Retro Pixel Palette Reference
Hardware palettes that defined the pixel-art era — NES, Game Boy, C64, PICO-8, and more. Each entry breaks down the palette's history and how to use it for cursor design today.
NES (1985)
The 25-color rainbow that defined the third console generation.
1985 · 6 colors →
Game Boy DMG (1989)
Four shades of LCD green and a cult following four decades long.
1989 · 4 colors →
Commodore 64 (1982)
Sixteen muddy, lovable home-computer colors.
1982 · 16 colors →
PICO-8
The modern fantasy-console palette that became a default.
2014 · 16 colors →
Synthwave Neon
Hot magenta, cyan, and the deep navy of an outrun horizon.
2013– · 6 colors →
MS-DOS CGA / Phosphor
Four colors, terrible choices, every one of them iconic.
1981 · 6 colors →
ZX Spectrum (1982)
Bright/dark pairs and the world's most divisive attribute clash.
1982 · 8 colors →
Apple II HGR
Six colors that exist mostly because of NTSC artifact magic.
1977 · 6 colors →