted that the section got some updates this time. New definitions have been added (amazon, arcade, console, Neo Geo, parallax scrolling) and many definitions were improved (crowd control, fighting game, mega crash, palette swap, pro-wrestler, sprite edit), including a few getting new main pictures and support for animated main pics. I also made some improvements to the Info Center code itself and I’ll keep working to streamline it more so I can move more site sections to that format.

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates, Site News, Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: Combat Core, marvel comics, Mortal Kombat, Mystic Warriors, River City Ransom: Underground
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I added a Valentine’s Day header to the auto-banner rotation thing, and it includes an improved Jill Valentine sprite. It’ll probably be gone by the time you read this, but you can still see Jill’s improved Marvel vs. Capcom 3 stance sprite in the Resident Evil gallery, including the new Resident Evil/Marvel vs. Capcom 2 version that I just made.

Stay tuned, because I’ve got another update coming next week!

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates, Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: Resident Evil, Valentine's Day
2 Comments »

The first update of 2019 has a lot of “finally” like Cece Peniston as I revive a long-dead site section and add fan sprites based on two of the best mid-nineties Beat ‘Em Ups!

Reviews: dormant for a decade, I recoded and redesigned the reviews section (not the index) and modified just about every full review. They’re probably still full of sleep deprivation-induced grammatical errors, but I fixed a lot of the things that annoyed me whenever I saw the pages again. A few reviews were at least 50% rewritten. I’ll probably modify them even more, partially because the thinner page width makes the layout weird. Will I make new reviews later? **shrugs** This is still a work in progress, and the index page won’t look like the old ugly one once everything is done. For now, the Reviews are part of the Info Center area of the site.

Game Index: fixed as many of the review links as I could find and added Denjin Makai II/Guardians. BTW: the page has a list of the alternate ENG language select screen name graphics found in the OBJ TEST. Does anyone know if they appear in any variant of the game?

Sprites: new Denjin Makai II/Guardians page, including uncropped portraits.

Custom Sprites: The Battle Circuit gallery starts with Cyber Blue and the Denjin Makai gallery opens with Makai and Guardians-uniform Kurokishi. BTW: just in case you’ve never seen them, you should check out 2Dwillneverdie to see the Battle Circuit sprites Kiwi made long ago. Masterpieces, one and all.

Mini-logos: Banpresto, Denjin Makai and Denjin Makai II added to new Banpresto gallery.

The new pixel art has been added to the main image generator, as usual!

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates, Site News, Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: Banpresto, Battle Circuit, Denjin Makai II, Denjin Makai series
1 Comment »

One last update in 2018 with a bunch of unused stuff and to set the stage for 2019!

Custom Sprites:
Final Fight: Carlos, Lucia
Marvel Comics: Daredevil, Taskmaster, Mockingbird
DC Comics: the Question

Thanks to actress/martial artist/cosplayer Kimberly Root who came up with the pose during Free Comic Book Day at All American Comics (Warren location)!

Mini-logos: Mockingbird added to Marvel gallery

The Daredevil and Question sprites are in honor of two comic book greats we lost in 2018: Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

My plan to have more videos didn’t work out the way I’d hoped (though the really short Black Panther video turned out nicely), but I’ve put together a video with some unfinished work, including something I’ve shown teasers for in TWO year-end videos.

That third part of the video is a big reason why there weren’t that many new sprites added to the site this year. I spent a bit of 2018 working on animations you haven’t seen yet and, let’s be real, if I show them on this site before I put them in a video, they’ll be in someone else’s video before mine (with no credit). Not that I’m bitter or anything. Truth is, getting ripped off is part of what inspires me to want to make videos. Let’s see if 2019 is the year that I finally start finishing some videos!

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Public plans for 2019:

• Animation (and showing it this time) and video. I didn’t show everything in that Unfinished Business video, so some long-percolating animation and video projects will show up in 2019.
• The Revenge of 1989: 30th anniversary edition!
• Bring back the missing Crossup Beatdown
• More prints, including the upcoming custom print program where you get to pick what goes into a one-of-a-kind print. Imagine being able to choose who’s in the 2018 Horror Fighter print, including a customized roster.
  
  More info on that next year!

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That’s enough of all for 2018! Thank you for coming through to check out the site and I hope you have a Happy New Year!

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates, Site News, Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: dc comics, Final Fight, marvel comics, unfinished business, video
2 Comments »