Luigi's inconsistency drives me arguably even more insane. As someone puts it, it's as if Nintendo can't decide on the two, so they settle for this weird mixture that doesn't help Luigi's characterization and actually I argue hurts it thanks to the contradictions that keep Luigi fans really confused, but probably mad that Luigi is silent. This is similar to Luigi's clashing personalities in Paper Mario compared to the rest of the series or Luigi's slightly "different" depiction in Mario & Luigi like he's a goofy klutz and that goes a little far, but it's not as bad as Paper Mario Luigi. The worst thing is that Luigi talks in Odyssey. He freaking does. And I liked it when he talked. To see him not talk in Super Mario Party, especially when he and Mario just awkwardly stand there when you're selecting your group when you boot up the game, is really dismaying.
Luigi WAS silent in Sticker Star, if I recall correctly, and no one liked that. I never hear anyone that said, "Luigi is so great when he's silent" and I've heard complaints about Bowser being silent and Rosalina being silent. Sonic was strangely silent in Mario & Sonic at the London 3DS, and the result was so pathetic, I had to laugh. People seem to be okay with Mario being silent but not because it's a positive trait about Mario but it's a status quo and they argue that he's some "player empathy link" but that's not built on very strong grounds. Mario is closer to being his own character given the accent he has, his own silly depiction, and his relationship with Luigi than being a vessel for the player.
Yeah, I'm mad and I think I'm the maddest person here but maybe I care too much about silly video game characters. Don't think it's unreasonable to want a little more out of characters we're supposed to care for in order to enjoy these games though. It's why people criticize voice acting.
Kokichi Oma said:
I think this adamance for characters not talking properly when we've heard them talk is strange. It works for Link because we don't know what his dialect is like, but Mario and Luigi have a pretty distinct way of talking, so there's really no point to keeping them silent in text like this.
I argue that Link is plainer and blander than Mario in some aspects, but also believe he is entitled to talk too. He doesn't have to act in the cringey CDI-way. He can just act like, I don't know, the soft-spoken awkward guy. Or he can be like the lead Pokemon in Mystery Dungeon, who also sort of talks to him/herself, but that game also more successfully communicates this character as "you" than does Mario or Link. If Link can have customizeable features or you can even change sexes and species of Link, then it's more justifiable to have a silent protagonist. But since you don't, well...
