Voice Actors In The Witcher 3
Voice acting is one of the most critical parts of a video game to me - if it's poorly done, I just can't get into the world the same way. However, another issue is when voice actors change over the course of a series - it can really be immersion breaking. One of the reasons I'm not keen to preorder Arkham Origins (after adoring the first 2 games) is that Batman and the Joker have different - and notably inferior - voices. There was a huge outcry when Hitman almost recast their lead role, and an even larger one with the upcoming switch in lead voice actors for the Metal Gear series.
In any case, as excited as I am for the awesome game that Witcher 3 is going to be, part of me is a bit worried about voice actor consistency. From TW1 to TW2, everyone besides Geralt got a new VA. This is a bit more understandable, as almost *everything* changed from TW1 to TW2 - the gameplay, the art style, the setting, the tone, etc. Thus, the VA changes bothered me a lot less. But TW2's more dramatic story and richer characters really got me attached to the lineup of voice actors, and I worry that some of these iconic roles will be recast. For instance:
-Letho may not return. But if he does, Letho *is* Mark Lewis Jones. His slow, methodical, but quietly brilliant cadence is crucial to the character.
-Philippa, Sile, Cynthia, Triss - sorceresses are essential to the plot of TW2, and with the advent of Yennefer in TW3, it doesn't look like they're going to be any less noteworthy. The voice actresses for these magical ladies did superb jobs at carving out unique identities for each of their characters. I think Triss and Philippa in particular really need to stay the same.
-Iorveth and Roche, obviously, as they are the two characters you spend the entire game with.
-I suppose someone else could maybe do a Henselt, but Radovid's voice actor is just so good, and the character is so essential to the North, that I would be deeply saddened if he were recast.
How do you guys feel about voice actor consistency? Obviously it's not a dealbreaker - I'd preorder Witcher 3 even if *all* the VAs were different - but as someone who is really hoping for TW3 to be that epic 11/10 game that blows open the genre, I really hope for VA consistency.
Voice acting is one of the most critical parts of a video game to me - if it's poorly done, I just can't get into the world the same way. However, another issue is when voice actors change over the course of a series - it can really be immersion breaking. One of the reasons I'm not keen to preorder Arkham Origins (after adoring the first 2 games) is that Batman and the Joker have different - and notably inferior - voices. There was a huge outcry when Hitman almost recast their lead role, and an even larger one with the upcoming switch in lead voice actors for the Metal Gear series.
In any case, as excited as I am for the awesome game that Witcher 3 is going to be, part of me is a bit worried about voice actor consistency. From TW1 to TW2, everyone besides Geralt got a new VA. This is a bit more understandable, as almost *everything* changed from TW1 to TW2 - the gameplay, the art style, the setting, the tone, etc. Thus, the VA changes bothered me a lot less. But TW2's more dramatic story and richer characters really got me attached to the lineup of voice actors, and I worry that some of these iconic roles will be recast. For instance:
-Letho may not return. But if he does, Letho *is* Mark Lewis Jones. His slow, methodical, but quietly brilliant cadence is crucial to the character.
-Philippa, Sile, Cynthia, Triss - sorceresses are essential to the plot of TW2, and with the advent of Yennefer in TW3, it doesn't look like they're going to be any less noteworthy. The voice actresses for these magical ladies did superb jobs at carving out unique identities for each of their characters. I think Triss and Philippa in particular really need to stay the same.
-Iorveth and Roche, obviously, as they are the two characters you spend the entire game with.
-I suppose someone else could maybe do a Henselt, but Radovid's voice actor is just so good, and the character is so essential to the North, that I would be deeply saddened if he were recast.
How do you guys feel about voice actor consistency? Obviously it's not a dealbreaker - I'd preorder Witcher 3 even if *all* the VAs were different - but as someone who is really hoping for TW3 to be that epic 11/10 game that blows open the genre, I really hope for VA consistency.
/>/>
