I also think that Axel’s ready stance at the beginning of his fight greatly parallels with the Assassins’ idle, showing how he looks too relaxed but his hands are skillfully moving, and the hunch over. Very sweet
@@JDubsAnimation Not sure if it's as visible in the normal vs Axel fights, but you definitely see it at the start of the fight in Betwixt where Axel functions as a temporary ally. At the start of that fight, he's looking straight down, hunched, arms hanging limp-- you'd think he was depressed or exhausted if you hadn't seen his minions pull the same nonsense.
@@JudexSerafus He is actually exhausted in that specific fight! If you observe him, he stops fighting every so often to breathe laboriously, and he sounds like he’s in pain. The reason for this is shown in the manga-he was actually stabbed in the side by Saïx beforehand, and is actively fighting off death.
I feel like this also says a lot about their leadership. It implies that Axle took far more hands-on training of his own Nobodies (even lesser nobodies are shown to be sapient.) While Xigbar took a 'good enough' approach to his own lackies. Showing both their dedication to the Org (for Xigbar it's a stop gap between both his own and Xehanorts goals.) Axle only turning on them after a long and increasing series of unbearable circumstances (having been loyal throughout CoM and 358/2.) And their own style of doing things, Xigbar is handsoff until he needs to act (an observer for MoM.) Axle trains his proteges more thoroughly, similar to how invested in Roxas' training he got.
Axel wasn't really as loyal to the Org as you remember. He and Saix were planning to betray them all from the getgo. Obviously that didn't pan out as Saix never found anything concrete on Subject X, but Axel was never really a full on loyalist to the Organization, he just played the part in front of those he needed to. Hell even in COM he kills Zexion, an actual loyalist to the Organization just to help Saix climb the ranks.
I liked this and thought of my own observations : The snipers pulsate like a heartbeat, ironic since they completely lack a heart at all, but i feel like a heartbeat is kind of synonymous with concentration, like you could easily see a game having a heartbeat sound whilst you aim down a sniper rifle, tense and trying to be ready for the perfect moment. But another thing, is the way nobodies move, therye so floppy and flaily that it feels like they have no bones, or... well, anything. Nobodies are inherently empty, and visually, they look empty too. I really feel like nobodies are floaty and wavy because theyre hollow inside physically, lacking anything because theyre made nearly entirely out of clothing and fabric type materials.
You know diggin into the philosophy of Hearts vs Nobodies vs Heartless, you realize that somehow Kingdom Hearts is a better representation of Jungian archetypes than Persona...
I really liked warching this vid, I love the enemy designs in Kingdom Hearts but I have to admit I have not though much about the animation of them before - while playing they just seem so natural that it is easy to forget all the though and work that went into it (the curse of good work!). One thing this remaind me how I really like about Kingdom Hearts design that it doesnt go for "realistic", it exaggerate to get things across (like the inflated arm of the sniper, its been a while since i played KH2 but I remember that movement!) and I miss that in a lot of other games. Thanks for making and sharing this vid!
Thank you!! :D Yeah, there's a ton of great animation in KH that's easy to miss! I'm happy to get a chance to show off some of it in a video. And I agree, the exaggeration is fun and adds so much to the characters!
Oh I LOOOOVE this!! I found your video cos I got super nostalgic for how great the Nobody animations are, but I could never put my finger on WHY they were so distinctive. Your analysis is amazing, it really put words to it! I never conciously realized how the Heartless have such heartful animations. And the Nobodies being twisty-turny empty shells of fabric was a genius idea of how to portray less personality without the animations being any less awesome! Thank you for opening my eyes to even more reasons to adore these monster designs, and admire the animators who brought them to life!
Aw thank you so much!! YES I love how they took the idea of emotionless husks and made animations that were eye-catching yet still suit the vibe! I'm glad you enjoyed the video! :D
I love you for making this. I was so interested in the assasins and I'm referencing them in a story I want to make (and hopefully webtoon) about monsters that swim in the earth with blade like arms etc. this is cool
Aw thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it! :D The Assassin's way of moving is so fun and unique. I hope your story goes well!! (And webtoon! That's really cool!)
This video is brilliant. I've played Kingdom Hearts 2 dozens of times and have never paid close attention to the enemies' animations. Watching the Sniper crawl through the air blew my mind. This game is absolutely dripping with style and attention to detail. Thank you for putting together this excellent breakdown!
Aw no problem, I'm really glad you like it! Thanks so much! And I agree, the style and detail is incredible. It was so easy to miss the little things because the gameplay is so fast-paced! With every enemy I look into, I get more and more impressed and amazed haha.
Great analysis! I must've played KH2 at least ten times back in the day, but I never even noticed small little details like this. Makes you appreciate a game even more!
Also oh man this makes me want to replay the HD remasters of the games, because as a kid I legitimately never noticed all those strange and creative details about the Sniper's animations. It used to be one of my least favourites and "most normal" animations, because at the terrible screen size and resolution of original PS2 it just blurred together into a nondescript tumbleweed of pieces. It's a huge shame that such a well thought out misdirect attack just completely didn't work because I couldn't even see it. That's ADORABLE that it recoils from a move that doesn't even hit that hard! I wonder if it's intended to be the Sniper purposefully faking you out, or if its empty shell body genuinely reacts worse to recoil cos it lacks the weight of bones and organs...? Poor thing!
Me too! As a kid I never noticed these things. I always thought of the Nobodies as floopy and SCARY lol. I love your theories about the recoil! I think maybe it's the first thing, doing it on purpose, because I feel like the Sniper's a bit of a show off haha. Having a stronger reaction to recoil due to it's odd body makes a ton of sense as well!
@@JDubsAnimation If so, then it'd be super interesting that the Nobodies are still showing their own individual personalities, despite also having such puppet-on-a-string animation styles. Makes me wonder if it was intentional foreshadowing that it isn't true that Nobodies can't have a heart...? Or perhaps its simply the weaker Nobodies mimicking the personality of the Organization member who rules over them, but they can't get the details perfect so it becomes an exaggerated pantomime? (I prefer the more sympathetic theory though!)
who in square enix/disney animate these things? they are so facinating to watch them move. their squishiness is not something very common to see in 3D animation.. even less in 3d game animation
I wanna know too! And I agree, the Nobodies are certainly some of the most interesting 3d creatures I've ever studied. These animators really pushed the limits!
I do, but I tend to sit quite close to the mic due to my quiet voice, so I'll be sure to keep this in mind for next time. Thank you for letting me know!
hey, this is a really cool indepth video! always annoying nitpick thou- nobodies don't have bodies, yen sid explains that himself in the beginning of KH2- a nobody is what's left behind when the body fades from existance. there might be some leway with the human-form nobodies, but the less nobodies are definitely just wandering souls.
Thank you! :D I appreciate you pointing this out! Although I don't doubt Yensid, at least two of Ansem's reports say the Nobodies are made directly from a body and a soul (reports 7 and 10). But maybe "body" could be more of a loose term?
i think he's meaning more that a body must be present at the time of creation- but it doesn't linger long, or he's speaking about human-shaped nobodies like the organization members- but you're right, i suppose there's no true answer. either ansem is misinformed/lying, or yen sid is XD
@@unsealey Ah true, that could be it! lol Like the body and soul are ingredients, but they're not necessarily apart of the end result. Also good point about the organization members- maybe they retain more of the "body" than others.
@@JDubsAnimation I think that would explain why they just have animations entirely like a regular human, without any of the squish-and-stretch. I always felt that was a bit wasted potential though as seeing that kind of twisting on an actual human-looking creature would be even scarier than on an abstract squiggly fella. Like can you imagine how wild it'd be if Axel suddenly stretched his arms out like the Assassins?? I would absolutely throw the controller across the room, that'd be terrifying XD (Awesome tho!!!)
I also think that Axel’s ready stance at the beginning of his fight greatly parallels with the Assassins’ idle, showing how he looks too relaxed but his hands are skillfully moving, and the hunch over. Very sweet
Ooh you're right!!
@@JDubsAnimation Not sure if it's as visible in the normal vs Axel fights, but you definitely see it at the start of the fight in Betwixt where Axel functions as a temporary ally.
At the start of that fight, he's looking straight down, hunched, arms hanging limp-- you'd think he was depressed or exhausted if you hadn't seen his minions pull the same nonsense.
@@JudexSerafus He is actually exhausted in that specific fight! If you observe him, he stops fighting every so often to breathe laboriously, and he sounds like he’s in pain. The reason for this is shown in the manga-he was actually stabbed in the side by Saïx beforehand, and is actively fighting off death.
I feel like this also says a lot about their leadership. It implies that Axle took far more hands-on training of his own Nobodies (even lesser nobodies are shown to be sapient.) While Xigbar took a 'good enough' approach to his own lackies.
Showing both their dedication to the Org (for Xigbar it's a stop gap between both his own and Xehanorts goals.) Axle only turning on them after a long and increasing series of unbearable circumstances (having been loyal throughout CoM and 358/2.) And their own style of doing things, Xigbar is handsoff until he needs to act (an observer for MoM.) Axle trains his proteges more thoroughly, similar to how invested in Roxas' training he got.
Axel wasn't really as loyal to the Org as you remember. He and Saix were planning to betray them all from the getgo. Obviously that didn't pan out as Saix never found anything concrete on Subject X, but Axel was never really a full on loyalist to the Organization, he just played the part in front of those he needed to. Hell even in COM he kills Zexion, an actual loyalist to the Organization just to help Saix climb the ranks.
I liked this and thought of my own observations :
The snipers pulsate like a heartbeat, ironic since they completely lack a heart at all, but i feel like a heartbeat is kind of synonymous with concentration, like you could easily see a game having a heartbeat sound whilst you aim down a sniper rifle, tense and trying to be ready for the perfect moment. But another thing, is the way nobodies move, therye so floppy and flaily that it feels like they have no bones, or... well, anything. Nobodies are inherently empty, and visually, they look empty too. I really feel like nobodies are floaty and wavy because theyre hollow inside physically, lacking anything because theyre made nearly entirely out of clothing and fabric type materials.
I love the idea that Nobodies' designs and movements are just like empty sets of clothing that can stretch and wrinkle at will
You know diggin into the philosophy of Hearts vs Nobodies vs Heartless, you realize that somehow Kingdom Hearts is a better representation of Jungian archetypes than Persona...
These are so great! I would love more breakdowns about the kh enemies. There’s so much to them I never noticed so thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much!! :D The enemies are so much fun to watch, I definitely want to do more of these!
Agreed
I really liked warching this vid, I love the enemy designs in Kingdom Hearts but I have to admit I have not though much about the animation of them before - while playing they just seem so natural that it is easy to forget all the though and work that went into it (the curse of good work!).
One thing this remaind me how I really like about Kingdom Hearts design that it doesnt go for "realistic", it exaggerate to get things across (like the inflated arm of the sniper, its been a while since i played KH2 but I remember that movement!) and I miss that in a lot of other games.
Thanks for making and sharing this vid!
Thank you!! :D
Yeah, there's a ton of great animation in KH that's easy to miss! I'm happy to get a chance to show off some of it in a video. And I agree, the exaggeration is fun and adds so much to the characters!
Sorry this took so long to come out! (T_T) I hope you enjoy it!
Oh I LOOOOVE this!! I found your video cos I got super nostalgic for how great the Nobody animations are, but I could never put my finger on WHY they were so distinctive. Your analysis is amazing, it really put words to it! I never conciously realized how the Heartless have such heartful animations. And the Nobodies being twisty-turny empty shells of fabric was a genius idea of how to portray less personality without the animations being any less awesome! Thank you for opening my eyes to even more reasons to adore these monster designs, and admire the animators who brought them to life!
Aw thank you so much!! YES I love how they took the idea of emotionless husks and made animations that were eye-catching yet still suit the vibe! I'm glad you enjoyed the video! :D
Very in depth! I've always loved the way nobodies pulsate and stretch around!
I love you for making this. I was so interested in the assasins and I'm referencing them in a story I want to make (and hopefully webtoon) about monsters that swim in the earth with blade like arms etc. this is cool
Aw thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it! :D The Assassin's way of moving is so fun and unique. I hope your story goes well!! (And webtoon! That's really cool!)
This video is brilliant. I've played Kingdom Hearts 2 dozens of times and have never paid close attention to the enemies' animations. Watching the Sniper crawl through the air blew my mind. This game is absolutely dripping with style and attention to detail. Thank you for putting together this excellent breakdown!
Aw no problem, I'm really glad you like it! Thanks so much! And I agree, the style and detail is incredible. It was so easy to miss the little things because the gameplay is so fast-paced! With every enemy I look into, I get more and more impressed and amazed haha.
i like the Sniper's fake heartbeat
That’s was so cool! I never paid attention to all those details before
Great analysis! I must've played KH2 at least ten times back in the day, but I never even noticed small little details like this. Makes you appreciate a game even more!
Thank you! And I agree for sure, there's so much extra detail in everything!
This was amazing. I would love to see this analysis for every enemy in kh
Heartless are like puppets. Nobodies are empty husks trying to "be" something. They forms themselves into shapes and object when parried.
These are my new favorite things, and I love how you made them into Shorts :DDD
Omg I randomly searched for kh analysis and this is so good!
Oh thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it, thanks for stopping by! :D
Do you plan on eventually covering all of the Heartless, Nobodies, and Unversed?
I don't have any super concrete plans right now tbh, but I want to try and do all the Heartless and Nobodies at least!
Huh... I though of snipers movement more like swimming but it's crawling on an intangible wall. Nice...
Also interestingly, at 9:40 when you manage to block the Assassin's attack, it curls up in the shape of Axel's weapons.
Also oh man this makes me want to replay the HD remasters of the games, because as a kid I legitimately never noticed all those strange and creative details about the Sniper's animations. It used to be one of my least favourites and "most normal" animations, because at the terrible screen size and resolution of original PS2 it just blurred together into a nondescript tumbleweed of pieces. It's a huge shame that such a well thought out misdirect attack just completely didn't work because I couldn't even see it. That's ADORABLE that it recoils from a move that doesn't even hit that hard! I wonder if it's intended to be the Sniper purposefully faking you out, or if its empty shell body genuinely reacts worse to recoil cos it lacks the weight of bones and organs...? Poor thing!
Me too! As a kid I never noticed these things. I always thought of the Nobodies as floopy and SCARY lol. I love your theories about the recoil! I think maybe it's the first thing, doing it on purpose, because I feel like the Sniper's a bit of a show off haha. Having a stronger reaction to recoil due to it's odd body makes a ton of sense as well!
@@JDubsAnimation If so, then it'd be super interesting that the Nobodies are still showing their own individual personalities, despite also having such puppet-on-a-string animation styles. Makes me wonder if it was intentional foreshadowing that it isn't true that Nobodies can't have a heart...? Or perhaps its simply the weaker Nobodies mimicking the personality of the Organization member who rules over them, but they can't get the details perfect so it becomes an exaggerated pantomime? (I prefer the more sympathetic theory though!)
hope you do a part 2!
who in square enix/disney animate these things? they are so facinating to watch them move.
their squishiness is not something very common to see in 3D animation.. even less in 3d game animation
I wanna know too! And I agree, the Nobodies are certainly some of the most interesting 3d creatures I've ever studied. These animators really pushed the limits!
Really great content could you Analyse the attack Animation of the playable characters i think theire is alot of Personality integrated there
Thank you! And definitely! I'm working on a script about Sora next. :D
@@JDubsAnimation thank you theres so much bouncyness in his attack patterns like He has fun during combat wich perfectly fits his character
I cannot believe the sniper's stagger is not an animation error
asmr voice
shout out to dragoon nobodies
The mic is a little close to your mouth. Do you have a pop filter?
I do, but I tend to sit quite close to the mic due to my quiet voice, so I'll be sure to keep this in mind for next time. Thank you for letting me know!
hey, this is a really cool indepth video! always annoying nitpick thou- nobodies don't have bodies, yen sid explains that himself in the beginning of KH2- a nobody is what's left behind when the body fades from existance. there might be some leway with the human-form nobodies, but the less nobodies are definitely just wandering souls.
Thank you! :D
I appreciate you pointing this out! Although I don't doubt Yensid, at least two of Ansem's reports say the Nobodies are made directly from a body and a soul (reports 7 and 10). But maybe "body" could be more of a loose term?
i think he's meaning more that a body must be present at the time of creation- but it doesn't linger long, or he's speaking about human-shaped nobodies like the organization members- but you're right, i suppose there's no true answer. either ansem is misinformed/lying, or yen sid is XD
@@unsealey Ah true, that could be it! lol
Like the body and soul are ingredients, but they're not necessarily apart of the end result. Also good point about the organization members- maybe they retain more of the "body" than others.
@@JDubsAnimation I think that would explain why they just have animations entirely like a regular human, without any of the squish-and-stretch. I always felt that was a bit wasted potential though as seeing that kind of twisting on an actual human-looking creature would be even scarier than on an abstract squiggly fella. Like can you imagine how wild it'd be if Axel suddenly stretched his arms out like the Assassins?? I would absolutely throw the controller across the room, that'd be terrifying XD (Awesome tho!!!)