Summary

  • Recorded dialogue has reportedly been found in the Pokemon Legends: Arceus files.
  • It isn't a fully voiced script like most modern games, but instead little grunts, phrases, and laughter like in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
  • For whatever reason, this footage went unused in the final build.

Dataminers claim to have found evidence in the recent Game Freak hack that voiced dialogue was cut from Pokemon Legends: Arceus ahead of its 2022 launch.

When I say voice acting, I don't mean a script read line-by-line. These are grunts, laughs, and little phrases that, going by the format 'Dialogue#(NUMBER)', would have likely triggered when talking to different NPCs, much like in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. You can hear them for yourself here.

There are hangovers of this scrapped idea in the release build of Arceus, as you can hear the player's voice briefly while throwing a Pokeball or when taking damage. But for whatever reason, the rest of the recored dialogue appears to have been scrapped completely.

Some phrases include "hello", "thank you", and "arigato".

Pokemon Games Have Featured Voiced Dialogue Before

As broken down in an incredibly handy list by Bulbapedia, spoken dialogue in Pokemon games isn't completely unprecedented.

Pokemon Black and White used synethesised beatboxing for the Village Bridge theme, and when speaking to Russo, enka vocals are added to the background track. In Black and White 2, you can hear the phrases "Give me what I need" and "Are you ready?" while inside the Nimbassa Gym, seemingly sung by Elesa.

More recently, in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, you can hear students talking and playing on the title screen. In Pokemon Snap, there are short voice lines for certain characters like Professor Oak, performed by the anime actors. And in Pokemon Puzzle League, the introduction scene is fully voiced.

Regardless, opinion is split on whether including as little as grunts, phrases, and laughter in Arceus would have been better or worse. Some commenters are adamant that the Pokemon series should stay away from voice acting altogether, while others argue that these little snippets would have given each NPC far more character.

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Pokemon Legends: Arceus

RPG Action Systems 3.5/5 8.8/10 OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 83/100 Critics Rec: 86% Released January 28, 2022 ESRB E for Everyone: Mild Fantasy Violence Developer(s) Game Freak Publisher(s) Nintendo, The Pokemon Company Engine Proprietary Engine
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WHERE TO PLAY

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Visit the ancient region of Hisui, the predecessor to Sinnoh, and help create the first Pokedex. Pokemon Legends: Arceus introduces a more action role-playing, open-world style of gameplay.

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