There have been only 4 sprite sets released in the SF series; the original SF, SF II, SF Zero and SF III. With the exception of the original SF, all of the other games have used in other titles. The highly stylized sets in Zero (Alpha) were in fact used on almost 10 game titles. This recycling of sprites is a cheap alternative to creating new sprites for every game. After 15 years and only 4 sprite sets you should wonder how much more should be invested in keeping the franchise fresh and evolved. These recycled sprites cheapen the game and experience. Recycled sprites show little innovation especially when the sprites are mismatched in size, scale and animation when added into crossover titles such as Capcom VS SNK and Marvel VS Capcom. The War would feature a new 5th and best-possible sprite set in the SF series as well as be a standout set of sprites when compared to all other sprite-based games.
It’s one thing to say the War will feature an entirely new sprite set, but a different thing to actually figure out how to create those sprites. In order to understand the evolution of sprite-based animation we must first recognize that the process has not changed in almost 20 years. Character designers create a basic outline of the character for every frame of animation. That figure is then scanned, pixelated, inked and colored mostly on computer before being added as a sprite into the game engine. The game engine and processor determine the size, quality (resolution), colors and frame rate of the sprites.
Sprite colors and sizes were hindered in consoles prior to the 16-bit generation because of the limited processing power. In the “old days” of game animation sprites were set to less than two dozen colors and their frames of animation for even basic moves was very simple. The same basic formula for creating sprites had not changed much in almost 20 years even after memory and processor limits were addressed after the 16-bit processing era.
From the first SF to the most recent one, the sprites all went through the same previously mentioned process. This kept an idea of continuity within the games but the quality of Capcom’s crack animation staff shone when the CPS-III system was released in the arcade for sprite-based games. SF III and Warzard (Red Earth) were released shortly thereafter and the sprites and animation for both games stood head and shoulders above the work of their contemporaries at SNK (King of Fighters, Samurai Spirits) and Sammy (Guilty Gear). Albeit the quality of the animation at Sammy was quickly approaching the work of Capcom. This was thanks in part to the Sega Atomiswave graphics engine Sammy had used (an arcade PCB version of the Dreamcast architecture). The major problem is whether the CPS-III system is powerful enough to develop sprites on or whether Capcom R&D has to create a CPS-IV system to render high resolution sprites that surpasses the Atomiswave engine. If the War is going to be designed for and on the Sony Playstation 3, then using a CPS-IV or any other engine would be a moot point.

New techniques in sprite animation
The original character designs from Bengus, or the other Capcom artists Akiman, Sensei and Edayan are always more aesthetically pleasing than the sprites in the game. Certain sacrifices have to be made when translating the design into a sprite. Design cues, colors and details lose some quality when going from concept sketch into sprite. In many ways the process is similar to the way designers create characters for animated or animé shows. Most studios don’t know another way of creating sprites or are limited by the R&D budget.
There is a relatively little-used process for generating sprites that look less like animé figures and more like the actual character models and concepts. The only games in recent memory (aside from Atari’s Primal Rage, which rotoscoped stop-motion clay dinosaur figures) that used an alternate approach for designing and rendering sprites were both built around the Super Nintendo platform.
Rare pioneered the process of rendering characters using a 24-bit Silicon Graphics (SGI) workstation. The high-resolution computer generated images (CGI) 3-D models created on the SGI appeared light-years ahead of the work featured in games like Mortal Kombat or SF II. The only problem was there was no home computer or console powerful enough to render the same characters in real-time, and handle all of the complex animations and controls that fighting games require. Rare figured out a way to create the illusion of 3D characters on a sprite based console by exporting each character model as a "flat" 2D image. This image could then be more easily used in the sprite-based consoles of the time. Entire levels were also designed using the same process and the final effect was very powerful. Despite a limited resolution and color palette the 16-bit Super Nintendo now had the illusion of being able to generate complex 3D graphics when in reality the system recognized the SGI models as 2D sprites. The Rare games Killer Instinct and Donkey Kong Country became best sellers because the graphics-driven engine compensated for control and level design that lacked when compared to the Mario or SF games of the time.
Shigeru Miyamoto, the designer of most of Nintendo’s best sellers, was not impressed by Rare’s work and thought that the finished effect of CGI characters and levels cheapened the genre by substituting quality game design with flashy graphics.