>I always thought they were too overdesigned, as opposed to older games, which had just the right amount of complexity of sprites and backgrounds
Older platforms have tight technical limitations. Developers just couldn't show as many colors/sprites on a screen as they'd like to. The minimalist approach wasn't a choice. Everyone ditched that art style as soon as more advanced technologies took the market.

I think most modern games are influenced by the early 90's colorful Amiga/Atari ST art style. Flashback (1992) is a great example of such a game. SNES and GBA games are likely an inspiration as well.