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[Coreda]

MGSV the thread

Had some deja vu.

Decent jump/leap animation, too (gives me a reason to test my WebM script + speed filter .

http://webm.land/media/zc9M.webm

 

[Seven Force]

The best 2D and 3D examples, one after the other. Nice.

 

[Rintaru]

 

[OricWindstar]

Had some deja vu.

I'm a fraud!

 

[RandomExpletive]

Had some deja vu.

Decent jump/leap animation, too (gives me a reason to test my WebM script + speed filter .

I feel like this clip didn't need its audio

 

[psyfi]

This elephant from Metal Slug 3 that only appears in one level and for 2 minutes only:

Soooooo good.

god damn. that is seriously amazing. the skin stretching and everything! also the big guy just looks so chill and friendly.

 

[1upsuper]

What is this from?

Anyway most of what I'd contribute has already been posted. Skullgirls, Mega Man X, Zero, Alucard, KoF, etc. One I don't see mentioned ever is the main character from Moon Crystal for the Famicom. That game has some great animations for a Famicom game.

E: Found my answer on the second page, whoops.

 

[Coreda]

I feel like this clip didn't need its audio

True. Updated with disabled version. I think the normalized audio option I added is what was making each crunchy, slowed tempo footstep sound excessive .

 

[-hadouken]

 

[Mephala]

Muramasa The Demon Blade

 

[Mifec]

That looks...meh?

 

[Hidden One]

Assassins Creed 3 Connor running.

 

[Masterspeed]

This elephant from Metal Slug 3 that only appears in one level and for 2 minutes only:

Soooooo good.

Jesus, really? All that time for stretching skin and the feel of muscles actually moving with bones. What the fuck happened to pixel artists? Where did they go?

 

[Havel]

Really like the Dark Souls 1 fast run with Greatsword/Ultra Greatsword in hand.

 

[Theonik]

Jesus, really? All that time for stretching skin and the feel of muscles actually moving with bones. What the fuck happened to pixel artists? Where did they go?

Even more concerning is we don't even know the names of most people that worked on Metal Slug and many other arcade games of that era as they used pseudonyms.

 

[∀ Narayan]

For sure. I really love how it looks like he's actually running and connecting with the ground beneath him. Too many games have running animations where it looks like the model is just gliding across the floor. Wish more games had the attention to detail that Metal Gear Solid V (Venom) does.

I'm very excited for Nier: Automata, but I haven't played the game yet, and that running animation really doesn't catch my eye.

Erm to capture and express the ridiculous attention to detail of Snakes stride? Look at his lunge, he's propelling him self off the ground in a completely organic way, his feet and knee adjust in height as his right leg steps into the slight dip in the floor but maintains his speed without breaking into a new animation, there's clear improvisation of movement based on the environment. It's far more sophisticated then any of the canned animations you've provided from your list of games. If you can't see that then you shouldn't be making claims about running animations IMO.

Agree 100%.

 

[Ace Harding]

I'm not sure how it would hold up today but the horse running animation in Red Dead Redemption blew me away when I first saw it.

MGS5's horse is pretty good though too I think.

 

[jizzlobber]

 

[Roubjon]

Yeah, I absolutely love the way she moves.

 

[DZ_b_EZ]

We're done here.

 

[rekameohs]

SOTN and MGSV immediately came to mind, as everyone's noted.

Good lord at the Metal Slug elephant detail

 

[HussiZooT]

No Gabe Logan? I'm severely disappointed in all of you.

This gif doesn't even fully encapsulate the glory of that shaking ass

YESSSS! I was disappointed when this didn't pop up earlier. As a kid, this was the most impressive running animation I had ever seen.

 

[Zambatoh]

I don't have an image but I think the walking and running animations in Watch Dogs is really good. Especially when you hold down B and watch Aiden/T-Bone just beautifully vault over the hoods of cars as you run by. The transition between animations almost looks effortless.

 

[Fritz]

P.N.03

 

[A-V-B]

Snake in MGSV

Specifically, Ground Zeroes. In Phantom Pain, it's a little too fast, but Ground Zeroes has the perfect amount of weight.

 

[OricWindstar]

I mean, that whole game is nonsense gorgeous.

 

[Mephala]

I mean, that whole game is nonsense gorgeous.

Yeah but I particularly like that she glances at the player sometimes while running. It is a nice little extra touch that makes it memorable for me.

Edit. I am surprised no one mentioned Blade & Soul
Maybe NSFW
http://i.imgur.com/nMeDXsd.gif

 

[OricWindstar]

Yeah but I particularly like that she glances at the player sometimes while running. It is a nice little extra touch that makes it memorable for me..

I love when there's something that breaks up the endless loop like that.

 

[sfried]

I see Alucard, but no Belmont walk?

 

[dragonzdogma]

Yes.

 

[Hynad]

obligatory:

Thank you! This made my morning. xD

 

[Forerunner]

The fucking GOAT.

 

[Rippa]

This is awesome! Which game is it from?

 

[nilbog21]

MGS5 and nothing else even comes close

 

[OricWindstar]

This is awesome! Which game is it from?

Muramasa: The Demon Blade.

 

[Tyaren]

Final Fantasy XV, the best animations in the business:

 

[dex3108]

Max Payne 3 is alnother game with great animation system

https://gfycat.com/AnotherGaseousAddax

 

[fahr]

Final fantasy xv and mgs v for the best mocapped and technically execucted animation around.

The best 2d animations have been well covered here as well.

For stylized animation my vote goes to the Jak series. Absolutely fucking perfectly executed running, jumping, attacking, etc. One of the finest controlling platformers ever where you could spend hours just running and jumping because it looked and felt so good. Actually surprised it really hasn't yet been surpassed since. Even AAA Disney titles like Disney infinity failed to match what naughty dog accomplished on the ps2.

I know I'm kinda blending animation cycles with controls, but since the 2 go hand in hand during gameplay, if one can't measure up to the other, it really affects your impression of things. Which is largely why I get so frustrated with so many games from the ps2 era that was loaded with quality animations that ended up looking bad and floaty because of primitive blending techniques and poor physics.

 

[eXistor]

I feel like I'm the only one that doesn't like SotN's running animation. He looks like a giant running dork, there's something off there. Most 2D Castlevania's since SotN have this actually, it's weird.

/edit: I see I'm not alone.

 

[petran79]

Best 2d animation would be the sprites from Aladdin (Mega Drive) and Lion King.
They were animated by Disney animators.
They are God tier so they dont have to be mentioned

 

[Zekes!]

I feel like I'm the only one that doesn't like SotN's running animation. He looks like a giant running dork, there's something off there. Most 2D Castlevania's since SotN have this actually, it's weird.

/edit: I see I'm not alone.

I always felt like they moved too slow in comparison with their movement speed

 

[Triggerhappytel]

This elephant from Metal Slug 3 that only appears in one level and for 2 minutes only:

Soooooo good.

This is really fantastic. I love the way the folds on the skin seems to shift.

 

[Htown]

This elephant from Metal Slug 3 that only appears in one level and for 2 minutes only:

Soooooo good.

okay, as much as I love the indie game revolution, this kind of pisses me off

because artists back in the day used to push the absolute limits of what they could do in that pixelated format, and it seems people nowadays tend to just use it as an excuse to like... not have to draw faces and shit.

 

[Fuchsdh]

I love the running animations in the Assassin's Creed games!

That's what impressed me most going back and playing ACII when it became a GWG title. The transition from walking slowly, to a normal pace, to running, to sprinting is beautifully done and never jerky. It makes the game hold up really well despite its age in other graphical areas.

 

[Theonik]

okay, as much as I love the indie game revolution, this kind of pisses me off

because artists back in the day used to push the absolute limits of what they could do in that pixelated format, and it seems people nowadays tend to just use it as an excuse to like... not have to draw faces and shit.

It gets worse once you consider the pure wizardry some artists put to get around limitations of hardware and deliver some of this art, sometimes drawing art exploiting characteristics of the display chain whether that be dithering exploiting composite signals, scan patterns/phosphor glow etc.

Pixel artists were trying to achieve the best looking games they could do given technological limitations. Many of those indies on the other hand are just trying to get a certain look which represents an often erroneous perception of how a certain era of game looked. Though it's unfair to compare the two. The resources dedicated to these games are significantly different though obviously modern tools are much better.

 

[Narroo]

It gets worse once you consider the pure wizardry some artists put to get around limitations of hardware and deliver some of this art, sometimes drawing art exploiting characteristics of the display chain whether that be dithering exploiting composite signals, scan patterns/phosphor glow etc.

Pixel artists were trying to achieve the best looking games they could do given technological limitations. Many of those indies on the other hand are just trying to get a certain look which represents an often erroneous perception of how a certain era of game looked. Though it's unfair to compare the two. The resources dedicated to these games are significantly different though obviously modern tools are much better.

The stylist differences show as well. Can anyone here think of an indie pixel game that looks as good as metal slug or Super Metroid, or the PS1 Megaman X games? Won't stop people from telling me that indie's are a good substitute for left-behind genres.

I think I've gotten off topic though. Good running animations?

It's not the best, but it's fairly good: The scarf and nail have a good amount of motion. Just needs a few more frames of animation to smooth it out.

 

[petran79]

It gets worse once you consider the pure wizardry some artists put to get around limitations of hardware and deliver some of this art, sometimes drawing art exploiting characteristics of the display chain whether that be dithering exploiting composite signals, scan patterns/phosphor glow etc.

Pixel artists were trying to achieve the best looking games they could do given technological limitations. Many of those indies on the other hand are just trying to get a certain look which represents an often erroneous perception of how a certain era of game looked. Though it's unfair to compare the two. The resources dedicated to these games are significantly different though obviously modern tools are much better.

It also had to do with the fact that those studios had professional animator and design equipment, something most indie studios lack. Prior to pixel art they designed and animated the sprites the traditional way before converting them.

 

[SpiceMelange]

Maybe if they don't know what they are doing. There are plenty of amazing pixel artists out there.

Very few indie pixel games have sprites of this quality AND hand animated. I can seriously only think of Skullgirls.

 

[notaskwid]

this here.

 

[SolidSnakex]

That looks...meh?

Here's another one of her running animation

I think it looks really good. The animation is very clean.