We have all done it at least once in our lives.. Growing up without YouTube, and podcasts, making it easy to be unaware of how to pronounce some of our favorite video game characters’ names. I am not even talking about things like “marry-oh” versus “mar-eee-oh.” I am talking about those classics, under the monkey bars, ‘I can’t wait to get home and game’ mispronunciations. For example, her name is Lara Croft, not Laura Croft. Call it the “S-N-E-S”, not the “Snesss” you little turd. As well as just about any name from any character in Final Fantasy VI. Yet strangely enough, with all of our advancements in communications, we stumbled upon a new name we have not figured out. Kena.
Ladies and gentlemen of the realm I present to you evidence number one. Let’s go all the way back to the year 2020. Sony has laid out the stage for its June PlayStation 5 “Future of Gaming” event. The first time we get a real look at the PlayStation 5 and its games. Most notably the beautiful Kena: Bridge of Spirits. I’d like to bridge my spirit all the way to August to get my hands on this game right now.
My God This Game Looks Amazing
The first Kena: Bridge of Spirits trailer from the June event starts off with an ominous voice challenging and questioning the quest our hero has set out on. We know this because the voice ends its statement with, “you have no power here Kena.” So we can tell that this voice is talking to our protagonist, Kena. As described in the game’s description by Sony PR. The event ends, we all bookmark this game in our brains, filed under “Ken-ah.” We do this because she is clearly called Kena and that’s what we hear in the trailer.
Notwithstanding ladies and gentlemen of the realm, I present to you evidence number two. The February 2021 State of Play. Head over to the official video under the PlayStation YouTube channel. Get past the Crash Bandicoot 4 commercial. Then fast forward through the Five Nights At Freddy’s filler. At the 19:09 mark is where everything turns upside down. The voice from Sony PR that leads through the trailer transitions begins talking about Kena: Bridge of Spirits right after Oddworld Soulstorm. They can be heard saying, “Kena: Bridge of Spirits.”
But How Could This Happen
If you listen closely (and I have 100 times) the voice can be heard saying, “Keeeeee-nah.” This is an entirely different pronunciation of Kena from the previous trailer. It makes you wonder, “have we been wrong this entire time?” Have I been that one friend you have that has been calling it a “Sness” all these years? No, surely the Sony voice actor is mistaken here. While I tend to lean towards the voice actor being wrong. They are probably reading from a script in a closet from their makeshift WFH recording studio. It makes you wonder. How do you really pronounce Kena?
