i gave cyberpunk2077 another shot after hating it at launch because multiple people pestered me about it for two years. i was repeatedly told of my lengthy list of criticisms, “they fixed all that, it’s like a totally different game now”.
10 hours later it’s clear that they’re either:
a) delusional b) liars c) literally cannot hear criticism of the game being spoken aloud
because that shit was 99% identical to at launch, bugs included. the difference between the game that people keep describing to me and the game in front of me is so stark that i’m fucking baffled. it’s like it’s a cult or something.
No kidding.
Some of Johnny’s lines fall flat and I think Silverhand might be one of Keanu Reeves’ worst performances of his career.
Everyone else though? I have a hard time saying it’s some of the best voice acting and dialogue I’ve ever seen, because Clair Obscur exists, but it’s up there. Takemura in particular was one that struck me, when’s the last time you met a Japanese man in an English voice acted video game that actually has a thick Japanese accent? It fits his character well and was a design choice that many developers would have been afraid to make. Not only did CDPR make that choice, they worked around it well and were even bold enough to make this voice one of the main characters that the plot revolves around, and it works well.
So… irt to Takemura…
I actually, really, really appreciated that voice acting.
Because I spent a decade as a karateka getting a black belt, going to tournaments, training, and I actually met a good deal of native Japanese speakers who only knew a bit of English, and vice versa for myself…
… that and , you know, immersion in the literally martial culture of respect, formality, face, honor, loyalty, all of that.
It is indeed very rare to hear such a well voiced, and to me at least, fundamentally believable and authentic character.