Can* English Voice Acting ruins Characters in RPGs?

[Bernhardt]

Well, I'm sure most of you already know, but if you want an RPG with damn good English voice acting, let me recommend Tales of the Abyss. The dialogue sounds very fluid and natural.

[Eusis]

Now that I thinka bout it, I want you guys that still think most video game VA sucks to list examples of what you consider bad. I know from what little I've heard that Shining Force Neo is awful and that I hear EXA isn't much better, and while PSU has an alright dub it's definitely several notches below today's standards. But Sega's incompetent these days, so they're not a great example anyway.

[Dincrest]

You want examples of bad English voice acting in video games?

I think anything on this site qualifies: http://www.audioatrocities.com/

"the barrier privates me from going there."

[Eusis]

You want examples of bad English voice acting in video games?

I think anything on this site qualifies: http://www.audioatrocities.com/

Ah, silly me. I could've found my Legend of Heroes sample here! If I remembered this I would've linked to that rather than Ys III way back. :P

Edit: Or Valis III, just to match the desecration in the other thread that is the porn series.

[Dincrest]

http://www.audioatrocities.com/games/valis3/clip4.mp3

This one's priceless.

[Lard]

Video-games are still pretty niche in the U.S., at least, beyond First-Person Shooters and other games like that, and for the most part, English VA talent for video-games is taken right off the street, or from whoever answers a classifieds ad.

Bogus.

Silent Hill, Metal Gear Solid, Legacy of Kain - all of those have excellent voice acting. (Granted, they aren't RPGs but....)

Hell, I liked the voice acting in Grandia.  It was cheesy as hell, in parts, but suited the characters well.

DDS had great voice acting, as did FFX. (Tidus was a bit crap, but the rest were fine)

People are just not willing to put up with "All your base are belong to us" anymore.

[Bernhardt]

Video-games are still pretty niche in the U.S., at least, beyond First-Person Shooters and other games like that, and for the most part, English VA talent for video-games is taken right off the street, or from whoever answers a classifieds ad.

Silent Hill, Metal Gear Solid, Legacy of Kain - all of those have excellent voice acting. (Granted, they aren't RPGs but....)

That's because Silent Hill, Metal Gear Solid, and Legacy of Kain are more mainstream; series like those are definitely more likely to get plugs on such popular channels/networks as MTV.

Developers know that people are going to buy those games, so they know they can afford to spend good money on good voice actors.

Other games? It depends on the game, but for the most part, not so much.

[Eusis]

EXAMPLES OR YOUR OPINION IS INVALID.

[Morwan]

That's because Silent Hill, Metal Gear Solid, and Legacy of Kain are more mainstream; series like those are definitely more likely to get plugs on such popular channels/networks as MTV.

MGS, sure.. Legacy of Kain... maybe, but Silent Hill? It gets less press than the RE series, yet has far superior voice acting.

[Lucid]

Radio.... what's with this radio?

first game wasn't that hot with voice acting imo.

[Prime Mover]

...great voice acting, as did FFX. (Tidus was a bit crap, but the rest were fine)

I dunno dude, I thought Yuna was the worst of the bunch, her delivery just seemed stunted and didn't fit her character at all. It felt like she was trying too hard. And while Tidus's voice was annoying... that was his character, and that's how the creators wanted him to be, I think his voice fit perfectly. I just wish the creators had seen to develop him a bit more before he kicked the bucket.

All-in-all FFXs VA was alright, but it was no Tales or Grandia2.

For some reason, I think anime-based games tend to be a bit better on the VA these days, because they tend to pull from the growing pool of anime dub voice actors, who have gotten about 500% better in the past few years.

Whatever... best voice acting = Golden Sun ;P

[Bloodstar6078]

Whatever... best voice acting = Golden Sun ;P

rofl... pwnt.

[Eusis]

Whatever... best voice acting = Golden Sun ;P

No way, Shining Force is the best.

Edit: And I mean the original game, not III or the PS2 games.

[Lard]

I dunno dude, I thought Yuna was the worst of the bunch, her delivery just seemed stunted and didn't fit her character at all. It felt like she was trying too hard. And while Tidus's voice was annoying... that was his character, and that's how the creators wanted him to be, I think his voice fit perfectly. I just wish the creators had seen to develop him a bit more before he kicked the bucket.

I thought Yuna's voice suited her perfectly. She wasn't supposed to be a strong character, physically, and personality wise, she was kind of timid. Thought they got the voice dead on. Tidus' was annoying because it was so nasal.

Whatever... best voice acting = Golden Sun ;P

Can't argue with sound logic like that ;)

[Prime Mover]

I thought Yuna's voice suited her perfectly. She wasn't supposed to be a strong character, physically, and personality wise, she was kind of timid. Thought they got the voice dead on. Tidus' was annoying because it was so nasal.

I didn't have a problem with her timbre of the overall sound of her voice, yes, it made sense for her personality, but half the time it really felt like she was just reading it off the page, and hesitating at strange points. There was a strange, disjointed flow to her delivery that just felt really off to me. She would hesitate at very odd points during her delivery that I could never imagine a real person doing. But as for the tone of her voice and her inflection, I have no complaints.

Anyway, fuck Shining Force, Golden Sun still p0wns in the VA department!