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Bi-lingual gaf: Which games have the best non-native dubs?
- Thread starter Alo81
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CosmicRomancer
Member
Really interesting reading this thread as an English native. Though I'm not surprised that European Spanish dubs are of good quality; their dubbing industry is full of talent and experience and has a strong tradition of it, especially for cinema.
Just a shame that the workers deserve a lot more for what they do. The pay is relatively low for the amount of work and hours they commit to and they don't receive enough respect.
However, what's good is that I see their work credited at the end of basically all the games I play. In films, it's less common apparently which is a shame.
Just a shame that the workers deserve a lot more for what they do. The pay is relatively low for the amount of work and hours they commit to and they don't receive enough respect.
However, what's good is that I see their work credited at the end of basically all the games I play. In films, it's less common apparently which is a shame.
I usually play in english, but a friend convinced me to play Witcher 3 in french. It's great: the voice acting is really nice, specifically Geralt and Vesemir, but it's the translation that really makes the dub fantastic. So many memorable lines. "Ecoutez, j'ai pas vraiment le temps, donc je vais juste vous péter la gueule."
I usually play games in English but The Witcher 3 is amazing in German. It's not just the voice acting, the script is top-notch, too. The words they use sometimes ... I've studied German philology and I'm really impressed a lot of the times.
The German voice acting for Overwatch is also pretty good. They've hired popular dubbing actors like the German voice for Nicolas Cage (for Soldier76). Reinhardt speaks with a Swabian accent and his lines are hilarious.
A negative example would be Metal Gear Solid on the original PlayStation. The German version is an abomination. But I somehow love it due to nostalgic reasons ...
The German voice acting for Overwatch is also pretty good. They've hired popular dubbing actors like the German voice for Nicolas Cage (for Soldier76). Reinhardt speaks with a Swabian accent and his lines are hilarious.
A negative example would be Metal Gear Solid on the original PlayStation. The German version is an abomination. But I somehow love it due to nostalgic reasons ...
raidergale
Member
I usually play in the original language of the game, but I just couldn't do so for Tomb Raider/Rise of the Tomb Raider.
I don't like Camilla Luddington's performance at all and I think Benedetta Ponticelli (Italian dub) did a much better job.
Same goes for the previous Tomb Raiders as well, while I love Judith Gibbins/Jonell Elliot/Keeley Hawes in every single Italian Tomb Raider dub, starting from 2 up until TR2013, Lara was dubbed by the same actress (Elda Olivieri), so I'm really fond of her.
I don't like Camilla Luddington's performance at all and I think Benedetta Ponticelli (Italian dub) did a much better job.
Same goes for the previous Tomb Raiders as well, while I love Judith Gibbins/Jonell Elliot/Keeley Hawes in every single Italian Tomb Raider dub, starting from 2 up until TR2013, Lara was dubbed by the same actress (Elda Olivieri), so I'm really fond of her.
Napalm_Frank
Member
Sony has done surprisingly good job on finnish dubs for most of their "kids games" like LBP, Puppeteer, Ratchet and Knack, especially considering they are like the only big publisher to even have dubs consistently. It's not on par with originals but it's fun to hear at least some effort put into things even if the translation itself is often too literal with very few attempts to make the script sound natural.
Norwegian_Imposter
Member
Do most games allow you to mix the audio and subtitles?
ShiroAmakusa
Member
So much this! Nobody swears like Polish folks and it enriches the world of The Witcher in ways most players will never experience. Makes me kinda sad.
I also prefer the original names!
He will always be Jannek to me. Fuck that Johnny nonsense! ;D
(To be fair though, it's a proper translation. Jan -> Jannek; Jan -> John -> Johnny).
.I really enjoyed Mortal Kombat X, Uncharted 4 and AC: Syndicate with german vo. Character voices were spot on even tho sometimes they tend to miss the appropriate tone for some situations. Witcher 3's german vo was kinda hit and miss for me personally but Geralt and Eredin sounded amazing.
I usually avoid German dubs, but I remember the first Bioshock being absolutely fantastic in that regard.
I love watching the German MGS cutscenes on youtube from time to time, it's just so incredibly cheesy lol
Hä? Fußspuren!?
I love watching the German MGS cutscenes on youtube from time to time, it's just so incredibly cheesy lol
Hä? Fußspuren!?
Miniature Kaiju
Member
I usually don't play games in my native language as it takes me straight out of the game, unless the English VA is atrocious.
That said, Grim Fandango and The Curse of Monkey Island not only had amazing PT-BR dubs, but also were superbly localized. I've played the original versions years later and I've gotta say, our local versions are way, way funnier.
That said, Grim Fandango and The Curse of Monkey Island not only had amazing PT-BR dubs, but also were superbly localized. I've played the original versions years later and I've gotta say, our local versions are way, way funnier.
SpacePirate Ridley
Member
Zelda has amazing castillian spanish dub done by not typical videogame voice actors but movie voice actors.
Will I really like the original star fox voices, I also love the castillian spanish version (form the 3ds and WiiU versions). Fox is amazing. The only voice I dont really like is Falco though. Also the voice director was Alfonso Valles, amazing voice actor, he got super famous in videogames thatnks to his Solid Snake portrayal in MGS for PSX.
And talking about MGS, that was another excellent one, and one of the most loved spanish dubs of a videogame (the one the made people want more of them in videogames if they were going to be of that quality). Sadly becuase of the rest of crappy european voice acting (Germany, Italy, France) and each country not wanting more localisation like those, Spain never got that amazing team back for any metal gear game, even when we were a country that wanted it back.
Phoenix Wright vs Professor Layton. The Phoenix characters spanish voices shit all over the voices from the american Ace Attorney 5 and 6, games that we not even got translated subs here. Thanks Capcom.
Nintendo Spain usually does a great job when they do (they rarely do). In everything expect both of the latest smash bros, where they got people working at Nintendo Germany, instead of professional voice actors (apart from Sonic's voice in the last game that was hisprofessional voice). I still will never undertand why.
Blizzard also started creating amazing spanish dubs since Starcraft II, but the original are also top notch there, so not better. I freaking love they used Ramon Langa (spanish voice for Bruce Willis) for Soldier 76 and they gave him a quote when you get lots of headshots saying "Yipi-ka-yei!"
Another game, though I think the original voices are the French ones, but Desperados Dead or Alive spanish dub is MAGNIFICENT. The english cast (the sequels only got here in english) is really subpar, to the point of never beating those games. Me and some friends still throw some spanish quotes from that game around.
Will I really like the original star fox voices, I also love the castillian spanish version (form the 3ds and WiiU versions). Fox is amazing. The only voice I dont really like is Falco though. Also the voice director was Alfonso Valles, amazing voice actor, he got super famous in videogames thatnks to his Solid Snake portrayal in MGS for PSX.
And talking about MGS, that was another excellent one, and one of the most loved spanish dubs of a videogame (the one the made people want more of them in videogames if they were going to be of that quality). Sadly becuase of the rest of crappy european voice acting (Germany, Italy, France) and each country not wanting more localisation like those, Spain never got that amazing team back for any metal gear game, even when we were a country that wanted it back.
Phoenix Wright vs Professor Layton. The Phoenix characters spanish voices shit all over the voices from the american Ace Attorney 5 and 6, games that we not even got translated subs here. Thanks Capcom.
Nintendo Spain usually does a great job when they do (they rarely do). In everything expect both of the latest smash bros, where they got people working at Nintendo Germany, instead of professional voice actors (apart from Sonic's voice in the last game that was hisprofessional voice). I still will never undertand why.
Blizzard also started creating amazing spanish dubs since Starcraft II, but the original are also top notch there, so not better. I freaking love they used Ramon Langa (spanish voice for Bruce Willis) for Soldier 76 and they gave him a quote when you get lots of headshots saying "Yipi-ka-yei!"
Another game, though I think the original voices are the French ones, but Desperados Dead or Alive spanish dub is MAGNIFICENT. The english cast (the sequels only got here in english) is really subpar, to the point of never beating those games. Me and some friends still throw some spanish quotes from that game around.
ShiroAmakusa
Member
Damn, the early years of German voice acting in video games have been pure comedy gold!
I mean, take Time Crisis for example. Show me one native German speaker who doesn't break into laughter after listening to this! And let's not forget NACHLÄDEN! Damn! Engl. GAF, imagine a game where not only the Text for RELOAD is misspelled, like idk, RELOAF, even the voice actor yells RELOAF every time you're out of ammo! I'm cracking up just thinking about the German Time Crisis port!
Not posting the greatest Swedish dub in all of existance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kfG1fr5ecc
I could never not replay Black and White with Swedish audio. Even though the "Death" whispers are for replaced with a very concerned sounding woman instead :lol
So much this! Nobody swears like Polish folks and it enriches the world of The Witcher in ways most players will never experience. Makes me kinda sad.
I also prefer the original names!
He will always be Jannek to me. Fuck that Johnny nonsense! ;D
(To be fair though, it's a proper translation. Jan -> Jannek; Jan -> John -> Johnny).
Interesting. In a hypothetical Swedish dub I guess they'd go with "Janne" which is the nickname for Jan's around these parts.
ShiroAmakusa
Member
Most likely. Too bad, I'd love to play a Swedish W3 dub!
The Polish God of War 3 dub is also nice.
golduck342
Member
I think it was Uncharted 3, there's a section where they're in Colombia, they nailed the Colombian accents and everything... but the actual Spanish track of the game is a Mexican accent, which doesn't sound as good to me being of Carribean descent
Psyrgery ES
Member
As a castillian speaker I agree, I'd also include the latin dub for Quantum Break. I enjoyed what I saw of it in Youtube videos.
Brofist!
cm osi
Member
italian dub for Bllodborne, Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver and Grim Fandango are pretty high quality.
italian dub industry is huge for movies and tv shows, but it's not for videogames so it's a rare case. i have to say son put lots of effort in this tho, and their game usually have a good dub
italian dub industry is huge for movies and tv shows, but it's not for videogames so it's a rare case. i have to say son put lots of effort in this tho, and their game usually have a good dub
Kitsune Sama
Member
True. I love playing Hearthstone in pt-br.
Tribes of Trusty
Member
As a French speaker, :
Times I preferred English dub over Japanese :
Times I preferred French dub :
Times I did not like the French dub :
Times I preferred English dub over Japanese :
- Xenoblade Chronicles : the English (and not US) dub is stellar. I do hope Xenoblade 2 will have them again
- Metal Gear Solid series : I always felt the English dub was way better than the Japanese one.
Times I preferred French dub :
- Final Fantasy XV : the game has a lot of issues, but the dub is excellent. I thought I was going to play this only in Japanese, but the subtitles did not match the spoken dialogue at all and it was distracting. I did not regret it as the dub is one of the best French dub I heard over the years. Spoilers for endgame :
the after credits scene with Noctis and bros destroyed me ;_; "Vous êtes comme des frères pour moi".
- Bioshock 1, 2 and Infinite : pretty good dubs. "L'homme choisit, l'esclave obéit" : bonus points for rhyming. Also, "Ramenez la fille, et nous effaçerons la dette."
- The Witcher 3 : I just love the French dub and how the characters sound, especially Gerald.
- Overwatch : It's quite good and they even hire voice actors who have a slight accent in order to do the accent in French. I'm quite partial to Zarya, Symmetra and Sombra. Oh and the localization is good too, the various one liners of the character include a plethora of puns and French references (such as Reinhardt being an Eddy Mitchell fan lol).
- Bloodborne : French language goes well with the dark, lovecraftian lore.
- Generally speaking, Ubisoft games sound way better to me in French than in English. Never tried to play the Ezio trilogy in Italian or the American trilogy in English though.
Times I did not like the French dub :
- Until Dawn : Felt like a badly dubbed B-series on late night TV. The bad kind of series.
- Zelda BOTW : I might be alone in this but I did not like the French dub. I felt the delivery was way too flat. Worst offenders are the 4 Prodigies .
- Deus Ex Human Revolution / Mankind Divided : Ha ha ha no.
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
The little I've watched of BotW in German, Zelda sounds utterly bored and detached.
I mean, take Time Crisis for example. Show me one native German speaker who doesn't break into laughter after listening to this! And let's not forget NACHLÄDEN! Damn! Engl. GAF, imagine a game where not only the Text for RELOAD is misspelled, like idk, RELOAF, even the voice actor yells RELOAF every time you're out of ammo! I'm cracking up just thinking about the German Time Crisis port!
Wow, I completely blocked that from my mind. Thanks for reminding me haha.
Damn, the early years of German voice acting in video games have been pure comedy gold!
I mean, take Time Crisis for example. Show me one native German speaker who doesn't break into laughter after listening to this! And let's not forget NACHLÄDEN! Damn! Engl. GAF, imagine a game where not only the Text for RELOAD is misspelled, like idk, RELOAF, even the voice actor yells RELOAF every time you're out of ammo! I'm cracking up just thinking about the German Time Crisis port!
HefferKnot
Neo Member
For me,when it's comes to dubs, neutral (or Latino) spanish wins.
Usually i play with the original language with subs, but in the case of Zelda:BOTW i have absolutely no problems with the dubs.
Usually i play with the original language with subs, but in the case of Zelda:BOTW i have absolutely no problems with the dubs.
I thought the Dragon Quest 8 voice actors did a great job. I did turn off the voices after a while, but only because it felt so right to have the NES experience with that game (if just has the feel of a classic RPG).
The Witcher 3 voices, as many have already said, are excellent.
No More Heroes has pretty enjoyable voice work in it as well.
Oh, and Furi had a pretty great Japanese dub.
Honorable mentions go out to the person that does the voice for Cody in SF4; they are the definitive Cody voice in my opinion.
The Witcher 3 voices, as many have already said, are excellent.
No More Heroes has pretty enjoyable voice work in it as well.
Oh, and Furi had a pretty great Japanese dub.
Honorable mentions go out to the person that does the voice for Cody in SF4; they are the definitive Cody voice in my opinion.
Stone Ocean
Member
PTBR dubs are pretty cringey. We have good VAs but it feels like they have almost no direction so almost every line feels off.
Fantastapotamus
Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
I really liked the German voice of Garrett in the Thief games aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand that's it
Although I have to say: Metal Gear Solid in German is a completely different experience. It feels like a parody.
Although I have to say: Metal Gear Solid in German is a completely different experience. It feels like a parody.
HÄH?!? FUSSSPUREN?!
tired_inspector
Member
Warcraft 3 is great in Russian.
tiebreaker
Member
Ni No Kuni with the welsh dub.
Dice//
Banned
Torn on Tear, she does sound too old, but she does suit that she's a soldier.
I'd say Symph, Abyss, and Vesperia have a pretty damn great English dub.
Really? I switched to English after I saw "wolfsbane" being translated as "Wolfsbann" (i.e., a literal translation), when the plant's actual German name is "Eisenhut".
Sure, there are some missteps but overall it's great. Just yesterday I've heard one NPC use the word "parlieren" (an antiquated way to say "to make conversation"). You can find stuff like that everywhere, even in the most mundane item description.
Palabragrís
Member
Assassin's Creed Unity on French and Latin American Spanish. Both are great VO.
Also, in English Tales of Xillia -- Although, the Tales series uses to have a good performance with its English VO.
Also, in English Tales of Xillia -- Although, the Tales series uses to have a good performance with its English VO.
This, basically this.
Hi there fellow GamesVillager
Bloodporne
Member
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0-GAZiEM30
I have not thought about the utter comedy that was Metal Gear Solid in its German dubbing back in the day for ages...it almost sounds like a joke actually hearing it now, what a disaster haha!
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