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Voice Acting in the Legend of Zelda May 1st, 2008 at 5:00 am by The King of HyruleWell excusseee me, princess! **Shutter** This was Nintendo’s first attempt at adding voices to rather timeless characters. Though the line above did not come from a Zelda game, it came from a show based off of the Zelda games. These horrendous voices have stuck to The Legend of Zelda throughout the years. But what would Zelda be like if voice overs were added to it? Hopefully, the world may never know.
Technology today is progressing at a rapid rate. Graphics are constantly being improved, the speed of a game is always being increased, and the overall quality of games in general is rising. Lots of games have adopted many of the new technologies available, including the Legend of Zelda games. The latest console game, Twilight Princess, featured brilliant graphics and the game moved at a speed unparalleled by other Zelda games (i.e. – no loading times between dungeon rooms). However, Zelda did not adopt something that many other games have: voice acting; at least not yet. Since the beginning, Legend of Zelda characters have not spoken coherent words. Instead, each character makes a unique grunt or squeal-like sound when talking. But what would Zelda be like if the characters actually said what showed up on the screen? This debate has been going on for a while now. Many fans like Zelda just the way it is, and would rather not hear what their characters sound like. They would rather leave it up to their own imagination. There are those, though, that think Zelda would be much better if each character had an audible voice, including Link. Opinions vary greatly from person to person, but some feel that everyone but Link should talk, while some think that Link, and only Link, should speak. When approaching a topic, it is always good to hear the pros and cons of both sides of the argument. For some, having a voice to match with Link or Zelda would be fun, even somewhat helpful at times. For others, it would be hell to have a voice to connect Link or Zelda to. The pros and cons vary depending on where you stand, as they do with most articles. The most common fear: a repeat of the 1989 “hit” animated television series based on the Legend of Zelda. Very few disagree with the fact that the voices were atrocious. If Zelda were to ever have voice overs, Nintendo would have to make sure this sort of thing didn’t happen, for fear of losing many die-hard fans of the series. If you have ever read any of my other articles, you will know that I believe that a huge part of the Legend of Zelda games is the mystery surrounding them. This mystery causes us to be creative and create our own answers to the hundreds of unanswered questions each Zelda game leaves us with. One of the long-standing mysteries of the Zelda series has been what the characters actually sound like. Each gamer has his or her own view of the characters of Zelda, and, in a way, we all have expectations that the characters live up to. But what would happen if voice acting is added to a later Zelda game and Link doesn’t sound quite as courageous as you pictured, or as powerful as you thought. Would that not affect the way you view Link? Of course it would. We all have ideas somewhere in our heads about what Link, Zelda, or some other Zelda character sounds like. We have grown accustomed to that sound and expect nothing less. Voice overs cannot please everyone. Even if Chuck Norris were to be the voice of Link, people would protest. Part of the mystery that is Zelda would be ruined, all because of something as simple as a voice. The majority of people in the Zelda community agree that voice overs would not be a good thing. However, there are fans that think it would be nice to have every character talk but Link, which is a much more rational idea. Years of experience has proven that the formula Zelda games follow works. One part of that formula is not having any kind of dialogue attached to Link, not even simple text. The closest thing to dialogue Link has received are small noises accompanying certain actions. This suits Link well, and it is enjoyed by the gamers. Using this reasoning, certain groups believe that voice overs for everybody but Link are necessary. But does anyone really want a voice attached to any character? As I said before, mystery is key in Zelda games, and attaching voices to the characters would diminish an aspect of that mystery. Some may picture Zelda with a high pitched, almost squeaky voice, while others may see her having a deeper, more courageous or powerful voice. There is no in-between voice that would fit Princess Zelda and satisfy both of those perspectives. If voices were added, many people would be disappointed; even if with voices didn’t include Link. My final point is the failure of the past attempt at a voice over: Navi. Famous for all the wrong reasons, Navi is widely considered the most annoying Zelda character ever. The reason? The constant nagging “Hey!”s or the “Look out!”s. Left and right Navi made noises like that, which often lead to anger at one of the greatest games of all time. This was Nintendo’s first shot at voice acting in a Zelda game, and it turned out miserably. Zelda games have always been extensive, and there is just so much text involved in a Zelda game that, in my opinion, it would get very annoying, very fast. Though we may often wonder what Link or Zelda sound like, I, and many other gamers, feel it is better left up to the imagination of the player to decide the voices of the characters. That way, each character lives up to the profile that we have built for them, and no one is disappointed. Filed under Editorials Follow This Entry | Leave a Response | Trackback | ||
17 Messages from the Gossip Stones about “Voice Acting in the Legend of Zelda”
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Jumanji_Shishioh says:
May 1st, 2008 at 7:03 am [quote]
Great Article, TKOH. I really think that voice acting should be left out of the series, i mean it might ruin it beyond repair, having some Japanese dude going “Hey Princess, i’m going to rescue you!” or someone else going “The Triforce is resonating AAAHHHHH!!!!” in some stupid voice.
May 1st, 2008 at 10:03 am [quote]
Everyone loves any Chuck Norris references. I have to say that this was quite the enjoyable read, and it truly is something that falls to personal opinion or view. I’m glad to see that the new team of contributors definitely aren’t going to disappoint. Great job TKOH, I look forward to your later articles and their sticking conclusions.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:48 pm [quote]
I always had an envision of what Zelda and Ganon sounded like. However, ever since the April Fools IGN Zelda Trailer, I can’t get the ‘British accented’ Zelda out of my mind, while the Ganon is very similar to how I imagined it to be. I DO think that we’ll see voice overs in the next console Zelda title. At least to some extent.
May 2nd, 2008 at 2:35 pm [quote]
hm. ive never considered the possibility that Link and only Link be able to speak in the game. Thats an interesting one–the exact opposite of what we’ve got now.
i’m half and half on the adding of voices. id like to hear what Link and Zelda sound like, but at the same time, it might not match up to what *I* think they sound like. As the issue stands now, everyone is on some level happy, because each player has his/her interpretation of what Link and Zelda sound like. Only time will tell…
very nice article. classic, but not overdone in the way you presented the case.
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:51 pm [quote]
I’m sorry man but I am a voice acting supporter all the way. I think of games as a very cinematic experience. In my humble opinion the voice acting would make the games more fun to play, not to mention the fact that nintendo will have to add it to keep up with the times. However I do not believe that Link should be voice acted, the best voice acted RPG’s did not have the main character talk. This is for good reason, if they talked the link between the main character and the player will be severed. This problem however (in my opinion) does not apply to party based RPG’s and action games such as final fantasy. In these games you are controlling the actions of the whole party, and not necessarily “linked” to the main character. These are my thoughts, whatever they may be.
P.S. This is FRAKING amazing having zelda blog back.
May 3rd, 2008 at 9:12 am [quote]
Link himself is almost supposed to be a blank character so that anyone can imagine him as they want to. Putting a voice to Link will give him a distinct personality and remove the players connection to Link.
May 3rd, 2008 at 1:07 pm [quote]
This article was great! Strong start to the reopening of ZeldaBlog, TKOH!
As for the topic at hand (a classic one at that), it completely depends on how you see your Zelda games. Some games one might see as a very cinematic experience, like Flava mentioned, but other games are best left to be played almost as if you’re reading a book. Games like Halo or Uncharted are very cinematic, but other games with more RPG elements, ala Chrono Trigger, are more like literature in game form, and voices would simply trounce all over that mystique that the reader/player immerses him/herself in. For me, Zelda is that sort of an experience, and voices would change the game for me.
Don’t you love when personal perspective and opinion take hold of a point of discussion? :-p
May 3rd, 2008 at 5:36 pm [quote]
I don’t think Link should have a voice. It would ruin the player’s connection with him. But should everybody else have a voice? Yes. But don’t worry, Miyamoto never wanted to give Link a personality, and I’m sure he won’t change his mind now.
May 3rd, 2008 at 10:09 pm [quote]
But Link is an established enough character that he does have more than a hint of a personality. He still works best as having little to say unless he needs to, but Wind Waker and Twilight Princess gave him realistic looking expressions. And I mean he’s already yelling at statues to COME ON~!, so I don’t see why everybody’s so afraid of voice acting.
All the other characters already have established personalities and giggle and gasp and stuff. There really isn’t THAT much left to the imagination, so come on, Nintendo. Take the next step.
People look at failed attempts like the cartoon and CDi that Nintendo game developers had little to no hand in controlling.
Unfortunately, the only recent game I know of that is anything like Zelda that had good voice acting is Kingdom Hearts, and most of those characters already had established voices and personalities.
May 5th, 2008 at 10:52 pm [quote]
I have to admit something totally off the wall: I want voice acting. Yup.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:04 am [quote]
While I accept that many people desire voice acting in the games as a Limey *Englishman, lol* I have just never imagined Link with an American accent, if they were to do voice acting for the game this is what we would get. Now, Nintendo could release different versions for different countries with American, English, Japanese, French e.t.c. voice actors but this would be expensive and time consuming. Leave it as it is I say, if it aint broke dont fix it.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:09 pm [quote]
Well, I must say that voice acting’s a hit-or-miss thing. It’s true, with good voice actors the game would feel so much more alive, but if bad voices are chose, it could end a disaster. Well, yeah, Nintendo’s a rich company, and they could easily get top-notch voice actors, but there’s still the possibility that they’d fall flat on their faces.
But aside from voice actor quality, there’s also the accent problem, like Robert-UK said. Chances are there would only be English and Japanese voices, as those are the leading regions in the market. But, there’s a million accents of English, and a lot of people would be disappointed if they all spoke with an American accent, and even more who would simply detest upper-class English, and I really doubt they’d go through the trouble of recording more than one accent. No really, I truly doubt it would ever happen (they didn’t even replace bar with pub in the European version of TP :o)
And even if those two issues are dealt with accordingly (top-notch voice actors and multiple accents and languages at your choice) then there’s still a lot of people that just wouldn’t feel it fits the series, me included. Unless carried out perfectly, it could also ruin the mood present in the Zelda series. But, if done perfectly, then I’d actually like to see it, yet…I don’t even know anymore =P
Oh, and no one’s mentioned Midna’s “voice acting” yet
May 6th, 2008 at 2:34 pm [quote]
I like how things are now, just grunts, groans, yells, and people moving their lips to what the words on the bottom of the screen say, lols. As for Midna’s voice-acting, it’s like being around with someone who is speaking a drastically different language, yet we’re still able to talk and understand each other, lol.
May 10th, 2008 at 7:54 am [quote]
Great article. I’m one of the fans who would hate having complete voice overs for the games. I think part of having them not directly speak clues us in to the fact they’re not speaking English (or Japanese, or any language humans know). I like the separation, because it (ironically) helps me feel enveloped in their world. That might sound weird, but that’s how I feel.
May 10th, 2008 at 8:24 pm [quote]
Thats the kind of message I am trying to convey. All media tries to envelope the viewer, and certain aspects, like voice acting, can make or break that involvement.
May 11th, 2008 at 6:10 am [quote]
While I still don’t see how giving a voice to an established character break that enveloping, I do see Emily’s point about language. Rewriting Hylian signs in English would affect the art. Though I would forgive English signs in a Zelda movie, just because it’s quicker and easier to process for the average viewer.
May 11th, 2008 at 6:46 pm [quote]
I’ve noticed in Twilight Princess how everyone’s lips are moving, but they don’t move the same way as the text, and I’m not too sure about Japanese, but that may be a way they let us know they’re talking in a completely different language. The text box on the bottom of the screen is the only way we know what they’re saying. I wonder what it would be like to have voice acting… in a made up language, hahah!