Graha Voice Actor Change?

[illiere]

I would just like to voice support for the concerns about G'raha's EN VO, Jonathan Bailey, potentially being recast.

I'm unsure if the 7.4 lines are due to Bailey being unwell/recording with a different microphone, or if it's a new actor myself. (I saw a video on twitter from someone with recording experience shifting the pitch a bit and it did sound a lot closer to G'raha's normal voice.) But I definitely empathise with not wanting a character's VO to be replaced, as that's a core part of their identity and appeal, and generally speaking from experience with other games' recasts I find the replacement never captures the 'magic' of the original.

It would be very disappointing to hear that he's been recast, I hope Bailey is able to maintain his role as G'raha (especially given the character's smaller role/line count post-6.0.) Hopefully whatever issues are around 7.4's lines are temporary, and there isn't a permanent recast.

[lievaordiea]

Being in the latter camp, unfortunately, reeks of parasocial obsession and isn't healthy. Hence why I'm suggesting people chill a bit instead of continuing to feed into each other's bad feelings by doom and glooming for thirty consecutive pages.

the only doom and gloom here is the fact SE Refuse to clear up the matter.
you are right. there shouldnt be over 30 pages here. cuz there should already be an answer. even a 'will look into this - please look forward to it' would have been better instead of utter silence.
instead we have to continue to flag there is an issue. expect more comments and pages until this is addressed.

honestly since DT release any sort of criticism towards anything within the game has been over hyped then repeatedly squashed down using buzzwords like parasocial. his voiced lines sounded so off they removed them from an official trailer. people are augmenting their sound systems to make it even sound like him. if it is JB then why on earth didn't SE do that themselves since folks can apparently do it. its lines in a major game patch. this for me is a continuation to the things that has been lacking since DT released. considering 7.4 addressed "some" of my original issues ref the game itself .. this has added on extra issue which quite frankly was not needed and is quite irritating.

[CosmosNovaRose]

I did want to ask as I've seen it mentioned time and time again- as someone who doesnt use Twitter and doesn't wish to create a Twitter account, where might I be able to listen to this bass adjusted clip of his 7.4 dialogue?

[Nadda]

I'd like to think that JB will not be replaced.

No matter how high profile an actor - having a steady paycheck for the most part is something that I'm sure every actor likes to have as a safety net. Not only that but it's good exposure.
Recent credits is a big deal.

That said I couldn't have blamed him for skipping a patch.

G'raha Tia has been set up as a major character since Shadowbringers and they've used him so sparingly this whole expansion.

I feel like 2.0 - 6.0 was our story for the first half of FF14. Which continues Louisoix's legacy through the twins.

I always felt like the Scions needed to step aside and that the Twins now mature and grown themselves could handle nation building in Garlemald that we could return to them at a later date. (I was thinking of maybe a fully fledged Ivalice expansion, since just because the Empire lost doesn't mean people forgive them.. etc)

I digress to say; our travel companions going forward ought to be characters like Krile and G'raha Tia. They should be the heart and focus of our band of adventurers going forward. They are dropping the ball with both but especially G'raha Tia. If we are to keep Johnathan then the effort has to be worth it or we might lose him. If we give him something to really chew on then we ought not to worry.

I'm hoping that nothing has happened and that we'll get the news to ease our minds.

[Bantochan]

My honest, good-faith opinion on this:

If you prefer to only enjoy media on a level superficial enough that it never affects you emotionally, that's great for you. And your choice.

I'd rather care about the characters in the stories I consume - deeply and unapologetically, cause ultimately it brings me way more joy than it could ever distress me, even if I am occasionally distressed because of it.
And this is my choice.
And since I assume we're both adults, I don't know you and you don't know me, you voicing your potential concern about it is rather inappropriate.

Absolutely. It’s likewise inappropriate to go onto any other forum topic where players are upset over changes like job identity or gameplay mechanics and to call their concerns invalid also for any reason. It’s not fair to try to invalidate anyone’s concerns or willingness to voice them due to a preconceived notion of their character or mental state. It’s not the point of this thread, as many have already stated. So, I think it’s best to keep our conversations about the changes and clarity we want to see regarding the topic at hand from the company that creates a game that we all love and enjoy. Let’s leave the condescending “calm down” comments out of here. They are already all over social media.

[claustromania]

I did want to ask as I've seen it mentioned time and time again- as someone who doesnt use Twitter and doesn't wish to create a Twitter account, where might I be able to listen to this bass adjusted clip of his 7.4 dialogue?

Here is a version you can view without an account. Whenever you want to view a post on X without an account, you can add “cancel” to the URL so it becomes “xcancel.com.”

[CosmosNovaRose]

Thank you for sharing this!

...Hrm. Yeah. That's. Hrm.

My jury's still out on this one. My ears still aren't hearing Bailey. But its a lot closer.

[Tidrek]

So, they not only recast G'raha and replaced him with someone else, they also had the new guy record his lines for a beloved character in his car through his phone, from the sound of it?

If the above is all true (it's a new voice actor AND the recording quality sounds terrible), it must have been a total scheduling disaster and a last-minute scramble to get some guy to do lines for G'raha before they had to ship.

[claustromania]

So, they not only recast G'raha and replaced him with someone else, they also had the new guy record his lines for a beloved character in his car through his phone, from the sound of it?

If the above is all true (it's a new voice actor AND the recording quality sounds terrible), it must have been a total scheduling disaster and a last-minute scramble to get some guy to do lines for G'raha before they had to ship.

That’s one theory. Many other players think it’s still JB and just exhausted/sick/recording out of a tin can. Whatever the truth is, it’s yet another instance of a recurring problem with Dawntrail’s lackluster voice direction and Square’s refusal to address any sort of issue players have with their gameplay experience when they pertain to the EN or NA playerbase, whether it be frequent DDoS attacks or G’raha sounding like he’s been body-snatched.

[Tidrek]

I'm not a Jonathan Bailey Expert, but just listening to a random recent Seth Meyers interview, I can hear G'raha in the way he just casually chats with the host.

I'm just as cynical as the next guy (or maybe not cynical enough), but I would have expected them to give Jonathan Bailey the chance to deliver the sad news of a recast before just ambushing the playerbase like this.