I'd think that if you added full voicework to the classic francise characters, most fans would be turned off because the voice that they always imagined Link or Samus to have is so different from what Nintendo would go with. Samus did talk in a handheld Metroid, I think, but it was only during a few cutscenes.

All these characters have actual voice actors, but if you heard the characters talk in full sentences all the time instead of in small catch phrases or grunts, I think it would just disappoint you and take you out of the experience somewhat. Now I'm all for having a Zelda game with random NPCs and supporting characters having voices, but I think Link should always be mute. And do you really want Mario to talk all the time? His voice would just annoy me after a couple of hours.

if you mean like Mario RPG legend of the seven stars then yes!!!Nevlim

That would be truely awesome, although he did make a brief cameo in the game.

It didn't fail financially, that's for sure. No surprise to me, though; slap Mario or Sonic on anything, and it's almost guaranteed to sell despite the quality. I mean, we're up to Mario Party 8 now, right? And Sega still keeps making Sonic games for some reason, even though outside of the DS games there hasn't been a really good Sonic since the first Adventure on the Dreamcast.

Still, if you bought the game and like it, it's not a failure. It all depends on the gamer's personal preference, no matter what professional reviewers say. A reviewer is just someone who gives their opinion on things, after all. I don't think there's any universally bad game...maybe Big Rigs or E.T.