Graha Voice Actor Change?

[peachsyder]

I want clarity from Square Enix but I'm gonna be real, I also absolutely want Bailey to stay (a sentiment shared by many here, and clearly the reason for the uproar). So I'm hoping we get transparency on why Bailey wasn't here for this patch (because I can't bring myself to believe that's him) and reassurance that he will be in the future. This is a major character with a widely loved voice actor. Square Enix has the means to keep him, and he clearly wants to stay.

Once again: Jonathan Bailey makes G'raha Tia for me. G'raha without Bailey's voice, to me, is even worse than just writing him off—it's like him becoming someone else I'm supposed to pretend is him. If Square Enix gives up on doing everything they can to keep Bailey in the cast, after all the effort he's put in for seven years in the role, including recording while sick and at the peak of his packed schedule, I'll be absolutely heartbroken, to the point I doubt I'll ever enjoy this game the same way again, if at all. Yeah, it's that serious for me.

Here's hoping for good news.

[paradisea]

I want clarity from Square Enix but I'm gonna be real, I also absolutely want Bailey to stay (a sentiment shared by many here, and clearly the reason for the uproar). So I'm hoping we get transparency on why Bailey wasn't here for this patch (because I can't bring myself to believe that's him) and reassurance that he will be in the future. This is a major character with a widely loved voice actor. Square Enix has the means to keep him, and he clearly wants to stay.

Once again: Jonathan Bailey makes G'raha Tia for me. G'raha without Bailey's voice, to me, is even worse than just writing him off—it's like him becoming someone else I'm supposed to pretend is him. If Square Enix gives up on doing everything they can to keep Bailey in the cast, after all the effort he's put in for seven years in the role, including recording while sick and at the peak of his packed schedule, I'll be absolutely heartbroken, to the point I doubt I'll ever enjoy this game the same way again, if at all. Yeah, it's that serious for me.

Here's hoping for good news.

Yeah. Obviously we deserve clarity, but above all, unless it was JB's choice to leave (doubtful, as we've all seen that interview and mentioned it here time and time again), we deserve to not lose the voice actor for a main character of seven years.

The pleas for clarity are obviously warranted, but I don't want SE to get the skewed view that player sentiment is "it's fine if it's a permanent recast as long as you tell us about it". Many of us don't just want clarity, we want JB. We want the voice that has been with us for seven years of our journey, the guy who has delivered what's one of the best, if not arguably the best English language voice performance in this entire game. Losing him would be an immense blow to the quality of this game, because voice acting is a major part of what makes the game so good. "The game" and "voice actors" aren't separate things, the actors are an intrinsic and crucial part of what makes this game what is is. They should not be recasting any character, let alone such an important, beloved, and popular one, unless there's absolutely no other choice left.

Again: you know they wouldn't ever, ever, ever consider recasting a Japanese voice actor unless there were extreme circumstances. The English cast deserves the same level of regard and respect.