just so you guys know, this project isn't dead. i've been REALLY busy and haven't had time to set aside for it, but i've still managed to squeeze in a bit of bugfixing and optimisation as well as sprite work here and there. here are a couple in-development graphics for your viewing pleasure (more will come at some point).

EDIT: which of the tower designs in the first picture is your favourite?

Wow they look really nice. I can,t tell which ones are the best though, but I really like the ones that looks more 3D-ish with black bricks.

I hope you eventually work on this again.

When you say done do you mean finished for the year or did you graduate? Also, yes I might be a good idea to get crackin on that contest entry. ^^

i finally figured out how to rip data directly from the rom, so i'm starting there, laying out the tilemaps and such before getting into other things. i've figured out that the overworld levels all have <=160 tiles, the overworld maps are 160*160 tiles large, and, for compression purposes, those tiles are grouped together into larger 4*4 tiles. there are <=80 tiles for the dungeon maps, the map storage seems really confusing at the moment, so i'll probably just redo that entirely. here are the first few tile sets and the complete map of level 1's overworld (warning, it's fracking huge. oh, and the white text marks enemy spawns and the blue and yellow are warps.). if anyone has any ideas on how to best compress this, they would be welcomed =).

Wow great, good luck converting the maps to use the 8x8 versions of the sprites. I wonder if RLE would compress well?

/\it would indeed. also, i need to redo this, because, as you can see if you look closely, i did it wrong so there are spots where the map repeats itself horizontally.
basically, my approach right now for this project is to get all the concrete things done first (map, tiles, etcetera), then make the dungeon section, and finally move on to the main engine, as that was what killed me last time

i converted the intro sequence to 4 level grey, just for fun (it would have to be compressed rather well to actually use it in a game, however).
oh, and since i recently set up that SDK jonimus is hosting for my PRIZM...

I think the prizm is a sidenote, but I'm not sure
The game is still in Axe Parser and I am liking how the sprites are turning out! I like the castle tiles in the middle/slightly to the right. I am sure you can plan it right.