There are various characters in video game history who are known to be “silent” for one reason or another, or at the most only say a few words every once in a while. Samus Aran was very much that character through much of her time in the Metroid franchise. We would “hear” her speak via text boxes at times or via inner monologue, but rarely has her voice been heard. And when it was hear, like in Metroid Other M…it wasn’t always the best. So many wondered if Samus would speak again in Metroid Dread.
The answer was yes, but not in the way people expected. As we noted in our Metroid Dread Review, Samus does speak…but in Chozo. And any other thoughts were conveyed via opening text screen, or spoken by her A.I. Adam. But why was that? In an interview with GameSpot, Producer Yoshio Sakamoto noted the following:
“In this game, Samus barely speaks. The reason that I wanted to make it that way is the main theme of this game, which is dread. I felt that to convey the current situation of Samus or what Samus is thinking right now, this would be better conveyed to the player not through actual words or actual voice, but more with acting or visuals. I want the player to think, ‘What is going on? What is Samus feeling right now?’ That is why I decided to go this way for this game.”
That is indeed the case as the visuals help showcasing Samus’ mood and thoughts merely by how she looks and acts. And besides, we went many games without hearing her true voice, why change that now?
