Graha Voice Actor Change?

[KiraRavens]

I was actually wondering if it might be a contract thing since the .4 patch is always treated as the prologue to the next expansion. We're technically in the move to 8.0 now. Erenville got on that boat, Wuk was dragged away after lamenting our Tural adventure is over, and Koana didn't even show up. Dawntrail feels over at last.

Also, this might be taken the wrong way, especially by G'raha fans, but, SE might just not want Bailey anymore if he's so busy or more expensive. We all talk crap on how badly SE budgets FFXIV, and keeping an actor that's now an A list celebrity in Hollywood when they can put that funding into hiring a small group of designers for more and better gameplay content is money better spent right now.

This... I hope he was just too busy to record this time (and that the missing voice in the trailer was because they wanted to give it till the very last moment - or to not upset people beforehand).

The new VA wouldn't be bad at all for any new character - he did quite well in fact - but G'raha doesn't sound like himself at all... totally new person and personality, and I hate that.
This is very much numbing my excitement right now, and I hope we'll at least get an official statement soon about what's happening.

[Rithy255]

I thought he sounded slightly more edgy then usual.

I didn't mind it personally but I can understand him being recasted is upsetting to people.

[peachsyder]

The possibility of G'raha being recast has been haunting me since Bailey's career blew up, frankly. My fears were assuaged after Bailey's interview for BAFTA in March 2024 where he talks about G'raha and how he was so determined to not step away from the role that he recorded even when he his tongue got inflamed. It's clear that Bailey himself loves playing G'raha, so I really wasn't expecting a recast anymore, because I always thought that if it were to happen it'd be by Bailey's choice.

But with this patch, I just... I don't know. In some lines, I swear I can still hear Bailey, but in others, it's not just that his voice sounds different, it's his entire intonation/accent? It really dampened my enjoyment of the patch and honestly has got me concerned and demotivated about future content.

If you're gonna call this an overreaction, glad it's not a big deal to you, but some of us are invested in the story and its characters above all, and having a main character that has had the same voice actor for six years delivering a stellar performance that is the very reason many have grown so fond of him be suddenly recast like this is a big deal to a lot of us. Frankly, it's not unlikely watching that character become an entire different person.

That said, it seems odd that of all times to recast Bailey, it'd happen now that his schedule is slowing down. People mention Wicked because it released now, but filming wrapped up in Jan 2024. Even when he was at his busiest, filming for Wicked, Bridgerton, and other projects, he still came back as G'raha. So why now? If it is a recast, was it because his contract covered 7.0-7.3, and SE didn't renew it for 7.4-7.55 onwards? If they didn't, then what was the reason? I doubt Bailey, considering what he said in that past interview and that VA work is not nearly as time consuming as movie/teather, would be the one to decide to quit.

If it was SE's decision, and if it was for budget reasons of all things, I find that frankly insulting. This is a multimillion dollar company, are we seriously supposed to believe they can't afford Bailey in a voice acting role? And to see someone say that it would be a good decision to cut budget on a main character's voice actor to spread it to other areas is absolutely wild to me. You think this is where budget cuts should go? On the widely beloved voice actor of one of the most prominent characters in the entire game?

I want to believe and I truly do hope that Bailey wasn't recast and this patch was just recorded under extraneous circumstances, like him being sick. I'm just really dreading the possibility of a permanent recast. And if it is one, surely it warrants a proper announcement, seeing as G'raha is such a major character. I'm sure a JP recast would be properly communicated, so does an EN one not warrant the same courtesy if this truly is the case?

[KiraRavens]

The possibility of G'raha being recast has been haunting me since Bailey's career blew up, frankly. My fears were assuaged after Bailey's interview for BAFTA in March 2024 where he talks about G'raha and how he was so determined to not step away from the role that he recorded even when he his tongue got inflamed. It's clear that Bailey himself loves playing G'raha, so I really wasn't expecting a recast anymore, because I always thought that if it were to happen it'd be by Bailey's choice.

But with this patch, I just... I don't know. In some lines, I swear I can still hear Bailey, but in others, it's not just that his voice sounds different, it's his entire intonation/accent? It really dampened my enjoyment of the patch and honestly has got me concerned and demotivated about future content.

If you're gonna call this an overreaction, glad it's not a big deal to you, but some of us are invested in the story and its characters above all, and having a main character that has had the same voice actor for six years delivering a stellar performance that is the very reason many have grown so fond of him be suddenly recast like this is a big deal to a lot of us. Frankly, it's not unlikely watching that character become an entire different person.

That said, it seems odd that of all times to recast Bailey, it'd happen now that his schedule is slowing down. People mention Wicked because it released now, but filming wrapped up in Jan 2024. Even when he was at his busiest, filming for Wicked, Bridgerton, and other projects, he still came back as G'raha. So why now? If it is a recast, was it because his contract covered 7.0-7.3, and SE didn't renew it for 7.4-7.55 onwards? If they didn't, then what was the reason? I doubt Bailey, considering what he said in that past interview and that VA work is not nearly as time consuming as movie/teather, would be the one to decide to quit.

If it was SE's decision, and if it was for budget reasons of all things, I find that frankly insulting. This is a multimillion dollar company, are we seriously supposed to believe they can't afford Bailey in a voice acting role? And to see someone say that it would be a good decision to cut budget on a main character's voice actor to spread it to other areas is absolutely wild to me. You think this is where budget cuts should go? On the widely beloved voice actor of one of the most prominent characters in the entire game?

I want to believe and I truly do hope that Bailey wasn't recast and this patch was just recorded under extraneous circumstances, like him being sick. I'm just really dreading the possibility of a permanent recast. And if it is one, surely it warrants a proper announcement, seeing as G'raha is such a major character. I'm sure a JP recast would be properly communicated, so does an EN one not warrant the same courtesy if this truly is the case?

100% this on all points

[Laerune]

Last time when they recasted the ENG voice actors they did not communicate, we the players found it via trailers.

So there is a history of SE doing this. If Bailey is busy, then I can understand, but if it's money thing, then no.

If Raha got recasted, then don't be surprised if more scions will recast. SE would NEVER do this to their Japanese players.

[MercuryD]

Last time when they recasted the ENG voice actors they did not communicate, we the players found it via trailers.

So there is a history of SE doing this. If Bailey is busy, then I can understand, but if it's money thing, then no.

If Raha got recasted, then don't be surprised if more scions will recast. SE would NEVER do this to their Japanese players.

There was only one major case of recasting, ARR going to HW when the entire cast went from USA to UK. Every recast since (Yugiri, Edmont) were due to the original actor no longer being alive.

I'm definitely torn on whether it was a recast (I hope not!) or just him on a bad day because I swear some lines almost sounded like him...

[RedLolly]

Now I'm seeing comments elsewhere that Bailey was horribly ill and some lines were recorded by a sound alike? Another mentioned it sounded like Jullus's voice actor (Nigel Pilkington) was that cover/replacement.

Honestly didn't mind the quality of the work here if either is the case. We're just all so attached to G'raha as he was always performed by Bailey that the difference is incredibly jarring. If anything, the writing is back to the quality I missed it being and I don't want to be too hard on an alternative actor or a sick Bailey.

I just wish someone at SE would step up and say something to clear up the confusion. The whole situation is very strange.

[0blivion]

1. Great day to be playing with JP voice track, especially since the English 'translation' was a garbled mess this time.

2. Please put your client language down when you write threads like theese, I went "Uchida Yuuma sounds like Uchida Yuuma though?".