diff --git a/src/nostalgia/modules/core/src/opengl/gfx.cpp b/src/nostalgia/modules/core/src/opengl/gfx.cpp
index 5931c02c..eccd1eb9 100644
--- a/src/nostalgia/modules/core/src/opengl/gfx.cpp
+++ b/src/nostalgia/modules/core/src/opengl/gfx.cpp
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 namespace nostalgia::core {
 
 constexpr auto Scale = 1;
+constexpr auto PriorityScale = 0.01f;
 
 namespace renderer {
 
@@ -32,16 +33,19 @@ void Drawer::draw(turbine::Context &tctx) noexcept {
 constexpr ox::CStringView bgvshadTmpl = R"glsl(
 	{}
 	in vec2 vTexCoord;
-	in vec2 vPosition;
+	in vec3 vPosition;
 	in float vTileIdx;
 	out vec2 fTexCoord;
 	uniform float vXScale;
 	uniform float vTileHeight;
+	uniform float vBgIdx;
 	void main() {
 		float xScaleInvert = 1.0 - vXScale;
 		gl_Position = vec4(
-				vPosition.x * vXScale - xScaleInvert, vPosition.y,
-				0.5, 1.0);
+				vPosition.x * vXScale - xScaleInvert,
+				vPosition.y,
+				vPosition.z - 0.001 * vBgIdx,
+				1.0);
 		fTexCoord = vec2(
 			vTexCoord.x,
 			vTexCoord.y * vTileHeight + vTileIdx * vTileHeight);
@@ -55,10 +59,11 @@ constexpr ox::CStringView bgfshadTmpl = R"glsl(
 	uniform vec2 fSrcImgSz;
 	uniform vec4 fPalette[256];
 	void main() {
-		vec2 pixelSz = vec2(1, 1) / fSrcImgSz;
-		vec2 pixelCoord = floor(fTexCoord / pixelSz) * pixelSz;
 		outColor = fPalette[int(texture(image, fTexCoord).rgb.r * 256)];
 		//outColor = vec4(0.0, 0.7, 1.0, 1.0);
+		if (outColor.a == 0) {
+			discard;
+		}
 	})glsl";
 
 constexpr ox::CStringView spritevshadTmpl = R"glsl(
@@ -72,8 +77,11 @@ constexpr ox::CStringView spritevshadTmpl = R"glsl(
 	void main() {
 		float xScaleInvert = 1.0 - vXScale;
 		gl_Position = vec4(
-				vPosition.x * vXScale - xScaleInvert, vPosition.y,
-				vPosition.z, 1.0) * vEnabled;
+				vPosition.x * vXScale - xScaleInvert,
+				vPosition.y,
+				// offset to ensure sprites draw on top of BGs by default
+				vPosition.z - 0.004,
+				1.0) * vEnabled;
 		fTexCoord = vTexCoord * vec2(1, vTileHeight);
 	})glsl";
 
@@ -85,10 +93,11 @@ constexpr ox::CStringView spritefshadTmpl = R"glsl(
 	uniform vec2 fSrcImgSz;
 	uniform vec4 fPalette[256];
 	void main() {
-		vec2 pixelSz = vec2(1, 1) / fSrcImgSz;
-		vec2 pixelCoord = floor(fTexCoord / pixelSz) * pixelSz;
 		outColor = fPalette[int(texture(image, fTexCoord).rgb.r * 256)];
 		//outColor = vec4(0.0, 0.7, 1.0, 1.0);
+		if (outColor.a == 0) {
+			discard;
+		}
 	})glsl";;
 
 [[nodiscard]]
@@ -113,7 +122,7 @@ static void setSpriteBufferObject(
 	y *= -ymod;
 	x -= 1.f;
 	y += 1.f - ymod;
-	auto const prif = static_cast<float>(priority) * 0.01f;
+	auto const prif = static_cast<float>(priority) * PriorityScale;
 	auto const textureRowf = static_cast<float>(textureRow);
 	float const L = flipX ? 1 : 0;
 	float const R = flipX ? 0 : 1;
@@ -137,6 +146,7 @@ static void setTileBufferObject(
 		float x,
 		float y,
 		float textureTileIdx,
+		float priority,
 		float *vbo,
 		GLuint *ebo) noexcept {
 	// don't worry, this memcpy gets optimized to something much more ideal
@@ -146,11 +156,12 @@ static void setTileBufferObject(
 	y *= -ymod;
 	x -= 1.0f;
 	y += 1.0f - ymod;
+	auto const prif = priority * PriorityScale;
 	ox::Array<float, BgVertexVboLength> const vertices {
-			       x,        y, 0, 1, textureTileIdx, // bottom left
-			x + xmod,        y, 1, 1, textureTileIdx, // bottom right
-			x + xmod, y + ymod, 1, 0, textureTileIdx, // top right
-			       x, y + ymod, 0, 0, textureTileIdx, // top left
+			       x,        y, prif, 0, 1, textureTileIdx, // bottom left
+			x + xmod,        y, prif, 1, 1, textureTileIdx, // bottom right
+			x + xmod, y + ymod, prif, 1, 0, textureTileIdx, // top right
+			       x, y + ymod, prif, 0, 0, textureTileIdx, // top left
 	};
 	memcpy(vbo, vertices.data(), sizeof(vertices));
 	ox::Array<GLuint, BgVertexEboLength> const elms {
@@ -168,17 +179,18 @@ static void initSpriteBufferObjects(glutils::BufferSet &bs) noexcept {
 	}
 }
 
-static void initBackgroundBufferObjects(glutils::BufferSet &bg) noexcept {
+static void initBackgroundBufferObjects(glutils::BufferSet &bs, float priority) noexcept {
 	for (auto x = 0u; x < TileColumns; ++x) {
 		for (auto y = 0u; y < TileRows; ++y) {
 			const auto i = bgVertexRow(x, y);
-			auto vbo = &bg.vertices[i * static_cast<std::size_t>(BgVertexVboLength)];
-			auto ebo = &bg.elements[i * static_cast<std::size_t>(BgVertexEboLength)];
+			auto vbo = &bs.vertices[i * static_cast<std::size_t>(BgVertexVboLength)];
+			auto ebo = &bs.elements[i * static_cast<std::size_t>(BgVertexEboLength)];
 			setTileBufferObject(
 				static_cast<uint_t>(i * BgVertexVboRows),
 				static_cast<float>(x),
 				static_cast<float>(y),
 				0,
+				priority,
 				vbo,
 				ebo);
 		}
@@ -216,30 +228,31 @@ static void initSpritesBufferset(Context &ctx) noexcept {
 
 static void initBackgroundBufferset(
 		GLuint shader,
-		glutils::BufferSet &bg) noexcept {
+		glutils::BufferSet &bs,
+        float priority) noexcept {
 	// vao
-	bg.vao = glutils::generateVertexArrayObject();
-	glBindVertexArray(bg.vao);
+	bs.vao = glutils::generateVertexArrayObject();
+	glBindVertexArray(bs.vao);
 	// vbo & ebo
-	bg.vbo = glutils::generateBuffer();
-	bg.ebo = glutils::generateBuffer();
-	initBackgroundBufferObjects(bg);
-	glutils::sendVbo(bg);
-	glutils::sendEbo(bg);
+	bs.vbo = glutils::generateBuffer();
+	bs.ebo = glutils::generateBuffer();
+	initBackgroundBufferObjects(bs, priority);
+	glutils::sendVbo(bs);
+	glutils::sendEbo(bs);
 	// vbo layout
 	auto const posAttr = static_cast<GLuint>(glGetAttribLocation(shader, "vPosition"));
 	glEnableVertexAttribArray(posAttr);
-	glVertexAttribPointer(posAttr, 2, GL_FLOAT, GL_FALSE, BgVertexVboRowLength * sizeof(float), nullptr);
+	glVertexAttribPointer(posAttr, 3, GL_FLOAT, GL_FALSE, BgVertexVboRowLength * sizeof(float), nullptr);
 	auto const texCoordAttr = static_cast<GLuint>(glGetAttribLocation(shader, "vTexCoord"));
 	glEnableVertexAttribArray(texCoordAttr);
 	glVertexAttribPointer(
 			texCoordAttr, 2, GL_FLOAT, GL_FALSE, BgVertexVboRowLength * sizeof(float),
-			std::bit_cast<void*>(uintptr_t{2 * sizeof(float)}));
+			std::bit_cast<void*>(uintptr_t{3 * sizeof(float)}));
 	auto const heightMultAttr = static_cast<GLuint>(glGetAttribLocation(shader, "vTileIdx"));
 	glEnableVertexAttribArray(heightMultAttr);
 	glVertexAttribPointer(
 			heightMultAttr, 1, GL_FLOAT, GL_FALSE, BgVertexVboRowLength * sizeof(float),
-			std::bit_cast<void*>(uintptr_t{4 * sizeof(float)}));
+			std::bit_cast<void*>(uintptr_t{5 * sizeof(float)}));
 }
 
 static glutils::GLTexture createTexture(
@@ -279,10 +292,12 @@ static void drawBackgrounds(
 	const auto uniformSrcImgSz = glGetUniformLocation(ctx.bgShader, "fSrcImgSz");
 	const auto uniformXScale = static_cast<GLint>(glGetUniformLocation(ctx.bgShader, "vXScale"));
 	const auto uniformTileHeight = static_cast<GLint>(glGetUniformLocation(ctx.bgShader, "vTileHeight"));
+	const auto uniformBgIdx = static_cast<GLint>(glGetUniformLocation(ctx.bgShader, "vBgIdx"));
 	const auto [wi, hi] = renderSz;
 	const auto wf = static_cast<float>(wi);
 	const auto hf = static_cast<float>(hi);
 	glUniform1f(uniformXScale, hf / wf);
+	auto bgIdx = 0.f;
 	for (const auto &bg : ctx.backgrounds) {
 		if (bg.enabled) {
 			auto &cbb = ctx.cbbs[bg.cbbIdx];
@@ -292,7 +307,9 @@ static void drawBackgrounds(
 					uniformSrcImgSz,
 					static_cast<float>(cbb.tex.width),
 					static_cast<float>(cbb.tex.height));
+			glUniform1f(uniformBgIdx, bgIdx);
 			drawBackground(cbb);
+			++bgIdx;
 		}
 	}
 }
@@ -323,7 +340,7 @@ static void drawSprites(Context &ctx, ox::Size const&renderSz) noexcept {
 static void loadPalette(
 		GLuint shaderPgrm,
 		Palette const&pal,
-		bool firstIsTransparent = false) noexcept {
+		bool firstIsTransparent) noexcept {
 	static constexpr std::size_t ColorCnt = 256;
 	ox::Array<GLfloat, ColorCnt * 4> palette{};
 	for (auto i = 0u; const auto c : pal.colors) {
@@ -341,7 +358,7 @@ static void loadPalette(
 }
 
 static void loadBgPalette(Context &ctx, Palette const&pal) noexcept {
-	loadPalette(ctx.bgShader, pal);
+	loadPalette(ctx.bgShader, pal, true);
 }
 
 static void loadSpritePalette(Context &ctx, Palette const&pal) noexcept {
@@ -456,8 +473,8 @@ ox::Error initGfx(
 	oxReturnError(glutils::buildShaderProgram(bgVshad, bgFshad).moveTo(ctx.bgShader));
 	oxReturnError(
 			glutils::buildShaderProgram(spriteVshad, spriteFshad).moveTo(ctx.spriteShader));
-	for (auto &bg : ctx.cbbs) {
-		initBackgroundBufferset(ctx.bgShader, bg);
+	for (auto &cbb : ctx.cbbs) {
+		initBackgroundBufferset(ctx.bgShader, cbb, 0);
 	}
 	renderer::initSpritesBufferset(ctx);
 	if (initParams.glInstallDrawer) {
@@ -562,6 +579,11 @@ void setBgCbb(Context &ctx, uint_t bgIdx, uint_t cbbIdx) noexcept {
 	bg.cbbIdx = cbbIdx;
 }
 
+void setBgPriority(Context &ctx, uint_t bgIdx, uint_t priority) noexcept {
+	auto &bg = ctx.backgrounds[bgIdx];
+	bg.priority = static_cast<float>(priority & 0b11);
+}
+
 uint8_t bgStatus(Context &ctx) noexcept {
 	uint8_t out = 0;
 	for (uint_t i = 0; i < ctx.cbbs.size(); ++i) {
@@ -586,9 +608,11 @@ void setBgStatus(Context &ctx, uint_t bg, bool status) noexcept {
 
 
 void clearTileLayer(Context &ctx, uint_t bgIdx) noexcept {
-	auto &bg = ctx.cbbs[static_cast<std::size_t>(bgIdx)];
-	initBackgroundBufferObjects(bg);
-	bg.updated = true;
+	auto &cbb = ctx.cbbs[static_cast<std::size_t>(bgIdx)];
+	initBackgroundBufferObjects(cbb, 0);
+	cbb.updated = true;
+	auto &bg = ctx.backgrounds[static_cast<std::size_t>(bgIdx)];
+	bg.priority = 0;
 }
 
 void hideSprite(Context &ctx, uint_t idx) noexcept {
@@ -623,17 +647,19 @@ void setTile(
 	const auto y = static_cast<uint_t>(row);
 	const auto x = static_cast<uint_t>(column);
 	const auto i = renderer::bgVertexRow(x, y);
-	auto &bg = ctx.cbbs[z];
-	const auto vbo = &bg.vertices[i * renderer::BgVertexVboLength];
-	const auto ebo = &bg.elements[i * renderer::BgVertexEboLength];
+	auto &cbb = ctx.cbbs[z];
+	const auto vbo = &cbb.vertices[i * renderer::BgVertexVboLength];
+	const auto ebo = &cbb.elements[i * renderer::BgVertexEboLength];
+	auto &bg = ctx.backgrounds[bgIdx];
 	renderer::setTileBufferObject(
 			static_cast<uint_t>(i * renderer::BgVertexVboRows),
 			static_cast<float>(x),
 			static_cast<float>(y),
 			static_cast<float>(tile),
+			bg.priority,
 			vbo,
 			ebo);
-	bg.updated = true;
+	cbb.updated = true;
 }
 
 namespace gl {
diff --git a/src/nostalgia/modules/core/src/opengl/gfx.hpp b/src/nostalgia/modules/core/src/opengl/gfx.hpp
index 37c363d2..48a4c6d4 100644
--- a/src/nostalgia/modules/core/src/opengl/gfx.hpp
+++ b/src/nostalgia/modules/core/src/opengl/gfx.hpp
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ constexpr uint64_t TileColumns = 128;
 constexpr uint64_t TileCount = TileRows * TileColumns;
 constexpr uint64_t SpriteCount = 128;
 constexpr uint64_t BgVertexVboRows = 4;
-constexpr uint64_t BgVertexVboRowLength = 5;
+constexpr uint64_t BgVertexVboRowLength = 6;
 constexpr uint64_t BgVertexVboLength = BgVertexVboRows * BgVertexVboRowLength;
 constexpr uint64_t BgVertexEboLength = 6;
 constexpr uint64_t SpriteVertexVboRows = 4;
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ struct SpriteBlockset: public glutils::BufferSet {
 };
 
 struct Background {
+	float priority = 0;
 	bool enabled = false;
 	unsigned cbbIdx = 0;
 };