GIT Voice Acting

mrst

Wario Fan Supreme
The Gold voice actors returned for GIT, what does everyone think? Has their performances in GIT made you like them more or do you still long for the originals?

Personally I like the new voice actors, though it did take a while to get used to them. I was glad to hear that it's the same crew - I was fearing that some were going to be replaced and I would have to get used to even more new voices. I feel that the newer voice actors have led to the characters having better defined personalities, which I like.

Some of the performances do feel a little different to me, though. Dr. Crygor's VA (Kyle Herbert) played him more British here than he was in Gold. At the very least, his "Chop Chop" line makes him sound vaguely British to me. There's moments where I feel like Mona's voice is deeper, like Stephanie Sheh was inspired by Leslie Swan (Mona's original VA). I can't say this for certain though, the music/sound effects in this game are louder than they were in Gold and I've been having minor difficulties hearing everyone's lines clearly. I'm looking forward to when someone rips all the lines and uploads them online for easy listening.
 
I loved Erica Lindbeck's turn as Ashley from day 1 so I was satisfied to see her return. She sounds less breathty now too!

Otherwise the French VAs sounded better accross the board but maybe that's because they didn't talk as much.
 
GIT also proved that complete full voice acting wasn't needed for some awesome voice work. Despite the loss of full VA, what we did get (for microgame intermissions) is still mostly the same standard as in Gold.

Most of Stephanie Sheh's characters (Mona, Kat) and Fryda Wolff's (Ana, Penny) were great IMO, though the entire voice cast is great. Better than the mostly uninspired Mario one, anyway. (Sorry, Sam Kelly, but you're not beating Steph any day of the week.)
 
I deeply miss the Mega Party Game$ voices (Jimmy, Mona, come baaaaaaaack...) but Get it Together improved vastly on Gold in terms of voice acting. Even new Mona sounds good at points! And to be honest everyone fits the way the characters are currently portrayed and if anything any issues I have with the voices are linked to issues I have with the current characterization as a whole (I'm not a fan of Jimmy and Mona's new voices but that's linked to how I think the artwork, designs and what little writing the games have for them are just...really off? Jimmy feels more diva-ish for some reason and Mona has all of her "cool" side sanded off. That said I do think Jimmy's characterization improved in GiT compared to Gold even if he's not quite right yet, and this also shows, er, sounds? in the voice direction)

(Oddly though I'm fine with Crygor's current voice despite thinking he too is characterized weirdly, same with Orbulon. Everyone else seems to be characterized either fairly consistently or with more to them in Gold and GiT compared to the past games so I have zero gripes with the rest of the voice cast)
 
I deeply miss the Mega Party Game$ voices (Jimmy, Mona, come baaaaaaaack...) but Get it Together improved vastly on Gold in terms of voice acting. Even new Mona sounds good at points! And to be honest everyone fits the way the characters are currently portrayed and if anything any issues I have with the voices are linked to issues I have with the current characterization as a whole (I'm not a fan of Jimmy and Mona's new voices but that's linked to how I think the artwork, designs and what little writing the games have for them are just...really off? Jimmy feels more diva-ish for some reason and Mona has all of her "cool" side sanded off. That said I do think Jimmy's characterization improved in GiT compared to Gold even if he's not quite right yet, and this also shows, er, sounds? in the voice direction)

(Oddly though I'm fine with Crygor's current voice despite thinking he too is characterized weirdly, same with Orbulon. Everyone else seems to be characterized either fairly consistently or with more to them in Gold and GiT compared to the past games so I have zero gripes with the rest of the voice cast)
The original voice actors will always have a special place in my heart, but I feel like Gold and post-Gold are new interpretations of the cast, so I'm not entirely against the new voices. With that being said though, getting used to the new voices has been a weird transition. I definitely agree that Stephanie Sheh's performance as Mona has improved in GIT. I didn't think she gave a bad performance in Gold, but I was so used to Mona's deeper voice (I love Leslie Swan) where it seemed weird to hear her differently. Mona's the character that's changed the most, IMO. She used to be a rebel while now she's more of a girly girl. Stephanie Sheh's voice compliments her new personality better. (While the original Mona will always be my preference, her crush on Wario is funnier/stranger with her Gold portrayal) I feel like how she sounds in GIT is a nice mix of both of her voices. I kind of wish she would say "Nice Monkey!" again like she did in Mega Party Game$ though, lol.

I've always liked Vegas Trip's performance as Jimmy. He gives a really funny performance and whenever I hear Jimmy speak it feels like the guy is having a lot of fun with the character. Jimmy's always been a flamboyant character, but I feel like it's something that's been increased in Gold and post-Gold content. It still seems "true" to his character to me, though. I mean, in Game & Wario his game was more or less about him stripping while skiing to impress women. :LOL: I really liked how GIT depicted him hanging out with some of the other characters, particularly Lulu. I love the implied friendship those two have now - want a entire cartoon of that, lol. Something that is kind of odd about Jimmy's modern characterization (though I think this was unintentional) is that he's chattier now, whereas previous games implied he was kind of quiet if not somewhat stoic.

This is probably a unpopular opinion, I really dislike Orbulon's new voice and characterization. :( His humor reminds me way too much of the Lolcat memes from the 2000's, it just feels really old and tired to me. Original Orbulon came off as the "only sane" character in the leading cast, where it more felt like strange things happened to him rather then him being strange, if that makes any sense. New Orbulon feels like he's trying too hard to be funny, like a lamer version of Gir from Invader Zim. But with that being said, I feel like Robbie Daymond's performance did improve (for me, anyway). I didn't find him as annoying in GIT. I don't have much of a opinion on Crygor, I think Kyle Herbert gives a very cute and likable performance as him, I feel like he's more or less the same character. He's not as flamboyant as his previous appearances, though.
 
The original voice actors will always have a special place in my heart, but I feel like Gold and post-Gold are new interpretations of the cast, so I'm not entirely against the new voices. With that being said though, getting used to the new voices has been a weird transition. I definitely agree that Stephanie Sheh's performance as Mona has improved in GIT. I didn't think she gave a bad performance in Gold, but I was so used to Mona's deeper voice (I love Leslie Swan) where it seemed weird to hear her differently. Mona's the character that's changed the most, IMO. She used to be a rebel while now she's more of a girly girl. Stephanie Sheh's voice compliments her new personality better. (While the original Mona will always be my preference, her crush on Wario is funnier/stranger with her Gold portrayal) I feel like how she sounds in GIT is a nice mix of both of her voices. I kind of wish she would say "Nice Monkey!" again like she did in Mega Party Game$ though, lol.

I've always liked Vegas Trip's performance as Jimmy. He gives a really funny performance and whenever I hear Jimmy speak it feels like the guy is having a lot of fun with the character. Jimmy's always been a flamboyant character, but I feel like it's something that's been increased in Gold and post-Gold content. It still seems "true" to his character to me, though. I mean, in Game & Wario his game was more or less about him stripping while skiing to impress women. :LOL: I really liked how GIT depicted him hanging out with some of the other characters, particularly Lulu. I love the implied friendship those two have now - want a entire cartoon of that, lol. Something that is kind of odd about Jimmy's modern characterization (though I think this was unintentional) is that he's chattier now, whereas previous games implied he was kind of quiet if not somewhat stoic.

This is probably a unpopular opinion, I really dislike Orbulon's new voice and characterization. :( His humor reminds me way too much of the Lolcat memes from the 2000's, it just feels really old and tired to me. Original Orbulon came off as the "only sane" character in the leading cast, where it more felt like strange things happened to him rather then him being strange, if that makes any sense. New Orbulon feels like he's trying too hard to be funny, like a lamer version of Gir from Invader Zim. But with that being said, I feel like Robbie Daymond's performance did improve (for me, anyway). I didn't find him as annoying in GIT. I don't have much of a opinion on Crygor, I think Kyle Herbert gives a very cute and likable performance as him, I feel like he's more or less the same character. He's not as flamboyant as his previous appearances, though.
Yeah I feel like Gold and post-Gold are new interpretations of a cast the original interpretation of which was already great and didn't need to be dethroned. New Mona is, I think, the lamest main character in WarioWare history and other than her crush on Wario I can find 0 likable elements about her. But if they absolutely must keep doing this with Mona, Stephanie Sheh is the best choice for that. She does her best with what she's given for sure and her performance improved drastically from Gold.

I actually don't mind chatty Jimmy, but I'm not a fan of how he's portrayed now otherwise. Suppose he's always had a flamboyant side but something about how said flamboyant side comes off feels majorly wrong in the new two games. He's always felt like this is just his goofy genuine self in the older games while now it feels like he tries too hard or something. Dunno, new Jimmy doesn't feel as genuine and comes off as much more of a diva. Can't find any of the same vibe anymore, no matter how hard I try. His new horrid design is doing him no favors, although I suppose anything's an upgrade from Game & Wario's Jimmy. I think Vegas Trip does an amazing job as Jimmy and I enjoy his performance but he just doesn't sound like Jimmy and I can't get over that, I'm sorry. Just can't accept this version of Jimmy. It's funny because this version of Jimmy ticks all of the boxes for what should be a favorite fictional character of mine, but instead it feels like one of my previous favorites has been replaced with a lite version and I hate that.

Totally agree with your thoughts on Orbulon. Nothing to add or comment on.

I actually really enjoy Kyle Herbert's take on Dr. Crygor! My gripes with that character mostly have to do with how he's drawn. Incredibly awful redesign aside he just doesn't give off the same vibe? He frowns all of the time and stands up straight. A character's expressions and mannerisms come a surprisingly long way in communicating what the character is like, and thus seeing Crygor never toothily grin or hunch his back just makes me feel something's gotten awfully lost.
 
Yeah I feel like Gold and post-Gold are new interpretations of a cast the original interpretation of which was already great and didn't need to be dethroned. New Mona is, I think, the lamest main character in WarioWare history and other than her crush on Wario I can find 0 likable elements about her. But if they absolutely must keep doing this with Mona, Stephanie Sheh is the best choice for that. She does her best with what she's given for sure and her performance improved drastically from Gold.

I actually don't mind chatty Jimmy, but I'm not a fan of how he's portrayed now otherwise. Suppose he's always had a flamboyant side but something about how said flamboyant side comes off feels majorly wrong in the new two games. He's always felt like this is just his goofy genuine self in the older games while now it feels like he tries too hard or something. Dunno, new Jimmy doesn't feel as genuine and comes off as much more of a diva. Can't find any of the same vibe anymore, no matter how hard I try. His new horrid design is doing him no favors, although I suppose anything's an upgrade from Game & Wario's Jimmy. I think Vegas Trip does an amazing job as Jimmy and I enjoy his performance but he just doesn't sound like Jimmy and I can't get over that, I'm sorry. Just can't accept this version of Jimmy. It's funny because this version of Jimmy ticks all of the boxes for what should be a favorite fictional character of mine, but instead it feels like one of my previous favorites has been replaced with a lite version and I hate that.

Totally agree with your thoughts on Orbulon. Nothing to add or comment on.

I actually really enjoy Kyle Herbert's take on Dr. Crygor! My gripes with that character mostly have to do with how he's drawn. Incredibly awful redesign aside he just doesn't give off the same vibe? He frowns all of the time and stands up straight. A character's expressions and mannerisms come a surprisingly long way in communicating what the character is like, and thus seeing Crygor never toothily grin or hunch his back just makes me feel something's gotten awfully lost.
I guess I don't feel as strongly about the modern interpretation of Mona. I feel like some of her fans hyperfixate on her Mega Micro and Party games design - I feel like her being a "rebel" disappeared pretty early on. I mean, by the time Smooth Moves came out she was a cheerleader for her school's team, which doesn't feel true to her original characterization (to me, anyway). I feel like the girly girl interpretation of her has been prevalent longer than her rebellious side. Granted, these two interpretations can be joined and make a fun character: while I'm not a huge fan of the art style in Game & Wario, I felt that Mona's story in that portrayed her as tough and feminine very well.

Maybe this is going into semantics, but I feel the series has gotten a different art style but the characters haven't been redesigned. While I've grown to like it/find it cute, the characters look more "chibi" now. Jimmy looks about the same to me, other than maybe being portrayed as a little younger. (This is most likely due to the cuter art style and his new voice, though. I doubt this was intentional) They did soften some of his features though - I feel like his cheekbones aren't as prevalent as they were originally. I guess I am a little confused about your feelings about the newer version of Jimmy, what makes you dislike him? He's more or less the same character to me, just with a few minor changes. I suppose you can make the argument that he's became more driven by 80's nostalgia than 70's in Gold and post-Gold content, but he's been established to be interested in aerobics for a while now.

Crygor used to be chubby! I do miss that, but I guess you could make the argument he's started taking better care of himself or something. I liked how in GIT they went back to the original outfit he had in Mega Micro and Party games. I will say that I never cared for his outfit in Gold though, it always looked like he was wearing a baby's onesie to me, lol.
 
I guess I don't feel as strongly about the modern interpretation of Mona. I feel like some of her fans hyperfixate on her Mega Micro and Party games design - I feel like her being a "rebel" disappeared pretty early on. I mean, by the time Smooth Moves came out she was a cheerleader for her school's team, which doesn't feel true to her original characterization (to me, anyway). I feel like the girly girl interpretation of her has been prevalent longer than her rebellious side. Granted, these two interpretations can be joined and make a fun character: while I'm not a huge fan of the art style in Game & Wario, I felt that Mona's story in that portrayed her as tough and feminine very well.

Maybe this is going into semantics, but I feel the series has gotten a different art style but the characters haven't been redesigned. While I've grown to like it/find it cute, the characters look more "chibi" now. Jimmy looks about the same to me, other than maybe being portrayed as a little younger. (This is most likely due to the cuter art style and his new voice, though. I doubt this was intentional) They did soften some of his features though - I feel like his cheekbones aren't as prevalent as they were originally. I guess I am a little confused about your feelings about the newer version of Jimmy, what makes you dislike him? He's more or less the same character to me, just with a few minor changes. I suppose you can make the argument that he's became more driven by 80's nostalgia than 70's in Gold and post-Gold content, but he's been established to be interested in aerobics for a while now.

Crygor used to be chubby! I do miss that, but I guess you could make the argument he's started taking better care of himself or something. I liked how in GIT they went back to the original outfit he had in Mega Micro and Party games. I will say that I never cared for his outfit in Gold though, it always looked like he was wearing a baby's onesie to me, lol.
Why I dislike the current version of Jimmy is...hard to articulate. It's actually the same way for me for a lot - no, a majority of the characters - that they just don't give off the same vibe as before. I just focus on Mona, Jimmy and Crygor the most since those three are my favorites.

But yeah I'm just not really able to put it to words when it comes to Jimmy, not in an easy and succinct, coherent way that truly articulates it. When I start dissecting his current character and comparing it to his classic one, there's actually practically little difference, if you just go and look at the separate parts objectively. But then something about the whole package is just...off? I think this may have to do with his storylines and the current voice direction but I'm still sticking to my guns saying that Jimmy feels way more diva-ish and flamboyant than ever. I'm bad at articulating it as I said, but if I had to put it to words I'd say something like...

Old Jimmy felt more "chill", while new Jimmy feels more "dramatic". In how they move, how they're voiced, how they act, the kind of voice clips they get, their expressions and mannerisms...Old Jimmy and new Jimmy just give off a majorly different energy, to me. They're technically the same character I suppose but my brain refuses to accept these as the same Jimmy. One's a chill goofy guy with weird proportions and a deep voice, the other's a dramatic disco diva with a more exaggerated voice. Both have a flamboyance, both are nice cool dudes, both wear roughly the same outfit (although new Jimmy has glasses about 90 sizes too big), but I think the combination of the cutefied art style, the softening of Jimmy's cheekbones, the more energetic higher-pitched voice and the different energy that whoever currently writes the series is breathing into him just make him feel...off?

New Jimmy is a character I hate to not like. This is definitely a character I'd appreciate way more if I didn't have a very strong pre-defined image of who Jimmy T. is, one that I can't get to match this one, no matter what. There's moments where they feel like one, and moments where they don't feel unified and I lose my ability to enjoy the new take.

As for Mona, I'm aware that the way the character currently is is, on an objective sort of level, a more prevalent characterization throughout the series...but I feel as if, although they softened her up a lot real fast, a little tiny bit of Mona's original character always stayed with her. The intonation of her voice, her features (thinner/longer face, prominent eyes, hair that curls up in bold spikes rather than elegant curls, colored eyelashes/eyebrows), and most of all, that slightly mischievous look to her face...I dunno. I feel like my brain is kind of like a little baby's, when you can fool them and make them think you're not there by putting hands in front of your face. Except for me, it's that when a character is stripped of their usual mannerisms, expressions and body language, I read the character totally differently. And with new Mona, the gentle, soft default expression, the changed voice and the more feminine and elegant visual design cues just strip her of whatever Mona was still left. She's like Jimmy, where I feel like changing a few things totally toppled the whole thing because said changed things were stuff about her character I think you should never touch, but to a more drastic degree because at least Jimmy still feels somewhat like what they were going for since 2003. Mona feels totally lost and like this is some random girl I have no incentive to care about.

I know this comparison is both strange and sacrilege, but I'd almost compare this to how Riverdale handles the characters of the Archie comics. Now obviously saying "WarioWare Gold is the Riverdale of the Wario series" is the most absurd statement ever...but I'm not even really making that, on any other level than characterization. What I mean is, I'm a big Archie Comics fan, and when I first watched Riverdale I had a similar reaction to the way the show handles my favorite comic characters. Like, these sure are by definition takes on the Archie Comics characters, they most certainly share a moderate number of visual similarities and superficial character traits, but they don't have the same feel to them. To give it some props, Gold/post-Gold WarioWare is better with its characters than Riverdale is with the Archie cast, but that's hardly saying much.

I understand totally if this is something that happened, not gonna blame the WarioWare team too much, but it honestly feels like since they hadn't had to work on a WarioWare for a while before Gold, they just forgot what makes some of these characters tick and it led to some of them feeling more like imitations than anything. GiT is definitely them getting back in the groove - a lot of the characters and design choices - both in terms of the character designs and that of the cutscenes and microgames - feel WAY more in line with WarioWare than whatever happened with Gold...that one really felt to me like they were just trying to get used to making WarioWare again and only doing a decent enough job (the gameplay was probably the most solid it's ever been though so I don't want to give Gold too much slack).

I think the current cutesy, overly neat, way too clean, way too polished up, finalized and consistent vibe is probably the real source of like half the issues I'm complaining about lol. I'm just waiting for the day they realize "cute" and "WarioWare" isn't exactly the genius design combination they seem to insist it is and go back to the crude and anarchic vibe of literally any of the older games oh god make your pick I'm fine with anythi
 
Why I dislike the current version of Jimmy is...hard to articulate. It's actually the same way for me for a lot - no, a majority of the characters - that they just don't give off the same vibe as before. I just focus on Mona, Jimmy and Crygor the most since those three are my favorites.

But yeah I'm just not really able to put it to words when it comes to Jimmy, not in an easy and succinct, coherent way that truly articulates it. When I start dissecting his current character and comparing it to his classic one, there's actually practically little difference, if you just go and look at the separate parts objectively. But then something about the whole package is just...off? I think this may have to do with his storylines and the current voice direction but I'm still sticking to my guns saying that Jimmy feels way more diva-ish and flamboyant than ever. I'm bad at articulating it as I said, but if I had to put it to words I'd say something like...

Old Jimmy felt more "chill", while new Jimmy feels more "dramatic". In how they move, how they're voiced, how they act, the kind of voice clips they get, their expressions and mannerisms...Old Jimmy and new Jimmy just give off a majorly different energy, to me. They're technically the same character I suppose but my brain refuses to accept these as the same Jimmy. One's a chill goofy guy with weird proportions and a deep voice, the other's a dramatic disco diva with a more exaggerated voice. Both have a flamboyance, both are nice cool dudes, both wear roughly the same outfit (although new Jimmy has glasses about 90 sizes too big), but I think the combination of the cutefied art style, the softening of Jimmy's cheekbones, the more energetic higher-pitched voice and the different energy that whoever currently writes the series is breathing into him just make him feel...off?

New Jimmy is a character I hate to not like. This is definitely a character I'd appreciate way more if I didn't have a very strong pre-defined image of who Jimmy T. is, one that I can't get to match this one, no matter what. There's moments where they feel like one, and moments where they don't feel unified and I lose my ability to enjoy the new take.

As for Mona, I'm aware that the way the character currently is is, on an objective sort of level, a more prevalent characterization throughout the series...but I feel as if, although they softened her up a lot real fast, a little tiny bit of Mona's original character always stayed with her. The intonation of her voice, her features (thinner/longer face, prominent eyes, hair that curls up in bold spikes rather than elegant curls, colored eyelashes/eyebrows), and most of all, that slightly mischievous look to her face...I dunno. I feel like my brain is kind of like a little baby's, when you can fool them and make them think you're not there by putting hands in front of your face. Except for me, it's that when a character is stripped of their usual mannerisms, expressions and body language, I read the character totally differently. And with new Mona, the gentle, soft default expression, the changed voice and the more feminine and elegant visual design cues just strip her of whatever Mona was still left. She's like Jimmy, where I feel like changing a few things totally toppled the whole thing because said changed things were stuff about her character I think you should never touch, but to a more drastic degree because at least Jimmy still feels somewhat like what they were going for since 2003. Mona feels totally lost and like this is some random girl I have no incentive to care about.

I know this comparison is both strange and sacrilege, but I'd almost compare this to how Riverdale handles the characters of the Archie comics. Now obviously saying "WarioWare Gold is the Riverdale of the Wario series" is the most absurd statement ever...but I'm not even really making that, on any other level than characterization. What I mean is, I'm a big Archie Comics fan, and when I first watched Riverdale I had a similar reaction to the way the show handles my favorite comic characters. Like, these sure are by definition takes on the Archie Comics characters, they most certainly share a moderate number of visual similarities and superficial character traits, but they don't have the same feel to them. To give it some props, Gold/post-Gold WarioWare is better with its characters than Riverdale is with the Archie cast, but that's hardly saying much.

I understand totally if this is something that happened, not gonna blame the WarioWare team too much, but it honestly feels like since they hadn't had to work on a WarioWare for a while before Gold, they just forgot what makes some of these characters tick and it led to some of them feeling more like imitations than anything. GiT is definitely them getting back in the groove - a lot of the characters and design choices - both in terms of the character designs and that of the cutscenes and microgames - feel WAY more in line with WarioWare than whatever happened with Gold...that one really felt to me like they were just trying to get used to making WarioWare again and only doing a decent enough job (the gameplay was probably the most solid it's ever been though so I don't want to give Gold too much slack).

I think the current cutesy, overly neat, way too clean, way too polished up, finalized and consistent vibe is probably the real source of like half the issues I'm complaining about lol. I'm just waiting for the day they realize "cute" and "WarioWare" isn't exactly the genius design combination they seem to insist it is and go back to the crude and anarchic vibe of literally any of the older games oh god make your pick I'm fine with anythi
I still get a "chill" quality to Jimmy's character - at the very least, it seems that in normal scenarios in the 'Ware building he comes off as calm and collected. (Such as the opening for GIT) I suppose that maybe he gets a little more hyped/energetic when he's out dancing or performing. Out of curiosity, have you ever read the cast's diaries on the official Japanese Mega Micro Games website? I don't believe there's been a proper English translation of it, so you're kind of stuck with Google translate so the translations aren't accurate, but the info is interesting nonetheless. Jimmy's entries imply he's secretly insecure, with him expressing a lot of doubt about his ability to make games. If this info is still canon, I suppose maybe some of Jimmy's flamboyant side is more of an act to feel cool than anything else. I apologize if I'm over analyzing here, lol. I understand where you're coming from more, though. I guess my acceptance of the Gold and post-Gold changes is kind of fueled by my thoughts on Game and Wario. While it has some charming ideas, revisiting the game I really felt the series was in a transitional period and needed a change.

With all of that being said though, I completely understand what you're saying about Mona. I don't know why they have felt the need to change her so dramatically. Something I've always liked about Wario and his various games is that he's the "bad Mario". In other words, his games contain similar tropes to the Mario franchise but they're used in a far quirkier fashion. I always regarded Syrup to be Wario's equivalent to Peach, with Mona (maybe) being his Daisy. Original Mona did feel like a rebellious character, a different type of female character for Nintendo at the very least. They've tamed the character greatly for seemingly no reason. She feels like a standard, although not a bad, female Mario/Nintendo character now. I hope this makes sense, lol. While I do accept the modern take of Mona to a extent, I can tell through this conversation and my own headcanons that I prefer the original interpretation.

I'm not very familiar with the Archie series (other than what my mom has shared of it, she grew up with the series), but a few videos have gotten recommended to me about the not-so-great quality of Riverdale, so I understand where you're coming from to a extent. I'm a pretty big Batman fan, with the Penguin (aka Oswald Cobblepot) being my favorite character from the franchise. For the most part I can accept and enjoy most versions of him, but I draw the line at the modern interpretations where they depict him as tall, skinny, and more conventionally handsome. That isn't the Penguin to me - I feel like how you feel about Riverdale and its characterization of its characters is how I feel about Gotham and its interpretation of the Penguin. But with all of this being said though, the crew involved in the post-Gold content actually seem to... like the characters and the franchise? Gotham and the writers of Riverdale have always vaguely gave me the impression that they didn't like the source material they were adapting very much, but that might just be me. While Gold and the post-Gold content might be a little flawed, you can tell its made with love.

GIT definitely feels more like a WW game to me, even if it's gameplay style is different from all the rest. There's more fun and experimentation with the art styles of the micro games, which I always felt was a core detail of the franchise. Gold was lacking in that regard, but I feel like I can't criticize the game too strongly about that. Goro Abe has talked about how time consuming the development of the game was, due to all the new art involved. It was probably easier for them to stay with a simplistic/cute art style then recreating all of the quirkiness from the previous games.
 
I still get a "chill" quality to Jimmy's character - at the very least, it seems that in normal scenarios in the 'Ware building he comes off as calm and collected. (Such as the opening for GIT) I suppose that maybe he gets a little more hyped/energetic when he's out dancing or performing. Out of curiosity, have you ever read the cast's diaries on the official Japanese Mega Micro Games website? I don't believe there's been a proper English translation of it, so you're kind of stuck with Google translate so the translations aren't accurate, but the info is interesting nonetheless. Jimmy's entries imply he's secretly insecure, with him expressing a lot of doubt about his ability to make games. If this info is still canon, I suppose maybe some of Jimmy's flamboyant side is more of an act to feel cool than anything else. I apologize if I'm over analyzing here, lol. I understand where you're coming from more, though. I guess my acceptance of the Gold and post-Gold changes is kind of fueled by my thoughts on Game and Wario. While it has some charming ideas, revisiting the game I really felt the series was in a transitional period and needed a change.

With all of that being said though, I completely understand what you're saying about Mona. I don't know why they have felt the need to change her so dramatically. Something I've always liked about Wario and his various games is that he's the "bad Mario". In other words, his games contain similar tropes to the Mario franchise but they're used in a far quirkier fashion. I always regarded Syrup to be Wario's equivalent to Peach, with Mona (maybe) being his Daisy. Original Mona did feel like a rebellious character, a different type of female character for Nintendo at the very least. They've tamed the character greatly for seemingly no reason. She feels like a standard, although not a bad, female Mario/Nintendo character now. I hope this makes sense, lol. While I do accept the modern take of Mona to a extent, I can tell through this conversation and my own headcanons that I prefer the original interpretation.

I'm not very familiar with the Archie series (other than what my mom has shared of it, she grew up with the series), but a few videos have gotten recommended to me about the not-so-great quality of Riverdale, so I understand where you're coming from to a extent. I'm a pretty big Batman fan, with the Penguin (aka Oswald Cobblepot) being my favorite character from the franchise. For the most part I can accept and enjoy most versions of him, but I draw the line at the modern interpretations where they depict him as tall, skinny, and more conventionally handsome. That isn't the Penguin to me - I feel like how you feel about Riverdale and its characterization of its characters is how I feel about Gotham and its interpretation of the Penguin. But with all of this being said though, the crew involved in the post-Gold content actually seem to... like the characters and the franchise? Gotham and the writers of Riverdale have always vaguely gave me the impression that they didn't like the source material they were adapting very much, but that might just be me. While Gold and the post-Gold content might be a little flawed, you can tell its made with love.

GIT definitely feels more like a WW game to me, even if it's gameplay style is different from all the rest. There's more fun and experimentation with the art styles of the micro games, which I always felt was a core detail of the franchise. Gold was lacking in that regard, but I feel like I can't criticize the game too strongly about that. Goro Abe has talked about how time consuming the development of the game was, due to all the new art involved. It was probably easier for them to stay with a simplistic/cute art style then recreating all of the quirkiness from the previous games.
Oh yeah, Jimmy felt more like his typical self in the scenes outside of his own stage, although the voice direction for him still threw me off, still sounded a lot more exaggerated compared to the really chill, cool and normal tone he has in older games (and again, Jimmy's redesign isn't helping with keeping his old vibes intact, with his skinnier appearance and softer features). Great character analysis too! I did know about those Jimmy traits and that totally makes sense but at the same time I feel like game-Jimmy had a vibe of just being really cool without any effort put into it, like cool just runs in his veins, never felt like he tried too hard and while maybe true to his character regarding promotional/outside material, it just feels off to see him almost overcompensating in the games. Mona in the other hand felt like they took some of her old character traits and just played them as a joke because "haha girly girl lol" which... while increasingly prevalent isn't even the core of the character to begin with

Dwelving ever further into off topic terrain by keeping this as a continuous conversation segment but about Riverdale, the strange thing is it's actually showran by a lifelong Archie fan whose fanmade play (where Archie came out as gay and then some wild stuff happened after) was cease and desisted in the early 2000s, but who eventually got to make a horror comic for them that was so good he became their chief creative officer, and apparently around the time he got to do Riverdale he decided to stop being a good writer or understanding the characters he's working with. Riverdale is a failed package especially if you want to look at it as an adaptation but it does do some deep cuts and references only a superfan could pull off. So it's like...the showrunner failed at every single aspect you'd expect him to get right in an adaptation but then somehow pulled some deep obscure stuff into it anyway?

Oh yeah GiT certainly improved upon Gold in that, but yeah, won't fault the devs there
 
I have been reading through these lengthy posts above, and I see many points that I agree with, from both @mrst and @jughead, particulary regarding the characters Jimmy T. and Mona.

Let me first explain why I think both of you are right about Mona.
She used to be a rather "complex" character, or at least complex as far as complex can be applied to WarioWare characters.
In early games, particulary Mega Microgames and Twisted!, she was a tomboyish yet feminine characters that perfectly managed to combine these two traits; she was IMO, and I've said this before in another thread, a bit of a younger, female, and more toned-down version of Wario. This also explains why she had (or still has) a crush on him: because she can see a bit of herself in him.
This very well executed version of Mona, like mrst correctly points out, began to decay quite soon thereafter, though it would certainly not been forgotten, as we can see in DIY, where she is an archaeologist, or in Game & Wario, with her being a journalist who helps to put criminals behind bars.

Unfortunately though, after the latter two examples, there has been very few left of this originally highly defining trait. We see a slight hint to her more badass side in the recent Get it Together with her being good at handling a boomerang, but that's about it, which is quite sad to realise. It doesn't help either that her new voice sounds more "girly-girl" in contrast to her previous voice, which sounded much deeper but still feminine, therefore perfectly fitting her characterisation at the time. While I don't know whether this is a coincidence or a deliberate act, it didn't do her any good.
While I still like Mona a lot, and the "strange" side of her, (wich for some reason seems to have a tendency to go unmentioned in discussions such as this one) which has not been through such radical changes and is still rather apparent, there's nothing in the entire WarioWare series that I'd like to see more than "classic" Mona making a return. Whether such a thing will happen, and if so, to what magnitude, is something that only time will tell.


I will cover Jimmy T. and other characters soon.
 
Maybe this is going into semantics, but I feel the series has gotten a different art style but the characters haven't been redesigned. While I've grown to like it/find it
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Ignore Penny's outfit here, as she's more of a personal redesign mostly inspired by past takes, but I decided to edit some of the characters to more resemble their classic portrayals while still staying roughly within the constraints of Ko's new style. So I'd say the new looks are part new style, sure, but also massively redesigned
 
View attachment 13032Ignore Penny's outfit here, as she's more of a personal redesign mostly inspired by past takes, but I decided to edit some of the characters to more resemble their classic portrayals while still staying roughly within the constraints of Ko's new style. So I'd say the new looks are part new style, sure, but also massively redesigned

I know this isn't quite VA-related, but since you bring it up, I might as well. At least for Dr Crygor, it's not just appearance; his personality changed between Mega Microgames and Gold, and that's most visible in the microgame and stage descriptions. In MM, he mostly took on a stilted diction with occasional slight holier-than-thou attitude similar to Orbulon (for example, the WWMPG Balloon Bang description), whereas in Gold onwards it feels more grandpa-like (?). Something that the older facial expressions would not work with, IMO. Not saying that's a good nor bad thing; just thought I'd point out that incompatability.
 
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I know this isn't quite VA-related, but since you bring it up, I might as well. At least for Dr Crygor, it's not just appearance; his personality changed between Mega Microgames and Gold, and that's most visible in the microgame and stage descriptions. In MM, he mostly took on a stilted diction with occasional slight holier-than-thou attitude similar to Orbulon (for example, the WWMPG Balloon Bang description), whereas in Gold onwards it feels more grandpa-like (?). Something that the older facial expressions would not work with, IMO. Not saying that's a good nor bad thing; just thought I'd point out that incompatability.
I also would personally recharacterize current Crygor to be a little more like his classic self. I don't think having some of that grandpa-ish side is bad at all, it's very likable and fits with how Penny exists now, but I think we should still get to see more "grinning fool" Crygor.
 
View attachment 13032Ignore Penny's outfit here, as she's more of a personal redesign mostly inspired by past takes, but I decided to edit some of the characters to more resemble their classic portrayals while still staying roughly within the constraints of Ko's new style. So I'd say the new looks are part new style, sure, but also massively redesigned

This looks actually better than their current design. It's interesting how Jimmy T. has changed only slightly, while Dr. Crygor looks really different.
The only thing that I think is a bit of an issue is how Mona's expression looks a bit off.
 
This looks actually better than their current design. It's interesting how Jimmy T. has changed only slightly, while Dr. Crygor looks really different.
The only thing that I think is a bit of an issue is how Mona's expression looks a bit off.
Thank you so much!
I did my best to replicate Mona's Mega Microgame$ expression but I do agree I didn't quite nail it
 
Personally, I think hoping for any return to the Mega Microgames style is a pipe dream... but hey, it's cool to imagine what that might look like, and it isn't as unrealistic as "revert to an eighteen year old outdated artstyle in 2021" wishful think.
 
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