I'm glad this thread has been able to remind people of the potential of great pixel art as demonstrated by the master 2D artists of Capcom and SNK at their peak in the late 90's.
I still hope, from the bottom of my heart, that I will see a resurgence of this type of 2D art in games during my lifetime. I'm realistically doubtful, but also passionately hopeful.
One thing that always confused me, however, is how much of a step back Third Strike's backgrounds were from the first two Street Fighter III entries.
The KOF series wins in terms of sheer spectacle (day/night cycles, crowds of people going apeshit... etc.), while I think the Last Blade games had some of the most atmospheric backgrounds.