Mine is when 85% of a horror game's voice lines are the protagonist going SHIT or FUCK slightly under their breath every time something mildly spooky or intimidating happens, or when they discover some new obstacle

  • doublepepperoni [none/use name]
    hexagon
    ·
    3 years ago

    I always wonder what's going on through the minds of the poor voice actors reading those lines. I like to imagine exacting Japanese directors telling them to stick to the script

    • SorosFootSoldier [he/him, they/them]
      ·
      3 years ago

      Going to say they probably didn't care much as they were happy to get work as americans in Japan and video games back then were still seen as a niche nerd hobby so they probably thought it was par for the course. There's a debate with Silent Hill 2 if the weird jilted dialogue is on purpose or like re 1, Japanese devs thinking americans sound like that.

      • doublepepperoni [none/use name]
        hexagon
        ·
        3 years ago

        There’s a debate with Silent Hill 2 if the weird jilted dialogue is on purpose or like re 1, Japanese devs thinking americans sound like that.

        You had non-professional American actors being directed by Japanese directors, so both

        • SorosFootSoldier [he/him, they/them]
          ·
          3 years ago

          Yeah I think it's probably both too. The HD collection tried adding in a new voice over with PROFESSIONAL va's and it came off stale. The weird jilted voice acting added to the feeling of alienation and isolation that was throughout 2.

          • doublepepperoni [none/use name]
            hexagon
            ·
            3 years ago

            I find it interesting that many Japanese games in the PS1 and PS2 eras, especially action or horror titles, only had an English dub that was produced under the Japanese devs' direct supervision. While saving money was probably a factor, it was also to make games set in America and often emulating American movies feel more authentic.

            The big exception here is Metal Gear Solid- Hideo Kojima seems to have never given too much of a shit about the English localisation, as shown by the ease by which he threw David fucking Hayter under the bus the moment he could replace him with TV Actor Man