Voice Cast.

[Zeromus_X]

When deciding on the quality of voice acting in video games, I keep two major things in mind: how well a voice suits a character, and how much emotion the actor can convey (how well they can act). I have mixed feelings about the voice acting in FFXII. I'll start off going from character to character, in order of my favorites.

Like:

Balthier: His voice is absolutely perfect. It fits his character well, with a fitting wit and charm. His often funny lines are delivered well, considering his voice actor English actor and comedian Gideon Emery. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gideon_Emery)

Ashe: In my opinion, her voice is superb. Voiced by Kari Wahlgren (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kari_Wahlgren), whose other notable roles include Raine Sage from Tales of Symphonia, Haruharu Haruko in FLCL, Fuu in Samurai Champloo, and Mirage Koas in Star Ocean: Till the End of Time.

Her voice is fitting of such a strong-willed (or to some, stuck-up...) character, and she can convey emotion very well. And she has to convey emotion quite often, considering her distaste for the empire, and being an emotional character in general.

Vayne: I may be a bit biased, as I really like Vayne's personality, but I believe his voice fits him very well. He displayed great emotion when he delivered his speech in Rabanastre near the beginning of the game, unfortunately, as far as I am in the game currently the story hasn't focused on him in-person yet. I may have a different opinion later.

Migelo: Heh, I really like his voice. It just makes me laugh every time I hear it. xDHis voice is very fitting of the bangaa merchant, delivered by John DiMaggio. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_DiMaggio) He also plays a secret boss, Gilgamesh, who also delivers some funny lines. Other notable roles include Bender in Futurama, and Kimahri and Wakka in Final Fantasy X.

Basch: I really like his voice alot too. It might sound stereotypical for a loyal knight-type of character, but he is incredibly emotional and delivers his lines with precision. Voiced by Keith Ferguson. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Ferguson)

Dislike:

Vaan: I utterly detest his voice. His voice is annoying (though not in the lightheartedly naive way James Arnold Taylor played Tidus). He sounds like some spoiled teenage mallrat with a cold that debilitates his ability to talk with any emotion whatsoever. Not very fitting of one of the more important characters in the story. Voiced by Bobby Edner. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Edner)

Fran: I don't really dislike her voice, but it just seems really, really wierd. The best way to frankly describe her voice would be to say


Fran sounds like Bjork. :p. It doesn't seem so wierd any more now that I've heard more Viera talk with a similar accent, but it just doesn't seem suitable for the role. This may be because her voice actor Nicole Fantl (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicole_Fantl) is unaccustomed to voice acting, playing roles in movies before, or maybe it's just me.



Well, that's my one long-winded thread of the month. Share your opinions on the voice acting for Final Fantasy XII here.

[Ichimonji]

Vaan: I utterly detest his voice. His voice is annoying (though not in the lightheartedly naive way James Arnold Taylor played Tidus). He sounds like some spoiled teenage mallrat with a cold that debilitates his ability to talk with any emotion whatsoever. Not very fitting of one of the more important characters in the story. Voiced by Bobby Edner. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Edner)

Yeah I agree, and that's because Bobby Edner is actually a kid in real life, it's what he really sounds like, unlike James Arnold Taylor who is a professional and experienced voice actor. Although it's not too bad.

Also, Phil LaMarr does Reddas' voice in this game. This I was pleased to hear about, as he is an excellent voice actor. He's done such roles as Vamp from MGS2 (<3), and Hermes Conrad from Futurama. He's was also pretty funny on Mad TV.

There are also some notable voice actors from Final Fanasy X who make an appearance. David Rasner who did Brother from FFX comes back to do Al-Cid in FFXII, whom plays a character with a crazy accent, just like Brother. Julia Fletcher who did Yunalesca and Elma returns to do Judge Drace. Dwight Schultz who did O'aka and Maechen voices Old Dalan and the Gran Kiltias Anastasis... I knew I sensed Maechen in the Anastasis. Lastly, Roger L. Jackson who did Wen Kinoc returns voicing Emperor Gramis.

[Roto13]

I despise Vaan and his voice. I really like Fran's voice, though. It's so strange, but that's ok because Fran is a strange character.

[Raistlin]

Vaan's and the Marquis's voices irritate me. Vaan's moreso. Fran's isn't really bothersome... just weird.

I agree that Balthier and Basch have great voices.

[Kawaii Ryûkishi]

Aside from Fran, Cid and Reddas have the best voice acting in the game. Which makes sense, because they're respectively voiced by John Lee and Phil La Marr, who are prettymuch the two most talented voice actors ever.

[Miriel]

Love: Fran

Everyone else is alright. There's no voice that I actually detest which is a huuuuuuge step up from FFX!

[Roogle]

I really enjoyed the voice acting for Fran.

This game had a very nice localization. I think that, with the quality of this translation, we can start putting behind poor localization and translations behind us. I did not see any strange, cultural anachronisms, inconsistencies, or poor English in the script.

[Kawaii Ryûkishi]

That's because Alexander O. Smith put the same effort and elegant spin into this game's localization as he did into that of Vagrant Story. He is a wonderful man.

[Rye]

Fran's voice is probably my favorite of any other Final Fantasy. It's so mystical and interesting. I love it. Every other voice is pretty much great, though Vaan's can irritate me at times. But Fran is the big stand out.

I think the voice acting in FFXII is the best of any Final Fantasy. :)

[Moon Rabbits]

I love Fran and Balthier's voices, and Penelo's is pretty rad too (I heard Tara Strong was doing it, but I guess this was just a rumor). Larsa's actor fits him very well, too.

I don't have a problem with anyone else's voice, they all fit, Vaan's included.

My favourite voices would probably be Fran's, Larsa's, and Judge Drace's.

[WarZidane]

The only ones i really dislike are Vaan and Al-Cid's voices. Vaan due to reasons already mentioned, and Al-Cid..well, maybe it's because i played the Japanese version, but i find his voice really unfitting for the character

[LunarWeaver]

I actually love all the voice actors. I'm a huge Kari fan, so Ashe is probably my favorite, even though I think Gideon Emery did a particularly phenomenal job.

I like Vaan's voice. :( I think it suits the character rather well. At this point, I can't really imagine anything else for him. The ends of his sentences all drop off into this nails on a chalkboard effect, but I guess I just got used to it and grew to like it.

I also quite loved Fran. I know I could never manage that crazy ass accent she's pulling off.

Outside of the main cast, I thought they were all pretty perfect. Go Phill La Marr. :jess:

[Slicksword45]

Fran sounds like KOS-MOS to me. Vanns voice is fitting, but annonion.
I HATE Lamonts voice. I hope he died when The levitialn imploded

[Roogle]

That's because Alexander O. Smith put the same effort and elegant spin into this game's localization as he did into that of Vagrant Story. He is a wonderful man.

I hadn't heard of Alexander O. Smith before this game was released, but, like you said, he is behind a lot of localizations as of late. I like the style that this man is trying to propose and I want his vision to be the true path to localization.

Some people wish for a complete translation, but we are not Japanese and many cultural references or jokes would go completely over our head. Creating a new line in the spirit of the original would be much better than saying something like, "Milk? I thought you said baseball bat."

[Fate Fatale]

Anyone with a british accent is my favourite. Ahh.. Larsa, Bash, Balthier, and other character that I can't remember right now... ahh.. they are heaven to me.

[Nominus Experse]

Fran's voice is amazing. She sounds like Bjork, yes, but that in itself is a feat to be had by few. And I listen to Bjork, so I may be biased...

To be honest, I was expecting a deep, silken, sexy voice for Fran, but to hear one much lighter, heavy with this interesting accent, it pulled me in. It makes her sound like a different race, which she is, obviously. If she simply sounded like another hume, it wouldn't be much of a care.


And Baltheir's voice... My god, his voice is superb! Everything about him exudes elegance tied with a rough, blunt edge, and his voice simply adds to it. From the witty remarks to the kurt replies, it's wondrous.

Penelo doesn't sound annoying, ecstatic overs nothing, I'm on crack and thus I am somewhat annoying *cough Rikku cough*... She shares certain attributes, but her voice and character fit her well.

I could go on and on, but the fact of the matter remains that I believe this Final Fantasy to have the best voice acting yet.


My only complaint lies with Vaan since he sounds like he is plagued with a perpetual cold virus.



Oh, and what of this, uh, Mark-qweese and Mark-qwis? Is this pronounciation of marquis driving anyone else mad?

[LunarWeaver]

Oh, and what of this, uh, Mark-qweese and Mark-qwis? Is this pronounciation of marquis driving anyone else mad?

That was bothering me too :( I kept thinking "It's Mar-kee, what's all this snooty going on."

But then I went to dictionary.com just to be sure and it said:


Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[mahr-kwis, mahr-kee; Fr. mar-kee]

Mahr-kwis is actually listed before mahr-kee :cry:. So I guess either is groovy. I'm still pronouncing Quistis Kee-stis, and no Webster will stop me.

[Raistlin]

How you pronounce "qu" depends on the word. "Queen" is "qween," whereas I have always pronounced "marquis" as "mar-kee." "Kee-stis" is just dumb.

[Nominus Experse]

Oh, and what of this, uh, Mark-qweese and Mark-qwis? Is this pronounciation of marquis driving anyone else mad?

That was bothering me too :( I kept thinking "It's Mar-kee, what's all this snooty going on."

But then I went to dictionary.com just to be sure and it said:


Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[mahr-kwis, mahr-kee; Fr. mar-kee]

Mahr-kwis is actually listed before mahr-kee :cry:. So I guess either is groovy. I'm still pronouncing Quistis Kee-stis, and no Webster will stop me.
I looked it up when I first heard it said just to be sure. Sure enough, the same exact thing you show there.

I believe one is the English method of speaking it and the other is the native French way. I've always heard it said in the French intonation, and so suddenly hearing it said differently, even though it's apparently correct, bothers me.

[Kawaii Ryûkishi]

"Kee-stis" is just dumb.Too bad it's correct, then.

[Zeromus_X]

キスティス? :cat:

Yeah, I was wondering about that Marquis thing too. xD I figured it was just the English way of saying it.

I'm growing on Fran's voice now. Maybe it was because she hardly ever talked before, but now she's been talking alot more.

I really like Al-Cid's voice. :) Too bad he has that whole 'THis iS wHAT i SounD likE' focus issue many of the voices earlier in the game had.

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

Everytime I heard "Marquis" and "fête" I cringed. I am used to hearing them in French, not butchered by English (no offense, I just prefer people saying French words in French, not trying to pronounce them as you would in English.)

Anyways, I loved Fran's voice. For me, it was perfect. I really do not have any complaints about the voice acting, though I do not care for Ashe's much. It just does not rub me the right way.

[Timerk]

I really love Fran's voice, it is very distinct and not what I was expecting at all. I don't really thing there is much consistancy among the Viera, though, some of them sounded Russian to me. I actually don't have a huge problem with any of the voices, but I would like to hear them more, it seems like Balthier and Ashe get most of the speaking parts.

[BustaMo]

At first Fran's voice was like "Whoa!", but it's grown on me throughout the game now. I think it starts to all sinks in when you get to Euryt Village though...I found that sequence pretty interesting.

[pantsofpower]

"Marquis", "Fete", and "Balthier" all kinda made me go "what?" :confused:
But I got over it. French is such a fun language to mangle.... (no disrespect towards Frenchmen intended... actually love the language, want to learn it sometime, but seriously, a silent x?!?!)

The voice acting is all fantastic... I even like Vaan's voice, as I think it suits his character... :tongue:
My favorite voice performances are those for Fran and Balthier (who also happen to be my favorite characters overall.)

[xib]

I love Fran's voice !

[zeonmx]

Who is Ondore's voice actor? His accent sounds like Irish.

[Zeromus_X]

Tom Kane, it seems. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Kane)

His voice was funky too. ><;

[zeonmx]

I don't find Ondore's voice that terrible. I think it fits his character well.

[Zeromus_X]

I didn't say it was bad, I said I thought it was funky. ;_;