The inclusion of voice acting throughout The Legend of Zelda series has been a point of contention among fans for years; In the past, some players have criticized Nintendo for favoring the series ‘traditional growls and murmurs over fully realized voice actors, while others suggested that giving the main characters spoken dialogue would take away from the series’ charm.
But with 2017’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the series finally introduced voice acting on a scale never seen before. While much of the game kept the usual on-screen text dialogue, cinematic cutscenes finally gave characters like Zelda a true voice, with a variety of talented actors and actresses taking on roles in a number of different languages.
Nintendo’s decision would always elicit mixed reactions from fans who grew up with these previously silent characters, and while the voice in Breath of the Wild has generally gone extremely well, it’s impossible to please everyone and some have the opportunity to express their feelings.
In an interview with Zelda Dungeon, Zelda’s English-speaking voice actress Patricia Summersett spoke about what it’s like to deal with the more negative reactions to her work, about the ‘more outspoken’ negative people online and how she feels this role in particular has requires her to build thicker skin than ever before:
“That was harder to deal with at the beginning because I was very sensitive to it, and I just wanted everyone to be as happy as possible for such a big game. [Breath of the Wild]. You really have to keep things like that in perspective, or you do …
“You have to be really positive about things like that. I’d say the negative people tend to be more empowered online, just by default – that’s the nature of the net’s algorithms, and it takes some getting used to. Build thick skin I guess with something like that I would definitely say my skin has gotten a lot thicker over the years since taking on this particular role just because it takes thicker skin than the one or other types of failures or criticisms I’ve had in the past.
As gaming fans, we can probably all deal with these thoughts – it’s a fantastic hobby that you can build great relationships with, but some online spaces tend to suffer from people spreading harmful levels of negativity. It’s sad to learn that this job has seemingly caused more trouble for her than ever before, but Summersett also reveals there’s a silver lining to it – being able to channel these feelings when reprising her role:
“There’s also something in it to channel, because that’s how Zelda feels, and she’s doing great, but she feels that way forever, and that’s her plate. It’s very recognizable that way, I guess. taking risks and trying work really hard on everything you come across I love that about her character in general, the fact that she delves into that part of the storyline for her: what it means to her to be a failure but keep going and striving for something bigger, and for the benefit of everyone. You can use that as inspiration like you use heroes as inspiration.
Have you enjoyed the voice actors present in Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity? Do you hope the series will continue down this path in the future, or did you prefer things the way they used to be? Let us know in the comments.