FF7 vs FF7 Remake: Animation Comparison

[@stalman]

An interesting choice is how the man who steps on Aerith's dropped flower is carrying a large box. It makes his action less of aggressive and more careless. I wonder if they first tried it without the box and it directed too much attention to this monstrous flower stomping man.

[@Pastafari4]

I mean it's a interesting parallel to the citizens of Midgard at large not knowing and/or caring about what mako is and what Shinra is doing to the planet.

[@Dexisow]

Nice

[@BrianSpurrier]

@@Pastafari4 and not knowing what’s right beneath them because they can’t see it

[@SLEEPERER]

@@BrianSpurrier maybe some kind of conspiracy grows there

[@MariusBoss11458]

Also. That flower. It's given for people who reunite. So when it's stepped on.... Yeah. It's pretty damn dark.

[@DarthWall275]

If you look hard enough, you can actually make out some slight graphical improvements in the remake vs the original.

[@DZlegend]

Nah I dnt see it u tweaking

[@colinzilla8277]

I think they improved the lighting a little bit.

[@adrieI]

You guys are stupid... obviously they also added the third person camera duh

[@Jay_Sullivan]

I didn’t see Tifa jiggle; it’s a downgrade!

[@bhavinpatel9630]

@@Jay_Sullivan - It's hard to argue with your assessment.

[@callowguru2611]

That transition at 0:55 was so good. "The flower girl's planting seeds, deal with it!"

[@JochemKuijpers]

Dan is not only a highly skilled animator and wholesome individual, he's also a top-tier youtuber (TM). Deal with that :D

[@zryan111]

Fire 🔥 dan the man

[@SPARTON0Weezy]

CLEANEST TRANSITION OF 2020

[@takeitorfuckyou]

@Hatwox 17:14

[@grannysoldier9069]

Can you please explain what does this phrase mean?

[@ernestotorelli1209]

What this video taught me we gained in 20 years: knees.

[@Asdayasman]

Personally I think we didn't kneed them.

[@ironspiderlink3652]

@@Asdayasman That's the best pun I've heard all day

[@rommix0]

@@Asdayasman Right. Back in the old days, the knees looked more like kneaded bread than actual knees.

[@kacperwoch4368]

Apparently Minecraft didn't get the memo

[@fawkkyutuu8851]

Guess I'm one of those ppl who still prefer late 90's early 3d / cg heavy / oldschool PS1 midi sound / and experimental uncanny valley graphical designs of 5th gen. I love modern tech too , FF7R is lightyears more advanced , but not *artistically* stronger imo. 5th and 6th gen are still my all time favorite. Limitations free creativity. I don't see dated graphics I see groundbreaking style and character that still holds up ( while modern games expose their limitations shortly after the awe wears off ).

[@yojimbo3681]

Dude, back in '97 this was cutting edge. We couldn't believe how good it looked

[@theinimitablejora522]

And I just love that we're saying the same thing all over again.

[@CJLAKE123]

Yojimbo Yup. I remember when I first saw these CGI scenes. It was one of the reasons why I kept replaying the game.

[@minzelo14]

again

[@GooseGumlizzard]

and then 2 years later FFVIII blew it out of the water. Then FFX happened, but that was next generation hardware. VII and VIII were on the same system

[@mateombot7493]

Honestly, I played the original FF7 for the first time last week, and I was really impressed with what they have done in terms of realization and atmosphere with the graphism of 97.

[@ginamicarts2077]

The fact that humans achieved this technological advancement in only just about two decades is mind-blowing.

[@TheJadedJames]

Ginamic Arts FF7 was a product of the most primitive early stage 3D. Shenmue 1 came out just 3 years after FF7, which is a more astonishing comparison in what we considered cutting edge in 1997 versus 2000.

[@Agret]

@@TheJadedJames What's more impressive is that Shenmue did it with a smaller budget than FF7. FF7 marketing+development budget was $80million. Shenmues was estimated somewhere between $47-70 million (it's a wide range because it's unclear the budget distinction between Shenmue & Shenmue II as the team had started working on the sequel before the originals development wrapped up)

[@MarinoKadame1]

Just between FF7 and FF8 they took a huge step forward. FF8 was also the first time they did motion capture.

[@twilightsuzuka6252]

Honestly most of this jump had already been done in 4 years- look at FFX’s prerendered cutscenes.

[@GianniBosio]

That's true, but not new: just look at Final Fantasy VI and compare it to a 1971 videogame.

[@andyespinozam]

FF7 remake intro looks exactly as I remember it back in the day. Obviously we filled up all that was missing with imagination.

[@Jay_Sullivan]

That is why I hate most of the voice acting. It doesn’t match up. Sephiroth and Biggs work, but I would prefer to have the Advent Children actors(for everyone.)

[@sanzuriver2959]

@@Jay_Sullivan Yet, most people consider it great casting. You can‘t satisfy everyone, especially not people‘s imagination as it is subjective.

[@viperdemonz-jenkins]

people today do not have imaginations, it was lost after our generation.

[@gus9351]

@@viperdemonz-jenkins oh tell me more, I'll show you I use my imagination ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@gus9351]

Jokes aside tho, how do you think games are made? Stories and such? It's imagination, many people still play 2d rpgs in phone, I can tell by experience, I was surprised when we visited our long distance relatives, I found out that two of them play in mobile with rpgs 2d graphics, games like inotia, zenonia and some games that I really don't know the title and aren't on the frong page of app store, they're 12 year old btw and has their own pcs, quite surprising in my opinion

[@zachataxxii7126]

This is just one long "be careful who you called ugly in middle school".

[@nikkoa.3639]

I mean... ff7 was considered an innovation so no one would call it ugly.

[@sharilshahed6106]

@@nikkoa.3639 but there are many people who look back and does that. Mostly Fortnite millenials (stereotyping but you get the idea).

[@juliahenriques210]

Now let's please give props for the judo knowledge of whoever pulled off that textbook i pon seoi nage with tiny PS1 models. Clap clap clap.

[@Eshmasesh671]

Agreed, the fact we were able to identify the throw at such low fidelity was a sign of amazing animating skills. They were just limited to what they could do at the time.

[@malenky4057]

Hahah, as someone who grew up practising Judo and playing this game, I always appreciated this!

[@reloadpsi]

"This Aerith actually looks alive!" Give it a few years.

[@NobodyC13]

Oh, ouch.

[@WithDennisK]

:DDD

[@o_lilium4829]

i spit out my coffee reading this

[@johnsondeng]

Oh, Japan, you silly.

[@dirtydan9904]

We don’t know what could happen in this timeline

[@ChaosArgate]

My favorite thing about the PS5 remaster is that it confirms Dan’s theory about the switch from pre-rendered movie to in-engine cutscene after the fog clears at the reactor train stop because the action suddenly shifts to 60 FPS.

[@mastermarkus5307]

I don't speak/read Japanese personally, but "performative coolness" in this first part of the game was ALWAYS a part of Cloud's character, though it was really lost in the original English translation where he spoke more conventionally than in the Japanese where he spoke in a way that was deliberately meant to emulate a cool and aloof hero-type. Besides a different script, the ability to see facial expressions and hear voice acting really helps to impart that, as it's something incredibly difficult to discern with JUST words. These factors also help us notice the subtle moments when Cloud can't keep up the act.

[@ValkyrieTiara]

Been moseyin' with Tim Rogers, eh? 😏

[@mastermarkus5307]

@@ValkyrieTiara I don't totally know who that is but if he's the guy who made videos going over the differences in translation starting with videos that were good but too short and cut out to much and ended with ones that were long but too dense with him rambling pointlessly then yes. Though I have heard it from other sources, like the people behind the fairly recent fan translation.

[@timothymclean]

There's so much nuance that Japanese imparts through word choice alone...I respect any translator that tries to preserve it. I wonder how much of that exists in other languages that I just don't know about due to not consuming/reading about much, say, Ethiopian or Portuguese pop culture.

[@mastermarkus5307]

@@timothymclean There are a lot of differences to languages! Like Japanese is incredibly contextual to the point that you can basically say "x went to this place" by just saying "went" because it's all dependent on context. I'm afraid I'm not particularly learned so I couldn't give in-language examples but I have read about some of the basic structures and I follow the work of Clyde Mandelin (a professional Japanese-to-English translator) and he's said that a lot of the mistranslations that come out of games, especially back in the day are from a lack of context.

[@campkira]

he is a poser... but lv up with the game... also explain why he so weak at beginning level...

[@chcoman123]

I've watched that new intro a billion times and never thought about how she treats the trampled flower with the same respect she treats the Mako from the pipe. Like it's so FRIGGIN obvious and not at all subtle but it's smart and I feel so stupid for never recognizing this. Same goes for why she'd suddenly get spooked by nothing in the alleyway. Brilliant as always Dan!

[@Sam-iu8nb]

Don't feel stupid. That's what makes it good story telling. Most people watching aren't going to think "hmm, interesting subtext, clever foreshadowing". You just take in the scene and the emotions. Most of us feel that the scene is working, we need professionals like Dan to pick it into it's components and tell us why it's working.

[@DanteYewToob]

I like how the camera also pans across right before the switch to show the train runs on the same green energy. It looks across a small oval window to the heart of the engine glowing green. (In the remake.) Edit: at 17:58 you can see what I mean.

[@AoDAzrael]

Part of that might be related to how familiar you are with FF7 already (at least I assume that you are). Like I never thought much of it either because I already know what mako is and how it relates to Aerith/Aeris, the planet, the whole story, etc. so it definitely flew over my head.

[@smelge]

Listen to the music when she gets spooked in the alley. It's a little bit of Sephiroth theme. She reacts like she knows what's coming.

[@allbromobro3505]

"updated to AAA status." This game goes far beyond most of AAA standards these days.

[@paleriderpalehorse55]

It's not even a third of FF7's total story and it already feels more complete than most AAA games within a year of release.

[@tobistein6639]

@@paleriderpalehorse55 Wait, it's not even a third? Boy, am I in for a ride 😂

[@paleriderpalehorse55]

@@tobistein6639 This whole game is literally a rework of just the first 10 hours or so of the original game, which can be like 50+ hours long.

[@worawatsr9803]

Pale Rider, Pale horse Midgar part is about 4-5 hours. The whole game is 50+ hours.

[@CosmicTBLobster]

Can we just take a moment to appreciate just how well done the small things were and how well they lend to the overall life of the characters? That crack of a smile when Jessie says that jump was cool? Friggin' excellent man. Edit: 20:31 is when it happens.

[@deandra1735]

no

[@carso1500]

Yes, it's awesome

[@erwinlimawan3158]

If you want to take it deeper, that smile is an early hint that Cloud isn’t as professionally stoic as he pretends to be too. That underneath it all, he’s still that idealistic boy who wants to be a SOLDIER, and that acknowledgment by Jessie really struck his core.

[@jewel56]

I loved that too

[@peerlessvenerablefartculti7384]

@@erwinlimawan3158 your brain is huge

[@duchi882]

This video is a great reminder of how we achieved this much of amazing technological advancement for just about 20 years.

[@zeromailss]

12:30 "Let's see what 23 years of technological advance can do." I feel old now

[@shibayagami3684]

Perhaps you've played this in 1997?

[@SatansBestBuddy1]

7:14 - I think my favourite part of this one shot pan is that, if you look closely, you can see the bridge that links the reactor and the two sections of Midgar to each other, which in about an hour you will see Cloud crossing that bridge as the reactor explodes, and that's how those two stories of Areith and Cloud converge. Wonderful bit of subtle worldbuilding. 9:15 - As a theatre nerd, I feel the overwhelming need to correct you on this one incredibly minor, nitpicky point: stage plays have multiply angles for audiences to view them from. A huge part of stage design and blocking is making sure everybody can see everything onstage. That's the reason it's called "blocking", it's very easy for something to look good from one side of the audience and terrible from the other side. One of my jobs as a director was making sure to get up every once in a while and sit in a different seat to make sure the actors could be seen and heard no matter where I was. 18:40 - I'm pretty sure your guess was correct, cause this is SquareEnix, if they could do that kind of real time trade off seemlessly they would have made it far, far less obvious. You think they *wouldn't* show off if they had that kind of ability? I think the biggest takeaway you can get from this video is just how INSANELY FAST video games have progressed in terms of visual presentation. You can't make this kind of comparison with most mediums! Like, you can compare comics from the 30's to comics from the 50's and 60's, and while there is an evolution it's not as stark a difference. Same with music, same with movies, same with television, same with books. All mediums experience growth and evolution and sometimes revolutions, but video games are the only medium that's gone through so many changes so FAST. I would love to see this kind of video done on Resident Evil, which, aside from being a spectacular example of "what if Square really did remake FF7 for the PS2?" would have looked like, is also probably an even more insane technical leap forward, since there were only six years separating the original game from it's remake on Gamecube, and yet the increase in visual fidelity is MASSIVE.

[@murderwasthebass1]

Great video. I also love how when Aerith looks down the dark alley, one of the lights dims and flickers. This indicates something ominous and otherworldly. Also how a very discreet One Winged Angel plays at that moment. Gotta love it.

[@TheMan83554]

Honestly. If you showed me the remake's first cutscene, I would have thought it was live action. Man CGI is getting good.

[@Mustafa-isthere]

Shame with it is that in 3 years were gonna look back at this and find it comparatively poor looking In relation to what we'll have then.

[@cizeek9748]

I think I saw you in another comment section today again :)

[@SampoPaalanen]

If you know what to look for you can tell the signs of CGI animation there, but it's not as in your face as it used to be and you kind of have to know what to look for.

[@QuintessentialWalrus]

I honestly wondered for a second if I was watching sneaky live action footage when Aeris was staring at the pipe. I know it's pre-rendered, but I think they still use in-game assets, presumably?

[@Halloweenharen]

@@QuintessentialWalrus No, at a game studio you usually create assets that are super high fidelity and then scale it back for the actual in game models. Presumable they used higher quality models for the pre rendered stuff as that didn't have to be saved on disc nor rendered realtime. Alltough those in game models dont look half bad so it's not totally out of the question that those were used in the pre render.

[@RoronoaZoroSensei]

I've never played an FF game, but I got nostalgic over this. Hearing you gush over animation is so wholesome!

[@Gods_Fury101]

RoronoaZoroSensei if you like RPG’s then honestly this might be a good one for you to start with, the storyline is so good and sephiroth was/is still to this day one of the most notable and recognized villians of all time.

[@leonardoserna8988]

Never have i touched a ff game and i consider myself huge gamer. Just not big into turn based but ff7 remake is absolutely amazing!! even tastes a little like old mass effect and devil may cry had a baby. Hard to explain. 60 hours in and cant drop it. Highly recommend it. Cant wait for next part.

[@Zero-rq9ti]

@@leonardoserna8988 Glad you like it! Although that mass effect and dmc comparison is doesn't really make sense since ff7 came out before those two but I get your point lol.

[@THEREALZENFORCE]

Xenogears (PS1) > Final Fantasy Tactics (PS1) > FFVII > FFVI > FFVIII > FFVII Remake

[@Krokodilius]

this is like comparing the sun to a 60w lightbulb.

[@fatmatt589]

You should've also compared this with the PS3 tech demo of this opening as well, to see how much they've improved this one scene throughout multiple console generations.

[@MariusBoss11458]

And Crisis Core. Which is pretty similar tbh. Speaking of that. 17:36 That part? It's a reference to the Ending of Crisis Core. Cloud even brings his head up just like Crisis Core. "My name is Cloud, SOLDIER First Class"

[@wanakoplays8874]

You were exactly right at 18:00. That's precisely where the transition takes place. On the PC version, that's where it goes from the pre-rendered 60FPS to 120 FPS, if enabled.

[@imveryangryitsnotbutter]

8:00 - Ooh, Barret's gonna be real mad when he finds out what Tifa did.

[@sheepthehack]

I think u will find its pronounced ANTIFA!!! ;p

[@LutraLovegood]

Haven't played the game since the 90s, what's the joke here?

[@tchenku]

@@LutraLovegood "When the Shinra Electric Power Company wanted to build a Mako Reactor near the town, Dyne originally opposed it. When there was an explosion at the reactor, Shinra took revenge on the town of Corel and burned it down, killing his wife, Eleanor, and Barret's wife, Myrna." This scene had Barret and Dyne looking on the town upon their return then rushing off to save people. Tifa was not there, of course :P

[@timothymclean]

She'll probably have to stop telling Cloud not to f[boop] up.

[@Xenomorthian]

@@sheepthehack hey jimmy wanna join antifa

[@allentor2876]

I've been saying for years that the original FF7 does an amazing job of animating the little lego people. Everyone of them expresses so much character in just the way they move and their body language and that was done with so few moving parts that it's always been impressive to me. It's great to see that get acknowledged on this channel, even just a little bit. Oh, and the remake is cool too, I guess.

[@snotenberg7]

I love how the changed aeriths characterization to be more playful and making it more obvious that she has seen some shit growing up in the slums. It was in the original, but it's far more clear with all the little interactions cloud and earth have

[@phondekarvidhesh]

21:29 unfortunately this scene was not included in the remake which is a bummer for me.

[@IdioticUlt1mara]

I was very gutted about this as well. However the way I seen it is that the drums were sort of like the prison cells as they did technically get captured and trapped buy Hojo at this point in time. i did however really want the cell scene more than the drum section

[@jonathongraham4471]

Just finished the game a few days ago... I was definitely looking forward to that, and the scene with Sephiroth and President Shinra. It was different, but I think they handled it well. Still makes me wish the had included it though.

[@SobrietyandSolace]

It goes without saying but Cloud, Tifa and Aerith are all astonishingly beautiful and Advent Children clearly gave them a great testing ground for artistic direction.

[@Xenomorthian]

I miss when you could make characters look attractive without complaints of being creepy

[@bagman017]

I am SO glad we get to hear your take on this before the launch.

[@PotatoPatatoVonSpudsworth]

Thought you said "before lunch" and I was gonna interject because I happen to be eating lunch right now.

[@eliasstenman3710]

Potato Patato It’s dinner time right now.

[@imveryangryitsnotbutter]

Wedge: It's pizza time.

[@JessmanChicken86]

11:35 When you think about it, aren't we all just a clump of untextured, faceless polygons, hand-springing off the train of life?

[@imveryangryitsnotbutter]

Whoa dude, that's deep [takes a hit]

[@AshMashAttack]

The physics in this remake are amazing! The way Aerith's skirt moves when she stands in the opening scene was so good. I'm a first timer, only played the original up to Wall Market. I'm in love with this remake!

[@wolfiekun]

me, an animator: "Man I would love to hear Dan nerding out about more of this." Dan: "If you want to hear more of me nerding out I'm gonna play the game!" me: *weeps to the heavens for they have bestowed a gift upon me*

[@lua3244]

I feel like showing cloud riding in the train before barret calls him was a weaker decision, they could just maintain him appearing only at the end, because imo it builds more tension for his reveal. But otherwise its all looking fine.

[@peachesandcream8753]

I agree with you, that shot makes the relationship between Cloud and Barret less cut and dry because the authority has been watered down and the banter between the two doesn't have that same power dynamic. The remake makes you think that this is Cloud's mission, because he's the first one we see *and* he's on top of the train, while in fact it's actually Barret's mission and he's the one in charge. Cloud's "get help" line would have made a better impact if they kept it the same as the original because he's actively talking back to the one who is in charge.

[@timothymclean]

It's definitely different. It makes Cloud a more central character (for better and worse), while also undercutting Cloud's jump off of the train as a character moment (because it's not how he's introduced). I see what they were going for, I see what the change does, but I like what the original did better.

[@reishiki]

Lately, I've realized that I have emotional attachment to the low polygons popeye-arms models of the characters more than the (relatively) hi-res ones of the original game, heck, maybe even more than the story itself. Maybe because they're the ones player spent most time with and also, like Dan pointed out, they have a very exaggerated and expressive animation.

[@realamericannegro977]

Stuff like this is how you can tell how blessed these companies were back then. You can feel God's hands on these older Final Fantasies.

[@BGIANAKy]

When I first played this, I didn’t speak or read English yet. Only way I could understand was through the flaying arms lol

[@BGIANAKy]

Real American Negro they really did a good job with the remake. A lot of love went into it

[@lobrundell4264]

I even started drawing characters like that and was very happy with how cool it looked to me : D

[@realamericannegro977]

@@BGIANAKy To be honest the remake seems like alot of ego and greed went into it. The PSone was genuine and you can feel the excitement in how the product turned out.

[@ilrompiscatole5414]

8:57 Hi! 3D technical artist here 😄👋 I think the animation limit per-scene might have been there because the big, beefy bitmap background was eating away most of the available ram 🙂 Still I’m no ps1 expert so I might be wrong 🙂 Btw I’m loving your videos! The content is always solid and the narration keeps getting better and better. Kudos 🙂🤟

[@NewFramePlus]

That explanation makes sense! And I'm glad you're enjoying them!

[@willian3673]

Following PS1 FF sequels have much better models tough

[@Agret]

I watched this whole video waiting for a technical breakdown to begin, was just about thematic choices in the way the intro was shot and had very little to do with the animation at all. Can you get in a guest technical artist for future videos please to breakdown what's actually happening, unfortunately this video felt like it stretched on for too long with not enough information provided for the length. The bit about Aerith at the start was good but then there was no more breakdown for the rest of the video.

[@xX-fd2qj]

That seems most likely. While discs could store compressed image they have to be converted to a vectorized(bitmap) format for rendering. For PS1 era these backgrounds are really detailed so I wouldn't be surprised if it pushed the PS1's 1MB VRAM to it's limit.

[@colinmcdonald6124]

If you want to find when the new game transitions between pre-rendered cutscene and in-game engine, pre-rendered cutscenes have surround sound, in-game is stereo. If you have speakers set to surround sound but with a disabled center channel, dialogue will sound like it's coming from the other room. As soon as it transitions to in-game engine, dialogue is clear again. It's surprising how frequently it switches between the two

[@dfreeman847]

Might be something wrong with your setup because I def had full surround throughout the game.

[@runningcommentary2125]

I adore the intro of the remake. It's a perfect summary of its relationship with the original game. Similar, but longer, and with a more foreboding tone.

[@BlueberryBlanket]

Look, all I want is HD Cloud in a dress. That's all I've ever wanted.

[@asdfaaa1000]

wait for it to go on PC, mods will fix it like it did FFXV

[@anotherinternetperson8495]

I don't like the dress so much but cloud himself is a cutie Goth loli style if you've seen anime you know the type

[@ZephyrFate]

you'll get it if you play FF7 remake.

[@werecoth]

Well congrats, it even comes with an inspirational message now.

[@ZephyrFate]

Cory Evans which is awesome! Very progressive too :)

[@RosaPantera]

It's very awesome (saldy rare) to see someone in KZbin talking about a topic they actually know about. The arguments simply carry much more weight to them. Thanks! I don't even animate or plan to, but I feel like I can actually learn interesting things with these videos!

[@SS2Dante]

Anyone else really want to see Dan analyse the intro cuscene of every FF game post 7, to look at how the tech/acting/camera work progressed? In particular, the point that Dan makes at 9.18 - about it being like a stage play - is a really interesting aspect that isn't talked about much. The earlier FF's are even written more like a play than a movie (hell, they even joke about this - 7 has the play minigame and 9 is a straight up Shakespearian homage), with characters frequently turning to camera and monolouging their thoughts. Once the tech started getting better they were able to do more stuff, so everything began to shift from play-based to movie-based. It'd be cool to discuss how animators handled this change and how the writing/animation capabilities fed into each other with each new game.

[@realtalk4994]

I am about 25 hours in right now and all I can say is...the love and attention to detail they've put into every scene, the voice acting, the remade OST, it's really blown me away. In a way...it feels like experiencing FF7 for the first time all over again. Especially since they are taking some liberties with how things play out. I think doing Midgar as an entire game was a fantastic choice, and it makes me really excited for what's to come.

[@jester7648]

This is the most excited and enthusiastic I've seen him in a video

[@Burning_Dwarf]

Have you seen the hollow knight playthrough? He gets so giddy

[@jester7648]

@@Burning_Dwarf How the hell did I not know about his second channel!?

[@Burning_Dwarf]

@@jester7648 it took me a while too, 🤫 He even makes the games, i could not care less about, exiting to watch But sometimes i rewatch old extra credits episodes where he is exited about the subject, because his happiness just tranfers so well

[@vinylwalk3r]

21:42 "Sir, Geek Detector is going like mad. Prepare for impact" Never thought it would happen, but you did it Dan. You made me interested in a Final Fantasy game...not sure how to feel about it though...

[@Terraoblivion]

God, I just love the aesthetic sensibilities of modern Final Fantasy so much. It's not at all cartoonish, but it just isn't realistic either. Everything is prettier, more emotional, more striking than even the most gorgeous vista in a game like Uncharted. It's magical and wondrous, but realistic enough that the magic and wonder feels real and sucks you in. Only fully painterly works or works with extremely specific, clearly thought out cartoon aesthetics can really compare for me and even most of those fail to realize their aesthetics as perfectly as modern Final Fantasy. So, yes, a game like Gris might be even prettier, but not only is it a different kind of pretty, there isn't a major studio churning out really long games looking like that with regularity. I just can't enjoy the established classics in the series the same with that I can the ones from this millennium. The technology and expertise to pull off this kind of aesthetic just weren't there the way it was as early as FFX.

[@peggyliepmann5248]

I really need two things from this: 1) I need to see bby!Denzel at some point when the plate drops, I want to see my baby boy. 2) I want to see how they handle Cloud's moments of goofiness, both in animation and in voice acting. A lot of the tie ins and spinoffs like Advent Children, Kingdom Hearts and Dissidia lean way too hard on Serious!Cloud, let him be silly, dangit!

[@theEndermanMGS]

Can't wait for Cloud to tell everyone "Let's mosey" before the final battle.

[@peggyliepmann5248]

@@theEndermanMGS Exactly! "You look like a marshmallow"

[@theEndermanMGS]

peggy liepmann Just saw the e-mail announcing the release was titled “Let’s mosey”. Thank you Square Enix.

[@AspieMediaBobby]

peggy liepmann 1.)The reason Denzel survived the Plate Drop whilst his parents did not is The TURKS relocated him and a bunch of other kids who were orphaned by it to the Sector 5 Slums where Aerith used to live out of remorse.That`s also where the Geostigma pandemic started.(Incidentally,there`s one level where JENOVA`s monsters leave behind puddles of water in the Shin-Ra building which may be the start of what will later become the Geostigma Black Water) 2.)Most of Cloud`s "silliness" in the Original was a result of bad translation as well as an awkward,cringeworthy attempt by Japanese developers to help insecure Western `90s geeks like myself project ourselves onto Cloud("Emo Cloud" was a similar attempt to appeal to angsty 2000s kids dealing with depression and shit which Nomura himself had long had experience with,also to be fair someone with a background like Cloud`s who`s seen good friends die in front of him and comes down with an alien illness he`s partially responsible for and there`s no cure for on top of adopting a kid who has the same disease even worse isn`t exactly gonna be all "sunshine and rainbows",especially since he now knows most of the life he thought he had that made him feel he had value was a lie! )

[@aprettyfunnyperson4516]

If the hand massage scene and stair scene is anything to go off of, I don’t think we’ll have to worry

[@Gilbot9000]

Top tier analysis as always, Dan. Looking forward to your run of the remake.

[@christopherpratt4541]

Its lovely listening to an professional on a subject getting excited about discussing their subject..

[@summerhys9567]

Why is the speeding train scene there? It's the last scene of Crisis Core :D Which brings a really nice continuity if you played CC right before FF7R

[@patmisc]

In this video around 20:31, that part gets me every time. I still cannot believe how far animation has come ever since FF7s release. So far story-wise I think they had the opportunity to deepen the plot and we are seeing that in the first part. I am just really happy this game got a remake.

[@difty-dift]

I feel like the shot in the remake of Cloud riding the train kind of undercuts the ambush and his cool boi entrance, but it's such a minimal point that it doesn't really matter.

[@mathunit1]

I see the new shot as misdirection, making us think Cloud is initiating the ambush maybe alone but then surprised us with other people doing it first.

[@nagzz06]

That ending music you have at 21:57, "Interrupted by Fireworks" is one of my favorite and best music in FF7

[@deltoran11]

It's going to be really weird watching Dan's playthrough of the remake at the same time I'm watching a playthrough of the original game, but it'll be super cool to compare the two

[@BIZEB]

You were absolutely right about this. What struck me the most when playing the remake was how incredibly deeper the connection was through the animations and character expressions that we lacked before. Square really did nail this to perfection. It was an acting masterclass.

[@timothymclean]

16:52: The original had a megacorporation burn the life-force of the planet, composed of the souls of the departed, in order to make a quick buck by selling energy to places it basically conquered. Subtlety has _never_ been a strength of Final Fantasy 7. Clarity, on the other hand...

[@GhostEmblem]

I really like the bombastic, exaggerated version of real world issues approach.

[@jonnamustonen6751]

Well thanks for the spoilers 😑

[@timothymclean]

@@jonnamustonen6751 Oh. Oops.

[@Edgeperor]

Jonna Mustonen that’s barely a spoiler, I’m pretty sure it’s just the basic plot

[@Mitchell_Nagy]

I love both these versions. I still find after all these years the art direction of the original FF7 to be charming and well expressed with the motions characters do. And I really like how the 3D over world models hybridize the aesthetic and animations of FF5 and 6... But man... The PS1 low res without a CRT makes the game look so crusty. I love playing this now with AI upscaled pre-renders 😆

[@Alassandros]

Well, this just earned you a subscription. I loved your vid on ArcSys and Pokemon animations a while back, and the fact that you covered my all-time favorite game means your my kind of dude. I look forward to watching more of your content.

[@thesuntitan]

In the scene in the playground when Aerith thinks about Zack, you can see in her *PUPILS* the exact moment when he comes to her mind.

[@Kalviberry]

This was a joy to watch, and I can't wait to see you enjoy it through a playthrough.

[@S3Bayaya]

I love that 1/4 of vid is just roasting Cloud McCoolguy

[@daracaex]

Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure we're not getting that scene in Kalm in this game. It's gonna be in the next one. They probably made that decision so that it serves as a good recap to kick off the next "episode" of this remake series.

[@materiagworl]

The main character details that always stick out to me in the remake is the eyes. In the opening cutscene with Aerith, her eyes are so bright and vibrant, and it’s almost like they’re reflecting the light of the Mako. There’s others too, like how Tifa’s eyes aren’t just brown because they have accents of orange and crimson, Cloud’s eyes are such a vibrant shade of blue and we see so many shots of them and how much emotion they convey even when there’s seemingly no emotion in his face, and the way Sephiroth’s eyes glow unnaturally and the way the devs decided to give him catlike pupils just make his appearance even more malicious and inhuman. That’s my two cents, anyways.

[@EHH246]

17:08 Then a lot of people are going to be confused when that new player accessibility is thrown out by the end.

[@erikabutler6893]

I'd love to see a video of a city planner who has never played FF7 before watching the remake intro.

[@TheBlazeraider]

Can't wait to see crossdressing Cloud in high fidelity.

[@hauntedshadowslegacy2826]

LOL ikr? Too bad it might not be for a while.

[@imveryangryitsnotbutter]

@@hauntedshadowslegacy2826 What are you talking about? The game drops tomorrow.

[@satanasluciferi7278]

@@hauntedshadowslegacy2826 if youre interested: i got to the crossdressing part within the first 20 hours of gameplay

[@satanasluciferi7278]

@@imveryangryitsnotbutter due to covid 19 europe and Australia got the game early.... I received my copy april 4th and am currently in the final chapters of the game

[@adeelabbasi2811]

Dude that part is hilarious and amazing

[@chance79th77]

That transition at 0:52 was fire as fuck

[@EnriqShockwave]

As always, so well written and broken down. Keep it up manz!

[@valkyrie2032]

I absolutely enjoyed this video and subscribed because of it. I also loved how they added the scene of Tifa making a drink for Cloud, it showed that she wasn't just a hot badass fighter who was secretly an eco terrorist. She was actually good at her "day job" and showed why all the towns men loved that bar and her.

[@0seele]

That in depth analysis of aerith opening her eyes made me feel like I was locking eyes with my crush so good job on that

[@PixelSlayers]

That transition at the beginning was so spot-on it gave me chills

[@historyhub1744]

Hi Dan! I know this might be on a different subject but I was wondering what your thoughts are on Disney animator Aaron Blaise's animation course and the sale that's on where most of the courses are a dollar. It's great! Great video btw! I cant wait for the nest fundamental animation video!

[@CristanMeijer]

16:37 It's a really nice touch that the guy trampling the flower wasn't doing so out of spite, but because he couldn't see it because he was carrying a box.

[@Tenpouin]

I think the original character models of FFVII, rough as they may be, are very expressive through body language. Square really honed their skills on this along the PS1 era, but FFVII was already a pretty good indicative of this. I recommend watching the scene right after Aerith's death, it's the perfect showcase of this. Depending on whom you have in your party, each member will react differently to her death, all without a word. And every reaction fits perfectly with each character and says much more about them than any word could. Yuffie will react by sobbing uncontrollably and hugging Cloud, Tifa will gently pass her hands through Aerith's hair and face and leave crying, Barret doesn't know what to say and just put a hand on Cloud's shoulder etc. The music sells the rest. I wonder if they will have the balls to keep something like this in the remake. It's the kind of stuff that stuck with me all these years. kzbin.info/www/bejne/g33VgWeohbWfrcU

[@gavinlucas9761]

EXACTLY! And that's the charm that I love about the original, cuz as stiff and simplistic as the characters look, I was still able to tell exactly what the characters were thinking just from there body movments! Pluss I still prefer the original anyway.

[@beanlegume9965]

16:33 I noticed the second time I saw this that the guy who steps on her flower was carrying a box that was obscuring his vision. I thought that was a nice detail rather than just some jerk who couldn't be bothered to look down or avoid stepping on it.

[@pyrosianheir]

As someone for whom this is /basically/ their introduction to FF VII (never touched the original until early 2019; didn't stick through to the end) - Can't agree more with your assessment of the efficacy of the new intro sequence on introducing the game. I've a passing awareness of what's in it (hard to be a video game nerd online and /not/ be passingly aware) but the shots of the wasteland, and then the reactor lighting up gave me /chills/. Just that effective at telegraphing, "This glowing this is murdering the planet."

[@MojtabaGholizadeh]

cinematography in this game is in another level. how camera moves and how they frame discussions between antagonist and protagonist and party members are insane. well done.

[@theshyguy1580]

It's really amazing to see how far we've come in graphics, especially seeing Aerith's animations. I can't wait to see what Safer Sephiroth's animations look like in the remake.

[@Hexumonium]

I love trying to identify pre-rendered cutscenes! You're right... it's getting hard to do these days. Cloud's big 'ol Buster Sword with its green and blue materia have been my clear indicator in FFVII:R. You nailed it on the train scene being pre-rendered. I didn't even know for sure until I brought a different sword to battle. I'd be interested in watching a video of you identifying all the pre-rendered cutscenes in this game.

[@XanderVJ]

While I really dig the new version of the opening scene (except the daylight show of Midgar. I think it loses the mysticism the stars in the original had, and the added context I think doesn't add all that much. The rest is spot on, though), I still find the original version as something really special. Yeah, I know it's rough by today's standards, but considering how limited the medium was back then, it's still impressive. I mean, you don't get to be one of the most iconic scenes in video game history for over two decades for nothing. Call me nostalgic (I was 12 when the original game came out, after all, and the leap in presentation was a true punch to the face that someone just 5 years younger than me probably never got to feel), but I usually value more something that rises above its limitations than something that does so because it had all bells and whistles to its disposal. Not that there's anything wrong with the latter, though.

[@HarleyAMV]

I'd legit pay full price to watch you go through the whole game like this.

[@chan742]

Ahem. "MONDAY MONDAY MONDAY! See Our Lord And Liege, Who rules over Cards, the Shinobi of the Divine Dragon, Bug Knight, and Ace Detective will face off against the Forces of The Shinra Electric Power Company! ONLY ON PLAAAAYFRAAAAME."

[@vizthex]

never played either game, but during your comparison i realized Aerith has a hair accessory thing, and not the pointy ears i'd always thought she had.

[@viktorbryce951]

They should redo Legend of Dragoons. The characters, story, world were so rich and vast. I want that game remade with today's graphics.

[@BlueSparxLPs]

Would love this, but after what they did with FF7's combat, I really worry that they'll throw out Dragoon's turn-based Addition system for some real time version, which I'd absolutely hate. It has me very cautiously optimistic for the idea of a Dragoon remake.

[@viktorbryce951]

@@BlueSparxLPs I can understand that concern. However, I feel they could do some unique combo attack system and keep the turn-based addition system. Add more additions or say create addition paths so you can uniquely create your own additions. Or even add unique additions to when you use your Dragoon. The amount of data they can play with and use now is leagues beyond what they used to have. I'd say just expand upon the system because it's very unique and most games don't use such a system.

[@maliivicadoncevic1248]

Just play Dragon Quest 11... Thah game is last, and sad to say, only JRPG left...

[@BlueSparxLPs]

@@maliivicadoncevic1248 Octopath Traveler is much better as a JRPG imo, and it's also a very recent game that's an absolute must play.

[@Edgeperor]

Dragoons? Aren’t those the cool things from ball in a car for the cube?

[@samuelturner6076]

I love this, is so good. Dan just seeing the fellow animators cheat sheet and being so happy is like that one PC kid giving the thumbs up, just so wholesome. Alternative title, animator gushes about (oh yeah and also explains) animation for 22 minutes.

[@Just-J-10]

Yeah, you haven't nerded out enough on this game. Get Carrie to play it!

[@Driahva]

Yeah, I also am super excited for the scene at Kalm. Tifa already had a moment of "?" when Cloud said it had been 5 years since they last saw each other. They better not screw this up.

[@paraalso]

Final Fantasy VII looks a lot different in my memories compared to here.

[@bookfan1239]

paraalso There’s actually a name for that, though i don’t remember off the top of my head. Memories tend to remember things as being better/cleaner than they really were.

[@brontyde5929]

@@bookfan1239 Its called nostalgia.

[@bookfan1239]

Brontyde Yes, but there’s a term for it. It called positivity effect (over time, you forget the negative things about the past and mainly remember the positives) and “rosy retrospective” which is basically the same thing. You mainly remember the story and how you felt while playing rather than the graphics themselves.

[@Barkis2011]

@@bookfan1239 in my case it was worse compared to what i remembered i love the remake but i really hate the orignal game i had so much problems with it back in the day when i played it having to start all over every time i had saved the game because it fucked up the save file any other game was no problem only ff7 and i started playing the remasterd version a few days ago and it´s so bad i want to kill my self

[@Clymaxx]

I've looked over this a lot and I think a lot of that has to do with the visual presentation due to the different display hardware of those days. Today our super hi res screens (mine is 4K for example) with LED technology not only changes the way the colors manifest from the signal output but it is wayyy too easy to see just how low resolution, nonanti-aliased these graphics are. With my old CRT screen I could swear it seemed smoother, less blocky, maybe more saturated, and more in line with the PS1's ability to refresh the screen at 30Hz max.

[@lavennia]

I missed Wedge jumping over that guard's body in the remake, that's such a nice touch

[@thestationerydraw2733]

“LETS SAY SOME NICE THINGS!” dan u ar amazing

[@MashiroShiina]

13:14 where can I watch this 2 minute video of Aerith?

[@SlackwareNVM]

2:33 If Dan is willing to admit something is bad, that means it was reeeeeealy bad.

[@deewdrops]

The Cloud on the train shot is a direct reference and continuation from the ending of Crisis Core.

[@troabarton69]

I don't know. I kind of like how the original opening with Aerith gave Midgard this feeling of isolation and her this feeling of an eternal optimist. With that lonely, calm walk to the street and little interaction with anyone else around her, it felt like Midgard was this mega-city that a person could get lost in and no one would ever notice them being there or being gone because everyone is so concerned with their own lives. And with the walk being calm and, maybe not carefree, but without any sense of alarm or hesitation, Aerith always felt like the one character who would genuinely try to find the best in any situation or person and see the good possibilities and future of the world around her. Don't get me wrong, the remake does look gorgeous and I hope it sells well. But I wonder if with the new technology and techniques, some of the character development we've seen in the FFVII series with its spinoffs is getting a little sped-up or force-fed in the remake.

[@boringth]

This is one of those channels that when I see you've uploaded a new video, I do a deep, excited inhale and skip my watch later list to watch whatever it may be you've posted

[@trevorstevens9403]

Would love to see you do a deep dive into the animations within the Splatoon games: comparing both games, cutscenes in them versus gameplay, maybe some Smash gameplay versus Splatoon gameplay. I just wanna see some Splatoon animation analysis!

[@GiantBlargg]

Something I noticed about the transition at 18:00 is that the train isn't moving at all during the realtime section. In modern engines (such as UE4, that is used here) static objects can have some of their lighting data pre-calculated, this is known as baking, whereas lighting for moving objects must be recalculated constantly. By not switching to realtime until after the train stops moving, the train can be baked and therefore less taxing on the hardware.

[@capterson4]

Not gonna lie, I'm curious how they'll deal with the Cloud crossdressing scene.

[@shibayagami3684]

I see you are interested too

[@hibiscusman]

Dan, you're punching me in my hype. Over and over. It hurts so good, I can't wait for tomorrow.

[@cyberrb25]

A couple things I want to say: - I hope to see some day a straight-up chibi-style FF7 Remake, where it's mostly like OG FF7 but with modern chibi characters. - I want to see FF7 Remake V2 twenty years from today, and see some sort of generational (as in life generations, which is 20 year spans) remake cycle just to see how technique and technology evolve, merely from an academical perspective. - Alongside my previous point, I'd like some day into the future to pick on some kid's mind and understand how it must be to have lived in a world where character models largely look like real humans instead of only having polygon shapes. And I'm in for the ride to see the FF7R series :) I don't have a PS4 :(

[@Spongycentrefox]

There is actually a Mod in the Making for the PC Version that recreates the Chibi Modles in higher Quallity it is made Ninostyle kzbin.info/www/bejne/mHzWp6Creraoqas

[@inkadence]

I thought Aeriths dress was pretty impressive physics. When she stands up it looks like the front is kinda resting on her legs and extends further as she gets upright falling in place. Very small and very impressive detail work.