Artist reimagines classic NES sprites at 5 times their size

The NES wasn’t exactly a powerhouse, but developers used what the system offered in order to create iconic artwork that inspired the future of franchises to this very day. Often times our imagination filled in the missing spots, which took something rather rudimentary and made it magical.

As the years rolled on, technology in game hardware improved. Developers could make bigger, more enhanced sprites that allowed them to flesh out their early NES ideas. Every company from Nintendo to Capcom got to flex their artistic skills and showcase just what they were trying to convey to players in the 8-bit days, filling in those missing spots from years ago.

What if we went all the way back to those classic NES sprites and zoomed in on them to see more detail? We know what developers had in mind thanks to subsequent platforms with enhanced hardware, but what would those enhancements be like if devs stayed within the NES’ limits? We’ll never actually know the answer to that, but one artist has decided to try their hand at the idea anyway.

Talented pixel artist Brandon James Greer has decided to take on this fun exercise to imagine what NES sprites might have looked like if we got to zoom in extra close for a once-over. Again, this is just a bit of fun for BJG to test his artistic skills, but it’s an extremely entertaining exercise nonetheless!