As video game franchises grow in number, they have to keep pushing things forward so they don’t get stale. A benefit of long-running series is getting to grow with the technologies available to developers. The catch is that not all developers reach out to everything within their grasp despite it being “obvious” that they should use it. A great example is being made right now with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. You might have heard that some fans want to have voice acting in the game next time, given the deep story and cutscenes within Gen 9. Well, some fans decided to prove their point.
Joe Goffeney is not only a gamer but a voice actor. After playing Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, he got some of his fellow voice actors to portray many of the main characters we saw within the game’s cutscenes. The results are surprisingly good, and as you’ll see in the video below, it brings more depth to the cutscenes.
We see not only fan-favorite characters like Nemona and Arven voiced but all the members of Team Star and even Director Clivell! For some of these scenes, it’s just nice to hear a voice to go along with the characters. But then, in others, like the scene with Arven and Mabostiff, there’s a weight granted to the touching scene thanks to the voice acting. Check out all the work they did below:
It’s always nice to see fans put their money where their mouths are. Because a lot of fans may be asking for voice acting in the future, but these guys wanted to showcase what it could be like if it happened, and it’s sure to make more people want it.
Can we expect The Pokemon Company to do this with the inevitable Gen 10? It’s possible. One must remember that the previous generations were mainly on handhelds, so voice acting wasn’t always feasible or needed. It was only in Gen 8 that the mainline games went to consoles, and they focused more on expanding the gameplay than adding voice acting. The same goes for Gen 9 via their desire for a fully open world.
With these “hurdles” more or less crossed, they can look to the future and see what other improvements can be added to make the games even more significant. The answer may be voice acting. The next mainline Pokemon title may be a fully voiced affair if that’s the case.
Source: YouTube