DisplacedGamers

The Awful Controls of Ikari Warriors for NES – Behind the Code

The controls in Ikari Warriors for NES are sluggish to say the least. It seems like it takes forever just to turn in the direction you want to go. This is quite different from the overhead levels of Super C where you snap to face the direction that was just pressed. The arcade version of […]

DisplacedGamers

Mega Man 3’s Graphical Glitches, the MMC3 Mapper, and a Bad Development Timeline – Behind the Code

“Is my copy of Mega Man III messed up?” This question is a common one from those that either have not played the third game in the series or are returning to it after a number of years. There is a graphical glitch above Shadow Man in the Stage Select screen. A segment of pixels […]

DisplacedGamers

Crashing Tetris! The Logic Behind the Madness – Behind the Code Leveled Up

This has been a really big year so far for Tetris on the NES. Players have found ways to provide controller inputs at speeds the programmers of the game didn’t anticipate. A technique called “rolling” has allowed players to move pieces at such fast speeds that they can progress beyond level 150! Unfortunately, this might […]

DisplacedGamers

Reprogramming Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for NES – Behind the Code

A friend of mine rented Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when it was new, and we gave it a try. It was certainly different than any of the other games we had played on the NES. Try playing Contra or Punch-Out and then switching over to a game that demands patience like this one does. […]

DisplacedGamers

Why is Platforming so Difficult in the Terminator for NES? – Behind the Code

Have you ever played The Terminator for the NES? Landing is difficult. Jumping is inconsistent. Sometimes you appear to land but fall through the ground! Sometimes you fall off the edge of a platform while running even though you swear you pressed jump before you got there. Sometimes jumping to the first ledge works but […]

DisplacedGamers

The Physics Nightmare and Bizarre Jumping of Strider (NES) – Behind the Code

NES Strider feels janky. We’ve known that since it was released. But how bad could it be? … Oh! Absolutely terrible! Jumping, running into a wall, and falling – simple things in any other game seem to be half-baked in Strider. The physics are worse than you could possibly imagine. Why do you slam your […]

DisplacedGamers

NES Sprites, OAM, and the Battle for Priority – Behind the Code

Sprite limitations and flicker define what the NES is. They are a part of history. This video dives into Object Attribute Memory – OAM – to explain why the system is limited to eight sprites on a scanline as well as how both sprite limitation and sprite priority are used by programmers to add some […]

DisplacedGamers

MMC2 Magic – How Graphics Work in Punch-Out – Behind the Code

Unique graphics. Giant sprites. No flicker. How on earth does this game work? The MMC2 chip contained in Punch-Out’s cartridge allows the NES to switch between two pairs of tiles for each half of the pattern table. While the MMC1 already allows bank switching for graphics, the MMC2 allows the switch to happen in the […]

DisplacedGamers

How do Boxers Work in Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!? – Behind the Code

Punch-Out!! has been on my list of games to investigate for a long time, and I finally have something to show after a crazy amount of research. This video covers how opponent data is used to determine where to branch and what to do in code, how to manipulate boxer behavior, secrets that you will […]

DisplacedGamers

How Speedrunners BROKE Castlevania’s Scrolling – Behind the Code

In December of 2019 after many years of runs, the speedrunning record for Castlevania on the NES was close to 11 minutes 24 seconds. In Summer of 2020, speedrunners took a new discovery for the implementation of scrolling for the game and used it to skip several screens at a time in various places throughout […]