They had to rebuild the 3D models with more detailed texture maps, so it's more than just changing image quality... it was adding data that wasn't in the original.
My hunch is that they started with the running-around-town, in-battle, lowest-quality 3D models, which probably had the most associated animations...
...and then redrew them, boosting the complexity of the polygons and redrawing their texture maps
I think they used those as a starting point rather than the higher-quality, lip-synched models seen in cutscenes when a character is the focus of a shot:
Also, I've read somewhere (I can't find it now) that Squeenix may have originally farmed out the remaster to a third party studio, as they did the iOS version of FFV that ended up with Faris and Lenna a bit Gumby-fied.
I'm not sure whether that's true, but even if it isn't: in the past year or so, Squeenix has had to redo their FInal Fantasy XIV flagship MMO after the original release came out to mixed reviews (take two seems to be doing much better), plus they were trying to finish FF Versus, stuck in development hell for seven years, and Lightning Returns. So I'm sure the bulk of Square's animators and designers were working on the new titles.
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My hunch is that they started with the running-around-town, in-battle, lowest-quality 3D models, which probably had the most associated animations...
...and then redrew them, boosting the complexity of the polygons and redrawing their texture maps
I think they used those as a starting point rather than the higher-quality, lip-synched models seen in cutscenes when a character is the focus of a shot:
Also, I've read somewhere (I can't find it now) that Squeenix may have originally farmed out the remaster to a third party studio, as they did the iOS version of FFV that ended up with Faris and Lenna a bit Gumby-fied.
I'm not sure whether that's true, but even if it isn't: in the past year or so, Squeenix has had to redo their FInal Fantasy XIV flagship MMO after the original release came out to mixed reviews (take two seems to be doing much better), plus they were trying to finish FF Versus, stuck in development hell for seven years, and Lightning Returns. So I'm sure the bulk of Square's animators and designers were working on the new titles.