Zelda Wii Might Come Sooner Than We Thought

[The Tao Of Bill]

I read in last month's EGM's rumor section that the next Zelda for Wii will not star Link, but would instead star Tingle.

. . .

I hope this isn't the same game that Game Informer is talking about. If that were the case, talk about getting blue-balled.

a zelda game where you don't play as link might not be a bad idea. However playing as tingle IS a bad idea. A VERY bad idea. I'd rather play as Goron or a Zora soldier. Zelda is one of those games that could easily be expanded to create a whole universe of characters and stories all intertwined with each other. I even think a Zelda MMORPG wouldn't be too farfetched. That's what I mean by ventureing off the common zelda formula. Even if just for spin off games.

[JordAnime]

EGM is rarely ever correct with its rumor section.

[Auroraominae]

I can immagine the fun of playing as GANON for once.

[bonch]

It's called improvement.
That's exactly why Nintendo lost last generation and sold 3/4 less than Sony.
Nintendo relies to much on old formulas and some people, ignorant IMO, actually support it.

Well, the big reason Nintendo lost with the Gamecube was its loss of third-party support after the Nintendo 64 debacle and the subsequent lack of games the year after the Gamecube's launch.  By then, everyone was buying PS2s because it was a cheap DVD player and it had Final Fantasy and Grand Theft Auto 3.

But back to the voiceover thing...I just can't imagine hearing an American actress portraying Zelda.  It's a weird thought.  And the thought of Nintendo recording distinct voice parts for every piece of text in Twilight Princess is staggering, much less a new Zelda developed solely for the Wii.  The fact is, if you get voice acting, you're going to risk reduced dialogue, less characters, less sidequests, no custom names, and big budgets spent on Japanese and American actors.  I get horrid thoughts in my head of every badly dubbed anime I've ever seen, but in a Zelda game.

"Silent Link" often strikes me as an artifact created by purists who linger in days gone by. Voice acting offers every opportunity to improve storytelling in video games. If Zelda is to include this, a mute Link would become awkward fast. There are obvious questions and responses that need to take place in the various exchanges found in cutscenes. Text was far more forgiving in this regard.

What about Gordon Freeman in the Half-Life series?  The silent player protagonist is a proven formula, and I hope Link always remains this way.  You aren't role-playing as Link.  The character in the game is supposed to be you, and "Link" is the pseudonym used to refer to this nameless character, which is why he is mute in the games.  Ocarina's hero is the Hero of Time, and Wind Waker's is the Hero of Wind--none of these characters are ever referred to as Link.  He's the "hero" who rises whenever evil appears.

[bastian]

I do NOT want voice acting. At least, no more than the current grunts and groans and "hi!"s and such. I have NEVER heard a really well-done voice acting production for this genre of game. Tales of Symphonia was so bad I had to turn it off. The reason? Any actor worth his salt is acting for millions in film, not doing video game voice acting. Zelda is best left subed.

Also, Link should definately always remain "silent." I appreciate the fact that Link never talks (even in text) so that I can imagine that he said whatever it was he said in the words I might have used . . . this intentional effect has been very effective at bridging the gap between game and player. If an in-game Link ever said "Excuuuuuuse me, Princess" for instance, I think we all would agree it would be a travesty.

[Witless]

FPS, RPG, Action-Adventure...they're all the same when it comes to voice acting.

Also, for **** sake, Tales of Symphonia is not the only game with voice acting. There are tons of other games with voice acting that has been done really really well.
I'm sick of Zelda fans using ToS as an example only because they fail to play games on a different platform.

[Mandrag Ganon]

If an in-game Link ever said "Excuuuuuuse me, Princess" for instance, I think we all would agree it would be a travesty.

Thats honestly the only reason why I would give voice acting in zelda a yes. Gotta get Johnathan Potts to do the voice tho.

I dont see a game starting Tingle being so wierd, look at Tetras Trackers that was going to star Tetra. The Tingle game would prolly just be some wierd minigame thing anyways. If thats the case I probably wouldn't mind it. I'd still prefer Nintendo put thier efforts towards a main Zelda game though.

[Enuf3]

There probably will be voice acting in the new game.. That and so much more. Didnt the dude who created Zelda say that Twilight Princess was going to be the last of its kind? So maybe the new game will be some revolutionary Zelda game.. kind of like OoT was. Personally, I could care less as to whether or not there is voice acting. I like both... however, va can be very difficult.. and come out like crap if not done right.

[Saesang3]

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[Enuf3]

How disappointing!

Disappointing? Dude, you dont even know if you're right! Sure they used that with OoT and MM, but Wind Waker never reused character models. Everything was bran new with TP. I have a feeling that the next game will be entirely different.

[Twilight Link]

So, here's my take and hopes on the next Zelda for Wii:

-Coming out in 2008
-Direct Sequel to Twilight Princess
-NO voice acting, I wouldn't want to see that in a Zelda game

And I guess that sums up much of the discussion going around in this thread.

[Sgt. Pepper]

There has to be voice acting in the next Zelda game, there is no excuse anymore. All of the cutscenes feel dry and lack emotion because instead of listening to a character, you have to read text. While there are many NPC's in the game, voice acting has to be done one way or another. I propose a median where only the major characters in the game (excluding Link) have voice acting, while most NPC's still speak with text.

Orchestrated music is a must as well. As long as they are used in places which aren't dynamic and do not change music. Orchestrations should definetely be used in cutscenes. Think of the cutscene of when you pull out the Master Sword in the next Zelda game and think of how cool the music will sound finally orchestrated. It will still be nostalgic but with a nice twist.

[Gojira]

I don't really like voice acting in games. Reading is okay to me. Voice acting would be alright if there was an option to turn it off. I just don't like it.

I agree about the music, though. It would be awesome if it were orchestrated and not midi.

[rkfs]

I'd be fine with voice acting if it was optional and if it was both English and Japanese. But as for character expression I think facial expression and grunting will do fine.

[Ezlo]

Voice acting wouldn't work in Zelda. First, the Hylians don't even speak anything like English, more like Japanese. They speak Hylian. If they use voice acting, the characters must speak hylian, wich is a whole new language. Or at least speak Japanese.
Second, voice acting can only have two diffrent kind of results. It can be great voice acting, or it can be horrible and ruin the game.
Third, the legend of Zelda series is NOT voice acting. I have imagined voice acting in Zelda, and just think about it for a few seconds... It terrifying!

[Witless]

Voice acting wouldn't work in Zelda. First, the Hylians don't even speak anything like English, more like Japanese. They speak Hylian. If they use voice acting, the characters must speak hylian, wich is a whole new language. Or at least speak Japanese.
Second, voice acting can only have two diffrent kind of results. It can be great voice acting, or it can be horrible and ruin the game.
Third, the legend of Zelda series is NOT voice acting. I have imagined voice acting in Zelda, and just think about it for a few seconds... It terrifying!

No it's not.

[zenkislider]

orchestrations is a must, voice acting is an accident waiting to happen, please dont do it.

[Witless]

You guys haven't played enough games or seen enough games to think that VO from today, is bad.

[JordAnime]

You guys haven't played enough games or seen enough games to think that VO from today, is bad.

There's plenty of examples where it's good and adds depth.  For instance, Final Fantasy XII, Grandia II, the Metal Gear Solid franchise, Resident Evil 4(yeah, the dialog is awful, but the actings good, and imagine the game without voice overs).

[Ezlo]

But I don't think Zelda should have voice acting. In that case, It MUST be Japanease, or even better, that they create a language named Hylian, and make slight diffrences betwen the diffrent versions.