Can’t wait for him to talk about sonic X shadow generations

It would be the best Pokémon game if they added the Pokémon tournament fight effect

Yes. Love the critique. But as a consumer, I love it personally. I like the bounce and speed of the motions, I love the insanity it creates. And most importantly, it's fun. That's what makes it so good. It is overanimated, but it is all extremely fun. And that's the most important part. Improvements can certainly be made, but this isn't a surprise. Most of ZZZ's dev team is actually pretty young by their own admission. They also don't bounce around the other games, they're a dedicated team again by their own admission. It is highly likely the stylized animation will improve as time goes on, and the more stable motions will become more prominent in some instances.

خوب شش قفل و شش عنصر را شناختید و میدانید دارکسایدرز باز میشود اما فورمول واضع باز شدن. کار دارد فقد در مورد زنجیر الکتریسیته و خطر ناک که چیجوری باز میشود و ما میرویم به جهان آردا و کیفیت نهایی ماده . مثلن یک عکس یک بایت است به هزار و بیست و چهار بایت یک کیلو باید میگویند. همین بازی های سگاه و پیکسل های مانیتور رمز گشایش الکتریسیته است که ما هفتاد و هفت سال بعد بازش میکنیم اما اول قانون دارد باید شش قفل را باز کنید کلمه قل در عربی بگو و کلمه قفل در فارسی فقد یک حرف ف زیاد تر است برای روح های خوب یعنی فرح بخشی دردی. یعنی بگو فرح بخشی روحی و توسط زبان باز خواهد شد اما کدام زبان هیلبوی . شش قفل را باز میکند و خود وار در دارکسایدرز زنجیر الکتریسیته را وقتی خداوند به محمد ص گفت قرآن بزرگترین معجزه تو است یعنی قل بگو عیسی نیز با گفتن مرده را زنده میکرد فقد باید آنقدر حساب شده بگویی تا بلآخره باز شود محمد ص زیاد تسبیح می‌گفت من مطالعه میکنم میگویم و می‌نویسم .Romeo.End

52:34 did he just bhop?

I’ve said it the first trailer for ZZZ and people replied with the same non-animator response if “why is that bad, way too much animation? yadda yadda”

Sonic colors Ports/HD version... He didn't know 😭😭 HE DIDN'T KNOW!!

I get what you're saying across this entire video and I actually agree with a lot of your points. As in like 99% of them. But I've been playing JRPGs for so long where you play maybe 2 hours of them and you've seen every animation the game is going to have for the next 30-100 hours. You'll get those unique ones or some cool FMVs for sure. But MOST of the animation isn't going to be more than basic or push things because cellshaded games just do not, get a great budget. Tales games, they have animations that are reused maybe 3 games back. There's tons of image based skits where portraits bounce and move like a puppet show. Looks great because the art is great. But all the regular cutscenes? Very basic, pose to pose, hold pose, etc. There's not a lot beyond the combat. It's all very basic and it's still fun and entertaining. But I'd love to see even a bit of this in the games, just the potential to have more animation. This game going ham, embracing every cliche? I don't care, good. Keep doing it. Go further. Yes, character animation should reflect the character, if they're sad- they're slower and more hesitant, if they're hyper they're off the walls and if the scene is deep you linger on shots to drill in depth and build anticipation. Zenless is not that. Zenless is a puddle in terms of depth, this is a game that they're going to milk for as long as they can. Do wild events, do things out of character and possibly crossovers. Nothing is going to make sense and there likely will never be a resolution to the story because- it's a mobile game. Most are lucky to live past a year. Expecting depth or complicated backstories in a mobile game isn't realistic because the game has to go on and on till it's not profitable. And I say this as someone who doesn't like mobile games and doesn't have an interest in playing Zenless. I look at this and hope even 1/10th of the animation can hit some jrpgs I like but know that they aren't funded by whales or make billions a year. So the investors say no- focus on this. So I'm happy to see the spectacle - despite the lack of interest or you know, depth. Again- I agree with 100% of your points but frankly this is not the game that is going to get deep characters. We should just hope we see games, real games, get some of this budget and potential.

Waiting for Superstars and Shadow Generation 😼

This managed to explain what felt sort of uncanny valley and false about this game to me. I think the character designs struggle with similar issues, trading a business and detail problem for the exaggeration and physics issues muddling clarity in the animation. It's not bad, just too ADHD and feels designed more to go viral and work well on tiktok (whether as short clips or cosplay) as opposed to focusing on quality gameplay purposes. They're incredibly unique and very samey at the same time

I love how the one mihoyo game that tries to do something different with itself is immediately labeled as shit like goonerbait or over-animated despite it's high and unique quality. God forbid it isn't animated like genshin's moving jpegs that do nothing but open their mouth's slightly

Although it’s basically only in cutscenes, god I love it. It is so goofy and has lots of *Interesting* movements Ahem Grace ahem

I like this game, but the trend towards this overanimated style is really starting to irritate me

Hey this just came on my fyp today just so ya know

ZZZ's priority on style isn't just in the animations. The game suffers a lot from it even in menus and presentation of information. It has legit the worst menus out of the Genshin/HSR/ZZZ trio of Hoyo games because everything is focused on looking nice instead of being functional. Like, the game insists on putting tutorial text in the top right, instead of next whatever game element they highlighted. Many common actions that these 3 games share take 2 or 3 more actions in ZZZ. Lots of text boxes are overly small with scrollbars because they want that menu a specific size. Like, it's easier understanding a character's kit in a battle's pause menu than it is in their skill/cinema menu. It really feels like every single menu was designed by different artists for each one and then someone else had to make the menu's work within the constraints of whatever the artist made. Imo, the menus that work the best in the game are the ones that are basically 1:1 to the other games like the battle pass or signal search or event menu, which is really telling.

So, this is definitely an issue, but I think you're vastly overselling it. In the background of this video you play a lot of animation, and there are definitely some overanimated bits, I think Jane is consistantly overdone, her movements don't seem as controlled as they should be, Rina has that same issue, Belle is like a coin flip as to whether she's great or too much, The Cunning Hares and Anton are up in the air whether you think it's a character choice that they're overacting or not. But, like.. Corin?? Really? You show Ellen in the Victoria Housekeeping intro but never bring her up, I would say she definitely doesn't have this issue (least in that cutscene) unless you wanna say her head movement when she walks is too much..? The HIA Examiner! That one really got me, like you put her up as an example of overacting but just, like, watch that cutscene, forget it's from ZZZ, and come back and say it's overanimated. I really think a lot of this is just The Cunning Hares being the first faction you meet, they're undeniably overanimated, almost all of them, and I think that's a deliberate choice, whether it was a good one or not is debatable, but when that's your introduction to ZZZ, and when overanimation is a legitimate problem that crops up _occasionally,_ I think it's easy to start tricking yourself into seeing it everywhere, every squash and stretch being one more to add to the counter, even if it's done well and is completely warranted.

Another argument I'd like to add: there are 2 definitions of "cool" being used here. We have to distinguish here whether "cool" is the animation being good in general, or it achieving this "cool" vibe/aesthetic. e.g. Making an enjoyable movie vs. making a heartbreaking movie that was shot and acted very effectively. When people are saying they don't want the animation to stop being cool, it's probably some amalgam of the 2: both objectively great animation, and delivering on looking cool and flashy, etc. The problem is that, like any kind of emotion or tone, it rarely carries throughout an entire scene. You might have characters arguing, before one quick joke makes them all laugh. Or the example at 15:05, where there's a character remaining calm, followed by someone else freaking out. The animation shouldn't always be "cool", because the _characters_ aren't always being "cool". They will have moments when they feel relaxed, or stiff, or awestruck, and the way they're animated should (be able to) reflect that. That being said, I haven't played the game, so perhaps everything would feel more coherent to me should I actually try it out. Maybe it's going for more "goofy and whacky" vibes in lower-stakes scenes, and they happen to animate that in similar fashion to "cool"? Though that still brings up the argument of distinguishing the two better.

so i’m not the only person that saw the over animation. everytime i watched a commercials with the red guy it looked off putting. like a weebafied deadpool.

Blizzard: Nerfs Tracer and Widows ass Also Blizzard: *Adds Juno*

I'm not playing the goon game, no matter how good it looks

Didn't they start using a different engine with sonic 06?

It’s not as if they’re pushing exaggeration for every character all the time. The stylization and sense of tone fits the intended vibe moment to moment. Just say you don’t have good taste.

Been thinking of a lot of scenes in some of my favorite anime and cartoons and honestly it kinda made me notice how (from what I have seen) the characters in Zenless Zone Zero don't seem to interact with the world that much. Like they interact with the characters and objects that are important to that character or plot line but despite being overly animated sometimes I don't think ya ever see any of em just pic up like something random off the ground or something. For example in the Simpsons when you see Bart pick like a stick off the ground or Homer look around at the bar it makes the characters feel more real. Even if its a slower and less animated those slower moments do really make those characters more human. Ill do another example like Konosuba for instance. That show, especially season 3 is arguably very, very animated but still knows when to exaggerated and keep hold on a pose. A lot of its characters are based on typical anime trops as well but since the animators now when to slow and give characters different poses/actions that aren't expected of them I think it makes them feel more real. Its like taking a twist on the trope instead of over exaggerating that already specific trope. And I think thats really shown with how the characters interact with that world and how they all have very specific poses and facial expressions they do. Zoneless Zone Zero is similar but compared to Konosuba it feels like everyone animates on the same frame rate rather than them all moving independently or moving at different speeds.

when the first couple teasers/trailers came out, my friend showed me them, and i replied with a prompt "this is too over-animated for me" it's good at some parts, but it's incredibly hard to watch at others, i'm surprised someone else has the same opinion as me cause i'm not an animator in the slightest

Looks like they took your advice, Dan. Shadow Generations is delivering a level pack with old story beats as an addon to an existing game, and their scaled down efforts in-engine are looking absolutely fantastic in contrast to many of their previous efforts. Of course, new game means... I'll just say, good luck having to talk about Sonic animation again soon.

I love when this channel talks animation

This is a mobile game buddy, they can't have consistency even if they wanted to, because people are gonna bitch about their storage

Dude honestly you should be getting a PhD when you complete this series of videos. The amount of work it must have taken to accurately analyse all this animation is mind blowing to me

This is one of the "correct" criticisms, that I just don't care about because there are SOOOOOO many other projects out there with "normal" and "correct" animation that it's nice seeing a game/show/etc, just say fuckit and do what it wants

Honestly i felt like such a hater for observing this , i never knew it was an actual problem!

I never liked the animation since the first trailer came out. It feels too jiggly and not hard enough, which isn't my preference. I like movements with hard stops or a sort of smooth sluggishness. E.g. Pacific Rim or the live-action Transformers. Seeing how Optimus moves is satisfying and seeing the arms of the Jaegers jiggle after each punch is captivating.

Totally agree with you! A well made argument and video. To be honest, just watching some segments of this video, made me understand the 'exhausting' factor of ZZZ's animation. I understand why too much can be overestimulating without time to pick up the details or enjoy seeing them.

18:28 This part (and the video, in general) helped me explain why I easily forgot about ZZZ characters apart from Lycaon and Rina after not playing the game for over a month. Everyone is so animated and lively to a point that it got repetitive. The contrast in character personality, at least the way they were portrayed, is lacking.

It occurs to me that the anime *Girls Band Cry* might be worth checking out Dan, it's a 3D anime embracing the 3D for its advantages for anime style without trying to pretend to be 2D, and has some of the squash and stretch that anime typically doesn't do without overdoing it I think.

I wish they add a "dark" chapter to the story, where characters stop being fluid af and be more reserved instead - That'll show you the weight of their problem. The game is still in it's introductory phase, kinda like a lighthearted, episodic anime. Then, a season later, it starts getting plotlines.

They couldnt have paid the animators enough for this game

I'm excited because it looks like Sonic X Shadow Generations is really ramping up the animation quality. I haven't seen such high quality Sonic animation in an official capacity before. Shadow's movement is stretched well with his proportions, he looks dynamic, and he has so many little details added to him to add more character and to add transitions between actions.

Thiss, I also dislike that 2d live feel ugh I hate it also in 2d live, like, why cant they stay still?

I was surprised that the title was a critical one and not a praising type of “look how well they overanimated ZZZ” Then I watched the video and slowly developed the instinct of thinking ‘they should’ve eased into that motion rather than pop into it’. So thanks Dan. Now I know I’m also a nitpicker. In all seriousness, one good takeaway I have is that extreme over the top animation can very well work if put in the right place, and there’s also the classic lesson of “live in the mind of your character” when making animation decisions (i.e. crazy animation for crazy vocals, calm animation for calm vocals).

I keep saying this. 2 things that keep me away from playing this game. 1: Every time I see this game, I feel yhe characters are one piece of clothing away from turning into a 18+ game which I'm not fan of And 2: The over animation, which is weird because I LOVE anything related to animation. But ZZZ makes me feel saturated, and even overwhelmed on scenes that shouldn't be. And like you said, most characters feel the same with the animations in my eyes. Slow pacings and low quiet scenes can help so much in many ways. Imagine if TF2 characters were animated the same way, with Heavy moving as fast and exaggerated as Scout, or in Puss in Boots 2, the scenes of the characters sitting and talking to each other before a big action scene. If the animation here had a bit more of balance between exaggeration and fast movement with more pleasant slow moments in between, it will be a delight for my eyes. I love the animation, but if I get into the game, I'd get saturated of it quickly. Will say this tho. ZZZ feels it could work even better, as an animated show rayher than a game. Seeing these cutscenes, they can be translated to a show, and that, I would love to see

7:30 squid party intensifies Great video! I liked the multiple angles on the frame-by-frame

I'm animator too ..and i agree with you... I had that feeling all time i played, and can't describe it. Now i know what this was. Thanks! And btw i still love this game much)

Thank you very much .....great information, knowledge 🙏

I won't ever play this unless the red guy dies

You know at first I was thinking that I don’t really care because I really like the animation but when you pointed out how static and neutral in the dialogue scenes I realized it did matter. I still do really like the cutscenes though. However, I definitely can see how it can be better now.

I'm not an animator but I'm an artist and I've learned that most expressions/body language we make are reactions not actions. Sure you can start a conversation and that's an action but everything after that is reacting to the other person's responses. In zzz it feels like every single expression is an action, also a reason why it doesn't feel genuine. It feels like every conversation is a theatre act, like they rehearses it before showing us.

I always thought ZZZ’s animation “moved too much” but couldn’t find anything that backs up my opinion and explains it in animation terms. This video made me feel like I’m not insane so thanks. I don’t know anything about animation, but the cutscene animation in this game is too on the nose. It doesn’t show genuine emotion, just an idea of the emotion.

YES finally someone puts what i´ve been thinking into a video. the same goes for the animated cutscenes in Genshin. irritates me to no end.

The way Billy Kid moves makes me inexplicably happy.

I thought I already had a good eye for animation, but this video really makes me question that... Either you're being incredibly nitpicky... or my sense of animation isn't up to snuff. Though, the latter means lesser effort needed from me so I'll stick with that lol