General Modern Voice Acting in Zelda!

[Ventus]

I disagree, There is no way to describe the guy unless you are looking at physical properties. He's still an empty space in which players can crawl into and give him their own personality. The moment they let him talk he'll be able to give his own opinion on events that take place etc. and then he'll be his own character.

Well, we can give generic terms to "Link": heroic, brave, caring, righteous. Now, I suppose you could say those are just qualities anyone could have, and you're definitely right if you do say that.

Oh and grunts/yells can't be really taken into consideration since they don't tell us anything except maybe he's fighting as hard as he can etc. Nothing directly about his character

Oh, I wasn't trying to assert that his grunts and yells give him a character, they just give him a voice. He has a pitch and tone, vocal cords etc. So, making him speak words would come naturally, and people would be accustomed to the way he sounds! :yes:

 

[Cfrock]

That... was never said. He said that Link's Awakening could go anywhere on the timeline. However, he was mistaken.

That's also a completely different subject entirely. Canonical plot points have nothing to do with Link being a proxy. That's a more of a gameplay feature than anything.

From a Nintendo Power interview in 1998
Miyamoto: Ocarina of Time is the first story, then the original Legend of Zelda, then Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and finally A Link to the Past. It's not very clear where Link's Awakening fits in--it could be anytime after Ocarina of Time.

Miyamoto said A Link to the Past was after Zelda II. And the relevance of this is that even Miyamoto himself has said things in the past which no longer hold any weight, the same way he has said that Link is supposed to be a canvas for the player to project onto. Just because he said that back in the 90s doesn't mean it is still true and the proof is found in basically ever Zelda game since The Wind Waker in which Link shows more defined character traits. That was why I mentioned it in this context.

I disagree, There is no way to describe the guy unless you are looking at physical properties.

Looking at The Wind Waker and Skyward Sword I can tell that Link begins as lazy and laid-back, a carefree sort of chap with no real urgency about him. When someone he cares for is taken from him (Aryll and Zelda respectively) he displays great loyalty and fearlessness as well as persistence and courage. From his facial expressions in The Wind Waker we see he has a love for adventure and sailing and from his quick acceptance of Groose when they arrive on The Surface we see that he is also trusting and forgiving, possessing great humility. In Twilight Princess we see him as a hard-worker, reliable and also great with children. He is respected in his community for his efforts and is well-liked for being available to people as well as helpful.

I'm not going to say his character is particularly deep or anything but in the more recent games he does have character traits and can be described fairly well beyond physical traits (see above). If Nintendo intend to continue down this path (and considering they've been walking it for 9 years now I imagine they do) then I do think voice acting in some form would be a welcome addition. Link himself need not necessarily speak aloud but if he did I don't really think it would break this supposed connection which Nintendo haven't really been trying to put in for some time now.

 

[JuicieJ]

From a Nintendo Power interview in 1998
Miyamoto: Ocarina of Time is the first story, then the original Legend of Zelda, then Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and finally A Link to the Past. It's not very clear where Link's Awakening fits in--it could be anytime after Ocarina of Time.

Miyamoto said A Link to the Past was after Zelda II. And the relevance of this is that even Miyamoto himself has said things in the past which no longer hold any weight, the same way he has said that Link is supposed to be a canvas for the player to project onto. Just because he said that back in the 90s doesn't mean it is still true and the proof is found in basically ever Zelda game since The Wind Waker in which Link shows more defined character traits. That was why I mentioned it in this context.

Huh. Well, okay. That still doesn't change the fact that it has no relevance to Link being a proxy.

 

[Vanitas Remnant]

I really don't understand the problem with voice acting in Zelda, there shouldn't be a big fuss over it. A lot of old game series, like the ones that debuted before voice acting could be implemented, all have voice acting now. Besides Nintendo, but even some of their series have voice acting (Metroid, Kid Icarus, Mario at one point, etc.), and nobody has a problem with them. And I'm sure Nintendo can choose some REALLY good VAs too, just like all those other video game series. Take Sonic, for example. The voices in that series have changed multiple times, but the most recent ones are the best, IMO. They've got stinkin' Kirk Thornton doing Shadow, who's well known in the anime department for doing tons of stuff. And besides, maybe Nintendo can release a smaller game, almost like a spin-off, with the VAs in them, and if no one likes them, they wouldn't have to implement them into the real Zelda games. So, in a nutshell, to anyone who hates the idea of Zelda having VAs, I think you should open up your mind to the possibilities. Like Link being voiced by Bruce Willis.

 

[Cfrock]

Huh. Well, okay. That still doesn't change the fact that it has no relevance to Link being a proxy.

In and of itself, no, but as I did explain, it was mentioned as an example of how the developers quotes do not necessarily apply anymore, highlighting the fact that although Miyamoto said Link was intended as a 'link' between player and character that is not necessarily true today.

 

[JuicieJ]

In and of itself, no, but as I did explain, it was mentioned as an example of how the developers quotes do not necessarily apply anymore, highlighting the fact that although Miyamoto said Link was intended as a 'link' between player and character that is not necessarily true today.

Miyamoto has never known the timeline. He does know about Link, though. He intended for him to be a proxy all along. It absolutely does apply.

 

[Cfrock]

Miyamoto has never known the timeline. He does know about Link, though. He intended for him to be a proxy all along. It absolutely does apply.

He also intended for A Link to the Past to follow Zelda II, as he mentioned in 1998. I'm simply pointing out that just because the developers said one thing over 10 years ago does not mean that philosophy still applies today. I feel the evidence in recent Zelda games does suggests the developers have since changed their minds and are trying to achieve something somewhat different. You may feel different but I'm just trying to point out that Link as a 'link' is not an absolute.

 

[JuicieJ]

He also intended for A Link to the Past to follow Zelda II, as he mentioned in 1998. I'm simply pointing out that just because the developers said one thing over 10 years ago does not mean that philosophy still applies today. I feel the evidence in recent Zelda games does suggests the developers have since changed their minds and are trying to achieve something somewhat different. You may feel different but I'm just trying to point out that Link as a 'link' is not an absolute.

He's become more of a character, but that hasn't changed his role. The way he feels is the way we're supposed to feel at that moment. It's very clear he's still a proxy.

 

[Locke]

Actually, according to a recent interview, Link was originally meant to link not the player to the game but different time periods.

 

[JuicieJ]

Actually, according to a recent interview, Link was originally meant to link not the player to the game but different time periods.

Still a proxy design. :/

 

[Cfrock]

He's become more of a character, but that hasn't changed his role. The way he feels is the way we're supposed to feel at that moment. It's very clear he's still a proxy.

I have never felt he is a proxy, I have even started threads about this in the past. My point is that Link as a 'link' is not an objective role he fills because there are plenty of people who do not see him that way. To say that he is a 'proxy' ignores the fact that not everyone sees him that way and this is because the developers have given him more of a defined character, more of a defined role in the story of each game. I'm not saying you shouldn't feel a connection, just that it is not a specific, deliberate goal on the part of the developers anymore.

 

[JuicieJ]

I have never felt he is a proxy, I have even started threads about this in the past. My point is that Link as a 'link' is not an objective role he fills because there are plenty of people who do not see him that way. To say that he is a 'proxy' ignores the fact that not everyone sees him that way and this is because the developers have given him more of a defined character, more of a defined role in the story of each game. I'm not saying you shouldn't feel a connection, just that it is not a specific, deliberate goal on the part of the developers anymore.

If a developer states something that he created has always been intended, it's objective that it's the case. Even if it was badly conveyed (which it hasn't been).

 

[Zorth]

I'm not going to say his character is particularly deep or anything but in the more recent games he does have character traits and can be described fairly well beyond physical traits (see above).

Yea that's true, But I was just doing a generalization for most games. But it's true, over the past games he's been getting more and more personality traits, But nothing huge, So I guess we can say he's not entirely an empty shell.

If Nintendo intend to continue down this path (and considering they've been walking it for 9 years now I imagine they do) then I do think voice acting in some form would be a welcome addition. Link himself need not necessarily speak aloud but if he did I don't really think it would break this supposed connection which Nintendo haven't really been trying to put in for some time now.

Like always, It all depends how Nintendo implements the feature I guess. :wave:

 

[Cfrock]

If a developer states something that he created has always been intended, it's objective that it's the case. Even if it was badly conveyed (which it hasn't been).

He stated it over ten years ago. Ask him about the design process as it is today and I think, based off what we've seen in-game these last 10 years, that he may well say otherwise. What he said back then, may not apply now. This is the point I was trying to make when I used the example of the Miyamoto Order (also something he created and has since changed) but you seem to be ignoring that.

 

[JuicieJ]

He stated it over ten years ago. Ask him about the design process as it is today and I think, based off what we've seen in-game these last 10 years, that he may well say otherwise. What he said back then, may not apply now. This is the point I was trying to make when I used the example of the Miyamoto Order (also something he created and has since changed) but you seem to be ignoring that.

They still consider it fact TODAY. You seem to fail to understand this.