I've heard that a lot or various 8/16-bit platforms, and of sprites/backgrounds being updated at different rates too.I've heard that a lot or various 8/16-bit platforms, and of sprites/backgrounds being updated at different rates too.

Very interesting. Thanks! A lot of old games seem to run at 50fps with no real issue throwing sizeable sprites around the screen. Robocop seems to manage smooth scrolling too, which suggests the whole background is being refreshed every frame (stack probably) as well as sprite rendering.