It’s the 24th Anniversary of the site, so I’m here with a variety of newness! It’s all game-related, even the comic and cartoon characters are game-specific. Beat ’em ups, platformers, and fighting games are all repped here.

Custom Sprites:
– Double Dragon: Abobo (victory pose)
– Fighter’s History: new sprite of Fighter’s History series hero Liu Yungmie
– Metroid: Mother Brain
– Popeye: Popeye the Sailor Man (finally, I know, I know)
– Marvel: the Punisher (new pose), female ninjas from Capcom Punisher game

All new custom sprites added to the image generators, except for the really tall Mother Brain sprite, only the shorter version is in there since it seems to work in most big scene situations.

Sprites: the Punisher (more sprites)

Also added or updated in the generators: Akuma/Gouki (Cyber-Akuma sprites)

ToyBoss: I just got my pre-order of the 52Toys Baby Commando figure from HobbyLink Japan in the mail this week and took a picture of the whole squad still on the cards. I’ll be opening them up soon and taking more pics, and I can’t wait because they all look amazing. For now, I’ve added a pic of the crew to the Toyboss page.

I found a comic book article that talks about the really early plans for Data East’s “Avengers in Galactic Storm” and even has pictures of an earlier 3D character model for Captain America in a different style. I put it in a blog post with scans large enough for you to read. You’ll find a lot of interesting info like the earlier roster plans, more confirmation that Iron Man’s home game rights interfered with how he was used in arcade games for years, and the original genre-bending plans for the Story Mode.

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Thank you for visiting the site and extra thanks for the people who reply here in the news posts and elsewhere on the internet! Due to offline reasons I didn’t get to do all the things I’d planned (Cadillacs and Dinosars, more SNK stuff in the generators), but I’ll try to work them into future updates. I just want you to know you’ve been heard!

There are a few things that still need to be done (better scans for the Avengers article and putting Popeye’s mini-logo in the gallery, I’ll work on that over the weekend.

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added July 20th, 2024:

Popeye had his Ninento mini-logo in the image generators, but it wasn’t in the Toys and ‘Toons mini-logo gallery. now it is, along with a new mini-logo of his 1970s logo with in the 1980 movie colors.

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates, Site News, Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: Avengers in Galactic Storm, Double Dragon, Fighter's History, marvel comics, Metroid, Popeye, the Punisher
2 Comments »

It’s time to wrap-up this year of updates in the usual way: content based on toys from the eighties and some unfinished business!

Custom Sprites:
– G.I.JOE: Wild Bill, B.A.T.s
– Thundercats: Mumm-Ra
– Toys and Cartoons:B.P. Vess (C.O.P.S., all-new sprites), Miles Mayhem (M.A.S.K.)
– Double Dragon: the alley cat from arcade version of Mission 1, NES design Billy and Jimmy Lee
– DC Comics: Stargirl (yes, I’m going to miss that show)

Mini-Logos: Venom (from Kenner’s M.A.S.K.) added to Toys and Stargirl added to DC Comics

All new custom sprites and mini-logos have been added to the image generators. The main “Fighter-size” generator now an 80s action figure toy aisle in the Group, Vs. and MvC ending screenstyles. It’s still a work in progress, because I spent more time searching for image and scale reference than I did working on it so far. This version’s toys are mainly centered around 1985, the last year the first wave of Transformers were still being made. I’ll continue to update this in the future, and possibly add more versions and years (like a late-eighties version with a big TMNT section) if enough people want to see that. BTW: some of the most helpful reference pics were from this post on 20th Century Toy Collector, because I was able to see how some boxes from different lines of the era scaled next to each other.

ToyBoss: My custom New X-Men/classic Cyclops Marvel Legends figure is done enough to show, so I finally… FINALLY… have a full Konami X-Men playable character roster in 1:12 scale. I’d have had this roster (and others) finished earlier if I didn’t have to practically restart my Marvel Legends collection in 2020. I also added an updated shot of the Red Skull’s crew in Data East’s Captain America and the Avengers to show I’ve got the Controller in there.

Speaking of toys, a lot of my 2023 figure hype is aimed at Jada Toys’ Street Fighter and Mega Man action figure lines. Three figure in each wave and all at a price point that won’t K.O. your wallet, and they’ll fit in with 6-inch/1:12 scale figures, so they’ll be part of my Marvel vs. Capcom set-ups. All the little details, like the Hadoken having hands molded in like the old sprites and one of the two optional heads being based on the Super Street Fighter II Vs. portraits (still some of the best art of those characters), I’m definitely hype for these. Check out this Fwooshcast episode that drops info on these and the other figure lines Jada is working on right now:

Storm Collectables is still putting out Street Fighters, though their figures seem to be in a slightly larger scale than Marvel Legends and closer to Mattel’s Masterverse and McFarlane Toys. It’s great to have options with these and I hope both companies get into more classic video game lines.

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It’s time for me to thank everyone who has visited the site this year, and I’m giving a really big thank you to those who commented here, by e-mail (yes, some people do!), and on social media. There are times when my day job has worn me out and I don’t have a lot of energy to do anything when I get home, but things like your feedback, seeing pics you made in the image generators, being surprised when the pixel minilogos pop up in fan projects, and things like that refill my energy again. Take care and see you in 2023!

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates, Site News, Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: Captain America and the Avengers, dc comics, Double Dragon, g.i. joe, M.A.S.K., marvel comics, thundercats, X-Men
8 Comments »

Hot dang, that’s a lot of twos! This site is going to celebrate that with some new Double Dragon sprites, along with some other twins, including another pair of Technos game twins!

Double Dragon: Billy and Jimmy Lee (Double Dragon Advance cover art pose), Skullmageddon (Double Dragon Neon), an update of my 2017 Chin Taimei sprite
Kunio-kun: the Hattori Twins/Dragon Twins (who are based on the Lee Brothers)
Streets of Rage: Onihime and Yasha (a.k.a. Mona and Lisa) had their standing and crouching sprites redone
DC Comics: the Wonder Twins Zan and Jayna (sorry, you’ll have to wait for Gleek)
G.I.JOE: Tomax and Xamot, evil twin brothers!

All new sprites have been added to the main image generator, where you can create graphics like the one at the top of this post!

Finally, because I couldn’t let this day happen without doing this, here’s the Double Dragon Sprite Showcase video!

Stay tuned, there’ll be a “Yo Joe!” update later this week!

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates, Site News, Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: dc comics, Double Dragon, g.i. joe, Kunio-Kun, Streets of Rage series
3 Comments »

There’s going to be a lot of twos February 2022 (02/2022), so I thought the 2nd would be a perfect day to lay out this site’s plans for the month and demonstrate with a few sprites.

Custom Sprites
– Double Dragon: Billy and Jimmy Lee nunchaku stance (Super Double Dragon pose)
– Street Fighter: all-new scratch-made Balrog (Boxer) in Street Fighter V and G.I.JOE outfits

Those sprites have been added to the GFX Generator, where you can make shots just like the one at the top of this post! The Lee Brothers’ sprites have far more extra palettes there than in the gallery.

Plans for the month:
1.) It’s Black History Month, which is when I make more sprites of Black characters, and that starts here with Balrog.
2.) February 22nd: Double or Nothing day – twos everywhere. Expect twins and Double Dragon-related things. More info soon.
3.) Expect a G.I.JOE update to drop sometime this month to celebrate the anniversary, including some sprites to replace the old sprite edits.

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: Double Dragon, g.i. joe, Street Fighter
2 Comments »

The Beat ‘Em Up Showcade is ready! Okay, the video has been up since yesterday, BUT STILL. I originally planned to have Showcase videos for Double Dragon and Bad Dudes last year, but *shrugs* 2020. You know what I mean. Trying to make them in 2021 didn’t work out for better reasons, so I decided to make a Showcade filled with beat ’em ups. Nothing with an outside license (TMNT, Punisher, X-Men) is in the vid, because the straight-up game content felt a little neglected here lately. Let’s watch the video first, then I’ll break down what was added to the site.

Once again, mad thanks to Wizzy for allowing me to use that amazing BGM track for the video. I’ve had it stuck in my head since I picked it for the video, and it makes me feel like kicking doors open and throwing oil drums at people all day. AVPboy’s music does the same for me, and the added pressure of trying to do justice with their music in the videos pushes me to work harder.

Now for the newness that was added to the site itself!

Custom Sprites:
– Crime Fighters: Sledge, Hawk and Boomer from Crime Fighters 2/Vendetta finally get fight stance sprites, Hawk gets a redone taunt to match, and Boomer’s taunt gets a size fix. CF2/Vendetta knife thugs were also added.
– Double Dragon: Linda’s earlier two sprites completely redrawn, an extra variation of the taunt was added, and are available in arcade, NES, and DDII designs. The Billy and Jimmy Lee “JPN arcade flyer” poses were updated to fit the newer style Lee Bros. sprites I started adding months ago.
– Final Fight: Maki (FF2 fight stance, select pose edited to match newer sprite), Mike Haggar – Saturday Night Slam Masters gear (also added to the Slam Masters gallery)
– Growl: Jetgun
– Kung-Fu Master: All Five “Sons of the Devil” (a.k.a. the Bosses) get new sprites, and Silvia gets a sprite, too.
– Kunio-kun: Kunio (Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun flyer pose)
– Renegade (new separate gallery): the Renegade/Mr. K, Sabu
– Rushing Beat: Wendy Milan (taunt)
– Streets of Rage: Barbon and Jet(SoR/BK 2) added, Skate Hunter updated (made shorter than the 2020 sprites)

All new sprites are now in the image generators, where you can make your own sprite scenes, fake screenshots, etc.

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates, Site News, Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: Double Dragon, Final Fight, Growl, Kung-Fu Master, Kunio-Kun, Renegade, Rushing Beat, Sprite Showcade, Streets of Rage, Vendetta
3 Comments »

Custom Sprites:
Double Dragon: Abobo and some variations of that sprite were redone, along with Abobo getting a sub-gallery.

Marvel Comics: Avalanche, Batroc, and the Controller.

All these sprites have been added to the main image generator (Avalanche and Controller are in the Marvel Villains character slot).

I took the 2017 sprite, increased the size by 400%, put it in Clip Studio, traced it with a 5px. brush, and exported it at 25%. Clean-up work seems to take a while, but this process is still an experiment for me. I originally used the original NES-ish angle of the head, but decided to draw a forward-looking head alt head to use instead. BTW: this is why I still haven’t finished a spriting tutorial, because my process never stops changing.

A similar process was used to redo some linework I’d drawn and scanned of Avalanche and the Controller, along with remaking Batroc from scratch, and all of them are now in the Marvel gallery. Nearly all the Marvel villain Capcom-based sprite edits I had from the old days. Also made some headway on a Marvel video that I’ve wanted to make for over a decade:

Remember, the first Beat ‘Em Up Showcade video will strike this September, so stay tuned if you want to see more pixel art remakes based on Double Dragon, Final Fight, Streets of Rage, and more!

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: Double Dragon, marvel comics
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I used to say that it never feels like I’ve been doing this for more than 10 years, but after a year as crappy and time-distorted as 2020, it feels like I’ve been going for 15 years now. You may notice that this update is heavy on beat ’em up (a.k.a. belt scroll), and you’ll see why in a bit. For now, here’s the newness:

Custom Sprites
– Bad Dudes: new sprites of Animal (+ Zombie Animal) and Hage Ninja
– Battletoads (new separate gallery): Pimple (finally completing the playable trio)
– Double Dragon: redone DDA stance Billy and Jimmy Lee (replacing the ones from the 20th ScrollBoss anniversary), classic stance Billy, Jimmy and Jeff
– Kunio-kun: Misuzu (SD style)
– Mega Man: new scratch-made MvC style Mega Man in Rockman Famicom cover art pose.
– Rushing Beat: New Lord J taunt, and improved fight stance sprite, improved Douglas Bild stand sprite
– Streets of Rage: new Max Thunder sprite (back turned) in SoR 2 and 4 designs
– Undercover Cops: The Zan (Claude) sprite I teased in the gallery icon since January is done and in the gallery, along with Matt, completing the playable crew!
– Marvel Comics: Black Widow (semi-remake of an old sprite edit pose), Crossbones (boss in DECO’s Captain America and the Avengers), Firestar (assist char in Maximum Carnage, but not in this outfit)
– DC Comics: Green Lantern Hal Jordan (scratch-made remake of the edit-based pose I made for him 20 years ago)
– G.I.JOE: all-new Baroness fight stance (referencing her old sprite edit pose from the early days of this site)

Mini-logos
– Marvel Comics: Crossbones (Captain America #363 cover), the Defenders
– Capcom: Shadaloo (SCRI logo) and Street Fighter x Tekken

All new sprites and mini-logos have been added to the Graphics Generators, along with the brand-new (and long overdue) Beat ‘Em Up arcade background!

The “Memory Lane” page was updated for the first time in almost 10 years, mainly trimming a few things down and adding info on the image generators and videos.

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Thanks to an incredibly kind Ko-Fi donation, I put enough money together to buy the latest version of MOHO (Anime Studio)! For the first time in half a year, I have access to all that old work I did for videos again, so I can get back to those video Works-in-Progress. Being without AS Pro 10 had one positive effect, because it forced me to dig deeper into using Blender (even if it’s the pre-2.80 version with the old Blender engine) and building the clips inside Vegas (instead of just using it as a clip assembler). All of those things will be used for the next Sprite Showcade:

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates, Site News, Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: Bad Dudes, Battletoads, Brawl Brothers, dc comics, Double Dragon, g.i. joe, Kunio-Kun, Mega Man series, Rushing Beat, Streets of Rage series
2 Comments »

Time to wrap things up the way some classic games used to do: with a Boss Rush Mode!

Custom Sprites: new sprites (and new galleries) include…
– Double Dragon: Willy (all-new, better than that last one I made)
– Streets of Rage: Shiva (classic design)
– Strider: improved Ton Pooh (and sisters) sprites (especially the head) + 2 new sprites: pose based on a Strider bosses pic and a sprite in her NxC fight stance.
– Zelda series: Gannon (Link to the Past design).

That new arcade background, with quite a few machines that haven’t been in a background until, was made thanks to everyone who voted here (thanks, Eddie Mountaingoat), Twitter, and Instagram! Oddly enough, the 6-player X-Men and Alien vs. Predator machines were in that 2020 teaser preview, but this poll isn’t the reason why. I’ll have more arcade background news in the not-too-distant-future. It has been added to the Group, Vs., and MvC ending screen styles in the main image generator.

That’s all for the 20th anniversary updates, and I hope you’ve had fun checking them out, watching the videos, and playing with the new sprites in the generators. This would’ve been on single update, but offline hassles sidelined me for over a week, so I’ve been using the extended posts to make more content for you. It wasn’t easy to hustle and get these extra things done, but if you had fun, it was all worth it. For everyone who was there since the early Angelfire-hosted days, for those who just found this mess of a site, and everyone in between, thanks for visiting!

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates, Site News, Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: Double Dragon, Streets of Rage, Strider, the Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Zelda series
Comments Off on 20th Anniversary: poll arcade and Boss Rush mode

Today is the 20th anniversary of the original ScrollBoss website. Starting on Tripod with a template and some miscolored PC screenshots and sprites from a Sega compilation, this site started as a place for me to talk about old action video games, especially the ones that didn’t have much presence on the internet back in the year 2000. It eventually grew into a place for me to do the same thing but now I’m making most of the sprites that I’m adding to the site, and I never would’ve believed it if you’d told me that decades ago.

This hasn’t been the easiest year for most of us, and the last few weeks have been really irritating for me, but working on this site and seeing your reactions to the pixel art has done what it’s always done for me, help pull me through some tough times. Thank you for that and I hope this place can do the same for you, even if it’s just for a few moments of browsing the galleries and messing with the image generators. There will be multiple updates throughout the week, along with some visitor participation moments (more on that in a bit), so stay tuned!

Custom Sprites: new sprites (and new galleries) include…
– Bionic Commando (NEW separate gallery): Radd Spencer (NES design) in MvC3/MvCI fight stance
– Double Dragon: Billy and Jimmy Lee (DD Advance fight stance)
– Dragon’s Crown(NEW separate gallery): Elf, Wizard
– the Legend of Kage: Kage
– Metroid: Zero Suit Samus
– Rushing Beat: Kazan (Brawl Brothers/Rushing Beat Ran select screen pose)
– Streets of Rage: Cherry Hunter
– Sunset Riders (NEW!): FINALLY, right? Standard gunfight stance remakes for all four heroes kick off the new gallery.
– NuChallenger: : Brad Steel (completing the hero team from Treachery in Beatdown City)

All newness has been added to the GFX Generators where you can make your own graphics like the examples up there!

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The print company I work through, Perfect Posters, reopened a while ago, so prints are once again available for sale in the shop! Also, I’ve set up a page on RedBubble with some original pixel art available mostly as stickers, but it’s on a few other products, too.

I pay to keep my sites hosted with my own money, so any sales puts a little money back into my pocket and helps support my Maruchan Instant Lunch habit!

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Later this week, I’ll put together a special arcade background for the image generator based on YOUR votes. The Twitter post is here and the Instagram post is here, but I’ll repeat the set-up here. Leave a reply with up to seven games you’d like to see based on this list. NOTE: if you choose “Capcom Big Blue (Capcom’s late 80s to late 90s arcade games that worked on the CPS or CPS2 system)” or “Neo Geo”, please mention WHICH games for that you want (“Capcom Big Blue – Captain Commando” or “Neo Geo Metal Slug 2 and Samurai Shodown”). Here’s the list (click to see the full sized version):

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates, Site News, Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: 20th anniversary, anniversary, bionic commando, Double Dragon, Dragon's Crown, Metroid, Streets of Rage, Sunset Riders, the Legend of Kage, Treachery in Beatdown City
4 Comments »

I’d noticed some issues in the image generators while working on May 22nd’s Pac-Man Anniversary update and started working on a few the next day. That led to working on a few random things and this is the result.

Custom Portraits – there are now two separate galleries for the custom portraits I’ve made/converted, with credits for as many things as I could find for the converted official art.
– Street Fighter Alpha/Zero 3: same as the portraits page, but with an improved Billy Lee (Double Dragon)
– Marvel Super Heroes – Capcom: finally, all the custom MSH-style portraits seen in the site’s image generators are in a gallery. The X-men CotA portraits will get a gallery soon.

A gallery for the X-Men: Children of the Atom custom portraits will be added soon.

Mini-logos:
– Capcom: Rose (Street Fighter), Bishamon (Darkstalkers), Felicia (Darkstalkers)
– Nintendo: Pokémon (redone), Pikachu (“Hey you, Pikachu” style)

BTW: Feel free to use these custom portraits and minilgos in your fan projects, just give me a credit somewhere.

These things were added to the graphics generators. Additional fixes include:
– Marvel Super Heroes: fixes to the character list (originally copied from the SFA3 Vs. lists and using old temporary versions of characters made when I re-wrote the generator scripts).
– Fixed Firebrand’s Darkstalkers 3 portrait, made MSH vs versions of Arthur and Firebrand’s custom portraits.

Filed under: ScrollBoss Updates, Site News, Updates by PrimeOp
Tags: Darkstalkers, dc comics, Double Dragon, Ghosts 'n Goblins, marvel comics, Street Fighter
Comments Off on Generator Maintenance – May 2020