Here's what Pokemon Scarlet and Violet could sound like with full voice acting

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
(Image credit: Nintendo)

A group of actors has unofficially given Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's NPCs voices and it adds so much to the game.

Voice actor and YouTuber Joe Goffeney (aka Dr. Bonehead) has shared a video showing what Pokemon Scarlet and Violet would be like if it had full voice acting. The channel's owner - along with a few other voice actor friends - took it upon themselves to dub over cutscenes and gameplay footage of the Gen 9 Pokemon game to see how much of a difference voice acting would make.

After just a few seconds of the video, it's immediately apparent how much Pokemon Scarlet and Violet could be improved with just a few voice-acted scenes. Characters such as Nemona, Arven, Penny, and Clavell are given so much more personality with their unofficial voices, which gives the entire game more depth.

Clips of Goffeney's video also made their way onto Twitter, resulting in a bigger conversation about whether voice acting belongs in Pokemon games going forward. Reactions were mixed, with many fans excited at the prospect but just as many unhappy about how it would change the long-running series. 

"I want Pokemon to have voice acting, but I only want it in pre-rendered cutscenes, not in the regular 'press a to continue' scenes," one user shares. "I don't think the frame rate in this game would suit voice acting," another one adds, before going on to say that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet would feel really "disjointed" with voice acting in its current state. 

Many fans, however, have pointed out a potential logistical reason why the mainline Pokemon games don't feature voice acting. Since we're usually treated to a brand new Pokemon game every year - and in this year's case, two - it's unlikely that developers will have the time to incorporate full voice acting into its Pokemon games. Not to mention that translations would also require a lot of time and effort to create. 

If you've already got everything out of Scarlet and Violet, why not take a look at our games like Pokemon list for ideas on what to play next? 

Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.