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A thread wherein we discuss bad voice acting

1356

Posts

  • IShallRiseAgainIShallRiseAgain Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Bob Sapp wrote: »

    I thought this was going to be that CD-I Zelda.

    This here should pretty much cover the breadth of how terrible the voice acting in Wand of Gamelon was:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnmPdGuoP5A

    Pat yourself on the back if you can sit through the whole video!
    lol, at about 1:10 in the video, it looks likes the skeleton is jerking off.

    IShallRiseAgain on
    Alador239.png
  • LBD_NytetraynLBD_Nytetrayn TorontoRegistered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Silent Storm.

    ...ironic, isn't it?
    plufim wrote: »
    Yeah Houk, you didn't happen to... accidentally copy those files, right? ;)

    As for bad voice acting, a whole lot of the voices in the sonic games. Gah, especially those for the younger characters: tails, cream, charmy and amy. Why must they be so goddam high pitched? And in sonic and the secret rings, the voice actor for shara is so bad, and because she's your guide, you have to put up with her all the goddam time.

    That's one thing I don't get. I can accept that a game may not have everyone be top-of-the-line professionals.

    But why does it seem like if there are good (or at the very least, tolerable) voices and bad voices in a game, the worst get stuck on the main characters or the ones you'll hear the most?

    Case in point: Mega Man 8. Wily is ok, so is Roll. Bass is decent. Most of the Robot Masters work, with the possible exceptions of Aquaman and Clownman (Grenademan is retardedly funny, and he's supposed to be).

    Dr. Light gets to be Elmer Fudd, though, stumbling drunk over his lines, and Mega Man sounds more like Mega Girl. Yeah, he's supposed to be a 10-year old boy, but his twin sister has more bass in her voice than he does. AND YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO HIM THE ENTIRE TIME.

    Duo is sorta "meh." Lousy actor (as most in this game are), but at least the voice sounds ok.

    LBD_Nytetrayn on
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    Like Mega Man Legends? Then check out my story, Legends of the Halcyon Era - An Adventure in the World of Mega Man Legends on TMMN and AO3!
  • SorensonSorenson Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    DarkPrimus wrote: »
    A lot of games come out with English voice acting in the Japanese version. And those games usually have pretty bad voice acting. Now, why is this? Most likely because a Japanese person was in charge of directing the voice actors, and they don't realize how awkward it sounds to a native speaker.
    On the other hand, then you've got Japanese versions with English voice acting so awkward that it's awesome.

    "OK, LET'S PARTYYYYY!"

    Sorenson on
  • HenroidHenroid Mexican kicked from Immigration Thread Centrism is Racism :3Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Dr. Light gets to be Elmer Fudd, though, stumbling drunk over his lines, and Mega Man sounds more like Mega Girl. Yeah, he's supposed to be a 10-year old boy, but his twin sister has more bass in her voice than he does. AND YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO HIM THE ENTIRE TIME.

    Memories of the cartoon are coming to mind now. Honestly, I can't imagine Dr. Light having any other voice.

    Edit - It was probably how he was drawn. Also, if anyone has the link to Xieflow's YTMND and could post it, I'd love you forever.

    Dr. Why-wee.

    Henroid on
  • LBD_NytetraynLBD_Nytetrayn TorontoRegistered User regular
    edited August 2007
    The Maverick Hunter X/Powered Up voice works quite well for him. But yeah, Jim Byrnes made a great Light, too.

    LBD_Nytetrayn on
    qjWUWdm.gif1edr1cF.giferQEQHJ.png
    Like Mega Man Legends? Then check out my story, Legends of the Halcyon Era - An Adventure in the World of Mega Man Legends on TMMN and AO3!
  • CanisAquilusCanisAquilus Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    I wish RPGs would stick to the whole text thing. Many RPGs that try to do the voice acting fail miserably.

    Counterpoint:

    JonIrenicus.jpg

    CanisAquilus on
  • WallhitterWallhitter Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    I think they mean JRPGs...er, not trying to be rude, just from what I've noticed.

    Wallhitter on
  • VeegeezeeVeegeezee Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    a hind-d?

    Veegeezee on
  • HenroidHenroid Mexican kicked from Immigration Thread Centrism is Racism :3Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Veegeezee wrote: »
    a hind-d?

    Oh God, you invoked MGS. This is a sensitive topic for me, and I can feel Kami lingering over this sometime soon (we had this awfully long debate a long time ago where neither of us backed down about this).

    MGS comes in two flavors - vanilla and Twin Snakes, right? I'm one of those people who prefer vanilla, and the way the script was read in it seems infinitely better to me. I loved how Snake would ask questions in the exact same tone. Maybe I just got used to it, or the game left that much of an impact on me that its original conception is the only way it can be done. We'll call it the "Starwars" effect I suppose.

    Second floor basement?
    Metal Gear?
    A Hind-D?
    Key card?

    Henroid on
  • VeritasVRVeritasVR Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    COLONEL.

    VeritasVR on
    CoH_infantry.jpg
    Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
  • EvangirEvangir Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    MGS isn't about bad actors though. It's about horrible scripts. You couldn't find an actor on this planet who could make that game's script sound sensible (In my defence, this is clearly my opinion :P).

    Evangir on
    PSN/XBL/STEAM: Evangir - Starcraft 2: Bulwark.955 - Origin: Bulwark955 - Diablo 3: Bulwark#1478
  • HenroidHenroid Mexican kicked from Immigration Thread Centrism is Racism :3Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Evangir wrote: »
    MGS isn't about bad actors though. It's about horrible scripts. You couldn't find an actor on this planet who could make that game's script sound sensible (In my defence, this is clearly my opinion :P).

    Write a letter to Kojima. He's crazy enough to take it as a compliment.

    MGS2's script I think was more poorly written. The second they mention a vampire, or lady luck, it's just downhill from there.

    And I'm going to toss out my famous line here that plenty of folks raise their eyebrow at me for, but MGS was more 'down to Earth' than Twin Snakes and MGS2. Despite there being a cyborg ninja, gene therapy, yadda yadda I'll go away now. <.<

    Henroid on
  • DisruptorX2DisruptorX2 Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    After playing MGS 3, the other ones seem really lame in comparisson, especially story wise. 2's I could ignore because the gameplay was great and all.

    DisruptorX2 on
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  • -SPI--SPI- Osaka, JapanRegistered User regular
    edited August 2007
    I've only played twin snakes, does the original torture scene have the bit where ocelot is telling snake that he hasn't saved for a while and that if he dies here it will be game over and he'll have to do that all over again, and then he explains what buttons to press and then turns to the camera and goes "And don't try and use a turbo controller, because I'll know"

    Because that was awesome.


    Anyway bad VA. My vote goes for the hilariously disjointed Operation Flashpoint voices. I love them.

    "enemy. MAN. 500 meters." "Oh no. 3. is down"

    -SPI- on
  • DisruptorX2DisruptorX2 Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    I believe he does let you know that you haven't saved in a while. I've nearly thrown a controller in anger over that part, I remember it well. Not sure about telling you not to use a turbo, though.

    DisruptorX2 on
    1208768734831.jpg
  • HenroidHenroid Mexican kicked from Immigration Thread Centrism is Racism :3Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    No, in vanilla MGS he doesn't say anything about autofire. It was a funny addition though.

    Henroid on
  • shadeedgeshadeedge Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    "Put your Controller on the floor... Put it down as flat as you can..".

    shadeedge on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • DehumanizedDehumanized Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    "So... you like Suikoden?"

    Dehumanized on
  • DisruptorX2DisruptorX2 Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    "So... you like Suikoden?"

    I've had him tell me I liked Castlevania.

    No time to say "well, actually I think its ok" before he started attacking me though.

    DisruptorX2 on
    1208768734831.jpg
  • StormwatcherStormwatcher Blegh BlughRegistered User regular
    edited August 2007
    I used to hate Snake's voice before actually playing through a MGS game, because it doesn't sound like a real voice, but like someone trying to make a different voice and failing hard.

    Then I got used after playing 4 games. We all love snake, after all.

    But whenever I try to be objective about it, I still think it's horrendous.

    Stormwatcher on
    Steam: Stormwatcher | PSN: Stormwatcher33 | Switch: 5961-4777-3491
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  • The WolfmanThe Wolfman Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Houk wrote: »
    Henroid wrote: »
    So do you mean like the stereotypical Japanese-spoken English like, "SUPAH COMBOOO BWAYKAAAAH!" or some crap like that?

    Good to hear that they checked in with you guys. People care about this stuff nowadays.
    Exactly. But it was even worse, cuz they were trying to include like full sentences and actual meaningful information. It was really ugly. Actually, when I was in Japan last year, they re-recorded it, using a Japanese-American female voice actress and, erm, me. I think they cut it out of the game completely, but if anyone plays it and they hear an overly-boisterous male calling out enemy levels and whatnot, you have me to blame.

    t Evangir - I'd love to, but since it doesn't belong to me and was never meant to go public, my ethics and love of not getting fired prevent me :(

    Steambot Chronicles has what you described in full effect with all its songs. At least, I'm assuming they were all sung in english in the japanese version, because I can't imagine the singer not speaking up over how nonsensical they sounded.

    The music sounded perfectly fine. The sound of the singing going along with the music matched just fine. The girl singing sounded fine, it was perfect english. Even the lyrics on their own were perfectly fine, also in perfect english. It was when you put them all into a package did it make no sense at all. It was like they took a japanese song, translated it directly and literally into english, and then just sang that to the beat. All they did was kinda make sure the syllables matched up and nothing else. No rhyming, no lyrical sense, no nothing. As though they got a girl who could sing clear and perfect english, but had no clue what she was singing made no lyrical sense in english at all.

    Youtube has 2 perfect examples here and here. It's hard to really describe without hearing it for yourself. But it's exactly like singing a perfectly translated song from japanese to english, without actually retooling it so it actually makes sense being sung in english. Everything else is fine.

    Oh, and don't listen to Music Revolution that's also posted there unless you want your head to explode. You were warned...

    The Wolfman on
    "The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
  • DarmakDarmak RAGE vympyvvhyc vyctyvyRegistered User regular
    edited August 2007
    I haven't read through the entire thread but Two Worlds has some of the worst voice acting I've heard in a long time. It doesn't detract from the game though, it's kinda fun to sit and listen to it.

    Darmak on
    JtgVX0H.png
  • delphinusdelphinus Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    oh man....how could i forget!?


    "G's blood stains...."


    "GO KUARL!!"

    delphinus on
  • Anonymous RobotAnonymous Robot Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Anonymous Robot on
    Sigs shouldn't be higher than 80 pixels - Elki.

    photo02-film.jpg
  • PureauthorPureauthor Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    "Don't come!"

    Edit: To the guy below: ^_^

    Pureauthor on
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  • RookieRookie Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    delphinus wrote: »
    oh man....how could i forget!?


    "G's blood stains...."


    "GO KUARL!!"


    THANK YOU.

    I just read through the first four pages of this thread and I was shocked and appalled nobody had mentioned this game yet.

    Also, I'd like to add "Don't come!"
    edit: soooo beat

    Rookie on
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    PSN: TheSuperVillain
  • cj iwakuracj iwakura The Rhythm Regent Bears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Magna Carta: Tears of Blood.
    Alright! Let's BUST SOME HEADS!

    It's like they weren't even trying.

    And I'd like to think the HotD voice acting was from the original Japanese game, but I could be wrong.

    To above: Hey, Time Crisis 1 had great voice acting.
    How could you? You killed my boss!

    Since I have the upper hand, having the girl and all, I'll press my luck.

    You wait here.

    Of course, he's the only constant, but still.

    cj iwakura on
    y3H3Fa4.png
  • FatsFats Corvallis, ORRegistered User regular
    edited August 2007
    jacobkosh wrote: »
    "I SPILL my DRINK!"

    OH MY GOD, JC A BOMB!

    A BOMB?

    <3

    Fats on
  • PureauthorPureauthor Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    "Don't worry, my men will gun him down."

    Lightgun games are win - did I ever mention that?

    "Don't you ever die?!"

    Pureauthor on
    SS FC: 1334 0950 5927
    Platinum FC: 2880 3245 5111
  • shadeedgeshadeedge Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    "Nothing is pointless! And the reason is because i'm the President of the great United States of America! Yahh!"

    shadeedge on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • PureauthorPureauthor Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    shadeedge wrote: »
    "Nothing is pointless! And the reason is because i'm the President of the great United States of America! Yahh!"

    "Richard!"

    Pureauthor on
    SS FC: 1334 0950 5927
    Platinum FC: 2880 3245 5111
  • JamesKeenanJamesKeenan Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    May I nominate the *biggest* *offender* *ever*?!

    Two Worlds. Not only was the voice-acting terrible and the acting horribly campy and uninspired, the lip-synching was atrocious!! I know the game hasn't come out in the states yet, but it's been out for some time in Germany, and there's an English version, and it's just god-awful.

    When everyone plays the game, Two Worlds will be the new example of bad voice acting, example?

    The game isn't just sprinkled or even riddled, but PACKED with words like 'forsooth,' 'prithee' and 'mayhap.' Oh god, 'mayhap.'

    Hero: Prithee pray tell me, inn keeper, what are you doing with that shovel?
    Inn Keeper: Forsooth, I intend to bury things with it.
    Hero: Aye, 'tis indeed apparent.
    Inn Keeper: Mayhap I shall bury turnips, or mayhap I shall bury oranges.

    The writers chose every SINGLE opportunity they could to use the words 'perhaps' or 'maybe.' And then they replaced every single instance of those words with the word mayhap. When Mayhap is used in the same sentence it's even worse.

    The game is officially releasing with version 1.5 pre-installed, which is supposed to correct the horrible lip-synching, but I'm not holding my breath. And there's still the matter of the voices themselves. It's thick medieval dialogue read in Northern and Middle American accents. The main character seems to be voiced by the old gentleman who does the voice-overs for most movie trailers. And he's always speaking his medieval lines in his *action* voice.

    JamesKeenan on
  • Cameron_TalleyCameron_Talley Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Five Pages and no mention of "Sonic Adventure 2?"

    "Is that what.......chaos control....is?"

    Cameron_Talley on
    Switch Friend Code: SW-4598-4278-8875
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  • urahonkyurahonky Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    May I nominate the *biggest* *offender* *ever*?!

    Two Worlds. Not only was the voice-acting terrible and the acting horribly campy and uninspired, the lip-synching was atrocious!! I know the game hasn't come out in the states yet, but it's been out for some time in Germany, and there's an English version, and it's just god-awful.

    When everyone plays the game, Two Worlds will be the new example of bad voice acting, example?

    The game isn't just sprinkled or even riddled, but PACKED with words like 'forsooth,' 'prithee' and 'mayhap.' Oh god, 'mayhap.'

    Hero: Prithee pray tell me, inn keeper, what are you doing with that shovel?
    Inn Keeper: Forsooth, I intend to bury things with it.
    Hero: Aye, 'tis indeed apparent.
    Inn Keeper: Mayhap I shall bury turnips, or mayhap I shall bury oranges.

    The writers chose every SINGLE opportunity they could to use the words 'perhaps' or 'maybe.' And then they replaced every single instance of those words with the word mayhap. When Mayhap is used in the same sentence it's even worse.

    The game is officially releasing with version 1.5 pre-installed, which is supposed to correct the horrible lip-synching, but I'm not holding my breath. And there's still the matter of the voices themselves. It's thick medieval dialogue read in Northern and Middle American accents. The main character seems to be voiced by the old gentleman who does the voice-overs for most movie trailers. And he's always speaking his medieval lines in his *action* voice.

    Oh man, another reason why I don't want to play Two Worlds.

    urahonky on
  • JamesKeenanJamesKeenan Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    urahonky wrote: »
    Oh man, another reason why I don't want to play Two Worlds.

    Well, I'd still play it. Everything I said about the voice acting is totally true, but it's basically like multiplayer Oblivion.

    The combat in Two Worlds is arguably better than Oblivion's combat. Two Worlds has no manual blocking, it's an automatic skill you put points into. That's a really sad loss, but almost *everything* else about the combat is better. It doesn't far outclass Oblivion, for that game was fantastic. Two Worlds just happens to be noticeably better.

    For instance, there's a much larger array of skills. Mounted combat, there's an ability to tear down enemy shields if you have an axe equipped. Stunning is a skill, not level related. You can kick dirt in their eyes to blind and daze them for a bit.

    Also, abilities like stun, Dirty Trick (the dirt ability) and a few others all work that if you perform one, the rest are far more likely to work. At max level there's like an 80% chance that your stun will proc when you use it, but if he's alreadu stunned or confused or something, there's like a 500% chance it will work. No joke.

    The spells are also better. Paralysis in Oblivion was unmatched in coolness because of the physics engine, but the spells in Two Worlds are overall cooler.

    Also, as far as voice acting, because I don't want to seem like a thread hijacker, this has yet to be posted. (Edited because I'm an idiot and missed this)

    Warning: Extremely Cheesy Voice Acting Ahead.

    JamesKeenan on
  • cj iwakuracj iwakura The Rhythm Regent Bears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
    edited August 2007
    How could I forget.


    http://www.audioatrocities.com/games/castleshikigami2/index.html

    Castle Shikigami 2.
    “...I like girls, but now, it's about justice.”

    Play as Fumiko Ozette Van Stein. The pain never stops.

    I'm not sure if any of her samples are provided there, but hers are the absolute worst.
    "Crooked CASTLE? Store info then jam!"

    cj iwakura on
    y3H3Fa4.png
  • urahonkyurahonky Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    urahonky wrote: »
    Oh man, another reason why I don't want to play Two Worlds.
    <STUFF>
    Also, as far as voice acting, because I don't want to seem like a thread hijacker, has this yet been posted.

    Warning: Extremely Cheesy Voice Acting Ahead.

    Oh man, DMC had good voice acting, but that scene made me cringe. At least it was at the end of the game, and kept me from quitting the game.

    Also: Voice Acting is very important to me.

    Either do it right, or don't do it at all.

    urahonky on
  • Anonymous RobotAnonymous Robot Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    This is the worst offender, hands down.

    http://tinyurl.com/2fk5zz

    Anonymous Robot on
    Sigs shouldn't be higher than 80 pixels - Elki.

    photo02-film.jpg
  • cj iwakuracj iwakura The Rhythm Regent Bears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Glad we agree.

    And it especially hurts since it's such an awesome game otherwise.

    cj iwakura on
    y3H3Fa4.png
  • DarmakDarmak RAGE vympyvvhyc vyctyvyRegistered User regular
    edited August 2007
    May I nominate the *biggest* *offender* *ever*?!

    Two Worlds. Not only was the voice-acting terrible and the acting horribly campy and uninspired, the lip-synching was atrocious!! I know the game hasn't come out in the states yet, but it's been out for some time in Germany, and there's an English version, and it's just god-awful.

    When everyone plays the game, Two Worlds will be the new example of bad voice acting, example?

    The game isn't just sprinkled or even riddled, but PACKED with words like 'forsooth,' 'prithee' and 'mayhap.' Oh god, 'mayhap.'

    Hero: Prithee pray tell me, inn keeper, what are you doing with that shovel?
    Inn Keeper: Forsooth, I intend to bury things with it.
    Hero: Aye, 'tis indeed apparent.
    Inn Keeper: Mayhap I shall bury turnips, or mayhap I shall bury oranges.

    The writers chose every SINGLE opportunity they could to use the words 'perhaps' or 'maybe.' And then they replaced every single instance of those words with the word mayhap. When Mayhap is used in the same sentence it's even worse.

    The game is officially releasing with version 1.5 pre-installed, which is supposed to correct the horrible lip-synching, but I'm not holding my breath. And there's still the matter of the voices themselves. It's thick medieval dialogue read in Northern and Middle American accents. The main character seems to be voiced by the old gentleman who does the voice-overs for most movie trailers. And he's always speaking his medieval lines in his *action* voice.

    Too bad I already mentioned this game. :P

    Darmak on
    JtgVX0H.png
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