Favorite and least favorite backsprites from the 2D games?

[shrinkray]

something i think about when i'm replaying the 2d games is that even though it's tempting to use a pokemon because it looks cute when you see it in the wild, if you're actually battling with it, you'll only really see its backsprite.
i think mawile's are fun since it's looking at you, and kangaskhan's gen 2 and 3 backsprites are really cute:

i also always liked piplup's backsprite:

i can't think of any i really dislike off the top of my head. a lot of gen 1 sprites are obviously weird and inaccurate, but then i feel like since all of them look kind of bad, they stick out less and you just kind of get used to it.
i'm curious if anyone else has any backsprites that stand out to them

 

[terashards]

ooh heck yeah fun thread topic

the absolute first thing to come to mind is the animated backsprite for wooper in gen 4 because it looks back at you before facing forward which is maybe the cutest thing ever

i could not find any good pictures on google that weren't blurry so here are my own screencaps. the first wooper i could find in my PC was my shiny one from the great marsh

alternatively, i also thought of the wailmer backsprite in gen 3 just because of how incredibly awful it is. i mean look at this:

thankfully they did fix it later in gen 4:

lastly i also thought of the funny difference between the HGSS backsprite for cyndaquil and the DPPT backsprite for cyndaquil respectively:

i didn't have any idea that the cyndaquil backsprite in DPPT looked more hunched with a smaller head like that until very recently because i had previously only ever used cyndaquil in HGSS in terms of gen 4. they're both fine but if i'm being honest i prefer the DPPT one, i think its proportions and stance are cuter lol
edit: i also just realized cyndaquil is the only one to get a big overhaul like this between sinnoh and HGSS. so strange. chikorita and totodile look the same in both

i guess this ended up being more of a "backsprites i think are interesting for some reason" post than my "favorite and least favorite backsprites" but that's okay i think

 

[da man/man]

*Local spriter sees "sprite" in the thread title. Goes insane

I could go through and rate, every. single. backsprite, and not be tired of it omg.

I think these three backsprites do terrific jobs of showing what these Pokemon actually look like from behind (trust me it's not easy) unlike say...

This crime against Ho-oh... How do we take one of the most majestic Pokemon... and turn it into this. I know gen 2 sprites aren't the best, but like please, anything but this.
(and I know Ho-oh has a complex design, but like every other sprite nails it)

We also have some of the most expressive backsprites out there...

And ones like these that kinda just fall flat.
I could go on and on about this, but these are the ones that came off the top of my head.

 

[shrinkray]

lastly i also thought of the funny difference between the HGSS backsprite for cyndaquil and the DPPT backsprite for cyndaquil respectively:
View attachment 232573View attachment 232574
i didn't have any idea that the cyndaquil backsprite in DPPT looked more hunched with a smaller head like that until very recently because i had previously only ever used cyndaquil in HGSS in terms of gen 4. they're both fine but if i'm being honest i prefer the DPPT one, i think its proportions and stance are cuter lol
edit: i also just realized cyndaquil is the only one to get a big overhaul like this between sinnoh and HGSS. so strange. chikorita and totodile look the same in both

that is really interesting, i didn't know about that either. cyndaquil in hgss really has more "smiley" eyes like ^_^ than the normal squinty eyes
the animations are a big part of the charm of the backsprites too, but i don't know if there's any place to easily see all of them. but noctowl also turns its head to look at the player when you send it out. i wonder how many pokemon do that?

 

[terashards]

that is really interesting, i didn't know about that either. cyndaquil in hgss really has more "smiley" eyes like ^_^ than the normal squinty eyes
the animations are a big part of the charm of the backsprites too, but i don't know if there's any place to easily see all of them. but noctowl also turns its head to look at the player when you send it out. i wonder how many pokemon do that?

i tried looking up a list of all the animated backsprites but was surprised to realize i couldn't find them for gen 4 :/ if anyone has better success in searching for those let us know though...

This crime against Ho-oh... How do we take one of the most majestic Pokemon... and turn it into this. I know gen 2 sprites aren't the best, but like please, anything but this.

are the gen 2 backsprites really that bad? there's a lot of them i like! and in regards to ho-oh... uh... all of them look like that until gen 5 so it's definitely not a gen 2 specific issue

i think a lot of 2D pokemon backsprites have the issue of the artist not knowing how to fit enough pokemon details in the often rather small space allotted. you know, while also staying "zoomed in" to convey a sense of distance on the field. i definitely think ho-oh could be better but i'd struggle to make room for all of ho-oh's detail without obscuring its head/face as well. all things considered i think it's alright; i'm personally a fan of the screaming expression lol. not that i'm saying things you don't already know as a pixel artist but i'm just talking

btw hard agree with the vaporeon and flygon sprites you posted. bangers

 

[da man/man]

are the gen 2 backsprites really that bad? there's a lot of them i like! and in regards to ho-oh... uh... all of them look like that until gen 5 so it's definitely not a gen 2 specific issue

i think a lot of 2D pokemon backsprites have the issue of the artist not knowing how to fit enough pokemon details in the often rather small space allotted. you know, while also staying "zoomed in" to convey a sense of distance on the field. i definitely think ho-oh could be better but i'd struggle to make room for all of ho-oh's detail without obscuring its head/face as well. all things considered i think it's alright; i'm personally a fan of the screaming expression lol. not that i'm saying things you don't already know as a pixel artist but i'm just talking

btw hard agree with the vaporeon and flygon sprites you posted. bangers

I feel like the Ho-oh backsprite just focuses on the wrong parts of it imo.

Just looking at them it's a very clear evolution of the same sprite. But it's more defined traits in gens 3 and 4 (the tongue and eyes) shine through. It just doesn't look like it's other art at the time would suggest:

(hope you don't mind the front sprite LOL) Its eyes and tongue look a lot better here. And it just looks more legendary here, while the backsprite just looks uglier to me. (the screaming expression isn't the problem, I kinda love it tbh)

And while gen 2 sprites have many of the issues gen 1 sprites had (design discrepancies, and other difficulties that come with just starting out) that's not to say we don't have some great gen 2 ones too!

Totodile, and Celebi, must be protected at all costs.

(And yeah, I think Vaporeon and Flygon, have my favorite gen 5 and gen 4 sprite respectively!)

 

[shrinkray]

And while gen 2 sprites have many of the issues gen 1 sprites had (design discrepancies, and other difficulties that come with just starting out) that's not to say we don't have some great gen 2 ones too!
View attachment 232594View attachment 232595View attachment 232596View attachment 232597
Totodile, and Celebi, must be protected at all costs.

(And yeah, I think Vaporeon and Flygon, have my favorite gen 5 and gen 4 sprite respectively!)

the celebi one is really nice! the angle and pose are cool. it feels fitting for a mythical pokemon
speaking of gen 2 backsprites, it's kind of funny how ones like togepi show the whole body, too

i guess it shows how small they are. it's inconsistent with the other backsprites, but it's kind of cute

 

[skynerel]

Azurill, Marill, Azumarill, Rhydon and Pelipper have some of my favorite back sprites, specifically from gen 3. Sometimes I wanted to use Golem, but it kinda bothered me that we only see a bit of its rock and hand, but I don’t think I can ask for much given its anatomy lol so my point gets cancelled right there. I’m also not a big fan of Ho-Oh, they could’ve definitely draw its back sprite differently, with a bigger emphasis on its wings and its beak shut up.