It’s the ninth day of the eight month, that means it’s time for the ScrollBoss site to revive The Revenge of 1989!

What’s the deal with 1989? The short answer is that a lot of beat ’em up, hack ‘n slash, and platformer games featured heavily on this site debuted that year, 16-bit games hit North America, the portable system revolution started, and a ton of other things, some of which you can read about here.

Custom Sprites:
– Final Fight: redone Guy idle/fight stance sprite, modified ‘arms crossed’ taunt sprite to match the new idle.
– Golden Axe: redone Tyris Flare select screen pose
– Mega Man: non-MvC-look Mega Man in the NES pose
– Strider: Soldier (red and green)
– Shinobi: Yet another attempt to sprite Yamato, that good wolf from Shadow Dancer. Will it be the last? Who knows? Is it in today’s update? Yes.

All of the new custom sprites have been added to the main gfx generator, where I made the screenshot at the top of this post.

If this were just some normal year this update would be it. But this year is the 35th (!) Anniversary of 1989, so it’s time to do something special once again. There will be more site updates spread throughout August, ending with something I really wanted to do in 2014 but couldn’t: a video. Here’s a preview

Until then, get ready for more pixel art next week!

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates, Site News, Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: Golden Axe, Mega Man, Shadow Dancer, Shinobi series, Strider
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It’s the eight month’s ninth day, making it 8/9, so it’s time to celebrate the debut year of so many things this site celebrates. There are also a few things being added that were missed in the 20th anniversary update a few weeks ago. Here’s what’s new to the site today:

Game Index: added Cadash (arcade) (and depending on where you look for reference, was released in 1990 instead of the game’s copyright date of 1989)

Custom Sprites:
– Final Fight: Guy in his arms folded taunt (updated from being seen only in some site videos and quietly placed in the index page group scene) and brand-new fight stance
– D.J. Boy: Bob and Tom
– Shinobi: A Better Yamato starring Ti Lung, Chow Yun-Fat all-new and better sprite of Yamato (Shadow Dancer)
– Marvel: a teleporting sprite of Nightcrawler (seen in LJN’s 1989 Uncanny X-Men game for the NES). Also updated Sentinel (the two missing Konami palettes were added)
– Simpsons: Marge, Homer, and Maggie

Mini-logos:
– Marvel Comics: Green Goblin (Mego and 70s style guide versions)
Graphic Generators: all of the new custom sprites and mini-logos have also been added to the generators, and the Sentinels have a few extra palettes.

Also, there’s a print sale in the shop until August 17th! Buy two 8×10 and 8×11 prints for $8.90 or
buy one 11 x 17 or 11 x 14 print for $8.90!

I planned to have more done (as usual), but between some offline battles and trying to get another long-term project ready enough to show, time’s been tight. But I should have enough new things ready for this project in either late August or early September. I’m plotting more videos, so subscribe or stay tuned to the YouTube Channel.

I know I’m not the only one out there going through some things, but thanks for the support this year, and I hope this weird site can keep you going you’ve helped me to keep it movin’ in 2020. Stay strong and keep fighting for justice, truth, and, if necessary, that last slice of pizza!

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates, Site News, Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: D.J. Boy, marvel comics, Shadow Dancer, Shinobi series, the Simpsons
Comments Off on The Revenge of 1989, 2020 edition

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
Comments Off on The Revenge of 1989 – 2019 edition

As Blastermaster KRS-ONE once said, “We’re not done… we’re not done… we’re not done… check this out!”

Fake Screenshots: A new title screen based on a 1989 movie. I’m not telling you, so you’ll have to find out on your own.

Custom Sprites: The following new sprites were added
– Capcom: Strider Hiryu (arcade stand)
– Final Fight: new sprites of Mike Haggar and Belger along with improved Cody stare-down edits
– DC Comics: Batman (Michael Keaton style)
– Jaleco: the hero from Hachoo!
– Sega: Shadow Dancer (arcade) boss 3
– Golden Axe: new Gilius pose
– Then and now: Added the old and new Mike Haggar sprites for your amusement and disgust.

The Revenge of 1989: main page was updated with a few more images and more errors were fixed.

That’s all for 2014 and I hope you enjoyed this year’s updates. The custom sprite galleries grew with a lot of new pixel art, the GFX Generators swelled up even more (including new scratch-made backgrounds) and I was able to keep my promise of completing the original Mad Gear gang (including a scratch-made Damnd). The site will return to celebrating all years of platformers and beat ’em ups next year, but the Revenge of 1989 will return again in August. Have a Happy New Year and I’ll see you again in 2015!

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates, Site News, Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: Batman, Capcom, dc comics, Fake screenshots, Final Fight, Hachoo!, Jaleco, Sega, Shadow Dancer, Strider, The Revenge of 1989
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This site has spent most of this year celebrating the 25th anniversary of 1989, easily one of the most llama butt-whipping years in the history of video games. It’s so dense with digital greatness that I couldn’t give dap to all things to which dap is due, even with nearly a year to work on the theme. The clock is winding down and this update is an attempt to strengthen the custom sprite galleries (and image generator banks) of those games.

Custom Sprites – The following changes were made to the galleries:
– Data East: Karnov (new scratch-made sprites in outfits from Karnov, Bad Dudes, Sly Spy and Trio the Punch)
– Capcom: Crash Man, Strobaya (Strider)
– Final Fight: Damnd and Jessica Haggar
– Konami: Strongwoman from S.P.Y.: Special Project Y
– Sega: Joe Musashi (1 new sprite, 1 improved sprite), Yamato, Neo-Zeed Leader, Queen of the Oasis
– Golden Axe: new gallery page with new Gilius Thunderhead sprite
– Tecmo: Ryu Hayabusa, Irene Lew
– TMNT: Raphael

GFX Generator – All new sprites were added to the proper characters (they’re at the top of the “Update” character list). There’s also a new background: the 1989 arcade!

YouTube user Cralfer put together a video that showcases many of the multi-plane beat ’em ups released before Final Fight was in 1989. You’ll see a lot of obscure titles in here!

That’s all for this update, but don’t be surprised to see a bit more newness added to the site before the year is out. Also, even after the year-long 1989 theme is over, I’ve decided that every August 9th (1989) will be dedicated to 1989’s Revenge. Take care and I hope your holidays are happy!

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle, Bad Dudes, Capcom, Data East, Final Fight, gfx generator, Golden Axe, Karnov, Konami, Mega Man 2, mini-logos, Ninja Gaiden, Sega, Shadow Dancer, Sly Spy, Special Project Y, Tecmo, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Revenge of 1989, Trio the Punch
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Sprites – The Shinobi gallery has a few new animations for the arcade version of Shadow Dancer and Joe Musashi’s sword slash from the original Shinobi arcade game. The Marvel vs. Capcom gallery was redone.

Custom Sprites – A scratch-made Boomerang sprite and Sabretooth sprite edit (from his X-Men vs. Street Fighter sprites) were added to the Marvel gallery. Lisa Santiago added to the new Nuchallenger gallery. E.T. the Extra Terrestrial was added to the movie gallery.

Game Index – Shadow Dancer (arcade) and The Uncanny X-Men (NES) were added.

Mini-logos – Sega: Shadow Dancer (two versions), SNK: Street Smartmovie: E.T.

Graphic Generators – Lisa Santiago added to Other Games – Nuchallenger, ET added to movie, Boomerang added to Other Marvel villains, and Marvel’s Sabretooth gets his new old-school outfit sprite, a few more XMvsSF sprites and a slightly more comic-accurate palette. TMNT arcade font added to Avatar 100×100 in GroupShot generator.

In case you hadn’t heard, the Treachery in Beatdown City Kickstarter campaign was a success! The tactical brawler that’s part-beat ’em up and part-RPG will be finished and see the light of day. Congratulations to everyone in the Nuchallenger on being rewarded for all the hard work you’ve put into the project!

Updates will be small and far apart until after July 6th, the 2014 All-Americon convention in Warren, Ohio. My artist’s table has already been paid for, new line art is on the way and I’ll have prints for sale again. Stop by my table even if you don’t want to buy anything, because I’ll have some pixel art previews again. Getting ready for the show is going to take a lot of work, so I need to concentrate on that for a while. I can’t promise a big site anniversary update on July 19th, but I’ll do what I can to make it fun.

I apologize for the large gap between this and the last update, but I hurt my back at work a few weeks ago and the irritation was distracting enough to making site and sprite work difficult. My hit points are aren’t back to 100% just yet, but enough that I can get back to pixel and line art duties again.

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates, Site News, Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: Shadow Dancer, Treachery in Beatdown City, X-Men
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