Proper planning is key, both to ensure that you don't find yourself suddenly and unexpectedly needing 500 new images, and to find areas for optimization.
What's the value in having enemies have slight differences in appearance as they get close to death? Will players actually notice or care about this? In a 2D games, it probably makes a lot more economical sense to add some kind of procedural effect to show this, such as tinting them red, making them flash, or showing a bright red outline.
What's the value in having enemies have slight differences in appearance as they get close to death? Will players actually notice or care about this? In a 2D games, it probably makes a lot more economical sense to add some kind of procedural effect to show this, such as tinting them red, making them flash, or showing a bright red outline.