Video game graphics in the HD era have been heavily focused on visual fidelity and ever-growing polygon counts. With the release of Octopath Traveler in 2018 however, Square Enix presented a modern take on pixel graphics that changed perspectives on what games could look like.
HD-2D, as it’s known, is an exciting visual aesthetic that takes pixel based graphics to the next level, rendering them with HD textures and lighting, as well as polygonal assets and backgrounds. While it’s only been used for 5 games so far, the aesthetic has a lot of potential, and presents a hopeful future for many sprite-based projects.
7 Earthbound/Mother
Considering Ness was one of the starting roster for the original Super Smash Bros, one would expect Earthbound to be a much bigger property for Nintendo. However, the series has somehow evaded proper appreciation in the west. Known as Mother in Japan, all 3 games are critical darlings, but the most beloved amongst them, Mother 3 has yet to receive an Earthbound localisation.
Fans have debated for years over why this is, but have received no solid answers. If Mother 3 should ever become Earthbound 2, perhaps a HD-2D rendition could help justify the wait. Or, if Mother 1/Earthbound Beginnings received a remake, HD-2D could help make it more palatable to modern audiences.
6 Chrono Trigger
With the surprise reveal of a Live A Live remake, Square Enix made it clear that they are not against using HD-2D to breathe new life into old games. Knowing this, there are a whole host of Square Enix owned games that could use an introduction to the new generation of gamers. Arguably one of the most deserving of these is Chrono Trigger.
A lot of people these days have likely never played Chrono Trigger, but in its heyday, it had a strong reputation, and is still considered one of the best JRPGs ever made. It also happens to have a similar, time-travel focused plot to Live A Live. Especially if voice acting is added, an HD-2D Chrono Trigger remake could easily become the definitive version of the game.
5 Digimon
Playing perpetual second fiddle to Pokemon in the monster catching genre, Digimon has often gone where its predecessor has. It has targeted home consoles way more however, with releases like Digimon World and Digimon Cyber Sleuth. In many ways, Digimon has managed to make better use of 3D technology than Pokemon has.
There is a small collection of pixel art Digimon games however, with titles such as Digimon World Dawn and Digimon World DS. Revisiting the pixel plane could make for another fun twist on the series, helping to represent the series' digital aesthetic in a high definition environment.
4 Fire Emblem
Most of the series on this list have suffered somewhat after switching to 3D assets. Fire Emblem however, has never really had that problem. It first explored the third dimension with FE Path of Radiance on the Gamecube. Long after most series had made the switch, but the swap went fairly well visually.
Fire Emblem has actually had its greatest success in the 3D plane, especially with FE Awakening. However, the series still has a deep history with pixel art. If another remake like FE Echoes: Shadows of Valentia was ever produced, HD-2D might be a great way to pay homage to the series' history.
3 Mega Man
Mega Man games are a lot more few and far between than they once were. The blue bomber unfortunately took the 3D era badly, never truly finding his feet in the new dimension. Recently, Mega Man 11 has managed to reinvigorate the series somewhat, with new gameplay elements, a classic Mega Man game loop, and a new art style using 3D assets on a 2D plane.
If the 3D era had never happened though, what would Mega Man games look like today? HD-2D so far hasn't been applied to any games with Mega Man's level of speed and action. Applying it to a new Mega Man X game might result in the most impressive HD-2D experience yet.
2 Final Fantasy
Being the massive franchise it is, Final Fantasy has already spanned several genres, consoles and art styles. The first 6 games have also received recent remasters that attempted to polish their visuals. However, many fans aren't pleased with the new sprite work.
It's quite bizarre that Square Enix chose not to use HD-2D for any of these remakes. They've already committed to an HD-2D Dragon Quest 3 remake, showing that they're willing to apply the style to their bigger franchises. An HD-2D remake of the first 6 Final Fantasy games seems like a no-brainer, but it would appear that Square might not want to let their biggest series use this new style quite yet.
1 Pokemon
While the series has been living in the realm of 3D since Pokemon X and Pokemon Y in 2012, many fans still yearn for the sprite art of Pokemon's first 5 generations. Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl received some backlash for their chibi, 3D interpretations of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl.
So, with remakes of Pokemon Black and White most likely in the pipeline, HD-2D could present a visual style that would satisfy fans. This would require a deviation from the series' current path, as it wouldn't be able to reuse established 3D assets. However, if the goal is capturing the magic of the original pixel art, the change is likely the best the series can hope for.