So far there have been 7 versions of the lifebar. I thought it would be interesting to show what they looked like and comment on the changes I’ve made.

Version 1 - I ripped the lifebar graphic from Dracula XX (SNES) and extended it to be much longer.

Version 2 - This version was used very briefly, I would’ve eventually added more detail and vines to it, much like Maria’s lifebar in the Saturn version of Symphony of the Night.

Version 3 - I changed the colors up a bit, removed the skull and put caps on the end instead. The blue bar represents how many hearts you have in this game and not the boss health, so it was a bit out of place.

Version 4 - I recolored some parts to make it look more like a machine.

Version 5 - I decided to do away with having a timer. Instead of just deleting that part of the lifebar, I filled it in with a cross graphic I drew up.

Version 6 - I finally gave each player their own bars. Up until this point I just had Player 2’s lifebars squished in between the gaps. I also gave the cross a glowing animation, reduced the overall size and scripted the lifebar graphic to change based on what character exists.

Version 7 - As of this post, the current version. I switched Player 2’s lifebar around, so that it looks better with the way I have the names and score positioned in-game.