Japanese OP / Voice

[NaYa]

I was trying out the Japanese version just to see how the original voice was like... and they have an actual song with lyrics on the opening sequence! And it's nice!
Darn. I wish they didn't take it out on the English version.

For the voices in general, even the original Japanese is hit and miss.
At least the main character's voice is good in this one, but Liu & Sisuca = Ugh.

[patapi]

Sisuca was done by an amateur, apparently. Seems like more of a tribute than an actual role.

Unlike the rest of the soundtrack, that opening song was licensed separately to an outside singer, so presumably Konami decided against licensing it for the localisation. Like how Namdai and their Tales series work.

[NaYa]

Ah yes, licensing issue. I hate when they do that.
It's a pity really, because the song really adds more emotion to the opening cinematic.

btw I also noticed that the Japanese version has battle voices while the English version doesn't. I wonder if they just ran out of time/budget?

[patapi]

Yeah. The voiceless opening is pretty boring now. The music doesn't really work well without the vocals, unlike a good number of Tales'.

They probably think translating those lines weren't worth it. Did anyone actually appreciate when they do so in Suikoden V?