>>50537787I agree. Later sprites were sharper, more detailed and finished, but I fucking LOVED the roundness of these sprites. They're so full of character. And they feel so animated and convey actual emotion well. Look at Weezing's pained, intimidating pose. Look at Gengar's malicious grin. Look at how playful Farfetch'd is. Look at how serenely friendly Togetic looks. Look at Steelix's heavy frame. Ursaring is ready to grapple the shit out of you. Jumpluff looks so floaty. Lugia looks like it's about to crash through your screen. They're all so alive, especially considering the limitations, both in pixel count and color. I fucking hate the SOUL meme, but if it's ever to be used, then now is the time. Second Gen sprites had actual soul. They knew the first gen sprites were lackluster, and they went hard doing these. Just look at the flowing shadows of Persian, or how the shadow accentuates Clefairy's round form, or how it makes Nidoking look far more dangerous than it was. Look at how Rapidash seems to almost glow in the light of its own fire. Dang. As someone who loves designing my own shitty fake Pokémon in pixel graphics, I can't but admire this shit. Dragonite seems so friendly. Tauros looks so wild despite it's neutral pose. Forretress is so detailed and somehow even expressive, despite only having visible eyes. And these sprites made the first gen starter evolutions seems so much more alive. They felt exotic again, despite me having been so used to them by the time second game rolled around. Paras looks so insect-like. Machamp is so bulky, and it's low profile makes it seem sturdy. Golem actually looks almost streamlined despite its shape. Some of these are really fucking well done. Most of them.
