City Research Online

Abstract

Whilst Welsh voices are used consistently within western film and television to denote Wales, across diverse multimedia spaces like Star Trek: Discovery (2017) and The Last Kingdom (2015), Welshness appears othered and fixed in the ‘magical’ in video games. English localizations of Japanese video games use Welsh voices and accents to encourage a connection with these magical spaces, and Celtic fetishized histories, for players who can identify this accent – which is primarily British audiences. This article highlights the impact of Welsh voices in signifying the mythological and magical game world across a combination of accent, language and music. I identify how Welsh voices are used in these spaces where other ludomusicology scholarship often does not acknowledge language and accent when discussing aural and sonic elements of video games, specifically focusing on localizations of Japanese role-playing games so consistently by analysing games such as Ni No Kuni, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and 3, and Elden Ring.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© [Smith, J, 2025]. The definitive, peer reviewed and edited version of this article is published in Journal of Interdisciplinary Voice Studies, Volume 9, Issue 1-2: Playing with Voice: Listening for Audio-Visual Expressions and Representations of Voice, Vocality and Speech Acts in Games, Nov 2024, p. 49 - 61 https://doi.org/10.1386/jivs_00091_1
Publisher Keywords:	accent; Celticisms; fantasy; Japan; role playing video games; vocality
Subjects:	P Language and Literature P Language and Literature > PB Modern European Languages
Departments:	School of Communication & Creativity School of Communication & Creativity > Performing Arts > Music
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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