Uzumaki Goku
One Winged Slayer
Member
- Oct 27, 2017
- 21,392
- Nov 12, 2019
- #1
It's hilariously bad voice acting, but what's the story behind it? I have localization for the games was rushed which is why they never bothered to translate Zero's attacks, but I'm not sure about that.
mopinks
Member
- Oct 27, 2017
- 31,649
- Nov 12, 2019
- #2
it was the 90s
Transistor
1+1+2+1
Administrator
- Oct 25, 2017
- 39,240
- Washington, D.C.
- Nov 12, 2019
- #3
90's games didn't care about good VO in general
Deleted member 36578
- Dec 21, 2017
- 26,561
- Nov 12, 2019
- #4
Those early (ps1,saturn,disc based) era voice acting days for all video games weren't exactly the greatest :/
The majority of voice work back then just wasn't held up to today's standards.
Before you click this, just know I absolutely LOVE this game and it's one of my favorite's of all time, but just..... this is what we got in America at least. I'm assuming Japanese voice work was far better.
Last edited:
higemaru
Member
- Nov 30, 2017
- 4,611
- Nov 12, 2019
- #5
Resident Evil's got bad VA too. It was the era, you only had so much budget and maybe a fraction of that would actually go to voice acting.
Strangelove_77
Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
- Oct 25, 2017
- 13,392
- Nov 12, 2019
- #6
It was the 90s. Game publishers didn't care about voice acting quality. There are some standouts like MGS1 and Fear Effect, but even those have problems.
Palazzo
Member
- Oct 25, 2017
- 1,041
- Nov 12, 2019
- #7
The Japanese voice acting was fine. The English side either wasn't given the budget to get anyone with any professional skill or intentionally cheaped out.
PtM
Banned
- Dec 7, 2017
- 4,222
- Nov 12, 2019
- #8
Money, or the lack of it.
Deleted member 1570
Banned
- Oct 25, 2017
- 2,947
- Nov 12, 2019
- #9
THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
Shadoken
Member
- Oct 25, 2017
- 4,334
- Nov 12, 2019
- #10
Is the VA for the animated cutscenes and in-game the same ?
The in-game ones feel a little better. Although its very few lines.
hibikase
User requested ban
Banned
- Oct 26, 2017
- 6,820
- Nov 12, 2019
- #11
It was the early days of video game voice acting, with no unions and no known pools of talent and no support infrastructure, so they just did it themselves.
OP
OP
Uzumaki Goku
One Winged Slayer
Member
- Oct 27, 2017
- 21,392
- Nov 12, 2019
- #12
Legacy of Kain stands out as an exception
Syril
Member
- Oct 26, 2017
- 5,895
- Nov 12, 2019
- #13
They probably did it with English-speaking actors living in Japan. In all likelihood those actors are capable of much better but likely didn't have good direction. It's definitely not the actors' decision to use takes with mispronounced names and flubbed lines.
SolVanderlyn
I love pineapple on pizza!
Member
- Oct 28, 2017
- 13,802
- Earth, 21st Century
- Nov 12, 2019
- #14
I always figured that people saw video games as just kid's toys back then, and nobody put any effort into voice acting or took it very seriously.
In Japan it was different. Well, not the kid's toys part - the older crowd definitely still thinks that - but the attitude around voice acting. I don't think dubs really started catching up until the late 2000's. (Personal opinion)
Also, especially for a game like Mega Man, where the VA is a minimal piece of the game, it would be considered a low priority.
This is all just conjecture on my part, though.
Zero's HOO-HAH-HUH! and "It's not over yet!" are burned into my brain. I have an unironic fondness for the voice acting in X4 even if it is objectively bad. Sigma's super hammy villain voice could have been great with better direction.
Kyora90
Member
- Apr 15, 2018
- 3,042
- Nov 12, 2019
- #15
Burn to the gro
Banned
- Oct 27, 2017
- 44,227
- Nov 12, 2019
- #16
mopinks said:
Legit came in to say this exactly
RockmanBN
Visited by Knack - One Winged Slayer
Member
- Oct 25, 2017
- 30,174
- Cornfields
- Nov 12, 2019
- #17
Weird because Mega Man Legends released the same year as X4 and the VA work was miles above that.
Rygar 8Bit
Member
- Oct 25, 2017
- 17,041
- Site-15
- Nov 12, 2019
- #18
Then we would never have been blessed with DR. Wahwee.
UshiromiyaEva
Member
- Aug 22, 2018
- 1,814
- Nov 12, 2019
- #19
Standards were different and it was common to cast English-speakers that were readily available in Japan. Resident Evil and House of the Dead 1 and 2 both have this effect in spades as the aesthetic choice was to just subtitle English-spoken dialogue. One actor, Dean Harrington, has mentioned that when he did work he often only got to see sketches and given basic direction on how to speak for his game roles, and sometimes he would be asked to record for multiple games a day without really knowing what he was working on or having a lot of context into what the character was saying.
the chris
Member
- Dec 31, 2017
- 406
- Nov 12, 2019
- #20
higemaru said:
Resident Evil's got bad VA too. It was the era, you only had so much budget and maybe a fraction of that would actually go to voice acting.
I read somewhere that DC Douglas(Wesker's RE5 voice actor) said that the original Resident Evil's voice acting was bad because you had a Japanese director directing English speaking actor and going with whatever takes he thought sounded good.
Syril
Member
- Oct 26, 2017
- 5,895
- Nov 12, 2019
- #21
the chris said:
I read somewhere that DC Douglas(Wesker's RE5 voice actor) said that the original Resident Evil's voice acting was bad because you had a Japanese director directing English speaking actor and going with whatever takes he thought sounded good.
And they would mash multiple takes into a single clip and get stuff like the "don't open that door" line.
MaverickHunterX
Member
- Oct 27, 2017
- 2,294
- Nov 12, 2019
- #22
Shit, I was just amazed he was talking, period.
Hours Left
Member
- Oct 26, 2017
- 19,267
- Nov 12, 2019
- #23
wiwy
Crayon
Member
- Oct 26, 2017
- 15,580
- Nov 12, 2019
- #24
The golden age of bad voice acting.
Choppasmith
One Winged Slayer
Member
- Oct 25, 2017
- 6,676
- Beaumont, CA
- Nov 12, 2019
- #25
MaverickHunterX said:
I remember wondering why they couldn't just get the cartoon voice actors. I had no concept of budgets or unions back then.
MaverickHunterX
Member
- Oct 27, 2017
- 2,294
- Nov 13, 2019
- #26
Choppasmith said:
I remember wondering why they couldn't just get the cartoon voice actors. I had no concept of budgets or unions back then.
Don't get me started on that. The MM cartoon blew my little kid mind. I caught the listing one day in a TV guide.
"Megaman? Nah, it can't be that Megaman...."
But it was. I figured that MM was a well-known game, but never imagined that he was that popular, like Mario or Sonic. And the cartoon launched to no fanfare either! So weird!
But by the time MM8 was released, the cartoon was over for nearly 3 years. And I didn't know about the cutscenes either (nor requiring a memory card instead of using passwords. Doh!). The game will always hold a place in my heart. After all, it's the game that's made me leave a sole N64 household and join the PS family.
Protodude
Member
- Oct 25, 2017
- 708
- Nov 13, 2019
- #27
I'd like to use this opportunity to remind (or inform) you that Mega Man and X's MM8/X4 voice actress is, today, the CEO of a prolific Japanese tourism company.
Sargerus
▲ Legend ▲
The Fallen
- Oct 25, 2017
- 21,913
- Nov 13, 2019
- #28
What are you fighting FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRR, OP?
Garlic
Member
- Oct 28, 2017
- 1,702
- Nov 13, 2019
- #29
It was the 90s, nobody gave a shit
Chaotic-Strike
Member
- Oct 25, 2017
- 11,245
- Nov 13, 2019
- #30
I'm pretty sure they treated it like the 90s Godzilla films and used whatever English speaking people they had on hand in either Japan or other Asian countries.
You must log in or register to reply here.
