Opinions on the V.O. for This Game

[Tobias Nightbringer]

Title kind of says it all. I was sifting through random forums and threads to brush up on Hydaelyn history when I stumbled across a thread where a fellow voice over artist was complaining about how bad the V.O. was in this game.

 

What little of the V.O. I've heard thus far hasn't been really all that bad, but I was curious as to what my fellow RPers think.

 

Do you love the acting?

 

Do you think it is just passable?

 

Do you cringe and feel like their voice is shattering your RP immersion?

 

Do you change the language to Japanese to make it feel more 'natural'?

 

I'm mainly just curious as to the thoughts and opinions from everyone.

 

I hope I posted this on the right board!

[Faye]

It's pretty hit or miss, in my opinion. Most of the major characters have great voice acting, but the acting for some of the less important characters in some of the cutscenes is... sometimes rather laughable.

[Roda]

I've used the English voices this entire time, and they aren't too bad (I mean they're certainly not QUALITY, but they're not as horrid as some would have you believe).

My biggest issue is that the animations are just too robotic for me. (Turns SO fast, no thought when reaching into a pocket and handing my character an invisible thing when they're forever away, mouth flaps just packmanning about, no animation flows with the next animation...)

[Brent Stone]

Been about half-and-half for me so far. Some of the voice-overs have been surprisingly good, but I've noticed a few that have made me cringe.

 

Papalymo nearly gave me a migraine as well as the priest in the Church of Saint Adama Landama; that's about as far as I've gotten in the story line, but I've found I'm much more fond of the female voice-overs in this game than I am of the male voice-overs thus far.

[Faye]

I've used the English voices this entire time, and they aren't too bad (I mean they're certainly not QUALITY, but they're not as horrid as some would have you believe).

My biggest issue is that the animations are just too robotic for me. (Turns SO fast, no thought when reaching into a pocket and handing my character an invisible thing when they're forever away, mouth flaps just packmanning about, no animation flows with the next animation...)

 

 

I have no idea what you're talking about.

[Tobias Nightbringer]

 

 

I've used the English voices this entire time, and they aren't too bad (I mean they're certainly not QUALITY, but they're not as horrid as some would have you believe).

My biggest issue is that the animations are just too robotic for me. (Turns SO fast, no thought when reaching into a pocket and handing my character an invisible thing when they're forever away, mouth flaps just packmanning about, no animation flows with the next animation...)

 

 

 

 

I have no idea what you're talking about.

 

LMFAAOAOAOAOAOAOAO KFRGHBHBHORLDl I just LOST my shit seeing this xDDD

[Brent Stone]

 

 

I have no idea what you're talking about.

 

Cannot... stop... giggling...

[LiadansWhisper]

Title kind of says it all. I was sifting through random forums and threads to brush up on Hydaelyn history when I stumbled across a thread where a fellow voice over artist was complaining about how bad the V.O. was in this game.

 

What little of the V.O. I've heard thus far hasn't been really all that bad, but I was curious as to what my fellow RPers think.

 

Do you love the acting?

 

Some yes, some no. 

 

Do you think it is just passable?

 

For the most part.

 

Do you cringe and feel like their voice is shattering your RP immersion?

 

Occasionally.

 

Do you change the language to Japanese to make it feel more 'natural'?

 

Nope.

 

I'm mainly just curious as to the thoughts and opinions from everyone.

 

I hope I posted this on the right board!

 

Minfilia's voice makes me want to kick people.  The scene where Kan-E-Senna invites you to be the Emissary had the most hilariously terrible voice acting (apart from her voice).  I honestly giggled.

 

The only voices I really "liked" were Kan-E-Senna, the Admiral, Raubhan (prolly misspelling his name), the Sultana, and Alphinaud and his sister.

---

I've used the English voices this entire time, and they aren't too bad (I mean they're certainly not QUALITY, but they're not as horrid as some would have you believe).

My biggest issue is that the animations are just too robotic for me. (Turns SO fast, no thought when reaching into a pocket and handing my character an invisible thing when they're forever away, mouth flaps just packmanning about, no animation flows with the next animation...)

 

 

I have no idea what you're talking about.

 

I can't stop laughing...

[Rinh Hallani]

I have no idea what you're talking about.

 

Hahaha oh my GOD.

 

I liked Raubahn and Urianger (Gideon Emery, mmmm!) but most of the others were either forgettable or flat-out cringe worthy.

[LiadansWhisper]

I have no idea what you're talking about.

 

Hahaha oh my GOD.

 

I liked Raubahn and Urianger (Gideon Emery, mmmm!) but most of the others were either forgettable or flat-out cringe worthy.

 

I was really quite annoyed that Urianger had like, 3 lines total.  

[Tobias Nightbringer]

 

Hahaha oh my GOD.

 

I liked Raubahn and Urianger (Gideon Emery, mmmm!) but most of the others were either forgettable or flat-out cringe worthy.

 

Even his name (Gideon ) is epic. I have yet to hear Urianger yet. I r a lowbie still T.T Spending too much time RPing with all the lovely people abouts here!

 

NONE OF THE REGRETS

[cuideag]

 

 

I have no idea what you're talking about.

 

That is GLORIOUS.

 

I think the VOs, however, are not. Underwhelming would be the word I would use.

[Clover]

I've only played with Japanese voices myself. The only time I heard an English voice was when I accidentally clicked one of the trailers, thinking that it'd be in Japanese. I only heard the crystal speaking in English and I can't say I liked it.

 

Granted, I'm not an English speaker myself, so I don't know how good or bad it's supposed to be; I just know it didn't sound good to me, especially comparing it with her original voice.

 

(In any case, since English isn't my mother tongue, I have no reasons to play a Japanese game dubbed in a foreign language that's not Japanese).

[Dravus]

It's pretty standard for an MMO. WoW and GW2 boasted some brilliant and memorable bits of voice acting only to be dragged down somewhat by mediocre or outright awful voice work elsewhere. FFXIV is no different in that regard, though I've been pleasantly surprised. A special mention goes to Livia sas Junius since her voice is incredible, fearsome and very reminiscent of the Archadian Judges of FFXII.

[K'dath]

ohgod, I thought the voice acting is absolutely abyssal.

 

Square isn't legendary for having the best dubs (ohgodTidus), but at least they usually hire people who sound professional. I could google them and go "Oh, THAT's where I heard Mr. Frowns-a-Lot before." But this time... euhg. It's like they blew the voice acting fund on more writers to come up with the godawful puns for every quest and fate. 

 

Glad to see I'm not the only fellow who can always appreciate mister Emery's work though. By now he's really nailed that 'no nonsense elf' character he keeps getting cast as. He was certainly the best of the Scions, but his dialogue is sadly lacking (in my experience thusfar) apparently to leave room for more lines from my bane...

 

Thancred.

 

Looking at him, I was sure he would be an interesting character that I would surely like and would look up to fondly as my white-haired, smarmy dark horse. You just get a feel for these things after so many Square games. But then he opened his mouth... and every word that poured out made me just want to smack him across the face with my lexicon. And he never shuts up. The character ruffled my feathers enough as he was presented to me, but the voice acting really struck a chord... an annoying, hateful chord.

 

Then I looked him up, because I knew, somewhere before, I'd heard this voice. The other voices might make me cringe with their amateur-ish-ness, but something about Thancred just made me hate him... Apparently he shared a voice actor with Darion Morgraine of World of Warcraft. Who's another character I've wanted to slap every time I talked to him. For being 'High Lord' over hundreds/thousands of zombie murder machines powered by rage, he's a whiny bitch.

 

Of course that's just my opinion. I'm very dramatic when it comes to voice actors, with the same intensity high school girls fawn over celebrities, hahaha~

[Dravus]

I think a lot of people just have unrealistic standards when it comes to voice acting, especially since very few games - let alone MMO's - have managed to pull it off flawlessly.

[Tobias Nightbringer]

I wouldn't call it unrealistic any longer for console games, however.

 

Uncharted series

 

Assassin's Creed series

 

Dead Space series

 

Bioshock Infinite

 

and of course we should not forget The Last of Us.

 

Flawless? Maybe just the games in bold. Setting the bar for standards? Definitely.

 

Any aspiring voice over artist, myself included, strive to get to the skill of people like Troy Baker or Ashley Johnson. Unfortunately, I do agree that MMOs, for whatever reason, tend to be lower on the scale of VO acting in comparison to single player or even multiplayer (that is not on the MMO scale). So not sure if the ones that are less than par just have not refined their skills enough yet or they just do not care enough to bring quality to their work.

[K'dath]

I think a lot of people just have unrealistic standards when it comes to voice acting, especially since very few games - let alone MMO's - have managed to pull it off flawlessly.

 

Oh of course. It'd be silly to expect award winning performances from MMOs, games that traditionally don't even have tons of voice acting.

 

But, at the same time, it is Square Enix, which tends to budget in a b-list voice actors. I'm more or less judging it by the same standard as FFX or FFXII, than say WoW or GW2. And in comparison it just feels like instead of hiring voice actors, they grabbed some guys from the bus station and told them "Try really hard to sound really serious."

 

Like I said though, I acknowledge I am being dramatic. Read everything I say on the matter as hyperbole~

[Tobias Nightbringer]

Speaking of acting!

 

You can NOT get more epic than this. Straight brought tears of joy.

 

Uggh, that just reminds me I am going to need to learn how to sing too since that helps with range >.<

[Dravus]

The voice acting industry is pretty stagnant and has been for a long while. The same handful of successful voice actors tend to be employed and involved in quite a few major titles. It'd be the equivalent of having the same actress/actor starring in every other new movie that comes out.

 

I'd also love to see more obscure accents being exploited for voice work. In the UK alone there's literally dozens of different accents often within the same portion of the country. Yet the majority of voice work that comes out of the UK tends to be the dull stereotypical 'posh' accent that a lot of people are forced into adopting. I imagine similar scenarios may exist elsewhere.

[Tobias Nightbringer]

 

 

The voice acting industry is pretty stagnant and has been for a long while. The same handful of successful voice actors tend to be employed and involved in quite a few major titles. It'd be the equivalent of having the same actress/actor starring in every other new movie that comes out.

 

I'd also love to see more obscure accents being exploited for voice work. In the UK alone there's literally dozens of different accents often within the same portion of the country. Yet the majority of voice work that comes out of the UK tends to be the dull stereotypical 'posh' accent that a lot of people are forced into adopting. I imagine similar scenarios may exist elsewhere.

 

 

 

You can thank the SAG/AFTRA merger for that 'stagnation' so to speak. I agree though that 'break out' VAs that become "successful" have a slower rate of turning up than new successful actors/actresses on the silver screen.

 

However, anyone that is even thinking about trying to get anywhere in the entertainment industry, be it foley work, producer, actor, animator, etc, etc. all should be prepared how tight this field is to get into. Which falls into the the life lesson of, "Who you know is what gets you the job. What you know is what keeps it."

 

On the flip side, there are probably many VAs who are very obscure but no less 'successful' than we think.

 

But I digress! We can all agree the Dynasty Warrior franchise has the best VA EVAR

[K'dath]

The voice acting industry is pretty stagnant and has been for a long while. The same handful of successful voice actors tend to be employed and involved in quite a few major titles.

 

Oh, you mean like the period of about five years where Johnny Yong Bosch was every major protagonist on every anime dub? Those were some dark times. I mean I like the man, I've met him before and he's a genuinely nice guy, but hearing him five hours a night on my anime night was getting downright depressing.

 

I see where you're coming from though, and I don't disagree. I'm just saying there's a standard I think of with this company, and I don't get the feeling they were too discerning with the choice of VA's for this game. Given, it's a small amount of voice acting, and it hardly calls for busing in, say, Crispin Freeman.  But branching out to other talent shouldn't mean compromising quality.

 

A bit more 'constructive' look at what specifically has rubbed me the wrong way about FF14 is everyone is over acting so hard. It's like a soap opera. And they're all so loud.

 

What comes to mind prominently is Merlwyb. No matter what she is trying to express at any point in time, its sounds like she is thinking so hard about what she is saying and trying to sound the most dire one can make their voice. It comes out so over the top instead of serious she sounds comical, and it causes me to actually physically cringe, then lean over and turn off my speakers.

 

And with Kan-E-Senna she never changes tone... ever. Having normal conversation with adventuerer? Same tone. Giving a spirited memorial service? No inflection. Having a fucking meteor dropped on her head? Might as well be picky daises with how involved she sounds in what's going on. Then again, it's the same stuido that gave us true voice acting gems

 

It's a lot of hair splitting on my end, and I certainly don't mean to imply my personal tastes are the end-all be all of voice acting! I just think this isn't up to par for a Square production... and my standards are pretty low.

[DAISHI]

They're all terrible. I'm living in the post Half Life 2 era and this is still the best Square can give me.

 

Although, Yshtola isn't bad, her voice is just too deep for her character.

 

Actually I'm just in love with Yshtola. Can we Tron rez her out of the game and into reality??? :love::love::love:

 

The three city leaders aren't bad, but of the lot, the admiral is the best. Kan E Senna isn't bad but her take is lifeless, flat and dull. I fall asleep listening to her. The Flame General is amazingly over the top. Love it.

 

Yid, PAPALIMO or whatever his name is, those two are the worst. THE ABSOLUTE WORST, though, are the guys who don't get much voice time like Biggs and Wedge. Minfalia seems to be forcing it. I'm pretty sure she doesn't naturally have an accent.

[LiadansWhisper]

I think a lot of people just have unrealistic standards when it comes to voice acting, especially since very few games - let alone MMO's - have managed to pull it off flawlessly.

 

Nope.  Sorry.  Not agreeing with this.

 

I guess I've just been spoiled by WoW (which blows my mind).

 

Let's do some comparisons, shall we?  This is the voice of Lorewalker Cho, an integral character to the Mists of Pandaria expansion.  Tell me this isn't an amazing voice actor?

 

 

-D--GWwca0g

 

 

Here's Wratheon:

 

 

E73eOK5U0Y4

 

 

And here's the Siege of Orgrimmar Trailer:

 

 

slzQOyS5TqQ

 

 

It can be done.  And it can be done by WoW, which has never been known for its voice acting (they only started putting heavy voice acting in their latest expansion, whereas Square has been making voiced games for far longer).  So I just feel that Square didn't put in the effort that they should have with this game, sadly.

[Dravus]

As I mentioned earlier WoW's voice acting has been pretty hit and miss. Aside from relying far too heavily on Chris Metzen to voice important lore figures a lot of the female characters end up sounding like they're on the set of an adult movie. FFXIV's voice acting isn't terrible. There's some good stuff, such as Livia sas Junius whilst other characters are voiced in a mediocre manner. I'm sure it'll improve in the future, especially since it's effectively a brand new game at this point.