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.

Ashe: In my opinion, her voice is superb. Voiced by 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. He also plays a secret boss, (SPOILER)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.

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.

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
Quote Originally Posted by Miriel and others
Fran sounds like Bjork.
. It doesn't seem so wierd any more now that I've (SPOILER) 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 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.