When the PlayStation 5 Showcase featured a trailer for Final Fantasy 16 in September 2020, it came as a shock to many. There had been no prior indication of the title, and it premiered at the very beginning of the showcase. Due to complications from COVID, the game's director, Naoki Yoshida, stated in 2021 that Final Fantasy 16's development had been delayed by half a year. Yoshida stated the game's storyline was almost complete despite this and the recording of English voice lines was in its final stages. The team had focused on the English dub from the start, he said, and that's an exciting development for the Japanese-developed title.
Final Fantasy games have delivered some of the richest, most engaging experiences in gaming. Their stories are larger than life, but they're not exactly for everyone. The games have many quirky characteristics about them, and their combination of the best elements of JRPGs and action/adventure games can be a turn-off for some. Focusing on the English voices in the newest title could be an effective way to offset these traits and appeal to a larger audience.
Final Fantasy's Infamous Voice Acting
Regrettably, the Final Fantasy series isn't exactly known for its stellar voice acting. Performances have been hit or miss over the years, with some actors knocking it out of the park and others becoming notorious for their cheesy deliveries. The most obvious example of this is James Arnold Taylor's infamous laugh as Tidus in Final Fantasy 10, which has since become a meme. As Briana White explained in defense of Aerith's strange laugh in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, the writers, directors, and actors need to honor the intent of the project as best they can. With a focus on the English dub, there is a better sense of that intent so the voice actors have a better grasp of what they should convey. Plus, with the actors delivering a lot of these lines during motion capture, the smaller grunts and sighs will be a lot more natural.
Faster Development Thanks to Motion Capture
By focusing on the English dub of Final Fantasy 16, the development of the game will actually be faster, too. In other Square Enix titles, developers have to sync the animation of characters' mouths to each dub by hand. As Yoshida explained in an interview with WasyaganaTV, utilizing motion capture with the English voice actors eliminates the tedium of animating each mouth by hand. It will also help with the rest of the animation process since the actors in Final Fantasy 16 will be performing a full-body motion capture, Yoshida said. This sort of recording aids massively when it comes to the minutia of animation in AAA cinematics.
Matching the Medieval Setting of Final Fantasy 16
But perhaps the most obvious reason prioritizing English voice acting benefits Final Fantasy 16 is because of the game's setting. Most Final Fantasy games occupy a space somewhere between fantasy, sci-fi, and maybe even steampunk. The sixteenth installment, however, is teasing a darker, grimier setting within a more medieval environment. Its teaser shows off towering castles, plain tunics, and bloody fights. As with shows like Game of Thrones, it helps suspend audience disbelief when there's some sort of harmony between the setting and how the characters in it sound. Dedicating attention to the English dub (and specifically hiring British English voice actors) will go a long way in tying Final Fantasy 16's narrative together.
Voice acting can be a make-or-break addition to video games, and for this reason, many studios opt for text dialogue in its stead. Despite this, Square Enix has provided full-blown voice acting in every Final Fantasy game since Final Fantasy 10. As the series continues to evolve in new and unexpected ways, so too will the game's stories and acting. It remains to be seen whether the decision to focus on English dubs will be as rewarding for Square Enix as it is for fans, but if nothing else, it's a refreshing change in a series that innovates in each of its games. If the success of the scenarios written by Yoshida for Final Fantasy 14 is anything to go by, then the story is sure to be memorable with or without dialogue.
Final Fantasy 16 is in development for PS5.
