5. A method of electronically simulating voice conversations between at least two on-screen talking animated characters and an off-screen talking character, comprising the steps of: (a) digitally storing a catalog of distinctive voices for at least three talking characters, each in the form of voice sound data representing a plurality of sentences, phrases, word segments or phonemes; (b) digitally storing a preprogrammed branching dialog between a first on-screen character and a second on-screen character and an off-screen character, each branch comprising a plurality of alternative verbal expressions; (c) generating a video signal representing an image of said first and second on-screen characters for display on a video screen; (d) displaying on a hand-held controller apparatus a first set of alternatively selectable verbal expressions describing preprogrammed actions of an animated character, each expression corresponding to a branch in said dialog; (e) receiving from said hand-held controller a manually initiated signal representing a selected verbal expression in said first set of verbal expressions, thereby selecting a branch in the dialog and a corresponding selected action of an animated character; (f) digitally reading from said catalog of voices first voice sound data that corresponds to said selected verbal expression for the voice of said off-screen character; (g) generating an audio signal from said first voice sound data representing the voice of said off-screen character speaking said selected verbal expression; (h) generating a video signal representing an image of an animated character performing said selected action in accordance with said selected verbal expression; (i) digitally reading from said catalog of voices second voice sound data for the voice of said first on-screen character speaking the verbal expression that follows next in the selected branch of the dialog; (j) generating an audio signal from said second voice sound data representing the voice of said first on-screen character; (k) digitally reading from said catalog of voices third voice sound data for the voice of said second on-screen character speaking the verbal expression that follows next in the selected branch of the dialog; (l) generating an audio signal from said third voice sound data representing the voice of said second on-screen character; and (m) displaying on said hand-held controller apparatus a second set of alternatively selectable verbal expressions that follows next for said off-screen character in the selected branch of the dialog.
5. A method of electronically simulating voice conversations between at least two on-screen talking animated characters and an off-screen talking character, comprising the steps of: (a) digitally storing a catalog of distinctive voices for at least three talking characters, each in the form of voice sound data representing a plurality of sentences, phrases, word segments or phonemes; (b) digitally storing a preprogrammed branching dialog between a first on-screen character and a second on-screen character and an off-screen character, each branch comprising a plurality of alternative verbal expressions; (c) generating a video signal representing an image of said first and second on-screen characters for display on a video screen; (d) displaying on a hand-held controller apparatus a first set of alternatively selectable verbal expressions describing preprogrammed actions of an animated character, each expression corresponding to a branch in said dialog; (e) receiving from said hand-held controller a manually initiated signal representing a selected verbal expression in said first set of verbal expressions, thereby selecting a branch in the dialog and a corresponding selected action of an animated character; (f) digitally reading from said catalog of voices first voice sound data that corresponds to said selected verbal expression for the voice of said off-screen character; (g) generating an audio signal from said first voice sound data representing the voice of said off-screen character speaking said selected verbal expression; (h) generating a video signal representing an image of an animated character performing said selected action in accordance with said selected verbal expression; (i) digitally reading from said catalog of voices second voice sound data for the voice of said first on-screen character speaking the verbal expression that follows next in the selected branch of the dialog; (j) generating an audio signal from said second voice sound data representing the voice of said first on-screen character; (k) digitally reading from said catalog of voices third voice sound data for the voice of said second on-screen character speaking the verbal expression that follows next in the selected branch of the dialog; (l) generating an audio signal from said third voice sound data representing the voice of said second on-screen character; and (m) displaying on said hand-held controller apparatus a second set of alternatively selectable verbal expressions that follows next for said off-screen character in the selected branch of the dialog. 7. The method of claim 5, wherein said hand-held controller is a portable game system with program cartridge.