3 Classic 2D Animation Video Games That Set New Art Standards

Many mainstream animation studios have changed to digital techniques, but gaming developers continue to challenge hand-drawn artistry, offering exceptional 2d animation services to create timeless experiences.

The numbers reveal an impressive story about 2D video games' lasting appeal. Super Mario World won people's hearts with over 20.6 million copies sold. Tetris ruled the Game Boy era with 35 million units. These games stand as artistic milestones that helped establish 2D gaming as a legitimate art form.

Cuphead's hand-drawn frames capture the 1930s animation style perfectly. Dragon's Lair brought a groundbreaking cinematic approach to gaming. These remarkable titles showcase the best 2D games ever created. Developers turned technical limitations into creative triumphs and set new standards for visual storytelling in gaming.

Studio MDHR's Cuphead stands as remarkable evidence of traditional animation craftsmanship in modern gaming. The game's unique art style brings the golden age of 1930s animation back to life through careful hand-drawn techniques.

The creative process behind Cuphead's visuals shows a steadfast dedication to authenticity. Each frame starts as a pencil drawing on animation paper and artists ink it by hand onto fresh sheets. The game features an incredible 50,000 frames of hand-drawn animation. This achievement earned it a Guinness World Record for "Most Hand-Drawn Frames of Animation in a Video Game Production".

A single animation sequence needs 32-100 frames based on its complexity. Boss characters need 800 to 1,400 frames each. The main characters Cuphead and Mugman use about 1,200 frames each. Artists spend roughly 25 minutes to create just one frame.

Studio MDHR found much inspiration from Max and Dave Fleischer's unique animation style of the 1930s. The developers carefully studied five Fleischer Studios cartoons: 'Swing You Sinners' (1930), '@@@@'s Initiation' (1931), 'Minnie the Moocher' (1932), and 'Cobweb Hotel' (1936).

The team analyzed these vintage film elements thoroughly:

● Line weights and ink thickness variations

● Pen taper changes between frames

● Authentic film grain and scratches

● Slightly blurred focus effects

Cuphead's unique framerate implementation stands as one of its biggest technical achievements. The game runs at 60 frames per second for responsive controls. Yet it keeps animations at 24 frames per second to capture the authentic cinematic feel of 1930s cartoons. The team also struggled to find qualified artists. Only five animators in North America had the skills to animate using traditional pencil and paper techniques.

Cuphead's soaring win has sparked new interest in traditional animation techniques. The development process needed innovative solutions, like using Toonboom Harmony for scanning and peg-hole registration. The team first thought about hand-painting each cell. They ended up choosing digital coloring after they found no real difference in the final output.

The project grew substantially during development. Paper orders went way beyond original estimates. This unexpected growth led to more complex boss battles and platforming sections. The final game had triple the content compared to its 2012 version.

The game's success showed that traditional animation techniques still work well in modern game development. It has inspired new artists to explore classic animation methods. This could lead to more interest in hand-drawn animation education and practice.

SNK's Metal Slug series stands out as a pixel art animation masterpiece that set new standards in gaming. The series got a loyal fanbase thanks to its unique visual style and witty humor.

SNK's team became skilled at creating detailed sprites through three main elements: shaping, coloring, and shading. Characters had bigger heads and slightly oversized vehicles that created a unique visual style.

Two elements made the series excel at showing movement. A wide color palette allowed high detail levels, and precise framerate control made animations smooth. Instead of changing large silhouettes, animators made small pixel changes within existing outlines.

The team created a new sub-pixel animation method. Outlines became lighter as body parts moved forward and darker as they moved back. This created depth without moving sprite positions. Such attention to detail made movements look natural despite the tech limits of that time.

Metal Slug's art style broke away from other games of its time. The artists didn't follow fighting games that used attractive characters. They thought over and made unique, unusual designs. They wanted to be different in a time when most characters looked similar.

The series brought several new artistic elements:

● Curved shapes in mechanical designs that looked sleek and refined

● Smart use of warped perspective in 3/4 views for vehicles

● Flexible color palettes they could reuse across different sprite parts

Backgrounds got just as much attention, with rich details that looked like paintings. This detailed approach to design made Metal Slug the gold standard for pixel art in gaming.

Smart techniques helped create smooth movement. To cite an instance, see how they split character sprites into upper and lower body parts. This let them animate different actions like running and shooting at once. Characters could switch between combat moves smoothly because of this modular approach.

Shading techniques brought the sprites to life. Artists kept simple shading near facial features to keep them clear. All the same, they used complex shading on clothes and mechanical parts. Characters stayed easy to recognize even during fast-paced action.

The team showed their pixel art skills through:

● Perfect color changes within sprite outlines

● Smart placement of light sources on mechanical designs

● Adding dents and marks to give larger objects more depth

These methods inspired future developers. Modern games try to recreate Metal Slug's distinctive style. The series showed that pixel art could achieve amazing detail and smoothness when done right, even with technical limits.

Ubisoft Montpellier's trailblazing UbiArt Framework altered the map of 2D game development with Rayman Legends. Small creative teams used this innovative engine to produce high-quality graphics and gameplay quickly.

Michel Ancel and five developers created UbiArt Framework to simplify the artistic process in game development. Their original tool grew into a sophisticated engine that could run games at 60 frames per second in resolutions beyond 1080p.

The engine's greatest strength comes from its artist-friendly design. Artists can drop their concept art directly into the game. This preserves their original vision without complex technical steps. Quick prototyping and iteration became possible, which changed how developers create 2D games.

UbiArt's innovative system keeps hand-drawn artwork authentic throughout development. The engine splits content into three key layers:

● Level design layer for gameplay elements

● Art layer for visual components

● Lighting system for dynamic environmental effects

Artists no longer need extensive skinning or rigging procedures. Animators can turn drawings into animated characters and upgrade assets without lengthy technical steps.

The engine packs several advanced animation features:

● Additive animation for gameplay requirements

● Inverse kinematics for fluid character movement

● Polyline collision systems for precise interaction

The engine's texture optimization system stands out as a technical achievement. Multiple character assets - different arms, legs, and bodies - combine into single, space-optimized textures automatically. Games run smoothly without losing visual quality.

Rayman Legends brought innovative musical levels that showed UbiArt's true potential. Each main gallery has a unique music level. "Living Dead Party" focuses entirely on these rhythmic experiences. The game features popular song adaptations:

● Castle Rock (based on "Black Betty" by Ram Jam)

● Mariachi Madness (featuring "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor)

● Dragon Slayer (incorporating "Antisocial" by Trust)

These musical stages sync animation with rhythm perfectly and create smooth interactions between gameplay and music. Christophe Heral composed original music while adapting classic songs for these levels.

The framework helped make big technical improvements in Rayman Legends through online features, better lighting, touchscreen gameplay, and 3D bosses. These upgrades showed that UbiArt could grow way beyond its reach and influence.

UbiArt struggled to gain widespread use despite its success. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot noted in 2019 that developers found the tools "difficult to use". The framework still shapes game development today, especially in Just Dance titles and mobile games.