Pokemon Scarlet and Violetbreak many old traditions, such as by giving players the legendary Pokemon early on. However, in some ways, it stays true to its predecessors, such as by featuring no voice acting.Pokemon Scarlet and Violetdo stand out in this regard, as other Nintendo franchises that started without voice acting have since included it.
Despite the lack of voice acting, the latestPokemongames still present memorable characters and a spellbinding region to explore. While some good voice acting would be appreciated, there are plenty of tricksScarlet and Violetpull to ensure that characters are expressive enough. Furthermore, voice acting could run the risk of drawing attention away from the Pokemon, which should be the main draw.
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The Call for Voice Acting in Pokemon
MainlinePokemongames have never had voice acting. For most of the game’s history, this has not been an issue, as the first games,Pokemon Red and Green, were released in 1996. However, even modern games have skipped out on voice acting. Some fans have found this odd, as other Nintendo franchises such asThe Legend of Zeldahave adopted voice actingwith great success. It could be argued that Game Freak isn’t putting as much effort into modernizing its titles as it should.
Paldea Manages to Feel Alive Without Voice Acting
Scarlet and Violetprove that the series is capable of thriving without voice acting. This is in part thanks to the fact that characters are very expressive, often comically so. Whether they’re munching on a sandwich or reacting to a joke, they always wear their emotions on their sleeves, making it really easy to determine what’s going on at any given moment. While voice acting would certainly add more personality to the characters, folks likeNemona and Arvenmanage to express themselves well without it.
Perhaps most importantly, voice acting would draw attention toward the humans and away from the stars of the show - the Pokemon. In Paldea, Pokemon roam the overworld, making the region feel truly inhabited by wild critters. Furthermore, players can also have one of their Pokemon walk by their side, making it easier to bond with one’s favorite team member. Early on inScarlet and Violet, players meetKoraidon or Miraidonrespectively, and these Pokemon become a mode of transport, making them very useful. While there are plenty of humans around, Paldea is a region of Pokemon, and the lack of voice acting allows humans to sufficiently fall into the background.
Game Freak director Shigeru Ohmori has given some insight concerning why the series has never adopted voice acting. The first issue is the fact thatPokemonis an RPGwith tons of text. Recording voice performances for all of it in different languages in time for global releases would be an incredibly difficult task. The second issue is that it takes away from some of the player’s imaginative effort. As Ohmori summarizes, with “no voice the players can kind of create their own image of who that character is as they’re playing.”
For fans hoping thatPokemonwill adopt voice acting one day, it appears that the chances are quite slim. If the series ever does, however, it will hopefully be on new Nintendo hardware, as there have been reports ofScarlet and Violetperformance and graphics issues. While they are not enough to make the games unplayable, issues like dropping framerates and trees popping in and out of existence do lessen the experience.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violetare available on Nintendo Switch.
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