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Final Fantasy IV (or, II, as I will always remember it on the SNES) is one of my favorite games of all time. I was excited about the DS remake, but a little nervous as I didn’t want the fancy new polygonal graphics to take away from the original’s charm.
After watching the above English language trailer, however, I am now losing my mind with excitement. I have to play this game right now.
It has been a long while since I have experienced this otherworldly feeling of unbridled joy and wonder. Hearing Cecil, Kain, and Rosa speak for the first time over that beautiful, classic music just gave me chills. Even though it was for only a minute, I felt like a kid again.
Please be nice in the comments about the voice acting. It may not be the best, but let me bask in this warm, wonderful light of nostalgia just a little bit longer.
I dig the look and sound of it. You could say he sounds generic enough, but considering the material, I think that flies. The 3D/ texturing doesn't knock my socks off, but the blocking and camera positioning looks especially righteous.
Definitely feels like enough to get me to buy a new version of this game. Though I don't have enough time to play it anymore.
What, you people LIKE that? Boo on the voices! Kain sounds okay, but the rest of them sound terrible. They should have kept the japanese voices. I am of the opinion that things voice acting should stay in its original language. If it was originally written by french people, keep it in french and use subtitles. I can read thanks.
Thanks alot Square Enix for ruining another childhood memory.
I don't have a problem with Cecil's voice, and Kain sounds badass. It's weird however hearing his name pronounced 'Seh-Sull' since in my head it's always been 'SEE-Sull'
@naia,
I know when I go and watch this again later I am most likely going to feel the same way as you (don't fix what ain't broke!), but I truly just had a retrogasm when I heard the music and saw the sequence with Cecil becoming a paladin.
But you're right: the voice acting is a little "What makes a man?!"-esque.
The only thing that bugs me about this is Cecil has always been a very mature and grown up character in my minds eye. This game's graphics and voice acting make him look like a child to me. =\
I hate FF4.
I hate FF remakes.
I really want this game.
I mean, the cutscenes? We haven't seen ingame cutscenes on the DS like that before. The camera's all dynamic and stuff. Awesome.
And the english voices are fine. If you've got a beef with them, the game is already out in Japan. Learn the language and leave us lazy English people alone.
I'm sure it'll be fun (it WAS one of the best), but this type of remake isn't my cup of tea. I know it's just a step up from the deformed little sprites from the SNES days, but I always liked thinking of the characters looking like the original Amano Yoshitaka illustrations and that the sprites were just placeholders. Fleshing out the sprites into super-deformed characters just eliminates another layer of immersion and imagination for me.
Now if they were to remake FFVI in a more realistic, Amano-esque style, I'd probably wet myself. Anything short of that would probably just further taint the masterpiece that was FFVI (I'm looking at you, FF Anthology and FFVI Advanced).
Maybe I suck, but I usually don't have a problem with most voice acting. Not to get into it with anyone in particular or proving any points. Just noticing that I rarely have a problem with voice acting that most people find hokey/cliche/bland. Was there a voice acting quality class that I missed?
Cecil's voice could sound a bit older, but it was good. Kain's voice is great though. Also like Tubatic I don't usually have a problem with voice acting. As long as I can understand it's alright. No offense to Naia, but most of us don't want to hear moonspeak in our games. We actually like to follow whats going on.
So. I have never played Final Fantasy IV (long story, has to do with Final Fantasy V boring me to death). Do you think I ought to get this when it comes out, or experience the "true" version? I mean, I guess you probably can't answer until you play this, but what do you expect?
Dexter, IMO you should just play the remake. The original is awesome but unless you really love sprites I see no reason to play through it when this is on the horizon.
Yeah, boo to people that say that all the voices should stay Japanese. Sure, subtitles are great when you don't have an option otherwise, but English all the way, baby. If I want to read, I'll pick up my favorite Clifford book. Yay for anime voice-actors who need work!
I shit my pants when Cecil opened his mouth and the Prince began to talk.
And all this talk of using original voice actors? Fuck that. I can have an opinion too, and my opinion is that you're wrong. So you can read, yeah, good for you. I can take a shit too, doesn't mean I want to do that all day long when I could be playing a video game.
If you love Japanese culture so much, learn to read goddamn Japanese, then you can play your precious JRPGs in their original language with their original voice acting and then have eye surgery to make yourself look Japanese except you never will be Japanese and Japanese people will never love you because they are, for the most part, the most xenophobic people on the planet.
And am I the only person on the planet who finds the squeaking nasal voices Japanese women use to sound childish so that their loli-loving men will have sex with them annoying?
I have to go to work now, and that makes me even more cranky! CRANK!
I also have said it "see-sul" and I think that's how the original katakana is. Ah well. :)
Voice acting sounds good, not bad, not amazing, but not bad.
FFIV is one of my top 10 games evar, and I am not an FF fan.
I have played the Japanese DS version, and it's ok, but really can't replace the SNES original. The music is a really, really bad imitation of the SNES chip, and the battles, while quick by today's standards, are too long and flashy for me. I say play the original if you haven't yet - but use a fan translation of FFIV instead of the goofy US FF2.
I fully expected to not have a Japanese voice option (it's only a DS cart), and I also expected to hate the voices. But, so far, it's not bad at all. I dunno what people were expecting. Japanese voice actors are the most melodramatic of all, btw. That becomes very clear when you understand the language, and this is from a die-hard anime fan (subs only, plzkthx).
No, you're definitely not the only person who thinks that. I think people think they're, um... l33t or something when they play their games in Japanese. 'Oooh, look, I can read! Hai!' Get an import! I don't care how bad the voices are, leave those dirty fingers off my English dubs.
I have to admit I'm a bit surprised by the sheer amount of vitriol over voice acting. No real discussion, just a lot of back-and-forth taunting.
I'm all for English voice-overs in videogames but my experience has been that SKILLED English voice actors are not as common as their Japanese counterparts. Don't misread that! There are many excellent English voice actors out there (the Half-Life series being a perfect example), it just seems to me that there aren't nearly as many as in Japan. This may be due to a greater general appreciation of the craft overseas (they are (usually) quite organized and polished) or something as simple as poor direction in the sound studio.
I speak both Japanese and English and when I hear many of these English voice-overs, there is something lacking in the performer's delivery that makes it difficult to buy into the overall experience. Too often many voice actors opt for the over-the-top approach while others are stiff and lifeless as a brick wall. On rare occasion, this problem will only be present for a portion of the game, but more often than not it's a problem that remains ever-present and makes it difficult to really enjoy the story to its fullest.
As videogames become more and more of a cinematic experience and character models become more and more detailed (not always "realistic," but "detailed"), I think many people are naturally coming to expect better performances from the cast of the story. Granted, videogames span a vast number of genres, but when it's so uncommon for English voice actors to rise above the cheesy and cliched performances and deliver a dramatic performance when necessary, it's hard not to get a little pessimistic.
Japan has their own problems. English voice actors seem to have a wider variety of characters to work with while Japanese games seem more content to use cookie-cutter characters on a more frequent basis (see Square-Enix games of the past decade). There are also a number of cliched performances that go hand-in-hand with these cookie-cutter characters and the Japanese voice actors seem content to oblige. For example, if you've ever seen a Japanese gang member in any media, you've seen just about all of them.
Not all of this is the fault of the voice actors, either. Those in charge of the script and storyline are often just as deserving of criticism when mediocre performances roll in. You could take the entire voice acting cast of the Half-Life games and have them dub the original Resident Evil and you'd still end up with unmitigated shit. Didn't we just have a video that had one of the most cliched voice-overs in recent memory? I think it was the new Prince of Persia trailer (which LOOKED great).
Anyway, I've strayed a bit off topic. I'll take a good English dub over Japanese dialogue with subtitles ALMOST every time. The problem is that English voice actors as a whole have yet to hone their craft to the point where they can more consistently turn out quality performances. They're very disjointed and unorganized compared to their Japanese counterparts and I feel that those characteristics can only hinder their overall progress. We are beginning to see some recent positive changes such as the voice actors from GTA IV asking for more recognition for their work. It's not the best possible way to go about the change, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.
I'd be interested to hear what other people think about the situation. I'm not going to be around that often to reply, but different perspectives are always helpful.
I don't really care whether the voices are in English or Japanese. . . and I'm IN LOVE with the Japanese . . . I just wanna play!!!! I actually made a pouting sounds when watching the trailer *.*
Cecil doesn't sound tough enough, I know he looks all girly and shit as the Paladin, but come on, I always imagined him to have the voice of a hunk. I'm disappointed.
Kain sounds awesome though.
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21 comments + 95764 views
Aaaaaand Cecil sounds exactly like every other JRPG hero.
AAAAAAAARRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!
the epicness is breaking through my pessimistic defenses.
Ooooh, that was a pretty cool trailer.
And Jim, I thought he sounded more like one of those anime voice actors I hear all the time but can never place what shows I heard them in.
Is that Vash the Stampede?
CHADdiction!
The FMV's look cool, but am I the only one who thinks the cartoonish sequences look dumb? I think I'd rather play the old version.
And I agree with Jimcakes.
Excitement, I has it.
Also, nostalgia.
Connection? Yes.
Cecil's voice actor is apparently also the voice actor from the Prince of Persia. As well as like... a million other characters.
I dig the look and sound of it. You could say he sounds generic enough, but considering the material, I think that flies. The 3D/ texturing doesn't knock my socks off, but the blocking and camera positioning looks especially righteous.
Definitely feels like enough to get me to buy a new version of this game. Though I don't have enough time to play it anymore.
Voice acting sucks giant, melodramatic cawk. Nice enough? Cecil's voice doesn't sound so bad, though he betrays a bit too much in explication.
@GrayFox
Well, at least they aren't taking a mad leap towards manthongs like all the other FFs.
FF 4 is and will always be my favorite Final Fantasy. FuSoYaa for the motherfucking win.
What, you people LIKE that? Boo on the voices! Kain sounds okay, but the rest of them sound terrible. They should have kept the japanese voices. I am of the opinion that things voice acting should stay in its original language. If it was originally written by french people, keep it in french and use subtitles. I can read thanks.
Thanks alot Square Enix for ruining another childhood memory.
:(
Cecil sounds like that creepy guy in your neighborhood parked in a van under the bridge who has yummy treats for you and your friends.
I don't have a problem with Cecil's voice, and Kain sounds badass. It's weird however hearing his name pronounced 'Seh-Sull' since in my head it's always been 'SEE-Sull'
@naia,
I know when I go and watch this again later I am most likely going to feel the same way as you (don't fix what ain't broke!), but I truly just had a retrogasm when I heard the music and saw the sequence with Cecil becoming a paladin.
But you're right: the voice acting is a little "What makes a man?!"-esque.
Let's just enjoy the nostalgia for now. :) :) :)
A great classic of an RPG, but, yeesh, that voice acting is not so good.
@GrayFox
The 3D graphics don't look so great. Sprites would be better because sprites are timeless and 3D graphics just don't age well.
Zen, I pronounce it that way too. Oh well.
The only thing that bugs me about this is Cecil has always been a very mature and grown up character in my minds eye. This game's graphics and voice acting make him look like a child to me. =\
I hate FF4.
I hate FF remakes.
I really want this game.
I mean, the cutscenes? We haven't seen ingame cutscenes on the DS like that before. The camera's all dynamic and stuff. Awesome.
And the english voices are fine. If you've got a beef with them, the game is already out in Japan. Learn the language and leave us lazy English people alone.
I'm sure it'll be fun (it WAS one of the best), but this type of remake isn't my cup of tea. I know it's just a step up from the deformed little sprites from the SNES days, but I always liked thinking of the characters looking like the original Amano Yoshitaka illustrations and that the sprites were just placeholders. Fleshing out the sprites into super-deformed characters just eliminates another layer of immersion and imagination for me.
Now if they were to remake FFVI in a more realistic, Amano-esque style, I'd probably wet myself. Anything short of that would probably just further taint the masterpiece that was FFVI (I'm looking at you, FF Anthology and FFVI Advanced).
Maybe I suck, but I usually don't have a problem with most voice acting. Not to get into it with anyone in particular or proving any points. Just noticing that I rarely have a problem with voice acting that most people find hokey/cliche/bland. Was there a voice acting quality class that I missed?
Damn public schools . . .
Loved it!!! Although the music reminded me a bit of the intro to one of the stages in Ikaruga. But thats a good thing anyway.
Cecil's voice could sound a bit older, but it was good. Kain's voice is great though. Also like Tubatic I don't usually have a problem with voice acting. As long as I can understand it's alright. No offense to Naia, but most of us don't want to hear moonspeak in our games. We actually like to follow whats going on.
@Arugala9
Ironically, it would be rather appropriate for this game in particular to have moonspeak in it.
So. I have never played Final Fantasy IV (long story, has to do with Final Fantasy V boring me to death). Do you think I ought to get this when it comes out, or experience the "true" version? I mean, I guess you probably can't answer until you play this, but what do you expect?
Voice acting on a DS game? AMAAAAZZZIIINNGGG
All you bitchers need to stop bitching. Bitches.
Dexter, IMO you should just play the remake. The original is awesome but unless you really love sprites I see no reason to play through it when this is on the horizon.
Yeah, boo to people that say that all the voices should stay Japanese. Sure, subtitles are great when you don't have an option otherwise, but English all the way, baby. If I want to read, I'll pick up my favorite Clifford book. Yay for anime voice-actors who need work!
Naturally Jim, didn't you know there are only five voice actors in the entire country here?
The voice actor for Cecil is Yuri Lowenthal
Heres a list of all the stuff he has done http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Lowenthal
@Zen & Daed: I too pronounce it See-sul. It just sounds too fucking weird the way they're saying it.
AMAAAAAAAAAZING!
kain sounds terrible :*(
I HOPE YOU CAN PUT JAPANESE VOICES WITH ENGLISH SUBS!!!!!!!!! PLZZZZZ
I shit my pants when Cecil opened his mouth and the Prince began to talk.
And all this talk of using original voice actors? Fuck that. I can have an opinion too, and my opinion is that you're wrong. So you can read, yeah, good for you. I can take a shit too, doesn't mean I want to do that all day long when I could be playing a video game.
If you love Japanese culture so much, learn to read goddamn Japanese, then you can play your precious JRPGs in their original language with their original voice acting and then have eye surgery to make yourself look Japanese except you never will be Japanese and Japanese people will never love you because they are, for the most part, the most xenophobic people on the planet.
And am I the only person on the planet who finds the squeaking nasal voices Japanese women use to sound childish so that their loli-loving men will have sex with them annoying?
I have to go to work now, and that makes me even more cranky! CRANK!
I also have said it "see-sul" and I think that's how the original katakana is. Ah well. :)
Voice acting sounds good, not bad, not amazing, but not bad.
FFIV is one of my top 10 games evar, and I am not an FF fan.
I have played the Japanese DS version, and it's ok, but really can't replace the SNES original. The music is a really, really bad imitation of the SNES chip, and the battles, while quick by today's standards, are too long and flashy for me. I say play the original if you haven't yet - but use a fan translation of FFIV instead of the goofy US FF2.
/rant
I fully expected to not have a Japanese voice option (it's only a DS cart), and I also expected to hate the voices. But, so far, it's not bad at all. I dunno what people were expecting. Japanese voice actors are the most melodramatic of all, btw. That becomes very clear when you understand the language, and this is from a die-hard anime fan (subs only, plzkthx).
Now let's stop whining and go play something.
@RJG
No, you're definitely not the only person who thinks that. I think people think they're, um... l33t or something when they play their games in Japanese. 'Oooh, look, I can read! Hai!' Get an import! I don't care how bad the voices are, leave those dirty fingers off my English dubs.
Holy fuck I'm SO in.
RJG fuckin' nailed it on the head. The game already has Japanese voice actors. In Japan. Learn the language if you can't stand english :P
The VO who does Cecil is apparently Sasuke Uchiha.
Also, I always thought it was See-Suhl.
I want to finger-bang that game so hard.
I have to admit I'm a bit surprised by the sheer amount of vitriol over voice acting. No real discussion, just a lot of back-and-forth taunting.
I'm all for English voice-overs in videogames but my experience has been that SKILLED English voice actors are not as common as their Japanese counterparts. Don't misread that! There are many excellent English voice actors out there (the Half-Life series being a perfect example), it just seems to me that there aren't nearly as many as in Japan. This may be due to a greater general appreciation of the craft overseas (they are (usually) quite organized and polished) or something as simple as poor direction in the sound studio.
I speak both Japanese and English and when I hear many of these English voice-overs, there is something lacking in the performer's delivery that makes it difficult to buy into the overall experience. Too often many voice actors opt for the over-the-top approach while others are stiff and lifeless as a brick wall. On rare occasion, this problem will only be present for a portion of the game, but more often than not it's a problem that remains ever-present and makes it difficult to really enjoy the story to its fullest.
As videogames become more and more of a cinematic experience and character models become more and more detailed (not always "realistic," but "detailed"), I think many people are naturally coming to expect better performances from the cast of the story. Granted, videogames span a vast number of genres, but when it's so uncommon for English voice actors to rise above the cheesy and cliched performances and deliver a dramatic performance when necessary, it's hard not to get a little pessimistic.
Japan has their own problems. English voice actors seem to have a wider variety of characters to work with while Japanese games seem more content to use cookie-cutter characters on a more frequent basis (see Square-Enix games of the past decade). There are also a number of cliched performances that go hand-in-hand with these cookie-cutter characters and the Japanese voice actors seem content to oblige. For example, if you've ever seen a Japanese gang member in any media, you've seen just about all of them.
Not all of this is the fault of the voice actors, either. Those in charge of the script and storyline are often just as deserving of criticism when mediocre performances roll in. You could take the entire voice acting cast of the Half-Life games and have them dub the original Resident Evil and you'd still end up with unmitigated shit. Didn't we just have a video that had one of the most cliched voice-overs in recent memory? I think it was the new Prince of Persia trailer (which LOOKED great).
Anyway, I've strayed a bit off topic. I'll take a good English dub over Japanese dialogue with subtitles ALMOST every time. The problem is that English voice actors as a whole have yet to hone their craft to the point where they can more consistently turn out quality performances. They're very disjointed and unorganized compared to their Japanese counterparts and I feel that those characteristics can only hinder their overall progress. We are beginning to see some recent positive changes such as the voice actors from GTA IV asking for more recognition for their work. It's not the best possible way to go about the change, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.
I'd be interested to hear what other people think about the situation. I'm not going to be around that often to reply, but different perspectives are always helpful.
i never played IV, but I'm playing through VI advance atm, the story looks interesting in this FF :).
I don't really care whether the voices are in English or Japanese. . . and I'm IN LOVE with the Japanese . . . I just wanna play!!!! I actually made a pouting sounds when watching the trailer *.*
I don't care what anyone says; I haven't gotten goosebumps from a trailer in a long time. That was awesome.
Maybe it's because I've been playing the .hack//G.U. games lately, but Cecil really sounds like Haseo. (Yuri Lowenthal)
I don't like the voices or in-game character looks (wtf @ the twins), so it's a good thing I don't have a DS.
I do, however, spooge at the cutscene graphics. Is that the final party facing Golbez and the four fiends? GOOOOOO
@welkstar
I got goosebumps too.
Cecil doesn't sound tough enough, I know he looks all girly and shit as the Paladin, but come on, I always imagined him to have the voice of a hunk. I'm disappointed.
Kain sounds awesome though.
"White" Cecil looks like a bad 80's rockstar in the FMV. Still, FF2 (or whatever the hell it's called now) is my favourite one so I'll live with it.
I think everyone in the world except the person in charge of this game's localization pronounced Cecil as "see-sul". =P
@RJG
HAHA Awesome... Friended :-p
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