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Square Enix Explains Why Dragon Quest XI Doesn’t Have Voice Acting

Game doesn't look too hot anyway. The animations are way off and gameplay looks uninspired. Which is disappointing as I was hyped when it was announced.
 

sublimit

Banned
I honestly don't understand most of these excuses.Unless it's a matter of budget i don't understand how you wouldn't be able to organize your development with having voice acting in mind.Even DQHeroes had VA.
I'm totally fine with a silent protagonist and i understand this is a design decision but the other explanations don't convince me at all.

I'm still very excited for the game and i will buy it on day1 regardless if it will have VA or not but i do hope the game gets the same treatment as VIII when it comes to the west.I don't mind at all when smaller or handheld games don't have VA but it feels starnge for a game with DQXI's graphics to not have VA.Yes it may take a while to localize it and to add VA but personally i don't mind to wait a bit more for a more immersive and "complete" experience.I have a feeling this will be one of my favorite games of all time so i want it to be as "perfect" as possible.
 

zelas

Member
Wow. I just assumed voice acting would be a given considering this is coming to a console. DQ8 had voice acting. Delay the game for the US if necessary and get it in there!
 
So in order to make games better, you actually have to plan to make games better, is their argument?

1. Voice acting is not inherently better than text.

2. The point about script changes is not an insignificant one, and it's not a matter of laziness. Good ideas and often do come up past the point where you would want the script locked if it were going to be entirely voice acted.
 

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
Wow. I just assumed voice acting would be a given considering this is coming to a console. DQ8 had voice acting. Delay the game for the US if necessary and get it in there!

No way this launches without VA in the west.
 
My history with Dragon Quest is only VIII so this disappoints me. Not orchestrated music is lame as well but I'm still on board, game looks great.
 

sotojuan

Member
Wow. I just assumed voice acting would be a given considering this is coming to a console. DQ8 had voice acting. Delay the game for the US if necessary and get it in there!

Did you read the post? This is about the JP release this Sunday. DQVIII did not have voice acting in the original JP release - if you're Japanese and have not played the 3DS versions of DQ games, you've never heard voice acting in the series. I'd say there's a good chance of voice acting being in the NA release.
 

Pie and Beans

Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
DQ8 going to remain the series peak for a longer while still then.
 

Hugstable

Banned
Sucks for those who enjoyed the voice acting in 8. Doesn't make a difference for me since I played 8 originally with turning off the voices since I'm so used to DQ not having voices already. Still weird they didnt go for voice acting on the console version

Dragon Quest doesn't need voice acting.

Personally yeah I feel the same lol

DQ8 going to remain the series peak for a longer while still then.

There is way more to these games than voice acting...
 

Fiendcode

Member
Did you read the post? This is about the JP release this Sunday. DQVIII did not have voice acting in the original JP release - if you're Japanese and have not played the 3DS versions of DQ games, you've never heard voice acting in the series. I'd say there's a good chance of voice acting being in the NA release.
Besides VIII 3DS some of the spinoffs (Swords, Heroes 1-2) also had VA.
 

Myriadis

Member
Doesn't matter to me. I mostly skip to the next message box as soon as I finished reading, which of course skips the grand majority of voiced dialogue.
 

mieumieu

Member
OK after getting it out of my system...

Lack of voice acting is actually a big deal for me now. I can't quite stand playing a console RPG by just reading text. Really sour the mood. For handhelds it is less of a big deal cos I play them at commutes.

For music, even after setting aside my ethics beef with Sugiyama (a mini Wagner so to speak; his III-VII work is solid), I am not fond of his music in recent entries. Battle themes are especially stagnant with its unchanging snare drums; town and dungeon themes lack any magical oomph in earlier works, simply base imitations. So I don't care about that anyway.

I'll probably get the Switch version down the line...
 
How are the cutscenes in this game? Do they have elaborate camerawork and editing? Because if yes, then the game should have been voiced. Imagine FFXV without voice acting. It just wouldn't work.

If the game only uses shots and countershots, then the lack of voice acting isn't much of an issue. It's certainly a bummer though. I liked DQ VIII's voice acting.
 
For music, even after setting aside my ethics beef with Sugiyama (a mini Wagner so to speak; his III-VII work is solid), I am not fond of his music in recent entries. Battle themes are especially stagnant with its unchanging snare drums; town and dungeon themes lack any magical oomph in earlier works, simply base imitations. So I don't care about that anyway.
I kind of feel you. He's made some great contributions to video game music, but I feel like it's time for him to bow out sooner rather than later. I don't know if he's the right person for the job any more, and the guy's involved in some problematic stuff. I believe Square Enix once mentioned he was being assisted by Hayato Matsuo, so I'm guessing he'll be his successor.
 

-Setsuna-

Member
For the better.
The game flow will be much faster, I'll be able to use own imagination/interpretation of the characters, and won't have to endure overacting seiyû.
 

Peltz

Member
I'm cool with this actually. I think voice acting often detracts from RPGs. To me, either way can be better depending on what the devs are going for.
 
Eh I don't need voice work for every game, and got used to a silent cast when playing the smt games in the ps2 era. Though I did really enjoy the va in VIII, I don't think it's necessary for XI.
 

Strings

Member
How are the cutscenes in this game? Do they have elaborate camerawork and editing? Because if yes, then the game should have been voiced. Imagine FFXV without voice acting. It just wouldn't work.

If the game only uses shots and countershots, then the lack of voice acting isn't much of an issue. It's certainly a bummer though. I liked DQ VIII's voice acting.

https://youtu.be/8pWePsgZvLs?t=636

The cutscenes are definitely composed with the lack of VO in mind, and imo, they're pretty charming.

That said, I can't say they wouldn't be even better with voiced lines :(
 

sotojuan

Member
Besides VIII 3DS some of the spinoffs (Swords, Heroes 1-2) also had VA.

Fair enough, though I meant main series. Just kinda tired of people not reading the first post and complaining that VIII had voice acting. It didn't in JP, and this article is about DQ XI JP release.
 

Neoweee

Member
I'll say it again: I am fine with SE paying racist arsehole less royalty.

They can get a different composer. "I want them to pay the composer for a game, but I want them to keep it low quality so they don't have to pay him more" is a dodgy argument.
 

mejin

Member
giphy.webp
 

Dadasch

Member
Wow, it doesn't? That sucks, for me it's a very important component in games.

For example, Voice Acting in Divinity Original Sin is one of the key reasons why I played it. Otherwise I would've probably dumped it after maybe half an hour.

I thought we're past that point in Big Budget JRPGs.
 

Aeana

Member
I'm personally not bothered by it even a little bit. DQ10 showed me that dramatic DQ scenes work just fine without VA "even in 2017" (as if the year has anything to do with anything whatsoever).
 

Jacobbles

Member
No excuse in 2017 to not have voice acting. It could have just been limited like Ni No Kuni, only for important scenes. If they wanted to use the whole nostalgia line, then the game should have reflected that. Be a 2.5D game or something.

This takes my day 1 purchase of this and downgrades it until this game is like $19.99.

lol, is this a troll post? Holy shit
 

Mory Dunz

Member
No, just no

lol, even if someone didn't like the English voice acting for whatever reason, aren't there like 10+ dubs for the game? Have they listened to every single dub and has an understanding of every language to appropriately be able to assess how good it is?


...
Nah, didn't think so


My experience = World apparently

I'm personally not bothered by it even a little bit. DQ10 showed me that dramatic DQ scenes work just fine without VA "even in 2017" (as if the year has anything to do with anything whatsoever).

more like since when doesn't the year matter.
a AAA game in 1990 that had zero character diversity whatsoever wouldn't get the flack that it would in 2017.
 
Even then, that has nothing at all to do with the topic. Please don't derail the thread.

Anyway, I don't mind the lack of VA. I read faster than these characters talk much of the time.

You can read all those accents fast? I usually have to reread it all or read really slow. It's goddamn annoying.
 

firelogic

Member
Whatever reasons they gave, the actual reason is that they're lazy. "Preserving the feel of Dragon Quest?" Whatever. Also considering how well DQ games sell, budget wouldn't be a problem, especially since every single "big" game has voice acting in it.

DQVIII's voice acting was amazing and added A LOT to the characters. When they made games for the DS/3DS, it was understandable that they wouldn't be fully voiced, but on PS4? Come on.
 

CHC

Member
Honestly that's pretty lame. I'm completely fine with no voice acting in a game where it fits the style (any sort of classic RPG style) but in a full 3d game with a free camera and cutscenes, it feels like they're cheaping out.

I'll still play it, but the lack of voice acting isn't something I'm going to pretend to totally not care about.
 

entremet

Member
How are the cutscenes in this game? Do they have elaborate camerawork and editing? Because if yes, then the game should have been voiced. Imagine FFXV without voice acting. It just wouldn't work.

If the game only uses shots and countershots, then the lack of voice acting isn't much of an issue. It's certainly a bummer though. I liked DQ VIII's voice acting.
Game is not out, nor have extensive previews been done so hard to know.

Hopefully more info come out soon. West could still get VA like 8 did.
 
Midi music and no voice acting? Ugh....

Hope the western release has voice acting at least but my enthusiasm for this game is dropping pretty fast.
 

Arkeband

Banned
How to tell when you're receiving meaningless designer word salad:

Since the protagonist is basically the player, Horii made the instruction to avoid showing expressions such as “anger” as much as possible. When the protagonist actually does get mad, you’ll see it in his body language and also in the movement of his eyes.

Other notes from the interview reveals that you’ll get to remove the protagonist from the party. There’s also a little something waiting for players who connect online after beating the game. While it isn’t any kind of online play, it may have a little surprise for the fans.

"Your character is the player. Also, that character doesn't even need to be present. What am I even saying? Enjoy!!!"
 

Aeana

Member
Whatever reasons they gave, the actual reason is that they're lazy. "Preserving the feel of Dragon Quest?" Whatever. Also considering how well DQ games sell, budget wouldn't be a problem, especially since every single "big" game has voice acting in it.

DQVIII's voice acting was amazing and added A LOT to the characters. When they made games for the DS/3DS, it was understandable that they wouldn't be fully voiced, but on PS4? Come on.

This game is also on 3DS. Making two (technically three with the 2D version on 3DS) separate versions between totally separate dev studios is quite a feat, and I imagine just keeping up with the dialog changes was difficult.

But yes, the real reason is that they're lazy, not that this is one of the most conservative RPG series on the market with a history of doing things to maintain its "feel" or image, with a fanbase that is equally conservative and would be up in arms at any major change. Let's also have a thread complaining about no major changes (or no VA) in the next Pokemon game.

But maybe if/when the game comes out in the west, they'll add voice acting.
 

Jucksalbe

Banned
It's an interesting point they make that no voice acting gives them more flexibility to change things late. I guess the bigger factor is still that it's what Japanese fans expect, though.

Personally I don't care much for voice acting. I'd usually read faster, so it's often more annoying than anything. It can add some flavor, like with the excellent DQ8 (or even DQ Heroes) dub, but it isn't really necessary.

But I won't import Dragon Quest XI, so this news doesn't concern me much anyway. It might be different for the Western version again.
 
I don't know why anyone in here would doubt against it being a planning issue instead of a money issue. SE hasn't exactly been a beacon of efficiency for a couple generations.

Anyway, not bothered by lack of VO.
 
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