• Welcome to Smashboards, the world's largest Super Smash Brothers community! Over 250,000 Smash Bros. fans from around the world have come to discuss these great games in over 19 million posts!

    You are currently viewing our boards as a visitor. Click here to sign up right now and start on your path in the Smash community!

Why the beast roars instead of Takashi Nagasako?!

Yitsul

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Oct 17, 2007
Messages
294
Location
San Diego
NNID
Yitsul
3DS FC
2105-8677-5210
Switch FC
5599 8083 2114
It's the 5th game in the series! and they still can't get Donkey Kong's voice right! It kinda gives me a hunch Sakurai has been oblivious to every game Donkey Kong game since 2005.
 

itsaxelol

Smash Ace
Joined
May 6, 2008
Messages
654
Because the primal roars are much better than him sounding like an idiot. DKs goofy and fun personality is already captured in his standing animation, his character portrait, every single one of his victory poses, every single character trailer he appears in, his getting hit animations with his eyes bugging out...

You take away the only two things that make him intimidating, his scowls and his roars, and he just becomes a complete goofball. DK is basically Nintendo's Hulk. You should have a balance of both humor and intimidation, like Hulk did in Thor Ragnarok. And while it's not 50/50 and the goofy side is highlighted a little bit more, we still have some of that balance

Also, smash takes the liberty of making every character a little more pissed off than usual. This doesn't just happen with DK. Even Mario is more pissed off than he's ever been (except strikers everyone was pissed in that game) because all these jabronis keep coming into his game stealing his spotlight. Even our latest newcomer, the communist King K. Rool, sounds like a monster.. despite never sounding like that. Why? Because he legitimately is a monster.

Tldr- It's a game where people beat the **** out each other. It makes sense to make most of the characters a little more angry, and put emphasis on the ferocity of DK and the rest of the monster-type characters
 
Last edited:

S_B

Too Drunk to Smash
Joined
Aug 11, 2006
Messages
3,977
Location
NH, Discord: SB#6077
Switch FC
SW 5369-1969-6280
Because the primal roars are much better than him sounding like an idiot.
While you're not wrong, the simpler answer is this: every voice talent will need to be paid for their work, and probably paid residuals since I'm sure they'd be union.

If they can get away with a character not needing a voice actor, they will for this reason alone.
 

Ryu Myuutsu

Smash Champion
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
2,440
Location
Niigata, Japan
NNID
BahamurShin
3DS FC
3668-9945-1996
Because he sounds more badass, that's why. Sakurai understands this better than DK's so-called misguided fans who unironically want him to sound like Scooby Doo with mental issues (as a creator, you need to learn to filter the noise you get from your feedback). He understood this with King Rool as well. He did the right thing, and we wouldn't have scenes like his entrance in the SSE or his showdown into the sunset with K. Rool if it wasn't for it.
 
Last edited:

Mario & Sonic Guy

Old rivalries live on!
Joined
Sep 18, 2007
Messages
22,423
Location
Mushroom Kingdom
NNID
TPitch5
3DS FC
5327-1637-5096
Considering that Smash Bros. now goes for a more cartoonish vibe, and Yoshi, Bowser Jr., AND the Koopalings have managed to keep their voice clips from the Super Mario series, it no longer makes any sense for Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong to sound like real world primates. Likewise, Bowser no longer goes well with Godzilla-like roars, so it's very shocking that Kenny James's voice portrayal of Bowser hasn't been implemented.
 

RomanceDawn

Smash Lord
Joined
Jun 13, 2011
Messages
1,052
NNID
Romancedawn
3DS FC
0044-2811-9045
I wouldn't mind if DK and Bowser had a combination of their animal roars and their actual game voices.
 

Guynamednelson

Smash Legend
Joined
Dec 17, 2014
Messages
12,008
NNID
Nelson340
3DS FC
2105-8742-2099
Switch FC
SW 4265 6024 9719
The worst part about not having Nagasako's DK is that he's doing voice work for this game, remaking the OoT Ganondorf voice clips.
 

Ryu Myuutsu

Smash Champion
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
2,440
Location
Niigata, Japan
NNID
BahamurShin
3DS FC
3668-9945-1996
I don't understand why people insist on tone consistency with the far more cartoonier Yoshi and the children of Bowser. You can give them realistic animal noises and they would sound much more jarring than giving DK a gorilla roar and Bowser monster growls. The game's cartoonish vibe doesn't seem like a good excuse either, as if characters from cartoons didn't roar and when we have stuff like Ridley running around already.
 

Mario & Sonic Guy

Old rivalries live on!
Joined
Sep 18, 2007
Messages
22,423
Location
Mushroom Kingdom
NNID
TPitch5
3DS FC
5327-1637-5096
Ridley's dilemma is different from what Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and Bowser are dealing with. With Ridley, he's from a more realistic franchise, so he would have to sound like one of those Godzilla monsters.

Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and Bowser are all from a cartoonish universe, however, so you would think that they would start using their Mario series voice clips in the Super Smash Bros. series. This would apply to King K. Rool as well, since before his 10+ year absence, the last person to voice him was Toshihide Tsuchiya.
 
Last edited:

Ryu Myuutsu

Smash Champion
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
2,440
Location
Niigata, Japan
NNID
BahamurShin
3DS FC
3668-9945-1996
There are plenty of examples of cartoon animals sounding like actual animals. I don't know why them originating from such an universe means that there should be some unspoken rule we have to follow that they can't have realistic sounds, and that there should always be a voice actor shouting "OOooohh!" or "Raaargh!" at their mic. I rather that for Smash, a fighting game which provides for a setting where you have to be more aggressive, they keep those. They make them sound much more badass without sacrificing their character. DK's and Bowser's respective entrance in the SSE were made much more appealing thanks to them, and they made the right decision by doing the same thing with K Rool.

Besides, the DKC series always had a weird blend of cartoon creatures with realistic aesthetics, particularly DK Country 1, which DK's portrayal happens to be the most influenced by.
 
Last edited:

Mario & Sonic Guy

Old rivalries live on!
Joined
Sep 18, 2007
Messages
22,423
Location
Mushroom Kingdom
NNID
TPitch5
3DS FC
5327-1637-5096
It's not that unheard of for Nintendo to reuse voice clips though. The Koopalings all reused their New Super Mario Bros. Wii voice clips, so I can't see why Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and Bowser can't reuse their Mario spin-off voice clips as well.

Also, Donkey Kong's eyes bulge whenever he takes 80+ units of knockback. I would think that such cartoonish expressions would warrant cartoonish voices.



And as mentioned already, Takashi Nagasako is apparently voicing Ganondorf again, so I don't know why he can't also portray Donkey Kong's voice.
 
Last edited:

Ryu Myuutsu

Smash Champion
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
2,440
Location
Niigata, Japan
NNID
BahamurShin
3DS FC
3668-9945-1996
There is no reason to always reuse clips from those games either. I also don't see much of a correlation between DK's expressions and his voice either. In the original DKC trilogy, DK, Diddy and Dixie would have their eyes popping out occasionally yet they still sounded like apes and monkeys so I don't think that would warranty anything.

Nagasako was brought in specifically to perform Ganon's voice, no less and no more than that. Nintendo and Sakurai were already comfortable with DK's voice as it is so they never felt the need to ask him to do him as well.
 

Mario & Sonic Guy

Old rivalries live on!
Joined
Sep 18, 2007
Messages
22,423
Location
Mushroom Kingdom
NNID
TPitch5
3DS FC
5327-1637-5096
It's still very inconsistent though (much like how the T-Rex and Ruined Dragon are both way out of place in Super Mario Odyssey, being more at home in Dark Souls, Monster Hunter, or even Bayonetta). If Bowser is going to sound like a Godzilla rip-off, then Bowser Jr. would have to follow the same path as his father. And yet, Bowser Jr. managed to keep his voice clips from the Super Mario series. Likewise, the Koopalings still sound like their usual selves.

Also, nearly every playable Pokemon in the Super Smash Bros. series does not even come close to sounding like a real world animal. Charizard is probably the only real exception, likely because it never really said its name in the anime series; it mostly growled or made various roars. But since the Pokemon characters all belong to Game Freak, the company most likely would not allow Nintendo to make them sound realistic.

On a final note, if Funky Kong somehow makes the cut (which isn't too likely), he would definitely not be Funky Kong without Toshihide Tsuchiya's voice portrayal of him.

Anyway, while I am aware that everyone has their personal opinions about this matter, I do kind of wish that an option to change voice clips would exist for certain characters.
 
Last edited:

itsaxelol

Smash Ace
Joined
May 6, 2008
Messages
654
All of Bowsers kids are children. They probably haven't even hit puberty. It makes sense their voice would be less monster like then their dad
 

Ryu Myuutsu

Smash Champion
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
2,440
Location
Niigata, Japan
NNID
BahamurShin
3DS FC
3668-9945-1996
All of Bowsers kids are children. They probably haven't even hit puberty. It makes sense their voice would be less monster like then their dad
Exactly, this is a point that I feel most people don't get when they bring them as examples. A lion cub is not going to sound the same as an adult one.

There is nothing wrong with some inconsistency at times. All the Zelda characters now use different artstyles when they were always the same for three games in a row. And I say that the T-Rex and Ruined Dragon being so out of place in the Mario universe is what helped them stand out in a positive way. They are easily one of my favorite parts in Odyssey.

Don't know how they would handle Funky. They would probably make an exception with him because his voice is much more attached to his personality and design.
 
Last edited:

Koopaul

Smash Champion
Joined
Oct 29, 2013
Messages
2,336
I've grown to like the goofy voice. It's very expressive. When DK makes his roars in Smash you can't tell if he's angry or in pain or celebrating. It all sounds the same.
 

Koopaul

Smash Champion
Joined
Oct 29, 2013
Messages
2,336
You can't tell the difference. If I was to play a random DK roar from Smash right now without you seeing what he's doing, could you tell me whether he's in pain or if he's attacking?
 

KatKit

Smash Lord
Joined
May 7, 2014
Messages
1,628
Location
The Sass Realm
If we're going the speaking route, personally I'd prefer DK's sweet-sounding R Kelly voice (Richard Yearwood) from the old cartoon over Takashi.

Just imagine his star KO yell clip.
 
Last edited:

Koopaul

Smash Champion
Joined
Oct 29, 2013
Messages
2,336
I've mained DK for four games in a row. So yeah, I could tell.
DK's only had this kind of roar since Brawl. In Melee and 64 his ape noises were different. Actually I liked them better in Melee, each roar was definitely more distinct from each other than they are in Brawl/WiiU/Ultimate.

See I'm not against ape noises. I'm just against the ape noises from Brawl. They're pretty terrible.
No range of emotion in any of that.
 
Last edited:

itsaxelol

Smash Ace
Joined
May 6, 2008
Messages
654
He definitely had similar realistic ape noises in melee

Love the noises in brawl/4 and looking forward to even more similar sounding ones for this game!
 

Koopaul

Smash Champion
Joined
Oct 29, 2013
Messages
2,336
No they were different. They were still realistic ape noises but they were done differently. You can hear DK wail in pain using ape noises in Melee. I can't really tell which of the Brawl DK noises sounds like he's in pain or if he's attacking. It's because they are all too deep. When DK is attacked, the roar should be slightly more high pitched like it is in Melee. That way it sounds more like a cry of pain rather than a grunt.
 
Last edited:

Quillion

Smash Hero
Joined
Sep 17, 2014
Messages
5,512
Because the primal roars are much better than him sounding like an idiot. DKs goofy and fun personality is already captured in his standing animation, his character portrait, every single one of his victory poses, every single character trailer he appears in, his getting hit animations with his eyes bugging out...

You take away the only two things that make him intimidating, his scowls and his roars, and he just becomes a complete goofball. DK is basically Nintendo's Hulk. You should have a balance of both humor and intimidation, like Hulk did in Thor Ragnarok. And while it's not 50/50 and the goofy side is highlighted a little bit more, we still have some of that balance

Also, smash takes the liberty of making every character a little more pissed off than usual. This doesn't just happen with DK. Even Mario is more pissed off than he's ever been (except strikers everyone was pissed in that game) because all these jabronis keep coming into his game stealing his spotlight. Even our latest newcomer, the communist King K. Rool, sounds like a monster.. despite never sounding like that. Why? Because he legitimately is a monster.

Tldr- It's a game where people beat the **** out each other. It makes sense to make most of the characters a little more angry, and put emphasis on the ferocity of DK and the rest of the monster-type characters
Okay, answer me this: when was DK ever a monster in canon?

As far as I know, he was always a big, strong goofball.
 

Ryu Myuutsu

Smash Champion
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
2,440
Location
Niigata, Japan
NNID
BahamurShin
3DS FC
3668-9945-1996
Okay, answer me this: when was DK ever a monster in canon?

As far as I know, he was always a big, strong goofball.
Not a monster, but he had realistic ape sounds in the original DK Country games. He also sounded like a gorilla in mario kart, mario golf and mario party. Being a badass primal beast and a goofball aren't mutually exclusive characteristics.
While I'm accepting of DK's voice in the new Country games, I also lamented that they moved away from his gorilla sounds. I'm glad that at least Smash is the only current era game that keeps it like that.
 
Last edited:

itsaxelol

Smash Ace
Joined
May 6, 2008
Messages
654
Okay, answer me this: when was DK ever a monster in canon?

As far as I know, he was always a big, strong goofball.
I mean I addressed that numerous times in that post. Smash puts emphasis on the bigger monster hype characters. DK is a huge, 800 lb monster. K Rool has never been so ferocious, but look at his trailer for this game. DK also debuted sounding realistic not like Scooby, and we all know how much sakurai likes taking content from it's original sources. That's not to say that he doesn't pull from newer games. His final smash was based upon the GameCube era since Final Smashes became a concept. Coincidentally, DK was probably in his most badass intimidating form in that era with the jungle beat games
 
Last edited:

Quillion

Smash Hero
Joined
Sep 17, 2014
Messages
5,512
Not a monster, but he had realistic ape sounds in the original DK Country games. He also sounded like a gorilla in mario kart, mario golf and mario party. Being a badass primal beast and a goofball aren't mutually exclusive characteristics.
While I'm accepting of DK's voice in the new Country games, I also lamented that they moved away from his gorilla sounds. I'm glad that at least Smash is the only current era game that keeps it like that.
If being badass and a goofball aren't mutually exclusive, why is it impossible for DK to be intimidating with his current voice?
 

Ryu Myuutsu

Smash Champion
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
2,440
Location
Niigata, Japan
NNID
BahamurShin
3DS FC
3668-9945-1996
If being badass and a goofball aren't mutually exclusive, why is it impossible for DK to be intimidating with his current voice?
It's probably not impossible, but it's less likely to top this:

Gives me goosebumps every time.
 

Koopaul

Smash Champion
Joined
Oct 29, 2013
Messages
2,336
Not a monster, but he had realistic ape sounds in the original DK Country games. He also sounded like a gorilla in mario kart, mario golf and mario party.
Yes but I liked those sounds better in a way. The ape noises might have been better back then they are in Smash now. Like I said before, there isn't that much of a range in the pitch of the ape sounds, but there was in all those games you listed. It's far too grumbly in Brawl/WiiU/Ultimate. I miss the higher "Oohahaooha!" from the old games.
He just sounds more expressive.
 
Last edited:

Mccdbz5

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Feb 15, 2007
Messages
367
Location
Atlanta, Georgia
I definitely agree, while I do like the Brawl/Smash 4 voice and prefer the more realistic noises over the goofy ones, that he could absolutely be more expressive while still sounding realistic. My favorite Donkey Kong voice was the one from Melee. Very realistic, while at the same time having a wide of variety of expressions. I also do like the Mario Kart 64 voice posted above. But at the end of the day, I will 100% of the time take the Brawl/Smash 4 voice over the goofy, Scooby-Doo like voice any day of the week.
 

dahuterschuter

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Dec 7, 2014
Messages
444
Location
Canuck
Because Donkey Kong shouldn't sound like an even less cognitively functional and even less speech capable Scooby Doo.
 

RomanceDawn

Smash Lord
Joined
Jun 13, 2011
Messages
1,052
NNID
Romancedawn
3DS FC
0044-2811-9045

If the time stamp doesn't work go to 56 seconds in. I love that roar. I think its a great mix of gorilla and goofy.
 

Koopaul

Smash Champion
Joined
Oct 29, 2013
Messages
2,336
In Jungle Beat he went overboard and sounds too goofy. Since then he's toned it down. In Donkey Kong Country Returns and Tropical Freeze he sounds pretty good.

This is probably how he would sound.
 
Last edited:

Big O

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Jun 13, 2008
Messages
1,401
Location
California
NNID
BiiigOOO
In Jungle Beat he went overboard and sounds too goofy. Since then he's toned it down. In Donkey Kong Country Returns and Tropical Freeze he sounds pretty good.

This is probably how he would sound.
Something like that would be too goofy imo. I like the older voice clips much better.
 

Koopaul

Smash Champion
Joined
Oct 29, 2013
Messages
2,336
Seems alright to me but then again as someone who grew up with the DKC series I always knew DK like this.

 

itsaxelol

Smash Ace
Joined
May 6, 2008
Messages
654
Seems alright to me but then again as someone who grew up with the DKC series I always knew DK like this.

But DK is still portrayed like that in his standing animation, character portrait, victory animations, etc
 

itsaxelol

Smash Ace
Joined
May 6, 2008
Messages
654
Something like that would be too goofy imo. I like the older voice clips much better.
I saw you on smash 4 the other day. We should play a bit before we play in ultimate! We've DK dittoed for 10 years. That's nuts lol
 

Koopaul

Smash Champion
Joined
Oct 29, 2013
Messages
2,336
But DK is still portrayed like that in his standing animation, character portrait, victory animations, etc
Yeah but you like to see DK as an 800lbs intimidating monster, when I never saw him like that. Since his debut in DKC, he was portrayed as a goofball and not as "Nintendo's Hulk".

So that might be a big reason I'm okay with Takashi Nagasako's voice.
 
Last edited:

Mario & Sonic Guy

Old rivalries live on!
Joined
Sep 18, 2007
Messages
22,423
Location
Mushroom Kingdom
NNID
TPitch5
3DS FC
5327-1637-5096
Yeah but you like to see DK as an 800lbs intimidating monster, when I never saw him like that. Since his debut in DKC, he was portrayed as a goofball and not as "Nintendo's Hulk".

So that might be a big reason I'm okay with Takashi Nagasako's voice.
Much like you, I never really saw Donkey Kong be the intimidating type, which is why I've been content with Takashi Nagasako's voice work. In Punch-Out!!, Donkey Kong wasn't a serious competitor, as he would often taunt Little Mac, and show goofy expressions during a fight.

Brawl could get away with the real world ape roars, all thanks to its more realistic approach. However, as you advance to Smash 3DS / Wii U and Smash Ultimate, their more cartoonish vibe makes the ape roars feel out of place for a cartoonish ape, especially with Donkey Kong being more expressive than in Brawl.
 

S_B

Too Drunk to Smash
Joined
Aug 11, 2006
Messages
3,977
Location
NH, Discord: SB#6077
Switch FC
SW 5369-1969-6280
The short version is that, if they can avoid having to pay a voice talent, that's what they'll do.
 
Top Bottom