The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake for Switch 2 has finally received a deeper look via the franchise's 40th anniversary Direct, and while fans like myself were thoroughly pleased with what we saw, the reception hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows. I, for one, was over-the-moon excited about getting to play one of my all-time favorite classics on modern hardware, now with overhauled visuals and a handful of quality-of-life improvements many of us have wanted over the last few decades. However, others seemingly haven't been quite as ecstatic as I am about the whole thing, seeing the Ocarina of Time remake as almost too faithful of a remake, with the same gameplay and overall structural design of the original game.
There is one major change, though, that separates the remake from the original N64 classic, and it goes far beyond a mere quality-of-life update. It's a change that, to be honest, I didn't expect to be as divisive as it is, simply because it won't be changing or interrupting the normal flow of gameplay at all. But alas, it is 2026, and it seems like gamers are just getting increasingly dissatisfied with what is, by and large, one of the most enjoyable forms of interactive entertainment there is. And because of that growing discontentment, we have become deeply upset that the Ocarina of Time remake would dare add full voice acting to the game's cutscenes. And not just voice acting, either—but the kind of voice acting that some have come to despise. Even so, there's a simple fix for it, if Nintendo even cares to implement it.
I will admit, I'm a bit naive when it comes to controversy, as I'm almost always on the more positive side of the aisle, even when it isn't a game I'm particularly interested in. Unless I'm reviewing a game, and I am specifically tasked with being critical, my opinion is usually very optimistic, to the point that I can get hyped about a game that I barely knew existed or normally wouldn't have cared about. That's why I'm a bit baffled that there's such an upset about Ocarina of Time's new voice-acted cutscenes, because to me, it's really not that big of a deal. If anything, voice acting builds a bridge between the veteran fans of the original N64 game and any potential newcomers in the late 2020s, as modern gamers seem to prefer more cinematic experiences.
کۆنسۆڵەکان بە ڕیزبەندی دروست دابنێ.
کۆنسۆڵە هەڵبژێردراوەکان لە نزمترینەوە بۆ بەرزترین ڕێکبخە.
That's somewhat beside the point, though, because this isn't really about whether adding voice acting to Ocarina of Time's cutscenes is worth griping about. In fact, that's only half the point, because the real argument lies in just how polarizing this decision is. Players like me have no problem with it, while others most certainly do. And it's not really just the addition of voice acting that some have taken up issues with, but the kind of voice acting it is.
User jayvancealot on Reddit, for instance, said they "simply despise this breathy anime voice acting that is so popular now in dubs," using the Ocarina of Time remake as a reference point. What's interesting, though, is that they also said "I always prefer dubs," which just reinforces my point that modern gamers tend to prefer more cinematic experiences, where the characters feel like actual characters rather than walking dialogue boxes. Still, plenty of comments below the main post seemed to agree with the OP, chiming in with their two cents about what modern English dubs do for classic, once-silent games.
If anything, voice acting builds a bridge between the veteran fans of the original N64 game and any potential newcomers in the late 2020s, as modern gamers seem to prefer more cinematic experiences.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://gamerant.com/zelda-ocarina-of-time-remake-voice-acting-toggle/
