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Twilight_Link
Guest
For the games no voices for a Legend of Zelda anime yes.
Should Zelda have Voice Actors?
- Thread starter Link 2 the past
- Start date
*M i d n a*
Æsir Scribe
It would be cool if all the characters in future Zelda games had voices. For me it would work out better than having to read text or see character animations, etc. Hearing an actual character talking would definitely get me more in the game. ^^
R
rocker_3
Guest
id be ok with it as long as links the only one who doesnt talk
S
Shounenbat
Guest
Am I the only one who hates Miyazaki and Funimation dubs? They sound awful, especially the Funimation ones! Then again, the only dub I've ever really, really enjoyed was Paranoia Agent, and even that had its pit falls. The voices just hardly ever sound natural, and its very easy to tell that their trying to voice act and sync mouth flaps at the same time, thus hurting the quality.
I think you like Funimation over 4Kids because Funimation doesn't leave half the series on the cutting room floor, not because of the voice acting. I find that usually 4Kids has superior voice actors, but scizzor-happy editors. Funimation has mediocre voice actors, but the episodes are left largely intact. If 4Kids ever decided not to butcher every series they tried to "translate", I'd definately find 4Kids to be one of the better companies out there, in terms of quality.
If Zelda was voice acted in Japanese, I'd prefer to leave it in Japanese, or give it a made-up language like in Shadow of the Collosus. However, I prefer silent games. FFX was terrible, as was Tales of Symphonia, Metroid, Mario, etc. I don't want Link to talk like an American...
For the record, I am learning Japanese (I want to get a degree in it), and dubs are usually a lot different in dialogue than the Japanese versions. A few people have said that there's no point in leaving a game in Japanese if no one can understand it, but that's what subtitles are for. I'm pretty sure most American voice actors aren't going to produce those nice little yells and screams that Link does (we just don't sound like that; we grunt and shout, but not like that). I prefer no voice acting at all, but if there absolutely must be some, leave it in Japanese if it's not a made-up language.
Thing is, you'd have more people hating the game just because of that. I'm sure I speak for more than quite a few when they I say having to listen to nothing but Japanese for an entire game is enough to ruin it. Personally, I don't understand how Japanese voices are always considered to be better for some reason. Maybe it's because I'm not into anime, but I just don't understand it. However, I've read many of reviews outside of the Nintendo based magazines and such, and on various websites including video reviews. In the eyes of the world, it's simple: Ever since WW, many have though Legend of Zelda desperately needs voice acting. "These characters cry for voices" was an exact phrase used by two reviewers I watching a row, and many others got the same point across.
You mention FFX as horrible, but it was praised highly and sold like wildfire. Yeah, all the die hard FF fans hated it, but if a series just listens to its fans, it dies. Japanese voices only in Legend of Zelda would do much much more harm than good. I'm all for an option for those of you who for some reason think that the Japanese sound prettier though.
I think voice acting could work, if implemented properly. Zelda does fine with just written text, and that's okay, but I think voice acting could work for the game, as well. This, of course, means hiring good voice actors who actually care about the character they're voicing. It also means dodging certain bullets. One of the things about the Zelda series, that I personally would prefer to keep around, is the ability to name your character something other than "Link." It adds personality to "Link", and is something that should not be taken out if the need does not arise.
It's possible to do both. Since the voice acting should only be used in cinematic cutscenes, the name can be used directly afterwards and/or before the cutscene takes place. This would get the point across. Then the script writers just need to focus on writing the cutscenes so that Link's name is not used, otherwise we have a problem.
With all this taken in account, I do believe the idea of voice acting could work.
It's possible to do both. Since the voice acting should only be used in cinematic cutscenes, the name can be used directly afterwards and/or before the cutscene takes place. This would get the point across. Then the script writers just need to focus on writing the cutscenes so that Link's name is not used, otherwise we have a problem.
With all this taken in account, I do believe the idea of voice acting could work.
C
Caleb, Of Asui
Guest
Voice acting in Zelda is a very complicated issue. Of course, Zelda games already have some level of voice acting - grunts and whatnot. It's one of those ideas floating around on every Zelda forum (such as an MMORPG) that we can be sure the big guys up at Nintendo have considered at least once or twice.
It's hard to say indefinitely whether voice acting would help or hurt a Zelda game. While voice acting might be a good addition, there will obviously be some drawbacks no matter how it is implemented.
Pros
1. Voice acting could help effectively tell the story. The articulation and feelings expressed in one's voice can add meaning and feeling to a line of text. This will help the player further experience the emotions tied with the scenario.
2. Many (but not all) popular games use voice acting. There is a group of gamers who enjoy hearing the characters' voices, and there are those who might even go so far as to play absolutely NO games that aren't voiced. If anything, the inclusion of voices will boost sales for whichever Zelda game implements it.
3. If voice acting is used at some times, but not at others, it can be a very good way to highlight the most important parts. This is done in the game Tales of Symphonia, and is quite effective. The use of voices - having them articulate words, specifically - during battles, however, has something as an averse effect on how effective it is to voice important scenes.
4. Across the table, the idea about how Zelda characters should sound is astronomically different from what it was in the 80's. Nintendo no doubt realizes this. They know what to do and what not to do if they do decide to have a game voiced.
Cons
1. We have seen voice acting in Zelda material not once, but four times in the past. These are the three CDi games and the cartoon series. Needless to say, the voiced scenes were not well-recieved by ANYBODY. They were corny and ridiculous, and are only entertaining because it's so fun to laugh at them. We DO NOT want anything like this in our canon.
2. It is rather unlikely to be well-received by the Zelda community. Zelda has always had that nostalgic idea of the the characters voices being decided by the player. The character's voice sound however you want it to sound, however you think it's supposed to sound. I've talked about this on other fourms in the past, and one person said he imagined Zelda with a British accent. Hearing that Zelda's voice isn't what you've always imagined would ruin that for some players.
3. Never give Link a voice. Obviously, he can have his grunts and pieces of dialogue that *might* be him speaking, but Link should never, EVER, be allowed to extensively speak within a game. This would utterly destroy the entire concept of Link having a "link" to the player, pun intended in creation. Link had a voice in the CDi games and the cartoons, so we can never guarantee Link's voice will come out with everyone else's.
So...?
I'm going to say exactly what I said in the "Should Link Die?" thread: Nintendo could absolutely make it work, but it has to be done in exactly the right way, or it will ultimately fail. The same is true for a number of concepts discussed in the "Future Zelda" forum. Perhaps before The Wind Waker's release, a discussion about cel-shaded graphics was floating around in some other "Future Zelda" forum - and look what Nintendo so brilliantly devised from that idea.
It's hard to say indefinitely whether voice acting would help or hurt a Zelda game. While voice acting might be a good addition, there will obviously be some drawbacks no matter how it is implemented.
Pros
1. Voice acting could help effectively tell the story. The articulation and feelings expressed in one's voice can add meaning and feeling to a line of text. This will help the player further experience the emotions tied with the scenario.
2. Many (but not all) popular games use voice acting. There is a group of gamers who enjoy hearing the characters' voices, and there are those who might even go so far as to play absolutely NO games that aren't voiced. If anything, the inclusion of voices will boost sales for whichever Zelda game implements it.
3. If voice acting is used at some times, but not at others, it can be a very good way to highlight the most important parts. This is done in the game Tales of Symphonia, and is quite effective. The use of voices - having them articulate words, specifically - during battles, however, has something as an averse effect on how effective it is to voice important scenes.
4. Across the table, the idea about how Zelda characters should sound is astronomically different from what it was in the 80's. Nintendo no doubt realizes this. They know what to do and what not to do if they do decide to have a game voiced.
Cons
1. We have seen voice acting in Zelda material not once, but four times in the past. These are the three CDi games and the cartoon series. Needless to say, the voiced scenes were not well-recieved by ANYBODY. They were corny and ridiculous, and are only entertaining because it's so fun to laugh at them. We DO NOT want anything like this in our canon.
2. It is rather unlikely to be well-received by the Zelda community. Zelda has always had that nostalgic idea of the the characters voices being decided by the player. The character's voice sound however you want it to sound, however you think it's supposed to sound. I've talked about this on other fourms in the past, and one person said he imagined Zelda with a British accent. Hearing that Zelda's voice isn't what you've always imagined would ruin that for some players.
3. Never give Link a voice. Obviously, he can have his grunts and pieces of dialogue that *might* be him speaking, but Link should never, EVER, be allowed to extensively speak within a game. This would utterly destroy the entire concept of Link having a "link" to the player, pun intended in creation. Link had a voice in the CDi games and the cartoons, so we can never guarantee Link's voice will come out with everyone else's.
So...?
I'm going to say exactly what I said in the "Should Link Die?" thread: Nintendo could absolutely make it work, but it has to be done in exactly the right way, or it will ultimately fail. The same is true for a number of concepts discussed in the "Future Zelda" forum. Perhaps before The Wind Waker's release, a discussion about cel-shaded graphics was floating around in some other "Future Zelda" forum - and look what Nintendo so brilliantly devised from that idea.
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- Sep 13, 2009
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- Southern California
I'd really like it if they did, but I find it challenging for them to add voices to characters.
You would be much more able to get into the game. But Link's voice? Eh.
You would be much more able to get into the game. But Link's voice? Eh.
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2009
- Location
- Southern California
Well they do talk in the newer games, Link shouts stuff like, "Oi!!" in Wind Waker. Midna appears to be speaking gibberish in Twilight Princess whenever you listen to here.
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Shounenbat
Guest
Not because the language sounds prettier than English (Finnish the prettiest sounding language, imo), but because the acting is all-around better. That's not to say English speakers can't act, but it's much more difficult to dub than it is to say the lines exactly as you feel they need to be said, knowing that they will animate around your voice. You don't have to be into anime to understand that.
Listen to the Japanese FFX voices. The words sound much more natural, the voices more like the actual characters. In the English dub, it sounds like everyone either got stoned or hyped up on something before recording it. They just don't sound natural, like actual people. Tune in to any American-made animation on TV after playing dubbed FFX and notice the difference in quality.
This one might just be because I'm very familiar with the language (that JLPT 1 test isn't quite ready for me, yet, though), but the dialogue in the Japanese langauge reflects more closely what the original creators intended than the American dub. How often do people argue over translations? A lot. In the realm of anime, you get people quoting one character in English, while you get someone else shouting, "That line is misleading in the dub! In the original version, it goes..." Granted, subtitles aren't always very accurate, either, but they tend to be a little bit closer than the dub.
Let's take it a step further. It's not just Japanese. There's a lot of different translations of the Bible, too, and many of these English translations reflect what the translator "felt" was better. Many of our Bibles are translated from the Greek Bible, which, in turn, is translated from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, etc. texts. Right from there, we already have translation problems, since many words in one language don't translate into another language, thus certain things are always lost. Example: our English word "love" does not do the Greek word "agape" justice. In Japanese, words like "sempai" have no English equivalent, so that word gets translated into all manner of things.
Again, I prefer Zelda silent, but if Nintendo finally decides to give them voices, I would like for there to be an option in the game to play it with the Japanese voices, as Sonic Adventure 2 Battle did. Actually, I'd like the idea of voices even better if they pulled a Shadow of the Collosus and gave them a made-up language!
On one final note, go http://zeldapower.com/index.php/downloads/music_&_soundtracks/zelda_sound_and_drama_cd_1.php
and download the last track. That's what the Zelda voices would probably sound like.
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T
tryspasou
Guest
Thanks for sharing this useful information. It's great.
this is interesting.. thanks so much for sharing!
this is interesting.. thanks so much for sharing!
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- Connecticut, USA
No thanks. That would completely ruin the games for me.
I mean, they tried that with the cartoon once. "Excuuuuuse me princess!" is something I never want to hear link say again, ever.
I mean, they tried that with the cartoon once. "Excuuuuuse me princess!" is something I never want to hear link say again, ever.
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Shounenbat
Guest
"Nice job, Hero!" --Zelda
"Oh boy! Smooching time!" --Link
"Zinc (I'm pretty sure that's his name) will save me!" --King of Hyrule
This is very true. Characters we've known for a long time speaking in text, will suddenly have voices. It will be awkward at first, even if they happen to do a good job.
Yeah, and that's just little things. I think it could progress much more, if Nintendo wanted to try. Keeping Link's talking to the minimal "Oi" and such, of course. ^^
I agree with this.
For us in America, having voice acting in Japanese would completely destroy the point of it. We wouldn't be able to understand a word they were saying without reading the text. So you might as well just throw the voice acting out and keep the characters' talking to the text. It would be the same, only without the constant chitter-chatter of voices that we wouldn't understand anyway.
If voice acting in a video game is to be done right, it is to be done in English (for our country, at least), and it is to be done with decent voice actors who have experience in the field of acting. Japanese voices and English subtitles only work for Japanese anime and movies, maybe even songs, if that's what you're into. But not video games.
