Yeah, there were pretty much two types of pixel art in games. Those made for TV-based games up to PS1 which are expected to be seen through CRT blur so they rely more on complex gradients and precise use of contrast. And those made for LCD portables, which were always expected to be sharp and clear and tend to lean more into a blocky style. Modern indie games are largely an evolution of the latter.
Symphony of the Night is one of the games that took the most advantage from CRTs. In them it creates an illusion of additional details. Without them it looks grainy and the gradients don’t come together right.
They hoped that it would make it so kids and pets wouldn’t put it in their mouths, but then we grown-ass adults got stupid and started doing that.
At least people stopped licking the cartridges
It still doesn’t feel like anything on the XBox 360 and maybe even the PS2 is retro in the same way that older games are retro. In the Xbox 360 era games had already settled into conventions we are using to this day.
Hell, GTA 5 and Skyrim have been released for the XBox 360 and they keep being rereleased remastered with no significant gameplay changes to this day.
But SNES? PS1? That’s a whole different world.
Depends on the game but I don’t think people needed high-end TVs to notice the difference. When I was a kid and I first tried emulation, I remember noticing how some games looked weird and blocky on PC, even though my CRT TV was an extra blurry hand-me-down.