New Metroid: Other M video sounds great in Japanese

Like a lot of you, I’m worried that the emphasis on story might hurt Metrod: Other M. I’m not a fan of voice acting in general for videogames, as hearing a human voice come out of a clearly not-human polygon-based character model rarely rings true to me. It didn’t work for Teddy Ruxpin, and it doesn’t work for games either. Worse, when a voice actor is even a little bit off, it can ruin the whole game. For the most part, I think it’s better to just keep the characters silent, or have them speak in some form of gibberish, then subtitle it. That’s especially true for the Metroid games. The series has always relied on a mix of silence and subtly to tell its stories.

That’s why I’m hoping that Metroid: Other M has multiple language options. If this video is any indication, I’d definitely go for “Japanese with English subtitles” on this one. That’s not because I’m a Japan-o-phile. It’s because utilizing a language that I don’t understand keeps that “alien” feeling that I’m used to getting from the Metroid series intact.

With foreign language acting, or the option to turn voice acting off completely, I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to tolerate Other M‘s cut scenes. How about you?

Metroid: Other M – ‘story’ trailer– [Gonintendo]