Author Topic: Voice Acting - Yay or Nay? (Read 7867 times)

popkorn1 · « **on:** March 25, 2003, 01:06:54 PM »

Well, Zelda is officially one of the best games I've ever played. The cartoony look is brilliant, I love it. However, I do wish that this game used (good) voice acting. Why? It is so unbelivably cartoony that it almost seems wrong to me not to have it. Let me try to explain... Imagine a video game with graphics so amazing, it looks just like a TV show. I'm talking, the people look completely real, the enviroment, flaweless. If it LOOKED like TV, and FELT like TV.. and had text conversations, well.. it would just seem wrong to me.

Sure, this isn't a 'real' looking game, but its the closest thing ever to playing a cartoon-movie. It still seems off to me in the same way. Why go all the way, and put so much effort into making it resemble a cartoon.. and leave out the voice acting?

I think it would be amazing if they got actual celebrity voice acting to do video games, like Zelda. I'm talkin like Monsters Inc style.. John Goodman, Tom Hanks.. people like that. The video game industry is closer than ever with the movie industry .. and admit it, this Zelda game imitates full length cartoon movies in every way. I would have loved it.

I can, though, understand reasons why it was left out. 1, bad voice acting would totally degrade the game. 2, it might make it way more childish than people can accept. (xbox/ps2 fanboys.) and 3, maybe Nintendo just thinks Link shouldn't have a voice... leave it up to the player's imagination. I could understand all of these reasons, so I'm not griping at all that there's no voice acting... I just think it would have been fantastic if done right!

What do you think? Voice acting - Yay or Nay? And what do you think about celebrity voice acting?

Tekkena · « **Reply #1 on:** March 25, 2003, 01:30:11 PM »

Maby in the next realistic Zelda if they make it realistic. But for now I think the peoples voice just fits perfectly. So far I just got the sword and stop playing, but the voice for the charcters I've heard seem to match them really good. Like Arryl how she says oooooooooooooohhhhh. That just seems to work very well for me. But when they do decide to do voice acting, given the right people, I think it should be intresting to how it would translate and add to the experience.

popkorn1 · « **Reply #2 on:** March 25, 2003, 01:41:47 PM »

I completely agree that for the voices that are already there, they are absolutely perfect. But I'm talking about the blocks of text that you read throughout the game. I think those would be great if professional known actors did them, so it would be just like watching a cartoon while people talked, rather than reading a cartoon.

Hmm, reading a cartoon.. I guess it's kind of like a moving comic. Never thought of it that way. Rock and roll. lol

3_MaSteRPIeCE · « **Reply #3 on:** March 25, 2003, 03:38:13 PM »

I don't like the fact of people having voice acting in Zelda. I like it the way it is already with the little yelps and hahas.

It would be cool if they added more than the normal but i wouldn't want voice acting.

GoldShadow1 · « **Reply #4 on:** March 25, 2003, 08:43:52 PM »

Nah, I would find it irritating. It just wouldn't fit somehow. I can't quite explain it. Maybe it would work.

Grey Ninja · « **Reply #5 on:** March 25, 2003, 08:48:27 PM »

Miyamoto-sama once said that they had considered voice acting, but left it out because they wanted to leave as much to the imagination of the player as possible. Instead, they chose to integrate yells and screams, as they are fairly indeterminate.

I happen to agree with this philosophy, and I respect it greatly that Nintendo continues to produce this level of ingenuity in their games. They don't strive to do what everyone else does... they strive to create moving art.

CHEN · « **Reply #6 on:** March 25, 2003, 11:42:47 PM »

remember Star Fox Adventures <shudder>

But if there was a realistic Zelda, then voice acting seems to be a must. I can see it before me...drool

Toolvana · « **Reply #7 on:** March 26, 2003, 01:55:08 AM »

I really don't mind either way. With or without voice acting it's still a great game.
As far as celebrity voice acting in video games, check out Kingdom Hearts.

Hostile Creation · « **Reply #8 on:** March 26, 2003, 01:19:23 PM »

No. Voice acting with Zelda is just weird.

ThePerm · « **Reply #9 on:** March 26, 2003, 07:13:24 PM »

maybe in a totally new game series

thepoga · « **Reply #10 on:** March 26, 2003, 07:15:37 PM »

its like reading a book. you want the voice to be the one in ur head. also, some may not be able to identify with the voice or something. shiggy said something like that awhile ago.

RahXephon · « **Reply #11 on:** March 27, 2003, 05:39:23 AM »

yea i found times when i wasnt sure honestly who was talking, they should have some way to distinguish, or they should put voices in, but make them skippable.

EL Pollo DIablos · « **Reply #12 on:** March 27, 2003, 05:53:11 AM »

I think forone itwould take away some ofthe humor of the game.
Like Maron greating u with: 'THIEF!"

El Pollo Diablos

Hostile Creation · « **Reply #13 on:** March 27, 2003, 12:29:01 PM »

The voice acting in Mario was disgusting. They mostly tried to avoid that, though.

nitsu niflheim · « **Reply #14 on:** March 28, 2003, 02:46:06 AM »

You know having to actually read the dialogue in a game is just terrible, [sarcasm] why don't we just become even more lazy and request that they don't make games anymore, just make movies.

America has a terrible literacy rate, having to read to play and understand a game is great. And 90% of the time voice acting is terrible. I like that Nintendo doesn't go with the flow created by everyone else.

Quote
I completely agree that for the voices that are already there, they are absolutely perfect. But I'm talking about the blocks of text that you read throughout the game. I think those would be great if professional known actors did them, so it would be just like watching a cartoon while people talked, rather than reading a cartoon.

People who can't hear need those blocks of text. While voice acting is nice, games that rely on it to propell the story suffer by discriminating against a portion of consumers that will be left out. Blood Omen 2, for example, on the Xbox (the only version I have) had voice acting but no subtitles so I had to turn the volume up really loud just to follow the dialogue.

theaveng · « **Reply #15 on:** March 28, 2003, 01:08:22 PM »

I'm reminded of Final Fantasy fans. They complained and complained that Square did not have voice-acting in their PS1 games (FF7/8/9).

Then, when Square finally included voices in FF10... the fans complained again that they sucked!

(sigh) I'm surprised game programmers even try with all the complaints they get. No matter what they do: It's Wrong.

Troy (Sidles out of the room)

Edisim · « **Reply #16 on:** March 28, 2003, 07:33:25 PM »

Quote

America has a terrible literacy rate, having to read to play and understand a game is great. And 90% of the time voice acting is terrible. I like that Nintendo doesn't go with the flow created by everyone else.

LOL! What a reason to keep text in video games! Nintendo. Fighting the good fight.

Quote

People who can't hear need those blocks of text. While voice acting is nice, games that rely on it to propell the story suffer by discriminating against a portion of consumers that will be left out. Blood Omen 2, for example, on the Xbox (the only version I have) had voice acting but no subtitles so I had to turn the volume up really loud just to follow the dialogue.

Dude, I never would have even thought about it that way. Right on, man.

Another reason to have text instead of speech: people read (and comprehend) at different speeds. If there was just speech, then slow-witted folk might have difficulty following the plot. And people who can read very quickly will have to sit through some crap-ass voice acting. Most voice acting is done by, um, actors who don't get paid much so it would likely suck. Anyway, the point is for characters to be expressive. And the characters in Windwaker are plenty expressive. I find myself liking and disliking characters in the game based on their facial expression, their postures/body language, the sounds they make, and lastly their words. In games with speech, these things don't always come together because they rely so much on the actor's tone of voice and delivery. And the speech in Mario Sunshine did kinda suck.

theaveng · « **Reply #17 on:** March 29, 2003, 03:36:44 AM »

oops

theaveng · « **Reply #18 on:** March 29, 2003, 03:36:46 AM »

theaveng · « **Reply #19 on:** March 29, 2003, 03:36:47 AM »

theaveng · « **Reply #20 on:** March 29, 2003, 03:36:49 AM »

theaveng · « **Reply #21 on:** March 29, 2003, 03:36:50 AM »

theaveng · « **Reply #22 on:** March 29, 2003, 03:37:37 AM »

I just turned on Wind Waker for the first time, and watched the intro. Without the voices, it feels like I'm watching an old Super Nintendo game (think Yoshi's Island or Metroid): Still graphics and text overlaid with music.
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Minus the voice acting, I can't show this to my 3-yr-old nephew. He can't read yet. With Kingdom Hearts, I recorded the game and edited it into a 2-hour movie, and my nephew could understand the voice acting and comprehend the story. Ditto Final Fantasy 10. I won't be able to do that with Wind Waker with its lack of voices.

Troy (Sidles out of the room)

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Author Topic: Voice Acting - Yay or Nay? (Read 7867 times)