The Animation of Final Fantasy III

Поделиться
HTML-код
  • Опубликовано: 1 окт 2024
  • The 8-bit era comes to a close, and Final Fantasy III sends it out in style. Welcome to Part Three of this retrospective journey through the animation of the Final Fantasy series!
    Support New Frame Plus on Patreon!
    / newframeplus
    ------ ▼PLAYLIST▼------
    Watch the whole series! ► • The Animation of Final...
    ------- ▼LINKS▼-------
    PATREON ► / newframeplus
    TWITTER ► / danfloydplus
    LET'S PLAY CHANNEL ► bit.ly/2lmGte8
    ------- ▼CREDITS▼-------
    Written and produced by Daniel Floyd
    Special thanks to:
    -Carrie Floyd
    -Soraya Een Hajji
    ------- ▼MUSIC▼-------
    ♪ Featuring selections from the Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy III 3D Remake official soundtracks.
    #FinalFantasy #animation #FF3

Комментарии • 346

  • @JoCat
    @JoCat 2 года назад +464

    "that identity is going to become crystal clear"
    heh... crystal

  • @TBSkyen
    @TBSkyen 2 года назад +425

    I love these episodes so much, this is just absolute CATNIP to me!

    • @NewFramePlus
      @NewFramePlus  2 года назад +61

      Awww thanks!

    • @snek616
      @snek616 2 года назад +5

      @@NewFramePlus if ya'll made a collab video, it'd be rather interesting. Maybe revisit darksouls or something, that'd be fun to watch. I mean, one of you does visual design, and the other does visual design in motion after all.

  • @Ashen-Crow
    @Ashen-Crow 2 года назад +244

    Something I think you overlooked is the bosses death animation, with just how they vanish the game is conveying a lot of flavor, the enemy at 7:25 looks like smoke dissipating, while the enemy at 8:32 looks like it's sinking into the ground

    • @juliestrator
      @juliestrator 2 года назад +13

      I've noticed that too, but I have a feeling Dan could have done that on purpose to later come back to it and show progression since these animations were maybe a bit too simple just by themselves yet they would make a nice comparison for the future games 🤷

    • @timothymclean
      @timothymclean 2 года назад +4

      Are bosses still part of the background? If so, how do the animations work? If not, how is there no flickering?

    • @kenkoopa7903
      @kenkoopa7903 2 года назад +7

      @@timothymclean I'm imagine there's either a) a mapper chip that lets the game update tile data in RAM on the fly, b) they use sprites and good timing to basically fake a dissolving effect on the background, covering the tile fully with the sprite before setting the tile to black and then moving the sprite down to repeat the animation further along the body.
      As for the Cloud of Darkness sinking as it disappears, that might also be a mapper chip function that lets the background basically jump across the screen to draw things like the HUD.

  • @braintrope4736
    @braintrope4736 2 года назад +89

    I FUCKING LOVE INCREMENTAL CHANGES IN GAME ANIMATION
    I LOVE SEEING HOW GAME DEVELOPERS AND ARTISTS PROGRESS THE ANIMATION IN THEIR GAMES IN SLIGHT, SUBTLE WAYS

  • @JacksonBockus
    @JacksonBockus 2 года назад +165

    It’s cool seeing how they’ve been advancing within the limitations of the NES. Within that context the way they advance the storytelling and animation once they get their hands on the SNES is super exciting.

  • @hankhill7827
    @hankhill7827 2 года назад +60

    Kazuko Shibuya's sprite work in III is incredible, she really outdid herself even with the huge amount of extra work with all the different jobs. So much character was given to each of them.

  • @Scromchus
    @Scromchus 2 года назад +238

    thanks for uploading a real video today. ive been suffering through all the "new" videos from the channels i love, so its nice to see something genuine from one of my favorite creators

    • @AxxLAfriku
      @AxxLAfriku 2 года назад

      You dislike the stuff that gets uploaded by my fingers clicking upload? Are you just a h8er boi? I say see you l8er, boi. Don't watch the stuff that gets uploaded by my fingers clicking upload anymore. Your dislikes are damaging my good good GOOD reputation. I am a superstar, dear wcr

    • @Falkuzrules
      @Falkuzrules 2 года назад +20

      I actually hate that I can never look forward to good April Fools videos anymore. 2019 and earlier had some great jokes and I loved seeing which ones I'd be able to immediately tell were fake but now it's like every year one or two of my RUclipsrs *may* do it and it's not that interesting.
      In 2019 one person started a MineCraft Hardcore playthrough on this day and jumped off the mountain they spawned on then talked about corn dogs and the Pokémon anime for nearly *40 full minutes* to make it look like a full MC episode, why is everyone I like so boring now?

  • @whiskeyii4515
    @whiskeyii4515 2 года назад +78

    As someone whose entry point was 12 and onwards, my brain kept short-circuiting at the music and I had to read the description to make sure this wasn't some very off-brand April Fool's joke. I knew this series was going to be a fascinating ride through FF's history, but apparently there are a LOT of references I've been missing out on!

    • @Martyste
      @Martyste 2 года назад +6

      Oh oh, I feel you! 12 was the first FF from which I heard its main theme, as 9 who I started with saved that for the ending I likely took a long time to reach. Had me very surprised the first time I played FF IV.

    • @LostInNumbers
      @LostInNumbers 2 года назад +17

      There are three themes that are recurring throughout the series and appear in almost every game.
      These are:
      1. The prelude: ruclips.net/video/b3SuYFYPe4Y/видео.html
      2. The Them of Final Fantasy: ruclips.net/video/O8IBoFIFE-E/видео.html
      3. The Chocobo Theme: ruclips.net/video/zyrXaU2T5is/видео.html
      If you aren't familiar with the old final fantasy music I highly recommend diving down the rabbit hole and looking up the older games OSTs. The series composer Nobuo Uematsu is known as the -"John Williams of video games"- for a reason.
      edit: Apperantly "John Williams of video games" is t he nickname of Jeremy Soule. Uematsu is known as the "Beethoven of video game music" which is even more over the top.

    • @Road_to_Dawn
      @Road_to_Dawn 2 года назад +4

      I’ve been with the series for a long time and while I’ve only beaten FF1, 2, 13, 14, and 15, I’ve played every game to a degree. And I’m still learning new things! I just posted a comment about this, but I already learned some new things from this video alone! For example, in FF14, the dwarves are known for their greeting, “Lali-ho!”, which was actually spoken by the dwarves in FF3. In addition, FF14 has a character named Krile, whose name and appearance was taken from FF5. But her appearance actually goes even further back, once again all the way back to one of the jobs from FF3!

    • @nate567987
      @nate567987 2 года назад +5

      @@Road_to_Dawn and Lali-ho made it's english debut in FF4

  • @kienesel7
    @kienesel7 2 года назад +70

    Time to play “is this real or another April fools” again

  • @chaosspork
    @chaosspork 2 года назад +57

    This still gives me 8-Bit Theater vibes. Honestly, it was impressive what the artist managed to do with so few sprites to work with. How many emotions and expressions he was able to convey.

    • @darkdrgon2136
      @darkdrgon2136 2 года назад +21

      There was a good bit of custom sprite work done for the comic, some done by the author some from collaborators.
      Also, shouting out that he went on to write Atomic Robo, the best comic book ever written about a sentient robot built by Nikola Tesla.

    • @batti591
      @batti591 2 года назад +6

      @@darkdrgon2136 And Nuklear Age, which is very Brian Clevinger

    • @TankorSmash
      @TankorSmash 2 года назад +9

      8bit theatre is still something I come back to, it's wild how engaging it is.

    • @EmeralBookwise
      @EmeralBookwise 2 года назад +7

      Seriously, that little animation Dan did with the Magnus taking a hit and falling to the floor to recompose himself gave me so many flashbacks.

    • @knghtbrd
      @knghtbrd 2 года назад +3

      @@TankorSmash "A lone, defenseless mage running through the woods like a scared little girl, eh? Time to go to work…"
      *OOF*
      "Your GP or your HP…"

      "C'mon, cough up the gold, magic loser."
      "Oh yeah, let me just reach into my secretive mage-style robes and pull out … MY KNIFE!"
      *CLANG!* "Wrong move, Sparky…"
      Man, I haven't re-read 8BT in over a decade … but I think I need I need to.
      "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?"
      "I'm … telling them about the phenomenal power available at your fingertips…"
      "YOU IDIOT, I can only cast that spell once a day! I've got nothing left!"
      "Well why didn't you say something sooner?"
      "THINK OF SOMETHING!"
      "I have, Fighter. I have."
      "Great, so you wanna share this plan with me?"
      "It's a little something I call FIGHTERDOKEN!!"
      100% guaranteed when I get to that line I'm going to actually hear Final Fantasy Hard Corps in my head as Fighter's thinking back to Fighter Camp '86 because those flash videos were as much fun as the comic was…

  • @kloakovalimonada
    @kloakovalimonada 2 года назад +107

    The extradiegetic animation like the UI shakes are genius and super effective. I'd love a video about that.

    • @Jikkuryuu
      @Jikkuryuu 2 года назад +11

      I think it was accidental, but the screen shake in FF1 suits its nature a a secret resource-management sim. More than any other FF, the first game is about measuring out your resources against the progress and profit you can make. So when an enemy hits a Light Warrior for 67 damage that's a blow to the player too. "That'll cost me two potions, they better drop enough money to cover the cost." And the UI bouncing around is reflecting the player's plans being shaken up.
      Eventually you get super-rich and can roll with the punches, but the last dungeon is arduous and you can carry no _more_ than 99 potions.
      I don't disparage any of the remakes for it, but none of them really capture this experience of being worn down by the dungeons themselves. Player vs dungeon rather than characters vs monsters.
      Sorry for the rambling. Seeing the three different damage animations really got me thinking and your comment was topical :D

    • @Rhannmah
      @Rhannmah 2 года назад +4

      Yeah I agree, the UI shakes should've stayed, it really sells the hit much more. ​
      @@Jikkuryuu you're reading waaaay too much into this lol, the UI shake was just a simplistic but clever way to visually express damage.

    • @Jikkuryuu
      @Jikkuryuu 2 года назад +2

      @@Rhannmah I absolutely am. 200%
      And I regret nothing :D

  • @Martyste
    @Martyste 2 года назад +11

    "A LONG way to go" couldn't have been a better foreshadow if you remember where you read that sentence in what comes up next :p
    It's also worth mentionning that FFIII brings the damage and heal numbers onto the targets themselves rather than using a separate window, making the battles feel less cluttered and more dynamic.

  • @artstsym
    @artstsym 2 года назад +29

    The answer to every question posed toward me in this is: "yes at one point in the past, but after 8-Bit Theater the context for all of these sprites is radically different now." XD

    • @timothymclean
      @timothymclean 2 года назад +2

      "Don't you just wanna flop on this thing like a Totoro and go to sleep?"
      "Yes at one point in the past, but after 8-Bit Theater the context for all these sprites is radically different for me."
      "...what did they do with the chocobo?"

    • @artstsym
      @artstsym 2 года назад +4

      @@timothymclean You don't want to know.

    • @StarkMaximum
      @StarkMaximum 2 года назад +9

      Yeah the Magus getting punched in the gut will always be "Black Mage learning the Make Black Mage Puke Out His Guts spell". Or whatever it was called.

    • @TankorSmash
      @TankorSmash 2 года назад

      Animal husbandry

  • @JoyceW-Art
    @JoyceW-Art 2 года назад +24

    6:11 This part made me laugh for a good bit XD
    I really like how you're adding more comedy to your informative videos

    • @LazyDogJumper
      @LazyDogJumper 2 года назад +7

      Came here to say that was an excellently done comedy bit. Just the hit, then the kneel and the shake when he spoke sold the whole thing. Can't wait for the "The Animation of New Frame Plus" video to come out!

  • @Darashiva
    @Darashiva 2 года назад +9

    This series is, in my opinion, genuinely the best thing you have done so far on this channel, and we're only three videos in. Seeing these, often small and incremental, improvements to the animation of a series of games is fascinating, and the way they're shown and explained makes the whole experience even better. Just a wonderful job all around, and I'm already looking forward to the next one.

  • @punkitt
    @punkitt 2 года назад +11

    Gosh! I'm a gamedev working at really low res, and I appreciate there's someone out there giving the much-needed praise for early storytelling through animation in these games. It's so fascinating how much life they were able to squeeze out of just a handful of frames and some basic locomotion!

  • @parthanpaveri9581
    @parthanpaveri9581 2 года назад +102

    This and gmtk's gamemaking series is what keeps my passion from nosediving

    • @daniel-zh9nj6yn6y
      @daniel-zh9nj6yn6y 2 года назад +4

      Coding Secrets is interesting too. He's been in the industry since the 90s, when he used to write code for Sega Genesis games. Garbaj is cool too.

    • @MobikSaysStuff
      @MobikSaysStuff 2 года назад

      Also check out Adam Millard - the Architect of games

  • @Fleetw00d
    @Fleetw00d 2 года назад +30

    Having never played this one, imagine my surprise at hearing the Shadowbringers music lol. I knew the story is heavily inspired from FF3 but wow that's awesome.
    Love seeing the small additions that seem almost primitive, but adding that hurt pose really looks a million times better.

    • @Toberumono
      @Toberumono 2 года назад +8

      The soundtrack Shadowbringers (and FF14 in general) is basically a love letter to the series. The entire Eden raid series is an homage to the early 3D games (especially FF8) - the music in the “lobby” is from Balamb Garden, and bunch of the boss music is related too. My personal favorite is that the sorta synthy/distorted “ah” in Shiva’s theme (E9) is actually the sound effect for the Blizzard spell in older games.

    • @Biouke
      @Biouke 2 года назад +8

      Cyrcus Tower, the old 24 man raid, was basically a big call out to FF3 too and the concept of balance between Light and Shadow comes from here.
      FF3 is my favourite from the NES era, it implements the jobs system, chocobos, airships too iirc and the soundtrack is a masterpiece.
      This legend of the eternal wind will forever be in my heart

  • @AoiLucine
    @AoiLucine 2 года назад +11

    I actually wanted to ask; are you going to cover any of the remakes in this series eventually? Or even the side games? Tactics, Crystal Chronicles, Type-O... Mobile games...
    God I'd give anything for people to talk about Mobius Final Fantasy...

    • @nate567987
      @nate567987 2 года назад +1

      just the main games or it would NEVER END

  • @eastull
    @eastull 2 года назад +12

    If I hear “eternal wind” at any point in this video I deadass will cry
    EDIT: HEARD IT, CRYING AT WORK NOW

    • @Biouke
      @Biouke 2 года назад +2

      I'm not the only one ! I knew I'm still sane, hurray ! :D

  • @DBraeges
    @DBraeges 2 года назад +11

    I've always been fascinated by games released late in a consoles life. By that point they know exactly what the hardware can do and can really make it sing. Just in time to be replaced.

    • @coastersplus
      @coastersplus 2 года назад +1

      IX still impresses me, looking forward to seeing that (and VI first, of course!)

  • @mishi-shi
    @mishi-shi 2 года назад +10

    FFIII is such a special game to me. I played the 3d remake on the DS when I was younger and it was the first rpg I ever played and it’s what got me into gaming as a whole. I play FFXIV now and the amount of love in it for III makes me so happy.
    This was a delightful look back at this game I love so dearly

    • @Biouke
      @Biouke 2 года назад +3

      When I started the game around the time Heavenward came out, my one objective was to go see the Crystal Tower raid, didn't care about the expansion :')

  • @andrianhiew7180
    @andrianhiew7180 2 года назад +7

    I really envy those who will stumble upon this series late and be able to binge it all in one sitting, because this series is by far one of my favourite to just watch you present!
    And it’s always suffering (just kidding, don’t need to push yourself too hard) to wait for the next entry!
    Thank you for giving us such a charming series x)

    • @fntthesmth423
      @fntthesmth423 18 дней назад

      And of course there's the tradition of, every time a new episode is released, re-watching them all

  • @Mikesean45
    @Mikesean45 2 года назад +16

    to me, the leap from 2 to 3 was nuts. It felt so much grander, even if the story wasn't as character focused as 2, and it's the earliest FF that's still genuinely fun to play for me. And probably unpopular opinion, but I prefer the NES version to the 3D remake. Hard to believe we didn't get an official 2D release of the game until this past year.

    • @sertianaputra3569
      @sertianaputra3569 2 года назад +3

      Pixel Remaster version of FF3 is definitely worth trying. It restores most of what makes FF3 great while still respecting your time.

    • @iwannaseehowlongyoucanmakethis
      @iwannaseehowlongyoucanmakethis 2 года назад +2

      @@sertianaputra3569 they removed capacity points, which is all they need to convince me really

    • @sertiana2512
      @sertiana2512 2 года назад +2

      @@iwannaseehowlongyoucanmakethis And quick saves, so Crystal Tower will not be as infuriating anymore.

    • @iwannaseehowlongyoucanmakethis
      @iwannaseehowlongyoucanmakethis 2 года назад

      @@sertiana2512 yeah. How fitting that in some versions that place is called the Syrcus Tower. The whole thing is full of clownery. I mean, c'mon THREE dungeons back to back?

  • @RevolverLink
    @RevolverLink 2 года назад +4

    You bringing up developer's final efforts on consoles has me licking my chops for a potential FF9 episode (and FF6 & FF12 episodes too); that game gets so much personality, humor and emotion across with just the gestures and body language of its characters!

  • @EmeralBookwise
    @EmeralBookwise 2 года назад +6

    Can't wait for the SNES animation breakdowns. Those games have some of the most creative sprite work.

  • @NucleusDawn
    @NucleusDawn 2 года назад +2

    Hey Dan, I really love these! Final Fantasy is so dear to me, and it's incredible seeing how the animation evolved through the years.
    Did you consider doing a Chrono Trigger episode between 6 and 7? It seems apt, considering it's kind of a link between the SNES games and the first 3D ones. It was also, arguably, the best animated game these developers did on the SNES.

  • @CompleteAnimation
    @CompleteAnimation 2 года назад +4

    I'm going to jump into the pixel remaster of this game one day!

    • @sertianaputra3569
      @sertianaputra3569 2 года назад

      Pixel Remaster of FF3 is definitely worth trying.

  • @marshallr.8121
    @marshallr.8121 2 года назад +7

    another must watch video,
    loving this series just as much as all the others you've done

  • @velvaraart1007
    @velvaraart1007 2 года назад +2

    Amazing :O I can't believe how you notice these kind of improvements! I've played them before and for the life of me I would have played them a thousand times again and never notice the hit pose!!!

  • @favioferreira8921
    @favioferreira8921 2 года назад +6

    I love how he can talk so much about something I would find so trivial. He finds the art in the details.

  • @DrNR-jp6lz
    @DrNR-jp6lz 2 года назад +6

    Awesome another video, a question though will you do a compilation of all the "the animation of final fantasy" in one long video, cuz I love that kind of format.
    And again thanks for the video.

    • @NewFramePlus
      @NewFramePlus  2 года назад +5

      That could be fun! I might!

    • @DrNR-jp6lz
      @DrNR-jp6lz 2 года назад

      @@NewFramePlus cool I'm looking forward to it

  • @troyheath7704
    @troyheath7704 2 года назад +3

    I absolutely LOVE FF3. favorite in the series hands down, and getting a look at it from an angle I hadn't ever really considered is always a treat. Been looking forward to this since you started this series.

  • @LazyDogJumper
    @LazyDogJumper 2 года назад +2

    " 90% of your playable squads personality boils down to just them wearing different outfits, and even THAT goes away the instant they have to go out and get REAL jobs." Damn, Dan. That was a pretty harsh burn. They're gonna need an Elixir after that one.

  • @Nemo2342
    @Nemo2342 2 года назад +5

    I've loved the look back at the 8 bit games, but I'm really excited to see the videos tackling the 16 bit era.

  • @khodexus4963
    @khodexus4963 2 года назад +2

    I hope you touch on Mystic Quest in between Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy V. It's a bit of a spinoff, sure, but in terms of animation and storytelling, it definitely fits into the iterations of the main series better than other early spinoffs like Tactics or Chocobo Dungeon. It wouldn't be until Final Fantasy X-2 that we'd see a more direct iteration in a spinoff.

  • @ValkyrieTiara
    @ValkyrieTiara 2 года назад +2

    You say the 3/4s view on the sprites make them look cuter, but I always thought they were looking at me either like "Can you believe these nerds?" or "Wow, you really screwed the pooch on this one, huh?" They just look SO done with whatever's going on, especially the White Mage and Devout lol

  • @bananasean5145
    @bananasean5145 2 года назад +3

    Content like this is super valuable to appreciating older games for a younger audience. This game was before my time so it is nice having a lense to see what it was like for an audience growing up with it and feeling the changes from previous titles.

    • @InnocentGuillotine
      @InnocentGuillotine 3 месяца назад +1

      Well, most English-speakers *wouldn't* have seen this version of the game growing up. The only FF games released outside Japan before FF7 were FF1, FF4, and FF6, with FF2, 3, and 5 only showing up as remakes and rereleases. 3 in particular only arrived overseas outside of the high seas during the DS era, with the Matrix remake of the game (which made a lot of gameplay changes to it on top of being 3D). I still have nostalgia for 3 because I played that remake a ton in high school, but it's not the same as having seen the visual improvements back when it was still shiny and new.

  • @grandfire
    @grandfire 2 года назад +4

    Dan, I don't know a thing about game animation (past what I've learned from your channel) and I'm still enjoying this immensely. Keep up the great work!

  • @TheRhetoricGamer
    @TheRhetoricGamer 2 года назад +2

    I think it's also important that game mechanics tie into the characterization.
    You lose a lot of personality when you disconnect the job from the character. Even later games struggled with this.

  • @menhirmike
    @menhirmike 2 года назад +4

    6:38 I can't help but see the Fighter being caught with his pants down. But yeah, there is so much more personality in the sprites, even if the characters don't have any!

  • @RetroGameStream
    @RetroGameStream 2 года назад +1

    This was an excellent video. I'm definitely checking the rest of your stuff out. Thanks!

  • @Rogun987
    @Rogun987 2 года назад +2

    And its why FF4 to me was such an amazing RPG. It was such a massive leap in narration compared to the first 3

  • @GeahkBurchill
    @GeahkBurchill 2 года назад +1

    I didn’t really notice the characterization problem because I played this game in Japanese… even though I didn’t speak Japanese.

  • @RegalPixelKing
    @RegalPixelKing 2 года назад +1

    I can't wait to have a look at the SNES titles. I noticed that FF4 honestly has only minor improvements in regards to showing characters emote. Cecil lowering his helmet when he is sad is one of the only major things I noticed. FF5 on the other hand is loaded with personality, and FF6 pushed things to a whole other level when it comes to animation.

  • @givecamichips
    @givecamichips 2 года назад +1

    I like how in the 3D remake, every character has an iconic accessory that is incorporated in to most of their job outfits: Luneth's belt-vest, Arc's neckerchief, Ingus's necklace, and Refia's cross brooch.
    Many of them also use a different base color, a la FF5, although a few jobs make it hard to see the differences and rely on their character animations to set them apart.

  • @lucas_lipp
    @lucas_lipp 2 года назад +4

    It's impressive how much each entry in the series has improved upon the older ones, but man, all I see while watching the video is FFXIV. And for some reason, everything is connected to the crystal tower. There's that part of the Shadowbringers theme when the trailer pans up to the crystal tower and there are multiple bosses, like Amon and Zande from the crystal tower raids.
    Ok, that's it. I'm sorry.
    Edit: Oh, and there's the Cloud of Darkness and the Dwarves from Kholusia (was that the one? I keep mixing up the names of the Shadowbringers areas).

    • @NewFramePlus
      @NewFramePlus  2 года назад +5

      Almost everything in the Crystal Tower raid series is a reference to SOMETHING in Final Fantasy III and I love it. :D

    • @lucas_lipp
      @lucas_lipp 2 года назад

      I know FFXIV is essentially a love letter to the entire series but seeing all the little nods and references yourself feels different from just reading about it.
      I really gotta get to playing some of the older games in the series. I think 6 is on the SNES Mini, so I'm probably gonna give that a try, soon.

    • @JohnDCrafton
      @JohnDCrafton 2 года назад +1

      @@lucas_lipp The pixel remasters (1 through 6) are on Steam, and as someone who played 1, 4, and 6 back in the day, I think the remasters are worth considering.

    • @lucas_lipp
      @lucas_lipp 2 года назад

      I might check them out, then. Thanks for the recommendation.

    • @vdate
      @vdate 2 года назад +2

      @@lucas_lipp Honestly, even though I am the FF2 Defender (FF1 doesn't really much need it, I find), FF3 is the first game where I would straight-up recommend people just sit down and play it, because the job system just makes the game explorative and fun in a way that the earlier two were a little too mechanically stringent for.
      A friend of mine did a series of streams where he ran through the original games (and then later, the pixel remasters) just to assess how they held up. I joined the commentary team for FF2 and FF3, and it was *shocking* just how pick-up-and-playable FF3 was - not just in comparison to FF2 (holy moly there's *so* many QoL changes from FF2) but just compared to RPGs across time. learned a lot in those streams about how cleverly designed FF3 was in a lot of ways - specifically, how *good* a lot of the classes (specifically the ones that I'd dismissed as pointless when I was an idiot teen) actually were.
      Like, a lot of the classes are meant to have a lifespan of sorts - being switched into for specific parts or periods of the game, and switched out of again as things progress, but damn near every class in the game is genuinely pretty great for at least some subset of it.
      Plus - and this is one of the things I'm endlessly glad our host picked up on - while the individual characters may not have any personality to speak of, the individual *classes* very frequently do! The video shows off a few of them, but there were a lot of times where the hit-react, critical health, or KO sprites frequently made us laugh out loud because of how unexpectedly funny or charming they were - and the same is true shockingly often for a lot of the classes' special command functions. (The prize for that one probably goes to the Bard, which has two different silly pieces of animation for the 'scare enemies' command and the 'buff your party' command.)
      Oh, and also, while a previous video in the series did rightly point out her contributions, I do wanna mention that this is probably the game in the series where Kazuko Shibuya is most prominently just turned loose to do her best. I would love to see some kind of breakdown as to what kind of back-end or compositional mojo was done to achieve the FF3 spritework, because the enemy sprites in this game - *especially* the boss sprites - are just divine. If you have time, I would recommend checking out the FF Wiki to take a look at the sprite art for Salamander (who is hysterically goofy) or Hyne (who is somehow both hysterically goofy and *rad as hell*).
      So, yeah - basically, please do give FF3 a shot; I think it's the first game in the series that's broadly recommendable to damn near anybody who can tolerate a (fairly brisk) jRPG.

  • @kef0205
    @kef0205 2 года назад +1

    Daniel, your NGP scripts continue to improve. Detailed, digestible, occasionally discursive but always with a nice little pop of irreverence (without ever being mean-spirited), and with an ear for brevity and the viewer's time. The rest of the video is great, obvs, but I hope you take pride in the words you write and read aloud because IMO you do an excellent job.

  • @romannikonenko7325
    @romannikonenko7325 2 года назад +1

    Even though it is my least favourite FF game from the Famicom trilogy (due to the lousy plot and overall boring game progress) I must admit that it was an impressive attempt at being graphically advanced for the system. And yeah, the OST is excellent here too. Pure fairytale atmosphere.

  • @tracebaileys
    @tracebaileys 2 года назад +1

    Hey, Dan! I was wondering if you could talk some about the animation of It Takes Two. The way the animation accounts for whatever either player does is very impressive to me, but also, the game is riddled with the mascot issue. Thanks!

  • @migicalmerwee9018
    @migicalmerwee9018 2 года назад +1

    I know it's on a more advanced console, but this makes FF5 even more impressive. All those jobs having a different design for each character. Can't wait 'til you get to that one.

  • @stupidgoop
    @stupidgoop 2 года назад +1

    Tbh when it comes down to games w/ job classes, I ADORE blank slates. It lets me fill in the slots w/ some character names or names of friends and it sorta feels like playing D&D solo edition. Fitting different classes to the personalities of your friends or characters etc.

  • @Failedlegend
    @Failedlegend 2 года назад +1

    Loving this so far i can't wait until FF6 & 9 (looking forward to 4 & 5 too, even 7, 8 and 10+ even though those games were the beginning of losing interest in the series for me)

  • @justember794
    @justember794 2 года назад +1

    The transition from the music box to the 8 bit music at 0:45 was super satisfying and that acting on the black mage at 6:10 was so good! (Although I think the scholar getting slapped is super funny)

  • @雪鷹魚英語培訓的領航
    @雪鷹魚英語培訓的領航 2 года назад +1

    Damn those big baddies have such nice artwork for a NES game! I could see wanting to play through the game just to see the sweet artwork.

  • @KarmaSpaz12
    @KarmaSpaz12 2 года назад +1

    The DS version shook up the lifeless characters but I think this was actually because of the leap FFIV took as it was being remade for the DS as well.

  • @ringlhach
    @ringlhach 2 года назад +1

    Huh. In retrospect, I wonder how many of the sprites from 8-Bit Theater were actually lifted from FFIII.

  • @adiksaff
    @adiksaff 2 года назад +1

    Oh boy... we're entering the era which I have nostalgia for... Bracing myself for impact!!

  • @RubianGaming
    @RubianGaming 2 года назад +1

    One of my absolute favorite parts about final fantasy 1 and 3 is that the characters are blank slates and you can just name them and play them as the jobs. I like a good story in a game but sometimes I really feel it gets in the way and it's always a breath of fresh air to have a "narrative" RPG that doesn't actually have any characters in the narrative.

  • @SeafoamSmiles
    @SeafoamSmiles 2 года назад +1

    I can't wait for you to get to FF5. Not that FF4 doesn't have some cool animations, but FF5 is where they really start to nail the humor and personality of the characters.

  • @VladDascaliuc
    @VladDascaliuc 2 года назад +1

    It would be oh so nice if you guys ever checked the animation of the Breath of Fire series. Especially of BoF3.

  • @syrelian
    @syrelian 2 года назад +1

    Something I think overlooked regarding FF3 vs FF2 is that they were not iterative like most games in the series, but rather both started development at roughly the same time, intentionally diverging in design goals

  • @veronicamcghie5238
    @veronicamcghie5238 2 года назад +1

    Today I learnt that what I thought were a bunch of custom sprites made for 8-Bit Theater are actually from FFIII

  • @DampeS8N
    @DampeS8N 2 года назад +1

    This is a terrible April Fools video. I mean, it is basically indistinguishable from other episodes in the series. I don't get it.

  • @BlarGames
    @BlarGames 2 года назад +2

    Yay! Can't wait for the next one, will be interesting to see what they kept or changed for the transition to SNES. Also expecting the volume of animation simply went WAY up, though I may be wrong about that..

  • @rdrrr
    @rdrrr 2 года назад +1

    FF5 really feels like a stealth remake of this game. A lot of the class sprites have the same design as their FF3 equivalents.

  • @ASCENDANTGAMERSAGE
    @ASCENDANTGAMERSAGE 2 года назад +1

    Why was this recommended to me 9 days late? :( I watch your videos on release usually

  • @alexsacchetti9720
    @alexsacchetti9720 2 года назад +1

    Neat video! It's got me anticipating your look at the games of the 16 bit era

  • @sempersolus5511
    @sempersolus5511 2 года назад +1

    I actually liked that FFI and III didn't have set characters. I could project my own.
    I made my team all thieves and came up with a backstory where they mugged the _real_ Light Warriors and had no idea what they were getting into.
    Whenever I got lost because the game didn't have a map, I pictured them bickering about directions and fighting over the ship's helm.
    Maybe it's silly, but I'd rather not be spoon-fed characters.

    • @BonaparteBardithion
      @BonaparteBardithion 2 года назад

      Honestly, I ignored most of the plot characters in FF Tactics for exactly this reason. They were fine, but my team of generic extras had _chemistry._

  • @autofire55555
    @autofire55555 2 года назад +1

    "There's always something special to a franchise's last game on any given console."
    Ideally, yes, but... _Flashbacks to Megaman X 6_

    • @goranisacson2502
      @goranisacson2502 2 года назад

      I mean, one can't deny that game had something... *special* about it. But in the spirit of Dan's intended meaning, maybe one can say there's always something special to a franchise's last game for any given console... when they have the kind of circumstances to make it the GOOD kind of special.

  • @LivvyGranger
    @LivvyGranger 2 года назад +1

    You discuss these games with such love and kindness and it's truly heartwarming.

  • @marafolse8347
    @marafolse8347 2 года назад +1

    This is so incredible. I only wished I’d found this series when it was done so I could keep binging!

  • @Kashirga
    @Kashirga 2 года назад +1

    Just a french artist passing by! I love this serie, and I can't wait to see your FFVI and FFIX episodes! You're doing a great job!!

  • @김치즈-i7g
    @김치즈-i7g 2 года назад +1

    Finally! This series is so interesting glad new vid came out

  • @keltzy
    @keltzy 2 года назад

    When there's not much room for characterization, I'll take the blank slates 100% of the time. The ds remakes characters were so shallow compared to the ones that I invented in my head. I think that's also a large part of why I love FF1 and like FF3, but find FF2 the least engaging in the franchise.

  • @QuestingRefuge
    @QuestingRefuge 2 года назад +1

    This series has been amazing. So excited for the huge leap in character when you get to Final Fantasy 4.

  • @Zeithri
    @Zeithri Месяц назад

    You didn't mention the amazing ocean sprites!
    They blow my mind. It's just a few pixels moving -> that direction and yet, it looks sooo good!

  • @ElricSowrd
    @ElricSowrd 2 года назад

    I've watched your previous Videos before this, The Animation of Guilty Gear Xrd and Dragon Ball FighterZ, The Animation of Final Fantasy I and II.
    I'm just disappointed that in World of Final Fantasy that Refia from the FFIII Remake is voiced by Yoko Hikasa in the Japanese Version.

  • @TalkingSkullGames
    @TalkingSkullGames 2 года назад

    Amazing work as always! I'm excited to see what the jump to SNES does for this series. The difference between 3 and 4 feels massive.

  • @feralkitty33
    @feralkitty33 2 года назад +1

    Thank you so much for continuing this series

  • @Hanesboi
    @Hanesboi 2 года назад

    Ever since this series started I was looking forward to FF3's.
    I am kinda disappointed you didn't talk about attack animations in general though. The speed of it is amazing, the multiple hits of attacks is cool but there's some neat direction in some spells like Quake.
    When a character casts quake, they move forward then use their "injured" sprite to represent them hitting the ground for that earthquake to appear. That's another thing too, more original animations for attacks. I was taken aback that you didn't mention these changes.
    Can't wait for the FFIV analysis though! The jump to 16 bits did wonders for FF's aesthetics.

  • @Siinory
    @Siinory 2 года назад

    Wooooow, why I keep seeing FF related stuff, since I've been replaying (and soon playing) through the Pixel Remaster collection I keep see FF stuff and I even replayed FFRK

  • @BonaparteBardithion
    @BonaparteBardithion 2 года назад

    3:20
    I know it's on the next gen console, but this really puts the FFV job system into perspective. There are five different characters that can be in your party at various points all with access to 20+ available jobs. Even if they streamlined it by reusing a lot of poses, that's over 100 different combat characters to animate.
    I can see why FFIII they didn't keep the colors distinct past the starting class.

  • @TenArashi
    @TenArashi 2 года назад

    This is so cool! I'd really love if you did a video or two about Fire Emblem and its animations as well - that's another series with an incredddibly long history dating all the way back to the NES, and it's found so many fascinating ways to match its animations to its story! Like, I've heard that when FE6 first came out, the really flashy crit animations were pretty controversial because the last two FE games had leaned in a much more serious and thoughtful direction, but nowadays the GBA era is probably the most widely-beloved in the franchise for its art design!

  • @WaiGee_
    @WaiGee_ 5 месяцев назад

    The FFXIV shadowbringers flashbacks i got from listening to this game's music, i didnt know that shadowbringers was heavily inspired by FFIII

  • @adityakhanna113
    @adityakhanna113 2 года назад

    Dude, I've been checking your channel every two days for this. I AM SO EXCITED. Please make all of them

  • @jameshandshoe
    @jameshandshoe 2 года назад

    I always gave the characters of this game, and others of its time, names of people I know and my name to the lead or 'first' character. Then I played the game with the mindset that me and me pals were off on an adventure. Later, when real characters started emerging in games like Final Fantasy 4, I could rename the characters to my liking, but Rydia would still be Rydia and not my friend Jan despite the name. I do somewhat miss the blank characters, but understand why they had to go.

  • @slhpproductions6707
    @slhpproductions6707 2 года назад

    Dude, Dan, i love these episodes but you gotta talk about the animation in Legends Arceus! It's so cool!

  • @nospimi99
    @nospimi99 2 года назад

    As excited as I am for your analysis on games from the next generations, I’m kinda sad because there’s so much more to dissect so that means it’s gonna take so much longer for new videos. Can’t wait for the next one though!

  • @voidlands2
    @voidlands2 2 года назад +1

    won't you talk about the tow sonic movies

  • @studioarentain3960
    @studioarentain3960 Год назад

    That opening of yours rang so true for me honestly. It hurts how most first party Nintendo games only do one or two games per console now so we can't really see how it evolved from game to game like we used to on the nes and snes

  • @heek8964
    @heek8964 2 года назад +1

    This series is so great at getting me invested and interested in how people overcame these technical limitations.

  • @Kirbman
    @Kirbman Год назад

    One touch in this series I absolutely love is that you slowly fade the orchestrated version of the games' themes into the original versions at the start.

  • @garbageprince
    @garbageprince 2 года назад

    I love this channel so much. I don't know anything about animation or how to make games but you make it so fun and interesting.

  • @TofuSG98
    @TofuSG98 2 года назад

    Really looking forward to more of these! You've got yourself a new subscriber.

  • @vdate
    @vdate 2 года назад

    yesyesyesyesyesyes
    AFTER TEN THOUSAND YEARS
    I adore this series of videos already, and I have been buzzing with anticipation for this video for MONTHS.
    Thank you so much!

  • @Whatthetrash
    @Whatthetrash 2 года назад

    This is so cool! Absolutely love these and thanks for taking the time to do them. ^_^

  • @BologneyT
    @BologneyT 2 года назад

    FINALLY! The Animation of Final Fantasy 3 is up!!! WAIT. April 1st... :/ Maybe I SHOULDN'T watch this long-awaited video...

  • @chan742
    @chan742 2 года назад

    Oh look, a video about the animation of FF3. I wonder if there'll be any talk about The Crystal Tower? Just out of coincidence, the Playframe channel is showcasing Dan running through FFXIV's version of The Crystal Tower questline.

  • @jedgrahek1426
    @jedgrahek1426 2 года назад

    I'm so glad I played the DS remake of this, even though I could have emulated it at any time (I played all the old DQ games that way as a teenager, and FF5, SD3, etc.). It fixes all the problems of this game, working just like FF5 or Bravely Default with 4 individual characters with their own personalities and unique looks, all of which carry over into distinct job costumes for each of them. It was such a joy to experience it that way after waiting so long. DS FF4 is shockingly good also.