Things in Scarlet and Violet you were pleasantly surprised by?

[mastermind lissi]

I liked the story, the characters, the ending OH MY ARCEUS THE ENDING

I forgot Ed Sheeran was in the credits so that mildly surprised me in the moment but in a good way

A few of my favourite mons were in the game too, which was nice

Also Ceruledge. I knew it existed pre release (i always had a tab open on the scvi site and would not shut up about it for about a week before the game released and a week after), so I caught a charcadet cause it looked cool enough, and I wanted to try some of the new Pokémon. I googled how to evolve it and everything, and once I did. It became a beautiful Ceruledge. The ghost/fire typing is really cool, I was concerned for it when I read the description for bitter blade (but it’s a cool move), and carried me through most of Geetas team

There are more but icr

 

[Sheep40]

I hope this means voice acting in the next games.

 

[Greninjaman]

You realize that if there is voice acting, we would not be able to name our characters.

 

[Max1996]

You realize that if there is voice acting, we would not be able to name our characters.

First example I can think of that contradicts that notion would be Persona 5 (Royal) where the written dialogue uses the name you gave the character, while the accompanying voice acting simply uses the corresponding pronouns. In that example, only he/him/his since you can't choose gender.

 

[Sheep40]

Just use neutral pronouns as much as possible.

It's easy in pokemon because you always have at least one of the things around, thus there's a built in excuse for they/them.

 

[mastermind lissi]

Honestly, I’m kind of meh on the whole voice acting thing. This probably isn’t the best thread to discuss this, but I like the sort of creative freedom my brain gets while playing the games. Like, when it comes to the anime it can’t be helped, but I like the games how they are. Plus, I don’t really like hearing human voices in my headphones while chilling and playing Pokémon. I wouldn’t not play a game just because of voice acting, but I’m not going to go and say we need it.

Edit: and I’m pretty sure at least one of the major male child characters is going to sound like a middle aged man.

 

[Sheep40]

Honestly, I’m kind of meh on the whole voice acting thing. This probably isn’t the best thread to discuss this, but I like the sort of creative freedom my brain gets while playing the games. Like, when it comes to the anime it can’t be helped, but I like the games how they are. Plus, I don’t really like hearing human voices in my headphones while chilling and playing Pokémon. I wouldn’t not play a game just because of voice acting, but I’m not going to go and say we need it.

Edit: and I’m pretty sure at least one of the major male child characters is going to sound like a middle aged man.

This is precisely why the games don't have voice acting. The sound designers literally said so.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

I don't want voice acting because I like being able to voice the characters myself!

 

[mastermind lissi]

Yessss…. When my siblings used to be younger and couldn’t read very well yet, I would read them Pokespe, and the dialogue in games…. And the one time our mom was downstairs so we put on an episode of Pokémon anime with subtitles and I did voice acting for the whole thing myself… I have a passable Conway impression now…

I got off topic but yea. I don’t like to play games with the sound on often anyways, unless there’s like a good soundtrack (like scvi) and I just don’t wanna hear human voices

And I’m pretty sure I could get into anime voice acting after this… I had to make a distinction between x, y, Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor’s voices…. That’s off topic

 

[FelipePR]

You realize that if there is voice acting, we would not be able to name our characters.

Not true, there are a multitude of games with dialogue in which you can name your character, such as the latest Dragon Quest. As said, the game can use pronouns or qualifiers, like Hero/ Trainer/ Challenger/ Twerp, to refer to player-named characters.

I don't want voice acting because I like being able to voice the characters myself!

If the developers allow you to mute and disable dialogues, like in most games, where there are different audio options for dialogue, ambient sound, effects and so on, you can continue to do so.

I got off topic but yea. I don’t like to play games with the sound on often anyways, unless there’s like a good soundtrack (like scvi) and I just don’t wanna hear human voices

So disable the sound, there is no one forcing you to listen to it.

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From a player's perspective, none of the arguments presented seem, to me, to be a credible explanation of any harm or loss resulting from the introduction of voice acting in Pokémon Franchise games.

As I already said in another topic:

In short, there are no downsides to adding something, especially when it enhances the sensory experience and is not compulsory.

Let's face it, it's not as if the Pokémon Games are "mute" for artistic reasons, like some films, but, initially, for a technological reason and, later, because Game Freak and Nintendo are very scrooge companies.

 

[Juliyet]

Moderator Notice

Hey y'all!

Over the past couple days, this thread has steered towards the topic of voice acting in future games. While an enticing topic worth discussion on its own, it doesn't quite fit this thread's focus. This thread is about things already in Scarlet and Violet that you were pleasantly surprised by.

Please try to stay on topic with the thread's initial theme. We want to keep this thread's focus on highlighting positively on things already in the game. Feel more than free to discuss the prospect of voice acting in a more suitable thread though.

That is all, thanks!

 

[mastermind lissi]

I was just about to say that and it slipped my mind lol

 

[Sheep40]

Is there a dedicated thread for voice acting?

 

[mastermind lissi]

No? Should I make one? (I could have missed it idk)

 

[Sheep40]

If anything, the quality of the writing has only up to go from here.

It's actually linear. XY and SS were regarded to have lighter excuse plots, but they still exhibit characters with actual layers, development, motivations, goals, and opinions.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

Oh? Because I found at least the core trio and the "professor" to be quite nuanced given how little dialogue they all have overall. Even the actual professor is presented as quite the complex character even though we never meet them.

 

[guzmania]

i actually happened to think the characters were very multifaceted as well, which was one of my scvi pleasant surprises :>
as a matter of fact, i went into the game completely blind, and i got blindsided several times:

Spoiler: just in case they're necessary: spoilers for the entirety of scvi and the teal mask

• arven's personality (as well as his role in the story). this seems to be the popular consensus regarding him, but i thought he was gonna be the typical "rival with attitude." it's no secret that i have a bit of a preference for the "mean" ones (not because of their personalities, but because i usually just genuinely find them more compelling because they make me wonder why it is the way they are? if that makes sense), but him turning out to be a truly caring, kind, overall just good guy with a bit of an edge due to his upbringing was at least somewhat unexpected to me, or something i didn't really consider at first. (and i know bede and silver, two examples of the "mean rival" trope, ALSO turned out the way they did due to their messy childhoods; arven, however, is far more agreeable and less jaded (though he still has his moments obviously), and i really really enjoyed meeting the softer side of him a bit later into the titan plot. it was him being a pretty chill guy beneath his exterior i was not anticipating, to be entirely specific.)
• clavell not being a villain is oddly the first one that came to mind, actually. i distrusted him the second i met him and he turned out to be one of my favorite characters because of his kindness and devotion to his students. i'm so grateful he wasn't another predictable twist villain; he's so much better the way he is, imo.
• totally cheating and not referring to the characters for a second here: the music. yes, i already loved pokemon music, but a lot of the tracks in this song made me stall the battles just so i could listen further. hell, the treasures of ruin theme made me jump from my couch three seconds into it when i heard it for the first time.
• the area zero plot (specifically DUE to the characterization depicted in it). this is an obvious one but it is true for me. i had NO IDEA what i was in for and i never even would have suspected the professor was dead if not for that. i figured something was... very wrong when the AI started glitching out toward the end (i remember one of the characters wrote it off as them joking, which i found odd as i didn't believe that was really their sense of humor), but still, my stomach dropped at the big reveal. mostly for arven's sake, i think. it was one hell of an emotional ending, and i genuinely don't think a moment in the series had hit me as hard in the feels since n's departure in bw. (before you ask, lillie's departure was close..)
• carmine. i was SO sure she was gonna be the "ice queen with a hot-blooded streak" antithesis to kieran... who i had totally pegged as that shy kid with a dark side, and i can't lie, i'm a bit proud of myself for getting that right even if the trailer heavily alluded to his mental state at the end... but i ended up being completely wrong on his big sis. well. mostly. i had really thought she was gonna be more stoic, at least generally, than her hot-blooded little self, but i had totally figured she was gonna be nasty to the player, and i nailed it. what i did NOT anticipate was her slowly coming around, albeit certainly retaining her somewhat egocentric personality - i would've been willing to swear that she would remain a bit of a bully up until the very end of indigo disk, though possibly slowly learning her lesson a la blue. wrong wrong wrong. she's a seriously flawed person, and at least i would say her previous experiences don't excuse her xenophobia toward the player - but i think neither the game nor carmine TRY to excuse her behavior, actually. she offers it as an explanation but openly admits her attitude was wrong, and obviously her attitude toward "outsiders" is something the narrative doesn't endorse. actually, not only does she admit her attitude was wrong - she turns it completely on its head, and expresses genuine enthusiasm for having met the exchange students! she was educated and willing to learn and became a HAPPIER PERSON after realizing her old, racist mindset was flawed and worked to fix it. i find that pretty powerful. and no, carmine is no angel, i'm not saying that - she was still pretty horrible to MC at the beginning and she directly contributed to kieran's mental state falling apart and she needs to put in work to help him and make up for those mistakes - but the story demonstrates that despite first impressions, she is willing to learn from those around her and do better. and i really look forward to seeing her grow in the second half, too.

ok im sorry this is probably a bit hard to read (the last part especially) but ive actually never voiced my thoughts about carmine after finishing the story ANYwhere before so i think i just had to get that out of my system even if in a kind of jumbled way.,

 

[StormyStinger]

Not really a think about the game as a whole but I love the new animations for Morpeko changing forms. (His belly now rumbles when going into Hangry and he pulls out a snack to eat to go back to Full Belly.)

 

[Sheep40]

A surprising acknowledgement of just how diverse spain and portugal IRL.

People who are implied to be from other regions aside, they represent other cultures native to spain and portugal too surprisingly well.

Nemona's from the south, and may be the equivalent of a moroccan.

Arven's name is basque in origin. Basque is theorized to be the world's oldest language, which ties into the past-future motif the game exhibits.

 

[AngryBinacle]

A surprising acknowledgement of just how diverse spain and portugal IRL.

People who are implied to be from other regions aside, they represent other cultures native to spain and portugal too surprisingly well.

Nemona's from the south, and may be the equivalent of a moroccan.

Arven's name is basque in origin. Basque is theorized to be the world's oldest language, which ties into the past-future motif the game exhibits.

The game doesn't have a past/future motif, though. Those Paradox Pokémon might not even be from the actual future/past. And that's about it regarding time in the whole game. I also fail to see how Nemona is supposed to be a Moroccan. Paldea is diverse, yes, which is a good thing. But I don't think it really encapsulates the Iberian peninsula, it's just diverse because it wants to be.

The game has a treasure motif, though, in the broadest sense of the word.