Jaw Dropping 2d games

[Tercoil]

Hey everyone, the other day i saw a topic about the best looking 2d games and many people said "someone should make a list" well i'm prepared to try and make that list but i'd like some help!!
As i do not know of every game in the world, and the ones i know i can't necessarily remember i need some suggestions of 2d games which you think look AWESOME!! Now they don't have to play the best, they just have to look the best!
And of course i already know of odins' sphere and things like that, so please give me some suggestions and i'll work on my list!

and maybe if its good enough, racketboy will post it as one of the features!!
=P

[Bootaaay]

I suggest 'Nanatsu Kaze no Shima Monogatari' - aka 'Tales of the Seven Wind Islands' - by Enix for the SEGA Saturn. It's a beautiful 2d adventure game and one of Enix's most overlooked titles, with a great water colour painted style.

Valkyrie Profile for the PSX is a beautiful 2d RPG, very nice sprites & art-direction. Also, SaGa Frontier II for the PSX has a beautiful water colour painted style too.

[the7k]

King of Fighters XII. Yeah yeah, it ain't out yet, but holy bahjesus. Keep in mind that aside from that game, I'm only mentioning the games I have actually played, and I'm always on a budget.

Odin Sphere: Considering Princess Crown is way out of my price range, this game was totally worth the $15 clearance price I found it for, art-wise at least. Seeing as you said you already knew of this, look into Princess Crown instead.
Legend of Mana: Another great title I picked up back when Gamestop was still selling preowned PS1 games. Fun by yourself or with a friend.
Prikura Daisakusen: Best looking Saturn game I can think of that I actually own.
Ninku: Not a stellar Saturn fighter, but the 2D sprites are almost Guilty Gear X quality; only problem with that is the scaling, which often pixelates them. Speaking of which...
Guilty Gear X: Love it or hate it, these were some of the most impressive graphics to hit the Dreamcast.
Street Fighter III: Yet another obvious choice for best looking 2D fighters.
Garou: Mark of the Wolves: Another obvious fighter.
Samurai Shodown 2, 4 Special: SS2, the Street Fighter II killer. Back in the day, after everybody got burnt out by the endless versions of SFII, we turned to this fresh-looking slash 'em up that looked really good for its time. SS4S is also beautiful, although some animations seem like the are missing some frames; thank god it has Cham Cham in it.
Real Bout Fatal Fury Special (Dominated Mind): Dominated Mind is the PS1 version; I actually own both the PS1 and Saturn versions. The whole Real Bout series looks great, as far as I'm concerned.
Vampire Savior/Darkstalkers III: I'm in love with the entire Darkstalkers/Vampire series, but Vampire Savior for the Saturn is a must have for any 2D fighter fan who doesn't demand that Ryu or Terry be in every fighter they play. The perfect combination of stylish character designs, off the wall special moves and fluid animation.

[Japhei]

Metal Slug 3
The Last Blade
Red Earth / Warzard
Guwange
Espgaluda
Dodonpachi Dai Ou Jou
Ketsui
Esprade
Battle Garegga
Chrono Trigger
Secret Of Mana
Alien Vs Predator
Armorred Warriors
Hokuto No Ken
Sengoku Basara X

[corn619]

Grimgrimoire is beautiful and overlooked

[PacoDG]

Braid is like living/breathing artwork.

[MrPopo]

I thought Final Fantasy VI had some fantastic enemy artwork. And many of the levels were cool looking as well.

[Pulsar_t]

Art is subjective by definition.. But here are my choices, not echoing those which were selected already

Aquaria


Sonic 3 - I love how this game has a unique look that's not quite cartoony, which the later 2D games fail to capture


Flink - Great 2D for a Megadrive game, unique look as well


Starcraft - Best looking 2D RTS to date


Cinematic platformer, including Heart of Darkness, Oddworld and Flashback


Earthworm Jim - some of the most unique 2D artwork in gaming


Gunboud


Alien Hominid - This game looks like a flash cartoon, which is hardly surprising since it started as a flash game!


The Neverhood - True it's prerendered stuff, but if given leeway the Neverhood has gorgeous claymation art!


Escape from Monkey Island - This game probably has the best 2D artwork from LucasArts


Three Dirty Dwarves - Large hand-drawn sprites and decent animation




I hope people here will mention at least a few indie and flash games, since I'm well acquainted with the majority of those. http://www.igf.com/02finalists.html << Some of the recent 2D artwork basically destroys all 16/32 bit graphics, but that's understandable considering the leaps in rendering, effects and all that photoshop trickery.

[HeavyMetalMe]

That's the second time I've heard of this Neverhood game, and it looks like a lot of fun. I'd vote for any Cave shmup.

[Pulsar_t]

That's the second time I've heard of this Neverhood game, and it looks like a lot of fun. I'd vote for any Cave shmup.

It is, if you like claymation stuff since visual design plays a major role in the point & click gameplay. But I found the sequel, Skullmonkeys, to be a mediocre platformer with pretty graphics.