Pokémon Legends Z-A is not continuing the fairly weak Scarlet and Violet It neither lacks expectations due to being an entirely new IP nor does it suffer from having none at all. Legends Z-A is the subsequent entry in the cherished Legends shows that feature possibly the finest Pokémon game ever made, Legends Arceus As a consequence, to win over supporters and avoid unfavorable comparisons to its precursor, Z-A It absolutely has to get every detail correct, ranging from its innovative gameplay mechanics to its narrative. Should it fail in these aspects, it might not achieve the desired lasting impact and could face an early decline. Legends series.
Legends Z-A will also serve as an example of what the Switch 2 Pokémon era will appear. After all, its extensive combat modifications and redesigned world will probably influence subsequent releases, similar to how many Arceus' DNA found its way into Scarlet and Violet . Nevertheless, despite how significant those alterations are, Pokémon Legends Z-A needs to include one major feature that the series has neglected thus far in order to demonstrate that the Switch 2 era of Pokémon will not just be distinct but improved Otherwise, it might come across as yet another obsolete addition.
Pokémon Legends Z-A Seriously Requires Voice Acting
The series has lacked it from the beginning.
Voice acting has consistently evaded the Pokémon Video games, even though they have long been a cornerstone of gaming. For twenty years. Naturally, the initial Game Boy and DS era of Pokémon was unable to put it into practice owing to the constraints of the hardware. Luckily, it never found an application, primarily because its storylines were rather flimsy, but also because its pixelated graphics style and overhead view more easily allowed for text bubbles and audio cues. Nonetheless, once we moved into the era of 3DS and Switch games, Pokémon , the lack of voice acting became a serious problem.
Pokémon Legends Arceus could be one of the best Pokémon games of all time , but The absence of voice acting notably influences how effectively the story resonates with gamers. This also creates an unsettling atmosphere where players observe 3D character models conversing with them yet hear no sounds emanating from these characters' lips. This discrepancy can be quite jarring. Pokémon Legends Z-A It needs to be addressed because it has significantly impaired the impact of each game’s storyline for an extended period. Without voice acting, it will continue to seem outdated.
There isn't actually any advantage to lacking voice acting. Pokémon It detracts from the immersive quality of each game environment, diminishes the effect of every narrative, and reduces the significance of each character. Everything seems entirely devoid of life, unchanging, and possibly worst of all, overly gamified. Pokémon Legends Z-A's important characters is set to provide substantial contributions through its storyline, particularly since Arceus , many are coming back from Pokémon X & Y . However, without distinct voices bringing them to life and giving meaning to the game's script, they'll be just as memorable as the masses of other random NPCs from past Pokémon titles .
Lack of voice acting is worse than Pokémon's obsolete visuals.
It Becomes More Apparent Right Away
Certainly, numerous individuals might contend that Legends Z-A It appears somewhat dated due to its older-generation graphics. Nonetheless, even though low-quality visuals considerably affect a game’s visual attractiveness, such shortcomings may be overlooked over time. A significant portion Scarlet and Violet appears stunning thanks to the game's lively color scheme and cartoony artistic style. Legends Z-A is clearly an improvement over Scarlet and Violet , and its upgraded Nintendo Switch 2 edition This improvement will probably enhance its visual sharpness as well. Therefore, even though it appears dated, players might find these visuals negligible after they get used to them.
Furthermore, Pokémon's The visuals won’t be what leaves a lasting impact on players. Instead, it’s the fresh lineup of Pokémon, innovative mechanics, along with the characters and storyline that will resonate with them well after they’ve finished the game. Luckily, everything points towards this being the case. Legends Z-A's huge gameplay changes is likely to make a good impression. Sadly, due to the absence of voice acting, this does not apply. Z-A's The narrative and the personalities involved. This is due to Similar to how a film might get away with mediocre cinematography as long as it has excellent sound design, in video games, players will notice and be much more impacted by the lack of voice acting compared to lower resolution textures. .
In simple terms, poor visuals can be dismissed as stylistic choices, but There is no justification for inadequate voice acting. , especially when Pokémon is earning so muchmoney . Sword and Shield Director Shigeru Ohmori provided an explanation to Metro regarding the absence of voice acting in the game prior to its launch, noting that translating extensive amounts of text into nine distinct languages would be both time-consuming and labor-intensive. He also mentioned that assigning voices to characters prevents players from forming their own mental interpretations. their own perception of who that character is as they portray them. " He told Metro :
This game features extensive textual content which we plan to localize and simultaneously launch across nine distinct languages. From an operational standpoint, coordinating everything including voice recordings, revisions, et cetera, precisely aligning them for simultaneous global release, presents quite a formidable challenge. [... ] Even without voiced dialogue, richly described characters allow gamers to form their personal impressions of these figures during gameplay. We strongly promote this imaginative engagement when developing our titles.
Nevertheless, these justifications are no longer valid. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth , a game featuring more conversation options Pokémon , was localized into four languages , featuring subtitles for numerous additional ones. More notably, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 was localized into six languages, despite having over 2.2 million words in its script. One could argue that Warhorse Studios and Square Enix have bigger development teams than Game Freak, which then makes one wonder why The Pokémon Company doesn't invest the money it has made from its 480 million units sold, according to the official Pokémon website , leading to the addition of more employees and incorporating voice acting.
It doesn't seem like Legends Z-A will include voice acting.
Gameplay Clips Hint at Its Non-Appearance
Moreover, as JRPGs become increasingly popular and players get accustomed to enjoying them in their original Japanese version, The Pokémon Company might opt to leave the game in Japanese if they aim to cut down on expenses and development time. In this case, they could focus on translating the written scripts into multiple languages instead. Nonetheless, it doesn't appear that Legends Z-A will include voice acting regardless as desperately needed in the series as it is. Pokémon Legends Z-A's Direct trailer displayed a great deal of fresh content, featuring interactions between the player and multiple NPCs. Throughout these dialogues, one could hear the customary sound effect played when advancing through speech boxes; however, there were no spoken lines from characters.
Of course, There is a strong chance that Game Freak has saved voiced lines for more crucial moments. , much like how Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom highlighted spoken dialogue solely during key cinematic scenes. Nonetheless, it wouldn’t be shocking to witness Game Freak omit voice acting yet again since they appear quite at ease without it. The puzzling aspect is further amplified because The Legend of Zelda At minimum, these two open-world games include voice acting, which contradicts Ohmori's vision of allowing players to form their own mental images of characters.
It’s incredibly irritating that Pokémon video games still manage to avoid incorporating voice acting. No major AAA title is treated this way. Pokémon constantly trapped in the past, employing obsolete visual elements, gameplay mechanisms, and narrative approaches. This dependence on dated concepts diminishes the overall enjoyment, making it appealing only to individuals unaware of more contemporary alternatives. In comparison, independent titles are surpassing Pokémon In nearly every aspect, one must question how long new gameplay mechanisms and spin-offs will continue to be developed for such games. Pokémon Legends Z-A can sustain this franchise.
Source: Metro , corporate.pokemon.co.jp