>>27958412The artstyle is definitely rougher but it's also got attention to smaller details rather than overloading on design aspects. That's due to graphics limitations on one hand and simplicity of the times on the other. The original idea for Pokemon was vending toy monster collecting, after all. The older art has its charm and passion, whereas the newer designs, for the most part, play it too safe, and the artstyle is more soft and round overall. It's not worse, just a different flavor.
