yoshitaka amano art is really funny because he'll create these surreal dreamlike depictions of final fantasy characters and creatures as concept art and every single time without fail the FF devs go "holy fuck that looks cool" and then ignore it completely - ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

punkitt.bsky.social • 119 days ago

yoshitaka amano art is really funny because he'll create these surreal dreamlike depictions of final fantasy characters and creatures as concept art and every single time without fail the FF devs go "holy fuck that looks cool" and then ignore it completely

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thevariableedge.bsky.social•119 days ago

I'll chalk that up for most console generations for tech limitations, but part of that is Japanese tastes? His style is not really my own taste, tbh, but I wouldn't say no to seeing more games that are faithful to his personal vision.

ostasad.bsky.social•119 days ago

Final Fantasy XIV has several bosses that look like they walked right out of Amano’s sketchbook. They’re easily the most memorable fights in the game.

rockettpowered.bsky.social•119 days ago

I believe he got the job because the developers of FF1 saw his work in a magazine and was like "We NEED to get this guy."

thefloorisevil.bsky.social•119 days ago

I remember reading an interview with some of the devs of 6 once where they outright said "yeah the actual people working on the sprites and amano straight up didn't communicate at all because his ideas were too crazy for the hardware"

cardinalfsr.bsky.social•119 days ago

His art was used in Kartia: The Word of Fate (PS1) and El Dorado Gate (Dreamcast), though those were Atlus and Capcom productions respectively.

guardwolfy.bsky.social•119 days ago

The FFX ones kinda fit, but, to be fair, most of the games’ graphics could not even pretend to match his designs.
Even Vampire Hunter D was drastically different. See also: Sailor Moon, and much of CLAMP.

kumimono.bsky.social•119 days ago

I dunno, FF9 was quite faithful. Usually the tech just ain't there to realize his vision... 😋

kurisu7885.bsky.social•119 days ago

Not completely, the Magitek Reaper in FF14 is based on that artwork.

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nanthedark.bsky.social•119 days ago

If I'm not mistaken, from I to VI Amano did the concept art after character sprites were already done, pretty much. Other artists were involved on designing those, and Amano came after.

They do reference his art for enemies in FFVI, though. Umaro and Kefka are good examples of that.

punkitt.bsky.social•119 days ago

i think its really funny the idea of him doing concept art AFTER the implementation. what was he even there for then

nanthedark.bsky.social•119 days ago

I think that art was meant for like, promoting the game in magazines and for manuals and stuff. It is pretty funny yeah 😅

glossybuckthorn.bsky.social•119 days ago

Damn you aint kidding! Dude's got some freaking insane stuff!

kdicaprio.bsky.social•119 days ago

To be fair, the game art looks closer to his submitted art than to most of his art! He often has exhibitions where you can purchase originals if you have a several thousand dollars to spare, and visiting one I was able to point to about 20% of them and say "definitely a failed Final Fantasy piece"!

tudsworthington.bsky.social•119 days ago

I own his FF art book and the Ultimania for FF I-VI and things like his original concept for Chocobo are wild as hell, but they also absolutely would not translate to the Famicom so I kinda get it.

jakebobbery.bsky.social•119 days ago

it's only recently in like, FF14, where it feels like they started going "hey maybe we can MAKE that happen". it's almost never gonna be 1:1, but they get pretty close! (this one's a late-game fight, the final act of Shadowbringers)

[also I can't speak for earlier 3D games, I never played 'em 😅]

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shortiexv.bsky.social•119 days ago

Came here to say this. The Endsinger also feels very Amano to me. One of my favorite boss designs.

wytch.bsky.social•119 days ago

This fight was the first fight I ever did as tank that required a limit break to get though and the vibe of him going that hard with multiple summons and going "no," rocked so hard.

fpof22.bsky.social•119 days ago

Well, if they did go by his artwork, 90% of the characters would be blonde, which would make the games way more boring visually 😅

sagesix28.bsky.social•119 days ago

Blonde terra is a crime against humanity

yinlock.bsky.social•119 days ago

if they followed his art for everything every character would be hyper-gothic and extremely gay. otoh that would kind of whip ass

klaustrix.com•119 days ago

This is the kinda thing we should be using the insane modern graphics capabilities for. There's no excuse these days, but the industry is like 'LOL nah, more hyper realism that ages terribly please'

biggaybowacunga.bsky.social•119 days ago

Give it up for the Final Fantasy 2 and 6 boxarts that feel so iconic, but I've never really given a second thought as to who they came from until now

It's always really interesting to hear of an artist, then have it click that you're already familiar with their work

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gearcinco.bsky.social•119 days ago

Legendary anime Vampire Hunter D art was originally brought to life by Amano as well.

omniscientpanda.bsky.social•119 days ago

...and then you see HER and it's just...so good.

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rummysm.com•119 days ago

Not sure if you've played FFXIV yet (feel free to correct me!) but i think that game has the best adaptation of Amano's artwork into 3D. (at least when they do explicitly take from his artworks.)

meyhve.bsky.social•119 days ago

we need a final fantasy game that looks like angels egg

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jemeralddragoon.bsky.social•119 days ago

And then they'll get that hack Nomura to completely redo Amano's impeccable art and base the game entirely around it instead

punkitt.bsky.social•119 days ago

Hey man no Nomura hate around here, be chill

scarletonly.bsky.social•119 days ago

Who is that?

punkitt.bsky.social•119 days ago

girl you can google

lkcorvus.bsky.social•119 days ago

EXCEPT for dissidia :)

Those games love the artwork so much.