WHEN Neon’s trailer was officially released, hype was everywhere, most notably from the Filipino Valorant community.
And to add more to the excitement are the references that were seen from the video, from the Gilas Pilipinas jersey, the walis tambo, and most notably the part where she said, “Hay buhay!”
Fans were wondering what Filipino phrases would Neon use in-game, and there have been a plethora of leaks online regarding her expressions, to further add to the hype.
But none of this would be possible if it weren’t for the creativity from Neon’s Voice Actress, Vanille Velasquez.
During an exclusive interview with Spin.ph, Velasquez admitted that she tweaked some of the lines from the script.
“I know may line siya kay Raze, that was like, ‘Hoy Raze! Parang tinatawag niya yung attention ni Raze. Initially on the script it said, ‘Nevermind!’ pero I changed it to ‘Di bale na!’
And she even praised the game’s developer, Riot Games, for giving her a plethora of leeway to experiment.
“Like yung sa trailer and yung teaser niya, where she called her parents the missing stuff toy. Yung script ko doon is all in English pero may note doon na to add something in Tagalog. I’m really grateful for the trust that Riot gave me for this.”
And how did she decide on what phrase to use? She would try to record numerous times to see what works.
“How our recording goes is I would record line-by-line, I would do one line for three takes, sometimes more. But I would do three takes all in English, and then I would try an option for them to use that has Tagalog in it.”
If there was one line that worked, it was her iconic catchphrase, ‘Lintik kayo!’
The origins of ‘Lintik kayo!’
Given that Neon is a character that wields the power of lightning, Velasquez’ jolt of creativity took centerstage. She realized that using the word ‘lintik’ perfectly suited Neon.
“Lintik” is lightning so you’re actually cursing someone, you’re wishing someone gets hit by lightning,” she said.
What’s even more impressive is the fact that the phrase is oftentimes associated with the older generations. Yet somehow she was able to bring life to it to one of the youngest characters in the game.
“It's kind of an old person thing to say, but it works here because it’s a lightning reference.”
She even recalled the enjoyment she had for using that phrase.
“Yung lintik kayo!’ Hindi yun pwedeng sabihin sa Tagalog dub so that was fun,” she recounted. “That was one of the most fun lines to record.”
But that wasn’t the only phrase she enjoyed as there were others that she had a fond time recording.
“Hoy I’m pissed!’ Gusto ko rin yung, ‘Hoy grab the spike!”
She further added: “I got to say ‘Bastos!’ I loved that. I don’t think I ever got to say that in any Tagalog dub. So that was fun.”
And there are other lines that are worth hearing like, "Salamat! Thanks!"
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
