Why Do Most Fighting Games Have Japanese-Speaking Characters?

I mean, it seems like a common thing. Games like Street Fighter, Tekken, Virtua Fighter, and even Super Smash Bros. Melee! Is this one of thekeystonesof fighting games!?I wanna know why you think this is so.

I wouldn't want it any other way.

Have youplayed the localized Naruto and Bleach fighting games? They're absolutely horrible, atrocious, and aggrivating to the ears! Also, the King of Fighters Maximum Impact English voices were horrible, but they wisely added a Japanese voice option in KoF 2006, which sounded a hundred times better.

I'm not saying that English voices are inferior, it's just when it comes to fighting games, they usually hirethird-rate voice actors. I don't think they'll have Mark Madsen or Viggo Mortinsen doing voices for Guile. But in Japan, they're usually professional voice actors like the ones that do anime.

I wouldn't want it any other way.

Have youplayed the localized Naruto and Bleach fighting games? They're absolutely horrible, atrocious, and aggrivating to the ears! Also, the King of Fighters Maximum Impact English voices were horrible, but they wisely added a Japanese voice option in KoF 2006, which sounded a hundred times better.

I'm not saying that English voices are inferior, it's just when it comes to fighting games, they usually hirethird-rate voice actors. I don't think they'll have Mark Madsen or Viggo Mortinsen doing voices for Guile. But in Japan, they're usually professional voice actors like the ones that do anime.

ASK_Story

Yes, you are. There are American professional voice actors that have been around a long time doing voice work since I was in diapers. Dan Woren, Peter Cullen, and Cam Clarke just to name a few. They've mostly done voice acting and nothing else. We don't need a Tom Cruise or Jerry Seinfeld behind any animated character.

[QUOTE="ASK_Story"]

I wouldn't want it any other way.

Have youplayed the localized Naruto and Bleach fighting games? They're absolutely horrible, atrocious, and aggrivating to the ears! Also, the King of Fighters Maximum Impact English voices were horrible, but they wisely added a Japanese voice option in KoF 2006, which sounded a hundred times better.

I'm not saying that English voices are inferior, it's just when it comes to fighting games, they usually hirethird-rate voice actors. I don't think they'll have Mark Madsen or Viggo Mortinsen doing voices for Guile. But in Japan, they're usually professional voice actors like the ones that do anime.

majadamus

Yes, you are. There are American professional voice actors that have been around a long time doing voice work since I was in diapers. Dan Woren, Peter Cullen, and Cam Clarke just to name a few. They've mostly voice acting and nothing else. We don't need a Tom Cruise or Jerry Seinfeld behind any animated character.

I'm talking about fighting games. Compared to their Japanese counterparts, it doesn't sound as well, especially Naruto and other anime games.

Especially the Naruto voices, absolutely horrible. And I'm not the only one who thinks this.

[QUOTE="majadamus"][QUOTE="ASK_Story"]

I wouldn't want it any other way.

Have youplayed the localized Naruto and Bleach fighting games? They're absolutely horrible, atrocious, and aggrivating to the ears! Also, the King of Fighters Maximum Impact English voices were horrible, but they wisely added a Japanese voice option in KoF 2006, which sounded a hundred times better.

I'm not saying that English voices are inferior, it's just when it comes to fighting games, they usually hirethird-rate voice actors. I don't think they'll have Mark Madsen or Viggo Mortinsen doing voices for Guile. But in Japan, they're usually professional voice actors like the ones that do anime.

ASK_Story

Yes, you are. There are American professional voice actors that have been around a long time doing voice work since I was in diapers. Dan Woren, Peter Cullen, and Cam Clarke just to name a few. They've mostly voice acting and nothing else. We don't need a Tom Cruise or Jerry Seinfeld behind any animated character.

I'm talking about fighting games. Compared to their Japanese counterparts, it doesn't sound as well, especially Naruto and other anime games.

Especially the Naruto voices, absolutely horrible. And I'm not the only one who thinks this.

Ya, I know who those type of people are that agree with you. There are names for them, but I'm not going to say in fear of moderation. I also had other things to say, but I'll refrain from that as well.

[QUOTE="ASK_Story"][QUOTE="majadamus"][QUOTE="ASK_Story"]

I wouldn't want it any other way.

Have youplayed the localized Naruto and Bleach fighting games? They're absolutely horrible, atrocious, and aggrivating to the ears! Also, the King of Fighters Maximum Impact English voices were horrible, but they wisely added a Japanese voice option in KoF 2006, which sounded a hundred times better.

I'm not saying that English voices are inferior, it's just when it comes to fighting games, they usually hirethird-rate voice actors. I don't think they'll have Mark Madsen or Viggo Mortinsen doing voices for Guile. But in Japan, they're usually professional voice actors like the ones that do anime.

majadamus

Yes, you are. There are American professional voice actors that have been around a long time doing voice work since I was in diapers. Dan Woren, Peter Cullen, and Cam Clarke just to name a few. They've mostly voice acting and nothing else. We don't need a Tom Cruise or Jerry Seinfeld behind any animated character.

I'm talking about fighting games. Compared to their Japanese counterparts, it doesn't sound as well, especially Naruto and other anime games.

Especially the Naruto voices, absolutely horrible. And I'm not the only one who thinks this.

Ya, I know who those type of people are that agree with you. There are names for them, but I'm not going to say in fear of moderation. I also had other things to say, but I'll refrain from that as well.

Last time I checked, "purist" was not a profanity. Or a flame for that matter.

In fact, it can be quite an admirable term in many instances.

And honestly, I don't see the problem with preferring good Japanese voices to bad English ones, provided that it comes with the understanding that there's such a thing as good English voice work.

Of course, what constitutes that is completely open for debate. I had an interesting talk with Michael Dobson (veteran English VA) earlier this year on that very subject.

[QUOTE="majadamus"][QUOTE="ASK_Story"]

I'm talking about fighting games. Compared to their Japanese counterparts, it doesn't sound as well, especially Naruto and other anime games.

Especially the Naruto voices, absolutely horrible. And I'm not the only one who thinks this.DarkCatalyst

Ya, I know who those type of people are that agree with you. There are names for them, but I'm not going to say in fear of moderation. I also had other things to say, but I'll refrain from that as well.

Last time I checked, "purist" was not a profanity. Or a flame for that matter.

In fact, it can be quite an admirable term in many instances.

And honestly, I don't see the problem with preferring good Japanese voices to bad English ones, provided that it comes with the understanding that there's such a thing as good English voice work.

Of course, what constitutes that is completely open for debate. I had an interesting talk with Michael Dobson (veteran English VA) earlier this year on that very subject.

[QUOTE="ASK_Story"][QUOTE="majadamus"][QUOTE="ASK_Story"]

I wouldn't want it any other way.

Have youplayed the localized Naruto and Bleach fighting games? They're absolutely horrible, atrocious, and aggrivating to the ears! Also, the King of Fighters Maximum Impact English voices were horrible, but they wisely added a Japanese voice option in KoF 2006, which sounded a hundred times better.

I'm not saying that English voices are inferior, it's just when it comes to fighting games, they usually hirethird-rate voice actors. I don't think they'll have Mark Madsen or Viggo Mortinsen doing voices for Guile. But in Japan, they're usually professional voice actors like the ones that do anime.

majadamus

Yes, you are. There are American professional voice actors that have been around a long time doing voice work since I was in diapers. Dan Woren, Peter Cullen, and Cam Clarke just to name a few. They've mostly voice acting and nothing else. We don't need a Tom Cruise or Jerry Seinfeld behind any animated character.

I'm talking about fighting games. Compared to their Japanese counterparts, it doesn't sound as well, especially Naruto and other anime games.

Especially the Naruto voices, absolutely horrible. And I'm not the only one who thinks this.

Ya, I know who those type of people are that agree with you. There are names for them, but I'm not going to say in fear of moderation. I also had other things to say, but I'll refrain from that as well.

It's my opinion on thisview. You don't have to go on the attack here. And I don't think I said anything wrong or offensive.

By the way,I thought the English voice work for FFXII was extremely well done.So was Kingdom Hearts.I also like the voice overs forFPSs like Half Life 2, Halo, and adventure games like Dreamfall, especially Zoe's voice. I also thought Dragon Quest VIII had very good voice overs whichI loved playing because of it. And did you know the Japanese version of DQVIII had no voices?

But in contrast, the voice work for Shining Force Neo, Baten Kaitos, or Suikoden IV was absolutely bothersome to the ears. Why is this? Do you even remember the voices for the very first Resident Evil on the PS1? Because the titles I mentioned above hired good voice workers on big title games, whereas games like Shining Force Neo or Baten Kaitos won't have the same quality because of the smaller market, lower budget, etc. And the same goes for fighting games in many ways. They sound more like Shining Force Neo than FFXII. THink of it like the talent level in a Paul WS Anderson film compared to the talent level in a PaulThomas Anderson film with Daniel Day Lewis. Or better yet, it's like Aliens with James Cameron vs AVP with Paul WS Anderson.

But like I said, I'm talking about fighting games.Like whenyou pull off a special move and the character startsspitting out crazy names, it doesn't sound good when it's done in English. And some of the victory chants don't sound as well.

The Naruto game I mentioned uses the actors from the anime in Japan that's why they sound so good. But the English version sounds like a Saturday morning cartoon which Naruto gibberish doesn't translate too well in English. So what's wrong with preferring the original over the dubbed? Have you seen badly dubbed anime? It's horrible. But there are some very good dubbed anime I prefer in English like Princess Mononoke, Laputa, Kiki's Delivery Service, and Spirited Awayfor example, mostly because of the Hollywood and Disney backing. I also prefer the American version of Robotech over the Japanese, along with the music as well.

So do you still think I said anything wrong on my original post about fighting games and their voice overs?

I think one thing that makes English Naruto so thoroughly terrible is that they do have a few good voice actors on the cast, and that plays even more against it. You've got these professionals like Steve Blum (Zabuza, also Ulquiorra in Bleach) and Yuri Lowenthal (Sasuke, also Asano in Bleach) in there, it just makes it all the more jarring when you jump from the VAs who know what they're doing to the ones who clearly don't.

Especially with the high concentration of the ones who don't.

I think one thing that makes English Naruto so thoroughly terrible is that they do have a few good voice actors on the cast, and that plays even more against it. You've got these professionals like Steve Blum (Zabuza, also Ulquiorra in Bleach) and Yuri Lowenthal (Sasuke, also Asano in Bleach) in there, it just makes it all the more jarring when you jump from the VAs who know what they're doing to the ones who clearly don't.

Especially with the high concentration of the ones who don't.

DarkCatalyst

Honestly, I think it's just Naruto's voice that irritates me. The actor that does Naruto's voice in Japan is awesome and it matches well. And after hearing that for so long, the English version is unbearable.

So yeah, it's really just Naruto's voice, and some others like Kakashi's voice. But eveyrthing I really don't mind.

[QUOTE="DarkCatalyst"]I think one thing that makes English Naruto so thoroughly terrible is that they do have a few good voice actors on the cast, and that plays even more against it. You've got these professionals like Steve Blum (Zabuza, also Ulquiorra in Bleach) and Yuri Lowenthal (Sasuke, also Asano in Bleach) in there, it just makes it all the more jarring when you jump from the VAs who know what they're doing to the ones who clearly don't.

Especially with the high concentration of the ones who don't.ASK_Story

Honestly, I think it's just Naruto's voice that irritates me. The actor that does Naruto's voice in Japan is awesome and it matches well. And after hearing that for so long, the English version is unbearable.

So yeah, it's really just Naruto's voice, and some others like Kakashi's voice. But eveyrthing I really don't mind.

That brings up an interesting question, and the main point of my discussion with Michael Dobson a few months ago.

How do you define a successful dub? Does the English VA have to match the Japanese seiyuu, or just the character? In other words, do you feel a dub can be good even if there is inconsistency between the English and Japanese voices, provided justice is done to the character in question?

Do you even remember the voices for the very first Resident Evil on the PS1?ASK_Story

[QUOTE="majadamus"][QUOTE="ASK_Story"][QUOTE="majadamus"][QUOTE="ASK_Story"]

I wouldn't want it any other way.

Have youplayed the localized Naruto and Bleach fighting games? They're absolutely horrible, atrocious, and aggrivating to the ears! Also, the King of Fighters Maximum Impact English voices were horrible, but they wisely added a Japanese voice option in KoF 2006, which sounded a hundred times better.

I'm not saying that English voices are inferior, it's just when it comes to fighting games, they usually hirethird-rate voice actors. I don't think they'll have Mark Madsen or Viggo Mortinsen doing voices for Guile. But in Japan, they're usually professional voice actors like the ones that do anime.

DarkCatalyst

Yes, you are. There are American professional voice actors that have been around a long time doing voice work since I was in diapers. Dan Woren, Peter Cullen, and Cam Clarke just to name a few. They've mostly voice acting and nothing else. We don't need a Tom Cruise or Jerry Seinfeld behind any animated character.

I'm talking about fighting games. Compared to their Japanese counterparts, it doesn't sound as well, especially Naruto and other anime games.

Especially the Naruto voices, absolutely horrible. And I'm not the only one who thinks this.

Ya, I know who those type of people are that agree with you. There are names for them, but I'm not going to say in fear of moderation. I also had other things to say, but I'll refrain from that as well.

Last time I checked, "purist" was not a profanity. Or a flame for that matter.

In fact, it can be quite an admirable term in many instances.

And honestly, I don't see the problem with preferring good Japanese voices to bad English ones, provided that it comes with the understanding that there's such a thing as good English voice work.

Of course, what constitutes that is completely open for debate. I had an interesting talk with Michael Dobson (veteran English VA) earlier this year on that very subject.

But why not good japanese voice actors vs good english voice actors. If they actually sprung the money for some good ones, everybody would be happy.

If you are not gonna put it in english subtitles would be nice.

Tekken does it very good actually. (English voices I mean). I still don't understand how the characters talk to eachother using diferent languages, though.

[QUOTE="ASK_Story"][QUOTE="DarkCatalyst"]I think one thing that makes English Naruto so thoroughly terrible is that they do have a few good voice actors on the cast, and that plays even more against it. You've got these professionals like Steve Blum (Zabuza, also Ulquiorra in Bleach) and Yuri Lowenthal (Sasuke, also Asano in Bleach) in there, it just makes it all the more jarring when you jump from the VAs who know what they're doing to the ones who clearly don't.

Especially with the high concentration of the ones who don't.DarkCatalyst

Honestly, I think it's just Naruto's voice that irritates me. The actor that does Naruto's voice in Japan is awesome and it matches well. And after hearing that for so long, the English version is unbearable.

So yeah, it's really just Naruto's voice, and some others like Kakashi's voice. But eveyrthing I really don't mind.

That brings up an interesting question, and the main point of my discussion with Michael Dobson a few months ago.

How do you define a successful dub? Does the English VA have to match the Japanese seiyuu, or just the character? In other words, do you feel a dub can be good even if there is inconsistency between the English and Japanese voices, provided justice is done to the character in question?

I'm sure every actor/actress has to bring their own strength to the table. And although they shouldn't try to copy the other, they should still try to bring the likeness, qualities, and characteristics of the original but make it their own. But there are special cases, I think,where a character is so special and unique, or iconic that when a certain actor/voice makes the character their own, than no one else, no matter how gifted, can do it the same.

It depends on, IMO, the character itself, the talent of the perfomer, AND the magic of casting.

For example, when a character is just ordinary and nothing really special about them, sometimes the English voices turn out better. For example, I thought the girl's voice in Spirited Away was better than the original Japanese version. The Japanese girl who did Chihiro's voice was very mellow and low key. She had no charisma and as a little child character, she wasn't very likeable. But the English voice was very likeable because her innocence and charm came through the screen. In this case, abrighter child actor and a better voice matched with the character better. Of course I'm saying this as one who doesn't speak Japanese, but that's how it seemed to me. But that's the thing, Chihiro's character wasn't anything special. She was just an ordinary girl like Miyazaki says she was to relate to other 10 year old girls, so I think any good child actor can do this well.

On Naruto on the other hand, he's a more special character that isunique so he has to have that certain voice/actor that brings his character and personality out the best. I think in this case, the better and more talented actor is the Japanese voice actor for the character. He has more charisma to the acting and his voice just sounds perfect with the Naruto character. More whimsical, more humorous and funny when Naruto pranks around. Also, whenever Naruto turns into his evil personality, the Japanese voice actor brings more impact to it. The English voice actor for Naruto is lacking these things. He sounds monotone in his voice. I think his husky like voice can fit well, but it's the other things that doesn't have the same impact as the Japanese voice-actor brings to the character. The Japanese Naruto has more energy and this energy works well with the character's ambition and his naive persona. I never felt the same energy from the English version.

It's hard to answer your question but I think these examples I wrote kind of shows why some dubs just come out better. It's not really about inconsistency to a character that gets lost in the translation, I think it's really boils down to how talented the voice actor/actress is, and the magic of casting. It's like the Genie in Aladdin. When Robin Williams does it, it sounds incredible. But when the made for TV movies for Aladdin came out or the animated series on the Disney channel, the other guy who does the Genie didn't feel the same. He sounds similar, he has the same energy and wildness, but it's obviously no Robin Williams. Another perfect example is Jack Sparrow's character. When another voice other than Johnny Depp didthe voices in Kingdom Hearts II, obviously it wasn't the same.

I think that's how I see voice talent even with games or anime. Some actors, in this case with Naruto, just is more talented and matches better with the character. It's that Genie magic that only Robin Williams brings to the character, so-to-speak, same with Peter Cullen and Optimus Prime. Imagine if someone else did the Optimus Prime's voice for the movie. It wouldn't be Transformers anymore.

And I guess that's how I see Naruto.

[QUOTE="ASK_Story"]Do you even remember the voices for the very first Resident Evil on the PS1?Skylock00

Oops. Sorry. That is a bad example. Thanks for pointing that out and correcting that.

But regardless...they were still bad. :P

I mean, it seems like a common thing. Games like Street Fighter, Tekken, Virtua Fighter, and even Super Smash Bros. Melee! Is this one of thekeystonesof fighting games!?I wanna know why you think this is so.

springBOOB

Because most fighting games are released in Japan. Therefore, you'll see a LOT of Japanese speaking characters.

Because all good fighting games are Japanese-developed, with some Korean (a lot of SNK stuff, which is still Japanese-produced) exceptions and one American (UMK3) exception.DarkCatalyst

Yep

I don't know, Tekken has a veriety of languages in it, last I checked. English and Japanese being the main ones, but still, English is in there.

I guess you could pair the situation with movies and other mediums of media that go through regions of language. I don't mind the words granted they sound natural. I wouldn't want to here some guy of Japanese origin speaking English if he had little history of learning it.

I like the way Tekken is going.

Instead of speaking the same language, Hwoarang speaks in Korean and Jin in Japanese. They understand what they're saying, yet continue with their tongue of choice.

Diversity is cool, but if push comes to shove, I'd rather hear the Japanese audio of Ryu Hayabusa voice over his English. I'm again--not saying the English dub is bad, I just think the japanese voicing is much more genuine whether it be him speaking or yelling a certain way with an attack in particular.

It seems more real to me.

It'd be cool to hear a bunch of different tongues being spoken to each other without translation besides the subtitles, though. That'd be great. Like "the normal tongue" and "Al Bhed" in FFX's Spira.