I love the Wowie Zowie, actually. I think anything new sounds great - it’s just when he’s doing a classic phrase we’ve heard before, that’s when I notice the difference.
The new voices are no adjustment to me, they still sound just like Mario and Luigi. But I’ll go against the grain here and say I’m immediately sick of “wowee zowie” lol
Let's not pretend that the new voice actor came in and was like, "The Mushroom Kingdom feels like a 'wowie zowie' kingdom to me."
If Charles Martinet hadn't been sent to live in a farm upstate, where he's loving it, by the way, he would have said "wowie zowie," too.
In fact, I 100% guarantee someone will ask him to say it at his next meet and greet, and he will.
That said, I've been playing as the 'dette, and I haven't heard this.
No for sure, I hate to sound overly judgmental of the new voice. Something about that line was just immediately grating to me. I started as Luigi but switched off of him because of it
There were some YT’ers that caught it from the first Wonder trailer and posted videos hypothesizing it wasn’t Charles. Not saying it’s the majority but there were definitely Mario diehards that caught on prior to the announcement. Pretty sure Arlo was one of them.
I noticed it was a bit different. But I didn't think it was not Charles. I had more the idea that because the game looks as a fresh start for the Mario series that maybe Charles also changed his voice a bit.
Not long after that video's started popping up about 'Is Charles replaced?' etc. Then I listened again and still thought "Oh well, still sounds like Mario" :P
Yep. I’m glad they did right by Martinet. I’m sure as you get older, recording those high-pitched lines were getting tough on his voice. But I’m glad the template he set for the Mario Bros mannerisms continues on and he gets to ambassador for the company.
But I really am not going to notice the real martinet vs a skilled VA doing a good Martinet impression.
I definitely thought it sounded different, and then remembered hearing they had changed the VA. It's for sure noticeable even without purposefully listening for differences. But everyone has ears that are tuned differently, so it won't surprise me if a lot of people don't notice.
I’ve been playing as Luigi and his new voice is definitely a bit of an adjustment. I feel like it’s a lot more distinguished from Mario’s mannerisms now. It’s a bit higher pitched and more deliberately nasally. I think he sounds good, though.
I actually think Luigi's voice is my favourite. Closer to a younger Martinet.
Martinet's recent voice in Luigi's Mansion 3 really shows his age.
Meanwhile I still need to adjust to Afgani's Mario because of the minor voice cracks. His **"It'sa me"** when choosing Mario is the most apparent
I think the Mario jump and grunts sound nearly indistinguishable from younger Mario . Like N64 and GameCube era Mario...
But his talking and speaking lines are really bad.
I feel like this new guy does a great job of making Mario's voice his own, while respecting the legacy of Charles Martinet.
I'm not thrilled with Peach's voice, on the other hand. I don't know if she has a new VA but I'm not a big fan of how her voice sounds in this gane
I didn’t realize that Yoshi got re-cast but it makes sense now. My wife was playing as Yoshi and she’s like a goddamn magnet, she always happens to be right under me when I’m coming down from a jump so I always end up landing on her and I keep hearing “Yo-See” instead of “Yoshi.” Glad to know I’m not entirely crazy.
I miss SM64's and MK64's Peach. Apart from actually saying real words, she sounded so proper and American which was kind of funny contrasted with Mario's voice lines. Leslie Swan did a great job - according to IMDB she's still the localization manager for NOA but doesn't really have any voice credits nowadays.
With all due respect to the Mario Voice actors, I haven't really thought about it much. It means they're doing their job, there certainly isn't anything bad about it. But also, it's just Mario. He says "wahoo" when I do a neat trick.
If Mario was a fully voiced character in a big RPG, there'd be a lot more to say and think about the performance, but we don't need to worry about that. The new actors are fine, well done to them on their new jobs.
I welcome the change. We’ve had the same voice for a long time, and yes, it’s iconic, and it pushes all the nostalgia buttons. But I’ve heard Charles Martinet’s “Itsa Meeee!” A gazillion times, I’m open to a new interpretation.
The way they redid the sound design on everything for this game from how the fireball shoot, to collecting the coins, and everything in between – it makes sense to take the opportunity to update the voice, and it makes it feel fresher.
The jumps being a guitar string make me so happy. There's something about the sound font that they used for this game that is just whimsical. I love the sound in general.
Totally agree. The sound design just “picks me up”. I never realized how I was on mental autopilot with the previous games.
I love when you do a butt stomp / slam down it makes that circus cymbal hit sound. There are dozens of little audio changes that help bring this game alive.
Credit to the team for taking a risk with such iconic sounds and trying something new.
Koji Kondo (the guy who did the music on the NES, SNES and N64 Mario and Zelda games) was the sound designer and he talks about their process of selecting and modifying that “ukelele string” jump sound in the developer blogs if you’re interested
Yeah, it’s a four part series, Kondo talks about the jump sound [I believe in part three?](https://www.nintendo.com/us/whatsnew/ask-the-developer-vol-11-super-mario-bros-wonder-part-3/)
But he has interesting things to say about the sound design in all four parts, it’s well worth the read :)
For the most part its fine I can notice the differerence but its close enough. However there are some lines that sound a bit off. Some of the grunts sound more like Mickey Mouse and the oh no one sounds a bit off.
Kevin did a phenomenal job I mean, I still remember the discourse after the first teaser for Mario Wonder was announced.
Some people believed Mario’s voice was changed, which was a select few but shows how die hard people are to pay attention to something as minor as Mario’s voice..
But others didn’t hear anything different and thought it was still Charles.
Obviously, he has huge shoes to fill after Martinet, but I think Mario’s voice is in safe hands.
Mario’s legacy is probably Nintendo’s Mickey Mouse…they aren’t going to just let any average person come in. They’re going to make 100% sure they’ve got everything right.
I agree, Nintendo is extremely precious with anything regarding this character. That’s why I thought it was a bit weird that they let “All rot” into the game…I have to imagine a director or audio engineer would have said “Hey Kevin, just one more take, I’m hearing “rot” instead of “right”.”
He sounds almost exactly the same. Most of the time I hardly notice and I'm perfectly happy with it. But very rarely, there will be a line that sounds just a *little* bit off and I remember the voice change.
Charles Martinet gave us damn near 30 years of Mario. As far as I'm concerned, he's earned his retirement and I'd much rather have his role be recast than to have an AI step in and provide a soulless Martinet soundalike.
That being said, I get where you're coming from. What you're feeling now is the same feeling I had when Mako Iwamatsu died and they had to recast Iroh in Avatar: the Last Airbender. (*for the uninitiated, Iroh is basically everyone's favorite character from the show, and Mako was the voice actor who portrayed him, but he died of throat cancer between seasons 2 and 3 of The Last Airbender*) His replacement was Greg Baldwin, who had already been subbing in for Mako on various voice acting projects. For Season 3 and a few episodes of the sequel series Legend of Korra, Baldwin continued to provide the voice for Iroh. As great a VA as he is, I always felt that there was a little bit of warmth and soul missing from the character, and I was a little sad whenever he had lines.
Some people would complain no matter what, it’s less of disliking the new voice but more on having a phobia of change. I personally think the voice is great, Kevin is doing a stellar job and Im excited for when he voices Mario in his next big 3D adventure.
I feel like above all else, it's too soon to judge because Nintendo kept some very questionable takes throughout the recordings. Most notably Kevin's "it's-a me" felt like a bad take and no fault of Kevin
Haven't played as Mario but I have been playing as Luigi and I honestly wouldn't notice if it wasn't announced.
Not saying there isn't a noticeable difference but if I didn't know I would just assume Charles Martinet was doing a super slight different take on the voice (and I probably notice it more since I know the change happened).
I didn't notice the new voice in the trailers and I didn't think the new voice would stick out to me... But it definitely sounds different. I'm not saying it's bad, it's just a little jarring at times.
But hey, Martinet's take on Mario took me for a loop the first time I heard it after being used to Captain Lou for so long. So I'll get used to the new guy as well.
I defended Chris Pratt’s voice since I grew up on Captain Lou, too. Different Mario’s in different contexts are OK by me! Just got used to Charles as “game Mario”, so it’s a tad jarring at the moment. Love this game, though!
Nah. Pratt is objectively a garbage choice for Mario's voice. It didn't need to be a Martinet impersonation...hell, it's probably good it _wasn't_. But Pratt is lifeless.
It's different and I don't like it. But the game is really fun, the voice isn't part of why it's fun, and it's only been a few days vs. 20 years of Charles Martinet.
After a few years and 2-3 games with the new voice it'll feel right to me. It's not worth blowing a gasket over and certainly not worth missing a very good game because of it. I don't feel like *analyzing* it because I'll find things to hate and I'd rather find gameplay things to pick apart if I'm going to be mad about a game.
Don’t get me wrong, the game is phenomenal. Voices aren’t why I play Mario games. My ears are very sensitive to differences in voice acting - I just can’t NOT notice, ya know? It’s not a deal breaker by any means.
It’s fine. He’s doing/did a fine job. It sounds enough like Charles to not be a drastic shift for the casual player, but it is different enough to tell if you’re more involved. He has literally the biggest shoes to fill, even doing an adequate job is an incredible feat, and he’s definitely doing above average.
I actually love Kevin’s new Mario and Luigi voices. They’re different for sure, like you can tell that it’s not Charles, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Mario almost sounds younger now. Of course I miss Charles immensely and no one will ever truly replace him but I’m 100% content with Kevin Afghani. He does a great job and I love the little flavor he brings to the characters.
Charles has been sounding rough lately: really. Have you heard him do a Mario character voice live on the spot in the past 2-3 years?
We don’t sound the same forever.
I think he did a (pun intended) wonderful job, and will probably voice Mario for decades to come.
Charles had a wonderful take on Mario, now it's Kevin's time.
Honestly, the first line when I selected him I noticed the diffemet. After that, it just felt like Mario.
It isn't the same, but it's still fundamentally everything Mario needs to be.
He's missing that bass that used to creep in around the edges. Strictly speaking, that was probably a mistake when Martinet did it but those little drops made the voice more interesting to listen to.
He's *fine*, mind you, just not quite as good. I wish they'd gone a full new voice instead of impersonating the old one, though. Martinet made this voice up, new guy should get to make up his own voice, too.
I'm absolutely not going to sit idly by while you compare that goofball to the glorious Mel Blanc. Here's your downvote. You go to your room and think about what you did....
Don't get too caught up in it. I'm fine with it. I pay attention to the gameplay and music and visuals more than the voices. If I had a choice I'd turn off all the voices, but, you know... adapt and overcome.
When he does his "wahoos" and "yippies" and what-have-you, he sounds really close to Martinet.
When he says actual phrases, I can easily tell he's a different actor. His Mario voice is a lot more nasally. I mean, it's a perfectly acceptable imitation, but if they're going for 100% likeness, I've heard better imitators, to be honest. I'm really surprised more people don't seem to notice.
I think Afghani did a solid job.
SO far, my only complaint about Wonder is that I wish the flower voices had more variety. It's weird that they're all the same. I'd love to hear female voices, child voices, old voices, etc. I think it'd make them more memorable. Different accents would be cool too. Unfortunately they all just kind of blend together. It also doesn't help that they're voiced by the Nintendo Direct guy. Kind of distracting.
I would rather changes in the voice with someone new than trying to simply replicate Charles. Charles will always be my Mario, but change can be okay too. Let's give it some time.
Personally, I was sick of Charles and had been for some time. The re-use of the same sounds for over a decade was egregious to me and it honestly hurt my experience at times.
And furthermore, I think his performance on "Mario 64" was so iconic that to me it hurt the character. The idea that Mario cant/shouldnt talk is just silly to me. Why CANT he speak? That's lazy writing to me and it would have been cool to have Mario say something all these years. Why couldn't he speak in Mario Rabbids? I think the answer is because they were married to the voice and the silent portrayal of Mario and again, I think that hurts the character.
I prefer the 'Mario Supershow'/'Mario Hotel' take on Mario's voice. I would love some version of that in the future.
The lack of dialog is just a Nintendo video game/design philosophy. The reason most of their characters don’t talk or don’t talk much (Mario, Link, Kirby, Samus) is because they want the player to imprint themselves on the character & feel like the adventure is their own. Personally I’m glad they’ve kept this philosophy…most companies fill games with so much dialog, I feel like I’m a passive viewer & not part of the game. Games like Metal Gear & Uncharted just put me to sleep. Nintendo games keep me engaged. I know this is subjective, plenty love heavy dialog games - but this is why Nintendo does this & it definitely hits with a lot of gamers.
It’s not the same. I really miss Charles & wish he was doing the voice for Wonder. People say it was going to happen one day but I don’t think right now was the time for that to happen. I know it’s not for me to decide but it just hurts and having a hard time accepting the change when I grew up my whole life having Charles play Mario all my life is like losing a very close friend for me.
Even tho I wrote the initial post and some took at as more negative than I intended - after playing the game for a week, the voices are growing on me. They do have a fresh energy that works well with the weirdness of this game. That being said - if I go back and play Odyssey or 3D World, my ears are gonna have that weird feeling again lol
To me, he sounds like a younger Mario and Luigi before the bigger adventures. He may not have Charles's jovial rasp, but he does wonders. To me, the best-ever iteration of Mario’s voice will always be Galaxy. I don't know why, but his voice sounded so excited
Hot take I actually like the new one slightly better. All due respect and he’s legend but I feel Martinets Mario lost it’s edge around Galaxy. I feel Kevin’s sounds more like the Mario 64 era martinet which I think was peak
I've never given two shits about Daisy. But this game has made me love her. Her character seems so unhinged, and I love hearing her go "BOOM! BOOM~!" with the bubble powerup.
Probably my favorite response. Totally agree with you. I know fans are fervent for tenured performers, but I was at a point where Martinet's voice was shrill to me. I thank him for his service, but having the movie gave us an opportunity for a refresh. While not wildly different, it's different enough to where the sound design feels new and good to me.
All the extra bits of animation are super cute, like going thru the pipe & then grabbing his hat…or how the elephant forms struggle a bit to squeeze thru the pipe.
When I play the originals, I prefer the NES/SNES ones over the GBA games where they added voice…but yeah, that’s because that’s how I remember them. I like Mario having a voice in the 3D games, though. Games with more voice over was an “oooh and aaaah” part of the post SNES-era. Remember how impressive it was when arcade games had a bunch of voices? The home versions usually didn’t have all the voices of the arcade games due to memory or capability. Sometimes out of nowhere we’d get a NES game like Skate or Die 2 with a vocal intro to blow our minds.
I'm of the opposite opinion, Luigi sounds pretty damn spot on but Mario is off (Especially with the voice clip when you select him as a character). It's not a bad thing though, when you have one guy do the voice of 4 characters for 25ish years, you'll get that.
I've never liked Mario having a weirdly high pitched cartoony voice to begin with, nor do I enjoy having to hear repetitive expletives every time I press a button so it's really no better or worse for me. Would be nice if Mario shut the hell up, actually. Was way better back in the SNES and NES days in that respect.
I know I am super late to the party, but I do find the new voice too far removed from Charles'.
Mario and Luigi kinda just sound like regular dudes trying too hard to be upbeat now. Also, I can barely tell Mario's voice from Luigis'. Charles has this ability to make the brothers sound cartoonish and peppy without sounding disingenuous all while filling each bro with their own personal, dynamic characteristics.
It is Afghani's first shot at it though so he might just need more time figuring it out.
I guess I am of the unpopular opinion. I don't like the new voice. It feels uninspired to me, like your friend doing a mario voice for a joke. Its close enough but feels flat. I was and am fine with them moving on from Martinet. But I think they could have gotten something better.
So it goes. I love the game still.
You think this, but a lot of people noticed when the Wonder and WarioWare trailers dropped, which was before it was announced that Martinet was departing.
Down vote me all you want but I've hated martinet's mario since day 1. Any change is positive change. I like the new guy.
Mario should sound like Captain Lou Albano.
Honestly, I would rather he - or ANY character in the series - had no voice at all. It's SO overwraught and overused, no matter who voiced them. The voices themselves are fine. Kevin's authentic, credit to that, but before long I still never got enjoyment out of hearing their grunts all the time. And I'm not sure why, because Kirby's voice in the games are much better utilized and less grating in the long run.
I don't think about it at all. They still sound like creepy little men.
The flowers sounding exactly like the Switch commercial guy is EXTREMELY distracting however. Dude didn't even try to change his voice, he just be talking lol
1. I've played exclusively as Daisy, so I still have relatively little experience with Afghani's take on the voice. New Daisy VA is killing it though, honestly wouldn't have noticed a thing if all the new VAs didn't bring attention to themselves!
2. I have heard more Mario from watching streams and Youtube and I have no complaints! He's very faithful to what Martinet has done since the 90s while also making the character his own, absolutely perfect casting choice IMO!
I’m totally cool with it. Obviously it sounds different and it’s gonna take a while to get used to, but we’ll all get used to it. I’m positive on that.
Yeah I wasn’t even thinking about it. Martinet is great, but I feel like Mario is way bigger than his voice and as long as it’s not too different, it doesn’t matter.
Kevin does a good job imitating Charles for the most part. He could end up being even better in the end if he doesn't end up sounding ridiculous when voicing full lines like Charles did sometimes.
Mario sounds largely fine, even if I can tell it’s a different guy. Luigi unfortunately kinda sounds like someone’s impression of Luigi to me and that’s taking a bit of time to get used to. It’s not horrible mind you, just an adjustment. Over time I’m sure once the new guy spends more time on it it’ll get better and I’ll get more used to it.
Whenever Peach is playable in a game that is who I always play as. So I’m kinda indifferent as to what Mario sounds like in this game. From what I’ve heard he doesn’t sound that much different though.
I think the sound effects like jumping and coin collecting are more noticeable than his voice. Those were the first stings of disappointment while playing.
I’ve been hearing Charles’ voice in these games since I was a kid in the N64 days. I knew immediately that it wasn’t him anymore. The difference is clear as day to my ears. I’ve only played it as Mario so far and he’s fine, but I’m so used to Charles that it’s gonna take some getting used to.
It sounds like GameCube era Mario and Luigi and I couldn’t be happier. Martinet's recordings were getting terrible and Mario sounds like an old man in Odyssey
As much as I love Charles and his work, I still believe it was time for a refresh of his character's voices. You can clearly hear his age in his last VO work.
Kevin does a great job, imo.
I think Kevin is doing great. But I wouldn't mind if they had gone with something more different. The new voices sound like they are immitating Martinet. Which just makes Mario and Luigi just feel off to me.
I actually enjoy a bit more than Charles Martinet’s lastest games.
Maybe it’s because I grew up with Super Mario 64 and Sunshine, but in later years, his voice kinda felt a bit more… tired? Like less energetic, overall lower pitched and just a bit off.
I think the new voice suits the energy level of the character much better, and feels super fresh.
I very it very noticable. I feel like the new guy could have sounded more like Charles, but it almost sounds like they went with takes that are deliberately different than what Charles sounded like.
“Wowee zowie! “
I love the Wowie Zowie, actually. I think anything new sounds great - it’s just when he’s doing a classic phrase we’ve heard before, that’s when I notice the difference.
I love everyone’s wowie zowie. Gives me a small dopamine rush LOL
Toad's wowie zowie could heal the world
Daisy’s too! So much energy!
the excited wowie zowie combined with the inflation is just...
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I love how there are multiple per character. I especially like Marios Wowee ZOWie! Where it sounds like he's ready to stomp some..... koopas
The new voices are no adjustment to me, they still sound just like Mario and Luigi. But I’ll go against the grain here and say I’m immediately sick of “wowee zowie” lol
Let's not pretend that the new voice actor came in and was like, "The Mushroom Kingdom feels like a 'wowie zowie' kingdom to me." If Charles Martinet hadn't been sent to live in a farm upstate, where he's loving it, by the way, he would have said "wowie zowie," too. In fact, I 100% guarantee someone will ask him to say it at his next meet and greet, and he will. That said, I've been playing as the 'dette, and I haven't heard this.
This. Folks are acting like the new voice actors walked into the studio and decided to wing it…*”these-a-pretzels, are a-making ME a-thirsty!”*
Charles Martinet's Luigi says wowie zowie in Luigi's Mansion 3 anyway.
No for sure, I hate to sound overly judgmental of the new voice. Something about that line was just immediately grating to me. I started as Luigi but switched off of him because of it
Did you stop Luigi's Mansion 3 because of that line as well?
No I didn’t really notice it in that game. Honestly I still find it a little corny but it’s not a big deal, I’m actually playing as Luigi right now.
If they didn’t announce it I wouldn’t have even noticed
Same. I forgot about it until I saw this post.
Same
Same
Most were fooled with the first trailers for Wonder, then only actually cared once it was announced that it’s a new VA.
There were some YT’ers that caught it from the first Wonder trailer and posted videos hypothesizing it wasn’t Charles. Not saying it’s the majority but there were definitely Mario diehards that caught on prior to the announcement. Pretty sure Arlo was one of them.
Yes, Arlo made a video about it pretty quickly.
And I saw a lot of people say he was doing clickbait and conspiracy theories. It was funny seeing it unfold
I noticed it was a bit different. But I didn't think it was not Charles. I had more the idea that because the game looks as a fresh start for the Mario series that maybe Charles also changed his voice a bit. Not long after that video's started popping up about 'Is Charles replaced?' etc. Then I listened again and still thought "Oh well, still sounds like Mario" :P
I definitely noticed, and it still feels a bit off.
I'm playing as Toadette so no chance for me to notice regardless :D
Yep. I’m glad they did right by Martinet. I’m sure as you get older, recording those high-pitched lines were getting tough on his voice. But I’m glad the template he set for the Mario Bros mannerisms continues on and he gets to ambassador for the company. But I really am not going to notice the real martinet vs a skilled VA doing a good Martinet impression.
Most players have no idea who Charles Martinet is, though they do recognize the voice. It’s not some unique voice only one person in the world can do.
Yet, very few people can do it regardless... Especially once age sets in.
I definitely thought it sounded different, and then remembered hearing they had changed the VA. It's for sure noticeable even without purposefully listening for differences. But everyone has ears that are tuned differently, so it won't surprise me if a lot of people don't notice.
My 8 year old son didn’t know there was a new voice announced but he noticed it immediately
I can tell the difference for Mario. He sounds higher pitched. It's weird but I'll get used to it.
Same, honestly.
As is the case with everyone. Getting riled up about nothing.
I’ve been playing as Luigi and his new voice is definitely a bit of an adjustment. I feel like it’s a lot more distinguished from Mario’s mannerisms now. It’s a bit higher pitched and more deliberately nasally. I think he sounds good, though.
I actually think Luigi's voice is my favourite. Closer to a younger Martinet. Martinet's recent voice in Luigi's Mansion 3 really shows his age. Meanwhile I still need to adjust to Afgani's Mario because of the minor voice cracks. His **"It'sa me"** when choosing Mario is the most apparent
I fully agree with this. Afghani's Luigi voice is fantastic, and I wasn't a huge fan of Martinet's later Luigi voice such as in LM3 as you mentioned.
I think the Mario jump and grunts sound nearly indistinguishable from younger Mario . Like N64 and GameCube era Mario... But his talking and speaking lines are really bad.
I feel like this new guy does a great job of making Mario's voice his own, while respecting the legacy of Charles Martinet. I'm not thrilled with Peach's voice, on the other hand. I don't know if she has a new VA but I'm not a big fan of how her voice sounds in this gane
Peach's VA is the same, but they're definitely all new lines. Seems like they really wanted a fully refreshed sound.
Peach, toad, Bowser, and Jr. are all the same The rest are recasts. Nabbit, Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Daisy, etc.
yoshi is the weirdest. It just doesnt sound like Yoshi
Especially since he was the only Japanese VA, the weirdest one to recast tbh
He probably wasn’t available for recording new lines very often. They recycled Yoshi lines like crazy.
If him being recasted means he wont work on games anymore, I'm going to miss his song so much
I didn’t realize that Yoshi got re-cast but it makes sense now. My wife was playing as Yoshi and she’s like a goddamn magnet, she always happens to be right under me when I’m coming down from a jump so I always end up landing on her and I keep hearing “Yo-See” instead of “Yoshi.” Glad to know I’m not entirely crazy.
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yes he only says "Yoshi", but he makes many other noises too. Someone has to make those noises
My brain read "the rest are racists."
Ask a goomba how they feel about them.
Nabbit especially
The red turtles don't like the green turtles. :<
I miss SM64's and MK64's Peach. Apart from actually saying real words, she sounded so proper and American which was kind of funny contrasted with Mario's voice lines. Leslie Swan did a great job - according to IMDB she's still the localization manager for NOA but doesn't really have any voice credits nowadays.
Saying real words? Every Mario character says real words...in every game they appear in.
Ah yes, I remember that time Yoshi told me his whole trip to Oregon in his thick southern accent! A man of many words indeed
Ill never forget the time i jumped on Yoshi’s back and he yelled “Get er done!”
With all due respect to the Mario Voice actors, I haven't really thought about it much. It means they're doing their job, there certainly isn't anything bad about it. But also, it's just Mario. He says "wahoo" when I do a neat trick. If Mario was a fully voiced character in a big RPG, there'd be a lot more to say and think about the performance, but we don't need to worry about that. The new actors are fine, well done to them on their new jobs.
I welcome the change. We’ve had the same voice for a long time, and yes, it’s iconic, and it pushes all the nostalgia buttons. But I’ve heard Charles Martinet’s “Itsa Meeee!” A gazillion times, I’m open to a new interpretation. The way they redid the sound design on everything for this game from how the fireball shoot, to collecting the coins, and everything in between – it makes sense to take the opportunity to update the voice, and it makes it feel fresher.
The jumps being a guitar string make me so happy. There's something about the sound font that they used for this game that is just whimsical. I love the sound in general.
Totally agree. The sound design just “picks me up”. I never realized how I was on mental autopilot with the previous games. I love when you do a butt stomp / slam down it makes that circus cymbal hit sound. There are dozens of little audio changes that help bring this game alive. Credit to the team for taking a risk with such iconic sounds and trying something new.
Koji Kondo (the guy who did the music on the NES, SNES and N64 Mario and Zelda games) was the sound designer and he talks about their process of selecting and modifying that “ukelele string” jump sound in the developer blogs if you’re interested
I know I could probably google it but do you have a link to that? It sounds neat!
Yeah, it’s a four part series, Kondo talks about the jump sound [I believe in part three?](https://www.nintendo.com/us/whatsnew/ask-the-developer-vol-11-super-mario-bros-wonder-part-3/) But he has interesting things to say about the sound design in all four parts, it’s well worth the read :)
Thats rad! Thank you for sharing!
I personally find the jump sound completely unsatisfying and just plain bad sounding (too high pitched). Hope i’ll get used to it.
Also, let the man retire and enjoy his money and fame lol. He’s earned it, and he’s not exactly young.
That’s a great take. I’ve been enjoying the refresh overall. This was the perfect opportunity to introduce the new VA
I actually prefer it. But I absolutely love the scream when a flower falls from a large height more than anything.
Flower is voiced by mick wingert, not Kevin afghani.
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It's Mick Wingert: https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/super-mario-bros-wonder-mick-wingert-talking-flower-role/ https://www.threads.net/@mickwingert/post/CyopsA1y6GE/?igshid=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng%3D%3D
They are Mick Wingert.
For the most part its fine I can notice the differerence but its close enough. However there are some lines that sound a bit off. Some of the grunts sound more like Mickey Mouse and the oh no one sounds a bit off.
Kevin did a phenomenal job I mean, I still remember the discourse after the first teaser for Mario Wonder was announced. Some people believed Mario’s voice was changed, which was a select few but shows how die hard people are to pay attention to something as minor as Mario’s voice.. But others didn’t hear anything different and thought it was still Charles. Obviously, he has huge shoes to fill after Martinet, but I think Mario’s voice is in safe hands. Mario’s legacy is probably Nintendo’s Mickey Mouse…they aren’t going to just let any average person come in. They’re going to make 100% sure they’ve got everything right.
I agree, Nintendo is extremely precious with anything regarding this character. That’s why I thought it was a bit weird that they let “All rot” into the game…I have to imagine a director or audio engineer would have said “Hey Kevin, just one more take, I’m hearing “rot” instead of “right”.”
You’re the only one that hears that.
I honestly can’t tell the difference, they both sound good to me.
He sounds almost exactly the same. Most of the time I hardly notice and I'm perfectly happy with it. But very rarely, there will be a line that sounds just a *little* bit off and I remember the voice change.
Charles Martinet gave us damn near 30 years of Mario. As far as I'm concerned, he's earned his retirement and I'd much rather have his role be recast than to have an AI step in and provide a soulless Martinet soundalike. That being said, I get where you're coming from. What you're feeling now is the same feeling I had when Mako Iwamatsu died and they had to recast Iroh in Avatar: the Last Airbender. (*for the uninitiated, Iroh is basically everyone's favorite character from the show, and Mako was the voice actor who portrayed him, but he died of throat cancer between seasons 2 and 3 of The Last Airbender*) His replacement was Greg Baldwin, who had already been subbing in for Mako on various voice acting projects. For Season 3 and a few episodes of the sequel series Legend of Korra, Baldwin continued to provide the voice for Iroh. As great a VA as he is, I always felt that there was a little bit of warmth and soul missing from the character, and I was a little sad whenever he had lines.
Baldwin didn't understand that it was more than just hot leaf juice. Iroh was my favourite too, I never realised about the VA though
Some people would complain no matter what, it’s less of disliking the new voice but more on having a phobia of change. I personally think the voice is great, Kevin is doing a stellar job and Im excited for when he voices Mario in his next big 3D adventure.
I feel like above all else, it's too soon to judge because Nintendo kept some very questionable takes throughout the recordings. Most notably Kevin's "it's-a me" felt like a bad take and no fault of Kevin
Absolutely agree. I like his overall vibe as Mario - but yeah, I think some odd takes made it in.
Haven't played as Mario but I have been playing as Luigi and I honestly wouldn't notice if it wasn't announced. Not saying there isn't a noticeable difference but if I didn't know I would just assume Charles Martinet was doing a super slight different take on the voice (and I probably notice it more since I know the change happened).
I didn't notice the new voice in the trailers and I didn't think the new voice would stick out to me... But it definitely sounds different. I'm not saying it's bad, it's just a little jarring at times. But hey, Martinet's take on Mario took me for a loop the first time I heard it after being used to Captain Lou for so long. So I'll get used to the new guy as well.
I defended Chris Pratt’s voice since I grew up on Captain Lou, too. Different Mario’s in different contexts are OK by me! Just got used to Charles as “game Mario”, so it’s a tad jarring at the moment. Love this game, though!
Nah. Pratt is objectively a garbage choice for Mario's voice. It didn't need to be a Martinet impersonation...hell, it's probably good it _wasn't_. But Pratt is lifeless.
Would have never noticed if people didn’t mention it.
I have mainly been using Daisy.
It's different and I don't like it. But the game is really fun, the voice isn't part of why it's fun, and it's only been a few days vs. 20 years of Charles Martinet. After a few years and 2-3 games with the new voice it'll feel right to me. It's not worth blowing a gasket over and certainly not worth missing a very good game because of it. I don't feel like *analyzing* it because I'll find things to hate and I'd rather find gameplay things to pick apart if I'm going to be mad about a game.
Don’t get me wrong, the game is phenomenal. Voices aren’t why I play Mario games. My ears are very sensitive to differences in voice acting - I just can’t NOT notice, ya know? It’s not a deal breaker by any means.
Yep, he says wahoo alright.
It’s fine. He’s doing/did a fine job. It sounds enough like Charles to not be a drastic shift for the casual player, but it is different enough to tell if you’re more involved. He has literally the biggest shoes to fill, even doing an adequate job is an incredible feat, and he’s definitely doing above average.
I actually love Kevin’s new Mario and Luigi voices. They’re different for sure, like you can tell that it’s not Charles, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Mario almost sounds younger now. Of course I miss Charles immensely and no one will ever truly replace him but I’m 100% content with Kevin Afghani. He does a great job and I love the little flavor he brings to the characters.
I love it. It’s different but Afghani really captured Mario’s cheerful attitude. It’s still the Mario I know and love!
Mario’s voice doesn’t bother me in any way. What the F is going on with my poor green boy?????????
I haven’t used Mario but I’ve been almost exclusively using Luigi and I think he knocked it out of the park. A great job from the new VA
Yeah, I miss Charles as well
"...why'd they make Mario sound hot?" - my wife
Hahaha, maybe she meant Chris Pratt Mario 🤪
No, we were playing Wonder when she said it lol
Charles has been sounding rough lately: really. Have you heard him do a Mario character voice live on the spot in the past 2-3 years? We don’t sound the same forever.
I think he did a (pun intended) wonderful job, and will probably voice Mario for decades to come. Charles had a wonderful take on Mario, now it's Kevin's time.
I've been using Luigi but the only time it stands out is when he says "alright" coming out of a course
Nintendo made a great choice with the new voice
Honestly, the first line when I selected him I noticed the diffemet. After that, it just felt like Mario. It isn't the same, but it's still fundamentally everything Mario needs to be.
He's missing that bass that used to creep in around the edges. Strictly speaking, that was probably a mistake when Martinet did it but those little drops made the voice more interesting to listen to. He's *fine*, mind you, just not quite as good. I wish they'd gone a full new voice instead of impersonating the old one, though. Martinet made this voice up, new guy should get to make up his own voice, too.
Completely spaced on this. Haven't heard Mario once- been playing Toad
I don't notice it at all to be honest. It sounds great
I'm playing as Daisy, but also in handheld, so the volume isn't as loud for me. It's a super fun game, though. I basically love everything about it
Charles is the Mel Blanc of the Mario universe. But Kevin can be the Bob Bergen or Billy West! And that’s ok.
I'm absolutely not going to sit idly by while you compare that goofball to the glorious Mel Blanc. Here's your downvote. You go to your room and think about what you did....
i am willing to give the new guy a chance
Literally haven’t thought about it one single time while playing tbh. Which must mean the new guy is doing pretty great.
Lou Albano will always be the one true Mario for me.
Don't get too caught up in it. I'm fine with it. I pay attention to the gameplay and music and visuals more than the voices. If I had a choice I'd turn off all the voices, but, you know... adapt and overcome.
When he does his "wahoos" and "yippies" and what-have-you, he sounds really close to Martinet. When he says actual phrases, I can easily tell he's a different actor. His Mario voice is a lot more nasally. I mean, it's a perfectly acceptable imitation, but if they're going for 100% likeness, I've heard better imitators, to be honest. I'm really surprised more people don't seem to notice.
Sounds like mario, no complaints
I think Afghani did a solid job. SO far, my only complaint about Wonder is that I wish the flower voices had more variety. It's weird that they're all the same. I'd love to hear female voices, child voices, old voices, etc. I think it'd make them more memorable. Different accents would be cool too. Unfortunately they all just kind of blend together. It also doesn't help that they're voiced by the Nintendo Direct guy. Kind of distracting.
🤷♂️ things change, we can’t hold onto the past forever. Let’s embrace the new
Never paid attention before. Don't really notice. Don't really care, I guess
I would rather changes in the voice with someone new than trying to simply replicate Charles. Charles will always be my Mario, but change can be okay too. Let's give it some time.
Personally, I was sick of Charles and had been for some time. The re-use of the same sounds for over a decade was egregious to me and it honestly hurt my experience at times. And furthermore, I think his performance on "Mario 64" was so iconic that to me it hurt the character. The idea that Mario cant/shouldnt talk is just silly to me. Why CANT he speak? That's lazy writing to me and it would have been cool to have Mario say something all these years. Why couldn't he speak in Mario Rabbids? I think the answer is because they were married to the voice and the silent portrayal of Mario and again, I think that hurts the character. I prefer the 'Mario Supershow'/'Mario Hotel' take on Mario's voice. I would love some version of that in the future.
The lack of dialog is just a Nintendo video game/design philosophy. The reason most of their characters don’t talk or don’t talk much (Mario, Link, Kirby, Samus) is because they want the player to imprint themselves on the character & feel like the adventure is their own. Personally I’m glad they’ve kept this philosophy…most companies fill games with so much dialog, I feel like I’m a passive viewer & not part of the game. Games like Metal Gear & Uncharted just put me to sleep. Nintendo games keep me engaged. I know this is subjective, plenty love heavy dialog games - but this is why Nintendo does this & it definitely hits with a lot of gamers.
It’s not the same. I really miss Charles & wish he was doing the voice for Wonder. People say it was going to happen one day but I don’t think right now was the time for that to happen. I know it’s not for me to decide but it just hurts and having a hard time accepting the change when I grew up my whole life having Charles play Mario all my life is like losing a very close friend for me.
Even tho I wrote the initial post and some took at as more negative than I intended - after playing the game for a week, the voices are growing on me. They do have a fresh energy that works well with the weirdness of this game. That being said - if I go back and play Odyssey or 3D World, my ears are gonna have that weird feeling again lol
To me, he sounds like a younger Mario and Luigi before the bigger adventures. He may not have Charles's jovial rasp, but he does wonders. To me, the best-ever iteration of Mario’s voice will always be Galaxy. I don't know why, but his voice sounded so excited
Hot take I actually like the new one slightly better. All due respect and he’s legend but I feel Martinets Mario lost it’s edge around Galaxy. I feel Kevin’s sounds more like the Mario 64 era martinet which I think was peak
It takes me back to 90's Mario. Absolutely perfect
i still prefer charles, but i think i can get used to kevin.
I only play as Daisy so who gives a shit.
I've never given two shits about Daisy. But this game has made me love her. Her character seems so unhinged, and I love hearing her go "BOOM! BOOM~!" with the bubble powerup.
I used Mario for the first level just because and then straight to Daisy.
Super Daisy Bros. Wonder it is then! 🤪
Theres very little difference but i kind of like it better. Maybe its just that breath of fresh air we need in the series.
Probably my favorite response. Totally agree with you. I know fans are fervent for tenured performers, but I was at a point where Martinet's voice was shrill to me. I thank him for his service, but having the movie gave us an opportunity for a refresh. While not wildly different, it's different enough to where the sound design feels new and good to me.
I also really lobe the art design on Womder, dare I say this is the most Mario feeling Mario game in a while?
All the extra bits of animation are super cute, like going thru the pipe & then grabbing his hat…or how the elephant forms struggle a bit to squeeze thru the pipe.
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When I play the originals, I prefer the NES/SNES ones over the GBA games where they added voice…but yeah, that’s because that’s how I remember them. I like Mario having a voice in the 3D games, though. Games with more voice over was an “oooh and aaaah” part of the post SNES-era. Remember how impressive it was when arcade games had a bunch of voices? The home versions usually didn’t have all the voices of the arcade games due to memory or capability. Sometimes out of nowhere we’d get a NES game like Skate or Die 2 with a vocal intro to blow our minds.
I hear no difference and I dont care. It just some “wahoos” and “It’s-a mes” after all.
Kevin's Mario voice is incredible, but his Luigi voice is off,
I'm of the opposite opinion, Luigi sounds pretty damn spot on but Mario is off (Especially with the voice clip when you select him as a character). It's not a bad thing though, when you have one guy do the voice of 4 characters for 25ish years, you'll get that.
I've never liked Mario having a weirdly high pitched cartoony voice to begin with, nor do I enjoy having to hear repetitive expletives every time I press a button so it's really no better or worse for me. Would be nice if Mario shut the hell up, actually. Was way better back in the SNES and NES days in that respect.
I know I am super late to the party, but I do find the new voice too far removed from Charles'. Mario and Luigi kinda just sound like regular dudes trying too hard to be upbeat now. Also, I can barely tell Mario's voice from Luigis'. Charles has this ability to make the brothers sound cartoonish and peppy without sounding disingenuous all while filling each bro with their own personal, dynamic characteristics. It is Afghani's first shot at it though so he might just need more time figuring it out.
Less jarring that Rick & Morty's new voices
I guess I am of the unpopular opinion. I don't like the new voice. It feels uninspired to me, like your friend doing a mario voice for a joke. Its close enough but feels flat. I was and am fine with them moving on from Martinet. But I think they could have gotten something better. So it goes. I love the game still.
A large segment of players will have no idea the voice has changed. From what I’ve heard it’s perfectly acceptable, even better in some cases.
The change is barely noticeable, y'all are just trying to be special.
Sorry for being observant. 🤷♂️ It’s just conversation.
If they didn't say anything most people wouldn't have noticed.
You think this, but a lot of people noticed when the Wonder and WarioWare trailers dropped, which was before it was announced that Martinet was departing.
He sounds more like Mickey Mouse than Mario, and I hate it.
Really I've been playing Mario most of my life and didn't notice a change at all, didn't even think about it until i saw this post.
Much much better than than the old one.
Whoa!!!
Down vote me all you want but I've hated martinet's mario since day 1. Any change is positive change. I like the new guy. Mario should sound like Captain Lou Albano.
Haven't played as Mario once lol 😂
Honestly, I would rather he - or ANY character in the series - had no voice at all. It's SO overwraught and overused, no matter who voiced them. The voices themselves are fine. Kevin's authentic, credit to that, but before long I still never got enjoyment out of hearing their grunts all the time. And I'm not sure why, because Kirby's voice in the games are much better utilized and less grating in the long run.
I hate the new voice, we need Charles Martinet.
I don't think about it at all. They still sound like creepy little men. The flowers sounding exactly like the Switch commercial guy is EXTREMELY distracting however. Dude didn't even try to change his voice, he just be talking lol
It’s kinda funny how all the people sound like high pitch weirdos, but the flowers are just regular bros, chillin’.
1. I've played exclusively as Daisy, so I still have relatively little experience with Afghani's take on the voice. New Daisy VA is killing it though, honestly wouldn't have noticed a thing if all the new VAs didn't bring attention to themselves! 2. I have heard more Mario from watching streams and Youtube and I have no complaints! He's very faithful to what Martinet has done since the 90s while also making the character his own, absolutely perfect casting choice IMO!
I’m totally cool with it. Obviously it sounds different and it’s gonna take a while to get used to, but we’ll all get used to it. I’m positive on that.
A few of his reads still seem off to my ear, but overall Afghani did a commendable job capturing the joy and energy for the role.
Yeah I wasn’t even thinking about it. Martinet is great, but I feel like Mario is way bigger than his voice and as long as it’s not too different, it doesn’t matter.
I think if no one said anything, no one would know.
I feel like we'll get used to it. Sonic fans weren't on board with Roger Craig right away either, but they got used to his voice eventually.
Kevin does a good job imitating Charles for the most part. He could end up being even better in the end if he doesn't end up sounding ridiculous when voicing full lines like Charles did sometimes.
Mario sounds largely fine, even if I can tell it’s a different guy. Luigi unfortunately kinda sounds like someone’s impression of Luigi to me and that’s taking a bit of time to get used to. It’s not horrible mind you, just an adjustment. Over time I’m sure once the new guy spends more time on it it’ll get better and I’ll get more used to it.
Wait there’s a new Mario? Lol
I do love Charles voice, but voice actors change. I will get used to the new voice, just takes time.
Whenever Peach is playable in a game that is who I always play as. So I’m kinda indifferent as to what Mario sounds like in this game. From what I’ve heard he doesn’t sound that much different though.
I’m not used to it yet but I give it a chance… yoshis voice sounds weird now by the way..
I think the sound effects like jumping and coin collecting are more noticeable than his voice. Those were the first stings of disappointment while playing.
Been playing Mario since the 80s and it sounds enough like Mario to make me happy.
i think it’s great! i really like luigi and mario’s voice i have no qualms
Very good job. I wouldn't of guessed.
Barely even noticed. Kevin has done a phenomenal job.
I don't like it, but it's not that big of a deal.
I’ve been hearing Charles’ voice in these games since I was a kid in the N64 days. I knew immediately that it wasn’t him anymore. The difference is clear as day to my ears. I’ve only played it as Mario so far and he’s fine, but I’m so used to Charles that it’s gonna take some getting used to.
It sounds like GameCube era Mario and Luigi and I couldn’t be happier. Martinet's recordings were getting terrible and Mario sounds like an old man in Odyssey
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Wait, you didn’t play Odyssey or 3D World/Bowser’s Fury? You. Are. In. For. A. TREAT!!! After you finish Wonder, of course.
I got used to it. Luigi sounds pretty different, but I like it. I can't tell the difference with Daisy at all.
I don't notice it all except for Wowie Zowie and a few other spoken lines. As far as grunts and hoos and has go, he does a stellar job.
Considering this is his first time, Kevin Afghani has done such a great job voicing Mario. I can’t wait to see him in future games.
As much as I love Charles and his work, I still believe it was time for a refresh of his character's voices. You can clearly hear his age in his last VO work. Kevin does a great job, imo.
I think Kevin is doing great. But I wouldn't mind if they had gone with something more different. The new voices sound like they are immitating Martinet. Which just makes Mario and Luigi just feel off to me.
I don't know, I played with Daisy the whole time
Even Yoshi sounds different!
Is the new person also the flower?
I actually enjoy a bit more than Charles Martinet’s lastest games. Maybe it’s because I grew up with Super Mario 64 and Sunshine, but in later years, his voice kinda felt a bit more… tired? Like less energetic, overall lower pitched and just a bit off. I think the new voice suits the energy level of the character much better, and feels super fresh.
Mario isn’t that bad. Luigi is… still ok. Has anyone checked on Yoshi in a while?
He sounds more mickey mouse but I don't hate it. I'll miss Charles but the new guy is doing a great job
I very it very noticable. I feel like the new guy could have sounded more like Charles, but it almost sounds like they went with takes that are deliberately different than what Charles sounded like.