Final Fantasy XIII

[drwaffles]

The voice acting in this game is pretty good

Agreed, pretty much everything I've heard has been good quality, especially compared to games like FFX.

Vanille's included

No. Her delivery is stilted and her quasi-Australian accent is a joke. It's impossible to take her seriously in any way.

She's certainly not "bloody horrendous" and she definitely doesn't deserve the hate she got from reviewers and is consequently getting from people who can't think for themselves.

You're assuming that I read reviews and adopted that opinion. However, the truth is I've read no reviews of FFXIII whatsoever. In fact I barely read anything about the game before its release, and what I did read was way back when the game was first announced. I decided not to buy into the hype this time around - when I got the game, I went into it completely unaware of others' opinions so that I could form my own without pre-existing bias.

I don't see why you think you get to be the hypercritical voiceover expert when you thought her accent was supposed to be british.

I said that's what it sounded like the first time I heard her speak; I knew that wasn't the case as the game progressed. Her pronunciations constantly fluctuate between Australian and American, with the occasional inclusion of what sounds to me like British pronunciation, and it sounds ridiculous. If you think that someone who's unable to convincingly stick to one accent constitutes a "good voice actor" then it seems you're the one who doesn't know what he's talking about. Anyway, even if she could pull off the accent, the way she tries to emulate an anime voiceover in English makes her delivery sound forced, so she'd be doomed regardless.

[drwaffles]

Just bothers me, no two people's accents are exactly the same. The voice actress is Australian and has an Australian accent.

There's nothing wrong with giving a character an Australian accent, but when it's thoroughly unconvincing it ruins the overall effect completely.

[BerenTebogo]

How much does Bravery really increase STR? Mainly want to know if 3 Kaiser* (STR+300 each) would be better or worse than 2 Kaister* and Auto-Bravery (sick to death of not getting 5 star on some shit because SYN thinks it's a better idea to spam me with pro/shell before Bravery)

[Buttons]

There's nothing wrong with giving a character an Australian accent, but when it's thoroughly unconvincing it ruins the overall effect completely.

Why is it unconvincing? Because you think it's not what an Australian sounds like? You do know that there are a wide variety of accents in Australia and spending time abroad does change your accent.
Plus Vanille is from another "world" ingame and as such it does not really matter what her accent is like.

I just don't like how many Americans criticise English accents thinking they know better. It's a personal pet peeve that just gets to me lol.
I even had an American tell me once I am apparently not a native speaker since my English doesn't sound the way he expects it to sound like. =__="

[nekoshoonen]

Buttons i just came to the conclusion that most americans are dumb. Especially when it comes to languages but not exclusively to that.

[drwaffles]

Why is it unconvincing? Because you think it's not what an Australian sounds like? You do know that there are a wide variety of accents in Australia and spending time abroad does change your accent.
Plus Vanille is from another "world" ingame and as such it does not really matter what her accent is like.

I just don't like how many Americans criticise English accents thinking they know better. It's a personal pet peeve that just gets to me lol.
I even had an American tell me once I am apparently not a native speaker since my English doesn't sound the way he expects it to sound like. =__="

1. I'm not American
2. A few members of my close family live in Australia
3. I grew up watching Australian soap operas and kids' TV shows

I know what an Australian accent sounds like, and whilst it's true that accents differ between regions that doesn't mean that you can use that as an excuse. I've never heard anything like her accent, and to me it just sounds like an American person doing a bad imitation, which sort of makes sense considering the actress's background. It's not a regional accent - it's a bastardization.

[Eaglestrike]

Vanille's VA wasn't completely terrible, but it would have been good if she had stuck to an accent the entire time. She jumped around the entire story and that really ruined it for me. But she wasn't nearly as bad as I thought she was going to be based on the trailer and such.

As for my overall opinion of the game: It's the best FF game made. In that it's the one I'm most likely to play over and over again. The gameplay is far better than any previous one and very enjoyable and that's what really effects replay value.

[Priran]

You're assuming that I read reviews and adopted that opinion. However, the truth is I've read no reviews of FFXIII whatsoever. In fact I barely read anything about the game before its release, and what I did read was way back when the game was first announced. I decided not to buy into the hype this time around - when I got the game, I went into it completely unaware of others' opinions so that I could form my own without pre-existing bias.

If you haven't read any reviews, then by the way you take something you find mildly irritating and say it ruins the game you could certainly write them.

I said that's what it sounded like the first time I heard her speak; I knew that wasn't the case as the game progressed. Her pronunciations constantly fluctuate between Australian and American, with the occasional inclusion of what sounds to me like British pronunciation, and it sounds ridiculous. If you think that someone who's unable to convincingly stick to one accent constitutes a "good voice actor" then it seems you're the one who doesn't know what he's talking about. Anyway, even if she could pull off the accent, the way she tries to emulate an anime voiceover in English makes her delivery sound forced, so she'd be doomed regardless.

It's an unusual accent, sure, but it's the voice actress's own actual accent (watch that youtube video that was posted). Saying it's "unconvincing" just sounds like willful ignorance of facts, and arguing that having a unique accent makes the voice actress bad is ridiculous.

[Priran]

I know what an Australian accent sounds like, and whilst it's true that accents differ between regions that doesn't mean that you can use that as an excuse. I've never heard anything like her accent, and to me it just sounds like an American person doing a bad imitation, which sort of makes sense considering the actress's background. It's not a regional accent - it's a bastardization.

Boohoo she doesn't sound like every australian stereotype ever.

Here's an idea, whenever Vanille says something pretend her voiceovers are done by Paul Hogan. Like this:

Spoiler: show

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/8...odiledunde.jpg

Then let's run away!

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/2...ledundee31.jpg

Ciao!

[Kiarax]

Here's an idea, whenever Vanille says something pretend her voiceovers are done by Paul Hogan. Like this:

Spoiler: show

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/8...odiledunde.jpg

Then let's run away!

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/2...ledundee31.jpg

Ciao!

LOL.

[drwaffles]

If you haven't read any reviews, then by the way you take something you find mildly irritating and say it ruins the game you could certainly write them.

What are you talking about? This sentence doesn't even make sense, especially considering I never said it ruins the game. In fact I praised the game, and said that this was one of my only complaints.

Saying it's "unconvincing" just sounds like willful ignorance of facts, and arguing that having a unique accent makes the voice actress bad is ridiculous.

She was asked to voice Vanille with an Australian accent, but what she produced doesn't sound convincingly Australian to anyone who knows what one actually sounds like. If you'd actually read what I said, you'd notice that I commented on Kiara's video saying that the actress certainly sounds authentically Australian in person, but that's not the accent she gave to Vanille. You also seem to have conveniently missed out the part where I criticised the actual delivery. You're correct in that a bad accent doesn't necessarily render a performance terrible, but in this case it makes a mediocre performance even worse.

I came in here merely wanting to joke around about this character's bad voice acting under the assumption that anyone with a working pair of ears would share my opinion. I'm surprised to have been met with such hostility, but I'm not surprised that it was supported by incorrect assumptions about me and contained weak arguments like "not everyone in the same country has the same accent". My goal certainly wasn't to initiate a shit-flinging contest, but if that's the way you want to go, please continue.

[Priran]

You'd have a very convincing argument for the case that Vanille's voice acting is bad if FF13 was set in Australia. But it isn't. So stop bitching about how Vanille has an unusual australian accent.

As for the anime-esque delivery, take it up with Japan.

[drwaffles]

You'd have a very convincing argument for the case that Vanille's voice acting is bad if FF13 was set in Australia. But it isn't. So stop bitching about how Vanille has an unusual australian accent.

You're new to this whole presenting a logical argument thing, aren't you?

[Atreides]

Someone is making fun of a Final Fantasy game somewhere on the internet?!?

Quick, to the Petercopter!
http://images.wikia.com/familyguy/im...etercopter.gif

[Charismatic]

which sort of makes sense considering the actress's background.

No it doesn't.
She's Australian. She's also only been in the US for 4 years.

[Chun Liroy]

It's an unusual accent, sure, but it's the voice actress's own actual accent (watch that youtube video that was posted). Saying it's "unconvincing" just sounds like willful ignorance of facts, and arguing that having a unique accent makes the voice actress bad is ridiculous.

As much as I hate to agree with Priran, this is exactly I felt reading the last page~

[Priran]

You're new to this whole presenting a logical argument thing, aren't you?

Slower, with shorter words. Got it.

You are used to australian accents. Since the voice actress is australian, but moved to the US, her accent is kind of australian, with something "off" about it. This translates to "irritating, bad approximation of australian" when you, personally, hear it.

Vanille is not an australian. So, when you point out that her voice doesn't sound authentically australian (or american, or british) you're not right or wrong, you're just making a meaningless statement.

[Priran]

p.s. I love when posters I do not know say they hate agreeing with me

[drwaffles]

No it doesn't.
She's Australian. She's also only been in the US for 4 years.

I know, hence the "sort of". If she was an American that had been living in Australia for four years it'd make perfect sense since you can't expect an ordinary person (i.e. not a professional voice actor) to completely pick up an accent over the course of four years. Vanille's accent is a sort of messy amalgamation of American and Australian, and the actress has lived in both America and Australia - that makes some kind of sense.

[Kyo]

Buttons i just came to the conclusion that most Americans are dumb. Especially when it comes to languages but not exclusively to that.

I know waffles covered it but he is British not American. But this generalization fits people in general, not just Americans. How do languages correlate with the said English language the actor is speaking, she is speaking ENGLISH. If you meant accents, you beat up your statement more ways than one.

News flash guys, Americans are too dumb to understand their native language.