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Aonuma: Link Should Keep Quiet

14.08.2010

Aonuma: Link Should Keep Quiet on Nintendo gaming news, videos and discussion

Legend of Zelda protagonist Link has always been near enough mute, and aside from a few grunts and giggles it likely won't change.

Whilst the Hylian has always embraced a world where fellow non-playable-characters speak through text, there hasn't been voice acting in a mainline Zelda game until now. Upcoming Wii game Skyward Sword isn't going to set a new trend, says series producer Eiji Aonuma in an interview with Nintendo Power.

Personally, I don't want to have Link speak in the game. We haven't had him talk at all up to this point. It's part of the series history. It would just, to me, break the image of Link to have him speak.

In terms of other characters, if Link never talks and everybody else in the game is chatting and whatnot I also think that's sort of an off mixture, so it's not something that, to be honest, I've really thought I want to be superactive about or I've really pressed for it. It just hasn't come up to me personally.

Whilst Link has been ruled out, could supporting characters have a little more personality? Bad voice acting can dent a gameplay experience, but good can add a whole new layer of depth and emotion.

For now though, it looks like our peepers will be doing the taking in the next Zelda game.

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Lightning0710 16.08.2010#26

I remember that in The Wind Waker, Link said "come on!" to Medli/Makar.

L 16.08.2010#27

Really? I can't remember that. The only thing I can remember were those cat noises he made. Smilie

irfy 16.08.2010#28

I think they should start involving voice acting into the Zelda games. I think Link should be the only character that doesn't have voice, it's like in Half Life 2, you never hear Gordon Freeman speak but the other NPC's around you do. Also reading bunch of text on the screen is getting real tired and boring, voice acting and characters on screen speaking will certainly give it that new feeling to a Zelda. It's all about getting it right, some games have and the other, well not quiet.

WP-Final 16.08.2010#29

I'd love for everyone but Link to speak but I really don't think Nintendo would get it right. I can't really think of a game made by them that has great VA if any at all. I'd rather them test it with another game first before trying it on Zelda.

Simon (guest) 16.08.2010#30

A new Zelda game with voice acting would actually get me pretty interested in it, as it stands, I'm really not that bothered about Skyward Sword, when I used to love Zelda!

crackedthesky 16.08.2010#31

I've had difficulty thinking of a good example, since I haven't played Half-Life 2, but I think I finally got one: Dead Space. Isaac never says a word, but his video collection and other things keep him a very strong, personal protagonist.
Yeah, Nintendo hasn't really done much in the realm of voice acting. Not first-party, anyway. Except for maybe Starfox. They've done some publishing with it (Eternal Darkness, for example) but I think the bulk of the work was of the third party. Usually, the characters just make remarks, like in Mario. Pit may talk in the upcoming Icarus, but that could've been something they did just for the trailer.

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NightTide 16.08.2010#32

Growing up watching and playing as a silent Link, it'd feel odd to have him talk after all these years. Then again, Nintendo isn't exactly known for their protagonists for their voices, but rather, their adventures and antics. Link, Mario, Kirby, Donkey Kong, Samus...

Well actually, Metroid: Other M will be an interesting experiment of seeing whether or not giving a silent character a voice will help or hurt her image. Truly, it all depends on how carefully and delicately the developers are in creating the gameplay around it, and a story that meshes around her do-justice attitude seamlessly.

Oh, but this is a Link topic~ lol, Truthfully I'm never really opposed to something different like adding an element of voice to a game, but others are picky... to each their own?

JoshSL 16.08.2010#33

NightTide said:
actually, Metroid: Other M will be an interesting experiment of seeing whether or not giving a silent character a voice will help or hurt her image. Truly, it all depends on how carefully and delicately the developers are in creating the gameplay around it, and a story that meshes around her do-justice attitude seamlessly.

Samus was never really "silent" though. She's been monologuing frequently since Super Metroid, and she has a fair few full lines in Metroid Fusion.

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Hylian Belmont 17.08.2010#34

Link can stay Silent in his games. I just wish they had a voice or something in Smash Bros since you can't change his name to your own. Smilie Anyways, the only thing that would worry me about voice acting is if the game started to begin to turn into more of a movie with a crap load of cut scenes and no game play what so ever. *cough*final fantasy*cough*metal gear*cough* Smilie

Ultima 17.08.2010#35

Hylian Belmont said:
Link can stay Silent in his games. I just wish they had a voice or something in Smash Bros since you can't change his name to your own. Anyways, the only thing that would worry me about voice acting is if the game started to begin to turn into more of a movie with a crap load of cut scenes and no game play what so ever. *cough*final fantasy*cough*metal gear*cough*

Cut scenes are a great way to depict the story moving forwards. I don't get why people don't want to see their characters in HD goodness.

Hylian Belmont 17.08.2010#36

I still like cut scenes. Don't get me wrong. I just hate it when it take up nearly the whole game. I play games to play games. Not to watch linear interactive movies. Luckily that won't happen with Zelda, the games were always made for exploring. Smilie