Sonic being mute

[Gaming Misfit]

I've thought of this for a while now. Ever since Generations came out and they announced that to keep to the old days, Classic Sonic would be mute, it hit me. If Mario was kept mute (well in most cases, it's kind of like Tom and Jerry) then why did SEGA want to give Sonic a voice? Not saying SEGA is like Nintendo or anything, but I'm just curious. This is a kind of vague discussion and a little jumpy in some places, but I have some questions.

-When you first heard Sonic talk, what was it like? Did it occur to you that he had never talked before?

-Would you prefer Sonic be mute?

-Are you glad Generations is keeping Classic Sonic mute?

Again, this is a little all over the place, but it's just a sort of general discussion thing.

[No more]

His first ever voice actor was in Sonic CD and he didn't often speak.

I would have rather they gave C. Sonic a voice, Jaleel White possibly? but lets just see if SEGA can pull this off minus the voice

[Vertekins]

I'll just leave this here, a post I made in the "Sonic Misconceptions" Topic;

That C Sonic is mute or should be mute because he was silent in the classic games.

Not only is that a falsehood (As Sonic did speak in the likes of CD, SEGASonic Arcade and Waku Waku Sonic Patrol Car), it's a debunked perception because as soon as the capacity for EASY voice synthesis in the form of media with adequate memory surfaced, SEGA had Sonic talking. Not much, but still talking.

[Dr. Mechano]

His first ever voice actor was in Sonic CD and he didn't often speak.

I would have rather they gave C. Sonic a voice, Jaleel White possibly? but lets just see if SEGA can pull this off minus the voice

Edited June 22, 2011 by Dr. Mechano

[Tori Himemiya]

I was more used to AoStH Sonic talking with his cockyness. I didn't mind silent film Sonic but again I was more used to his voice in the cartoons so it wasn't too foreign.

When the Adventure series came around I thought the voice acting was a lot better though.

[Your Vest Friend]

The last Sonic game I played before my long Sonic-free period was Sonic and Knuckles, where he was silent. The games I played before that (Sonic 1, 2 and 3) had him silent too. The next game I played after these was Sonic Heroes, where he was obviously not silent. I just assumed they'd given him a full voice in the time I was gone, and didn't give a shit beyond that.

[Flyboy Fox]

As soon as Sonic's voice-clips started to surface, it became pretty obvious that he's a fairly vocal kind of guy who likes the sound of his own voice. You can get that much just from the 'yeah's and effort vocalisations. Sonic being mute as a character trait just makes no sense... it's not like in other franchises where the main character's lack of speaking is directly played upon and even mocked (eg. Link in Zelda, Chell in Portal, etc). It's simply that, as Verte said, there just wasn't memory enough on the cart for much speech back then. As soon as they COULD make him speak, they DID.

So, yeah, I'm fine with Classic Sonic being mute as a nostalgic throwback to how the games were back then, but won't accept it as an actual character trait =P

(Still a little miffed at chilidogs becoming canon).

[Rusty Spy]

The only feasible reason I can see C Sonic in Generations being mute is SOLELY as a Mythology Gag pertaining to technological limitation back in the day when his design was prevalent. If they're trying to tell me that C Sonic is mute as a part of his character because he's silent mostly in the old games then sorry, that doesn't gel with me whatsoever.

[Diogenes]

Sonic (and everyone else) started talking as soon as it was reasonable to have voices in games. Making classic Sonic mute can only serve one of two purposes; either preserving your warped childhood memories, or avoiding crappy writing/acting. For the former, doing shit just to support your mistaken interpretations is dumb. Read through the misconceptions topic, see how many people made mistakes about a character's gender or their relationship with other characters or whatever, and see how their response is "oh, whoops, I was wrong" rather than "stupid Sega ruining my childhood!". For the latter, it's taking the coward's way out; if you want the writing and acting to improve, ask for better writers, actors, and directors.

[TwoTailedFox]

-When you first heard Sonic talk, what was it like? Did it occur to you that he had never talked before?

Well, I can't really answer this question as started liking Sonic in December 2009, and he had talked before then! Sorry 'bout that. Although, I guess when I did hear Sonic for the first time (when I played Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games), I didn't really like it, but I did eventually warm up to it.

-Would you prefer Sonic be mute?

Not really. I don't know why. I just like it when characters talk, I guess.

-Are you glad Generations is keeping Classic Sonic mute?

Eh, I'm kinda neutral. I would'a like to hear what C. Sonic was supposed to sound like, but I can live.

[EXshad]

Sonic wasn't totally mute before Sonic Adventure; they did give him dialogue in games like Sonic 3D Blast, and in the manuals and extended media. Plus, in Sonic CD, he spoke sporadically with that awkwardly bizarre child-like Engrish voice, so I honestly dunno why speaking for Sonic in the main games was a rare occasion back in the day. Naturally as a kid, I really didn't care, and in Sonic 3, the story and character motivations were portrayed just fine through their actions and expressions, so I never batted an eyelash at the lack of diologue.

In Sonic Adventure, I did like the addition of voices though. It made the characters more 3-dimensional as well as the gameplay, giving Tails, Knuckles, and other characters more development than what's possible with simple actions, and I thought they handled it rather well. And Sonic Adventure 2 continued to push this envelop even further, and for the most part, it worked even better than in Adventure 1! Of course, with new titles that's incredibly debatable, but I think the point is that the depth and complexity SEGA gives the characters is contingent on the depth of the game itself. Strange theory, I know, but Imma roll with it.

The reason why I think making Classic Sonic a mute is good for Generations though is simply because they're not just bringing Classic Sonic's design back; SEGA's put a lot of effort into making him play nearly identically to the same way he played in Sonic 2. The whole classic portion of the game is meant to really be a recreation of the classic experience, and making Classic Sonic express himself purely through his motions and expressions is the best way to do that. Though, like Sonic CD, maybe it'd be cool to hear him say "yes!" or "hurry up!" once in a while, though please SEGA, don't give him such a strange, awkward-sounding voice this time...

As a whole though, for the most part, whether or not Sonic speaks doesn't effect the quality of the game for me; call me simple, but I just couldn't care less. Now, WHAT he says is a bit of another story

Edited June 22, 2011 by EXshad

[-Mark-]

Mario is still mostly mute because Mario doesn't really have much of a personality. Sonic, on the other hand, has blatantly had one to begin with.

But yeah, I agree with those who've said that it was basically technical limitations that prevented Sonic from talking in the early 90s. That, and the games didn't really have plots that required it.

Keeping Classic Sonic mute in Generations is, in my opinion, simply out of a sense that they don't want horrific amounts of classic-fanboy backlash with "YOU RUINED CLASSIC SONIC BY MAKING HIM TALK, SEGA". Even though technically having him mute makes little sense, I guess it's a choice made for the sake of preserving the feel and integrity of the classics themselves.

[Kuzu]

Ever since I saw Sonic for the first time, I always expected him to have a voice of some kind, his actions showed way too much character and like Verte said, it was unheard of for a game to even have full spoken audio because of the size limits. Hell Nintendo even gave Mario and Link some voice clips after the series went 3D, even if they are just grunts and small phrases.

For Mario and Link it was intentional, because Nintendo wanted them to be an Avatars where you can project you're personality on(Hence why despite being named Link, you can alter his name if you choose, hell his name describes the connection between you and the character), while Sonic very much had his own personality from the start; unlike Mario and Link, Sonic(And to an extent Tails, Knuckles, and Robotnik) displayed plenty of character in his idle stances, which is a lot more than we can say about the aformentioned Mario and Link. After Sonic went 3D, Sega had the technology to finally give Sonic a voice and they went for it, if anyone hates the voice of the characters its either A: Because the voice acting genuinally sucks, or is poorly written. or B: Want the games to be exactly like their childhood.

All in all, half the time when the critics throw that "Sonic voices suck" bull shit, its mostly just them clinging to their past, and nothing more. Because Sonic looks and acts like a very vocal guy.

[Mangoaxe5]

I wish that Classic Sonic did talk in Sonic Generations just to piss off the Classic Sonic fanboys who seem to believe that Classic Sonic is this great thing that will save the franchise.

[sonfan1984]

- I don't know how it's like to hear Sonic talk (the first time I've ever heard him talk is in SatAM). I was a kid back then so I don't really remember that well.

- No, I think Sonic having a voice gives him more personality. That's one of the reasons why I like him better as a character then mute characters like Mario and Link.

- No, not really but at the same I'm glad cause then we don't have to deal with a bunch of raging fans complaining that SEGA ruined classic Sonic cause they've made him talk. At least Modern Sonic could talk and that's good enough for me.

[ChikaBoing]

Portraying C. Sonic as mute only makes sense in a throwback game.

[TheDanimator]

I think they are doing the right thing keeping him mute.

Jaleel was never the voice in the games, I mean, as much as I would of loved jaleel for classic sonic I think it would of been selfish to not care about the crapload of people that wanted the genesis experience.

I also beleive that sonic was always meant to talk, but I feel like its just gonna cause problems if they gave him a voice.

[Kuzu]

I think they are doing the right thing keeping him mute.

Jaleel was never the voice in the games, I mean, as much as I would of loved jaleel for classic sonic I think it would of been selfish to not care about the crapload of people that wanted the genesis experience.

I also beleive that sonic was always meant to talk, but I feel like its just gonna cause problems if they gave him a voice.

[Dr Jackstraw]

Bah, I love the fact that C. Sonic is mute, no hating against the voice actors (I don't give a shit about voice acting) But I really do enjoy silent protagonists . The personality comes from the actions., themselves.

Edited June 22, 2011 by Aero909

[Robogaman]

I don't mind the fact that Classic Sonic does not speak.

[Marcello]

I can answer all three questions with no and it seemed natural for him to talk.

In fact, I was pretty angry when they announced C.Sonic would be mute.

[Old dead account]

Is overrated.

VA and silence issues are overrated trivilities If you ask me. But I don't see classic Sonic's attitude as being "badass" at all from the silence. Granted, it's the gameplay that really matters in the end, I don't care whether he talks or not since I liked Yacker's portrayal but I wouldve liked to see him crack a Sonic Sez joke.

[Nepenthe]

I don't buy the technical limitation explanation as to why Sonic et. all didn't speak in most of the games. Why? Because Sonic CD more than proved it was possible. If dialogue was supposed to be a character trait of game Sonic in the 90s, why wouldn't they try it in every other succeeding title? A comparatively few people got their hands on CD much less waited around for ten minutes to hear a clip they probably wouldn't have thought existed, and people damn sure didn't play SegaSonic Arcade. Even assuming it was completely impossible for every other main installment and spin-off sans those two games at the time to have sound bytes, why couldn't they add text during cutscenes? Surely text was doable in 1991.

I consider this notion of Sonic never meaning to come across as a silent protagonist a classic example of championing the exception, not the rule. I'm also tired of seeing the opposing opinion being labelled as nothing but fanciful nostalgia; Such pettiness is unbecoming.

Frankly, I adore Classic Sonic as a silent protagonist not only because that's what the majority of the games relayed, but also because it fits that particular design iteration more to me. Every classic design enthusiast likes to point out that Sonic has characteristics befitting a 10-20s cartoon character like Mickey and Felix. Well, they weren't originally chatterboxes either, (though I admit, Felix tried much harder than Sonic did by utilizing speech bubbles.)

[DC111]

I think it'd have been cool for classic Sonic to have a voice. I have a feeling it's going to be a little awkward that he can't talk, without explanation as to why... almost like it'll seem forced, since we don't have the 'technology limitations' reason to justify it this time around. Either that, or they're going to tone down modern Sonic's talking so classic Sonic's muteness doesn't seem as noticeable (for as much as I liked the Generations City Escape cutscene, it is unfortunately good example of this, and I hope it was only like that because it was a lead-in to gameplay).

Which, honestly, I think is an insult to BOTH versions of the character. I've always believed the reason classic Sonic didn't talk was because of technology limitations, like many others here. He never came across as the quiet type to me. Never. As for modern Sonic... well, he hasn't shut up since he first opened his mouth, and I'm okay with that. I don't want him to quiet down now just because his counterpart is.

One reason I oppose White as Classic Sonic is that it would further the erroneous idea that the cartoons were somehow an accurate representation of the classic games (Still a little miffed at chilidogs becoming canon). White is the voice of the western cartoon Sonic, and does a bang-up job at it, but seeing him voice the game iteration of Sonic wouldn't work as well- Game Sonic has used to have a different personality than the one used in AoStH/SatAM/Underground, and I'm just not sure White's take on the character would be terribly fitting for him.

Fixed. Seem to me his personalities have kind of merged as of late.

Edited June 22, 2011 by DC111

[aaaaaa]

I don't buy the technical limitation explanation as to why Sonic et. all didn't speak in most of the games. Why? Because Sonic CD more than proved it was possible. If dialogue was supposed to be a character trait of game Sonic in the 90s, why wouldn't they try it in every other succeeding title? A comparatively few people got their hands on CD much less waited around for ten minutes to hear a clip they probably wouldn't have thought existed, and people damn sure didn't play SegaSonic Arcade. Even assuming it was completely impossible for every other main installment and spin-off sans those two games at the time to have sound bytes, why couldn't they add text during cutscenes? Surely text was doable in 1991.

I don't think Sega thought it through that thoroughly one way or another back in those days. The format of the earliest Sonic games really wasn't suited to focus intensively on storyline, and the closest thing to cutscenes we ever had were the few between-stage transitions from Sonic 3 and Knuckles, leaving the more intricate details of the plot to literature and fandom outside of the games themselves. I don't think this was a character development decision on the part of Sega, though. More than anything I think that pertains to the fluidity and playability of those games, as I think mostly leaving the storyline out of the games themselves made for a more compact and gameplay-oriented experience, in contrast to later-generation titles which have been widely criticized for unnecessary fluff and bulk content detracting from the actual playing.

I agree that Sonic of today's generation would seem a little awkward if he was kept entirely mute. In contrast to other gaming characters who speak rarely or never, like Mario, Sonic's games have always incorporated very vibrant and elaborate narratives. (despite, as I mentioned earlier, the omission of most of the intricate details of these narratives from the content of the early games themselves) Beyond the plots of the games, the television and book elements of the franchise has always tended toward more elaborate (maybe childish or ill-conceived at times, I'll grant) fantasy or sci-fi oriented storylines as well, and although you can argue that many, if not all of these are not part of the main canon of the official Sega Sonic universe, by and large Sonic the Hedgehog is as much of an adventure hero as he is a video game protagonist. Perhaps there was more ambiguity surrounding this in the earliest days of the franchise, and prior to the Dreamcast era and the incorporation of extensive dialogue in all of the main platforming games Sega could have chosen to divorce the then mostly mute Sonic of the games from the speaking Sonic of Archie and the Television series, but at this point I think it would require either a revamping of the character and the franchise, or a kind of campy "The games have a plot and everyone speaks but for some reason the main character is mute" approach to make Sonic voiceless yet again.