NES Games with Speech

[vivaeljason]

The other day, I happened to be playing Monopoly on the Virtual NES site. I hadn't played the game in years and completely forgot that there's actual speech during gameplay in two instances (at the end of auctions, the auctioneer yells "SOLD!" and when a person leaves jail, a cop says "Don't be coming back now"). It got me wondering, what other NES games have speech in them?

Besides Monopoly, the only other game off the top of my head is Wisdom Tree's "Joshua," which was (of course) unlicensed.

EDIT: I also want to say Super Jeopardy! has brief speech from the host (most definitely NOT Alex Trebek).

[Mr.Platypus]

Heavy Barrel
M.U.L.E.
Skate or Die
Bad Dudes
Robodemons
3 Stooges

[darkhades]

Dirty Harry

[vivaeljason]

M.U.L.E.


D'oh! I owned M.U.L.E. back in the day and forgot about the "welcome" voice.

[Gameguy]

Ghostbusters had some, the AVGN pointed that out in his review. I think Bart vs. The Space Mutants had some too, I haven't played it in awhile though so I might not be remembering it correctly.

[thom_m]

If Famicom games count, Gradius II has speech. Amazing speech, for that matter. Every time you enable a power-up, the "narrator" says it's name: "Missile", "Laser", "Force Field" (the coolest one) and such.

HOLY MOTHER OF SHIT, I miss my Gradius II cart...


I think Bart vs. The Space Mutants had some too, I haven't played it in awhile though so I might not be remembering it correctly.

It does. Bart says "eat my shorts", or something like that...it's hard to understand. Gradius II had amazing samples, though...oh well.:(

[TonyTheTiger]

Blades of Steel has some muddled speech.

Big Bird's Hide and Speak actually has quite a bit of speech. In fact, the entire game is voiced. And it's clear.

[RP2A03]

If my memory serves me right Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles says "cowabunga" after selecting a character, the bosses have a death scream, and one of the later stages in TNNT III has an "hey!" sample in the music.

[thetoxicone]

Wow, no has said Double Dribble yet

[Aussie2B]

I think S.C.A.T. has the most impressive voice I've heard in an NES game. Crystal clear. Although The Adventures of Bayou Billy is a favorite to impersonate in my house. :P

[ScourDX]

The Adventures of Bayou Billy

[Rob2600]

Track & Field II
Side Pocket
Gauntlet
Gauntlet II
Tag Team Wrestling
Karate Champ
Bad Dudes
Bases Loaded
Bases Loaded II
Bases Loaded III
Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road
Top Gun II: The Second Mission
Tecmo Bowl
Tecmo Super Bowl

[Gundam_Pilot_]

How has nobody said pinbot yet?

[jcalder8]

I can't believe it took so long for Bases loaded to get the nod.

[ryborg]

Blades of Steel has some muddled speech

It'sAPass!It'sAPass!It'sAPass!It'sAPass!It'sAPass! It'sAPass!It'sAPass!It'sAPass!
It'sAPass!It'sAPass!It'sAPass!It'sAPass!It'sAPass! It'sAPass!It'sAPass!It'sAPass!

[Ed Oscuro]

I mentioned this a couple months ago, but there's a Famicom RPG based around some Japanese king famous for his travels with sound. Made by Sunsoft sometime around / before 1985 (flyer for it is found in Ikki).

[Blitzwing256]

ikari warriors 2:victory road is another one with speach (horrible speach but its there)
karate champ BEGIN! STOP! JUDGE!

[vivaeljason]

This list is already a hell of a lot longer than I thought it would be, which is great. And it's sad because I owned a lot of these games (Bart vs. the Space Mutants, the Turtles games, Tecmo Super Bowl, etc.) and TOTALLY forgot about the voices.

[GrandAmChandler]

I have said it constantly over and over again. This is the best technical use of speech on the NES.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8TmIxHSBcU

-GAC-

[Cornelius]

It'sAPass!It'sAPass!It'sAPass!It'sAPass!It'sAPass! It'sAPass!It'sAPass!It'sAPass!
It'sAPass!It'sAPass!It'sAPass!It'sAPass!It'sAPass! It'sAPass!It'sAPass!It'sAPass!

Huh. I always thought it was 'MakethePass'.

Blades ... of ... Steel *shing*

[PutUrQuarterUp]

Wild Gunman..

[Kevin Muldoon]

Blades of Steel has some muddled speech.

Big Bird's Hide and Speak actually has quite a bit of speech. In fact, the entire game is voiced. And it's clear.

yeah I remember the crowd was all muffled.

The best speech on blades of steel was in the intro screen (in a rad mobile stylee).

[ccovell]

I mentioned this a couple months ago, but there's a Famicom RPG based around some Japanese king famous for his travels with sound. Made by Ikki sometime around / before 1985 (flyer for it is found in Ikki).

It's Mito Koumon by Sunsoft. It contains a TI (-like?) voice chip in the cart, I believe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwDf99jcQfk

[ryborg]

Huh. I always thought it was 'MakethePass'.

I just popped it in for a bit and it still sounds like It's a Pass! to me. Then again, I've failed every hearing test I've ever taken so maybe someone who's not deaf should chime in.

EDIT: Ok, just checked Wikipedia (which is ALWAYS right), and it says the game is saying "With the pass..." so we're both stupid deaf idiots who are wrong.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blades_of_steel

[obesolete]

EDIT: Ok, just checked Wikipedia (which is ALWAYS right)...


Just how when it was posted on Wiki that Michael Jackson was savagely murdered by his brother Tito, strangled to death with a microphone cord....


anyway, Impossible mission II(i know... unlicenced...) but it has a really nice and clear scream when you die?

[DDCecil]

Sesame Street Big Bird's Hide and Speak
Sesame Street Countdown

Didn't Action 52 have speech somewhere?

[Ed Oscuro]

It's Mito Koumon by Sunsoft. It contains a TI (-like?) voice chip in the cart, I believe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwDf99jcQfk
Thanks, I dunno how I typo'd "Ikki" in there instead of Sunsoft, which I meant.

It's a TI-alike, there's some copyright information on the product flyer about the American (pretty sure) company they licensed the sound tech from.


I have said it constantly over and over again. This is the best technical use of speech on the NES.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8TmIxHSBcU

-GAC-
QUIT YER YAKKIN' AND GO PRACTICE

[PutUrQuarterUp]

Ski Or Die and Base Wars also had speech.. both published by Ultra..

[thetoxicone]

I have said it constantly over and over again. This is the best technical use of speech on the NES.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8TmIxHSBcU

-GAC-

Now I got that stuck in my head...thanks

[Enigmus]

I have said it constantly over and over again. This is the best technical use of speech on the NES.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8TmIxHSBcU

-GAC-


Believe it or not, we might have a winner with the voices and the guitar synth. This is probably the most complicated song on the NES. Also, Zelda 2 is a voiced game.

[Rob2600]

Kung Fu (Mr. X's laughing between stages)

[Smashed Brother]

Wow, no has said Double Dribble yet

Who could forget the title screen? "Bubble Bibble!!"

[skaar]

Believe it or not, we might have a winner with the voices and the guitar synth. This is probably the most complicated song on the NES. Also, Zelda 2 is a voiced game.

When the heck is Zelda 2 voiced? Link's moans?

[Eightbit Allstar]

Here a list of all NES games I know that contain speech DPCM samples. Please note, most of them contain only short samples (getting hurt, etc.)

S.C.A.T./Final Mission/Action In New York
High Speed
Pinbot
Ski Or Die
Base Wars
Gauntlet 2
Akomajou Special - Boku Dracula Kun
Gradius 2
American Gladiators
Sesame Street - Bird's Hide & Seek
Sesame Street - Countdown
The Adventures Of Bayou Billy
The Legend Of Zelda 1 & 2
Blades Of Steel
Top Gun - The Second Mission
Ultimate Air Combat
Hammerin Harry
Teenage Mutant Ninja (Hero) Turtles 2, 3, Tournament Fighters
Shadow Of The Ninja/Kage/Blue Shadow
Sword Master
Monster In My Pocket
Tecmo Bowl
Tecmo Super Bowl
Ninja Gaiden 3
Formula 1 Sensation
Castlevania 3
Mission Impossible
Kung Fu
Zombie Nation

[Enigmus]

When the heck is Zelda 2 voiced? Link's moans?

Ganon's game over laugh. Dur.

[Garry Silljo]

Ganon's game over laugh. Dur.

I wouldn't count that. It's not nearly as "dur" as you think it is.

[tomaitheous]

Ganon's game over laugh. Dur.

Perfectly valid. It's Ganon and he's laughing. You can clearly hear it.

[Mr.Platypus]

The referee in Tag Team Wrestling seems to be counting to three. They tried, anyways...

[Thrillo]

Perfectly valid. It's Ganon and he's laughing. You can clearly hear it.
In that case, Punch Out can be included too because Vodka Drunken...er, Soda Popinski used the exact same laugh.

Personally, I think that laugh is played through the PCM channel of the NES, but not in the usual way. It seems as though the PCM registers are merely being manipulated to "simulate" an actual sound sample, which is why it's so short, indistinct, and muffled. Kinda like speech on an Atari 2600.

Heck, it might even be generated by the triangle waveform in the NES, but I'm too lazy to fire up a NSF player and track down a Zelda/Punch Out NSF that includes sound effects just to figure it out...

[Rob2600]

Why do people keep posting games that have already been posted?

[CRV]

Dirty Harry's been mentioned, but here's a video of the ending (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03VD-uyCIjQ).

[Ruudos]

Adventures of Rad Gravity (ending "Farewell 'til we meet again)

BTW, what's the speech in "Akomajou Special - Boku Dracula Kun". I don't remember it.

[Rob2600]

Eightbit Allstar, your list is missing quite a few games (Track & Field II, Ikari Warriors II, Bases Loaded, Gauntlet, etc.).

If you're going to post games that have already been posted, you might as well include them all.

[-hellvin-]

I think KLAX had a small amount of speech in it right?

[delafro]

Three Stooges has an impressive amount of digitized speech right at the beginning of the game. All that you gotta do to hear it is turn on the NES!

[Cambot]

In that case, Punch Out can be included too because Vodka Drunken...er, Soda Popinski used the exact same laugh.

I'm also convinced Ref Mario says "fight" and "technical knock-out."

[Astrosmash]

Three Stooges has an impressive amount of digitized speech right at the beginning of the game. All that you gotta do to hear it is turn on the NES!

I was always really impressed by that game, both because of how much speech there is in it (all from actual Stooges shorts, too), and how clear it is.

I think that's definitely one of those games made for the fans - I love it, but I'm sure it wouldn't be that enjoyable for somebody who wasn't a big Stooges fan already.

[Garry Silljo]

I think that's definitely one of those games made for the fans - I love it, but I'm sure it wouldn't be that enjoyable for somebody who wasn't a big Stooges fan already.

Actually. I hate the stooges, but I enjoy this game a lot.

[Ed Oscuro]

Watching the (edit: first part of the) Prince of Persia (first SFC, with Igarashi Koji) episode of Game Center CX, a couple Irem games with digitized sound are mentioned - one is Napoleon (Senki?) (I think that the fanfare right before sim battle starts is digitized, not voice but the same tech - and the next is an early Famicom Baseball game, probably 1985.

[BuddyBoy600alt]

Sesame Street Big Bird's Hide and Speak
Sesame Street Countdown

Didn't Action 52 have speech somewhere?

Yes. In the game's opening title, The announcer says "Make your selection, Now!"

[treismac]

Wheel of Fortune (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxuqMPD7Hvo)

Ring King (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyCs9ac7ICg)

Famista 91 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-8iFeVYPtU) is the first in the Japanese R.B.I Baseball series to use digitized voice to say "Play Ball" and to call strikes, balls, "outta," etc.

[BuddyBoy600alt]

I was always really impressed by that game, both because of how much speech there is in it (all from actual Stooges shorts, too), and how clear it is.

I think that's definitely one of those games made for the fans - I love it, but I'm sure it wouldn't be that enjoyable for somebody who wasn't a big Stooges fan already.

Yup, The Three Stooges NES game had wav files from the Stooges films.

I remember the trivia game (A, B, or C answers) part on The Three Stooges NES game, If it's a correct answer, you would hear Moe shout "SUCCESS!" follow by Larry's "Congratulations!" These lines are from the 1939 film "Calling all Curs." If it's an incorrect answer, you would hear Moe shout "YOU IDIOT!!!" That line was from "Dizzy Pilots."

The Boxing Match has Larry saying "Oh My Stradavarious!" That line is from "Disorder in the Court" although the minigame is based on "Punch Drunks."

The Slapping Game has various sounds of the Stooges films. As Moe punches Larry and Curley.

The Cracker Eating Contest has various sounds of Curley after an oyster ate one of the crackers.

HELP! Wanted Doctors has the trademark "Doctor Howard, Doctor Fine, Doctor Howard!" from the 1934 short "Men in Black."

The 4th Ending of the Game (They saved Ma's Orphanage, made repairs, and there is enough money for the Stooges to marry their daughters), It would the same line used in the correct answer in The Trivia Game.

The game opening used this inside joke with "Defender of the Crown." The Stooges will appear on the Denfender of the Crown screen and then the title theme stops with Larry saying "Hey! This looks like a kids game." (taken from "Three Little Beer") follow by Moe saying "YOU IDIOT!!" (taken from "Dizzy Pilots") follow by Moe spanking Curley ("YOUCH!), and the "Defender of the Crown screen shakes.

It was a funny NES game. And I wished it come to the Wii Virtual Console or maybe the Wii U Virtual Console.

[BuddyBoy600alt]

Wheel of Fortune (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxuqMPD7Hvo)


Oh yes. All Wheel of Fortune NES games had the trademark "WHEEL! OF! FORTUNE!" chant like in the show's opening credits. And I remember the "Super Jeopardy!" NES game had somebody (Could it be Alex Trebek?) saying "Let's play Jeopardy!"