New here looking for C&C

[GrooveMan.exe]

What we're saying is that you could represent the same effect just as efficiently using fewer colours. If you pulled apart that SNK Ken, you'd probably find that some o the colours are used in other places on the sprite to keep the colour limit down.

In spritework that actually shows up in games, attention is paid to the colour count so the sprite can actually be rendered properly. While it's not necessary to do so these days, it's a show of legitimate skill to keep a low colour count without it feeling like it.