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These are just like, the most important bosses. A lot of the regular enemy sprites are so nice too. Like just, what they did with such limited hardware. So nice.
One thing I'm endlessly fascinated why is how they used CRTs and lossy cables to create detail and transparency
How tf do you do this?
Thats so fucking cooooooool.
Some more neat examples in this video. Legit the first hit on YouTube, so not some hidden gem, but it's got some mesmerizing examples. The only ones I didn't find compelling were the 3D examples towards the end (except for the transparency effect @9:34), but those are a small part of the video and out-of-scope for this pixel art discussion anyhow.
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
It's worth remembering that the artists were authoring the sprites on workstations with CRT displays, too. Which is to say that the images on the left are probably closer to what the artists themselves were seeing as they worked than the ones on the right.
Not to try to minimize the skill of the artists, but I think what you're seeing in these examples is as much due to display technology (both consumer and professional grade) being fundamentally different at the time than it is today, as it is due to anything else.