Jasoco Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 Some games choose to keep the main character silent. While some give the character a voice. Sometimes it's a lot of talking. Sometimes just a catch phrase, (Like Mario) but no actual long speeches or such. Which do you prefer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sigma Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 It depends. Voice overs are good if the action is fast paced and information is "time critical", but other than that it is a toss up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgler Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 Main character with voice = very bad. Particulalry if it's an adventure or RPG. Even worse when you give that character your own name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kisrael Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 It's an interesting artistic choice... one of the biggest examples is GTA3, with its mute hero, vs. GTA:VC, with Ray Liotta. On the one hand, a mute hero probably lets the player "identify" more w/ the character. On the other hand, there are a lot of dialog things you can do when the main character talks, sometimes it seems forced to have the main guy completely silent. So, the mute guy is cooler, but the talking guy can have more interesting things to say. I'd say it's a tossup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeybastard Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 Neither way matter to me. I find it adds very little to the game but I don't hink it detracts either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Han Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 If it works, great, if it doesn't, not so great . I don't really have an overall opinion about this. I came to think of Blood, I really love the voice over in that game... really adds to the game... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 Wow...best case of this is with the Jak and Daxter games for the PS2. In the original Jak and Daxter, it is only Daxter who talks from time to time throwing out witty remarks, especially when you die. But Daxter isn't really much of a playable character in the games. Jak was the silent hero who spoke only through his animated facial expressions during cutscenes. Then in the second Jak and Daxter, Jak was given a voice. However, he only speaks during the cut scenes and, while I wasn't really sure about it at first, it seemed totally natural after a while. I am sure that both Jak and Daxter will be quite verbal in their 3rd upcoming game. But in time, we will all forget that Jak never spoke in the first game...hehe.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christianscott27 Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 it totally depends on the quality of the voice acting and how well it fits the game. can you imagine duke nukem without his voice? one of the better recent examples was XIII with david duchovny, his disoriented sounding voice added a thinking mans layer to what would have otherwise been a generic action hero. it does get annoying in any game when the same lines are repeated over and over though. whenever i find myself having to play thru an area dozens of times i turn the sound off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 I'll tell you what bugs me to no end.. it's 3D Zelda. Ever since they decided to have Link say HAAA everytime you press the damn sword button it's driven me nuts. Why can't it be just like good old 2D Zelda where all you'd hear was the sword swish instead? Instead I gotta listen to 12+ hours of HAAA!! YAA!! HAAA!!! YAAA !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingray Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 Hard to say really. Using some of the above examples, I prefer the mute Jak over the Jak who talks in Jak II. However I loved the Ray Liotta voice acting From Vice City and thought it fit perfectly and really was an improvement over the mute anti-hero of GTA3. I guess it just depends on the acting. Jade from Beyond Good & Evil was perfectly voiced and I doubt the game could have been as good without it. However IMO the voice acting in Sons of Liberty was garbage, as was the script. The cut scenes with all of that terrible voice acting (not just the main character) ruined what could have been a really good game. -S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2600Lives Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 VERY much agreed about XIII, Duchovny's voice was just perfect, as was Adam West. However, sometimes I like a mute hero...other times, I like one who's vocal. A perfect example was the first Metal Gear Solid. David Hayter's sort of gravelly, growling voice was great, and it added a LOT to the game, as did the other excellent voice overs. I don't think that game would have had near the impact if any of the characters in it were mute. But, say like in the Zelda games, or even something like Paper Mario, it works just fine. Samus doesn't talk, and she's one of my all time favorite video game characters (and Metroid is my number one all time favorite game franchise, bar none). I also think that games like Resident Evil worked like they did because of the bad voice acting, not in spite of it. The game was supposed to be like a bad B horror movie, not something with a mega budget. Bad horror movies have bad acting and worse dialogue, so, the game had that too. I for one think it worked just fine. The acting and dialogue did get better as the games went on, though. Look at the RE-make versus the original. Night and day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dones Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 I'll tell you what bugs me to no end.. it's 3D Zelda. Ever since they decided to have Link say HAAA everytime you press the damn sword button it's driven me nuts. Why can't it be just like good old 2D Zelda where all you'd hear was the sword swish instead? Instead I gotta listen to 12+ hours of HAAA!! YAA!! HAAA!!! YAAA !!! You know I thought exactly the same. Nintendo has been doing that lately on all their games: the GBA Zelda, GC Mario/kart/parties, the mario advances, Pikmin 2. All of these have their characters doing a high pitched or annoying yell. Even the Gamecube unit has an alternative, z-activated (thank god) kiddie intro sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shep Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 I enjoy it if the voice over is done very well. Otherwise, I could do without. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulEMoz Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 It all depends on the voice acting. A well delivered performance can really add an extra dimension to a character. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingray Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 I also think that games like Resident Evil worked like they did because of the bad voice acting, not in spite of it. The game was supposed to be like a bad B horror movie ... Bad horror movies have bad acting and worse dialogue... Although I never thought about it that way I have to agree with you. Very good point you make there. -S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paralistalon Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 Has anyone here played Tales of Symphonia? It's a great RPG but half of the voice-overs are lame. Some are awesome like Kratos who has a well-known professional doing his voice. Some like Collette make me want to rip my ears off my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paralistalon Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 It might come in handy if you, the master of unlocking, take it with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2600Lives Posted October 21, 2004 Share Posted October 21, 2004 Oh, good lord, the first Grandia had some of THE crappiest voice acting imaginable. It literally embarrassed me to listen to it, and thankfully, there was text, so I just turned the volume down when the voices came on. That was an instance they really should have just shut...the...hell...up and not did any voiceovers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_Dodgson Posted October 21, 2004 Share Posted October 21, 2004 I don't mind the characters saying things... as long as the voice matches the character. I do mind a Japanese person trying to speak English with a French or British accent (XBOX DOAX Volleyball). It usually ends sounding like gibberish. I'm also not impressed with being forced to endure long passages or either printed text or speech or video when I really want to play a game. I tried to play a GameCube game (The one with Luigi playing Ghostbuster) at the store and walked away disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liveinabin Posted October 22, 2004 Share Posted October 22, 2004 It's OK if the main character is meant to be a particular person (Luke Skywalker etc..) because inclusion of their voice heightens the realism. If the main character is meant to be you, or someone created by you, then silence is best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sega saturn x Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 for the most part no unless its an rpg which i prefer text for any way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 Main character with voice = very bad. Particulalry if it's an adventure or RPG. Even worse when you give that character your own name. Amen to that. I mean isn't it weird how they, my allies, have never, ever, said my name? But I guess its a tie... But sometimes the voice acting can be god-awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronMongeR Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 I thought Ray Liotta was brilliant as the voice to Tommy Vercetti in GTA VC. But in general I'm not bothered if the lead has a voice or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raindog Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 I was ambivalent about this issue until I spent some quality time with Simpsons Hit'n'Run. "I'm soaring like a candy wrapper in an updraft!" Mario Sunshine was only a little annoying ("Ohhhhhhh. Mama mia!") but then the Ocarina of Time practice of "mostly mute protagonist with yappy cohort" ("Hay! Yissen!") really grated after a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke 4ever Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 It seriously depends on what kind of game it is. Duke Nukem wouldnt be as popular without his voice but I think other than Duke Nukem 3D and Forever, FPS's are better if they only have one-liners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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