The Animation of Final Fantasy VI

11:03 - It ain't a Final Fantasy 6 video until Sabin suplexes the train. You get a thumbs up :p

As someone not hugely familiar with Final Fantasy, I adore how you’re not just tracing the evolution of animation in the series from a technical standpoint but using that as a lens to explore its evolving approach to story and character. Because the technical side is only half of it, right? Where things get really interesting is in how those animations are used to convey character and tell stories. As a result, I’m learning more about a pillar of gaming history that I’ve mostly disregarded in the past, and at the same time learning about that fascinating middle ground between art and science that animation occupies. Looking forward to the next one!

So, I'm a writer. And it may not be obvious, but these videos apply to writing narrative fiction. When you talk about animation, I'm picturing in my head how to apply this to the characters in my stories, how to "animate" them with words, give them life and meaning through action. Describing how characters smile and frown and pace and shuffle as they talk or travel is a powerful way of bringing characters to life from the page. The tools you're giving me as a writer are amazing.

Well darn, now I want a Chrono Trigger video too!

7:54 I had to re listen to this three times before realizing he's saying "But Dan", and not "BUT DAD" 😅

4:06 Mog, Umaro and Gogo are mostly chilling and/or there for the ride. Heck, you find Gogo in a random cave and he's like "Yahaha, you found me! I'll be in your party now!"

It's hard to overstate just how big Final Fantasy VI (or Final Fantasy III as I knew it at the time) was on it's release. This was a huge step up, and as much as Final Fantasy VII was breathtaking, there was a magic in Final Fantasy VI's 2D art that it couldn't quite carry over.

I'm so psyched whenever I see another video in this series has dropped

(23:30) I will go you on further. The combat screen is where we're used to dangerous things happening. Sure, you can take some hits outside of combat, but combat is where the high risk stuff is, like boss fights. The esper wasn't REALLY dangerous, until it became a combat screen, and she's alone.

I've always said it cannot be understated how vital Kitase's contributions to this franchise were ever since Sakaguchi gave him the reigns starting with 6, and then moving onto 7 and 8. The cinematography and blocking you mentioned made such a huge leap forward in 6 because Kitase has a degree in cinematography. The man has a filmmakers background, and it shows in the three games he directed, even in the sprite-based FF6, before being given actual lighting and an actual camera to work with in 7 and 8 (it must have been like a kid in a candy store for Kitase once they moved into 3D). I mean, just look at how perfectly storyboarded FF7's opening is. That intro is iconic for a reason. Kitase has always been undervalued by the fanbase, as he is as crucial as anyone to the overwhelming success of this franchise.

Setzer certainly doesn't leave the best first impression, but the way the game shows his memories as you walk down the long stairway in Daryl's Tomb is perhaps one of my favorite Final Fantasy moments ever, especially with the payoff at the end.

Kazuko Shibuya's work in this game is nothing short of high sorcery. I can't believe how effective these animations are at telling such a serious story.

8:48 - I think we can all agree that "Evil Toot" is the best attack name ever.

I forgot how hard during the epilogue @25:15 Terra walking to the front of airship and letting her hair down to blow in the wind meant to me, until her her hair fell and instantly i got chills from the memories and how it's the only time in the game that animation is used

My dude, that transition between Xenogears and FFT at the end of the video was so absurdly clean.

FF6's increase in overworld sprite size (to 16x24) also has a secondary effect: everything else in the overworld gets "scaled up" to match their increased size. A "door" in prior FF games used to be just 1x1 tile large (16x16) but now it is at least 1x2 tiles (16x32). Plus the much-improved appearance of overlapping background objects, whether due to specialized tile bitmaps or actual layering of multiple tiles on top of each other (e.g. 15:38, notice how the actual wall texture is visible through the posts at the top of the bed, or behind the armor statue out in the hall) -- this ultimately conveys the "camera" as being "closer" to the scene/action than ever before.

I know it was probably not deliberate that this video dropped the same year as the game's 30th anniversary (or, indeed, anniversaries, considering both western and JP releases) but I can't help but appreciate that it did nonetheless. Still doing us all a service with this series, Dan.👍👍

The character size becoming standard in and out of battle becomes interesting immediately. In FF7, they go back to having lower-detail characters outside of battles and full size full detail characters in battle. But with 3D models instead of sprites. It’s interesting to see that progression happen again in 3D.

Haven't watched the video yet but I just wanted to say I tuned in to the stream where you worked on fixing the sprites ages ago and wanted to comment that I really appreciate just how much work you put into these videos to add all that polish and care, it doesn't go unnoticed <3

"2D sprites over 3D backgrounds" is such an underrated visual style. I Can Not get enough of it. I wish we'd gotten at least one big mainline FF like that.