Uncommon graphics mode games: Difference between revisions

From SNESdev Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search
(→‎Hi-Resolution and Interlacing: some more examples, alphabetize, separate games that use it only for japanese text)
(More games added; alphabetical ordering.)
Line 1: Line 1:
A list of games that use less common graphics modes.
A list of games that use less common graphics modes.


== Hi-Resolution and Interlacing ==


PPU Register $2133 [[PPU registers#SETINI|SETINI]] can enable hi-resolution mode, allowing a 512-pixel horizontal resolution. This causes every even column to display the main screen, and every odd column to display the sub screen. Outside of mode 5, this is usually used as a way to do a 50% blend of the main and sub screens (a.k.a. "pseudo hi-res"). Under composite, this resulting blend can look somewhat smooth, but through S-Video or RGB the vertical stripes might be clearly visible.


In [[Mode 5]], hi-resolution is automatically forced, and the main and subscreen are automatically overridden with alternating columns of the BG layers, allowing an effective double-width resolution.
== BG Mode 0 ==


PPU Register $2133 [[PPU registers#SETINI|SETINI]] can enable interlacing, causing the scanlines of every second frame (field) to be offset downward by half a line. In mode 5 this allows an effective double-height resolution.
[[Backgrounds#Mode 0|BG Mode 0]] is somewhat uncommon, but provides 4 independent layers of 2bpp graphics.


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
Line 13: Line 11:
! Notes
! Notes
|-
|-
| '''Bishoujo Janshi Suchi-Pie'''
| '''Super Mario Kart'''
| Mode 5 and interlacing for some high resolution graphic screens when entering a location.
| For the layered "Choose your driver...." screen with separately scrolling text and ground.
|-
| '''The Simpsons: Bart's Nightmare'''
| Used during gameplay.
|-
| '''Yoshi's Island'''
| The title screen uses BG Mode 0 for the upper portion of its title screen. 6-8 "King Bowser's Castle" has a room for Kamek with 4 layers of parallaxing pillars: [https://youtu.be/U8btNneN8ew?t=24458 video]
|}
 
 
 
== BG Mode 3 8bpp ==
 
[[Backgrounds#Mode 3|BG Mode 3]] is uncommon, but provides [[Tiles#8bpp|8bpp]] graphics. BG Mode 3 [[Direct color|Direct Color]] cases are listed [[#Direct Color|below]] instead.
 
{| class="wikitable"
! Game
! Notes
|-
|-
| '''Donkey Kong Country'''
| '''Donkey Kong Country'''
| After the Rareware logo shrinks and moves to the bottom right corner, it uses mode 5 to make that small logo higher resolution.
| Used for a palette animation drawing the green lines of the Rareware logo at boot.
|-
|-
| '''Jurassic Park'''
| '''Ms. Pac-Man'''
| The HUD overlay and a notification box during gameplay uses pseudo hi-res for a transparency effect.
| Used for the title screen.
|-
|-
| '''Kirby's Dream Land 3'''
| '''Secret of Mana'''
| Uses pseudo hi-res for a foreground transparency effect.
| Used for the title screen. (Image appears to use a lossy JPEG-like compression technique.)
|-
|-
| '''Porky Pig's Haunted Holiday'''
| '''Sim City 2000'''
| Mode 5 is used in an introductory room for many levels, giving a high resolution scene one screen wide.
| Used to display the city itself - the interface uses the 4bpp layer.
|-
|-
| '''Radical Psycho Machine Racing''' (a.k.a. '''RPM Racing''')
| '''Toy Story'''
| Mode 5 and interlacing for high resolution graphics throughout the game. The Japanese release replaced the high-resolution gameplay with low-resolution mode instead.
| Used for many high-color screens throughout.
|-
|-
| '''Street Combat''' / '''Ranma ½: Chounai Gekitou Hen'''
| '''Yam Yam'''
| Has interlacing enabled, likely by mistake. Not used for any higher vertical resolution content.
| Used for the title screen.
|-
|-
| '''[https://forums.nesdev.org/viewtopic.php?p=174494 PPU Bus Activity Demo]'''
| '''Zoop'''
| Demo by lidnariq which includes mode 6, among other things.
| A single 8bpp layer is used for gameplay.
|}
 
 
 
== BG Mode 4 8bpp ==
 
[[Backgrounds#Mode 4|BG Mode 4]] provides [[Tiles#8bpp|8bpp]] graphics on BG1 with [[offset-per-tile|Offset-Per-Tile]].
 
{| class="wikitable"
! Game
! Notes
|-
|-
| '''[https://forums.nesdev.org/viewtopic.php?p=279303 Two Ship Demo]'''
| '''Bust-a-Move''' / '''Puzzle Bobble'''
| Demo by rainwarrior comparing mode 5 + interlacing against mode 1 graphics.
| 8bpp graphics are needed so that all combinations of adjacent bubble colors can be accommodated on the tilemap. Also uses vertical Offset-Per-Tile to shift the playfield.
|}
 
 
 
== BG Mode 7 EXTBG ==
 
While [[Backgrounds#Mode 7|BG Mode 7]] was very popular, [[Backgrounds#EXTBG|BG Mode 7 EXTBG]] was not very common.
 
{| class="wikitable"
! Game
! Notes
|-
|-
! colspan=2 | High Resolution Japanese Text
| '''Contra 3'''
| Used on the second level.
|-
|-
| '''Dark Law: Meaning of Death'''
| '''[https://forums.nesdev.org/viewtopic.php?t=24081 extbgtest]'''
| Mode 5 for text boxes. menu screens, and status bar during gameplay.
| Test ROM for BG Mode 7 EXTBG. (BG1 vs. BG2, Indexed vs. Direct Color.)
|-
|-
| '''Desert Fighter''' / '''Air Strike Patrol'''
| '''Super Mario World'''
| Mode 5 and interlacing for high resolution mission briefing text.
| Used during the Bowser fight to move the [https://mario.fandom.com/wiki/Koopa_Clown_Car Koopa Clown Car] around on a pseudo-3D stage, occasionally overlapping all the other elements of the screen.
|-
|-
| '''Marvelous: Mouhitotsu no Takarajima'''
| '''Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts'''
| Mode 5 for text boxes and menu screens.
| Used to put the level over the player's feet on a rotating level.
|-
|-
| '''Moryou Senki Madara 2'''
| '''Super Turrican 2'''
| Mode 5 for text boxes and menu screens.
| Used for a boss fight.
|-
|-
| '''Rudra no Hihou'''
| '''Tiny Toon's Adventures'''
| Mode 5 for text boxes and menu screens.
| Used on the title screen.
|}
 
 
 
== Direct Color ==
 
See: [[Direct color]]
 
{| class="wikitable"
! Game
! Notes
|-
|-
| '''Seiken Densetsu 3'''
| '''Actraiser 2'''
| Mode 5 for text boxes and menu screens.
| The [[mode 7|BG Mode 7]] overworld map uses Direct Color.
|-
|-
| '''Shinseiki Odysselya II'''
| '''Aerobiz'''
| Mode 5 for text boxes.
| The title screen uses BG Mode 7 Direct Color.
|-
|-
| '''Syvalion'''
| '''Romance of the Three Kingdoms II'''
| Mode 5 and interlacing for text screens at the beginning of the game.
| The title screen and introduction sequence use BG Mode 7 Direct Color.
|-
|-
| '''Tokimeki Memorial: Densetsu no Ki no Shita de'''
| '''Secret of Mana'''
| Mode 5 for text boxes and menu screens.
| The spherical world map uses BG Mode 7 Direct Color. The flat world map (while riding Flammie, press Start for the spherical map, then press R) uses BG Mode 3 Direct Color.
|}
|}


Links:
* [https://forums.nesdev.org/viewtopic.php?p=279118#p279118 Forum thread] - CRT photos of various hi-resolution effects.


== Overscan (239 lines) ==


PPU Register $2133 [[PPU registers#SETINI|SETINI]] can choose either 224 or 239 lines of visible picture. Most games used 224, allowing a significantly longer vblank period, and the extra lines weren't normally visible on contemporary NTSC televisions.
== High-Resolution and Interlacing ==
 
PPU register $2133 [[PPU registers#SETINI|SETINI]] can enable hi-res mode, allowing a 512-pixel horizontal resolution. This causes every even column (assuming a zero-based column index) to display the sub screen and every odd column to display the main screen, i.e. the sub screen pixel is the left one in a pixel pair. Outside of BG Mode 5, this is usually used as a way to do a 50% blend of the main and sub screens (a.k.a. "pseudo hi-res"). Under composite, this resulting blend can look somewhat smooth, but through S-Video or RGB the vertical stripes might be clearly visible.
 
In [[Mode 5|BG Mode 5]], hi-res is automatically forced, and the main and sub screen are automatically overridden with alternating columns of the BG layers, allowing an effective double-width resolution.
 
PPU register $2133 [[PPU registers#SETINI|SETINI]] can enable interlacing, causing the scanlines of every second frame (field) to be offset downward by half a line. This allows an effective double-height resolution (especially useful in BG Mode 5), though at half the frame rate and with combing artifacts during movement.


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
Line 81: Line 133:
! Notes
! Notes
|-
|-
| '''Rendering Ranger R2'''
| '''Bishoujo Janshi Suchi-Pie'''
| NTSC (Japan), often manually blanks several lines at the bottom. Only rarely uses the manual blank time for PPU uploads (e.g. rotating ship at end of Stage 2).
| BG Mode 5 and interlacing for some high resolution graphic screens when entering a location.
|-
| '''Chrono Trigger'''
| Switches to interlacing mode when [https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/950181-chrono-trigger/47464700 crashing the ship into Lavos].
|-
|-
| '''Super Mario All-Stars'''
| '''Donkey Kong Country'''
| PAL version only.
| After the Rareware logo shrinks and moves to the bottom right corner, it uses BG Mode 5 to make that small logo higher resolution.
|-
|-
| '''Super Mario Kart'''
| '''Jurassic Park'''
| PAL version only, but with some "manual" letterboxing.
| The HUD overlay and a notification box during gameplay use pseudo hi-res for a transparency effect.
|-
|-
| '''Super Mario World'''
| '''Kirby's Dream Land 3'''
| The launch PAL release did not use overscan, but a later PAL revision did.
| Uses pseudo hi-res for a foreground transparency effect.
|-
|-
| '''Super Tetris 2 + Bombliss'''
| '''Porky Pig's Haunted Holiday'''
| NTSC (Japan).
| BG Mode 5 is used in an introductory room for many levels, giving a high resolution scene one screen wide.
|-
|-
| '''Super Tetris 3'''
| '''[https://forums.nesdev.org/viewtopic.php?p=174494 PPU Bus Activity Demo]'''
| NTSC (Japan).
| Demo by lidnariq which includes BG Mode 6, among other things.
|-
|-
| '''Tetris & Dr. Mario'''
| '''Radical Psycho Machine Racing''' (a.k.a. '''RPM Racing''')
| Both NTSC and PAL versions used the overscan area.
| BG Mode 5 and interlacing for high resolution graphics throughout the game. The Japanese release replaced the high-resolution gameplay with low-resolution mode instead.
|-
|-
| '''Tom & Jerry'''
| '''Street Combat''' / '''Ranma ½: Chounai Gekitou Hen'''
| NTSC and PAL.
| Has interlacing enabled, likely by mistake. Not used for any higher vertical resolution content.
|-
|-
| '''Yoshi's Cookie'''
| '''[https://forums.nesdev.org/viewtopic.php?p=279303 Two Ship Demo]'''
| NTSC and PAL.
| Demo by rainwarrior comparing BG Mode 5 + interlacing against BG Mode 1 graphics.
|}
|}


== Vertical Offset-per-tile ==
Hi-res Japanese text:
 
See: [[Offset-per-tile]]


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
Line 117: Line 170:
! Notes
! Notes
|-
|-
| '''Tetris Attack'''
| '''Dark Law: Meaning of Death'''
| Used for independently shifting columns of gameplay.
| BG Mode 5 for text boxes, menu screens and status bar during gameplay.
|-
|-
| '''Timecop'''
| '''Desert Fighter''' / '''Air Strike Patrol'''
| During the introduction, used for a wobbling effect on the time machine.
| BG Mode 5 and interlacing for high resolution mission briefing text.
|-
|-
| '''Yoshi's Island'''
| '''Marvelous: Mouhitotsu no Takarajima'''
| Used for the 1-7 "Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy" effect, and moving platforms in 6-4 "Tap-Tap The Red Nose's Fort".
| BG Mode 5 for text boxes and menu screens.
|-
|-
| '''Bust-a-Move''' / '''Puzzle Bobble'''
| '''Moryou Senki Madara 2'''
| Used to make the playfield shift downwards without affecting the fixed frame at the sides. This game also uses background mode 4.
| BG Mode 5 for text boxes and menu screens.
|-
|-
| '''Star Fox'''
| '''Rudra no Hihou'''
| Used for the slight rotation effect on the background behind the SuperFX graphics.
| BG Mode 5 for text boxes and menu screens.
|-
|-
| '''Prehistorik Man'''
| '''Seiken Densetsu 3 (Secret of Mana 2)'''
| Used on stage 21 (Icebergs) to simulate rotation on the ice platforms.
| BG Mode 5 for text boxes and menu screens.
|-
|-
| '''Aladdin'''
| '''Shinseiki Odysselya II'''
| Used on the final boss fight.
| BG Mode 5 for text boxes.
|-
|-
| '''Axelay'''
| '''Syvalion'''
| Used for large vertically moving obstacles on the second level.
| BG Mode 5 and interlacing for text screens at the beginning of the game.
|-
|-
| '''Battletoads in Battlemaniacs'''
| '''Tokimeki Memorial: Densetsu no Ki no Shita de'''
| Used for a wavy effect on a flag in the game's intro.
| BG Mode 5 for text boxes and menu screens.
|-
| '''Super Turrican 2'''
| Used in the fourth area of the first level.
|-
| '''Chrono Trigger'''
| Used to apply a vertical waving effect on the word "Trigger" at the title screen.
|-
| '''GT Racing'''
| Uses mode 2 for a waving flag on the title screen.
|}
|}


== Horizontal Offset-per-tile ==
Links:
* [https://forums.nesdev.org/viewtopic.php?p=279118#p279118 Forum thread] - CRT photos of various hi-res effects.


The horizontal version of [[offset-per-tile]] is especially rare, since scanline horizontal scroll changes can already do a smooth horizontal offset, and this hardware feature only provides a coarse one.
 
 
== Offset-Per-Tile (horizontal) ==
 
The horizontal version of [[offset-per-tile|Offset-Per-Tile]] is especially rare, since scanline horizontal scroll changes can already do a smooth horizontal offset, and this hardware feature only provides a coarse one.


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
Line 163: Line 212:
|-
|-
| '''Chrono Trigger'''
| '''Chrono Trigger'''
| During the introduction, this is used for a "shimmering" effect on the Black Omen ship: [https://youtu.be/ZSn24qQ1vAQ?t=147 video]
| During the introduction, this is used for [https://youtu.be/ZSn24qQ1vAQ?t=147 a "shimmering" effect on the Black Omen ship].
|-
|-
| '''Super Genjin 2'''
| '''Super Genjin 2'''
| Used for a screen transition effect on the title screen, when the intro animation isn't skipped. Uses mode 4.
| Used for a screen transition effect on the title screen, when the intro animation isn't skipped. Uses BG Mode 4.
|-
|-
| '''Super Mario All-Stars'''
| '''Super Mario All-Stars'''
Line 173: Line 222:
|}
|}


== Direct Color ==


See: [[Direct color]]
 
== Offset-Per-Tile (vertical) ==
 
See: [[Offset-per-tile|Offset-Per-Tile]]  


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
Line 181: Line 232:
! Notes
! Notes
|-
|-
| '''Actraiser 2'''
| '''Aladdin'''
| The [[mode 7]] overworld map uses direct color.
| Used on the final boss fight.
|-
|-
| '''Aerobiz'''
| '''Axelay'''
| The title screen uses mode 7 direct color.
| Used for large vertically moving obstacles on the second level.
|-
|-
| '''Romance of the Three Kingdoms II'''
| '''Battletoads in Battlemaniacs'''
| The title screen and introduction sequence uses mode 7 direct color.
| Used for a wavy effect on a flag in the game's intro.
|-
|-
| '''Secret of Mana'''
| '''Bust-a-Move''' / '''Puzzle Bobble'''
| The spherical world map uses mode 7 direct color. The flat world map uses mode 3 direct color. While riding Flammie, press Start for the spherical map, then press R to switch to the flat map.
| Used to make the playfield shift downwards without affecting the fixed frame at the sides. This game also uses BG Mode 4.
|}
 
== Mode 0 ==
 
[[Backgrounds#Mode 0|Mode 0]] is somewhat uncommon, but provides 4 independent layers of 2bpp graphics.
 
{| class="wikitable"
! Game
! Notes
|-
|-
| '''Super Mario Kart'''
| '''Chrono Trigger'''
| For the layered "Choose your driver...." screen with separately scrolling text and ground.
| Used to apply a vertical waving effect on the word "Trigger" at the title screen.
|-
|-
| '''Yoshi's Island'''
| '''GT Racing'''
| The title screen uses mode 0 for the upper portion of its title screen. 6-8 "King Bowser's Castle" has a room for Kamek with 4 layers of parallaxing pillars: [https://youtu.be/U8btNneN8ew?t=24458 video]
| Uses BG Mode 2 for a waving flag on the title screen.
|-
|-
| '''The Simpsons: Bart's Nightmare'''
| '''Prehistorik Man'''
| Used during gameplay.
| Used on stage 21 (Icebergs) to simulate rotation on the ice platforms.
|}
 
== Mode 3 8bpp ==
 
[[Backgrounds#Mode 3|Mode 3]] is uncommon, but provides [[Tiles#8bpp|8bpp]] graphics. [[Direct color]] mode 3 cases are listed [[#Direct color|above]] instead.
 
{| class="wikitable"
! Game
! Notes
|-
|-
| '''Donkey Kong Country'''
| '''Star Fox'''
| Used for a palette animation drawing the green lines of the Rareware logo at boot.
| Used for the slight rotation effect on the background behind the SuperFX graphics.
|-
|-
| '''Toy Story'''
| '''Super Turrican 2'''
| Used for many high-color screens throughout.
| Used in the fourth area of the first level.
|-
|-
| '''Zoop'''
| '''Tetris Attack'''
| A single 8bpp layer is used for gameplay.
| Used for independently shifting columns of gameplay.
|-
|-
| '''Sim City 2000'''
| '''Timecop'''
| Used to display the city itself - the interface uses the 4bpp layer.
| Used for a wobbling effect on the time machine during the introduction.
|-
|-
| '''Ms. Pac-Man'''
| '''Yoshi's Island'''
| Used for the title screen.
| Used for the 1-7 "Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy" effect, and moving platforms in 6-4 "Tap-Tap The Red Nose's Fort".
|-
| '''Yam Yam'''
| Used for the title screen.
|-
| '''Secret of Mana'''
| Used for the title screen. (Image appears to use a lossy JPEG-like compression technique.)
|}
|}


== Mode 4 8bpp ==


[[Backgrounds#Mode 4|Mode 4]] provides [[Tiles#8bpp|8bpp]] graphics on BG1 with [[offset-per-tile]].


{| class="wikitable"
== Overscan (239 lines) ==
! Game
! Notes
|-
| '''Bust-a-Move''' / '''Puzzle Bobble'''
| 8bpp graphics are needed so that all combinations of adjacent bubble colours can be accomodated on the tilemap. Also uses OPT to shift the playfield.
|}


== Mode 7 EXTBG ==
PPU register $2133 [[PPU registers#SETINI|SETINI]] can choose either 224 or 239 lines of visible picture. Most games used 224, allowing a significantly longer VBLANK period, and the extra lines weren't normally visible on contemporary NTSC televisions.
While Mode 7 was very popular, [[Backgrounds#EXTBG|Mode 7 EXTBG]] was not very common.


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
Line 261: Line 279:
! Notes
! Notes
|-
|-
| '''Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts'''
| '''Rendering Ranger R2'''
| Used to put the level over the player's feet on a rotating level.
| NTSC (Japan), often manually blanks several lines at the bottom. Only rarely uses the manual blank time for PPU uploads (e.g. rotating ship at end of Stage 2).
|-
| '''[https://tcrf.net/SNES_Test_Program SNES Test Program]'''
| Immediately switches to overscan mode, even on NTSC consoles.
|-
| '''Super Mario All-Stars'''
| PAL version only.
|-
| '''Super Mario Kart'''
| PAL version only, but with some "manual" letterboxing.
|-
| '''Super Mario World'''
| The launch PAL release did not use overscan, but a later PAL revision did.
|-
| '''Super Tetris 2 + Bombliss'''
| NTSC (Japan).
|-
| '''Super Tetris 3'''
| NTSC (Japan).
|-
|-
| '''Super Turrican 2'''
| '''Tetris & Dr. Mario'''
| Used for a boss fight.
| Both NTSC and PAL versions used the overscan area.
|-
|-
| '''Contra 3'''
| '''Tom & Jerry'''
| Used on the second level.
| NTSC and PAL.
|-
|-
| '''[https://forums.nesdev.org/viewtopic.php?t=24081 extbgtest]'''
| '''Yoshi's Cookie'''
| Test ROM for EXTBG. (BG1 vs BG2, Indexed vs Direct color.)
| NTSC and PAL.
|}
|}


== See Also ==
== See Also ==

Revision as of 10:59, 10 February 2023

A list of games that use less common graphics modes.


BG Mode 0

BG Mode 0 is somewhat uncommon, but provides 4 independent layers of 2bpp graphics.

Game Notes
Super Mario Kart For the layered "Choose your driver...." screen with separately scrolling text and ground.
The Simpsons: Bart's Nightmare Used during gameplay.
Yoshi's Island The title screen uses BG Mode 0 for the upper portion of its title screen. 6-8 "King Bowser's Castle" has a room for Kamek with 4 layers of parallaxing pillars: video


BG Mode 3 8bpp

BG Mode 3 is uncommon, but provides 8bpp graphics. BG Mode 3 Direct Color cases are listed below instead.

Game Notes
Donkey Kong Country Used for a palette animation drawing the green lines of the Rareware logo at boot.
Ms. Pac-Man Used for the title screen.
Secret of Mana Used for the title screen. (Image appears to use a lossy JPEG-like compression technique.)
Sim City 2000 Used to display the city itself - the interface uses the 4bpp layer.
Toy Story Used for many high-color screens throughout.
Yam Yam Used for the title screen.
Zoop A single 8bpp layer is used for gameplay.


BG Mode 4 8bpp

BG Mode 4 provides 8bpp graphics on BG1 with Offset-Per-Tile.

Game Notes
Bust-a-Move / Puzzle Bobble 8bpp graphics are needed so that all combinations of adjacent bubble colors can be accommodated on the tilemap. Also uses vertical Offset-Per-Tile to shift the playfield.


BG Mode 7 EXTBG

While BG Mode 7 was very popular, BG Mode 7 EXTBG was not very common.

Game Notes
Contra 3 Used on the second level.
extbgtest Test ROM for BG Mode 7 EXTBG. (BG1 vs. BG2, Indexed vs. Direct Color.)
Super Mario World Used during the Bowser fight to move the Koopa Clown Car around on a pseudo-3D stage, occasionally overlapping all the other elements of the screen.
Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts Used to put the level over the player's feet on a rotating level.
Super Turrican 2 Used for a boss fight.
Tiny Toon's Adventures Used on the title screen.


Direct Color

See: Direct color

Game Notes
Actraiser 2 The BG Mode 7 overworld map uses Direct Color.
Aerobiz The title screen uses BG Mode 7 Direct Color.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms II The title screen and introduction sequence use BG Mode 7 Direct Color.
Secret of Mana The spherical world map uses BG Mode 7 Direct Color. The flat world map (while riding Flammie, press Start for the spherical map, then press R) uses BG Mode 3 Direct Color.


High-Resolution and Interlacing

PPU register $2133 SETINI can enable hi-res mode, allowing a 512-pixel horizontal resolution. This causes every even column (assuming a zero-based column index) to display the sub screen and every odd column to display the main screen, i.e. the sub screen pixel is the left one in a pixel pair. Outside of BG Mode 5, this is usually used as a way to do a 50% blend of the main and sub screens (a.k.a. "pseudo hi-res"). Under composite, this resulting blend can look somewhat smooth, but through S-Video or RGB the vertical stripes might be clearly visible.

In BG Mode 5, hi-res is automatically forced, and the main and sub screen are automatically overridden with alternating columns of the BG layers, allowing an effective double-width resolution.

PPU register $2133 SETINI can enable interlacing, causing the scanlines of every second frame (field) to be offset downward by half a line. This allows an effective double-height resolution (especially useful in BG Mode 5), though at half the frame rate and with combing artifacts during movement.

Game Notes
Bishoujo Janshi Suchi-Pie BG Mode 5 and interlacing for some high resolution graphic screens when entering a location.
Chrono Trigger Switches to interlacing mode when crashing the ship into Lavos.
Donkey Kong Country After the Rareware logo shrinks and moves to the bottom right corner, it uses BG Mode 5 to make that small logo higher resolution.
Jurassic Park The HUD overlay and a notification box during gameplay use pseudo hi-res for a transparency effect.
Kirby's Dream Land 3 Uses pseudo hi-res for a foreground transparency effect.
Porky Pig's Haunted Holiday BG Mode 5 is used in an introductory room for many levels, giving a high resolution scene one screen wide.
PPU Bus Activity Demo Demo by lidnariq which includes BG Mode 6, among other things.
Radical Psycho Machine Racing (a.k.a. RPM Racing) BG Mode 5 and interlacing for high resolution graphics throughout the game. The Japanese release replaced the high-resolution gameplay with low-resolution mode instead.
Street Combat / Ranma ½: Chounai Gekitou Hen Has interlacing enabled, likely by mistake. Not used for any higher vertical resolution content.
Two Ship Demo Demo by rainwarrior comparing BG Mode 5 + interlacing against BG Mode 1 graphics.

Hi-res Japanese text:

Game Notes
Dark Law: Meaning of Death BG Mode 5 for text boxes, menu screens and status bar during gameplay.
Desert Fighter / Air Strike Patrol BG Mode 5 and interlacing for high resolution mission briefing text.
Marvelous: Mouhitotsu no Takarajima BG Mode 5 for text boxes and menu screens.
Moryou Senki Madara 2 BG Mode 5 for text boxes and menu screens.
Rudra no Hihou BG Mode 5 for text boxes and menu screens.
Seiken Densetsu 3 (Secret of Mana 2) BG Mode 5 for text boxes and menu screens.
Shinseiki Odysselya II BG Mode 5 for text boxes.
Syvalion BG Mode 5 and interlacing for text screens at the beginning of the game.
Tokimeki Memorial: Densetsu no Ki no Shita de BG Mode 5 for text boxes and menu screens.

Links:


Offset-Per-Tile (horizontal)

The horizontal version of Offset-Per-Tile is especially rare, since scanline horizontal scroll changes can already do a smooth horizontal offset, and this hardware feature only provides a coarse one.

Game Notes
Chrono Trigger During the introduction, this is used for a "shimmering" effect on the Black Omen ship.
Super Genjin 2 Used for a screen transition effect on the title screen, when the intro animation isn't skipped. Uses BG Mode 4.
Super Mario All-Stars Used in Super Mario Bros 2, for a screen transition between title screen and character select.


Offset-Per-Tile (vertical)

See: Offset-Per-Tile

Game Notes
Aladdin Used on the final boss fight.
Axelay Used for large vertically moving obstacles on the second level.
Battletoads in Battlemaniacs Used for a wavy effect on a flag in the game's intro.
Bust-a-Move / Puzzle Bobble Used to make the playfield shift downwards without affecting the fixed frame at the sides. This game also uses BG Mode 4.
Chrono Trigger Used to apply a vertical waving effect on the word "Trigger" at the title screen.
GT Racing Uses BG Mode 2 for a waving flag on the title screen.
Prehistorik Man Used on stage 21 (Icebergs) to simulate rotation on the ice platforms.
Star Fox Used for the slight rotation effect on the background behind the SuperFX graphics.
Super Turrican 2 Used in the fourth area of the first level.
Tetris Attack Used for independently shifting columns of gameplay.
Timecop Used for a wobbling effect on the time machine during the introduction.
Yoshi's Island Used for the 1-7 "Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy" effect, and moving platforms in 6-4 "Tap-Tap The Red Nose's Fort".


Overscan (239 lines)

PPU register $2133 SETINI can choose either 224 or 239 lines of visible picture. Most games used 224, allowing a significantly longer VBLANK period, and the extra lines weren't normally visible on contemporary NTSC televisions.

Game Notes
Rendering Ranger R2 NTSC (Japan), often manually blanks several lines at the bottom. Only rarely uses the manual blank time for PPU uploads (e.g. rotating ship at end of Stage 2).
SNES Test Program Immediately switches to overscan mode, even on NTSC consoles.
Super Mario All-Stars PAL version only.
Super Mario Kart PAL version only, but with some "manual" letterboxing.
Super Mario World The launch PAL release did not use overscan, but a later PAL revision did.
Super Tetris 2 + Bombliss NTSC (Japan).
Super Tetris 3 NTSC (Japan).
Tetris & Dr. Mario Both NTSC and PAL versions used the overscan area.
Tom & Jerry NTSC and PAL.
Yoshi's Cookie NTSC and PAL.


See Also

Retrieved from "https://snes.nesdev.org/w/index.php?title=Uncommon_graphics_mode_games&oldid=1028"