Games that use Shadow / Highlight

[Flygon]

Shining Force doesn't use the Shadow/Highlight feature. At all.

To simulate the ground going dark and bright, they switch the tiles that change colour onto a different sub-palette, and have that go between dark and bright. That's why the game has so many CRAM garbage being displayed on the bottom of the screen when in PAL mode.

This is also why Shining Force II and CD have issues with the colour cycling in some battles, due to having multiple background layers visible (it's not possible to cycle their colours due to being offset from the main foreground. Basically, cycling them too would cycle the wrong tiles).

The Game Gear games use the exact same technique (and is part of the reason they have such drab backgrounds, due to lack of available colours).

Using S/H to achieve this effect is impossible in the force games, anyway, due to limitations of how the mode/s work.


To cut the story short, Shining Force series has an effect that looks pretty, that goes dark and bright, but it's nothing more than your el-standardo palette cycling. No transparency effects here, folks.

If you doubt me, I dare you to consult anyone here willing to use an emulator with debug tools.

[SEGA.GENESIS1989]

Well this was a rather refreshing post! If memory serves me right, "Wings of Wor" possesses alot of shadow effects.

[Zebbe]

Pier Solar uses it in some dungeons, the first one scene in the game is the garden where you find the herb to cure Hoston's father.

[Kµro]

I could've sworn that the Shining Force games use S/H it just looks so much like it. Well, they tricked me good.
Zebbe, could you provide a screenshot of that scene? Would be very helpful for that particular game.

[Danza]

I'm confident that Streets of rage 2 has a Highlight effect in the bar on the first stage, the lights on the ceiling that shine down to the floor, there may be more shadows and highlights used in that game too.

[Kµro]

Thanks for the hint! But I'm sure just from my recollection that those lights are simply just dithered meshes.

[Lync]

Off the top of my head, and correct me if I'm wrong:

Ranger-X: Third level as you ascend/descend through the canopy of trees there is a really nice daylight and shadowing effect.
Crusader of Centy: Particularly the clouds moving overhead in the first town, Soleil.
MUSHA Aleste: Possibly the fourth level as enemies move through the clouds and are highlighted against the lightening effects.

[Joe Redifer]

Yes, Streets of Rage 2's lights are just a dithered mess. Err I mean mesh. Highlight can't do color. Meaning you can't cast a yellow light on the stage, only a brighter color of what's already there.

[Ken]

In Ristar I remember seeing some sort of shadow effect in beginning of the first boss stage (the third act of planet flora).

[Zebbe]

Zebbe, could you provide a screenshot of that scene? Would be very helpful for that particular game.

Here you go:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...UEBeta_005.gif

[Kµro]

@Zebbe: Thanks! Would be nice if you could provided it in 320x224 as a bmp without the Gens menu so it goes well with the others. But I can definately use what you made.

@SEGA.GENESIS1989: Could you tell me where you suspect something? I've taken a quick look through all the levels and couldn't see anything fancy. I have to admit that it was a really quick look though.

@Lync: Thanks! The woods in Ranger-X are just palette changes. You can see easily that the entire image gets darker and not just the area below the trees. Also it happens in multiple steps. In stage 5 however there is some additional use of the effect with the search lights.
Crusader of Centy is just another example of fake transparency through dithering. Musha does in fact use Shadow for the enemies beneath the clouds.

@Ken: Thanks! Ristar definately uses Shadow there, kinda similar to Knuckles Chaotix.

@Joe: How comes you forgott about Wonder Dog's title screen? It was in the last episode of Game Sack, wich I just watched a second time.