You're missing the fact that many if not most 8/16-bit devs did not make their art on graph paper but on PCs comparable to their target platform. They did that

You're missing the fact that many if not most 8/16-bit devs did not make their art on graph paper but on PCs comparable to their target platform. They did that because it was quicker and easier, not out of a specific intention to make better-fitting art, but it had that effect anyway. The pics of Dracula and FF6 Siren from the post--there's no way someone plotted those on graph paper before importing them with no changes.