Was the english voice acting necessary ?

Telekill said:
Having finally played Shenmue 2 with English dub on the PS4 collection, it's infinitely better not having to read the story and just enjoying the scenes. I'd be angry if they removed English from any sequels.
Click to expand...

Yes 100%, and even Yu himself stated this. i'll look for the video where he says it, may take some time though. But basically he says subtitles=less immersion, as you no longer solely give your attention to the scene but instead have to divert your eyes to read the subs, even f for a second it still affects immersion. Also If you even daydream off for a second you can miss vital info too. Least if you can still understand the audio you are more likely to remember what they said when you werent paying full attention. Ive seen some streamers make that same mistake.
 
I will agree the localisation on the Eng dub in 3 was bad though. In this day and age that shit doesn't fly, so i can see why some hate it. But that's no reason to cut it. IF there is a fourth, we need to let Yu and co know that better translation is needed, im sure there's Japanese speaking shenmue fans who would even check it over for free, so cost shouldn't come into it.
 
SparkThaMetal said:
But basically he says subtitles=less immersion,
Click to expand...

Can’t say I ever saw this. Not saying he didn’t, but I’ve never seen it. And I can’t say I agree either if that’s the case, as some of my favourite movies I watch with subtitles.
 
Meh, I watch lots of foreign movies so I guess I'm just used to reading subtitles. You really stop noticing after a couple minutes, but I guess I'm speaking for myself.
 
B
mjqjazzbar said:
Meh, I watch lots of foreign movies so I guess I'm just used to reading subtitles. You really stop noticing after a couple minutes, but I guess I'm speaking for myself.
Click to expand...
IMO You cant make the comparison until you are fluent in the language of the movies you watch with subtitles.
Otherwise you're just making a guess that because you're used to it, that not having to read subs wouldn't make a difference.

I'm also used to watching movies/tv with subtitles, but i still know its less immersive.
Another thing , its harder to understand tone and inflection in foreign languages you don't speak, which cannot be put into text. You can guess at it from the English perspective, but its still not the same.
Also, subs are not accurate half the time.
 
Sh3ppy said:
Can’t say I ever saw this. Not saying he didn’t, but I’ve never seen it. And I can’t say I agree either if that’s the case, as some of my favourite movies I watch with subtitles.
Click to expand...

I definitely remember Yu saying this EDIT: Found it https://www.phantomriverstone.com/2019/09/segasaturno-interview-with-yu-suzuki-at.html


AM: Shenmue places importance on realism, but at the same time has aspects like people in China speaking Japanese, or Shenhua's image appearing on merchandise. Are these kinds of discrepancies something that was done deliberately?
YS: That's right. If everything was real then it would be less effective. It would lack impact. Considering it as entertainment, I think it's fine for it to feel as if it "could" exist.
For example, if a Chinese person speaks Chinese and there are subtitles in English or whatever, then your eyes are drawn to the subtitles, right? And that means the player will stop looking at the character's face.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top