The voice of Mario tells how he wanted to be the protagonist of the Legend of Zelda series, and also offers up some gushing praise for Mr Miyamoto...

Oddly, Charles Martinet has been in the news a fair bit lately. Maybe it's because he's been busy with the imminent release of a mildly large title, but whatever the reason, we're always pleased to hear from the real voice of the voice of Mario.

In a recent interview with That Gaming Site, Martinet divulged how he tried to convince Shigeru Miyamoto to let him provide for voice of Zelda hero Link.

"I spoke to Mr. Miyamoto and said: "I wanna be Link, I wanna be Link", and Miyamoto told me that Link isn't going to have a voice; he is going to stay the way he is. Of course Mr. Miyamoto is always right! The way it works right now is the way it is supposed to be. It's the genius of Miyamoto and he knows just the right formula for making his games more fun and more exciting. For example in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, If things slowed down for Mario to express his inner feelings it just wouldn't work and this way it keeps our hearts pounding with enthusiasm."

As much as we admire the talented Mr Martinet, we'd have to agree that the idea of a talking Link may not sit well with the feel of the Zelda series. But what do you think? Is it time for Nintendo to give the protagonist a voice?

For the full interview with Charles, click here