Aonuma and Kondo Talk Voice Acting and Zelda’s Future

The January issue of Game Informer features an interview with Eiji Aonuma and Koji Kondo. They talk about the potential addition of voice acting in future Zelda games as well as the direction the series is heading. Clearly the option for voice acting seems to be on the table and the two acknowledge that. Aonuma even related it to orchestrated music, how there seemed to be a resistance to that initially, but now it’s been a great addition to the Zelda series with Skyward Sword. Aonuma also talks about the direction he’d like to take the series in and how it’s become his own. You can see a some of the interview below, but make the jump to check out some of the other quotes. The full interview will be available in the January issue of Game Informer magazine, which should be reading subscribers in the coming days.

Koji Kondo: “The most important thing about the Zelda series is that the player becomes Link. One of the challenges with full voice is that if we’re trying to convey the player’s emotion through Link, but you hear Link talking in somebody else’s voice, that creates a disconnect between you and the role that you’re taking on.”

Eiji Aonuma: “Of course, this was the first time we went with fully orchestrated songs in the game, and we’ve seen what that can do to help bring the world alive and make the game that much more fun. We’re continually looking at ways that we can evolve the series. We’re not confident that we can find the right balance with full voice, so we’ll see.”

“Everyone would be speaking Hylian, so even if you heard them speak, you wouldn’t understand them.”

“I started working on the series not at the beginning but part-way through its history. I think because of that, early on I was more looking objectively at the series and how we could change small, individual elements within it, rather than looking at how the series should evolve. As time has passed – particularly in the last few years – I’ve started to think a lot more about how I can take the series and really make it my own Zelda and evolve it further. As Mr. Miyamoto has allowed me to take the reins on the Zelda series, ultimately that’s what I need to do. Perhaps some people will think it’s a little bit late for me to start thinking about that, but as time goes by, that’s becoming more of a theme in how I’m approaching the series.”

I personally think that voice acting will play a larger role in future Zelda titles. Just because the pure amount of text that is in these games and the lack of patience gamers have with tutorial situations and large text blocks. These sections of the game would be significantly more interesting if blocks of texts didn’t have to be read and if characters spoke to you instead. Perhaps this was just me and that it’s fresh in my mind… but I felt there was more text to read in Skyward Sword than any Zelda game before.

What do you guys think? Do you want to have voice acting in future Zelda games? Do you think giving characters a voice would lose the charm of the series? What do you think about Aonuma taking hold of the series and running with it? Let us know by posting in the comments below.

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