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Why can't Link just speak?

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Jun 30, 2014
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So, I get it-- Link's a blank-slate, right? The perfect hole for you to stick your head through and experience the world as he does; and as much as I think that's an outdated system, I can respect that-- even enjoy it.

But that doesn't give reason for him to be completely mute. He's a reactionary character. He's not there for you to input your own emotion into the game, he's there for the game to input its own emotion into you, much like Robin in FE13; except Robin is actually capable of voicing the player's responses, rather than letting the world go by, helpless.

Is there any reason to keep him silent? It simply isn't necessary in maintaining that immersion factor Nintendo so strives for, and if recent installments are any indication, it'll only get more clumsy and awkward as technology advances.
 

Dio

~ It's me, Dio!~
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Why can't all the characters just speak? Their mouths move and a grunt comes out completely out of sync with their lip movements and their mouths continue moving as they communicate telepatically whist a text box pops up on screen saying what they are thinking to one another.

Link actually has as much voice acting as most of the other characters.
 
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I know he doesn't speak much, barring grunts hiiyaahs and the AoL and SS texts...actually I wouldn't mind seeing him speak in text more often, that way players wouldn't throw a hissy fit if they didn't like the voice actor and we could get a little more interaction out of him.
 
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Well gesticulation is a part of our language, just not a full part. though to be honest I liked it better when certain characters didn't get a voice actor, Mario and Toad are annoying as hell.
 
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Not sure if it's common knowledge but the voice actor who does Link also does the Austrian guy from the anime Axis Powers Hetalia, this is what Link could potentially sound like if they let him.
 
He speaks, you just don't hear it. It's like in Skyrim, you select text responses and the other character obviously hears it, just no voices come out. It's so you can imagine yourself what his voice is, or how he words something or whatever. That being said, i don't know other characters haven't spoken yet in the series outside of gibberish ala Midna.
 
Joined
Feb 23, 2011
Well technically speaking Link has had the ability to speak in almost every game to date. Those little dialog boxes where we're given the options to say 'Yes', 'No', or whatever are instances in which Link has spoken. Some games even provide blue or green wording to denote this. And then there's The Wind Waker.

It has been stated that Link's purpose is to serve as an avatar of sorts—a 'link' between the player and the game world. As part of that package, Link was given a blank slate as a means to allow the player to imbue their own personalities onto him. In order for this to work to the greatest effect, I think that it's best if he remained voiceless.

It's just... The idea of a fully voiced Link seems contradictory to what his creators were going for. Voicing a character with very little emotion to begin with is asking for trouble. There's so much that could potentially go wrong. For one, his lack of personality would end up making him sound dull and monotone in dialogue sequences. For another, he could end up with a cruddy voice actor. Goddesses forbid that he's voiced by the guy that voices Rock Lee from the Naruto series.

But ultimately...

The only way that I can see this working is if they threw all of that stuff out the window and rebuilt Link['s personality] from the ground up. Although, for a great deal of folks like me who've been with the series for over two decades, a fully voiced Link would just be weird. It's just not something that we're used to. A bit of apprehension towards the idea is to be expected. If it ever happens, chances are that I'll get used to it; can't speak for everyone else, though.
 
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