It's time for Game Freak to finally give Pokemon some proper voice acting

"Ever since making the jump to the Nintendo Switch, there's something that's bugged me about practically every modern Pokémon game, a feeling that has only intensified after spending countless hours in. For titles based in big, open worlds and filled with adorable polygonal characters and lovely music, why is nearly every pokémon still saddled with a call that sounds like a dial-up internet connection?"

"Back then, it was a herculean challenge to fit the entire game into a single 512KB cartridge. So as a way to save space, the voice (or cry as they are more commonly known) of each of the original 151 Pokémon came from just 38 base cries, which then had their pitch or duration modified to create more unique sounds."

"The first issue is one of identifiability. They all kind of sound the same, especially in earlier titles like Red and Blue or Gold and Silver, where around one hundred new Pokémon are represented by just 30 base cries. Ideally, a monster's voice would be just as recognizable as its silhouette."

Pokémon's iconic cries originated from Game Boy hardware limitations, where 151 Pokémon were created from just 38 base cries with pitch and duration modifications to save cartridge space. This lo-fi audio tradition persisted through subsequent handheld generations and felt appropriate alongside sprite-based graphics. However, the transition to Nintendo Switch's 3D environments and polygonal characters has made these bitcrushed calls feel anachronistic. The cries suffer from poor identifiability, with many sounding similar, particularly in earlier games where dozens of Pokémon share the same base cry. For newer players without nostalgic attachment to the original sounds, these audio choices seem disconnected from the modern visual presentation and technological capabilities available.

Read at Engadget