The Appealing Animation in Kirby Games

[@arranr]

You're right, KZbin needs more channels about animation. Not sure I'm ready for a non-Dan to tackle the subject though.

[@mikefutcher]

Well, here's a little series called Persective Tricks you might like ... kzbin.info/www/bejne/inmmmaOFbsmcbMU

[@brandonnguyen6718]

As long as their name ends with an "an". So I can rhyme them.

[@dugoo3405]

@@brandonnguyen6718 My name does, maybe I should... Just realized this guy's name is literally Arran, you do it.

[@t.o.d4868]

I don't have to be Dan to be an video game animation channel??

[@brandonnguyen6718]

@@t.o.d4868 No, you just need to have a name that ends with "an". That way we can rhyme them in a song.

[@anonymhous8875]

Came for cuteness, stayed till the end for absolute cuteness.

[@brandonnguyen6718]

I love the endings, such a treat to watch(well, listen) to.

[@AwesomeNick94]

This is probably the only time I've ever looked at a video runtime and been disappointed it wasn't over an hour

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Haha, I know I'm sorry, I wish I had more time to dedicate to such a rich topic!

[@KidPrarchord95]

That happens to me all the time

[@gabrielfourniercloutier]

Yeah same but I'm also glad this video exists at all. So interesting, fun and relaxing. Thanks for making this, Dan!

[@20000dino]

@@VideoGameAnimationStudy I hope you do find the time, one day ! (Even if only in like 10 years 💕)

[@fernandopcs_2351]

Same here but im still happy that he has uploaded

[@jasonblalock4429]

3:34 One detail in the new Kirby that I adore is how his eyes still look as though they're pasted-on textures, like in the N64 days. The animation is minimal, like it's just flipping between a handful of key frames. It's a distinctive little touch, and makes him feel connected to his older incarnations, while many 2D-->3D character upgrades tend to feel like different people.

[@PaintraSeaPea]

I agree with you so much that someone needs to really go in-depth about Kirby animation. In my opinion, it's such a masterful case of translating the appeal of 2D sprites to 3D models. If you play any of the modern sidescrollers, you'll notice there's so much attention to making every single one of Kirby's poses and attacks extremely readable. There's practically nothing lost in translation, and it's almost mesmerizing how smooth it all is.

[@VoxelMusic]

Jut for a bit of information, the lower framerate of the enemies in the background is for performance reasons. Updating faraway characters less frequently saves on frame times and keeps the 30fps steady.

[@afifsahrin5708]

yes, this.

[@Shakzor1]

Good that this comment was already here. Yeah, a lot of games (especially on Switch) have it. Monster Hunter Rise for example also has faraway monsters render at half or less framerate. It's purely performance and has nothing to do with a potential "stop motion look". ALthough the idea is cute for Kirby game.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Yeah I thought it was something like that, thanks for the clarification.

[@jokx4409]

I mean yeah, that's the real reason, but tbh I prefer them going fully into it instead of only lowering the frame rate a BIT. We enjoy low frame rates sometimes, so I don't think it looks super off when the frame rate of far away stuff drops, it just looks charming with the stop-motion style imo.

[@countbyme]

@@VideoGameAnimationStudy Pokemon Legends Arceus does something similar to this as well. may be worth checking out if you've got the time

[@keyblader6]

While Kirby's base movement in 64 may be a little less expressive, the cutscenes are the most expressive and fun in the series. And the levels were unmatched until Forgotten Land, as the 2.5D nature made them have a real sense of place that added huge charm and a sense of journey

[@RadiantSharaShaymin]

5:23 His fire sword swing doesn't really have any easing into it, the motion is a fairly consistent speed throughout. Kind of looks like it has no weight because of that, despite how big it is compared to Kirby.

[@NinF37]

“Your name doesn’t even have to be Dan” - it was at this point, I realized you two are different channels.

[@hasanelrabih283]

SAMEEEEE

[@JoaoSantos-bp5rm]

SAMEEEE

[@bobmcguffin5706]

Loooool. Same. They even have similar logos

[@thecastiel69]

Kirby has massive lore

[@brandonnguyen6718]

The eldritch monster was born today.

[@AICW]

@@brandonnguyen6718 There are 23 Kirby light novels so far and they routinely reach the top 10 light novels sold in Japan whenever a new one releases, putting it in the same category as sales juggernauts like Sword Art Online, Classroom of the Elite, and That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime.

[@brandonnguyen6718]

@@AICW Huh. What about the dark novels.

[@Yundemz]

I keep forgetting about how Kirby erased haltmann’s soul without even knowing

[@SprinchelArt]

That bit at the end was so wholesome

[@anthonybrooks291]

My heart melted when your baby girl came in!! 🙈 These are gonna be core memories for her!

[@emanresu2425]

I played through Adventure for the first time before Forgotten Land came out, and I was astonished by how lively and charming the animation was, especially for an NES game.

[@sarinabina5487]

your kid sounds like an absolute sweetheart🥺🥺🥺 i’m glad she’s enjoying Kirby. i’m also glad someone analyzed Kirby’s animation! i learned a lot of new animation tips:)

[@wolfochungo]

While being a Dan isn't a requirement, it would be pretty funny if there was a third video game animation Dan

[@twaggytheatricks4960]

"Fighting monsters! >:D" I would unironically be friends with this child. If age disparity was a turn-off for me, this would be the exact moment it would remove itself from my mind. XD

[@emifoo6751]

Some animations I really loved in Forgotten Land: -When Kirby spins around and holds hands with the hidden Waddle Dee he just found. It's so adorable and reminds me of Ghibli! -When Kirby gets on the warp star at the end of a stage and looks up, mouth agape, excited for the next part of his adventure. Idk, they manage to convey lots of emotion on Kirby for having so few features and it comes out expressive and adorable. -The way Kirby's arms wiggle when he mouthfuls a roller coaster. It's childish excitement in a pure, simple way. -Cutscene before the final boss fight. Gorgeous scenery/lighting that feels out of place for Kirby's aesthetic. -The intro sequence to Wondaria Parade. I thought that stage was stunning and is one of my favorites visually. -When a certain boss goes on all fours -- just cus that movement for that creature is a little uncanny. -When a Waddle Dee gets knocked over in Waddle Dee town. It's cute but you do feel bad! -Kirby's skating :) -The way Claworline is animated in cutscenes (when she hisses and her expression in a post-game cutscene. Her design initially weirded me out because... furry... but her facial expressions were sweet.

[@AdamGCurtis]

10:12 My heart. Thank you so much once again, this was great

[@Harukurochan]

What a wonderful video, as always. Watching you breakdown Kirby’s animation from their first two games really hammers home just how impressive that level of animation was for that era of consoles. Also, as a heads up for “Forgotten Land” the final bosses are frightening (both in terms of character design and the cutscenes leading up to their fights), so keep that in mind once your daughter reaches the giant volcano area.

[@dr.eggman8378]

All Kirby games are creepy

[@aketsuuu]

Kirby's design is just so simple that there's so much you can work with. That goes for the creatures in his world as well. Really looks like they use the eyes a lot to show his expression. The squash and stretch is nice too. Kirby and his world feel like a whole bunch of old cartoon characters. Very expressive with a super simplistic, and you could argue, limiting design. Great video again, Dan.

[@trigs7127]

Ive officially died at that post credit segment. You probably thought you were clever in hiding it but the video lenght betrayed that haha. I never thought that animating a "ball" would be such difficult but... yeah. Now I can see all the little details that usually go ignored due to the speed.

[@Draconian144]

"Your name doesn't even have to be Dan!" That got me. XD

[@morbid1.]

Devour of Worlds, Destroyer of the Universes, Void of endless hunger... or as we know him: Kirby

[@KirbyTG]

6:50 You have no idea how happy it makes me that I’m not the only one who thinks this way.

[@Cruznick06]

I call Kirby's arms/wings "nubblins". My favorite game in the franchise re:stage design is definitely Epic Yarn. The devs use items like zippers, ribbon tags, and buttons to enable the player to interact and change the environment around them. You find new paths or goodies, and can sometimes move level elements like the pull-along duck toys in the level Toy Tracks.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Good name for the arms!

[@jeanremi8384]

Lol, i call them nubblies because of some game theory episode and now it's become my standard term for weird things i don't remember the name of

[@korb9689]

One of my favourite kirby animations that has stayed in almost every game is that the height of his jumps is based on how long you hold the jump button, and if you hold it enough he does a flip in mid air before landing. And it has stayed one of the most satisfying movement animation in any platformer.

[@Skymen75019]

The forgotten land, has some of my favourite kirby animation in it, and maybe even some of my favourite animation all games included. I'm not a kirby fan, by any means, but I was drawn to the style of that particular game. Now, it's phenomenal, but if I had to choose ONE animation, and more generally ONE "effect" that I love most, it would be Water mouth kirby. If you haven't seen it yet, I urge you to ask your son to play through the game quicker and show it to you. Water mouth kirby fills up with water and has a fantastic shader on it that makes kirby look like a water balloon with waves flopping around as he moves. And since kirby needs to keep his mouth shut, on every animation where he would normally smile or open his mouth, he now has an expression of "I really need to not do that right now". But my absolute favourite animation in water mouth would be the animation you have when saving a Waddle Dee as water mouth kirby. It has the same charm of any mouthful mode kirby "win" animation but cranked up to 11. It's unbelivably cute, he looks happy and kinda wants to dance, but the water makes him kinda fail to coordinate his limbs, and he's still trying his best to hold on to the water. Also, neat detail, but kirby slowly shrinks the more you use the ability, until he doesn't have enough water anymore to pressure it into a jet, so he just lets it all go at once. I think it's the only mouthful ability in the game that expires on its own as you use it, and that is entirely animated with a shader with a fill parameter. Every other ability just looks like they're baked animations but not this one. Anyway, that's enough of me rambling about phat water kirb

[@SatansBestBuddy1]

quite agree on there not being enough videogame animation channels, the two we do have being run by extremely busy Dans it's weird there aren't more, this is such a huge topic filled with potentially interesting things to talk about guess I can just watch GDC animation talks again... EDIT: actually that'd be a fun video, ranking the five best GDC animation talks

[@sanikku5]

Lovely video! (The end is adorablee)

[@NSilverwolf]

I really love that every animation of Kirby serves character in a really concise and clear way while also functioning very eloquently to reinforce mechanics and play. It's the goal of ALL animation of course to do both, but the simplistic shape really lets a layperson see the principles in action in a way that is harder to extract from a more "complexly designed" character like a human in say Last of Us 2 or any of the other highly polished story driven animations in games. I also don't think I will ever get tired of that Cone Mouth waddle...something about its timing and the way they shift weight in it just gets me EVERY time.

[@DrDeez-do9zo]

I was obsessed with kirby for 3 years straight, and may still be. He is fun to draw, to animate, and is probably one of the simplest and cutest characters you can find.

[@sock2828]

I remember as a kid I'd move Kirby around and do attacks in Nightmare in Dreamland just to watch the animations. Which I can't recall doing for any other game back then. There were always just so many neat little details.

[@gab_gabriel7091]

I like the ice one too. That girl has really good taste

[@charlieterry8506]

5:22 Ok but counter point: The Sluggishness is so good though! IT conveys how HEAVY the giant flaming sword is and makes it *feel* that much more powerful. It's an animation that nails a DIFFERENT KIND of appeal than the dexterous thwips of Kirby's normal sword ability. (I'm very biased because crystal shards was my fist video game ever).

[@Aereto]

Especially when the Gigant Sword and Stone Hammer are used. They have a lot of heft that it's an implied caution when a situation necessitiates readiness.

[@charlieterry8506]

@@Aereto Precisely!

[@jtvatsim1498]

Crystal Shards is amazing (the idea of combining two power-ups was super cool). I think I've pinpointed the error in the animation of the fire sword though... it's missing the principle of "anticipation" -- the sword just immediately swings forward without any windup. If you compare it to the footage of Forgotten Land's sword ability, even though the sword is much smaller, if you frame-by-frame it, you'll see a small wind up, before Kirby swings it forward. Really interesting how such a tiny difference can create a different feeling. :)

[@mastermarkus5307]

@@jtvatsim1498 That's exactly it. It doesn't work for me because the Crystal Shards sword move is too even to feel heavy. It's just the same speed for the whole motion, when most other Kirby games will be able to sell the heft of something like the hammer ability because of animation choices like minute hesitations before an attack.

[@Ehh97]

Ugh Kirby is adorable and wholesome but so was the way you ended this video 😭 my heart can't handle all these good vibessss

[@minseokwon6484]

Such a nice video, God how I love animation. And devs making sure even young kids to play this game without frustrations is lovely, and reminds me of many hours I had to spend to get used to with the movement in Mario 64 :)

[@mous3kteer]

When the fake post-video recommendations gave way to the real ones, not only was 8-bit Music Theory's video on the Hyrule Castle theme still there, but it was in the same location on my screen. Nicely done!

[@magtea3836]

Kirby is cool

[@larst4883]

This comment is almost moving in its simplicity. Love it! ☺️

[@Joe69_420]

-change my mind

[@suhfee]

i love this channel so much. also rly funny there's so many animation dans lmao

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

We are many

[@martinperon4576]

There are indeed too few games using the claymotion, or the Hanna-Barbera, style!

[@cirqueradio9715]

I would personnaly LOVE to hear more of your thoughts on other visual aspects of the kirby series ^^

[@sapphirejade5029]

So intetesting with the Kirby analysis. Stayed for the end too. SO CUTE!!🥺🥺

[@starbutter2730]

This series has been my favorite alongside Zelda my whole life so far and your video on the animation of it filled my heart w pure joy. Its so cool how even the earliest titles hold up really well and are loaded w tons of charm and detail that you can notice on replays.

[@PHERNO_]

THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS I WAS HYPNOTIZED BY FORGOTTEN LANDS ANIMATION!!!

[@diffjuns323]

Great academic analysis of how Kirby is shaped like a friend I like how they contrasted Elfilin's movements to Kirby's just a bit in Forgotten Land. Elfilin often moves slowly and gracefully, although still gets that snappy look in the victory dances. I have no analysis here he is just cute Spoilers for the end of Forgotten Land below You said to go into the Lore so: I love how this series animates possessed characters. The animators pretty effectively get the idea across that the character is being puppeted. I haven't played Dream Land 3 in a while, but I seem to remember that the way Dedede's animation eases in and out gives that vibe. And Leongar in Forgotten Land takes that to the next level. His attacks in his first phase usually look like he has them under control, but the longer you fight him, the more he looks like he's being dragged around. Forgo Leon is especially noticeable to me with how much he clutches his head

[@8justintracy8]

Your style is so charming. Love the asides. You've got a Shakespeare vibe, but don't take that the wrong way. Love your work.

[@kanchi21]

really enjoyed this video of yours it really brightened up my day today been playing kirby since the very beginning

[@penkinodenuevo7468]

A very juicy list of favorite channels and recommended videos

[@gamemanadvance1128]

I would definitely watch a full animation analysis video of Kirby!

[@LanEXHikari]

Bye bye! That last bit was adorable! And the video obviously very interesting and spot on . . . Also, I never realized the Danspiracy behind videogame animation channels 🤔

[@hypershadix1]

Dan you need to quit flooding my subscription feed I can’t handle this 4 month thing you’re doing here. In all seriousness though I’m glad you had enough free time to make this video. I understand your situation, family always comes first

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Haha, thank you! Yeah I'm glad to get even just a little video out

[@hypershadix1]

Maybe one day you can have enough free time to stream again.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

If it's a juicy game, definitely!

[@hypershadix1]

Can’t wait dan.

[@veosotano]

"Your name doesn't even have to be Dan" -> I LOLed hard, nice one 😂😂

[@1Thunderfire]

I really love the dodging animation Kirby has in Forgotten Land. The way his body curves and stretches as he effectively bounces onto his stubby arms and back onto the feet. It is very satisfying for some reason. Also, I look at Crystal Shards and I honestly think that has aged very well for an early 3D game. Kirby probably does feel somewhat more 'solid' overall but the game never feels blocky to me nor obviously pixellated. The series' overall simple designs certainly worked in HAL's favour here.

[@tugazu]

You truly have an endless thrive for animation and analysis and I love it

[@GrumpySylveon]

Your daughter has excellent taste in bosses. The duck is in fact, the best.

[@chuduuu]

The ending ❤ my heart! Also great Kirby video. Kirby's simplicity hides the details that go into actually making the character appealing. Comparing the old 3D Kirby animations to the new ones shows how much work actually goes into building the appeal.

[@dehgrape]

that end bit with your daughter melted my heart

[@MassiveMarioLuigi700MassiveKun]

Awww the ending is so darn wholesome

[@kuleshov_sam]

kirby mirror world got some amazing pixel art I've ever seen.

[@Y4manata]

9:09 until you fight bibically accurate angels at the end lmao

[@bananabike279]

Lovely video! It's amazing how they were make able Kirby so expressive, even on the Game Boy

[@TheKiburedo]

The video is so short and full of cuteness... the end of the video got me! I will check the new animation channel, I checked the description of this video and couldn't find it (would be nice to leave it in the description), anyway... I found out checking the channel latest videos.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Ahh yes yes I'll add that when I can! Good spot

[@corruptedplayer]

"I've been watching my now 5 year old breeze through forgotten land" oh your kids gonna have nightmares

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

She still didn't understand what Fecto Forgo is.

[@poweroffriendship2.0]

From being a cute pink puff ball to an omnipotent god, the Kirby lore went deeper once Nintendo read too much H.P. Lovecraft as an inspiration.

[@Emmariscobar]

The series' director draws lovecratian horrors on his spare time.

[@YoutubePizzer]

6:51 this is 100% an optimisation thing, they probably wouldn’t have done it if the console had the power to handle this

[@AluminumFusion22]

Super Mario Odyssey does it as well with the New Donk City civilians. When they get too far from the player's view, their framerate drops so the Switch isn't overworking itself with keeping animations fluid when they're less of a priority.

[@JLMetak]

Fun fact about that Squeak Squad pose: it actually debuted in Amazing Mirror, since the Kirby Dance could have from 1 to 4 Kirbies dancing at once, which lead to a lot of unique poses. Heck it might even been from Nightmare in Dream Land since you could also have multiple Kirbies in multiplayer, but I'm not quite sure on that.

[@andy4an]

I love the shout-out too Dan Floyd's new frame plus

[@hotcofi2969]

Look, that ending was the sweetest thing I’ve heard ever, but don’t you dare dis the tornado power.

[@claimingagate]

7:23 challenge accepted i might be inexperienced and still learning but ill do it

[@KamauKianjahe]

When Forgotten Land dropped I was yearning for an analysis of Kirby animation, so I really appreciate this video. I would do an in-depth analysis myself, but I have no time and my name isn't Dan :(

[@ganzatronique]

glad to see a new video from you ...

[@creativebeetle]

Fantastic video! Just a small audio tip: If you'd like to reduce the background noise in your mic audio for the future, I'd recommend using the free denoise feature in Audacity if you haven't already. It's super quick and absurdly effective. Keep up the great work!

[@Charlie-uh3nd]

This is an amazing video well done would happily sit through hours of ur thoughts on animations ! Good luck on ur game 😁

[@16BitGamerCat]

"Look a little deeper and there's certainly some darker stuff..." Me: *remembering last Tuesdays eldritch horror killing session* ...yeah.

[@purehyper124]

I have noticed that Kirby looks really good, but It's good to hear why that is.

[@HeyAnnieMok]

There are comments here wishing yr vid was longer this time. I disagree! To me, this vid captures Kirby's essence: Sometimes, the best way to say a lot is to say a little, and sometimes, all ya need is a snack. And the end? So dang adorbz. Perf. Thnx for yr work!

[@sydney_pepper]

these sections with your daughter at the end are so adorable!!!

[@JustJagsOG]

Awwwwww the cameo at the end was adorable.

[@naydra6075]

god i love hearing you chat with her at the end, it’s so cute😭

[@tsuchinokoball]

perfect video for the anniversary!

[@2_In_A_Krillion]

kirby is shaped like a friend lore wise and animation wise

[@n8ivegogo1]

I LOVE watching your channel & New Frame Plus‼️‼️

[@TheRealMattKronik]

Good job explaining a somewhat nebulous concept like appeal in animation. It's kinda like timbre in music, or umami in cooking.

[@DeepWeeb]

One reason I believe Kirby 64 might feel kinda worse is the fact that *movement is pretty slow* (sprinting Kirby _feels_ the same speed as the regular walk) There's also a very strange decision of capping the gameplay to 30fps which actually is the default for the series on Switch *but cutscenes actually run at 60fps,* personally I feel the other way around would have benefited the game the most, but perhaps cutscenes were easier to optimize? p.s.: starlight looking sick 👀

[@donovanmahan2901]

The cutscenes can be rendered in advance and played back when needed, where as the gameplay needs to be rasterized in real time, which takes more computing power when you can move and see along all 3 axes.

[@DeepWeeb]

@@donovanmahan2901 All cutscenes in Kirby 64 are done in-engine in real time. Obviously they take place in much more compact "scenes" where nothing else exists. Also the levels of the game already take place in a fixed 2.5D perspecitve, similar to Super Smash Bros. 64 (where 60fps is critical for a fighting game), the stages weren't particularly detailed most of the time and are usually split in "chunks" so it's not loaded all at once

[@Keeby219]

i 100% agree with all points in this video, Forgotten land actually really made me appreciate kirby's simple design more, and how despite its overly simplistic nature they still manage to give him human like movement. I heard the kirby devs even use human posing as reference when animating kirby

[@scootermcpeanuts6699]

Very late to the party, but it’s great to see some more appreciation for animation in video games, I hadn’t really thought about it much, but looking at the games now, I can appreciate how smooth and character filled a lot of these animations are. Also, on the topic of wanting more games to tackle a claymation art style, I’d recommend checking out Hylics and it’s sequel.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

You're never late to a VGAS video. The video's here forever, no comment is out of date.

[@scootermcpeanuts6699]

@@VideoGameAnimationStudy Ah, good to know! Still, wish I saw this sooner.

[@PigDan]

So sweet!

[@mads_in_zero]

First you draw a circle! Then you dot the eyes! Add a great big smile and, hey presto! It's _Astral Birth Void._

[@20000dino]

7:25 “Can there please be more than 2 videogame animation channels” PLEASE don’t tempt me. I’m an exhausted animation student in debt with a lack of self esteem - this will only make me feel worse :’)

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

I totally get that, been a student myself. Don't lose confidence though, you will get there!

[@20000dino]

@@VideoGameAnimationStudy Thank you :-)

[@LucasDanielCab5]

That was a wholesome ending

[@sxblck]

The correct answer is indeed "ALL OF THEM!"

[@the_clawing_chaos]

"What do you like most in Kirby?" "The Eldritch Horrors!"

[@PhilipJFryII]

Dan love your insight as usual Bless your fam🎶💕 P S. Bless that last part, Karby

[@Biouke]

So cute and wholesome :3

[@Inferno144]

Kirby exists I am happy.

[@flarpoflarpo]

i too love fighting monsters in kirby

[@IconforShort]

this is the only time I’ve ever watched a video past the patron credits and felt it was totally worth it. your kid is so adorable!

[@jogymogy3691]

Kirby, Donkey Kong and Rayman... my most beloved JumpnRun Heroes

[@elzed2667]

Everybody's favourite pink chaos deity

[@summerycast7936]

Beautiful work as always! And yeah, I love Kirby! Who doesn't? Also, that ending with your daughter is just... I need help. I'm dying! 🏩