Common knowledge dictates that the SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System) and GBA (Game Boy Advance) used 16-bit graphics, right? Well, unfortunately, common knowledge, in this case, would be mistaken--the SNES and GBA actually, in fact, worked in the 15-bit color range.
A friend of mine, SomeGuyNamedDavid (he doesn't have an account on this website), gave me the complete list of values for 15-bit colors. They are as follows:
0, 8, 16, 25, 33, 41, 49, 58, 66, 74, 82, 90, 99, 107, 115, 123, 132, 140, 148, 156, 165, 173, 181, 189, 197, 206, 214, 222, 230, 239, 247, and 255.
These are the possible SNES and GBA color values for Red, for Green, and for Blue. Take any three of the numbers above (even if the three numbers you choose are all the same number, or even if two of the three numbers you choose are the same number) to make a composite RGB (short for Red, Green, Blue) color value that falls under the 15-bit color range.
Another friend of mine, DragonDePlatino (you all may be familiar with him), gave me the nitty-gritty details of the sprite limitations for the SNES and the GBA:
I would like to add that another SNES restriction is 4 layers per background maximum. One of those 4 colors on that layer's 16x16 tile can be transparency if not the bottom layer.
One final note regarding SNES sprite limitations: when counting the number of colors per sprite or background layer, you must keep in mind that the number of colors includes transparency as one of the colors. So unless your sprite is a square with no transparent parts; you can only have 15 non-transparent colors per sprite or 3 non-transparent colors per 16x16 background tile (if the background has more than one layer). In the case of backgrounds, the bottom layer will never have transparent parts, so it will be 4 colors per 16x16 tile of the bottom layer if you're using multiple layers, or 16 colors per 16x16 tile if you're using only a single layer.
Other than that, everything else about spriting in SNES style or GBA style follows the norms of spriting as explained in the Spriting Dictionary thread.
A friend of mine, SomeGuyNamedDavid (he doesn't have an account on this website), gave me the complete list of values for 15-bit colors. They are as follows:
0, 8, 16, 25, 33, 41, 49, 58, 66, 74, 82, 90, 99, 107, 115, 123, 132, 140, 148, 156, 165, 173, 181, 189, 197, 206, 214, 222, 230, 239, 247, and 255.
These are the possible SNES and GBA color values for Red, for Green, and for Blue. Take any three of the numbers above (even if the three numbers you choose are all the same number, or even if two of the three numbers you choose are the same number) to make a composite RGB (short for Red, Green, Blue) color value that falls under the 15-bit color range.
Another friend of mine, DragonDePlatino (you all may be familiar with him), gave me the nitty-gritty details of the sprite limitations for the SNES and the GBA:
DragonDePlatino Wrote:SNES restrictions:
256x224 resolution
15-bit color
16 colors per sprite
If background has 1 layer, 16 colors a 16x16 tile.
If background has several layers, 4 colors a 16x16 tile
GBA restrictions:
240x160 resolution
15-bit color
I would like to add that another SNES restriction is 4 layers per background maximum. One of those 4 colors on that layer's 16x16 tile can be transparency if not the bottom layer.
One final note regarding SNES sprite limitations: when counting the number of colors per sprite or background layer, you must keep in mind that the number of colors includes transparency as one of the colors. So unless your sprite is a square with no transparent parts; you can only have 15 non-transparent colors per sprite or 3 non-transparent colors per 16x16 background tile (if the background has more than one layer). In the case of backgrounds, the bottom layer will never have transparent parts, so it will be 4 colors per 16x16 tile of the bottom layer if you're using multiple layers, or 16 colors per 16x16 tile if you're using only a single layer.
Other than that, everything else about spriting in SNES style or GBA style follows the norms of spriting as explained in the Spriting Dictionary thread.