Compare and Contrast: The Quality of Voice Acting
By Hailinel 17 Comments
I apologize in advance for the lack of video embedding in this post. Youtube and Firefox aren't getting along on my computer at the moment.
After all of the internet bitching regarding Samus's voice in Metroid: Other M, I became puzzled. In general, her voice acting is really not that bad. Does her narration sound flat? Yes it does, but it's a matter-of-fact tone that one might adopt while recalling past events. Listen to her actual dialogue with other characters, and the tone and emotion is there, and it's rather well done. In general, if there's anything wrong with Samus's dialogue, it's the fault of a script with an over-dependence on narration (i.e.: telling, rather than showing), and some at-times clunky writing; elements over which the voice actors have no direct control.
And some people think Samus's voice is awful, as in the worst voice acting they've ever heard? Anyone that thinks that really need a reminder on what awful voice acting sounds like. I honestly hear nothing wrong with Samus's voice in Other M. The only real issues I'm aware of are that people are either rushing to judgment without playing the game (ah, the joys of the internet), have completely forgotten what awful voice acting actually sounds like and are resorting to hyperbole, or just don't like that Samus is, you know, a human, and not a badass killer of the universe.