Link is an Avatar. "I'm Link!"

This is a counter-debate to all of the guys here at Zelda Universe who won't give in to thinking voice acting could improve the next game. For some reason, voice acting is guaranteed to destroy the next game. You know why?

Zelda doesn't have voice acting because you are meant to imagine your own voices like you would when reading a book, thus making the game more personal to you. This feeling cannot be achieved if they did put in voice acting.

UUUH. This is quite clearly, by now, boiled down to an excuse. Sure, even I accepted this back in the days of Majora's Mask and even Wind Waker when it first came out, but by now - it's an excuse.

- "Link doesn't talk because you're supposed to imagine yourself being Link - with your own voice"

This is what all of the Zelda fans are now so wound up into believing. Fact is, they just don't want to hire decent actors. It's gotten so bad now that people even say "they probably could get good VA's, but they probably won't heh".

O____O.

Now, this is wrong in many ways. One, this is Zelda. As in, The Legend of Zelda. Why, oh why, would they hire crappy voice actors, for such a high profile game? Are you kidding me? If they actually added voice acting into the cut scenes, of course they're going to use the best voice actors.

Secondly, there's the argument of "They would need to sound like Link". Two things to say here. First of all, I thought you were supposed to imagine your own voice, meaning he doesn't have a voice right now? Right? Two, the grunts he makes in the game are already voice acted, obviously. Well wait, why not get the same guy? That is, after all, his actual voice.

Then there's the case of his blank and empty personality, also covered up by this "But hey guys, YOU'RE supposed to be Link ^______^!!". Again, for the same reason as copping out of voice acting, they give Link no personality. In the games so far, you know he's a little farmboy who dressed in the same green tunic, and that's about it. He's not emotionally ruined because he doesn't have any parents (which seems to be the case in most games), and he's not some guy you can laugh at because he can joke. He's blank. Just like the team, or seemingly nonexistent team, who work on character depth.

Tell me this - why don't other games use the same excuses as the guys at Nintendo do for Zelda? That's because, it's just a bad excuse. Other platformers or adventure games without voice acting are just that. Games without voice acting. They don't BS the player, they just.. don't have it. Why don't players protect with their lives, the silence of said characters? Beats me.

Those are my thoughts on it anyway, no doubt the posts > 100 mobs will come after me now. But try and discuss.

I don't know man, it just wouldn't feel right.

Exactly, well said.

I think we've all grown accustomed to text in Zelda games. I can't really imagine Link talking without it sounding awkward. All in all I'm not sure why they're not giving a voice. Possibly to lazy. Either way I don't mind if they stick to text.

I think that you should be able to CHOOSE what Link says. So that at MANY points in the game, it will give you an option of about 4 things to say (like Mass effect and KotOR)

I also don't see voice acting in Zelda... don't know why... I think that can be done without, but I would like to to be able to choose what you say! (This would also give you a different story for each thing you pick... also like Mass Effect and KotOR)

To be honest, I wouldn't like "fully-fledged" voice acting in a Zelda game. What I would appreciate, however, are "voice effects" - for instance, the garbled language that Midna speaks in the Twilight Princess. This way, the awkward question of how characters refer to Link when he bears the player's name is avoided, and the voices will not necessarily sound tacky or cringe-worthy, as I believe they otherwise might.

Originally Posted by Prince Deity

I think that you should be able to CHOOSE what Link says. So that at MANY points in the game, it will give you an option of about 4 things to say (like Mass effect and KotOR)

I also don't see voice acting in Zelda... don't know why... I think that can be done without, but I would like to to be able to choose what you say! (This would also give you a different story for each thing you pick... also like Mass Effect and KotOR)

The problem with that is the same problem with evil Link/Zelda, the point of multiple options in KOTOR was to decide if you wanted to be good or evil.

Link may have been a blank slate in the beginning but he is quickly molding into his own individual. Although Eiji Aonumo contradicts himself saying the player is Link (WHICH IS AN EXCUSE) He very much supports Link as an expressing, and strongly personalized being. Basically...Link isn't a puppet, not an avater. His story is his own and we are living through his story.

In Wind Waker when Aryll is captured it was Link who jumped off the cliff to save her, not the player. It was then when he started screaming his head off as he watched his sister fade away, while Tetra tried to calm him down. I can't say I would've handled that situation in the same manner Link did.

In Twilight Princess when Telma blows Link a kiss and he actually smiled back. When Link fell on his knees after hearing what Lanayru had to say. When Link ran to stop Midna when he realized she was going to save Zelda and him and fight Ganon alone, that was Link. All of that was Link's personality.

Though we apparently believe we are Link, he is the shell and we are his personality. In the game it is quite the opposite. Link is an entity, appearing as many different bodies but the same soul. Really.

The expressions of Link and the other characters are very rich.

Aonuma: As a matter of fact, we gave it a lot of thought because we didn’t know where to stop. Once you start with the facial expressions, there are no limits. I think it’s important that Link changes his expressions in order to show some sympathy during scenes where the player can feel human emotions. It’s obvious in the cinema displays, but it’s also there in scenes where we wanted to make a point, like when Link has bad luck in fishing.

–His face also changes when he opens a treasure chest, depending on the item inside (laughs). By the way, in this game Link’s 16 years old, right?

Aonuma: Being 16 years old is right before turning into an adult. The TV ad of the disc system game Adventure of Link said, “16 years [I have no idea of the context, so that’s just my guess],” so now Link’s 16 years old (laughs).

Both: (laugh)

Aonuma: At that age you’ve matured a little, and if your parents tell you not to do something, you go and do right the opposite. That’s why Link turns his sword when fighting an enemy.

–He provokes his enemies.

Aonuma: That move reflects Link’s mischievous side, and he shows some style when he overuses his physical strength.

–I think I’ve seen that in an old American movie...

Aonuma: Exactly! To me, it’s like George Chakiris from West Side Story (a musical film from 1961; George Chakiris had the role of the leader of the villains). The origin of those elements is old, but I asked the staff to include them.

–I see (laughs). And then we have that cool sword-sheathing move.

Aonuma: Have you learnt that trick?

–You have to push A right after beating an enemy, before you give a single step!

Aonuma: That’s it! It’s not very easy to notice how to do it. There are many scenes where it’d be nice to sheath your sword in that cool way, so I hope all the players can master that move.

–Yeah (laughs). By the way, you changed Link’s voice actor too, didn’t you?

Aonuma: Yes. At first, we had doubts of whether Link’s former voice actor was suitable for this game. Then we got a message from NOA (Nintendo of America) saying they felt Link’s former voice was out of place. This Link is more sensitive, so we decided to have a voice that conveyed an image a bit different from the one in Ocarina of Time. We received many voice samples, even from women, we tested some of them inside the actual game and the one that suited the best was the voice of Mr. Akira Sasanuma (a voice actor from Arts Vision; he’s famous for his role of Dearka Elsman in Gundam SEED). His voice has a mischievous tone in it too; we wanted Link to sound a little like a bad guy.

I thought this interview was funny. Anyways. Whenever Link is forced into a situation where he HAS to talk they give you text options. One in OoT stuck out to me a lot. Nabooru asks why are you here. The Options are "1. No reason 2. Looking for a sage 3. Came to see the Temple" However...if you choose something that doesn't fit what the developers wanted...they make you answer it again! Until you pick "No reason, really"

They're basically forcing you into talking in a certain way. In Zelda you can make bad decisions if you want too...however, when you do the consequences cause death and/or cause you to try again. Sooo Link is forced into being good or die. xD

EDIT:

Originally Posted by Asta

To be honest, I wouldn't like "fully-fledged" voice acting in a Zelda game. What I would appreciate, however, are "voice effects" - for instance, the garbled language that Midna speaks in the Twilight Princess. This way, the awkward question of how characters refer to Link when he bears the player's name is avoided, and the voices will not necessarily sound tacky or cringe-worthy, as I believe they otherwise might.

It got old in Banjo Nuts & Bolts. But if done well, it could really work. It worked pretty well in Okami, too.

Originally Posted by Prince Deity

I think that you should be able to CHOOSE what Link says. So that at MANY points in the game, it will give you an option of about 4 things to say (like Mass effect and KotOR)

Yeah, that would be pretty good. Although that springs up a whole bunch of problems for the Zelda fans. "But that timeline can't be right, because if you said this at the end this happens. Whereas, it makes sense to say this instead at the end". It would go on forever. I would like that though.

Originally Posted by Sharp Flat

The problem with that is the same problem with evil Link/Zelda, the point of multiple options in KOTOR was to decide if you wanted to be good or evil.

That was KotOR though lol. Multiple text options =/= 'good or bad only'.

I totally agree. Link needs to be silent but that's not an excuse to deny all characters with personality voice acting. I think Nintendo gave Midna a voice actor to test to see if fans would except a fully voiced chaaracter. No one complained about Midna's VA. As a player avatar Link also needs to have a female option. So that female players can
'be" Link also.

Originally Posted by Raichu

I totally agree. Link needs to be silent but that's not an excuse to deny all characters with personality voice acting. I think Nintendo gave Midna a voice actor to test to see if fans would except a fully voiced chaaracter. No one complained about Midna's VA. As a player avatar Link also needs to have a female option. So that female players can
'be" Link also.

Yeah, about Midna. But the other things you said are exactly what I was countering. It's stupid how you're supposed to "be" Link. It's an excuse, the main point of the OP. I'd also like Link to have VA, but if not at very least everyone else during cut scenes. Perhaps in-game cut scenes, too.

I think Zeldablue pretty much said all I wanted to say. I also think Asta had a good idea.

I'm not really worried that Nintendo would pick bad voice actors. It's just that, to me, I would rather that Nintendo let people keep their own ideas of Link.

Midna's voice sounded to me as if she were speaking the actual Hylian language..or that would be how it sounds if spoken.. i dunno..
anyway i always wanted to see what a fully voice acted Zelda game would be like! i think they should try it...

At the risk of sounding cliche...

... Link is supposed to represent us, the player. The one time they decided to give Link emotions (TP) it didn't work out so well...

If you have to use Voice Acting, I have three conditions (listed in order of increasing importance):

1. Voice acting ONLY during cutscenes, with appropriate subtitles.
2. Ability to switch between VA+Subtitles and normal text boxes
3. LINK NEVER TALKS!!! EVER!!! FOREVER NEVER!!!!!!

Originally Posted by Zeldablue777

In Wind Waker when Aryll is captured it was Link who jumped off the cliff to save her, not the player. It was then when he started screaming his head off as he watched his sister fade away, while Tetra tried to calm him down. I can't say I would've handled that situation in the same manner Link did.

In Twilight Princess when Telma blows Link a kiss and he actually smiled back. When Link fell on his knees after hearing what Lanayru had to say. When Link ran to stop Midna when he realized she was going to save Zelda and him and fight Ganon alone, that was Link. All of that was Link's personality.

1. If some giant bird took my little sister away, I would easily run off a cliff trying to save her. I could relate to Link in this situation.

2. If some fat lady blew me a kiss as a form of thanks, I would smile back to be polite. I could probably relate to Link in this situation.

Link falling had nothing to do with his personality. It had something to do with the Fused Shadows.

3. If someone who was as close to me as Link was to Midna tried to fight some great evil alone, of course I would try to stop him/her. Naturally, I would not like anybody to die, especially a character like Midna. I could relate to Link in this situation.

You picked bad examples of Link having emotion to back-up your argument that Link should not be the player's avatar.

A better example is when Link and Ilia have their "moment" near the end of the game (when she gets her memory back). I could not relate to Link in this situation because I did not feel the same way toward Ilia as Link did. But this was not a deliberate attempt to threaten Link's avatar-ness.

Originally Posted by Raichu

As a player avatar Link also needs to have a female option. So that female players can 'be" Link also.

Go back to The Elder Scrolls.

I think Nintendo's gotten lazy with their main franchises, especially with Metroid and Zelda. I personally felt that Corruption was simply trying too hard to be Halo, and it showed. Nintendo needs to try and avoid this when it comes to the next true Zelda installment.

On the subject of Link's personality, they really need to give him one. The "Link is you" line is beginning to turn into an excuse as the OP stated. I'm not suggesting that Link become his own thing completely, but I would appreciate something of a character that expresses emotion, etc. Spoken Dialogue is not required for this. A few more noises, maybe some facial expressions, would more than do the job. Also, Kenji Nojima should voice him.

When it comes to voice acting, Zelda seems stuck. If they were to do everything in English, they would have to completely avoid referring to Link by whatever they name him. Thus, the use of a made up language is required. I find that something along the lines of the language used in Shadow of the Colossus would work just fine, so long as it's properly done and doesn't become annoying after five minutes of play.

Originally Posted by GKANG

it's an excuse - - - "Link doesn't talk because you're supposed to imagine yourself being Link - with your own voice" - - Tell me this - why don't other games use the same excuses as the guys at Nintendo do for Zelda? That's because, it's just a bad excuse.

Oh, there's a pretty big AAA game with the same mentality. Some call it Half Life 2. With superb voice acting. So I'd rather say that it's a choice rather than an excuse.

Originally Posted by GKANG

This is what all of the Zelda fans are now so wound up into believing. Fact is, they just don't want to hire decent actors. It's gotten so bad now that people even say "they probably could get good VA's, but they probably won't heh".

Heh. Yes, you really have to see the "heh" at the end.

The thing I fear most is that the next Zelda will have bad voice acting, and you can't turn it off. And most westernized, major A-class JRPG:s have bad voice acting, at least the english versions.

Voice actors would be distracting. Besides, in Zelda, I'd much prefer being able to skip through the speech bubbles at my leisure than hearing the characters talk in real-time. I also like to leave their speech to the imagination. It's more fun that way.

As far as naming the character goes, with voice acting you could either remove the option of naming Link something different, or have characters never refer to him by name. Like always saying You, or Kid, or Buddy, or whatever. I've seen it done before in a game I played.

It's way past time to give NPCs voice acting. Giving Link voice acting is somewhat debatable. I could see it done, because it wouldn't bother me if they threw out the "Link is an avatar" thing That was fine in the old days when Link was an 8-bit sprite whose features could barely be seen. Not nowadays.

I just played through Final Fantasy X. And the end of the game, I felt that this was the only game that could grasp my emotions like Zelda hasn't done in a while. Do you know why? Because Final Fantasy X had voice acting. It showed me who these characters personality was, how they thinks, how they felt through the expressions in the words.

I vote Yes on Voice acting in the next Zelda. Embrace the Yes.

Originally Posted by Double A

At the risk of sounding cliche...

... Link is supposed to represent us, the player. The one time they decided to give Link emotions (TP) it didn't work out so well...

If you have to use Voice Acting, I have three conditions (listed in order of increasing importance):

1. Voice acting ONLY during cutscenes, with appropriate subtitles.
2. Ability to switch between VA+Subtitles and normal text boxes
3. LINK NEVER TALKS!!! EVER!!! FOREVER NEVER!!!!!!



1. If some giant bird took my little sister away, I would easily run off a cliff trying to save her. I could relate to Link in this situation.

2. If some fat lady blew me a kiss as a form of thanks, I would smile back to be polite. I could probably relate to Link in this situation.

Link falling had nothing to do with his personality. It had something to do with the Fused Shadows.

3. If someone who was as close to me as Link was to Midna tried to fight some great evil alone, of course I would try to stop him/her. Naturally, I would not like anybody to die, especially a character like Midna. I could relate to Link in this situation.

You picked bad examples of Link having emotion to back-up your argument that Link should not be the player's avatar.

A better example is when Link and Ilia have their "moment" near the end of the game (when she gets her memory back). I could not relate to Link in this situation because I did not feel the same way toward Ilia as Link did. But this was not a deliberate attempt to threaten Link's avatar-ness.

The examples I gave were there to show that Link isn't a blank slate during the game. What Link doesn't say is made up for with his emotions and non-ingame actions. Just because you can relate to jumping off a cliff to save your sister (I assume you've actually done this, or have seriously thought about it) doesn't mean the entire fanbase can relate to Link's living, breathing personality. Link's biggest emotions are created by characters around him, and the bonds that they share, I seriously can't say I would travel the 7 seas to look for my kidnapped sister. (Though I don't have one, so I can't relate.)

I feel Link has a very different air compared to other silent protagonists, He's had a voice actor since 1998. And he had spoken dialogue in 2002. And he is constantly doing things that players have no control over. Showing more emotion than any other character I can even think of.

Link's personality is very clear, anyone can sum up Link's personality. He's couragous, loving, caring, apparently worries about everything according to Midna, he makes rash decision without giving much thought according to Tetra, he's a tad simple-minded according to Telma. And I can't really say the entire Zelda fanbase has the same feelings as Link does, Link is Link.