Nintendo Heroes Are Still Mostly Mute – And I Prefer It That Way

Nintendo has a lot of elements that have long separated them from the competition, with one of the most distinct elements of their consistent game design being a focus on silent protagonists. Many of Nintendo’s most iconic characters are more or less mute during the experience, even as the games will sometimes acknowledge them having dialogue for the sake of narrative shortcuts. Still, even when Link “talks” during an exposition scene in Breath of the Wild, the player neither sees nor hears what that sounds like.

For modern gamers, that can be frustrating. In an age where mo-cap performances bring realistic depth to digital avatars, it can seem strange to have iconic characters like Mario still be silent during their adventures — especially when they are a lot more talkative in their adaptations to other media. However, that silence is a golden attribute for the publisher, and one that I think is key to the enduring and broadly appealing charm of the characters.

Should Nintendo Characters Still Be Silent?

Lead characters in Nintendo games have been traditionally silent for decades, and that doesn’t seem to be a trend that’s changing. Going back to the earliest days of console gaming, characters like Mario, Link, and Samus were silent more out of necessity than function. Spending time giving the player character dialogue would have distracted from Nintendo’s greater focus on throwing players into the deep end with the gameplay, while also taking up some of those early games’ valuable digital real estate. The developers at the time instead focused on fleshing out the worlds and refining the gameplay, decisions that often had greater beneficial effects on the experience. As gaming technology improved, however, Nintendo largely avoided giving characters voices.

While there are some notable exceptions (like the mid-battle chatter of Star Fox or the in-depth conversations of Fire Emblem), many of Nintendo’s marquee characters remained relatively silent. Even in something like The Legend of Zelda, where characters like Zelda and Ganondorf would get entire monologues of dialogue, Link himself remains largely mute. Some fans have complained about this development, noting that it keeps Nintendo protagonists from fitting into the modern mold of protagonists. To a certain extent, that’s true. However, it doesn’t seem like Nintendo is in any hurry to change that, with recent hits like Donkey Kong Bananza and Metroid Prime 4 keeping the protagonists mostly silent. However, on top of giving the Nintendo characters a distinct element that many other gaming mascots and characters lack, it’s also something that benefits the storytelling and ensures the characters work for a larger audience.

Why Nintendo Characters Being Mute Works In Their Favor

Nintendo characters are, at their core, meant to appeal to a broad and often young audience. The publisher has long been known as the gaming company that can appeal to the entire family, with characters that can convey emotion and personality even without any spoken dialogue. This has ensured that Nintendo characters have broad personalities that remain clear to even the youngest or newest of gamers, giving them easy accessibility that benefits the company. Nintendo characters are designed to be clear from the get-go, easy to understand, and simple to step into. If they had too much dialogue, their personalities would be defined by their chatter. The tone of the games, which are often meant to be steeped in a sense of shared wonder, would be undercut by a snarky joke or a blunt proclamation. By remaining silent, the characters give the players the chance to also experience the sense of discovery with them.

This approach also has an impact on game design, forcing the story to depict their personality in their body language and actions. It’s a better way for players to become immersed in that role. Playing a game where characters bicker and chat too much can become distracting and can upset the player’s perspective on their version of the character. By contrast, Nintendo leaves enough ambiguity in its characters that players can bring some of their own personality into the role while playing it. The character is still clearly the character, with their personality coming across in physical actions, story beats, and pantomimed cutscenes. Aspects of personality can’t be lost in translation this way, either. It’s akin to the arguments from silent film star Charlie Chaplin decades ago when defending silent movies against the advent of “talkies,” arguing that the universal language of physicality has a storytelling strength that is undercut by regional dialogue.

Nintendo games benefit from this silent approach, as it presents big characterization that still feels natural thanks to their movements and actions. It ensures the characters never become too overly complex while leaving room for clear personality and visual character development. Seeing Luigi shake in fear at the onset of his adventure, and watching him become braver over the course of a Luigi’s Mansion title, is a quietly rewarding experience. Samus and Link might not hold full conversations with their more talkative companions, but their body language and decision to lower their guard in the late game come across silently and beautifully. Nintendo characters are still mute after decades, and they’re better for it.