ARR Voice Actors

[Zanarken]

Has there been any information from Square Enix as to why they elected to use different voice actors for most of the original cast in Heavensward? FFXIV's niche in the MMO industry is its beautifully crafted story filled with unique & memorable characters. Memorable characters who's voices brought life & added depth to the universe we have all grown to love. When my favorite characters made their appearance with different voices, not only did it serve to alienate them but it was distracting to the point where I could no longer even focus on what was being said or the substance of what was going on. Take Admiral Merlwyb for example. A respected and feared leader of pirates who was beautifully voice acted by Jean Gilpin. The new voice actors delivery is so disinterested & monotone that her identity as a character comes into question.

Please bring back the old voice actors Square Enix. It really is that important.

[Amberyl]

Did the cast change? English seiyū or the Japanese cast?

[MilesSaintboroguh]

Did the cast change? English seiyū or the Japanese cast?

The entire English voice cast was changed except for a few.

[Walluh]

Think they changed companies.

Most of the voice actors sound better objectively, sure, but a lot of them also sound like completely different characters entirely, and lot a lot of personality with it.

And I'm personally salty about losing a lot of voice actors I knew. The only reason I could take Hydaelen seriously despite being a weird talking rock was because she had the same voice as Cornelia from Code Geass/the female crusader from D3. One of my absolute favorite VAs.

[Amberyl]

The entire English voice cast was changed except for a few.

Ah, that'd be why I didn't notice.

How did the quality change? I know you get used to certain people playing certain characters, but was there an improvement? With the extra drama and tighter character focus in Heavensward, that might have been a good thing in the long run?

[MilesSaintboroguh]

Ah, that'd be why I didn't notice.

How did the quality change? I know you get used to certain people playing certain characters, but was there an improvement? With the extra drama and tighter character focus in Heavensward, that might have been a good thing in the long run?

Most are passable but Raubahn and Merlywb I will never get used to.

[Walluh]

Ah, that'd be why I didn't notice.

How did the quality change? I know you get used to certain people playing certain characters, but was there an improvement? With the extra drama and tighter character focus in Heavensward, that might have been a good thing in the long run?

Mixed results. The accents are generally more authentic, but it comes with a lot of the characters just sounding the same, and a lot of weird accent transplanting going on.

Raubahn and Merlwyb both sound like they got neutered, but at least Kan-E-Senna sounds like she actually has the ability to feel emotion now.

[Amberyl]

Most are passable but Raubahn and Merlywb I will never get used to.

Hmm, never nice when things change. Sad for you. Mind, if they're passable during the stage when you'll most notice it, hopefully the immersion will improve with time for you? Sometimes you kinda have to cut your losses for the sake of the performance, tho. Square's not known for it's English voice acting, let's face it... *cough* XV *cough* o_0

[HorseBoots]

Most of A Realm Reborn was produced on a much tighter budget, which included getting voice actors fast and cheap, since it was completely up in the air if the game was going to be able to bounce back with its reboot or not. Which is why a large majority of ARR's english cast are people you've probably never heard of and not the entire cast of a Persona game like 98% of every other game localized ever.

The production of Heavensward was started after it was very apparent that the game was a smashing success, which allowed of a larger budget to play with. The larger budget ment they could begin to recast most of the roles and give the localizes the freedom to make Eorzea sound more as what they envision. Which is why 90% of the cast when from Americans to new actors with wide-range and very noticeable accents to reflect the worldly nature of the story. (Seriously, you can very clearly hear the accents on the few Ala Mighans and Domans given voice in the story.)