Some sprite i spent like an entire day on

[StarSock64]

I think the number of shades is fine, but I agree about hueshifting, and you could also use some more contrast. Like, the darkest orange and the darkest blues could really stand to be darker.

The outreached hand looks kind of pillowed, and it's a bit odd to me that all the curled fingers are equally well-lit. I think I would have put the pinky more in the shadows or something