Check out the remastered version of this video, with better audio and new edits! ➡ ua-cam.com/video/QGZV7toB5DA/v-deo.html Special thanks to Marc for editing this video, and ZehOverseer for inspiring me to write this essay!
for the hood removal scene it is a model swap,in curent game it is very hard to remove clothes in real time,especially with those long ears,so to avoid to pre render the cutscene and use professional rendering they preferred a model swap before the scene...
I found Bianca in Reignited to be more shy and awkward than her original more sassy confident self, it's not just Biancas voice acting, but I also preferred the Sorceress's voice actor in the original too, in Reignited the Sorceress sounds like an angry old aunt rather than commanding intimidating presence she had in the original.
As for the Sorceress, I like both voices. The original sounds more stereotypically evil and threatening, while Reignited sounds more regal and powerful.
Miharu The Fox I agree, both versions are good. But I like how in the reignited version she comes of as a little more calm and straightforward at first. She’s somewhat “faux affably evil”, in that she doesn’t come off as totally evil and (g)nasty at first, she just wants things done her way, and right away. I like how, as the story goes on, she starts to drop that facade and shows just how terrible she is. It’s pretty neat how the dialogue from the game lends itself to this; both versions work, it just depends on the animation, and voice direction/acting to determine how it plays out. A straight up mean Sorceress worked well with the limited resources of the PS1, but with the technological upgrades since then, the more deceiving reignited Sorceress becomes just as viable; it’s probably my favorite of the two as well.
Agreed. The sorceress in the original really creeped me out as a kid with her voice and giant eyes lol. Shes kind of a joke in the reignited trilogy. Not intimidating at all. Just minor nitpicks though.
Also agree, but then there's the music in the cutscenes. I think it added tension, especially with the intro for Buzz's boss fight. That goes for the beginning of three (for the first cutscene). I guess it added mystery and curiosity.
I kinda like the new sorceress's voice, it gives her the illusion of just a mean lady and not exactly an all powerful evil witch type, it fits better with Bianca thinking the best of her until she shows her motive, with the original voice it would come off as something bianca should of known from the get go, and adds more realism that this game provided in peppered fashion in the remakes.
I don't think the voice actors ever got a chance to hear the original dialogue. I think the developers just wrote all of it down and told the voice actors to read it. I also have problem with Bentley because he was supposed to be a smart yeti and that's why he spoke with strong vocabulary. However his new voice makes him seem like he could be a nitwitted individual and only saying words he doesn't understand.
@@MiharuTheFox I agree 100%. There was even a Papara the Rapper reference in the first game that when Tom Kenny had to re-record the line, you can tell no one told him what the line was based on.
@@MiharuTheFox Yeah. It kinda reminds me of how in some plays I helped with at my old school, the kids would say their lines but not act like they were supposed to. Like, while rehearsing for The Plane Truth About Christmas, the kids playing the wise men said their line in a more dead tone, like "Follow that star." Instead of sounding excited, like "Follow that star!" The NPCs in the Reignited version fall under that as well, not acting like they're supposed to. It almost sounds like they're recording their dialogue at gunpoint.
I always thought of Bentley as a knight of chivalry character mostly because of his vocabulary, like he’s a knight in shining armor sort of person, the old voice did capture that sort of feeling but his new voice does come close
One problem I have with Reignited Bianca (I still like her) is that she isn’t as ‘condescending’ enough towards Spyro like she was in the classics. I like her originally cold and threatening demeanor she put up so she could serve her queen. Anyway, I really liked this video! I wonder if you could make this format into a new series e.g. “The Problem with Hunter in the Reignited Trilogy” Please?
Miharu The Fox Oh I didn’t have a problem with Hunter, it’s that I was just spitting out an example. When it comes to design though, I think it’s just a bias of mine as maybe it’s the look of him that is a little off-putting to me because I’m so used to seeing him with......that ‘muppet’ mouth. I still love the game though! (Even if I’m a newbie to the series)
I'm glad this video came out great! I too had a problem with Bianca's line delivery in Evening Lake; that pause was something I noticed in the original game a long time ago. A lot of subtle things weren't translated over, and the little things that were don't tend to keep the progression of her turnaround consistent. Overall she's still a strong character, just not as cleverly written as such like she was before.
This makes me wanna see you do analytical videos like this more often. Not just comparing Reignited with the originals, but simply taking a character from a series and dissecting them. Because you're really good at it. And you are totally right about that pause in Evening Lake. That dialogue is pretty powerful in the original. After realizing that intimidation isn't going to work on Spyro/the player, she's chosen to resort to speaking to him with respect. This immediately has an effect on the player because now you KNOW that she's being serious when she tells you to turn back, ironically (or cleverly, I should say) making the one conversation you have with her where she's NOT trying to scare you...the scariest. This is SIMPLE stuff that I'm honestly shocked Toys For Bob missed! Bianca saying his name is so glossed over in Reignited that you almost think nothing of it. It makes her warning in Evening Lake seem less special. That nervous ear-stroke is still great though.
This is where I believe the dialogue is handled a lot better in the original version compared to Reignited as a lot of moments in the original game feel like the voice cast were allowed to perform in a way that allowed them to explore their characters better by allowing them to add depth to their characters Meanwhile in Reignited Trilogy a lot of the dialogue felt very rushed like the guys at Toys For Bob only gave the actors a small amount of time to get the lines right which meant their performances weren’t nearly as well delivered as in the original as it feels like whenever anyone speaks in Reignited it sounds like they had to say stuff like they were in a rush for lunch or something But as for Bianca I agree Melissa did a great job with her character for the most part but their were some lines that Pamela did a much better job with
James Griffin That's another issue I have with the Reignited trilogy: Some of the voice acting is just off. It almost sounds like the actors are recording their dialogue at gunpoint.
Yes! I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed this. While the voice acting itself is well done, it all seemed so rushed. It bugged me. All except for Spyro 1, the line delivery seemed to be perfectly paced with that one.
@@artbytesia They did their best with the dialogue at least be grateful they got the real Spyro back because I love Spyro Reignited Trilogy so much. To me Spyro fans are kinda being ungrateful jerks right now.
I feel like, when they first showed reignited version of spyro, everyone began saying that he was so cute, and Toys for Bob noticed that, all that adoration for cute characters. And for that reason I feel that they just started making every character as cute as possible, same happened with Elora for me, she's cute indeed, but the idea of the character changed, and really ruined it for me. another example for this are the seahorses of aquaria towers.
Personally, I was utterly disappointed by the voice-acting in Reignited Spyro 2 and 3. It's as if all they cared about was to sound different from the originals, completely forgetting about the emotions they were actually supposed to express. (with Hunter and Moneybags being the strongest of examples, in my opinion) As for Bianca, you voiced my exact thoughts. I too loved her new design. To me, it was among the best re-designs in the whole trilogy. But her portrayal, ugh! There was little to no depth in it! I mean, Bianca was supposed to sound strong, sinister and later confused and even wise at some point. Something like Kida from 'Atlantis The Lost Empire', not a dorky Pinkie-Pie thing. Of course, I don't blame the actress for that. It was clearly a director's mistake, but why? Couldn't they see this was ruining the whole epic atmosphere?
Pamela Hayden's portrayal of Bianca had this snarky, smug and overconfident sheen. She is determined to bring magic back to the Forgotten Worlds, to be more than just a mere apprentice, with this air of superiority over Spyro and Hunter. Yet she had a heart under that exterior, and was not afraid to stand up to the Sorceress in the end, defecting to the good side. It didn't feel forced. Sure, Melissa Hutchinson's portrayal isn't terrible by any means, but it lacks something...I prefer the snarky yet empathic tone from Hayden.
Her line in Evening Lake always felt so powerful for me and I knew that there will be no messing around right now! I love her original voice! Even if I love her new design I kinda miss her sassy character
Bianca lost what made her lovable despite her history even when you remember she was "evil", no she just seems like she was forced to work for the Sorceress.
I feel like the biggest issue with reignighted is that it looks good but it lacks soul, depth, and charm. Just because it was and is a game targeted at children doesn’t mean that the characters need to be shallow or cheap. Everything about the characters in the games makes them seem too innocent and happy, at least compared to the original trilogy.
This pretty much highlights my only issue with the remake. They.. took all the bite out of Insomniac's vision. That's always been a natural asthetic for them. That edge, spunk and bit of genuine 'tough/coolness'. And it's kinda missing in toys for Bob's rendition..
I feel the same way, but not just for Bianca, but for Hunter and Elora too. It's like they took all the emotion out of their voices. I don't hate the voices, I just think they could've done a better job conveying the emotions through their voice as they do through expressions.
I could be wrong but I get the feeling Bianca WAS meant to be the main antagonist of Spyro 3 at one point. It explains why we see so much of her and so little of the Sorceress. Bianca has way more focus and screentime as an antagonist, it would explain why she comes across as more "evil" and "mischievous" in early cutscenes, if she were meant to be the villain that personality would make sense for her. Reignited perhaps wanted to make her a more sympathetic and complex character so her Face turn was more foreshadowed. I could be completely wrong and maybe The Sorceress was planned from the start, but it'd explain why she feels like an afterthought compared to Ripto for villain presence. We see Spyro and Ripto stand off 4 separate times, but Spyro never shares screentime with The Sorceress, but he faces off Bianca multiple times.
You made some fantastic points and this video is very well done. I completely agree with you, especially about the part where she pauses before saying Spyro's name. Bianca was kind of a clumsy-badass in the original. In the remakes she's more of a cutesy student who doesn't seem to know what she's doing. The fact she genuinely cared about the dragons came as a surprise in the original, after all her teasing of Spyro and calling him by his species name. She kinda reminded me of a person who isn't fond of dogs or cats, but then finds a dog/cat and studies their behaviour over a period of time, warming up to the species and realising how she was wrong and doesn't want them to be hurt. Thanks for making this video, subscribed :)
I think maybe they were worried new fans would find her unsympathetic if she was the same amount of smug and threatening from the original. But they ended up overcorrecting and made her waaaaaaayyyyyy too cute and innocent. I completely agree that most of her character development was lost as a result.
In the original trilogy i was all about bianca, imo she was that bit cooler than elora But come the reignited trilogy my opinion has completely changed, bianca lacks emotion in her voice performance & facial expressions as you pointed out & i think elora had much more to offer in that regard. Maybe the developers ran out of time to truly develop bianca but it's kinda sad to see her pass by in this version of year of the dragon so flat...
Despite being absolutely elated that my favourite games of all time received an HD remake for the PS4, this video essentially outlines my issues with the voice acting and cutscenes in the Reignited Trilogy. They fail to capture the tone and emotion presented in the original trilogy.
I think we need technical limitations like we did back in the PS1 era. I say this because it gives leeway to the voice acting that you pointed out and that can lead to an overall less impact on delivery because were more focused on the design, animation, and movement of the character.
Honestly I thought there were issues with the way they potrayed almost every charcter in reignited. They all felt like cookie cutter versions of their former selves. This is more apparent npc wise but still once notice it its hard not to.
Your write up on her character is perfect! I remember as a kid I still didn’t trust her, even after she freed hunter and you see her at evening lake. She seemed as evil as the sorcerer and changed over time In reignited, you can tell she’s not evil from the beginning
Im glad im not the only one who feels her delivery of key lines in the dialogue is definitely missing the mark...appearance wise she's perfect she just seems kinda weak and non threatening unlike the original(until she became good of course)
I think considering the time constraints, they handled Spyro 3 all around more or less beautifully (again, with the time they had). Although, I can definitely see even these few small things (like that pause) being a mere simple fix. And, more or less, it seems like everything after Midday Gardens is all around buggy lmao. But, they handeled it fantastically. Could've been polished, but the outcome is very pleasing nonetheless!
Finally someone made a video about this! Bianca has always been my favorite character in Spyro YotD, in the remake she lacks what I thought made her interesting and great and it made me really sad :--(
Honestly I didn't grow up with any of the Spyro games and only watched a Let's Play a few months before Reignited and when I played Spyro 3 Reignited I quickly picked on this myself...
I'd wager that part of this could have been due to the time crunch that was happening around the time when they where doing the voice lines for the third game. I suspect that they could only afford to do a few takes for each character, and since Bianca has so many voice lines throughout the game they likely couldn't afford even that. I'm sure that if the third game was given the time it needed than we would have seen a better performance.
@@MiharuTheFox Fair enough. Obviously no one but the devs know what was happening on that end of production, could have been a misunderstanding of the script, could have that the take we got was just the one they proffered for whatever reason.
Of all three games, this one felt, and probably was, the most rushed. And that maybe coming through in some of the voice acting and little details here and there.
Me too. You know I love agent 9 but I'd of loved it if along with him we'd of gotten to use Bianca as a hero character at the end. Also I wish she had a role in hero's tail. Maybe post reignited at least Bianca may have better roles.
0:22 good point of yours I think Bianca wasn't shown taking her hood off because she has two slightly different models. Her hooded model has extra shadowy eyes, probably so that her face looks a bit more mysterious regardless of the levels' lighting. If both models were the same, they would need to have a seamless transition between textures. So they scrapped that animation from the cutscene.
@@MiharuTheFox Yeah... I was kinda thinking the same. It's a little weird, as if they sorta went for the bare minimum. But hey! Maybe TFB or Sanzaru will fix it in the upcoming patch? Let's find out!
FINALLY! People have been looking at me funny every time I said this as if I was making it all up in my head! Glad to know I'm not the only one who thinks so!
At least Bianca doesn't do the goddamn Floss. Seriously though, even though Reignited is a good game, you can clearly tell that it's only good because it's a remake of already good games. Anything that Toys For Bob changed or added is terrible, and there are a lot of elements that highlight the fact that they absolutely do not understand any of the excellent game design choices that went into the original PS1 versions - they just copied it as faithfully as they could, and anything that wasn't copied perfectly turned out terrible. I'd hate to play any original game that TFB has made.
Im gonna agree with miharu on this, i dont think you can have 100s of people working on something all be terrible at the job. They just didnt have the best which is fine, not really sure why you want a five star meal i just want a burger.
I thoughed when i clicked the video that its another "bianca doesnt look like that in the original" video but you seriously make extremly well thoughed points! Heads up for that! The missing pause and the lack of convidence still DRIVES ME NUTS! Bianca is a strong, sassy rabbit not a awkwardly shy one, she got serious "bad guy" training and later learns that she is on the wrong side. Never had a crush on her or find her attractiv, was more tje kind "i want her to be my bestie" kind xD I had more eyes on the rhinos and the cowboy dinos ;D
I think that is one of my greatest critiques of reignited with the exception of the 1st game. I feel like alot of the dialogue and the voice acting delivery in the original trilogy was better, especially in regards with characters like Bianca.
The way I feel about Bianca in both versions is exactly how I feel about Original Vs Reignited in general. I think both are great in their own way. Pamela's take on Bianca is definitely more tomboyish whilst Melissa's is more feminine. I think Reignited's take is pretty unique. A cute, shy little dork who can still be a competent henchman. It actually compares well with Hunter's clueless and cowardly personality which makes their relationship all the more sweeter. ^^ But yeah, I do think she sounded more threatening in the original. Plus it had Milhouse's voice coming out of a cartoon girl rabbit. lol Also is it just me or does Bianca's skirt seem shorter here than it does in the original? lol
I just couldn't agree more. Also, when Bianca's character design was revealed, she looked a lot like what her appearance would have been if the original game had better graphics, and I LOVED it. She looked strong and sassy and intimidating, just like she was in the original game. And then none of these aspects were shown in her in-game self. I also noticed the different voice interpretation of that line from Evening Lake and I was disappointed as well. I still remember that strong feeling I felt when I heard it the first time, that pause and the way she said "Spyro" were so meaningful.
The difference between the original and the remake is a mystery, but when it comes to both versions, Bianca really shines a lot. Her voice was the best as well.
I think one of the biggest issues about reignited is that they copied the formula of the originals (which isnt bad) but because they modernized it, the games lose their original charm. Dont get me wrong the reigited trilogy is the best thing to happen to spyro and i thoroughly enjoy it, its just that you cant recreate something like the originals by making it graphically updated. Its like trying to recreate the mona lisa. You can only paint the original once.
One thing I noticed about Spyro 2 and 3 Reignited was those versions don't pause the music when characters are speaking in-game. That never happened in the originals which to me, added tension in some aspects, especially towards Bianca's characterization.
Compared with the original trilogy I can't help but feel that some of the impact a lot of the scenes and dialogue had was lost in some way across the board.
Maybe TFB just had a different interpretation of Bianca? I noticed they softened Elora considerably. She was alot meaner in her "you dork" scene in the ps1 game. Reignited made her more playful and affectionate towards Spyro.
I wouldn't say she was "meaner", she just put a little more emphasis on the word "dork" which made it come across as if she sounded annoyed. That's a case where the graphical limitations hinder the moment, because it's possible they didn't mean to make it sound that way in the first place. I always saw Elora as a kind-hearted character.
@@MiharuTheFox Thanks for the speedy reply, despite my criticism I really did enjoy your look into how Reignited changed Bianca's character. I'd like to see what you have to say about Elora as well. She definitely comes across as younger in Reignited, in her voice and design, and her feelings towards Spyro seem alot more emphasised compared to the original. Alot of that is down to greater graphical capability in conveying body language (like how she sits next to him in Spyro 3) but in general she seems to act more warmly towards him. Elora was always kind and nice (except the "you dork" moment which I agree makes her sound more annoyed/offended than in Reignited) but she seemed to be a more leaderly character. Reignited Elora feels more young to me.
I'm glad you highlighted her dialogue in Evening Lake. In the original, that was honestly the best voice acting in the entire series and Pamela Hayden really brought a lot of tension and emotion to it. As a kid, I felt like the stakes had been raised just from that scene alone.
I have to agree with you. I used to be scared of Bianca as a kid & didn’t like her because of how mean she was, and I remember being genuiny surprised and satisfied by her character development & redemption. In the remake, she doesn’t seem like a real villain from the get go. And I totally agree with you about the line delivery on “...Spyro...” !
I agree with most of your statements about Bianca, back in the day with the original due to lack of graphics quality in order to portray a character is a certain manner the developers had to rely solely on dialogue and they probably spent ages making sure it was perfect. In reignited they relied a tad too much on physical looks to express what and how they wanted Bianca to act. Overall with her i dont think they did too bad a job and she's still a much loved character. The sorceress on the other hand, that voice acting was terrible.
I came in to this video expecting you to be a little harsh, but honestly it was all very fair critiques. I also felt Bianca was a little off but couldn't fully pinpoint it down, but I think you nailed it. I got the impression they wanted her to be legitimatly intimidating in the original and then tone her down as the game went on. But in the reignited version she immediatly came off as a good person trying to desperatly to be bad and intimidating. I understand that was more than likely a conscious choice by the creators, fair enough, but it just feels a bit.... off at the same time. I mean in a way it felt almost pandering, it's not the exact word I want to use but I'll try to explain. What I mean is that they went for the kinda cliche idea of 'cute girl' has to be cute kind of idea. Like she's almost incapable of being intimidating and evil because of her physical appearance.... I hope that makes sense. It doesn't completely ruin her character for me but it was enough to make me notice the changes. It's almost like they were afraid new players wouldn't find her very likable or her transition to be believable if she wasn't obviously trying so hard. I hope that all makes sense. As for the sorcerous she was the other major character I saw and was like "Something nots right" and I think it's because her voice actor either decided or was told to make her voice sound more.... royal, british, elegant. The original sorcerous sounded evil, she sounded like a ugly witch, which helped you to understand she was old and ugly and would help emphasize her motives of wanting to be young again by killing the babies for their wings. When i first heard it kinda thought they'd start off like that but as the game went on she'd progressively get more unhinged sounding and start to sound more evil as she did before. She sort of did, but not enough of you ask me. But like I said this was alot more fair than I thought it would be, very well thought out, and I have to agree with your points. That subtle pause especially, was very well explained by you. In fact her tone shift in the new one almost sounds like it's two entirely different lines being spoken and were put together. I agree that it almost felt like they slightly sacrificed voice acting quality for animation quality.
I love Bianca as a character and for what she used to be, I remember back when I was a child and playing through the story for the very first time. I just played through Spyro 2, one hundred percent and got that power up , super flame thing and was eager for the third game. Came home booted it up and just was wow'd by the magnitude of what Spyro had to face. The first instance of Bianca and seeing her and how she talked, was so sassy and with the right amount of malice and weight, I lost my mind. It was I hate you, but I also love you, she was the perfect heel character from beginning to end, it was extremely satisfying when she turns and rebels, it was a good end to a wonderful character who got her happy ending. Why does all this matter, because when I was playing reignited and fully into that hype and nostalgia train, I found myself disinterested in her, not because of her appearance and not because of how her lines were changed, but due to how she was reacting and how the lines were delivered. She didn't carry any weight anymore, no real malice or intent and its really sad. Other than that, I still find her a good character just wish she had better delivery in terms of situation.
Bianca is awesome and totally badass she's way better then moneybags in my opinion also I understand giving her some criticism that's fine she's a goddess and always will be :)
Bianca's acting in Reignited: Bianca: I'm evul. Spyro: No you're not. Bianca: You're right. Bianca's acting in original game: Spyro: You can just cut the act! Bianca: IT'S NOT AN ACT!! IT'S WHO I NEED TO BE!
4:10 Is it just me, or did this part of your voice-over sync really well with this B-Roll of Bianca. Thats really cool. Nice vid by the way! Im really digging your stuff. 😁
I agree they could have done better and not just for Bianca. Spyro 3 in general seems to be where Toy for Bob dropped the ball in a few places. I'm not sure Bianca's story is ruined in the remaster but something was definitely lost and I wouldn't have realised without this video.
Coming back to it, I think the perfect Bianca would have been a mix of the two, she holds the demeanor of the original, but with small bouts of her Awkward/cutesy side slipping out subtly when she appears, giving her off to be a normally awkward kind and sweet person trying to come off as vicious to scare spyro off and to please her boss.
I prefer Bianca's original voice because she sounded like an adult with personal goals she wants to achieve. The new voice she just sounds like a teen fresh in high school trying to act tough.
I definitely felt more of a slow change when Bianca says Spyro’s name than when she’s says it in Reignited. And I can see why despite the jump in animation quality from the ps1 to the ps4, the voice work could’ve been kept the same. Actions do speak louder than words, but the tone of a voice also adds to it. Pretty neat to hear you talk about this, as I do appreciate the tiny things in dialogue when I hear it
Sadly, I think most of the voice acting in reignited fell short of what it used to be. The lighting also has some issues. It could have been slightly better, but it shows clearly just how much Toys for Bob cares about the community. They made an epic game(pun intended). In a time when most video games cost $60 for a broken mess of pixels, this beautiful game really shines♥️♥️♥️
I feel like in the Reignited she was done as an awkward student who was misled by Sorcerress. In the original she was following her from the beginning and never questioned her actions up until one moment, while in Reignited she is already questioning Sorcerress' actions from the beginning (but still does follow her orders). Not sure why it was made, but I don't mind it at all. I love and "A villain who changes through time" and "A character who was misled" tropes, so I can't really tell which is my favorite here.
She was questioning her in the original, actually. In fact it was before the first boss even. In my follow-up I state how it's not a story about a villain turning good, but rather someone who was misguided finding the courage to admit they're afraid and leave.
This is an old video but perfectly encapsulates the problem I had with her portrayal (and honestly the delivery of a lot of lines). It felt like the people didn't understand the lines themselves when reading them. Even the evening lake part you highlight sounds like it's two takes clipped together; she sounds different so quickly right there like it wasn't recorded at the same time. Also disappointed she didn't get the verrrrrrrrrrrry angry line or the dramatic exit anymore (unless that's a bug)
Spyro Reignited is definitely on my list of games to get since I recently got my PS4. I mean I still have my OG PS1 discs but I did the same with PS2 games for PS3
I never noticed this while playing the game, but yeah, I totally see what you mean after seeing this video. I still mostly like what Reignited did with all the characters, but you're right, Bianca could've been handled better.
Great video! I felt the same way about her character getting changed, and those examples in cutscenes and voice lines showed a good comparison in why she's totally different in reignited.
Bianca was too nice in reignited although I still loved her. In the original, she was really mean and intentionally bitchy to Spyro. Once she figured out the truth she changes, but the character change is amazing.
I’m so glad someone else addressed this, Bianca is one of my favorite characters in the Spyro series too. I felt that didn’t make the Sorceress menacing enough in the first cutscene, A Powerful Villian Emerges. The Sorcesses’ voice in Reignited comes off as more dismissive than aggressive, she just doesn’t sound as menacing this time around. Overall I felt that the voice acting just wasn’t as good as it could have been. Other than that I truly enjoyed the games
I hope you make more videos like this. Would really like to see you talk about some of the (if minor) differences between Gnasty Gnorc's original and reignited version. Would also serve as a good way to bring up his origin that is told in the original game's instruction manual.
Yeah Bianca is one of my favorite characters in the Spyro games, with her character development and such, and she's so cute in Reiginited :3 I wan't bothered with much of the minor changes they did to her in Reiginited Trilogy. The slight change in personality in Reiginited where she's more nervous and such does go well, depending on how you look at it, with how she's still a sorcerers in training. I kind of like her new voice better, the old one is fine but there were times when she was just whispering her lines and I could barely hear her. Also a while back I found out that her original voice actress is the same person who voices Milhouse in The Simpsons. And I can already imagine someone doing a YTP of Milhouse' voice coming out of Bianca XD The removing hood thing, I think she did more than just that in both games. Reigintied she's still wearing the cloak, just more parted away to see her casual atire, but in the original the cloak just magical disappears when she talks to Hunter in the cage and its replaced with a cape. Maybe the cape is supposed to be the parted robe thing but couldn't design it like that due to technical limitations back then but... idk, it's always a cape to me in the original.
She was a bit too innocent in the Reignited triology, though personally I had no complaints cos it just made her cuter. Also not sure if you would have seen this yet but knowing you are a Spyro fan I thought I'd post this I stumbled on. ua-cam.com/video/F-cRlIbaeho/v-deo.html
I think you're absolutely right in pointing out Bianca's first line in evening lake. That pause in the line itself was the central turning point of her character. And I think if TFB had kept that pause and the laugh she made towards Hunter, Bianca's character would have been portrayed so much better in the Reignited Trilogy.
I just wish that they could have done a Spyro Game where Bianca was made a Fully Playable Character, I can imagine her powers being both Magic-Based & Rabbit-Like.
Spyro 3 was the first of the original trilogy I ever played. Going through the reignited despite how much I love her character something was always off. When I got to Evening Lake I turned to my brother and gave the same explanation on what was wrong with the line delivery on one of the most important lines of dialogue for her
You're speaking my language. Spyro Reignited is an acceptable experience, but little changes like this add up. "Death by a thousand cuts." Much of the dialog feels like it had little or even no direction. Emphasis is in the wrong place; nuance is missing; personality is lost.
It's the same problem I have with the Sorceress. In the original there was something intimidating about her. Not only from her voice, but from the fact that you never even really see her smile. In reignited I couldn't take her serious at all. They made her more silly for some reason. This is most notable whenever she yells at Bianca. I know it's a nitpick, and it's probably because Spyro 3 was such a staple of my childhood, it was what got me into Spyro in the first place. I found reignited Spyro 1 and 2 amazing and I could replay them over and over. Spyro 3 however, I prefer to go back to the Ps1 version
Another thing I've noticed and I've sure you have as well is the inclusion of Sgt.Byrd, Bentley, and Agent 9 being involved in Bianca and The Sorceress's conversations. At first I praised that because they added something brand new to the cutscenes, but than later I realized something. By adding the comic relief in the background it detracted from the heaviness of what Bianca was going through. I'm grateful they didn't downplay how twisted the Sorceress is, but like you said Bianca's change is a bit of a downer.
The thing is it was as much the original's limitations that kept things gradual. Bianca's model is VERY limited in the PS1 version, they give her the 'smug' look as her default and she isn't really complicated enough in geometry to alter that (look at some of those awkward expressions). Even in Enter the Dragonfly she has that same contemptuous look most of the time despite being a full time good guy, it's just treated as her natural expression, while Reignited is able to make her emote more. Also I think Pamela Hayden always tried to make her sound forced and underconfident in playing "evil" but her version had a genuine moodiness about her (which itself is completely gone in ETD). It was just hard to decipher if that was 'evil' bitter or 'conflicted' bitter at first.
Check out the remastered version of this video, with better audio and new edits! ➡ ua-cam.com/video/QGZV7toB5DA/v-deo.html
Special thanks to Marc for editing this video, and ZehOverseer for inspiring me to write this essay!
I love the intro.
Glad I could help! This was a fun one to work on! :D
Miharu The Fox Fox......Miharu great video
for the hood removal scene it is a model swap,in curent game it is very hard to remove clothes in real time,especially with those long ears,so to avoid to pre render the cutscene and use professional rendering they preferred a model swap before the scene...
Great video
I found Bianca in Reignited to be more shy and awkward than her original more sassy confident self, it's not just Biancas voice acting, but I also preferred the Sorceress's voice actor in the original too, in Reignited the Sorceress sounds like an angry old aunt rather than commanding intimidating presence she had in the original.
As for the Sorceress, I like both voices. The original sounds more stereotypically evil and threatening, while Reignited sounds more regal and powerful.
Miharu The Fox
I agree, both versions are good. But I like how in the reignited version she comes of as a little more calm and straightforward at first. She’s somewhat “faux affably evil”, in that she doesn’t come off as totally evil and (g)nasty at first, she just wants things done her way, and right away. I like how, as the story goes on, she starts to drop that facade and shows just how terrible she is.
It’s pretty neat how the dialogue from the game lends itself to this; both versions work, it just depends on the animation, and voice direction/acting to determine how it plays out. A straight up mean Sorceress worked well with the limited resources of the PS1, but with the technological upgrades since then, the more deceiving reignited Sorceress becomes just as viable; it’s probably my favorite of the two as well.
Agreed. The sorceress in the original really creeped me out as a kid with her voice and giant eyes lol. Shes kind of a joke in the reignited trilogy. Not intimidating at all. Just minor nitpicks though.
Also agree, but then there's the music in the cutscenes. I think it added tension, especially with the intro for Buzz's boss fight. That goes for the beginning of three (for the first cutscene). I guess it added mystery and curiosity.
I kinda like the new sorceress's voice, it gives her the illusion of just a mean lady and not exactly an all powerful evil witch type, it fits better with Bianca thinking the best of her until she shows her motive, with the original voice it would come off as something bianca should of known from the get go, and adds more realism that this game provided in peppered fashion in the remakes.
Bianca doesn't get VERRRY angry.
So nobody cared to see her angry.
@@TheSonicDBZ I guess Hunter liked when she gets angry
Her and hunter look perfect 👌 together no matter what lol 😂
I don't think the voice actors ever got a chance to hear the original dialogue. I think the developers just wrote all of it down and told the voice actors to read it. I also have problem with Bentley because he was supposed to be a smart yeti and that's why he spoke with strong vocabulary. However his new voice makes him seem like he could be a nitwitted individual and only saying words he doesn't understand.
Even if that's the case, the developers should have been paying attention to the way those lines were said, where it mattered.
@@MiharuTheFox I agree 100%. There was even a Papara the Rapper reference in the first game that when Tom Kenny had to re-record the line, you can tell no one told him what the line was based on.
@@MiharuTheFox Yeah. It kinda reminds me of how in some plays I helped with at my old school, the kids would say their lines but not act like they were supposed to. Like, while rehearsing for The Plane Truth About Christmas, the kids playing the wise men said their line in a more dead tone, like "Follow that star." Instead of sounding excited, like "Follow that star!"
The NPCs in the Reignited version fall under that as well, not acting like they're supposed to. It almost sounds like they're recording their dialogue at gunpoint.
I always thought of Bentley as a knight of chivalry character mostly because of his vocabulary, like he’s a knight in shining armor sort of person, the old voice did capture that sort of feeling but his new voice does come close
One problem I have with Reignited Bianca (I still like her) is that she isn’t as ‘condescending’ enough towards Spyro like she was in the classics. I like her originally cold and threatening demeanor she put up so she could serve her queen.
Anyway, I really liked this video! I wonder if you could make this format into a new series e.g. “The Problem with Hunter in the Reignited Trilogy”
Please?
But... I like Hunter better in Reignited.
Miharu The Fox
Oh I didn’t have a problem with Hunter, it’s that I was just spitting out an example.
When it comes to design though, I think it’s just a bias of mine as maybe it’s the look of him that is a little off-putting to me because I’m so used to seeing him with......that ‘muppet’ mouth.
I still love the game though!
(Even if I’m a newbie to the series)
Phoenix Dragon115 Plus he just doesn't sound the same.
Tesia Blake
I miss his old voice.
@@flamingdragon1527 Me too.
Wait...her and Hunter...KISSS?!?!?!?!?!?!
WHAT THE HELL?!? HOW DID I NOT WITNESS THIS BEFORE....WHATTTTTT?!?!??
Hehe it's pretty clear they had a thing for each other, Hunter literally spends the whole game swooning over her. XD
I'm glad this video came out great! I too had a problem with Bianca's line delivery in Evening Lake; that pause was something I noticed in the original game a long time ago. A lot of subtle things weren't translated over, and the little things that were don't tend to keep the progression of her turnaround consistent.
Overall she's still a strong character, just not as cleverly written as such like she was before.
This makes me wanna see you do analytical videos like this more often. Not just comparing Reignited with the originals, but simply taking a character from a series and dissecting them. Because you're really good at it.
And you are totally right about that pause in Evening Lake. That dialogue is pretty powerful in the original. After realizing that intimidation isn't going to work on Spyro/the player, she's chosen to resort to speaking to him with respect. This immediately has an effect on the player because now you KNOW that she's being serious when she tells you to turn back, ironically (or cleverly, I should say) making the one conversation you have with her where she's NOT trying to scare you...the scariest. This is SIMPLE stuff that I'm honestly shocked Toys For Bob missed! Bianca saying his name is so glossed over in Reignited that you almost think nothing of it. It makes her warning in Evening Lake seem less special.
That nervous ear-stroke is still great though.
agreed completely!!!
This is where I believe the dialogue is handled a lot better in the original version compared to Reignited as a lot of moments in the original game feel like the voice cast were allowed to perform in a way that allowed them to explore their characters better by allowing them to add depth to their characters
Meanwhile in Reignited Trilogy a lot of the dialogue felt very rushed like the guys at Toys For Bob only gave the actors a small amount of time to get the lines right which meant their performances weren’t nearly as well delivered as in the original as it feels like whenever anyone speaks in Reignited it sounds like they had to say stuff like they were in a rush for lunch or something
But as for Bianca I agree Melissa did a great job with her character for the most part but their were some lines that Pamela did a much better job with
James Griffin That's another issue I have with the Reignited trilogy: Some of the voice acting is just off. It almost sounds like the actors are recording their dialogue at gunpoint.
Yes! I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed this. While the voice acting itself is well done, it all seemed so rushed. It bugged me.
All except for Spyro 1, the line delivery seemed to be perfectly paced with that one.
The voice acting gin Reignited seems dumbed down and over the top too.
Connor Daye That's my point; the acting is just off. If you ask me, Princess Celestia's acting is better. And that's saying something.
@@artbytesia
They did their best with the dialogue at least be grateful they got the real Spyro back because I love Spyro Reignited Trilogy so much.
To me Spyro fans are kinda being ungrateful jerks right now.
I feel like, when they first showed reignited version of spyro, everyone began saying that he was so cute, and Toys for Bob noticed that, all that adoration for cute characters. And for that reason I feel that they just started making every character as cute as possible, same happened with Elora for me, she's cute indeed, but the idea of the character changed, and really ruined it for me. another example for this are the seahorses of aquaria towers.
Personally, I was utterly disappointed by the voice-acting in Reignited Spyro 2 and 3. It's as if all they cared about was to sound different from the originals, completely forgetting about the emotions they were actually supposed to express. (with Hunter and Moneybags being the strongest of examples, in my opinion)
As for Bianca, you voiced my exact thoughts. I too loved her new design. To me, it was among the best re-designs in the whole trilogy. But her portrayal, ugh! There was little to no depth in it! I mean, Bianca was supposed to sound strong, sinister and later confused and even wise at some point. Something like Kida from 'Atlantis The Lost Empire', not a dorky Pinkie-Pie thing. Of course, I don't blame the actress for that. It was clearly a director's mistake, but why? Couldn't they see this was ruining the whole epic atmosphere?
Pamela Hayden's portrayal of Bianca had this snarky, smug and overconfident sheen. She is determined to bring magic back to the Forgotten Worlds, to be more than just a mere apprentice, with this air of superiority over Spyro and Hunter. Yet she had a heart under that exterior, and was not afraid to stand up to the Sorceress in the end, defecting to the good side. It didn't feel forced. Sure, Melissa Hutchinson's portrayal isn't terrible by any means, but it lacks something...I prefer the snarky yet empathic tone from Hayden.
Her line in Evening Lake always felt so powerful for me and I knew that there will be no messing around right now! I love her original voice! Even if I love her new design I kinda miss her sassy character
Bianca lost what made her lovable despite her history even when you remember she was "evil", no she just seems like she was forced to work for the Sorceress.
I feel like the biggest issue with reignighted is that it looks good but it lacks soul, depth, and charm. Just because it was and is a game targeted at children doesn’t mean that the characters need to be shallow or cheap. Everything about the characters in the games makes them seem too innocent and happy, at least compared to the original trilogy.
I think the charm is still there, just very muted in comparison.
This pretty much highlights my only issue with the remake. They.. took all the bite out of Insomniac's vision. That's always been a natural asthetic for them. That edge, spunk and bit of genuine 'tough/coolness'. And it's kinda missing in toys for Bob's rendition..
Bianca's new version is quite awesone i really like her new looks but her original sassy personality is def missing here
Yeah still like the new version alot though, she looks very Cute and lively than her original version
I feel the same way, but not just for Bianca, but for Hunter and Elora too. It's like they took all the emotion out of their voices. I don't hate the voices, I just think they could've done a better job conveying the emotions through their voice as they do through expressions.
I could be wrong but I get the feeling Bianca WAS meant to be the main antagonist of Spyro 3 at one point. It explains why we see so much of her and so little of the Sorceress. Bianca has way more focus and screentime as an antagonist, it would explain why she comes across as more "evil" and "mischievous" in early cutscenes, if she were meant to be the villain that personality would make sense for her. Reignited perhaps wanted to make her a more sympathetic and complex character so her Face turn was more foreshadowed.
I could be completely wrong and maybe The Sorceress was planned from the start, but it'd explain why she feels like an afterthought compared to Ripto for villain presence. We see Spyro and Ripto stand off 4 separate times, but Spyro never shares screentime with The Sorceress, but he faces off Bianca multiple times.
The original will forever be the best, and the Reignited Trilogy is just prettier looking.
You made some fantastic points and this video is very well done. I completely agree with you, especially about the part where she pauses before saying Spyro's name. Bianca was kind of a clumsy-badass in the original. In the remakes she's more of a cutesy student who doesn't seem to know what she's doing. The fact she genuinely cared about the dragons came as a surprise in the original, after all her teasing of Spyro and calling him by his species name. She kinda reminded me of a person who isn't fond of dogs or cats, but then finds a dog/cat and studies their behaviour over a period of time, warming up to the species and realising how she was wrong and doesn't want them to be hurt. Thanks for making this video, subscribed :)
I think maybe they were worried new fans would find her unsympathetic if she was the same amount of smug and threatening from the original.
But they ended up overcorrecting and made her waaaaaaayyyyyy too cute and innocent.
I completely agree that most of her character development was lost as a result.
In the original trilogy i was all about bianca, imo she was that bit cooler than elora
But come the reignited trilogy my opinion has completely changed, bianca lacks emotion in her voice performance & facial expressions as you pointed out & i think elora had much more to offer in that regard. Maybe the developers ran out of time to truly develop bianca but it's kinda sad to see her pass by in this version of year of the dragon so flat...
Despite being absolutely elated that my favourite games of all time received an HD remake for the PS4, this video essentially outlines my issues with the voice acting and cutscenes in the Reignited Trilogy. They fail to capture the tone and emotion presented in the original trilogy.
I think we need technical limitations like we did back in the PS1 era. I say this because it gives leeway to the voice acting that you pointed out and that can lead to an overall less impact on delivery because were more focused on the design, animation, and movement of the character.
Honestly I thought there were issues with the way they potrayed almost every charcter in reignited. They all felt like cookie cutter versions of their former selves. This is more apparent npc wise but still once notice it its hard not to.
Your write up on her character is perfect! I remember as a kid I still didn’t trust her, even after she freed hunter and you see her at evening lake. She seemed as evil as the sorcerer and changed over time
In reignited, you can tell she’s not evil from the beginning
That no pause when she called him dragon irked me too. Glad I wasn't the only one
Im glad im not the only one who feels her delivery of key lines in the dialogue is definitely missing the mark...appearance wise she's perfect she just seems kinda weak and non threatening unlike the original(until she became good of course)
I think considering the time constraints, they handled Spyro 3 all around more or less beautifully (again, with the time they had). Although, I can definitely see even these few small things (like that pause) being a mere simple fix. And, more or less, it seems like everything after Midday Gardens is all around buggy lmao. But, they handeled it fantastically. Could've been polished, but the outcome is very pleasing nonetheless!
Finally someone made a video about this! Bianca has always been my favorite character in Spyro YotD, in the remake she lacks what I thought made her interesting and great and it made me really sad :--(
Honestly I didn't grow up with any of the Spyro games and only watched a Let's Play a few months before Reignited and when I played Spyro 3 Reignited I quickly picked on this myself...
At least you didnt say this beats the original.
Really good points and an overall well-structured argument. Nice!
This video was worded so well, I'm glad it's getting a lot of views.
When hear Bianca’s voice in the original I just can’t help visualising Millhouse from The Simpsons and Douglas from Lloyd in Space
It's Pamela Hayden alright. Maybe she likes to keep a low pro like Julie Kavner.
I'd wager that part of this could have been due to the time crunch that was happening around the time when they where doing the voice lines for the third game. I suspect that they could only afford to do a few takes for each character, and since Bianca has so many voice lines throughout the game they likely couldn't afford even that. I'm sure that if the third game was given the time it needed than we would have seen a better performance.
That... doesn't explain why they couldn't leave in the pause.
@@MiharuTheFox Fair enough. Obviously no one but the devs know what was happening on that end of production, could have been a misunderstanding of the script, could have that the take we got was just the one they proffered for whatever reason.
Of all three games, this one felt, and probably was, the most rushed. And that maybe coming through in some of the voice acting and little details here and there.
You know in all these years I never truly appreciated Bianca's character arc until I saw this video. Thank you.
Glad I could help!
Me too. You know I love agent 9 but I'd of loved it if along with him we'd of gotten to use Bianca as a hero character at the end. Also I wish she had a role in hero's tail. Maybe post reignited at least Bianca may have better roles.
I like the Evening Lake music in the background
0:22 good point of yours
I think Bianca wasn't shown taking her hood off because she has two slightly different models. Her hooded model has extra shadowy eyes, probably so that her face looks a bit more mysterious regardless of the levels' lighting. If both models were the same, they would need to have a seamless transition between textures. So they scrapped that animation from the cutscene.
Even if they couldn't show her taking the hood off, they could have cut to Hunter and then done a model swap, which is what the original did.
@@MiharuTheFox Yeah... I was kinda thinking the same. It's a little weird, as if they sorta went for the bare minimum. But hey! Maybe TFB or Sanzaru will fix it in the upcoming patch? Let's find out!
Criticisms are needed for something to get better
FINALLY! People have been looking at me funny every time I said this as if I was making it all up in my head! Glad to know I'm not the only one who thinks so!
At least Bianca doesn't do the goddamn Floss.
Seriously though, even though Reignited is a good game, you can clearly tell that it's only good because it's a remake of already good games. Anything that Toys For Bob changed or added is terrible, and there are a lot of elements that highlight the fact that they absolutely do not understand any of the excellent game design choices that went into the original PS1 versions - they just copied it as faithfully as they could, and anything that wasn't copied perfectly turned out terrible. I'd hate to play any original game that TFB has made.
"Anything that TFB changed or added is terrible"
All those wonderfully detailed dragon designs in the first game? Terrible? I'll have to disagree.
Im gonna agree with miharu on this, i dont think you can have 100s of people working on something all be terrible at the job. They just didnt have the best which is fine, not really sure why you want a five star meal i just want a burger.
Lazy Lion make mine a veggie burger
Also Pandas dab when they sneeze
I thoughed when i clicked the video that its another "bianca doesnt look like that in the original" video but you seriously make extremly well thoughed points! Heads up for that!
The missing pause and the lack of convidence still DRIVES ME NUTS! Bianca is a strong, sassy rabbit not a awkwardly shy one, she got serious "bad guy" training and later learns that she is on the wrong side.
Never had a crush on her or find her attractiv, was more tje kind "i want her to be my bestie" kind xD
I had more eyes on the rhinos and the cowboy dinos ;D
I couldn’t agree more it seems the whole time I was playing I was thinking back to the original to get the same feelings I had throughout the game.
Is there anyone other than both Bianca and the sorceress that are socerers
Hm... Ripto? He did know magic, after all. There's also an actual character called the Sorcerer.
Bianca looks or reminds me of Lola bunny.
Same
I think that is one of my greatest critiques of reignited with the exception of the 1st game. I feel like alot of the dialogue and the voice acting delivery in the original trilogy was better, especially in regards with characters like Bianca.
The way I feel about Bianca in both versions is exactly how I feel about Original Vs Reignited in general. I think both are great in their own way.
Pamela's take on Bianca is definitely more tomboyish whilst Melissa's is more feminine. I think Reignited's take is pretty unique. A cute, shy little dork who can still be a competent henchman. It actually compares well with Hunter's clueless and cowardly personality which makes their relationship all the more sweeter. ^^ But yeah, I do think she sounded more threatening in the original. Plus it had Milhouse's voice coming out of a cartoon girl rabbit. lol
Also is it just me or does Bianca's skirt seem shorter here than it does in the original? lol
I just couldn't agree more.
Also, when Bianca's character design was revealed, she looked a lot like what her appearance would have been if the original game had better graphics, and I LOVED it. She looked strong and sassy and intimidating, just like she was in the original game. And then none of these aspects were shown in her in-game self.
I also noticed the different voice interpretation of that line from Evening Lake and I was disappointed as well. I still remember that strong feeling I felt when I heard it the first time, that pause and the way she said "Spyro" were so meaningful.
The difference between the original and the remake is a mystery, but when it comes to both versions, Bianca really shines a lot. Her voice was the best as well.
Ughhhh I’m so glad someone else gets this! That part at evening lake made me so mad haha
I think one of the biggest issues about reignited is that they copied the formula of the originals (which isnt bad) but because they modernized it, the games lose their original charm. Dont get me wrong the reigited trilogy is the best thing to happen to spyro and i thoroughly enjoy it, its just that you cant recreate something like the originals by making it graphically updated.
Its like trying to recreate the mona lisa. You can only paint the original once.
One thing I noticed about Spyro 2 and 3 Reignited was those versions don't pause the music when characters are speaking in-game. That never happened in the originals which to me, added tension in some aspects, especially towards Bianca's characterization.
Compared with the original trilogy I can't help but feel that some of the impact a lot of the scenes and dialogue had was lost in some way across the board.
Maybe TFB just had a different interpretation of Bianca?
I noticed they softened Elora considerably. She was alot meaner in her "you dork" scene in the ps1 game. Reignited made her more playful and affectionate towards Spyro.
I wouldn't say she was "meaner", she just put a little more emphasis on the word "dork" which made it come across as if she sounded annoyed. That's a case where the graphical limitations hinder the moment, because it's possible they didn't mean to make it sound that way in the first place. I always saw Elora as a kind-hearted character.
@@MiharuTheFox Thanks for the speedy reply, despite my criticism I really did enjoy your look into how Reignited changed Bianca's character.
I'd like to see what you have to say about Elora as well. She definitely comes across as younger in Reignited, in her voice and design, and her feelings towards Spyro seem alot more emphasised compared to the original. Alot of that is down to greater graphical capability in conveying body language (like how she sits next to him in Spyro 3) but in general she seems to act more warmly towards him. Elora was always kind and nice (except the "you dork" moment which I agree makes her sound more annoyed/offended than in Reignited) but she seemed to be a more leaderly character. Reignited Elora feels more young to me.
I think a lot of the characters in Reignited feel younger, though that may just be due to the voices.
Thank goodness someone else feels the same way! The characterization of Bianca in the Reignited trilogy just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
I'm glad you highlighted her dialogue in Evening Lake. In the original, that was honestly the best voice acting in the entire series and Pamela Hayden really brought a lot of tension and emotion to it. As a kid, I felt like the stakes had been raised just from that scene alone.
It's nice to hear Pamela do something other than The Simpsons. I like Milhouse, but Database is my favorite character.
I love the female characters in the Spyro series!
I have to agree with you. I used to be scared of Bianca as a kid & didn’t like her because of how mean she was, and I remember being genuiny surprised and satisfied by her character development & redemption. In the remake, she doesn’t seem like a real villain from the get go. And I totally agree with you about the line delivery on “...Spyro...” !
I Just finished Spyro 1 now its time to enjoy the best and finest game of the Spyro trilogy, Spyro 2!
Finally, someone said it!
I agree with most of your statements about Bianca, back in the day with the original due to lack of graphics quality in order to portray a character is a certain manner the developers had to rely solely on dialogue and they probably spent ages making sure it was perfect. In reignited they relied a tad too much on physical looks to express what and how they wanted Bianca to act. Overall with her i dont think they did too bad a job and she's still a much loved character. The sorceress on the other hand, that voice acting was terrible.
I disagree with that last statement, I like both performances when it comes to the Sorceress.
I came in to this video expecting you to be a little harsh, but honestly it was all very fair critiques. I also felt Bianca was a little off but couldn't fully pinpoint it down, but I think you nailed it. I got the impression they wanted her to be legitimatly intimidating in the original and then tone her down as the game went on. But in the reignited version she immediatly came off as a good person trying to desperatly to be bad and intimidating.
I understand that was more than likely a conscious choice by the creators, fair enough, but it just feels a bit.... off at the same time. I mean in a way it felt almost pandering, it's not the exact word I want to use but I'll try to explain. What I mean is that they went for the kinda cliche idea of 'cute girl' has to be cute kind of idea. Like she's almost incapable of being intimidating and evil because of her physical appearance.... I hope that makes sense. It doesn't completely ruin her character for me but it was enough to make me notice the changes. It's almost like they were afraid new players wouldn't find her very likable or her transition to be believable if she wasn't obviously trying so hard. I hope that all makes sense.
As for the sorcerous she was the other major character I saw and was like "Something nots right" and I think it's because her voice actor either decided or was told to make her voice sound more.... royal, british, elegant. The original sorcerous sounded evil, she sounded like a ugly witch, which helped you to understand she was old and ugly and would help emphasize her motives of wanting to be young again by killing the babies for their wings. When i first heard it kinda thought they'd start off like that but as the game went on she'd progressively get more unhinged sounding and start to sound more evil as she did before. She sort of did, but not enough of you ask me.
But like I said this was alot more fair than I thought it would be, very well thought out, and I have to agree with your points. That subtle pause especially, was very well explained by you. In fact her tone shift in the new one almost sounds like it's two entirely different lines being spoken and were put together. I agree that it almost felt like they slightly sacrificed voice acting quality for animation quality.
I love Bianca as a character and for what she used to be, I remember back when I was a child and playing through the story for the very first time. I just played through Spyro 2, one hundred percent and got that power up , super flame thing and was eager for the third game. Came home booted it up and just was wow'd by the magnitude of what Spyro had to face.
The first instance of Bianca and seeing her and how she talked, was so sassy and with the right amount of malice and weight, I lost my mind. It was I hate you, but I also love you, she was the perfect heel character from beginning to end, it was extremely satisfying when she turns and rebels, it was a good end to a wonderful character who got her happy ending.
Why does all this matter, because when I was playing reignited and fully into that hype and nostalgia train, I found myself disinterested in her, not because of her appearance and not because of how her lines were changed, but due to how she was reacting and how the lines were delivered. She didn't carry any weight anymore, no real malice or intent and its really sad.
Other than that, I still find her a good character just wish she had better delivery in terms of situation.
Bianca is awesome and totally badass she's way better then moneybags in my opinion also I understand giving her some criticism that's fine she's a goddess and always will be :)
I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed these things.
I didn't notice the differences as much as I did now, especially during the dialogue in Evening Lake, such a big moment gone. Great video
Bianca's acting in Reignited:
Bianca: I'm evul.
Spyro: No you're not.
Bianca: You're right.
Bianca's acting in original game:
Spyro: You can just cut the act!
Bianca: IT'S NOT AN ACT!! IT'S WHO I NEED TO BE!
Didn’t even notice this but I completely agree although my biggest problem isn’t Bianca it’s hunter
I personally like Hunter better in Reignited.
And his eyes.... hunters eyes are dead.. and they turned him into a surfer dude. Jacksepticeye does a great impression.
@@adammcfall5133 he kinda was a surfer dude though?
Gosh, I hope they see this video. You put to words what I was thinking all along but could not articulate. Thumbs up!
4:10 Is it just me, or did this part of your voice-over sync really well with this B-Roll of Bianca. Thats really cool. Nice vid by the way! Im really digging your stuff. 😁
I agree they could have done better and not just for Bianca. Spyro 3 in general seems to be where Toy for Bob dropped the ball in a few places. I'm not sure Bianca's story is ruined in the remaster but something was definitely lost and I wouldn't have realised without this video.
Coming back to it, I think the perfect Bianca would have been a mix of the two, she holds the demeanor of the original, but with small bouts of her Awkward/cutesy side slipping out subtly when she appears, giving her off to be a normally awkward kind and sweet person trying to come off as vicious to scare spyro off and to please her boss.
noice..
I prefer Bianca's original voice because she sounded like an adult with personal goals she wants to achieve. The new voice she just sounds like a teen fresh in high school trying to act tough.
I know she had a sort of menacing vibe to her voice in the original and I don't like that they kind of softened her up...
I definitely felt more of a slow change when Bianca says Spyro’s name than when she’s says it in Reignited. And I can see why despite the jump in animation quality from the ps1 to the ps4, the voice work could’ve been kept the same. Actions do speak louder than words, but the tone of a voice also adds to it. Pretty neat to hear you talk about this, as I do appreciate the tiny things in dialogue when I hear it
Sadly, I think most of the voice acting in reignited fell short of what it used to be. The lighting also has some issues.
It could have been slightly better, but it shows clearly just how much Toys for Bob cares about the community. They made an epic game(pun intended). In a time when most video games cost $60 for a broken mess of pixels, this beautiful game really shines♥️♥️♥️
I feel like in the Reignited she was done as an awkward student who was misled by Sorcerress. In the original she was following her from the beginning and never questioned her actions up until one moment, while in Reignited she is already questioning Sorcerress' actions from the beginning (but still does follow her orders). Not sure why it was made, but I don't mind it at all. I love and "A villain who changes through time" and "A character who was misled" tropes, so I can't really tell which is my favorite here.
She was questioning her in the original, actually. In fact it was before the first boss even. In my follow-up I state how it's not a story about a villain turning good, but rather someone who was misguided finding the courage to admit they're afraid and leave.
This is an old video but perfectly encapsulates the problem I had with her portrayal (and honestly the delivery of a lot of lines). It felt like the people didn't understand the lines themselves when reading them. Even the evening lake part you highlight sounds like it's two takes clipped together; she sounds different so quickly right there like it wasn't recorded at the same time.
Also disappointed she didn't get the verrrrrrrrrrrry angry line or the dramatic exit anymore (unless that's a bug)
Spyro Reignited is definitely on my list of games to get since I recently got my PS4. I mean I still have my OG PS1 discs but I did the same with PS2 games for PS3
I agree I felt that way about several of the characters, still like the game tho 👍
I never noticed this while playing the game, but yeah, I totally see what you mean after seeing this video. I still mostly like what Reignited did with all the characters, but you're right, Bianca could've been handled better.
Great video! I felt the same way about her character getting changed, and those examples in cutscenes and voice lines showed a good comparison in why she's totally different in reignited.
Bianca was too nice in reignited although I still loved her. In the original, she was really mean and intentionally bitchy to Spyro. Once she figured out the truth she changes, but the character change is amazing.
I’m so glad someone else addressed this, Bianca is one of my favorite characters in the Spyro series too. I felt that didn’t make the Sorceress menacing enough in the first cutscene, A Powerful Villian Emerges. The Sorcesses’ voice in Reignited comes off as more dismissive than aggressive, she just doesn’t sound as menacing this time around. Overall I felt that the voice acting just wasn’t as good as it could have been. Other than that I truly enjoyed the games
I hope you make more videos like this. Would really like to see you talk about some of the (if minor) differences between Gnasty Gnorc's original and reignited version. Would also serve as a good way to bring up his origin that is told in the original game's instruction manual.
I liked in Evening Lake where Bianca finally calls him Spyro and promises to take care of the eggs. And when she gasps in frightened seeing Spike.
Yeah Bianca is one of my favorite characters in the Spyro games, with her character development and such, and she's so cute in Reiginited :3 I wan't bothered with much of the minor changes they did to her in Reiginited Trilogy. The slight change in personality in Reiginited where she's more nervous and such does go well, depending on how you look at it, with how she's still a sorcerers in training. I kind of like her new voice better, the old one is fine but there were times when she was just whispering her lines and I could barely hear her. Also a while back I found out that her original voice actress is the same person who voices Milhouse in The Simpsons. And I can already imagine someone doing a YTP of Milhouse' voice coming out of Bianca XD The removing hood thing, I think she did more than just that in both games. Reigintied she's still wearing the cloak, just more parted away to see her casual atire, but in the original the cloak just magical disappears when she talks to Hunter in the cage and its replaced with a cape. Maybe the cape is supposed to be the parted robe thing but couldn't design it like that due to technical limitations back then but... idk, it's always a cape to me in the original.
She was a bit too innocent in the Reignited triology, though personally I had no complaints cos it just made her cuter.
Also not sure if you would have seen this yet but knowing you are a Spyro fan I thought I'd post this I stumbled on.
ua-cam.com/video/F-cRlIbaeho/v-deo.html
Yeah, no complaints here.
After hearing your explanation, I totally agree with you. That pause was a great touch.
I think you're absolutely right in pointing out Bianca's first line in evening lake.
That pause in the line itself was the central turning point of her character.
And I think if TFB had kept that pause and the laugh she made towards Hunter, Bianca's character would have been portrayed so much better in the Reignited Trilogy.
That was a great video! :)
I just wish that they could have done a Spyro Game where Bianca was made a Fully Playable Character, I can imagine her powers being both Magic-Based & Rabbit-Like.
Spyro 3 was the first of the original trilogy I ever played. Going through the reignited despite how much I love her character something was always off. When I got to Evening Lake I turned to my brother and gave the same explanation on what was wrong with the line delivery on one of the most important lines of dialogue for her
Great video, very well said
You're speaking my language. Spyro Reignited is an acceptable experience, but little changes like this add up. "Death by a thousand cuts." Much of the dialog feels like it had little or even no direction. Emphasis is in the wrong place; nuance is missing; personality is lost.
It's the same problem I have with the Sorceress. In the original there was something intimidating about her. Not only from her voice, but from the fact that you never even really see her smile. In reignited I couldn't take her serious at all. They made her more silly for some reason. This is most notable whenever she yells at Bianca.
I know it's a nitpick, and it's probably because Spyro 3 was such a staple of my childhood, it was what got me into Spyro in the first place.
I found reignited Spyro 1 and 2 amazing and I could replay them over and over. Spyro 3 however, I prefer to go back to the Ps1 version
I'm probably one of the only people who doesn't have a problem with the Sorceress. I really like both performances.
Another thing I've noticed and I've sure you have as well is the inclusion of Sgt.Byrd, Bentley, and Agent 9
being involved in Bianca and The Sorceress's conversations. At first I praised that because they added
something brand new to the cutscenes, but than later I realized something. By adding the comic
relief in the background it detracted from the heaviness of what Bianca was going through.
I'm grateful they didn't downplay how twisted the Sorceress is, but like you said Bianca's
change is a bit of a downer.
The thing is it was as much the original's limitations that kept things gradual. Bianca's model is VERY limited in the PS1 version, they give her the 'smug' look as her default and she isn't really complicated enough in geometry to alter that (look at some of those awkward expressions). Even in Enter the Dragonfly she has that same contemptuous look most of the time despite being a full time good guy, it's just treated as her natural expression, while Reignited is able to make her emote more. Also I think Pamela Hayden always tried to make her sound forced and underconfident in playing "evil" but her version had a genuine moodiness about her (which itself is completely gone in ETD). It was just hard to decipher if that was 'evil' bitter or 'conflicted' bitter at first.