Backgrounds

I'm a huge fan of many of the really cool stages from several of the karate supers games. I've scoured the internet looking for "sprite rips"--animated gifs--of many of the backgrounds. There are always a few that I really wish I could find, but can't. To me, they add a lot of character to a game, like the background music, or the bosses, and are an important part of the games' presentation. Without good backgrounds, a game is a much lesser entry in the genre.

That said, few games hit all home runs here either. Sometimes backgrounds are too bland. Sometimes they're the opposite; they're too busy, and they distract from the action. Sometimes the backgrounds are quite beautiful in their own right and display a surprising amount of artistry; sometimes they feel very slap-dash and thrown together as an afterthought. Sometimes they support the tone of the game, sometimes they clash with it. They can also add significantly in other ways; Capcom and SNK both have had a history of filling their backgrounds with "easter eggs"--characters from other games as spectators, for example, or other things like that. Sometimes backgrounds are even active elements; several Fatal Fury games in particular had background elements that characters could smash into or destroy.

Mostly backgrounds are elements of character and color--and they should demonstrate some, but not enough to distract from the actual characters, or the action. While not comprehensive by any means, I'd like to comment on just a few of my favorites. Actually, I'm going to create an all new tag for backgrounds, so I can do so again when I feel like it too.

First up is the flaming car crash scene from Capcom vs. SNK Pro, which I have for the old Playstation. Great background. Lots of characters. Some action, but not too much. Dramatic color contrast between the roaring flames and the shadows. There's a little bit of story here, even... the police car with the flashing lights, and obviously the wreck itself. Sadly, this is not one that has been frequently ripped and I've never been able to find an animated gif of it. For that matter, it's apparently gotten more play as a MUGEN background, for which it was adapted, than in its original incarnation. The video below is actually a MUGEN rip, although with Bison and Shermie, it feels not too unlike Capcom vs. SNK after all.



Another of my absolute favorite backgrounds is this progression of changes that goes through the "park" in King of Fighters '99. Technically, it's three linked backgrounds (you can tell because between each round, my PSX goes to the load screen). For this one, rather than a youtube video, I'll post "sprite rips" of the three stages. The interesting thing about it, as well as the most obvious, is the evolving weather as the rounds go on.