Why doesn't Link's voice sound like it used to?

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If you listen to Link’s voice in Zelda Ocarina of Time, he sounds REALLY different from how he sounds in Breath of the Wild. So, what’s changed in the last 20 years?

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SOURCES
Fujiko Takimoto
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqlMySPRShs Talks about Link being in Smash Ultimate
– https://www.cyzo.com/2016/02/post_26316_entry.html

Nobuyuki Hiyama
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ-Q7tWRZ8c

Akira Sasanuma
– https://web.archive.org/web/20110930235634/http://www.toonzone.net/news/articles/38339/otakon2011-toonzone-interviews–anime-japanese-voice-actor-akira-sasanuma
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS13US00-6o

Kengo Takanashi
– https://seimaga.jp/item30.html Interview about his history with VA

CDi Voice Actor
– https://www.reddit.com/r/CDInteractive/comments/fkkixp/link_speaks_an_interview_with_cdi_links_voice/
– https://www.zeldadungeon.net/wiki/Interview:The_Gaming_Liberty_November_11th_2010

Interviews about Link not speaking
– http://nintendoeverything.com/aonuma-unsure-about-having-link-speak-in-zelda-games/
– https://nintendoeverything.com/kondoaonuma-on-voice-acting-in-zelda-aonuma-thinking-about-making-zelda-his-own/
– https://nintendoeverything.com/aonuma-on-voice-acting-in-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-sci-fi-elements/
– https://www.zeldadungeon.net/breath-of-the-wild-includes-voice-acting-for-all-cut-scenes/

MUSIC
– Music via Epidemic Sound, Nintendo

Source

Categories N4G

38 thoughts on “Why doesn't Link's voice sound like it used to?”

  27. Enjoyed the video!

    Just a point of nitpicking — at 4:40 or so, you mention that Western media tends to "usually" pick male actors to portray younger males in voice work, and then go on to talk about the Japanese doing the opposite. The wording in the script seems to imply that it is a uniquely Japanese tradition to hire grown women to voice act young male characters, and that it's almost never done anywhere else. I don't know if that's a completely accurate statement. The practice of picking a grown woman to voice act a young male character is actually very very common in the United States and Canada, at the very least, and has been for decades.

    When it happens, it's not seen as a fluke or something that's notable — it's outright common. It may happen more often In Japan to the point of almost being a rule, but it's still common enough in American and Canadian animated productions to be unsurprising when it does happen. A good classic example is even on stage, rather than animation — the most traditional Peter Pan stage plays usually have a woman cast in the titular role. Other modern examples include Nancy Cartwright of the Simpsons, Christine Cavanaugh in Dexter's Laboratory and Rugrats, and Pamela Addlon as Bobby Hill. Tip of the iceberg, really.

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  37. The thing nintendo stated about having links voice to be rather anonymous I still respect so much. Honestly, just like many rpgs back in the day that focused on inserting YOU, the player, into the game, through various customization options, dialogue lines and branching paths, this anonymity is something I really miss. Although I enjoy games like Fallout 4, it's just not the same to hear the character speak, plus ot limits the variety of answers one can give. It seems like this whole thing is a dying concept, and it makes me sad.

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  38. I don't understand why you seem confused about Link's "recasting". Most of the time, these aren't the same character, so it would make complete sense to have new voice actors for each new character

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