Final Fantasy 16 Developers Recommend Playing on English Dub

Interestingly, Final Fantasy 16 developers, Square Enix, went out of their way to recommend gamers to play their highly-anticipated game with the English dub on. And as far as I know, this is the first time they ever did just that. According to the Final Fantasy 16 developers, playing on English dub is the definitive way to play the game. Adding that the English voice actors did an immaculate job of bringing their characters to life. They argue that the experience will ultimately be more emotionally resonant with the English language on.

However, this does not, by all means, imply that the Japanese dub isn’t as equally great. It is just worth pointing out that the English dub is fully lip-synced, while the Japanese counterpart isn’t. This means that the English dub will match the characters’ lips more closely. Thus, resulting in a more immersive experience.

Square Enix’s Controversial Recommendation

There are a few reasons why there is controversy around the topic of which dub to play Final Fantasy 16 with. Below are some of them:

• It’s a common misconception among fans that Japanese voice performance is always better than English voice acting. It’s a popular misconception among anime viewers that Japanese voice actors are more emotive and capable of portraying a wider variety of emotions than their English counterparts. This isn’t always the case, though. Many skilled English voice performers are equally adept at bringing characters to life as Japanese voice actresses are.

• The Japanese dub, in the opinion of some viewers, is more accurate. This is so because the Japanese dub of Final Fantasy is the original dub because it is a Japanese video game. But it’s crucial to keep in mind that Final Fantasy is a universal game that is supposed to be enjoyed by individuals from all backgrounds. It is permissible to favor the English dub over the Japanese dub because both are equally authentic.

• For some fans, playing Japanese video games with Japanese voice acting is almost second nature. This is due to the fact that many Japanese video games lack English dubs. If not, they have inferior English dubs compared to their Japanese dubs. It is permissible to favor the English dub for Final Fantasy 16 because it is of a good caliber.

Ultimately, the decision of which dub to play Final Fantasy 16 with is up to the individual player. There is no right or wrong answer, and it is important to choose the dub that you will enjoy the most.

Personal Opinion on the Matter

As for my personal opinion on the matter, I have to agree with Square Enix that the best way to resonate with the story Final Fantasy 16 is trying to tell is to play it in English dub. Mind you, Final Fantasy 16 aims to convey a medieval story that takes heavy inspiration from Western epics, such as Game of Thrones. With that in mind, playing the game in the English Language just feels right. Not only will it be more universally acceptable, but it will also be much closer to the game’s inspirations.

The Final Fantasy 16 developers’ recommendation to play on the English dub will persist well into the official launch of the game. And to be honest, we cannot wait to experience it either way. Personally, I will take on the Final Fantasy 16 epic just as the developers recommend. After all, they should be the ones to know the most about the game. So, trusting them wouldn’t really be a bad idea.