TS wanted me to translate it and post it up here, so... here it is. I did this late last night, so the wording might not be perfect, but I'm sure you'll be able to understand and get my point. It's harder to translate Norwegian articles like this, because they're written in a very different matter than I'd, say, write in a post over here... anyways, here it is. Please feel free to provide your own opinion and/or discuss.
QUOTE
Renewal? No thanks.
With every release of a new Zelda game, people complain about how the lacks voice acting. «Why are they still using text for every conversation?» «Why doesn't Link speak?» «Why doesn't Nintendo jump on the train to present-day?» Is it time for Zelda to grow up? Absolutely not!
From the first Zelda game that came out in 1987, to the newest addition to the series, Phantom Hourglass, Link has said four words, all four in Japanese, and they can all be looked at as battle cries. Main characters that doesn't speak, is a pretty common phenomenon when it comes to game. Games like Grand Theft Auto 3 and Halo has a main character that doesn't speak, or say very little. This has got a function, of course, even though a lot of people believe that every single character should be the biggest talking-bird ever. I couldn't disagree more. Ofcourse, if a character talks and shows his emotions this way, that's a really good way to get people to understand the personality of said character, but if a game developer is able to show this without having to get a voic actor, that in itself is a sign of a real genious. Like the Disney Pixar movie, Wall-E. In Wall-E, the main robo-character doesn't speak much, and has only a few words to play with... still, Pixar is able to truly show the emotions Wall-E all the time.
Another reason to throw away the idea of voice acting, is the fact that without it, the player can really connect to the character in an entirely different way than possible if said character was talking. When you're playing Halo, you ARE Master Chief. When he talks, he says exactly what you would have in that same situation, and not cheesy lines right from the Terminator movies. When you're riding on Epone through Hyrule Field, it's no one else than you doing this... you are the hero of Hyrule, and that's a feeling a game like “Uncharted: Drakes Fortune” can't give you, as the main character, Nathan Drake, is a very talkative person. This is one of the strongest features that helps to make Zelda what it is.
Even through Link hasn't spoken a word through the entire series, other characters have had a thing or two to say. Ever since 1987, all conversations in Zelda has been presented to the player through text. Just like with the talking Link problem, people are complaining that there are no voice acting involved. My only question is; is this really necessary? Why do one really need to hear all the weird characters of Zelda? The point of the conversation won't change, just because there's an actor reading lines, instead of you... the little dialog box that pops up from under the screen when someone is talking to you... the little sound every individual letter makes when it pops up onto the screen... that gives the series a certain charm that for example the Final Fantasy series doesn't have anymore.
And when it comes down to it, I'm not so sure you really want to actually hear Tingle talk to you... maybe the two sound effects he makes every time he talks to you is enough? Are you very interested in hearing Arnold Schwarzenegger as Ganondorf? And for the love of God, is it really necessary to hear Navi more than we already are? No, far from it. I don't even understand how someone could even get the idea! It's disgusting and more importantly, it would destroy the series as we know it. I don't want Charles Martinet as the noble warrior Link... which in fact is pretty probable, if Nintendo were to give Link a voice, considering the sheer number of Miyamoto characters Martinet is already playing. No matter what Nintendo decides to change in the future, I hope, with all of my heart, that they leave these features alone. It's the essence of Zelda, and hopefully Nintendo agrees with me.
Robin Høyland
With every release of a new Zelda game, people complain about how the lacks voice acting. «Why are they still using text for every conversation?» «Why doesn't Link speak?» «Why doesn't Nintendo jump on the train to present-day?» Is it time for Zelda to grow up? Absolutely not!
From the first Zelda game that came out in 1987, to the newest addition to the series, Phantom Hourglass, Link has said four words, all four in Japanese, and they can all be looked at as battle cries. Main characters that doesn't speak, is a pretty common phenomenon when it comes to game. Games like Grand Theft Auto 3 and Halo has a main character that doesn't speak, or say very little. This has got a function, of course, even though a lot of people believe that every single character should be the biggest talking-bird ever. I couldn't disagree more. Ofcourse, if a character talks and shows his emotions this way, that's a really good way to get people to understand the personality of said character, but if a game developer is able to show this without having to get a voic actor, that in itself is a sign of a real genious. Like the Disney Pixar movie, Wall-E. In Wall-E, the main robo-character doesn't speak much, and has only a few words to play with... still, Pixar is able to truly show the emotions Wall-E all the time.
Another reason to throw away the idea of voice acting, is the fact that without it, the player can really connect to the character in an entirely different way than possible if said character was talking. When you're playing Halo, you ARE Master Chief. When he talks, he says exactly what you would have in that same situation, and not cheesy lines right from the Terminator movies. When you're riding on Epone through Hyrule Field, it's no one else than you doing this... you are the hero of Hyrule, and that's a feeling a game like “Uncharted: Drakes Fortune” can't give you, as the main character, Nathan Drake, is a very talkative person. This is one of the strongest features that helps to make Zelda what it is.
Even through Link hasn't spoken a word through the entire series, other characters have had a thing or two to say. Ever since 1987, all conversations in Zelda has been presented to the player through text. Just like with the talking Link problem, people are complaining that there are no voice acting involved. My only question is; is this really necessary? Why do one really need to hear all the weird characters of Zelda? The point of the conversation won't change, just because there's an actor reading lines, instead of you... the little dialog box that pops up from under the screen when someone is talking to you... the little sound every individual letter makes when it pops up onto the screen... that gives the series a certain charm that for example the Final Fantasy series doesn't have anymore.
And when it comes down to it, I'm not so sure you really want to actually hear Tingle talk to you... maybe the two sound effects he makes every time he talks to you is enough? Are you very interested in hearing Arnold Schwarzenegger as Ganondorf? And for the love of God, is it really necessary to hear Navi more than we already are? No, far from it. I don't even understand how someone could even get the idea! It's disgusting and more importantly, it would destroy the series as we know it. I don't want Charles Martinet as the noble warrior Link... which in fact is pretty probable, if Nintendo were to give Link a voice, considering the sheer number of Miyamoto characters Martinet is already playing. No matter what Nintendo decides to change in the future, I hope, with all of my heart, that they leave these features alone. It's the essence of Zelda, and hopefully Nintendo agrees with me.
Robin Høyland
The setup was destroyed upon pasting it into the topic, but I've included a Open Office Writer file for those of you who find it hard to read:
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