How many SNES games (real US ones) use digitized photos/bitmaps (whatever the right term is)?

[Estil | 1,261]

So as some of you may know, on some SNES games (happy 30th anniversary in the US, BTW) they use actual digitized photos/bitmaps or whatever you call them.  This is made possible by the fact that the SNES had what was then a HUGE 32,768/256 color palette, and thus could show photos/images/whatever in a way that looked decent (the Sega CD sure could've used this size color palette!).  I hope this doesn't sound like stupid/odd question...I'm just curious as the SNES was the first console that could realistically do this.

[Link | 2,707]

pre-rendered graphics?

Donkey Kong Country series
Mortal Kombat series
Pit Fighter 
Clay Fighter

Rendering Ranger (Japan exclusive)

[Tulpa | 3,488]

Hong Kong '97

 

[Estil | 1,261]

3 minutes ago, Link said:

pre-rendered graphics?

Donkey Kong Country series
Mortal Kombat series
Pit Fighter 
Clay Fighter

Rendering Ranger (Japan exclusive)

No that's not exactly what I mean, I mean more along the lines of:

(a few in the intro):

 

[Estil | 1,261]

4 minutes ago, Tulpa said:

Hong Kong '97

I said REAL games, not cheap knockoffs.

Edited October 14, 2021 by Estil

[cj_robot | 540]

The Super Star Wars games and Indiana Jones Greatest Adventures had some decent stills used for the cutscenes. (I always though the title screen looked really nice on Indy)

Edit: also Star Trek: TNG has large images of a few of the crew members. Also, while I've never played it, I remember being impressed by an image a saw in EGM back in the day of the WWF Super WreslteMania title screen.

Edited October 14, 2021 by cj_robot

[Renmauzo | 1,196]

Pieces seems to use digitized photos, and there's a digitized photo of the creators of Legend after the credits finish rolling.

[Estil | 1,261]

2 hours ago, cj_robot said:

The Super Star Wars games and Indiana Jones Greatest Adventures had some decent stills used for the cutscenes. (I always though the title screen looked really nice on Indy)

Edit: also Star Trek: TNG has large images of a few of the crew members. Also, while I've never played it, I remember being impressed by an image a saw in EGM back in the day of the WWF Super WreslteMania title screen.

How in the world were the SNES Star Wars games already called "Episode IV: A New Hope" when the prequel trilogy was still years away?  I mean was George Lucas thinking that far ahead all along or something?

[Tulpa | 3,488]

1 hour ago, Estil said:

How in the world were the SNES Star Wars games already called "Episode IV: A New Hope" when the prequel trilogy was still years away?  I mean was George Lucas thinking that far ahead all along or something?

Lucasfilm started calling it Episode IV since it was rereleased in 1981 (1977 release was just called Star Wars.)

He had a whole slew of Star Wars movies mapped out since the 70s. That was common knowledge for years before the prequels were released.

Edited October 15, 2021 by Tulpa

[Estil | 1,261]

28 minutes ago, Tulpa said:

Lucasfilm started calling it Episode IV since it was rereleased in 1981 (1977 release was just called Star Wars.)

He had a whole slew of Star Wars movies mapped out since the 70s. That was common knowledge for years before the prequels were released.

Well I'm glad someone could think that far ahead!  I sure couldn't...

PS: This saying really needs to become a meme...

[Tanooki | 4,929]

Crap saw I got beat to it, but here's some small annoyingly so images I ripped from an IGN review for Indiana Jones Greatest Adventures.  I've owned this game since the day it came out back in 1994 and it's amazing.  It uses static shots for the dialogue parts of the game to move the story along from each movie, and has another if you die too with a nice taunting look ...right Junior...Junior??

 

And yes Super WWF Wrestlemania did this too on their character select screen.

 

Also to get into what ESTIL is talking about here we go.  SNES had multiple video modes.  Mode1/2 usually were used, or Mode 7 for the rotation effect of an entire layer seen in F-Zero, etc.  But SNES had these nice high color modes on some others.

How it was done is that you could max out the 256 color palette on one layer, then use a second layer to add up to X more.

Mode 3 was 256 colors, then +120 on the second.
Mode 4 was 256 colors, then +24 on the second
Mode 5&6 went in lower colors overall, but allowed for that 512 high res mode using a cap of 120 colors
Mode 7 though did use 256 colors, either one one plane, or put 128 per layer over 2.

So with Indy and WWF there they either used Mode 3 or 4 with those, almost positively JVC for Indy/3x Star Wars games went with Mode 3 to tap into using 376 colors max to get that color definition while the WWF game seems to use less so either would have worked so not sure there.

[Estil | 1,261]

The WWF Super Wrestlemania ones look quite impressive (it helps if you use smaller pics) and Hulk on the title screen is nicely done...but why of all the tunes they could use for the menu they did the graduation song (Pomp and Circumstance) of all things???  And I thought Hydlide copying the Indiana Jones theme was weird...

Edited October 16, 2021 by Estil

[fcgamer | 4,719]

On 10/14/2021 at 12:37 PM, Estil said:

I said REAL games, not cheap knockoffs.

It's not a knockoff, it's a real f'ing game.

Its an original game, is it not? Original IP? Originally programmed? Just because the west has a bit of snobbery doesn't mean we should knock gams from other regions.

It's not to your taste? Fine. But a large portion of the SNES library isn't to my taste, but I would never say that they're not real games. The prejudice needs to stop, period.

#GameDevelopmentRacismAgainstAsiansAsideFromLargeJapaneseCompanies

Edited October 16, 2021 by fcgamer

[Estil | 1,261]

1 hour ago, fcgamer said:

It's not a knockoff, it's a real f'ing game.

But it doesn't have the Official Nintendo Seal of Quality.  As a matter of fact, have they even found actual Hong Kong 97 cartridges?

[fcgamer | 4,719]

1 minute ago, Estil said:

But it doesn't have the Official Nintendo Seal of Quality.  As a matter of fact, have they even found actual Hong Kong 97 cartridges?

Please don't make me go down this route, I'm begging you.

Videomation...

[JamesRobot | 5,786]

1 hour ago, fcgamer said:

Videomation...

Edited October 16, 2021 by JamesRobot

[fcgamer | 4,719]

8 minutes ago, JamesRobot said:

I selected this game because it's unlicensed on famicom yet licensed on NES.

On reverse situation would be the unreleased Time diver eon man.

But these instances prove that licensing had no relationship at all with quality, and was only about control and money, hence my initial comments towards OP.

[JamesRobot | 5,786]

11 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

I selected this game because it's unlicensed on famicom yet licensed on NES.

On reverse situation would be the unreleased Time diver eon man.

But these instances prove that licensing had no relationship at all with quality, and was only about control and money, hence my initial comments towards OP.

Clearly Videomation is a real game.  It has a seal of quality. 

[Estil | 1,261]

10 minutes ago, JamesRobot said:

Clearly Videomation is a real game.  It has a seal of quality. 

Yes indeed, as long as you got the Official Nintendo Seal of Quality, you can never go wrong.

[Tanooki | 4,929]

Well gee of course that seal isn't on the Famicom games, doesn't make it any lesser.  But there's a reason why.

It would say Sear of Quarity which just isn't the same thing.

[AverageOliver98 | 715]

Can't forget TimeCop

 

Also, there's Winter Gold, but I'm not sure if it's "cut-scenes" would count.

 

[Estil | 1,261]

2 hours ago, AverageOliver98 said:

Also, there's Winter Gold, but I'm not sure if it's "cut-scenes" would count.

That is awfully impressive I must say.

[Tanooki | 4,929]

19 hours ago, Estil said:

That is awfully impressive I must say.

Agreed I knew of it but never looked into it just because it was a PAL release so kind of off limits in the day.  I really do wonder how they did all that as there's a large amount of lower colored (all shades of blues) actual movie like cut scenes all over from the into, eating it on a course, the wins, etc not to mention the backgrounds of some seem to generate the same like snowboarding area.  Clearly the FX is handling some level of this beyond the basic polygonal aspects as this is a FX2 game I do remember that, and it's putting out FX1 level models so maybe it's being uniquely pushed.

[Estil | 1,261]

I'm not gonna spoil it here but the ending screen in Pebble Beach Golf Links is VERY well done...just about photo realistic (if you get what I mean)!

[Estil | 1,261]

I was going through the 1992 Nintendo Powers and for those of you who are interested in this sort of thing check out the story they do about this very subject in their July 1992 (#38) issue...it's quite fascinating!