Ever wonder how these cutscenes in Ninja Gaiden work? How do they do a letter box while having moving objects in side the letter box?
I'll tell you! And it actually relies on a LIMIT of the NES! 🧵
I'll tell you! And it actually relies on a LIMIT of the NES! 🧵
It might not be obvious why this is interesting, but ask yourself: how does this shot have Ryu clipped at the top of the frame? Why doesn't he pop out? 
Knowing the limits of the NES, shouldn't it look more like mock screenshot? How does the top of Ryu go *under* the black bars?
The way this is accomplished is pretty clever and actually exploits a limit of the NES!
The way this is accomplished is pretty clever and actually exploits a limit of the NES!
As you may know, the NES can only draw 8 sprites per horizontal line of the screen. This is what causes the infamous sprite flicker on the NES.
https://x.com/matthughson/status/1605346030505308160
If you look at this shot in the debugger, you will find that there are 32 black rectangle sprites in the top right of the screen. Stacked in groups of 8, in 4 rows.
Together, these 4 rows of sprites cover the top of the screen, and because there are 8 sprites, it maxes out the sprite limit of the NES. Any sprites drawn after that will not be renderer; in this case the sprites from the cutscene!
And that's how one small aspect of those famous Ninja Gaiden cutscenes were possible on the NES!
Follow me for more behind the scenes technical breakdowns of classic NES games, as well as my own games!
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Follow me for more behind the scenes technical breakdowns of classic NES games, as well as my own games!
@UnrollHelper unroll
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