Tom McKay as Henry – Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Best Voice Actors of Q1 2018
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a game that might be too ambitious for its own good, and one aspect that suffers because of that, in some instances, is the voice acting. However, this isn’t true for the main character, Henry, played by Tom McKay. Henry starts out as a bit of a putz, a lazy village boy that likes to sleep in and stay up late drinking with his friends. However, he’s still a headstrong young man who holds his ideals close to his chest. McKay does an admirable job of portraying Henry as he grows and matures. He’s a strong central character that keeps the game’s plot moving forward, and despite the rocky start to his character, becomes a bit of a lovable rascal.
McKay certainly has experience with period acting, as he played Jasper Tudor on the Starz series The White Queen.
Xander Mobus as Stocke – Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology
Best Voice Actors of Q1 2018
Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology is a remake that adds a few key differences over the original, not least of which is full voice acting for all of the game’s major characters. Across the board, the voice performances are quality, but the main character, Stocke, stands out. This is partially because he’s the character that simply has the most lines, but Xander Mobus does a great job of portraying the character. Stocke is quiet and reserved, but as he becomes more attached to other characters in the game and his mission, begins to show more emotion.
You probably recognize Xander Mobus from quite a few different roles in games and anime, like the protagonist in Persona 5, Dagda in Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse, and Juzo Shima in Blue Exorcist.
Claire Morgan as Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum – Ni No Kuni II
Best Voice Actors of Q1 2018
It’s not always easy making the main character of your JRPG a young boy, as it’s a pretty typical trope to fall into. Ni No Kuni II, however, manages to do it well. Evan is a vain young man at the start of the game, having almost no experience with the outside world. With the help of Roland though, he begins to grow and learn, as well as form an idea of the kind of kingdom he wants to build. Evan fits perfectly into the Ghibli feeling that Ni No Kuni II goes for, thanks especially to his voice actor, Claire Morgan. Not only does she do a great job of portraying Evan’s young age, she fills the role with suitable enthusiasm and emotion at every turn.
Claire Morgan has a relatively short list of credits in video games, but you’ll no doubt recognize some of them. Also this year, she played Alex in the co-op hit A Way Out. She also played Anezka in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings and Amelia Ruth in Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva.
Kaiji Tang as Detective Pikachu – Detective Pikachu
Best Voice Actors of Q1 2018
Detective Pikachu is one of the odder experiences of this year so far, but its presentation and voice acting is pretty stellar across the board. Particularly memorable is the gruff and tough Detective Pikachu himself, voiced by Kaiji Tang. You’ll no doubt recognize Tang for a few other roles in video games, like the eccentric Owain in Fire Emblem Awakening and Warriors, as well as Munehisa Iwai in Persona 5.
Tang does a phenomenal job of instilling Detective Pikachu with character, imparting a kind of hard-boiled detective personality on the Pokemon. The main draw of the game is seeing Pikachu’s antics play out, and watching his relationship with Tim grow. It really says something when a voice actor can turn a brusque detective Pokemon into a lovable character.
Fares Fares as Leo – A Way Out
Best Voice Actors of Q1 2018
A Way Out is a game about two very different characters that have to come together to ensure their continuing safety. The first part of that equation is Leo, a hot-headed man who isn’t afraid to turn to violence if the situation demands it. As you can imagine, this leads to quite a few conflicts with Vincent, the other protagonist, and both actors present convincing performances throughout the game. Leo is played by Fares Fares, a Swedish-Lebanese actor who has quite a few impressive credits under his belt. He’s played some sizable roles such as Hakim in Zero Dark Thirty, Vargas in Safe House, and Senator Vaspar in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Fares Fares does a great job of portraying Leo in A Way Out, instilling the character with the fire and gumption he needs to get through.
Eric Krogh as Vincent – A Way Out
Best Voice Actors of Q1 2018
Eric Krogh is the other side of the coin in A Way Out, playing the more level-headed Vincent, who basically works as the antithesis of Leo. Vincent almost always tries to avoid using violence, and wants to solve things calmly and rationally. This, of course, only compounds the conflict between the two characters but, just like Fares Fares, Krogh does a great job of portraying his character. Krogh pushes through the exasperation that Vincent often feels with Leo.
Eric Krogh was fairly unknown in the west before A Way Out, although you may recognize his voice from the Star Wars: Threads of Fate fan film, where he played the Stormtrooper.
Takaya Kuroda as Kazuma Kiryu – Yakuza 6: The Song of Life
Best Voice Actors of Q1 2018
Kazuma Kiryu’s story comes to an end with Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, and it’s a fittingly emotional ending for the character. Takaya Kuroda has portrayed the character for years now, all the way since the original game on PS2, barring the English localization of that game. While Kuroda has done a consistently great job, Yakuza 6 is truly a high point. Emotions run higher than ever before for Kiryu, and he has to discover a new side to himself as he cares for Haruto, the child of Haruka. While Kiryu is a pretty stalwart guy, Kuroda does a great job of slipping emotion and vulnerability into the character.
Outside of Yakuza, Kuroda is a pretty prolific voice actor, playing a long list of roles in games and anime. He played Hanzo Hattori in the Samurai Warriors series, Simon Brezhnev in Durarara!!x2, and recently did the Japanese voice for Doloran in Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom.
Published: Apr 6, 2018 02:50 pm