0:00:01.093,0:00:02.067
Hello there!

0:00:02.092,0:00:03.600
Welcome to New Frame Plus,

0:00:03.625,0:00:06.005
a series about video[br]game animation.

0:00:06.030,0:00:11.216
Persona 5 is one of the most[br]eye-catching games of 2017 AND 2019.

0:00:11.241,0:00:13.521
And the Persona team[br]keeps doing this

0:00:13.546,0:00:16.233
on considerably smaller[br]budgets and team sizes

0:00:16.258,0:00:19.533
than most of their competition[br]in the AAA RPG space,

0:00:19.558,0:00:22.330
making up for any[br]shortcomings in fidelity with

0:00:22.355,0:00:25.373
strong art direction[br]and overwhelming style.

0:00:25.398,0:00:27.467
But how are they doing that?

0:00:27.492,0:00:30.931
Animation is slow work,[br]which means it’s expensive,

0:00:30.956,0:00:34.423
so how does this team manage such[br]an eye-popping anime aesthetic

0:00:34.448,0:00:38.700
for 80+ hours straight without[br]spending Final Fantasy money?

0:00:38.725,0:00:40.767
To find out,[br]let’s break down the animation

0:00:40.792,0:00:44.200
of one of the most intensely[br]stylish sequences in the game,

0:00:44.220,0:00:46.040
the All-Out Attack.

0:00:46.960,0:00:50.440
All Out Attacks are basically[br]a high-damage dog-pile maneuver

0:00:50.464,0:00:52.952
which requires some[br]strategizing to set up.

0:00:52.977,0:00:55.281
When you hit enemies with[br]something that they are weak to,

0:00:55.306,0:00:58.773
it will knock them down and leave[br]them vulnerable until their next turn.

0:00:58.798,0:01:03.429
If you can manage to knock down every enemy[br]on the field, this will trigger a Hold Up,

0:01:03.454,0:01:07.151
where your entire team moves in[br]on the vulnerable enemy line.

0:01:07.176,0:01:08.792
From here,[br]you've got a lot of options:

0:01:08.817,0:01:12.363
you can try to convince the enemy[br]to join you as a summon-able persona,

0:01:12.388,0:01:14.797
you can extort them[br]for money or items,

0:01:14.822,0:01:19.479
OR you can take advantage of your[br]position and perform an All Out Attack.

0:01:19.504,0:01:22.600
If you choose that option,[br]this will initiate a short,

0:01:22.625,0:01:26.445
flashy cut-scene in which your entire[br]team attacks the enemy at once in a

0:01:26.470,0:01:27.900
glorious swarm.

0:01:27.925,0:01:31.800
Now, in the event that your opponent[br]survives this, battle will simply resume.

0:01:31.825,0:01:35.567
But in the much-more-likely event that[br]your enemies are completely wiped out,

0:01:35.592,0:01:38.233
you are rewarded with a[br]special victory screen

0:01:38.258,0:01:40.736
featuring the character[br]who initiated the attack.

0:01:40.761,0:01:44.545
These are unique for every party[br]member, and they are all great.

0:01:44.570,0:01:48.196
Now, there are a LOT of moving parts[br]in this All-Out Attack sequence,

0:01:48.221,0:01:51.000
and they all come and go[br]in the blink of an eye so,

0:01:51.025,0:01:53.487
let’s try to break[br]this down into chunks.

0:01:53.512,0:01:56.867
From the Hold Up screen,[br]as soon as you select All-Out Attack,

0:01:56.892,0:01:59.467
your entire party first[br]stows their firearms

0:01:59.492,0:02:01.303
and switches back[br]to melee weapons.

0:02:01.328,0:02:04.081
These are just the default[br]animations your characters do

0:02:04.106,0:02:06.621
whenever you swap back to[br]melee weapons during battle.

0:02:06.646,0:02:11.314
And the instant everybody returns to their[br]idle pose, they immediately leap backward.

0:02:11.339,0:02:15.033
Your main character, Joker, has the[br]most eye-catching jump of the bunch,

0:02:15.058,0:02:17.304
which is good,[br]because he’s always in your party

0:02:17.329,0:02:20.108
and he’s always going to be[br]front and center on this screen.

0:02:20.133,0:02:22.198
And then,[br]just as your characters land,

0:02:22.223,0:02:25.800
the battlefield is obscured by[br]a big 2D animated dust cloud,

0:02:25.825,0:02:28.230
which serves to hide[br]a scenery change.

0:02:28.255,0:02:31.033
When the cloud clears,[br]your party is now clustered together

0:02:31.058,0:02:33.918
and facing camera,[br]against a flat red background.

0:02:33.943,0:02:36.323
The camera pulls back,[br]the background cracks

0:02:36.348,0:02:40.370
and the lighting on your 3D characters[br]dims until they’re nothing but silhouettes,

0:02:40.395,0:02:43.333
visually flattening[br]them into a 2D shape.

0:02:43.358,0:02:45.585
And then everybody[br]springs into action.

0:02:45.610,0:02:48.919
And I really like how they’re not[br]all jumping at the exact same time!

0:02:48.944,0:02:51.220
There is a nice[br]staggered rhythm to this.

0:02:51.240,0:02:54.800
Morgana even does a smaller hop[br]before leaping out of frame.

0:02:54.820,0:02:58.220
And in real time, obviously,[br]this is all happening super fast.

0:02:58.240,0:03:00.440
The time between the[br]2D dust cloud wipe

0:03:00.471,0:03:03.514
and everybody leaving frame[br]is like 1 second, tops,

0:03:03.539,0:03:07.271
but that variation in their exit[br]timing adds some really nice texture.

0:03:07.296,0:03:08.541
It’s the little[br]touches like that,

0:03:08.566,0:03:12.733
that make this whole sequence feel[br]so viscerally satisfying in motion.

0:03:12.758,0:03:15.960
So once everybody is off screen,[br]there’s another screen shake,

0:03:15.985,0:03:18.700
the fractured background[br]shatters and your party members’

0:03:18.725,0:03:21.133
portraits appear in[br]the foreground shards.

0:03:21.158,0:03:25.405
Then all the fragments fly past camera,[br]setting us up for another scene change.

0:03:25.430,0:03:28.567
We pull back to see the darkened[br]silhouette of our opponent.

0:03:28.592,0:03:32.033
And this is still a 3D model[br]that we're looking at, but again,

0:03:32.058,0:03:35.757
because of the absence of lighting,[br]it appears like a flat 2D shape,

0:03:35.782,0:03:39.487
which helps them to fit right in to[br]this barrage of 2D effects animation

0:03:39.512,0:03:40.783
they are being pummeled with.

0:03:40.808,0:03:42.000
The screen shakes.

0:03:42.025,0:03:45.915
Darkened 2D blurs representing your[br]characters streak across the screen.

0:03:45.940,0:03:48.720
The enemy plays their hit[br]react animation on loop.

0:03:48.745,0:03:53.547
Onomatopoeic katakana and impact[br]flashes are everywhere… it’s awesome.

0:03:53.572,0:03:56.467
And then one final bright[br]flash fills the screen,

0:03:56.492,0:03:59.340
clearing the board and setting[br]up the final scene change.

0:03:59.365,0:04:01.668
Whichever character[br]initiated the All-Out Attack

0:04:01.693,0:04:03.933
drops down onto a flat[br]red and black field

0:04:03.958,0:04:06.880
with the enemy silhouetted[br]behind, does a little flourish.

0:04:06.905,0:04:10.233
And then, with a snappy zoom,[br]your 3D character is swapped

0:04:10.258,0:04:13.467
for a gorgeous hand drawn rendition[br]and the background is filled

0:04:13.492,0:04:15.127
with an animated splash screen

0:04:15.152,0:04:18.090
as the enemy bursts in a[br]silhouetted blood spray effect.

0:04:18.115,0:04:21.725
When you frame through this, you can[br]actually see the the one-frame cross-fade

0:04:21.750,0:04:25.058
from the 3D model to[br]the pose-matched 2D art!

0:04:25.083,0:04:28.154
Again, every member of the party has[br]a different version of this screen

0:04:28.179,0:04:29.467
and they all look amazing.

0:04:29.492,0:04:32.600
And even here there's a lot[br]of subtle animation happening.

0:04:32.625,0:04:35.164
There’s that shake on[br]the 2D assets emphasizing

0:04:35.189,0:04:37.138
the impact of the[br]zoom transition,

0:04:37.163,0:04:40.133
and the slight drifting[br]rotation of the 2D layers?

0:04:40.158,0:04:42.021
Mmm. It's very good.

0:04:42.046,0:04:46.572
All of the action I just described[br]happens within the span of like 8 seconds,

0:04:46.597,0:04:50.963
but that action is so well-composed that[br]it not only reads clearly throughout,

0:04:50.988,0:04:54.800
but you don’t even get a chance to[br]notice when any individual element is

0:04:54.825,0:04:56.455
maybe a little lackluster.

0:04:56.480,0:05:00.212
Which is good, because that element[br]is usually the character animation.

0:05:00.237,0:05:03.545
Like, if I really wanted to get in[br]there and nitpick things a bit,

0:05:03.570,0:05:08.079
I can see plenty of places where the[br]animation on the 3D characters is a little

0:05:08.104,0:05:09.402
rough around the edges.

0:05:09.489,0:05:14.561
Like, here: Ryuji’s transition from Hold[br]Up stance to his weapon swapping animation

0:05:14.586,0:05:17.233
results in this quick,[br]slide-y 180 degree turn,

0:05:17.258,0:05:20.100
because the two animations don’t[br]start with the same foot forward.

0:05:20.125,0:05:21.667
You usually don’t want that.

0:05:21.692,0:05:23.733
And his little weapon[br]twirl right after -

0:05:23.758,0:05:27.990
while a cool touch - isn’t animated in[br]a way that makes much physical sense.

0:05:28.015,0:05:30.847
Or Joker’s back handspring[br]here: it looks pretty nice,

0:05:30.872,0:05:33.572
but it could use a more[br]pronounced anticipating crouch

0:05:33.597,0:05:35.765
to sell the physicality[br]of the jump better.

0:05:35.825,0:05:37.933
It’s little polishy[br]stuff like that.

0:05:37.958,0:05:41.633
And there’s a number of tiny imperfections[br]in the screen transitions too,

0:05:41.658,0:05:44.733
like, how your party members[br]often pop into place a few frames

0:05:44.758,0:05:46.633
after the dust cloud[br]already passed,

0:05:46.658,0:05:49.333
and sometimes the characters[br]are even partially clipping

0:05:49.358,0:05:51.580
through the red backdrop[br]for a couple of frames.

0:05:51.605,0:05:55.567
But good luck spotting ANY of those rough[br]edges when you play this back at speed.

0:05:55.592,0:05:59.000
All those tiny little flaws[br]just get completely lost

0:05:59.025,0:06:02.106
in the larger whirling[br]tapestry of movement here.

0:06:02.131,0:06:05.704
If anything, framing through this[br]and seeing those tiny little seams

0:06:05.720,0:06:10.820
really only serves to highlight how[br]intricately-choreographed this whole sequence is.

0:06:11.000,0:06:12.940
This right here is a microcosm

0:06:12.966,0:06:16.033
of everything that makes the[br]animation in Persona work:

0:06:16.058,0:06:19.525
in the places where the polish and[br]fidelity of the character animation

0:06:19.550,0:06:23.467
kind of underwhelms,[br]a bombardment of gorgeous 2D art,

0:06:23.492,0:06:26.563
and effects and UI animation[br]picks up the slack.

0:06:26.588,0:06:28.785
Because,[br]to be a little blunt about it,

0:06:28.810,0:06:31.074
there is not much[br]especially remarkable

0:06:31.099,0:06:34.100
about the 3D character[br]animation in Persona games.

0:06:34.125,0:06:35.963
And I’m not meaning[br]that as an insult!

0:06:35.988,0:06:39.296
For a franchise that has historically[br]had to make modest budgets

0:06:39.321,0:06:42.656
and small dev teams go[br]a very very long way,

0:06:42.681,0:06:44.561
I think they’ve done[br]a fantastic job.

0:06:44.586,0:06:49.767
But if you actually look at most of the[br]game’s 3D character animation in isolation,

0:06:49.792,0:06:51.889
very little of it stands out.

0:06:51.914,0:06:55.619
Like, if you’re just looking at the 3D[br]characters in these story scenes,

0:06:55.644,0:06:58.212
just their gestures and[br]their physical acting,

0:06:58.237,0:07:01.900
nothing about these performances[br]is all that striking or impressive.

0:07:01.925,0:07:05.831
BUT, reinforce those animations with[br]some gorgeous character portraits

0:07:05.856,0:07:09.785
so that every line of dialog has some[br]more nuanced expressiveness attached,

0:07:09.810,0:07:11.478
and suddenly it pops!

0:07:11.503,0:07:15.737
And layered on top of that, you’ve got a[br]dialog box wobbling with chaotic energy,

0:07:15.762,0:07:19.567
plus some extreme close-up splashes[br]to punctuate spikes in emotion…

0:07:19.592,0:07:23.633
put all of that together and now you’ve[br]got a yourself a pretty dynamic scene.

0:07:23.658,0:07:25.900
It’s the same with the[br]battle interface too!

0:07:25.925,0:07:29.323
A lot of these battle animations are[br]actually pretty darned solid to begin with,

0:07:29.348,0:07:33.079
but even so, none of this would[br]be nearly so visually striking

0:07:33.104,0:07:35.133
without all those[br]2D hit effects,

0:07:35.158,0:07:38.000
and those really stylish[br]screen wipes between turns,

0:07:38.025,0:07:42.986
and also that INCREDIBLE animated menu[br]interface layered behind your character.

0:07:43.011,0:07:47.192
The 3D character animation in[br]Persona is like a foundation layer,

0:07:47.217,0:07:51.663
with all of the 2D art that actually[br]makes things pop built on top of it.

0:07:51.688,0:07:54.508
The streamlined efficiency[br]of this animation

0:07:54.533,0:07:55.869
approach is what[br]makes it possible

0:07:55.894,0:07:59.626
for the Persona team to produce an[br]absurd quantity of story scenes.

0:07:59.651,0:08:03.560
And because this game’s art[br]direction is so incredibly cohesive,

0:08:03.585,0:08:09.733
this 2D/3D hybrid anime-infused aesthetic[br]far exceeds the sum of its parts.

0:08:09.758,0:08:11.367
The character[br]animation in Persona

0:08:11.392,0:08:15.227
may not have nearly the animation[br]fidelity of a Final Fantasy,

0:08:15.252,0:08:18.746
nor stay as true to the anime[br]aesthetic as a Guilty Gear.

0:08:18.771,0:08:24.102
And yet, these games still transcend their[br]budget limitations with overwhelming style.

0:08:24.120,0:08:26.500
And I think that is very cool.

0:08:26.800,0:08:30.180
A special thanks to Hank Kleinberg[br]for suggesting this topic,

0:08:30.211,0:08:33.255
and for giving me an excuse to[br]listen to a LOT of Persona music.

0:08:33.280,0:08:35.333
If you enjoyed this[br]animation breakdown,

0:08:35.358,0:08:37.144
then consider hitting[br]that Subscribe button,

0:08:37.169,0:08:39.867
maybe even that little bell[br]thingy if you’re feeling feisty.

0:08:39.892,0:08:42.280
Or hey, you could consider[br]supporting the show directly

0:08:42.305,0:08:44.502
like all these good[br]delinquents over here.

0:08:44.554,0:08:47.968
Thank you for watching,[br]and I’ll see you next time.

0:08:47.993,0:09:00.031
[music]