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Why was Resident Evil 1's voice acting so damn bad?
- Thread starter Amentallica
- Start date
Dusk Golem
A 21st Century Rockefeller
You can't think of why Resident Evil 1 may have had bad voice acting?
OH. MA. COD.
As others will say, it was 96, voicing wasn't common in that day and age. Game was low-budget, Capcom didn't expect it to sell as it did. Game was made by the Japanese, they voice directed it and took the line takes they wanted from English actors. The actors were who they could find in Tokyo at the time who were America, which was a rare breed back then. Game is stylized like a B-horror movie, it fits perfectly with the sort of thing the game is imitating.
One extra thing to throw out there is the translation team with Resident Evil has always taken strange liberties to make the English scripts more... I don't quite know the word for it, maybe hammy? In the original Japanese script for RE1, Barry seems like a very serious character, a family man. When Capcom found out Barry was popular overseas, at first they didn't know why because, to the Japanese perspective, he was simply a family man character who faced moral dilemma, they were surprised he was so popular in English-speaking countries and didn't know why. However, they soon found out and put together the reason was because of his dialogue, how it was translated and sounded to Americans was absolutely hilarious. I remember an interview a while ago telling this story from one of the Capcom employees, so I think part of it may have to do with whoever handled translating the script.
OH. MA. COD.
As others will say, it was 96, voicing wasn't common in that day and age. Game was low-budget, Capcom didn't expect it to sell as it did. Game was made by the Japanese, they voice directed it and took the line takes they wanted from English actors. The actors were who they could find in Tokyo at the time who were America, which was a rare breed back then. Game is stylized like a B-horror movie, it fits perfectly with the sort of thing the game is imitating.
One extra thing to throw out there is the translation team with Resident Evil has always taken strange liberties to make the English scripts more... I don't quite know the word for it, maybe hammy? In the original Japanese script for RE1, Barry seems like a very serious character, a family man. When Capcom found out Barry was popular overseas, at first they didn't know why because, to the Japanese perspective, he was simply a family man character who faced moral dilemma, they were surprised he was so popular in English-speaking countries and didn't know why. However, they soon found out and put together the reason was because of his dialogue, how it was translated and sounded to Americans was absolutely hilarious. I remember an interview a while ago telling this story from one of the Capcom employees, so I think part of it may have to do with whoever handled translating the script.
petran79
Banned
It wasnt. Toonstruck was released the same year btw. It is just that RE was meant for a different audience....
While Toonstruck was meant for adventure games fans. On PC games had decent voice acting.
Look at the cast. It was a matter of approach and of course budget
Tim Curry, Christopher Lloyd, Dan Castellaneta, David Ogden Stiers, Dom DeLuise, Jeff Bennett, Corey Burton, Jim Cummings, Tress MacNeille, Robb Paulson, April Winchell, Frank Welker
You're right, although to a lesser entent RE1 is also clearly cheesy on purpose, just look at that live-action opening bit, there's no way they weren't at least somewhat going for a shlocky B-movie tone.
And yeah, there were games with good voice acting even back then. (mostly adventure game stuff) but to be honest those were mostly exceptions. In general the bar was much, much lower.
I bet that's how he got the job
a secret-boss
Banned
ExitPlanetDust
Member
Yeah, I remember reading an interview back when the RE first released (maybe it was when RE2 was announced). I'm not sure who was being interviewed, but the interviewer asked about the voice acting and why it was SO bad. The individual being interviewed explained that the lines were originally recorded with a very natural delivery by the cast. Whomever was in charge was Japanese and understood little to no English. That person didn't understand the conversational tone and had the cast record the dialogue again, with a much slower and more deliberate delivery. They had no idea how rediculous it would sound to western ears.
I never researched into it, but I always figured in-house VAs back then were probably hired by the predominantly Japanese companies, or hired Japanese people who could speak the language but not with the proper inflection or emphasis for character acting.
Also Capcom was just terrible at VA stuff back then. Mega Man 8 and Mega Man X4, anyone?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmMispgpUs0 Oh no, Doctuh Wahwee.
Also Capcom was just terrible at VA stuff back then. Mega Man 8 and Mega Man X4, anyone?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmMispgpUs0 Oh no, Doctuh Wahwee.
1) The script was butchered by a lousy translator with a strained grasp of English.
2) None of the main developers had any involvement with the translation.
3) They hired actors off the streets of Tokyo/Osaka. If you were Caucasian you had a shot.
4) The voice director (Rebecca's VA) was terrible. As an actor and as a voice director.
5) No bilingual English staff involved with the game to offer feedback.
6) Mikami wanted the actors to speak slowly in an unnatural, exaggerated way because he didn't understand English.
Etc.
Absolutely wrong. The development team were embarrassed when they learned that the acting and dialogue weren't well-received. They had no grasp of English, so weren't able to tell. To them, it sounded "cool", the same way an English speaker has no concept of genuinely good acting in Japanese.
2) None of the main developers had any involvement with the translation.
3) They hired actors off the streets of Tokyo/Osaka. If you were Caucasian you had a shot.
4) The voice director (Rebecca's VA) was terrible. As an actor and as a voice director.
5) No bilingual English staff involved with the game to offer feedback.
6) Mikami wanted the actors to speak slowly in an unnatural, exaggerated way because he didn't understand English.
Etc.
Absolutely wrong. The development team were embarrassed when they learned that the acting and dialogue weren't well-received. They had no grasp of English, so weren't able to tell. To them, it sounded "cool", the same way an English speaker has no concept of genuinely good acting in Japanese.
This article will explain for you: http://geekparty.com/d-c-douglas-an...-why-resident-evil-1s-voice-acting-was-awful/
" Think of Sergio Jones playing Albert Wesker in that one, and how everyone talks about how his performance was so horrible.
You know what? He’s a good actor. It sounds horrible because they probably had 300 lines on an Excel sheet, and you have no idea [about the context of the scene, so you] just keep repeating the line.
So it’s like, “Open the door.”
“Let’s just do three different takes on that.”
“Open the door. OPEN the door. Open the DOOR.”
And then some Japanese engineer goes, “I like the rhythm of that last one.” "
"The Japanese will always pick what they think sounds good in their minds, not necessarily what sounds good to an English-speaking audience… But they started learning… They realized that, yes, people want good actors in their video games."
How About No
Member
With poor communication and a low budget, magic is born
Charlouie Jonesman
Banned
Here's an official statement from Mikami from an old, translated pre-RE2 interview.
http://www.bioflames.com/miscsection5.htm
http://www.bioflames.com/miscsection5.htm
I will always love the original RE's voice acting, maybe even more than House of the Dead 2's.
ExitPlanetDust
Member
That's the interview I read. Thanks for posting it!
RustyNails
Member
Every fucking Resident Evil has horrid voice acting.
COMPLETE
GLOBAL
SATURATION
B^D
COMPLETE
GLOBAL
SATURATION
B^D
I don't think it was intentional to make Spanish people talk like Latin Americans.
CHRRRRRIIIIIIIISSSSS.
Love it lol
Why in the F#$% does that webpage format the text like that? Why? It's making my brain hurt.
Throwaway123456789
Member
But, American voice actors right?.
M: Well the voice actors were American
Barry Gjerde is Norwegian though.
*cough* Gabriel Knight *cough* released 1993 *cough*
But sure, I guess Resident Evil was supposed to be campy. Just watch the intro movie.
He got the job, because he was flipping badass
Jill <3
hey_it's_that_dog
benevolent sexism
Confirmed my suspicion that it was due to a complete lack of context for the actors and no oversight from native English speakers.
Japan had a superstition that blood type was linked to personality.
The script was fine. The translation wasn't.
DukeTogo1300
Member
I just don't think cinematic gaming had grown enough at the time. The flow of the in-game stuff seemed more concerned with emulating text conversations in past games than something from the film world. The timing of everything was totally out of the actors' control. It was a transitionary period, but the ground broken has proven to be worth it.
This is so ironical:
Back in 1996 Shinji Mikami said the Japanese voice actors were inadequate.
Wikipedia - Production - last paragraph
Back in 1996 Shinji Mikami said the Japanese voice actors were inadequate.
Wikipedia - Production - last paragraph
dragonyeuw
Member
Par for the course at that time. Remember The Dracula/Belmont exchange during the SOTN prologue? Yeaaaaahhhh....
Huh, interesting. I tought it was just something random.
RedAssedApe
Banned
because it was the 90s. its not like it was just the voice acting. look at the FMV cheese. the entire thing looked like it was supposed to be a B-movie.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
why does her outfit look like a K-marts kids store aisle version of itself
Spieler Eins
Member
Mikami wanted the voice actors to talk slowly, because he thought that would sound better, even though he didn't even understand english.
This is the actual answer. There was plenty of great voice acting in games by 1996. RE1 is entirely a result of non-native speakers choosing different takes of individual line readings and mashing them all together. This is similar to how you end up with something like Shenmue's dub.
eso76
Member
Eh. No.
Back then, Mikami's comment might have made some sense (in terms of real time graphics being way too primitive to be scary) but this hasn't been true for years and polygons are not the reason why newer RE's aren't scary
Speaking of VA it's clear that a lot of games back then had absolutely no voice acting direction, with actors having no idea about the context, or their characters.
It shouldn't surprise us that Japanese devs didn't really think of what the game would sound like to a western audience: only a few years before we had huge grammar or spelling mistakes in games *titles* no one thought it would be worth double checking before going in full production...
Lack of voice acting direction has plagued..every localised product in non English speaking counties for years.
In these cases, voices often lacked any ambiance, reverb or even the most basic adjustments due to positioning, with every line being delivered in pure, flat recording studio quality, regardless of room structure etc. and would sound completely detached from the game in most cases. Thank God those days are gone
Haunted
Member
It's for protection.
I like that they're supposed to be a special tactics unit but everyone wears different uniforms.
Amentallica
Unconfirmed Member
Resident Evil needs a black or Latino main character. Completely off topic but after seeing the picture above me, it bothers me that there hasn't been any yet. Sheva hardly counts.
Android18a
Member
I never noticed the voice acting as being bad back in the day, but then in-game speech was such a novelty at the time I wouldn't have cared.
I'm still not used to games with voice acting though. I'll always remember being blown away by "The Last Metroid Is In Captivity. The Galaxy Is At Peace"...
I'm still not used to games with voice acting though. I'll always remember being blown away by "The Last Metroid Is In Captivity. The Galaxy Is At Peace"...
Why would the "master of unlocking" not even have a lockpick with her
"Here's a sniper rifle. It might come in handy for you, the master of sharpshooting"
RedAssedApe
Banned
It's for protection.
I like that they're supposed to be a special tactics unit but everyone wears different uniforms.
the guy with the shotgun on his chest. he was the one eaten by dogs in the intro right? lol
Jeff Stephen
Member
Carlos Oliveira?
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