Do you agree or disagree with the following?
Excerpt taken from Wired interview with Eiji Aonuma, Zelda Producer
If the [game’s] emphasis is on realism, why not incorporate voiced dialog? “I feel like it’s not suited to the Zelda series,” Aonuma said. “When the player is reading text on the screen, they’re inserting a part of themselves, their imagination, into the reading. They fill out the world. But with fully spoken dialogue, everything about the character becomes fixed in place, and you lose a bit of that imaginative aspect.”
[Source: Wired]
Sturek
I thought about that too…..
I think there should be no real voice dialog in the Zelda games…..
It just doesn’t fit the franchise….
robotplague
I can go either way with the issue. Hearing someone talk *could* immerse someone further into the game because theres actual human emotion being heard from a real voice. But I also agree that reading dialogue does allow you to fill out your own world to a certain extent. I think for the sake of tradition i’d rather not hear Link talk, ever. I mean one of the reasons people are so crazy about Zelda is because of the sense of tradition, the familiarity of it all with the music, characters and environments. If a new IP comes along and they talk, thats fine. But i’d like to keep things the way they are right now. Same goes with all of the other Nintendo characters.
mo
Can I say that I feel mightily relieved there is to be no spoken dialogue on Twilight.
The problem with voice dialog, in a game that has previously had none for two decades, is what kind/type of voice do you use?
Nintendo would probably not admit it but the prospect of converting all that spoken dialog to Spanish, Italian, German, French etc. at the end of the GC’s life probably filled their upper-management with complete dread?
Just as a personal aside, I do hope that Nintendo can one day develop a follow-up to Wind Waker with the same vibrant graphical style. Perhaps on DS.
Tismatron
you dont want voice acting, as it would cause all sortsof complaints, as they could never get the voice right, for bveryones mind, it will rip open the gaming worl, dont do it nintendo
Princess Mushroom
I think the right voices could be more immersive – but what are the right voices. Could we ever agree?
English voice-overs often seem banal. I have been playing Soul Calibur and I find the characters’ English comments so useless that I switch it into Japanese, which sounds really neat.
If they did voice-overs for Zelda, I hope they would have an option for keeping them in Japanese with subtititles! That’s the way I watch anime if I have the choice.
Nicholas Roussos
I know people who turn off voice dialog when they can. The fact is that voice acting in video games mostly sucks right now.
If it got better, that would be different, but for now reading text will be 100 times more entertaining in my opinion.
Stoofen
I don’t mind. After hearing several games with horrible voice acting, I fear that it could ruin the adventure. I’ve always enjoyed reading the dialogue, so I do not mind. Lastly, how can you assign a voice to a series that is nearly 15 years old?
Anonymous
I don’t think voice acting would fit, especailly with the idea of putting in a voice for link. It’ll most likely be very Americanized also, which is possible for nintendo to do because some people think already that the Zelda games are in a Western Presentation.
This is also why a Legend of Zelda movie would be something of a horror to me also.
Horace a.k.a. Nekkas
I think it’s better not to include voice in the game.
Anonymous
I dunno. I’ve really liked the little “hmmmphs” and “heeeyaaahs” in the Zelda series up to this point…well, I’ve seen no reason to complain. It would almost seem unnatural for Link and friends to have voices…but then again, we said the same thing about the Metroid series going first person…
Anonymous
I might be crazy, but has Link actually ever said anyhing in any of the Zelda games, anyway? I seem to remember him being a silent protaganist, kind of like Squall in FF8… but I honestly can’t recall.
This voice thing has been an issue since OoT. I say: no voice. This series is beloved by so many… you’d probably end up upsetting more people than you would be pleasing. If you add a voice, you’re taking away a bit of the imagination.
Spud Crowley
I did have a giant off-topic rant concocted regarding Tommy Tallarico from G4: Videogame Television(vomit-inducing MTV clone that insults serious videogame enthusiasts), but I think I’ll spare you. Basically, he blasts any game that doesn’t have voice acting, among other trivial nitpicks. Anyway, the way I look at it, it doesn’t really matter. I would perfer text to voice acting, but the presentation of the dialog won’t make the game any less of a gem(or more of a stinker…).
robotplague
Spud Crowley….I agree, Tommy Tallarico is such a graphics/gimmicks whore it’s unbelievable. I can understand not liking a game for a number of reasons, but the ones he always seems to point out at things that are extremely trivial. He ends up sounding like a junior high kid who is arguing over why games without blood or great graphics suck.
Kid Dynamo
heh. Tallarico is such an ass tool I can’t even say.
It seems most here agree that Aonuma has got the right idea. “no” with the voice acting. It could hurt more than help.
Anonymous
Why would anyone even want Link to speak? Same thing with Samus; all that could happen is people getting pissed at it. I also hate that jackass Tommy Tallcomwhateverthehellmylastnameis, all he ever does is talk about retarded games that rely on graphics and violence-which I have no problems with. (I like Victor Lucas, he’s seems like a real gamer)
Anonymous
Voices would ruin anything ervyone imagined while reading the text. I also think it would be wrong imoral and ultimately destructive to rep the game built up on making people wonder through the text. just like everyone else i am against it completely.