The Animation of Final Fantasy V

It's time for animation to start pulling more narrative weight in these games. Welcome to Part Five of this retrospective journey through the animation of the Final Fantasy series!
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Watch the whole series! ► • The Animation of Final...
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PATREON ► / newframeplus
TWITTER ► / danfloydplus
LET'S PLAY CHANNEL ► bit.ly/2lmGte8
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Written and produced by Daniel Floyd
Special thanks to:
-Carrie Floyd
-Ethan Budzynski
-Bryce and Robot
-Soraya Een Hajji
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♪ Featuring selections from the Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster official soundtracks.
#FinalFantasy #animation #FF5

[@NewFramePlus]

Apologies for the confusing repeat! The first upload had a couple tiny errors I wanted to fix. BUT while, I have you here: let me give a huge shoutout to both Ethan Budzynski and Bryce and Robot for the custom translation hacks featured in this episode's footage!

[@KiroOsexXIII]

Ooh, is this the director's cut with the extra 2 seconds of content?

[@johnboling7426]

I'm not complaining more videos from you is never a bad thing

[@samsr2887]

having already watched the previous upload, what were the errors?

[@NICK....]

don't reuploads like these tend to kill performance in the eyes of the algorithm?

[@adambierstedt920]

@@NICK.... yes, but it can be overriden by engagement. So.... leaving another comment for the algorithm!

[@lealkenseal1424]

Said it before and I'll say it again: Galuf throwing his amnesia away is a top-tier Final Fantasy moment. So goofy but completely earnest. It rules.

[@chickennugget481]

the fact that they managed to convey the idea of him remembering something without just... saying he did is very impressive considering the tools they had to work with, no matter how goofy the execution may be

[@KiroOsexXIII]

Seems kinda similar to your previous work

[@twerdeffan1080]

Fun fact, Bartz's sprite (2:23) was the base for the playable character in Terraria. In the original Terraria beta it was nearly the exact same sprite, but they made it more distinct later on. If you follow this to its logical conclusion, Terraria is anime.

[@iantaakalla8180]

Terraria would be a shounen anime that is also slice-of-life since it is about living your life but is also about fighting increasingly harder bosses.

[@Artista_Frustrado]

Terraria is my favorite Final Fantasy game

[@kroznick1011]

The merchant was also Galuf in early test footage.

[@lewis9s]

I suddenly have the urge to play Terraria

[@canine8284]

i was wondering where i recognized him from!

[@heatth1474]

The point of pantomime is very interesting to me because I used to play these kind of games as a kid without understanding English. Not FFV specifically (which I played slightly older, with a TOTALLY LEGIT translation patch), but I played a lot of Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG as a kid and, even though I basically couldn't understand anything in the dialogue boxes, I could still follow along with the story and characters despite that. Of course, I missed tons of details and nuances which I only discovered later, but it is now surprising to me how much I understood of those story heavy games even though I couldn't read.

[@hoodiesticks]

This is pretty much the highest praise a SNES JRPG can receive when it comes to animation

[@Canalbiruta]

klonoa which made me and my dad cry back in the day, with our crude english that could only get some basic words.

[@peggyliepmann5248]

I'd be willing to bet the creators of those sprites would take this as the highest compliment.

[@hoodiesticks]

@@Canalbiruta Klonoa is one of the few games that's probably better in a language you don't know. The world building is confusing and the plot is pretty all over the place, but the broad strokes make for a decent story

[@TheOrian34]

Mime is the only universal language.

[@kevinkerkhoff6670]

Fun Fact: Final Fantasy V also features multiple ending variants. Depending on which characters are alive at the end of the final boss battle you get a slightly different ending.

[@BarryFung]

Said it last time, will say it this time - Thanks so much for the love and effort packed into this video. Truly a formative FF for me

[@SuperTort0ise]

Hey I've seen this one before! It's great!!

[@schebbi]

Do you also come from the future?

[@radix4801]

What's a "rerun?"

[@kevinfelix2302]

What do you mean you've seen this? It's brand new

[@ariwl1]

I feel like FFV gets overlooked a lot in the grand scope of the series, but it does so much well and is for my money one of the most fun ones to replay.

[@SurinaSlackArt]

Oh nooooo, I get to watch this amazing content again? I get to sit and appreciate the nuances of animation in my favorite gaming franchise by one of my favorite animation channels?? Oh nooooooooooooo

[@twerdeffan1080]

When that "The Animation of Final Fantasy" title card dropped I got literal chills. Dan knows how to make animated letters look *sexy*

[@KingProclaimed]

The Animation of `The Animation of Final Fantasy'

[@iantaakalla8180]

Dan Floyd was a person always interested in games. He was always so interested in them that he would also note the animations that went into the games he played. After making a name for himself on Extra Credits, he split off to start a new project called “New Frame Plus” to dedicate himself to the analysis of animation through all types of video games. At some point in 2021, he decided to analyze the animation of Final Fantasy, a long-running video game franchise going since 1987. However, the project has only been going for around two years and has only covered five games. The editing choices would invariably change. How does a master at editing edit his videos? How does he use his animating skills? Welcome to the first episode of “The Animation of ‘The Animation of Final Fantasy’ “.

[@brockmckelvey7327]

"We're in a post-Final Famtasy IV world, and this ship runs on characters now" Truer words have never been spoken about this franchise

[@Sientir]

The Butz->Bartz name joke is sooooo good. :D So is the rest of the episode, but you know, that bit's probably my favorite.

[@GeneralLuigiTBC]

When something smells, it's usually the... Bartz.

[@Khetroid]

FFV is one of my favorite games of all time. The gameplay of the job system, of course, it a major factor. But, for me, it's also the fact that the game is just fun. I never really thought about how much the animation in this game really adds to the fun, but it really does. Everyone is so expressive in that sort of over exaggerated way all over the place. It's just such an always enjoyable ride.

[@aducharme01]

Wow, you pointing out the animation load for one of these characters makes the inclusion of Krile in the story an even more interesting choice, given she's about 4 months extra work; at the very least it's an impressive amount of dedication to making interesting narrative choices even at significant cost.

[@tamerkoh]

Indeed; I still think later versions of the game should have expanded on these graphics, and made it so the characters' overworld sprites reflect their job too (and their defeated in-battle sprite). It would help with that visual disconnect between outfits just before and just after battle, lol

[@InnocentGuillotine]

@@tamerkohgiven the tone of the game, it's best to think about the job outfits as being sentai or magical girl transformations rather than as physical clothing the characters change into even if the actual design reason they revert is probably just raw cart space and artist time. There's not necessarily any story outright pointing to the transformation explanation, but the characters are also physically holding all the job crystals at multiple points in the story and the idea of them losing the crystal's power when they collapse in battle adds nice spice to how the system works, at least to me. (I totally get being bugged by it though, it's fair.)

[@ShermTank7272]

As someone who really appreciates the hard technical work that goes into pixel art (despite not being an artist), I really like this series. Do you think you'll go over the pixel remasters as well? There's some small changes to the sprite work in each of the remasters, especially one scene of FF6 in particular.

[@NewFramePlus]

Possibly at some point! For now, these are coming out slow enough that I want to try to stay focused on the core series where I can

[@J3ss4u]

I watched it last night. As I said, I played this one around the mid 2000's and the funny and exaggerated animations is what made the game stick in my memory all these years. Looking forward to replay it down the line.

[@isaacm.9476]

Personal recommendation: join us for the yearly Four Job Fiesta, a restricted run for the joy of squeezing a victory out of a randomized party setup (also it’s a charity event)

[@Booksds]

I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on the Super Mario RPG remake, and how it translates SNES-style pantomime onto 3D models

[@JoshWolabaugh]

A bit derivative but I'm here for it

[@adamhurd1560]

Hoo boy, I love this game. It's so underrated. If you're an RPG fan and you've not made time for Final Fantasy V, please do. It's a super special little game that deserves more love.

[@Ahrpigi]

Copying my comments for the re-upload! Excellent work on the sprite upscaling, everything looks gorgeous! Square should be envious. 😀 Has it really been 15 months?? I'd complain, but the fact Dan has a whole other day job (and a whole other channel !!) and these videos are still so high quality makes them worth waiting for. Plus, it makes them feel like a real treat!

[@coastersplus]

-Has it really been one day??- :P

[@Ahrpigi]

@@coastersplus also true. 😋

[@kkaaiittlliinn]

the note on gestures and pantomimes in acting reminded me of ballet mimicry!! in ballet, since there is no other way to express story other than the dancer’s movement and the music, gestures are really the only way to communicate any exposition needed. there is a defined set of arm movements that communicate specific things-one of my favorites being arms crossed, fists clenched and held lowered in front of you, which means DEATH. they’re pretty silly and not super obviously meaningful without context, but it really adds so much to the storytelling ability of ballet, just as wordless cutscenes in FF games communicate!! these actions are huge and dramatic, often accentuated with giant facial expressions and dramatic blocking changes, but that’s the only way everyone can notice story beats in a wordless medium :)

[@moomba_]

Already watched the rest of the playlist a bunch of times this past year, not gonna hurt to watch this one again! 😂

[@LamplightProductions]

I've already watched this twice, but I'll gladly watch again :P

[@acecat2798]

As I learn more about early film, I find it really rewarding to compare it to early video games in their progression as a medium, working around technological limitations, storytelling styles, etc. The fascinating thing is that pretty much as soon as you get consistent use of close-up, you start seeing very subtle and naturalistic acting. You see this a lot more by the 1910s ("Shoes" 1916 is an interesting example, and also a counter to the idea that it was all slapstick comedies. Heck, many comedies lacked slapstick). Since film was mostly using human actors (barring animation and animals), I think it jumped over the barrier of relying on pantomime a lot faster than video games could. My favorite thing is that you can often read actors' lips, including for jokes that aren't otherwise indicated. For example, Miss Lulu Bett (1921) has a gag where a bratty little girl is sneaking downstairs to spy on the action, and her blustery dad tells her to go to her room. She starts going up the stairs sideways with her feet in between the rungs, the way kids do, in the background of the scene. A minute later her dad turns to her and you can see him mouth "I told you to go to your room!" with her retorting "I *am* going!" I think Final Fantasy V or Chrono Trigger could probably pantomime this kind of exchange, but I wonder at what point video games reached the animation level where you could read their lips... maybe not until the 2010s.

[@MrMarinus18]

Most games especially in the beginning are intended for a younger audiance. You see exageration in children's movies always, not just in animation but in FMV as well.

[@MarkElders]

Not only is Bartz known as Butz in Japan, he's from the town of Lix.

[@Artista_Frustrado]

a very bold move to make a video on the original AND the 1997 re-release so close to each other, i respect the hustle

[@Chowder_T]

9:45 I dunno, Faras flipping the bird while spellcasting does feel telling lol

[@bryceandrobot]

Happy to see this one finally make it across the finish line (for reals this time) - and with such a svelte runtime, no wonder it's taken time! Excellent work as always, excited for the eventual dive into FFVI. It's a bit of a shame we won't get to stop by Mystic Quest along the way in this series, but its pretty immediately recognizable how the overworld sprite theatrics of FFV fed into that game's general vibe.

[@captainpep3]

A video so nice you gotta watch it twice

[@Runeologic]

Time to watch again, for the analytics.

[@Canalbiruta]

can not wait to see you analyse the masterpiece that ff6 is. That game was pretty much the first time an rpg game made me fall in love with simple sprites and yet, 15 years after it's initial release, i was in tears watching many scenes of that fantastic experience.

[@camdendexter]

I cannot wait for my favorite Final Fantasy, VI, to be discussed! incredible work as always, thank you!!

[@DennerBob]

I appreciated all the little moments in this way more for having gotten to ride along with the footage collection on twitch. And I still learned a lot from the final presentation here. Very well done, Dan 🙌

[@AsheOfAx]

TWO uploads right in a row! I love it!

[@roundishwhale]

I really love how much appreciation this series is giving me for every one of those titles. I haven't played all FF games and there is such an honest desire to improve, experiment and grow visible so far and I freaking love it.

[@tinyetoile5503]

This series of videos is what got me to play Final Fantasy, haha. I like to put them on in the background while drawing. If I had a nickel for every time a video about a game's animation got me to play that game, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, and quite frankly I'm surprised I wouldn't have more.

[@mattleonard2363]

I love this series! thanks for all your hard work putting these out, looking forward to the next one!!

[@TheRealProfwalrus]

I'll never have any intention in playing these games, but I sincerely appreciate the effort you put into these videos, and how you highlight the amount of effort put into these games. I was blown away that only two people made all those sprites as I followed along with the math in my head 😮

[@darkidz24]

Nice to see you back!! You've been missed. Hope you do a best animations of 2023 video! Keep up the great work.

[@b6oy1004]

each playable character’s bug eyed surprise pose in the overworld in this game will always be one of the greatest pixel art pieces of all time its so good

[@Jikkuryuu]

"And Galuf's granddaughter Krile, can't forget her." No we can't, the game won't let us forget how cool and awesome and special she is for two cutscenes in a row. :D Thank you for pointing out the pantomime. I had thoughts in the general direction of theatre and Saturday morning cartoons, but pantomime is exactly the thing.

[@joshuabraddy6264]

This is legitmataly one of my favourite all-time series on youtube. Such tremendous work and insight, Dan - really impressive stuff!

[@erikasilva4183]

Fantastic video as always!

[@thefearedavocado]

Dan makes a point about character not being expressed in the poses and then chooses as an example the one where Faris is flipping a double bird while prepping a spell.

[@BombOmbBuddy]

I've been thinking about why I love this series in particular so much (vs the rest of your content which I also greatly enjoy!) is that it's got a little bit more of the "how it gets made" i think the interview with Kazuko Shibuya was great to include. It makes this series have a little bit of that ILM doc energy. Keep up the awesome work!

[@Kirbman]

I just love how, in each of these videos, the orchestral music in the intro slowly transitions into the original game's track.

[@no64256]

I love this series so much, and I'm glad to see it continue. I binged the whole series up to IV last week during downtime at work, and was really excited to see this come out The use of videogames as a medium to create stories and experiences is one of my favorite subjects, and seeing a series grow like this is super entertaining and informative. Even a little inspiring, seeing how much they can do with such limited resources and simple techniques, and seeing them slowly expand their to improve their story telling capabilities I'm excited to see your video on Final Fantasy VI, considering the reputation of that game. Keep up the great work!

[@plasticflower]

About those somber or sad moments, I think they work so well even within the cartoonish and generally "funny" looking style, because after spending a few hours watching characters in this style, and although at first glance everything might seem non-serious (especially when you're just coming out of a more realistic looking game), this style becomes the baseline on top of which all other emotions are then "modulated" upon. So, you'll get used to the style and when things turn sad all of a sudden, even though the characters still look funny "from the outside", you're already tuned to another wavelength, and things can seem very sad by contrast. (PS: sorry, horrible grammar :( )

[@AlexTamayo.]

Hey Dan! This series is so compelling and you make these games so interesting that it makes want to play these games. Even though I actually dislike 2D turn-based heavily story-driven games, so I'm actually not going to play them, but you present this in such a way that makes me want to.

[@JacksonJinn]

I know you worried you were coming across as "the sonic animation guy" for a while, but Dan... Speaking as a guy who followed you from nearly the beginning of EC, this series feels like magnum opus material. Relevant, all-encompassing, and something I will enjoy on both an academic and pure entertainment form. When the full series to the modern day releases, the movie-scale full watch of all episodes will be magnificent.

[@stevethepocket]

Movie-scale? It's going to be like binging a miniseries. Especially once we get into the PlayStation era and we start needing as much time dedicated to the prerendered cutscenes as the in-game animation.

[@Ketsu112]

you better combine these all into one gigavideo at the end for us to binge! great work so far :]

[@esteban-iriarte-animation]

Awesome video!

[@DarkinPunk]

I've loved all of these thus far but, being honest, I'm really charged up for the next one on 6.

[@Aendolin]

me too!!

[@WishMakers]

Ah I was looking forward to this!!! Glad to see you're doing well :)

[@BROXBasher]

I keep coming back to these Final Fantasy videos!! I very much hope you tackle Crystal Chronicles at some point in your series, but if you end up not doing it, that’s fine too!

[@jaimemj2]

I've never played any FF game and yet I reeeally enjoy this series. Great job!

[@forgettablePyromaniac]

Seen all the rest, excited to see this new one!

[@Aware_Wolf_X4]

Phenomenal video. Final Fantasy V is such a majestic and whimsical game. It only gets better with age.

[@TARDISES]

This video (or I suppose the original upload of it?) showing up in my recommendations was my introduction to this channel, and only now have I gotten to it after watching the previous ones. Fitting how my introduction to the channel is about the first JRPG I ever played, huh?

[@DeathToMayo]

I never realized that about stage acting vs camera acting and that bit alone makes for s really good video.

[@kleung8311]

Thank you so SO MUCH Dan or compiling and doing a deep dive analysis on my biased favourite final fantasy game X3 I can never really put it to words very well how much I adore this series and it's main character cast ( besides the beautiful music). With your explanation, I can further appreciate the wonders the sprite animators needed to do in order act out the story with customization to the boot! The way you phrased it as "Full body emote" for pantomiming, "They are doing the best they can!", "They are always here with you" really stood out, making the characters even dearer and cuter in my heart. I was their target audience, along for the ride in their journey through team heroics, silliness, laughter, sorrows and anger. If I can, I would given take the 250 pixel characters in my hand and give them a good nuzzle hug. 🥰 Heartfelt thanks for showing casing FFV animation Dan! Will look forward to the next video of new frame plus!

[@Somari64]

recently decided to take the plunge watching this full series after seeing this one pop up in my feed despite not being a ff buff, but its been very fascinating to see the series evolve over these early entries. i was always interested in trying the early final fantasy games and this series has definitely made me more interested in doing so. one thing in particular this series has done has made me realize how much the animation practices of the earlier games has informed other rpgs, bolstered by my replay of mario rpg due to the remake. would love to see you do a series covering that game and mario rpgs in general, and how the original game playing off of the animation direction of the ff series has lead to the unique animation direction of that the mario rpgs still utilize to this day.

[@tylorhobbs8920]

A video so nice I'll like it twice. Good work and I love your stuff!

[@lafe5]

I am so, SO excited to see your breakdown of FFVI. The story in that game was one of the first that really stuck with me as a kid, and I'm interested to learn about the animation behind it!

[@starsong3]

I loved this video!! It feels like we’re about to see the ff series itself really kicking off as they invest in this character-focused direction, can’t wait to see discussions abt the later games!

[@justember794]

I don't remember what I commented on the first upload, but just know this is getting added to the list of Bedtime Dan Storytimes.

[@SnakekillerX]

I really enjoy watching these, not only because I grew up with these games and they helped shape me.. but because of my own solo game project (it's a FF Fan project) where I've also undertaken quite a bit of work in the attempt to make a game that is similar to that of FF4, 5 and 6. It's nice to know that the original artists took a year to pump out that many battle sprites as I know it'll take me about as long to do my own and I don't feel so bad about it now. Thanks for these and I'm looking forward to your upcoming FF6 video.

[@KelsieJG__they-them]

(Commenting so the algorithm momentum you doubtless lost by re-uploading can be recuperated. I appreciate the dedication to giving out correct information!)

[@allthelonely4287]

Just putting things into perspective, if each character has 243 battle sprites (and factoring in that Galuf doesn’t have sprites for the Mimic job because of narrative reasons) the total number of battle sprites for the player characters totals up to 1204.

[@Malti596]

I swear, I've been waiting for this video for so long. It feels like a blockbuster movie just came out.

[@adaline704]

as an animator and game designer this series is so fascinating thank you for these deep dive videos

[@superiorband07]

9:47 he looks like he’s flipping us off.😂😂😂

[@ishikkayabas1314]

HOW DID I NOT GET INFORMED ABOUT THIS UPLOAD!!!! I've legitimately watched every other video in this series at least 3 times each while I waited for this one to come out. KZbin be YouTubing, but the bad way.

[@mikaela_history]

Gosh I love these videos so much 💕

[@CoenKommer]

These videos are so so good

[@strongrudder]

Oh darn, guess I better watch it again! :] Really enjoyed this one, thanks.

[@mammothplant]

Favorite FF game of all time, honestly wasn't expecting you to give it so much respect. Very pleasantly surprised

[@GGreenHeart]

This kind of pantomime is one of my favorite "features" of the low-res era of gaming. Series like Golden Sun and Harvest Moon just Would Not be the same without these glorious, over-the-top expressions, and I wouldn't have been nearly as invested in them.

[@theultimatetrashman887]

Cool review, already preparing to wait another 3 years for another one.

[@khodexus4963]

I was really hoping you'd look at Mystic Quest which came out in between FFIV and FFV.

[@Daeranilen]

I know this is not at all what's intended but I find it hilarious that enemies essentially punch you out of your outfit if you get KO'd. Anyway, great video!

[@alexjackson7929]

The way the jobs worked in FFV (the characters only being in their job costumes during battles) always made me think of Japanese superhero shows like Super Sentai and Pretty Cure. I imagined the characters pulling out their crystals and transforming at the start of each fight. And then FFX-2 introduced mid-battle job changing with *actual transformation animations*

[@DMDracoMoondragon]

The more impressive feat is when you consider the GBA version, which largely used the same sprites, but added 4 new jobs: Oracle, Gladiator, Cannoneer, and Necromancer. Granted, Galuf wasn't included in these, but that's still unique sprites for 4 different characters for four brand new jobs. It brings the grand total up to over 300!

[@nikpikstx7739]

Hi I really like your work!! You should totally do a video on the animation of jak and daxter

[@mariacargille1396]

For a moment, I thought Dan had bamboozled us by releasing two of these analysis videos back-to-back XD But I'll absolutely be watching through this one again anyway, because it was a heckin good time :)

[@Myrtanae]

I adore your videos, please keep blessing us 😊

[@Godric10]

FFV was the very first FF game I ever played, on an emulator, with an incomplete fan-made translation, but for a while it was still my absolute favorite game. And while I didn't think about it at the time, the animation and character you got with such limited technology was likely a key part in how much I enjoyed the game and story. This also spoiled me for when I went back to play some of the earlier FF games, and felt so restricted in gameplay and characterisation, that they felt seriously lacking, and I couldn't enjoy them as much because they just felt lesser. I'm still really glad I got over that and ended up playing and finishing 4 through 1... in that order XD

[@spirto1279]

Another holiday, huzzah

[@imonly1man_]

"get sad sideways" and "get sad backwards" SENT me

[@Zift_Ylrhavic_Resfear]

Thanks for the video :)

[@pocketsnacks]

Love your videos!

[@Boooo]

I just watched this yesterday, but ill rewatch it, just for you

[@gorimbaud]

man, i've been looking forward to this one since this series started. v used animations in a way that oozed character and charm.

[@Hurtdeer]

9:44 idk, i'm seeing a LOT of personality in Faris' hands right there

[@killerOfMoons]

Again love this video about my favorite game!

[@driftingswordsmanzer]

I have returned from the void for round two. 👍🏾😊

[@foxtrotluna]

I came to FFV quite late, I’d already played 7 through 12 of the non-MMO games, and then they released final fantasy origins for the PS1. I was hooked immediately. At this point I’d already been dabbling with RPG Maker to make my own games, and it was so interesting to me at the time how it felt like sprites I’d found pre made for that engine! I was maybe 12 myself at the time, and it was one of the first times I’d really noticed how different “pixel art” styles could be, and how influential this series was on that. I never played 6, and I still haven’t, but from what I have seen the style seems like it moves away maybe too much from the relative simplicity of the earlier sprites and into something much more detailed and complex, and while I’ve rarely seen it in motion, I’m less of a fan of that, than of 5. I look forward to future videos, be they in 4 or 24 months from now :)

[@pedroscoponi4905]

...Damn, I guess Dan had Doublecast up before hitting publish

[@lesath7883]

Awesome. FF5 was a hidden gem, and a shame it was never officially localized for the SNES. The PSX port had so many loading breaks that it became a chore to play. Amazing video.

[@Sammy-The-Watcher]

Commenting for a second time, because this video deserves all of the comments.