Audio Designer Reveals Why Samus Doesn't Really Have A Voice
Metroid Prime may have been released all the way back in 2002, but the love for the game has never faded away. After all these years, dedicated fans are still very keen to keep the conversations about Metroid Prime blooming.
For instance, Reece Reilly has been dedicating his podcast, Kiwi Talks, to bring back some of the developers behind the classic GameCube first-person shooter game. In doing so, the podcast has been providing players with some eye-opening facts about the game's development.
In one podcast, the former audio director of the first Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Clark Wen, revealed why exactly Samus Aran, the protagonist of the game, never says anything more than a few moans and groans.
Why Doesn't Samus Have A Voice?
Samus Aran may have a whole host of new abilities in the recent Metroid Dread game, but she's never been the chattiest of characters. However, Clark Wen revealed that this wasn't always the case, specifically during development for Metroid Prime.
In the podcast, Wen revealed that in the original cut, Samus was a lot more vocal. However, after the tapes were submitted to Nintendo, the game developer deemed that the voice used for Samus was "too sexual and too sensual sounding". So, it's understandable that Nintendo decided to go down a different route for the galactic bounty hunter.
Samus did finally get her own voice in Metroid: Other M. Whereas, in the 2D Metroid games, the player is directed by Samus via in-game text usually during the prologue section.
Does Samus Speak In Metroid Dread?
Well, yes! In Metroid Dread, Samus listens to Quiet Robe while they explain what's going on. Once they finish, Samus (for the first time ever!) speaks, saying: "I’ll end this. Once and for all."
But obviously the majority of the time she stays completely silent. Wen's claim contradicts what had been previously stated about Samus' silence, another team behind the character's development claiming it was due to a more artistic reason.
Previously, producer Yoshio Sakamoto claimed in an interview with GameSpot: "The reason that I wanted to make it that way is the main theme of this game, which is dread. I felt that to convey the current situation of Samus or what Samus is thinking right now, this would be better conveyed to the player not through actual words or actual voice, but more with acting or visuals. I want the player to think, 'What is going on? What is Samus feeling right now?'".
It might have been a long time coming, but Metroid Dread is finally here. Although, it would be great to, also, see the Zelda game shared by Metroid Prime artist, Sammy Hall. Samus may be a little quieter, but if you're looking for a game where you can have more of a natter, there's Starfield, which Bethesda promises to be their chattiest game ever.
