Voices got added to theFinal Fantasyseries at a peak point in July 2001. Japan got to enjoy its first major game release with voices viaFinal Fantasy 10on the PS2. North America had to wait until December to experience that groundbreaking RPG.
North America instead got to enjoy the first major motion picture in the franchise that July viaFinal Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Since 2001, most of the main games, and quite a few spinoffs, have had voice acting in them. The following games rank among the best because of good dramatic performances and silly ones as well. They run the gamut as far as taste goes, that’s for sure.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origindoes not have any Shakespearean performances but it does have fun ones. When the game was first unveiled, the name “Chaos” became a meme because it was all over that first trailer. Jack, as the hero, is just so angry about Chaos and that bleeds through into the final product.
The game has a bunch of cheesy performances which is odd because it seems like it wants to take itself seriously as a Soulslike experience. This juxtaposition may be why the performances are well-liked because they feel out of place but aren’t bad either.
Dissidia Final Fantasywas a PSP fighting game that brought most of the main heroes and villains together up to that point. It was the first time a lot of characters got voice actors likeZidane fromFinal Fantasy 9or Bartz fromFinal Fantasy 5. They’re good performances too in what is ultimately a fan service crossover game based on wild fighting mechanics.
Of the many characters in the game, Kefka perhaps takes the cake as the actor had to have been inspired by The Joker from theBatman90s cartoon. From the voice acting to the gameplay, this was a good spinoff for the PSP with surprisingly a lot of narrative.
World of Final Fantasyis also a game seemingly made just to appease the fans. Instead of a fighting game, this one was a turn-based RPG with monster-catching mechanics. Two twins stumble into a collected world ofFinal Fantasyvillains and heroes and they interact with them as the twins try to help save the day.
UnlikeDissidia Final Fantasy, the art style is more cute inWorld of Final Fantasybut the actors as mainstays likeLightning fromFinal Fantasy 13aren’t performing for a kiddy audience. They play themselves seriously in chibi forms, which makes for some good comedy. It’s a light-hearted RPG for all ages.
Final Fantasy 4is one of two DS remakes in the series, the other beingFinal Fantasy 3. Both have good voice acting, butFinal Fantasy 3was new for the West meaning that there was no nostalgia. For longtimeFinal Fantasy 4fans, it was a treatto hear Cecil, Kain, Rosa, Rydia, and so many others speak.
Square Enix helped compact a lot of audio into that cartridge which is great as the game relatively sounded good on the DS and the acting was solid too. It’s just a shame the other early entries in the series didn’t get this DS remake treatment.
Final Fantasy 10is the first mainline game to include voice acting and it was a big leap forward for the series. While the performances were all generally good for a PS2 game, some scenes became infamous through memes. Tidus laughing like a fool is one of them.
That spunky energy fits better in the sequel,Final Fantasy 10-2, which has a better range of acting overall for what the game is. There are serious moments too as the game is ultimately aboutYuna trying to find Tidus. However, the vibe of the world is brighter, making for a more fun world to live in and the voice acting reflected that.
Final Fantasy 7 Remakeis not thefirst time Cloudand the rest of the cast got voices. There wasFinal Fantasy 7: Advent Children,Kingdom Hearts, and other mixed media. This was a remake though, going back to the origins of the characters. Square Enix put a lot of money into it from the graphics to the gameplay to the voice acting.
Everything thankfully came together in the end. Every character is great but Aerith and Jessie truly sing as the game helped define their characters better.Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthis great too as the second part in this remake trilogy with Cid being the standout performance from that adventure.
The games that came before this were all drawing from Saturday Morning Cartoons or anime for their voice performances which was fine. However,Final Fantasy 12truly upped the class of the franchise by having most performances be based around British accents. There were some Gaelic and American accents too to help build the world, just like theStar Warsfranchise.
With the mixed races, airships, and diverse environments,Ivalice truly felt like a lived-in world. Some standouts include Balthier who was a great Han Solo-type character while his partner, Fran, was a slinkier version of Chewbacca who could do more than gargle growling noises.
Final Fantasy 16narratively felt like a continuation ofFinal Fantasy 12. The only difference was thatFinal Fantasy 16’sworld was darker, literally, as the world was dying due to greed. The voice acting reflected this dire circumstance with Ben Starr giving a robust performance as Clive, the main protagonist. Ralph Ineson asCid was also excellent, as he always is in live-action content.
This game feels like it needs the actors to be called out like this because they all gave 110%. They knew Square Enix wantedFinal Fantasy 16to beGame of Thronesand it certainly came close thematically. It was bloody and dramatic, and there were plenty of tear-jerking moments too.
