Is Anyone Else Grated By VII Remake’s Voice Acting?

[Deleted member 46958]

I'm not one to complain about things in gaming usually, so consider this as more of a critique by what's been exhibited in the trailers.

For me, the voice acting is unusually stiff. Even for Jrpg standards. As a jrpg vet, I can say what good English and poor English VA is like.

Not sure what is happening with VII R's voice acting. It seems really stiff. Barrett's line delivery sounds like something out of a Saturday morning cartoon, the execs giving their exchange at the Shinra HQ office (in the latest trailer). Then there was that weird line about butter in the latest trailer (uttered by that smarmy, squat fellow drinking tea). All of which sounded like near b-movie dialogue.

I had postulated if this was intentional a little after I saw the trailer. But I really don't think it's deliberate.

The acting seems uneven to me. Aerith and Tifa sound solid, and Red XIII sounds great. Cloud is sort of hit or miss but I feel like he'll grow on me. I think so far the stuff, awkward sounding voice acting is coming from the supporting cast.

That said, Corneo sounds fine, and the dude at the Honey Bee inn who gives his dialogue to Cloud was actually great imo.

Y'all here the superb VA work that was Dragon Quest XI? Comparably speaking the VII R VAing sounds weird to me.

So it's a bit jarring, you have some of the cast who sound solid, and the rest who sound like an early 2000s voiced rpg.

I hope it's all subject to change and will sound solid in context and with immersion.
What does Era think?

Still going to be great though.

 

[Cloud-Strife]

I don't agree.. sounds fine to me.

PS: or just play with JP voice overs

 

[Transistor]

I think it sounds really good.

 

[Kor of Memory]

Everything seems fine to me.

I think it's hard to tell because you're literally hearing lines that were recorded in the context of other conversations being pulled out and used as random voice over lines in a trailer.

 

[Sorel]

"As a jrpg vet, I can say what good English and poor English VA is like." LOL

Didn't particularly mind anything but I'll play in Japanese so I don't care.

 

[Nakenorm]

Don't agree, I'd say it sounds much better than your usual jrpg.
A good mix between the usual anime voice acting and something more natural.

 

[garion333]

I've been telling other folks to relax about the trailer and the voice acting. I think part of it is the way the trailer is mixed. This happens a lot in video game trailers where the voices are pumped up high in the mix so much that they feel like they're separate from the action on screen. It's a trailer thing. They'll mix it better in-game, like some of the later parts of the trailer where the lines don't sound like it's sitting on top of the video, but a part of it.

 

[DrArchon]

Aerith's lines at the end of the last trailer sounded really off to me, but everything else sounded good.

I'm fine with the Shinra execs being cartoon villains because that's what they are.

 

[Strings]

Outside of Barret, I've actually liked it a fair bit.

 

[Kalentan]

Sounds fine. It's just weird mixing combined with stuff out of context.

 

[Mr. Nice_Guy]

I'll also go with the "out of context" line of thinking. Although I do think half of the lines I hear in the trailers sound pretty blandly delivered, and I really don't like the vocal register they chose for Tifa.

 

[CRIMSON-XIII]

I think they all sounds really good. Especially Cloud and Red XIII IMO

 

[Camisado]

I've been telling other folks to relax about the trailer and the voice acting. I think part of it is the way the trailer is mixed. This happens a lot in video game trailers where the voices are pumped up high in the mix so much that they feel like they're separate from the action on screen. It's a trailer thing. They'll mix it better in-game, like some of the later parts of the trailer where the lines don't sound like it's sitting on top of the video, but a part of it.

Click to shrink...

That... actually makes a lot of sense. Something felt off for me for sure and I think it was this now that you mention it!

Hopefully it's all good then :)

 

[andymcc]

i've only heard the japanese voices but it seems pretty standard for S-E.

 

[scottbeowulf]

I'd say so far what I've heard sounds... ok. I don't wanna say it's chit cuz I haven't heard the final yet. But I'll most likely play in Japanese with subs so not a big deal.

 

[Digital Savior]

Definitely doesn't sound like the original.

Spoiler

I'm fine with it. The English VA sounds fine. I'm going to play in English.

 

[Yuntu]

It sounds good to me. Nothing strikes me as bad about it.

 

[--R]

Don't agree at all. I like all of their voices, tbh.

 

[ShinobiBk]

Barrett sounds like complete garbage but outside of that it seems fine.
Not great but fine. We'll see when the full game is out. Hopefully cutscene and voice direction isn't as atrocious as Kingdom Hearts III

 

[KernelC]

I honestly always play JRPGs with Japanese voices whenever it's available so I couldn't care less. But they got Matt Mercer to play Red in this game, and he is a pretty solid actor.
So if they bother you, just play with subs? not a big deal, japanese seiyus tend to be more fitting anyways for these games

Barrett sounds like complete garbage but outside of that it seems fine.
Not great but fine. We'll see when the full game is out. Hopefully cutscene and voice direction isn't as atrocious as Kingdom Hearts III

Click to shrink...

he is the only one I liked other than Red, well, Cloud sounds fine too. And Sephiroth

 

[Deleted member 46958]

I've been telling other folks to relax about the trailer and the voice acting. I think part of it is the way the trailer is mixed. This happens a lot in video game trailers where the voices are pumped up high in the mix so much that they feel like they're separate from the action on screen. It's a trailer thing. They'll mix it better in-game, like some of the later parts of the trailer where the lines don't sound like it's sitting on top of the video, but a part of it.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, it could really be a mixing thing that's bothering me, not even the VA itself. But something was off to my ears. Great point.

 

[DynamicSushy]

It's fine. Also your JRPG vet status doesn't make your opinion any more valid. Everyone has ears as well as their own opinion.
With that said, Cloud's yelling while he was running towards Sephiroth didn't sound too good. Otherwise, pretty good performance by everyone really.

 

[Lockheartilly9799]

i love the voice acting so far.

 

[SpoonyBob]

Not feeling Hojo and young cloud just yet, but everyone else sounds good to me. The party at the very least sounds really good, favorites being Cloud, Aerith, and Red XIII so far.

 

[mysteriousmage09]

It's not amazing but is certainly isn't "oh my god what is this utter shit burn it with fire!" levels of nonsense some here keep sprouting.

 

[Mirage]

I actually think it sounds pretty good and what I will go with, and I tend to pick jp voices a lot of the time.

 

[Foot]

Is it as good as a Disney, Pixar or Dreamworks movie? No, not at all. Is it as good as an episode of, say, the Justice League cartoon? Yeah.

AS A JRPG VET I do think games could stand to invest more in voice acting, considering this industry is supposed to be bigger than film.

 

[Vault]

Kingdom Hearts 3 VA was terrible as well

 

[MonadL]

If you've played a lot of JRPGs and think 7Rs VO is bad...then clearly you haven't played a lot of JRPGs.

 

[piratepwnsninja]

I'll withhold judgment until playing the game so that I can experience them in context and more importantly with proper sound mixing. They ducked everything but the vo in this trailer which added to it feeling off.

 

[Nakenorm]

Barrett sounds like complete garbage but outside of that it seems fine.
Not great but fine. We'll see when the full game is out. Hopefully cutscene and voice direction isn't as atrocious as Kingdom Hearts III

Click to shrink...

Going by the demo it's seems to be an improvement. Still some awkward pacing in some scenes, but overall much better.

 

[Wereroku]

I think it's pretty good.

 

[Valcrist]

It sounds great to me, except Aerith's sometimes.

Another thing to keep in mind is that VA sounds bad in trailers quite often. Sometimes having background audio that is in context makes things a lot better.

 

[RalliArtEvo]

I had no issues with the VA whatsoever...so....no.

 

[Jamesac68]

I said this elsewhere- Check out everything you've always loved only now made better by sub-Saturday-morning-cartoon-caliber voice acting!

The bit-parts were pretty bad. Like, really bad. Not early-16-bit-era CD game bad, thankfully, but that they were used is still pretty amazing for a game with FFVII's production values.

 

[Rotobit]

I honestly haven't noticed it that much, and I usually do pick up on awkward voice acting

Like, compared to KH3 Re:Mind it's a master class

I think out of context with the wrong music a lot of voice acting sounds weird. Listen to some of the earliest Bravely Default trailers, for example.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

Everyone talks like a child's anime dub. Like 4KIDS early 2000s cartoons. I guess that's just the JRPG genre tho...

 

[Thrill_house]

Yes! The english voice acting reminds me of really bad anime dubs from years ago. I almost busted up laughing at the scene with the shinra president, reed and heidegger during the music video or whatever it was trailer. God damn the english dub sounded baaaaaad

 

[Samawati]

Palmer's been a weirdo who talks about drinking lard, so there's that. But yes, the only one who's selling me so far is Tifa. Barret has sounded atrocious since the beginning, I'm really not down with dominatrix Scarlet and whatever the hell going on with Hojo, and I need to hear more of Nanaki and Teen Wolfiroth before I say anything about them (the latter is a strong ehhh so far).

I also don't think Aerith's voice suits her OG characterisation (but unfortunately...I don't think we're getting that) at all, and the lines at the end sounded absolutely awful. But they also didn't sound much better to me in Japanese, so I guess it's just a shortcoming in the script.

FF voice direction has never been a strong suit (and it's replete with anime gasps), so this is about what I expected. Could be a lot worse. Could be a lot better.

 

[Gardios]

I think it sounds pretty good actually. By comparison, I've been watching Maximilian's streams of Dirge of Cerberus & Crisis Core and man does the voice direction and dialogue of every character that isn't Zack in those games is just so weird and alien.

 

[Chille]

I'm not one to complain about things in gaming usually, so consider this as more of a critique by what's been exhibited in the trailers.

For me, the voice acting is unusually stiff. Even for Jrpg standards. As a jrpg vet, I can say what good English and poor English VA is like.

Not sure what is happening with VII R's voice acting. It seems really stiff. Barrett's line delivery sounds like something out of a Saturday morning cartoon, the execs giving their exchange at the Shinra HQ office (in the latest trailer). Then there was that weird line about butter in the latest trailer (uttered by that smarmy, squat fellow drinking tea). All of which sounded like near b-movie dialogue.

I had postulated if this was intentional a little after I saw the trailer. But I really don't think it's deliberate.

The acting seems uneven to me. Aerith and Tifa sound solid, and Red XIII sounds great. Cloud is sort of hit or miss but I feel like he'll grow on me. I think so far the stuff, awkward sounding voice acting is coming from the supporting cast.

That said, Corneo sounds fine, and the dude at the Honey Bee inn who gives his dialogue to Cloud was actually great imo.

Y'all here the superb VA work that was Dragon Quest XI? Comparably speaking the VII R VAing sounds weird to me.

So it's a bit jarring, you have some of the cast who sound solid, and the rest who sound like an early 2000s voiced rpg.

I hope it's all subject to change and will sound solid in context and with immersion.
What does Era think?

Still going to be great though.

Click to shrink...

What kind of monster would get rid of the butter line? It was in the original too

 

[Kalentan]

It sounds great to me, except Aerith's sometimes.

Another thing to keep in mind is that VA sounds bad in trailers quite often. Sometimes having background audio that is in context makes things a lot better.

Click to shrink...

I was watching a language comparison video for FFXIV with one of the newer bosses and in the video they turned off the music and all other sound effects. It made the dialogue sound a lot more: "Off" then it had before.

 

[Yuntu]

Everyone talks like a child's anime dub. Like 4KIDS early 2000s cartoons. I guess that's just the JRPG genre tho...

Click to shrink...

While it does sound anime (because it is anime af) its nowhere near early 2000s dubs.

 

[Yerffej]

It's mostly on the shitty writing to me, but it is what it is. I'm here for the spectacle and swinging a big ass sword.

 

[Begaria]

The lip synching across all the trailers appears to be 100% accurate, and everyone sounds good to great.

 

[Modest_Modsoul]

Sounds fine to me.

 

[ultima786]

Y'all should watch the leaked demo. The voice work is superb in that.

I think aerith is the weakest performance so far, and it isn't bad. I imagine she'll pull through where it matters.

 

[Cactuar]

The English voice acting in this game is a crime (at least from the trailers, but it's not like it's going to magically change in the actual game). Someone should be fired, but they won't be. A collection of some of my thoughts on the subject...

Also let me add that for what this game means to me, even "pretty decent" voice acting I consider unacceptable. They hit everything else out of the park, to sully that experience with even average voice acting is shameful. Everything must be up to par lest the entire experience can be brought down. Shitty voice acting can take an otherwise poignant or touching moment and turn it into something forgettable at best or a laugher at worst. This is "fine" voice acting for Pokemon or something, but for Final Fantasy VII Remake and the masterclass that it looks like they're putting together in every other department, it is unacceptable to me personally.

Click to shrink...

Dialogue is fine, it's the voice acting that's absolute shit. Which is why I play these types of experiences in Japanese. How it is 2020 and this is the level of voice acting Square has given us, in the age of something like Witcher 3, for such an anticipated game, is beyond me. They literally sound like Saturday morning cartoon show characters from the 80s. But as long as the game is awesome it won't affect me because I'll never hear the English language track.

Click to shrink...

 

[Lobster Roll]

It's a game with AAA budgeting, yet it's VA sounds like it's from an Indie project. It's passable, but miles away from sounding great.

 

[Kyrios]

Sounds fine to me.