Turtwig's head is tilted at a pretty awkward angle.
Staraptor just doesn't look as intimidating from this angle. It just looks more disinterested, which I suppose could be taken as a sign that it doesn't think you're a worthy opponent, but DP's "Im'a tear you to shreds" sprite is way better in my opinion.
I misinterpreted Roserade's Platinum sprite for a really long time. It looks like it has a big, toothy grin going from its blue rose up to the very edge of its face. I still have to look hard to see the sprite for what it actually is, a mask.
Derp.
"Captain, we're losing altitude fast!"
When I think of forced Platinum poses, Shellos-West is always the first one that springs to mind. It just looks so... unnatural leaning back with its mouth open like that. Compare it to its DP sprite:
Leaning forward, mouth closed, inquisitive look... it looks like it's curious about you. So adorable!
Nope, nothing suggestive here.
Then again, I suppose every Lopunny sprite has the same problem.
Those eyes... Why, Game Freak, WHY?
Gengar just doesn't look as cool standing in this pose. Not to mention its ears being way too small.
I suppose Pikachu is still cute no matter how it's sprited, but to me this one just doesn't have the same charm as the DP and HGSS ones.
DP sprite: Looks like a little kid fighting his heart out, exactly what Riolu is. One of my favourite sprites (Nope, definitely no bias at all)
Platinum sprite: Umm... dancing? Doing the can-can maybe?
Dear Arceus. This sprite. Hippowdon has been talked about on the last page, so I won't go into it too deeply, but... just, ugh. The DP sprite looks like something that you do
not want to mess with - it's opening its mouth and showing off its jaws just to show how powerful it is! Platinum's sprite? It looks like it wants to take a nap. When I first fought Bertha in DP, I was legitimately intimidated by this thing, even though I had a Torterra. Platinum just didn't convey the same feeling.
This isn't a bad pose per se - in fact, it's pretty cool. It just looks really weird since Weavile's right arm is coming straight at you, so you don't see it at all. Its head is also tilted at sort of an odd angle.
That is NOT how dragonflies normally fly around.
When I think of Froslass, I think of many things. Cold, silent, mysterious. Something you might meet on a dark winter night. Remember that anime episode where Ash and co. meet a Froslass in a frozen mountain range that brings them to a nice warm lodge, but then it's revealed to all be an illusion? Yeah, something like that. Its DP sprite models this perfectly. Its Platinum sprite, however, does not; it looks almost like it's dancing. Platinum's sprite also ruins the illusion that its arms are attached to its "body" instead of its head.
Giratina may be Platinum's mascot, but something about this sprite just seems off. I think it's the positions of the claws on the wings.