Summary
Silent protagonists are a love ‘em or hate ‘em affair. On the one hand, they can be great vessels for players to pour themselves into while easing themselves into the immersion of their new world. On the other hand, silence where a strongly characterized voice might be appropriate in a dramatic scene can come across as jarring and even old-fashioned to some.
Generally speaking,silent protagonists hold their tongues foreverthrough their various series. However, a few studios course-correct their heroes by giving them a spoken personality of their own, with varied results and reactions from fans.
With such a strong personality by his side (or on his shoulder) in the form of Daxter, it makes sense that Jak is a silent hero for players to self-insert. However, the bridge between Naughty Dog’s old-school platformer era (manifest inJak and Daxter: The Precursor’s Legacy) and their new cinematic-focused era (starting with Jak 2) had the blond-haired, blue-garbed boy wonder slide from sympathetic player-puppet to highly-vocal,dark-powered edgelordduring his (literally) torturous transformation into adolescence.
Of course, Daxter stuck around to offer ripping comic relief between Jak’s brooding soliloquies, and the mix of stoicism and slapstick helped to mature the story about the dark-eco-cursed hero without making the series wholly unrecognizable in its transformation into science-fantasyGTAfor earlier fans.
Following in the footsteps of its main inspiration,Grand Theft Auto, the originalSaints Rowhad a mute, violence-loving character push the action forward. However, in the sequel,Saints Row 2, players were not only treated to one charismatic vocal range but several, each giving their own performance of the Boss with no name.
TheSaints Rowseries would go on to be known for itslegendary character customization, in which players could mix and match everything from walking animations and body types to gendered fashion and gendered voices. Later entries in the series would implement more voice options, most memorably a brain-dead zombie voice that utters gurgles, farts, and groans in place or regular speech.
Nintendo’s most recognizable and iconic mascot was probably never intended to have a voice actor, as it might have seemed like technology would never progress to a point where data storage could hold enough space for dialogue lines. However, Mario’s high-pitched whimsical Italian tones are now forever associated with the rotund red and blue turtle bopper thanks toMario Teaches Typing, aSuper Mariopinball machine, or (most likely for most people)Super Mario 64.
While there was likely much speculation about the plumber’s tones and accent before Charles Martinet’s voicework broke into worldwide recognition sometime between 1991 and 1996 withSuper Mario 64, in which Mario was revealed to have an appealing, family-friendly pitch to his sing-songy sayings: “It’s-a-me!” and “Let’s-a-go!” have long since jumped into gamers’ minds and stuck around like Bowser’s eternal desire to capture cake-baking princesses.
Ubisoft’s limbless hero started his adventures as a charming but mute mascot (with occasional yelps) in the 1995 platformerRayman, leaving most of the narrative heavy lifting to the whimsical characters and occasional text drops. However,Rayman 2: The Great Escapegave Rayman a chance to speak up. Kind of.
Depending on the version of the game being played, Rayman either speaks full sentences in a coherent dialect or uses gibberish, which sometimes called Wandaye (as seen in the PlayStation version), that, in a way, charmingly enhances thesurreal atmosphere of Rayman’s world.
Behind the visor of her power armor or in person, Samus had, untilMetroid: Other M,remained a stoic figure, one of themost respected female protagonists in gaming. Characterizing the bad-ass bounty hunter would have been a delicate matter in any studio’s hands. However, the popular reception to Samus’ vocal characterization was received somewhat tepidly in aggregate.
While fans praised many elements ofOther M, including its action and presentation, a sore point was her uncharacteristic submissiveness to her commander, Malkovich. Fans were used to seeing Samus shoot first and ask questions later, acting without hesitation or fear. Having to watch her comply or do nothing because her commander had ordered her not to use certain weapons or equipment was jarring for some.
Isaac Clarke was originally intended to be a faceless, voiceless stand-in for the player, as the developers felt that giving him a personalitywould break the tense atmosphereaboard the Necromorph-infested Ishimura. However, even by the end of the first game, Isaac’s appearance had been revealed, and for the sequel,Dead Space 2, Visceral / EA Redwood wanted him to play a more active role in the plot.
This would have to involve giving Isaac a voice and personality of his own. This was considered risky at the time, but given the fans' overall positive reaction, this carried over toDead Space 3and even the remake of the original game. Most fans agreed that retroactively inserting his voice, while controversial, was done with finesse and care and worked in favor of the atmosphere and story.
For a stealth game, there is a certain amount of sense in making the protagonist a silent character. Chatter might distract the player from hearing footsteps or enemy conversation that might be critical to the mission. However, forDishonored 2the story demanded a more definite characterization from Corvo, especially as most of the game takes place in his birthplace.
There is also a precedent for animmersive stealth simto use voiceover from the protagonist in the story. In fact, they pulled the same voice actor (Stephen Russell) that the series' inspirationThiefused to voice its protagonist, Garrett, to bring to life the personality of the lord protector, whether the player chooses to play as him again or not.
