Mega Man Graphics and Sprites

[Waifu]

I have a question on mega man graphics and sprites, why is it the character sprites look largely the same while the backgrounds appear different. I may not be a sprite or graphics expert bu to be honest, I feel as though that I am playing the same game over and over with different sprites with Mega Man (in all series) looking largely the same although that is not to say that they are all the same but still it feels as though they are mostly the same. Can anyone enlighten me on the graphics side of Mega Man? 

[VixyNyan]

[Ramzal]

Because they're the exact same characters over and over again?

[Align]

Is it possible that you have missed out on the fact that this is a franchise?

[Waifu]

Not really, it just some of the earlier games in Classic and X used almost the same X and Mega Man sprites again, the same X and Zero sprite in X4-X6 and the same Zero sprite in the Zero series.

[Bag of Magic Food]

The sprite artists don't want to believe they didn't get it right the first time!

[RMX]

Good job noticing that on your own

It's called a sequel for the same platform. Not many companies redo all the artwork from game to game if they're in the same console.
The only exception were the sprite changes in EXE4-6

[Bag of Magic Food]

Really?  I thought it was more common to change the sprites every game.  Like, Mario looked different in all 3 Super Mario Bros., Kuros looked different in all 3 Wizards & Warriors, Bimmy and Jimmy looked different in all 3 Double Dragons...

[Zan]

Mario looked different in all 3 Super Mario Bros.

Bad example.

[Bag of Magic Food]

I don't see why.  Can you explain please?  (I would have thought Double Dragon would be the worse example for having started in the arcade.)

[Gaia]

Mario's not the best example, say, like Sonic the hedgehog. The tiles of the first zone (emerald hill) and sprites of Dr Robotnik and Sonic didin't at least change until the third game, due to a change in the art style of thier official artwork, OR that is until the artist who made that drawing style and abandoned ship when the games came out.

It's all about keeping up with the reference art when making a sprite. I've done at least several attempts to make a decent art style out of anime but I found out it's a little harder to attempt without an art book, but that's not the case.

Mario's sprite only changes because of the scenarios depend on the style on which he's in. SMB2USA's sprites shared the SMB3 style, but still looked diffrent. Again, it's all about the artist who makes the concepts, the artwork, and of course the sprite ref to the spriters. I can say, spriting without paint or some form of art program leaves you in a cinch and now you are stuck starving inbetween the mother hawk and the eggs that look like they are hatching and you want the eggs and you don't want to upset the mother because she is nearby.

Okay, that was an exaggeration, but let's say without reference art and theme, the sprite and style's gonna look out of place, belive me. 

[Zan]

I don't see why.  Can you explain please? 

Because the first two Mario's are identical. Unless you count that Mario game that wasn't originally a Mario game.

[Acid]

While it was Doki Doki panic originally, it does not change a fact that Mario got three sprites for three games. After all, there was a Mario. Right?

[Gaia]

While it was Doki Doki panic originally, it does not change a fact that Mario got three sprites for three games. After all, there was a Mario. Right?

A sprite for each scenario, I always say. SMB2JP is just SMB1, but harder, and I was thinking about that when I made that "rant".

Say, Sonic the Hedgehog 1 & 2 did share similar style, but the stages and bosses were diffrent. That's because I think the origional artist was on board with them at that time.

[Bag of Magic Food]

SMB2JP is just SMB1, but harder,

Oh, THAT Super Mario Brothers 2.  Yeah, that one's more of an extra level pack, not a true sequel.  And that shows why you need to change the graphics for everything every game: so you can tell them apart!  It's easier to remember when the character traded his red shoes for white shoes than to remember which game had the train level.  Even if the reference art never changes, you should keep tweaking the sprites to make them match the reference art better.

[Zan]

While it was Doki Doki panic originally, it does not change a fact that Mario got three sprites for three games. After all, there was a Mario. Right?

But since the sprite style was originally developed for Doki Doki Panic instead of Mario, it's a bad example of sprites changing with each game. And Mario3 is in a different style simply because by that time, the true graphical potential of the NES became clear.

[Bag of Magic Food]

I still think Mario 3 could have added blue overalls and white eyeballs to the Mario brothers.

[Hypershell]

They could have if they were interested in sprite overlaps the way MegaMan did.  Nintendo evidently just didn't care to.

Part of that may have been unwillingness to push the NES's limit on number of moving objects on-screen, though.  If you go over the limit it causes flickering, which Nintendo may have been trying to avoid.  Might also explain why One-Up Mushrooms vanished if you had too many on-screen.

Oh, THAT Super Mario Brothers 2.  Yeah, that one's more of an extra level pack, not a true sequel.  And that shows why you need to change the graphics for everything every game: so you can tell them apart!  It's easier to remember when the character traded his red shoes for white shoes than to remember which game had the train level.  Even if the reference art never changes, you should keep tweaking the sprites to make them match the reference art better.

The tile set of SMB2J was switched, so actually it is quite easy to tell them apart (this doesn't show in All-Stars or Deluxe; download the original on Wii's VC to see what I mean).  The player sprites are still identical, though.

And yeah, SMB2U doesn't count.  Adding Mario to it was a U.S. thing, not to mention the sprite style simply wouldn't have worked.  It clashes too heavily.

[Bag of Magic Food]

Or they just didn't like the color blue anymore.

[RMX]

Didn't Rockman end up mostly blue because it was the color the widest variety the NES pallete or some stupid story like that?

[Rin]

I have a question on mega man graphics and sprites, why is it the character sprites look largely the same while the backgrounds appear different. I may not be a sprite or graphics expert bu to be honest, I feel as though that I am playing the same game over and over with different sprites with Mega Man (in all series) looking largely the same although that is not to say that they are all the same but still it feels as though they are mostly the same. Can anyone enlighten me on the graphics side of Mega Man? 

Am I stupid for getting lost while trying to follow what G tries to say here?
I mean, I have the basic undestanding, but... uh...
Or maybe I'm just tired?

[Waifu]

Am I stupid for getting lost while trying to follow what G tries to say here?
I mean, I have the basic undestanding, but... uh...
Or maybe I'm just tired?

I was commenting on the Classic 1-6, MMX 1-3, MMX 4-6 and MMZ 1-4 sprites.

[Gauntlet101010]

They changed Zero's sprites in X6 and also in Z4 for those respective series you know.   The overworld sprites were also changed in BN4.  So, it does happen occasionally.

Consistancy is one of the series' strong points.  It also saves time in terms of development.  I always liked that MM's sprite has stayed the same ... heck, it's even used in branding now, it's become so recognisable to video game fans.  

Also, MM games get made more often than Mario games.

[Acid]

I always liked that MM's sprite has stayed the same...

High five bro!

[Flame]

High five bro!