We Need To Talk About The New Final Fantasy Voice Actors 

Zack’s original voice really makes you FEEL like he’s from Gongaga.

I have to say, Brianna White as Aerith is the absolute definite right choice

The comparison of "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO ANGEAL?!" made me realize how much the casting affects the game

The original voice of Zack really made you FEEL like he was a puppy

Zack’s original VA really killed it. That comparison of the “What the hell did you do, Angeal?” line really does show how important inflections and tone are. Reunion doesn’t have that depth and emotion that the original had. One feels like a friend feeling betrayed, the other feels like a guy reading off a script.

When it comes to the VAs, I like the new voices for Aerith, Tifa, and Barret over the originals. I'm either way with Clouds VAs. I prefer Sephiroth and Zack's original VAs over the new ones.....Especially Zack's.

The loss of George Newbern still hurts me to this day. It's like you found the literal reincarnation of Sephiroth in real life, yet recasted him for the sake of recasting.

The voice acting from Zack and Sephiroth specifically are so perfect that I felt like I watched a dog get shot when I realized that they changed their voices for no discernable reason.

George's voice for Sephiroth was such high quality. So terrifying yet alluring.

Me before the video: The change can't be that bad. Me after the video: Yeah, Sephiroth's and Zack's voices actually hits different.

im soo nervous because Zack's voice over the course of CC changes as he gets older/goes through more traumatic shit, by the end of the game he not only has changed entirely as a character but also *sounds* so much more mature and less naive than he did at the beginning of the game. to me it was something really important that i noticed and made me emotional. i would like for the remake to at least include that but 😬😬😬😬

The Moment I heard the new actor says The Price of Freedom is steep I knew I wouldn’t get passed it. Rick put so much weight behind those words and that journey. He’s my fave ff7 character and it’s because the original Crisis Core.

I love that we're having this conversation. I'm 32 and grew up with these characters. Even so, I never really loved the voice cast outside of George and Rick. I've always thought that Cloud deserved better than Steve Burton. Not to say Steve's awful, but hot take, it takes a better performer to bring out the more colorful shades of Cloud's personality and Cody just... he just nailed it. I immensely enjoyed the performances of the main quartet (Cloud/Aerith/Tifa/Barret) in Remake. Zack... siiiiiiigh. Zack hurts me. You're so spot on with your analysis of Rick Gomez and what he brought to the character. Warmth, strength, conviction, maturity. I'm convinced that Zack's current western fanbase wouldn't be half as large without Rick's original interpretation. No shade to the new actor, but it's a dire miscast and lackluster direction imo.

I strongly Disagree about Tifa. Now, while I was playing OG, I felt like Tifa was childish in a way. But Remake Tifa is more Mature. But I like that change. You could argue that Aerith is more even though she's older than Cloud and Tifa is more Mature. I like this Mature version of Tifa.

Personally I prefer Britt's voice for Tifa because it lends itself to her contrasting switcharoo narrative with Aerith. Those two characters were designed with the idea that one acts more like how the other looks(Aerith looks more timid and shy at a distance, but once you get to know them, those traits fit Tifa). Tifa's voice sounding more assertive lulls you into believe she's spunky and headstrong(when those traits are more akin to Aerith), only for it to be revealed throughout the game that she has more depth to her than just her design(I like to think this peaks in the garden scene). To each there own, though, your Zack and Sephy take is essentially unanimous.

I am SO GLAD I'm not the only one who feels this way. And I got chills when I heard Zack yell, "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO, ANGEAL?!" for the first time. That was solid voice acting. The new VA's rendition of that scene just doesn't cut it.

I like the Cloud’s voice in remake and I do think it’s fitting as a “kinda dorky guy trying to be cooler” but like, Steve Burton just has the right edge to him

Good note on how Zacks new VA sounds like a 4kids version. I got a chuckle out of that one. To me, it just sounded like hes just there for a paycheck and performed the bare minimum. Rick Gomez nailed it in the original. First time hearing Zack in the remake I was laughing on how abysmal those lines were said. Especially towards a scene that's supposed to be emotional.

Cody Christian somewhat grew into the role of Cloud to me, as he really sounds like a younger Steve Burton to me. Briana White was a perfect new cast for Aerith, she really fits the character well and sounds so natural. Tyler Hoechlin as Sephiroth is still strange to me, especially since George Newbern delivered this character so iconically over the past years in different media. He does a decent job, though. There are some in betweens that are good enough that they don't stand out negatively. However, the voice cast of Crisis Core Reunion really has two major problems. First, Shaun Conde as Genesis. The main "villain" of the game, who has a lot of lines throughout the game. Oliver Quinn really gave the character some depth, a concealed anger and hatred, while still maintaining this gentle and elegant tone. Conde just makes him sound like an average arrogant rich kid. And second, of course, is Caleb Pierce as Zack. How in the world can you screw up your main hero's voice like that, while Rick Gomez defined this character with such emotional power and vocal range 14 years ago? Pierce just sounds too flat, too emotionless and just like a bad imitation of Roger Craig Smith as Sonic the Hedgehog. I can understand that Square Enix wanted a new direction with the remake continuity and thus changed the voice actors. However, sometimes, changes are not always for the better, but for the worse.

The “what the hell did you do angeal” line is what made me decide to play this game in Japanese. The original CC I hold close since I was a teen when it first came out, I feel like it’s a huge injustice to zack’s character as a whole. Btw I love the beginning with the Sonic line because that’s what I call zack’s new voice lol

WOAH another perfect video with perfect narration, examples, and coordination and I can't stop laughing at you putting a clip of Zack when saying "to be fair"

You just said what i feel… if they only kept Rick Gomez and George Newbern, i would have never argued with how things are… But replacing such good voices……. Damn Square…..

Everyone in the new cast is really good, but I think certain characters like Sephiroth, Zack, and Reno had voices that were too iconic to replace.

Gomez and Newbern carried Crisis Core amazingly and even in the other games like Kingdom Hearts (Zack hitting on Aqua in particular). I'm playing Reunion with JP voices because it just isn't the same without them. Their voicework is part of the reason why I rewatch all the cutscenes from CC yearly.

im scared about Vincents new upcoming voice actor, i think no one will be better than Steve Blum

The only one I disagree with is Tifa's VAs. I don't find each one necessarily better than another, but the new one in remake fits her story well. She is able to convey the desperateness and loneliness of trying to win Cloud back. If you take into account the totality of the different voices in remake, her lower voice is a nice contrast with Aerith and Yuffie, making each one sound more distinct from one another. However, this quality is not shared when comparing the new Cloud and Zack VAs. They sound more similar than ever at times, when Zack is meant to be mature, energetic, and cool, as you mentioned. For the record, I have no attachment to the old voices, and believe they could have been improved on. If they casted better voices than the originals, then I'd be totally on board.

Younger VAs = less experience (sometimes) = cheaper to hire Is what I took from their shameless change of the VAs

FINALLY someone who gets it!! Fantastic video! While Caleb's voice isn't on par as Rick's, most of the time he just misses the mark. Most of the characters are okay but the original just nailed the characters' voice.

I personally love clouds new voice with Cody Christian, Especially the kind of raspier higher voice with that same kind of aggressive and heavy energy... But I can't agree more about Zack being so much better as Rock Gomez than Caleb Hyles... Rick Gomez is Zack... Caleb Hyles just doesn't feel like a good casting somehow.. or at least just doesn't have enough of that raw emotion. I like Tifas remake voice acting, but at times I don't feel like it has that same bouyancy and often sounds like she's on the verge of tears for unexplained reasons... But for the heavy scenes in remake it really works. Barret's new voice acting is basically an essential, it has range, charisma and power in every word... And the voice actor LOVES doing it. George Newbern really was perfect... Like you can't understate his ability to go from menacing and threatening to being playful in a reserved way. Remake Sephiroth just doesn't have that charisma.

Somebody please mod Zack and Sephiroth's original Voices in reunion.

I totally agree, I don't think I'll ever be able to accept Zack's new voice actor's performance in the remake. And Sephiroth's new voice while not bad, sounds like he's speaking under his breath at times

Zack's new voice is the only reason I'm hesitant about buying the crisis core remake. I'm scared the entire time I play it I wouldn't be able to take my mind off of how different it sounds, leading to it ruining the remake for me.

For me, Cody Christian is the definitive Cloud. I’ve always found Steve Burton’s voice a little weird for him, but Cody’s voice is exactly how I imagined he’d sound. I will say Steve’s voice is perfect for young Cloud though. Britt Baron is the definitive Tifa. I understand your point about her soft voice, but for scenes when she’s essentially parenting Barret and Cloud it just wouldn’t work with her soft-spoken tone. Her new voice is more of a balance and I think it’s perfect. Briana White is the definitive Aerith. This one is probably the most unpopular opinion, but I really don’t like her old voice. It really only conveys the emotion “nice” to me, but in reality Aerith is outgoing, funny and makes fun of Cloud constantly and her new voice is much better for that. John Bentley is the definitive Barret. I don’t think anyone will disagree here, he’s just amazing and his performance made Barret one of my favorite characters. However, I’ve never liked Tyler Hoechlin as Sephiroth. I think he’s too soft-spoken and less intimidating and it just didn’t feel like Sephiroth. But George Newbern embodies him to me. He’s less quiet and more deep, and he’s less monotone so he can convey more emotion. It also varies by game, like how in AC he sounds more like he’s taunting Cloud and he sounds scarier, but for the beginning of Crisis Core he could sound happier or more sad. And it’s a hard voice to do but the fact that it was the first English voice we got (not counting KH) it’s hard to look at Hoechlin as a good Sephiroth. Zack is possibly the biggest miss. One of the reasons I liked him was Rick Gomez’s performance. You could tell he got progressively more melancholy as the game went on, and you could feel him going from happier and goofy to depressed, but still trying to be happy similar to Tony Stark in the MCU. And so having someone else play him who most likely didn’t understand the character and is just reading off a script is very disappointing to me. Specifically the “What the hell did you do, Angeal?!” scene is full of so much emotion in the original, but now it’s just not good. Overall I’m mixed on the remake cast. The main characters are phenomenal in Remake, but Sephiroth and Zack specifically make it hard to say it’s the definitive cast. There’s also characters I didn’t mention like Yuffie, Rufus and Red XIII, but I don’t really have much to say, they’re either slight downgrades, about the same, or slight improvements. Anyways if anyone reads all this just remember opinions are subjective, and if you like/dislike the voices that I feel the opposite towards then that’s great and I’d like to hear your arguments!

For characters like Cloud, you could tell me his voice actor did not change and I'd totally believe you. Maybe Cody's performance sounds a bit more mature and consistent, but he sounds almost the exact same as Steve. For Sephiroth it's a bit more noticeable, like his voice sounds a bit deeper and quieter. It also feels like Tyler is trying realllllly hard to mimic George's voice. It works(?) but it doesn't quite match the bitterness and coldness of George's performance. But what the hell happened to Zack's voice man? Caleb sounds completely different than Rick who knew how to play Zack. And if he had a good new take on Zach I wouldn't mind, but all his dialogue feels either way too grunty, way to nasally, or way too whiney (saying he came out of a 4Kids dub is so accurate).

I'm playing Reunion in Japanese, because Sephiroth's voice actor (Toshiyuki Morikawa) makes me shiver when he gets to be menacing. A great example of this is when he played Yoshikage Kira in diamond is unbreakable, and he had that terrifying monolog before killing one of the crew, and his performance during shower scene gets me every time.

This has a lot to do with Japanese producers and developers not understanding their English's audience or having a grasp of the nuance in English voice acting. I understand changing some people when they grow older or have another situation but why is it that some people like Haley Joel Osment continued to voice Sora who grows older while Kairi who was growing older had her actress replaced?

For Sephiroth, they did replace one Superman for another. As George Newburn has played Superman since the Justice League cartoon and Tyler Hoechlin currently plays Superman on Superman and Lois.

I'm really excited about Crisis Core Reunion, but your analysis of Caleb Pierce's take on Zack Fair is spot on. I can live with all the other voice changes, even if I miss how bass-boosted George Newburn's Sephiroth was. The new cast is incredible, and brought so much life and color to the world of FFVIIR. That being said, it's so tough to accept Caleb Pierce because Rick Gomez's line reads were perfect. Caleb's Zack annoys me, and seems way too eager compared to how Rick's Zack was indeed very nerdy, but he was so charming.

The original "Boy oh boy, the price of freedom is steep" hit me so hard man. It felt like after everything this boy has been through, he became a man.

Zack's VA in Crisis Core Reunion sounds more like a fandub rather than an official dub

Something I notice about Zack’s new voice is that I don’t find myself smiling along to what he says as often anymore. What you said about how the voice adds that cool and funny vibe to Zack is very true, it’s the whole point of voice acting; the life adds more to the personality of the character. So changing the VA without any logical reason just doesn’t sit right with me. I don’t think Caleb’s voice acting is bad, but it still doesn’t feel like the Zack we all know and love. It feels like a great voice actor just casted in the wrong role. Yeah, in short I agree that using the excuse that they needed a younger and newer cast was pretty lame, they should’ve gone for the old voice actors to reprise their roles as most of the fanbase right now are just old FF7 players looking for that hint of nostalgia

I sincerely agree. Voice acting makes such a huge difference and I know it's going to drive me crazy in the new CC.

Read a comment recently that said something along the lines of: It's not that the new VA for Zack is bad, it's just that Rick Gomez was *perfect.* I feel the same way about Sephiroth too tbh... George's voice is so naturally deep in a way that doesn't feel forced. Can't explain it, but it just sounds so natural to how I picture his voice.

I like old Zack a lot better. Sephiroth is passable, but yeah old Seph is more powerful. New Tifa is way different but I still love her. her new strength is kinda cool tbh.

I would pay DLC to have the original cast of characters

I was SO upset by the casting change and it made it so hard for me to get into the remake because I missed the old VA's. I don't mind the change to Tifa and Aerith though, I think that those were well done. I got annoyed by everyone else being recast, but I will say that I think they all did a very good job, except for with Zack. This is just going to take some getting used to I guess. Meh.

it feels good to see so many people in this community understand the importance of WHY this is such a big deal to us. voice acting is still as important as general acting, not everyone fits the character they're assigned to.

Your explanation and the description of this video are on point which is what, how, and why the VA change changes FF7 forever. Ngl, but it's almost like I don't ever want a Remake that does not let the legacy voice cast return nor to string them along to become part of the Remake after Steve and Beau just returned as Cloud and Barret in the FF7R 2015 trailer while George Newbern on the other hand have been trying to get his agents to keep in touch with the Square Enix of making sure he's still Sephiroth, but they've ghosted him only that four years later they were all suddenly replaced out of the blue like that without a prior warning. Hmm interesting situation with what recently happened to Henry Cavill aka live action Superman due to "ageism" not that anybody cared nor feel bummed for him the same way the original FF7 voice cast were bummed they weren't part of the Remake. It's also the same thing that happened to Julia Sawalha aka Ginger who couldn't return for the Chicken Run sequel due to "ageism." From how people don't find it a big deal that they've all been replaced and to quickly turn their backs on them with no sympathy of how they've been mistreated is absolutely questionable and ridiculous. They're all what defines their characters and they're all even attached to their characters for a long time, otherwise, they never would've voiced in every other projects. Ngl, but when I go back to memory lane with the original PS1 FF7 game, I automatically read every character texts with the Compilation FF7 voice cast's voices in my head, and was hoping when the FF7 game gets a Remake, they would all voice act in most of the scenes I was so looking forward to to be brought to life, but sadly ever since the voice change came out of nowhere like that, that's where all of a sudden the excitement for the FF7R plummeted. If you check out Operation Reunion's video called Is Square Enix turning into the next Blizzard, it all makes perfect sense that the CMO for Activision Blizzard Entertainment have mistreated Glynnis Campbell aka Sarah Kerrigan by stringing her along to be part of Star Craft II and then they replaced her with a prolific celebrity like Tricia Helfer and then crazily promoted her to market the fandoms of Battlestar Galactica into the Star Craft II and then never acknowledged Campbell ever again after Campbell had just voiced Kerrigan in the project before the recast happened. If you noticed that the same CMO for Activision Blizzard Entertainment has now worked for Square Enix ever since the end of 2018, it's not so coincidence that around that same time, the secret auditions for FF7R were being held and even Christian stated that he was auditioned for the secret project for the secret character that he didn't even know about around the end of 2018. Since the announcement of the recast at E3 in June 2019, Square Enix has been pushing FF7R to be marketed towards a “new, younger audience”. The marketing team, lead by CMO Heinecke, had to figure out what would be the best way to pull a new, younger audience to FF7R to increase sales and the fanbase. The solution? Hire the young celebrities from ViacomCBS and The CW’s popular teen shows “All-American”, “Teen Wolf”, and “Supergirl”, Cody Christian and Tyler Hoechlin, to headline for rivals Cloud Strife and Sephiroth. So isn't it obvious that the circumstances of the recast for Star Craft and the FF7 voice casts were absolutely similar and comparable? Original FF7 voice cast voiced a promotional trailer for Final Fantasy 7 Remake for Playstation Experience in 2015 and continued to voice the characters in other projects. Was stated in a private press conference held by Yoshinori Kitase that the original cast voiced the whole game. The actors were fired months before E3 without being told why, then replaced with popular Teen Wolf television actors like Cody Christian and Tyler Hoechlin. Square Enix never acknowledged them voicing the characters ever again and only advertised the new cast as the voices of the characters as if the original compilation cast never existed by creating the “the original didn’t have voice acting” slogan campaign, completely ignoring the following 13 gaming titles that did have voice acting like Compilation of FF7(Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core), Kingdom Hearts series, Dissidia Final Fantasy series, Mobius Final Fantasy, and World of Final Fantasy.

Zacks voice to me at least will ALWAYS be rick gomez. It's so bizarre to hear anything less. The difference is most likely some poor directorial decisions, but the thing that makes Zack a joy to follow is that he reacts and sounds incredibly natural, while the new voice voice feels like an anime protagonist. It's not a bad performance, just not the right one for zack :(

The other thing I don’t understand about “reunion” is the change of the buster swords design. I’m pretty sure they just reused the asset from remake because it was Easier. But thats the story of the sword it’s self. In the original the design of the buster sword was supposed to look ornamental. Like it wasn’t supposed to be used just seen with all the small flourishes and engravings. And angel never used it so it never really had any scratches or damage on it. Until Zack gets it and even then, “even though it’s not represent in game” Zack does say that he only uses the blunt side of the sword, in order to preserve the edge of the blade. And it maintains mostly a good look throughout the year that he has it, but then it gets passed on to cloud who proceeds to let it degrade with constant use and mishandling and I would assume causes it to lose most of its luster, even the engraving on the hilt, which would lead to him having to replace it with the metal bar that goes t throgh the middle. Giving it the iconic look but now they just make it look like it always looks like that and it hasn’t changed in over 10 years span. Like the sword history, never really matter to begin with. it’s just always been a huge hunk of metal that cloud swings around.

The original voices are iconic, Steve Burton's ever so slight nasally voice for cloud, the gentle way in which Rachael leigh Cook spoke that portrayed Tifa so well, I swear they better not change Steve Blum as Vincent Valentine, that would be criminal. Lastly Zack... sigh I don't know what they were thinking getting this helium inhaled voiced to replace Zack. No offense to the new actor but if they were going to change the voice cast the least they could do was go similar with some changes, and not take Zacks original voice, the voice of a hero with a gentle carefree tinge, and replace that with this. Also either VA is good here but Quinton Flynn is Reno for me, I miss him in the role.

Thank you Stephanie someone finally can make my argument clear to my friends.

7:25 sums up my thoughts, Hoechlin is serviceable (right down to the comical tradition of Sephiroth being played by a Superman actor) but Newbern felt tailor-made for the role.

How you feel about Zack's voice is how I feel about Roxas' voice after BbS. Even though it's the exact same voice actor, they purposely made Roxas sound exactly like Ventus in KH2.5 and beyond. Back in the original KH2, Roxas sounded like a more mature teenager; completely different from the Roxas we got now.

Sephiroth should’ve been Newbern. You just can’t replicate it. Dude even posted online that he’d even voice him for free. However the option of Japanese voice actors isn’t even a good enough alternative. People love Sephiroth’s English voice more than his Japanese voice for a reason. Toshiyuki Morikawa does him amazingly, but the way he’s voiced is very different from the English. What also made Newbern so iconic in the original game, is how he voiced him as a very sincere person but had a cold exterior until he goes insane. It’s an entertaining transition. Morikawa’s style is more subtle, he voices him like the cool taciturn veteran type and later as a cold, uncaring villain. The approach between the two is very different. Sephiroth’s FF7 Remake voice…he’s obviously not taking either approach. He just sounds like the generic bad guy and even when not evil still sounds overall bland. And the only reason he was cast as Sephiroth in FF7 Remake was because he played Superman (shocker, just like Newbern). From what I’ve heard they replaced everyone in FF7 Remake was because Nomura considers it an AU version of FF7, a retelling if you will. Steve Burton was always very good. And you can clearly hear how innocent his personality is before everything goes crazy. What’s so astounding about the original VAs….they had little voice-acting experience prior to this. Take Cloud’s VA for example, his only notable prior work was soap operas like General Hospital and even Rick Gomez was pretty much inexperienced in voice-acting. But the fact he can mail him down so well….it’s astounding.

I actually greatly liked the new cast. Zack however... is the biggest exception. I am eager to see how they do Vincent Valentine. I cannot imagine his voice as anything other than Steven Blum Edit: Zack is not the biggest exception. He IS the exception. I have literally no problem with ANY of the voice actors except for his

I also really prefer Steve Burton as cloud as well, he used a a slight southern drawl when performing as Cloud that really showed that he's a country boy.

I didn't really grow up with these games, and I'm just now getting into them. Tbh, I think most of the voice actors are great, but I understand where people are coming from and I respect the nostalgia. You're right, Zack's voice is drastically different and I wish they'd stuck with the original voice actor for him, but I can understand both sides.

Thank you so much for bringing attention to this. I have been saying this exact thing since Remake first came out, and to my dismay none of the people I usually listen to for Final Fantasy stuff even acknowledged any of this. How people have ignored the lesser voices of Zack, Sephiroth, and even Reno and Rude have baffled me for two years. Thank you for showing me that I’m not alone in my feelings toward the casting choices.

I agree with every single thing you have said and mentioned. I actually switched to japanese now aswell for Crisis Core bc this pisses me off. Still, I miss the old english cast :( They all made the characters what they are now. Especially the main cast is so iconic, like you said.

Crisis Core was my introduction to the world of FF7. Before that, I had no idea who any of the characters were or where the plot was heading so Zack has a special place in my heart. Playing remake, I was more than fine with all the voice acting... until they got to Zack. It honestly hurts to think that this is how he's going to sound from now on... plus with how different his face looks compared to the way he did before in CC's cutscenes and AC, it straight up feels like a different guy altogether. Great vid btw.

I’m not usually picky about VA’s but replaying the crisis core remake, I can feel it. Even on that genesis and Angeal vs sephiroth scene, I’ve replayed this clip SOOOO many times so I know each line being said and the tone that goes with it, it threw me all they way off when it didn’t sound the way I knew it. I also noticed they play that song in that particular scene so many times In this remake, don’t get me wrong, I love the game, I just wish everyone would of experienced it the way I did, because those VA’s killed it!

Just got recommended this channel and really enjoy it

Hearing a familiar voice is like smelling a familiar parfume or eating familiar food. It instantly brings you back to certain memories and moments you cherish. The character's voices in games should not be changed.

Hey, Wake Up ! Stephanie posted !

I know this video means absolutely no hate on the new voice actors, but as a person who played FF7 for the first time right before Remake came out, and watched Advent Children and Crisis Core after playing FF7 remake, I think most of the voices sound awesome now (not necessarily better in every case), and some of them deserve a lot of praise, like Aerith or Barret (imo). It's true that at first, I thought Zack's new voice sounded better in the remake, but after listening to the comparison I'm not that sure now. I really liked the video, I hope you keep making good content like this 😄

Glad you made this video. As someone who grew up with Crisis Core I would have expected a better recast. No offence to Caleb as I think he is a good VA, he just isn’t Zack.

*APPLAUSE* Absolutely LOVE your analysis!

I knew Square Enix would've originally kept the original FF7 voice cast consistent even up to the Remake projects especially when the original Japanese counterparts were still welcomed with open arms. If it weren't for the super talented original FF7 voice cast, then the Compilation FF7, Dissidia Final Fantasy series, Mobius Final Fantasy, and the Remake for FF7 would've never happened nor would they have voiced their characters for over 15 years. If the shady corporations and the celebrity endorsements hadn't happened behind the scenes, the whole original FF7 voice cast for sure would all still continue to voice their characters today. It's honestly sickening how some people would quickly turn their backs on the original FF7 voice cast after putting reputation and hearts into their roles for many years, and become easily hype blindsided by the toxic media and journalism that pushes the promotion onto the young celebrities who never even heard of Final Fantasy VII nor the characters, had to have formal training of voice acting, and were shoved into the PR marketing gimmick. If you'd ask my opinion, I don't even care what the haters nor the minority say, but ngl Steve Burton is the definitive voice for Cloud Strife capturing his stoicism and enigmatic state like his original Japanese counterpart, and he doesn't even need to try to get into character (just the same way Rick Gomez don't even need to try to get into Zack's character and they all sound good). This time it's a fact, but it's not even his fault he had to follow through director's directions when he originally added his own emotions to the character, but was told by the director, "No! Less, less, less!" And George Newbern is the definitive voice for Sephiroth. He played real well of playing the good and bad guy versions of him. His voice sounds cool, yet so sinister and spine chilling. I know if it weren't for them, Cloud and Sephiroth would never become this much iconic rivals.

I've never played these games, but finding out that Rachael Leigh Cook was the original voice actress for Tifa was a pleasant surprise! She was great in the movie She's All That. Man, time flies!

Love your videos, please make more! You have excellent insight into the topics you discuss and your voice is rather pleasant.

this video is fire, ive been sending it to all of my friends, well done lmao

As someone who's followed the voice over industry for years, there's a number of factors that could have impacted Remake's choice to recast everyone. The most likely outcome would be that most of these voice actors would come with big price tags in the US, especially for legacy voices. And since Square was already taking a chance with doing Remake in the first place, I'm betting they set weighed their options and chose to improve overall quality rather than keeping the legacy voices since the company would have deemed it the least contributing factor to the overall success of the game. But again, it's just speculation on my part. As much as I understand the want to keep everyone's VA intact, I've been enjoying the new takes to most of the new cast. Hopefully in time, their performances will continue to grow and give the FFVII fans a performance to be proud of. Briana White as Aerith and John Bently as Barret have hit it out of the park for me, and though I have reservations on Caleb Pierce as Zack, as this video has pointed out, I am looking forward to seeing how his portrayal of Zack in Rebirth will be played out. I'm willing to give the new cast a chance, as someone who played the OG FFVII in 97'.

Here are my reviews for the original FF7 voice cast. Original Cloud: I grew up hearing his voice, become attached with his continuity in every project he's in starting with the Kingdom Hearts series, then Compilation of FF7, Dissidia Final Fantasy series, 2015 Remake trailer, World of Final Fantasy, Mobius Final Fantasy. His natural voice even matches to his Japanese counterpart voice well even when it comes to going on a path of stoicism and traumatic experiences. From Dirge of Cerberus and Crisis Core, those become the times he wasn't enigmatic which is even more interesting because he usually counts as one of the emo-like characters along with Squall and Lightning in other spin-off games like World of Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts 2 (where he one time teamed up with Squall), and Dissidia Final Fantasy series. For Crisis Core, I like how Steve went for the younger version of a country boy with his own voice and capture how Cloud used to be: shy, hopeful, self-motivated, and relaxed where he was fitful to be a soldier with military training just not yet to the soldier classes level up until Sephiroth turns evil. From there, that's where Cloud becomes traumatized with the experience when his favorite hero who now turned insanely bad destroying his hometown, killed innocent people, hurting Tifa, and betray humanity so now that's why Cloud gets vengeful towards Sephiroth; unfortunately, due to his traumatic experience, his own mental state and his own will were weak. So that's why he was not strong enough to resist the mako poisoning. Because of the mako poisoning, Cloud was able to absorb Zack's character every time Zack does something in front of him and talk to him while he's in a comatose state, so from the start of FF7, Cloud was half mixed with Zack's character, his will, and his memory after Zack's death. For the FF7, they made Cloud become a cool and cocky anti-hero, but it's already a shame they took the chance away from Steve including every original FF7 voice cast to be part of the Remake knowing he'll for sure go to that kind of direction because he stated in few of his Cloud Cameo videos, he originally before did try to add his own thing or emotion to the lines, but his voice director and producers go like, "No! Less, do less, do less!" so he had to go to that kind of 'monotonous-like' path. When first time watching Steve Burton's interviews about his voice work as Cloud, I was priceless when he talks naturally without even acting like Cloud, he still sounds like Cloud as if it's the first time Cloud was out of character not being all enigmatic or dark. When looking at him, holy F, he even looks like Cloud in real life especially with his beautiful mako-infused blue eyes that maybe it'd be a perfect idea he also plays as a live action form of Cloud just like when Matthew Lillard voice of Shaggy also played in live action form of Shaggy. Same goes for Beau Billingslea aka Barret Wallace when he also looks like his own FF7 character. Trust me, when you try FaceApp for Beau and Barret (don't matter which version Advent Children or FF7R) there's no difference at all. Original Sephiroth: Starting off with Lance Bass first since he's technically considered as original Sephiroth, but unfortunately, his run on KH is short-lived alongside with David Boreanaz aka original Leon, and Mandy Moore aka original Aerith due to heavy criticism so some part of me felt bad for them since their performances are really good. However, Lance, tbh, doesn't hit a mark for me even if his performance was too short throughout the first KH game. If they could've expand Sephiroth's part in that game a little more, then I maybe so would've given him another chance. When looking through Lance's previous acting career, ngl, but his acting skills in most of the projects he's in is pretty lacking so it's kinda justifiable why he didn't ever come back as Sephiroth. So oh well at least he tried. Then enters George Newbern for KH2, oh man WOW!! I get the true chills when I hear, "Hmph, did Cloud tell you that? Then he must understand now." and he didn't even need to mimic Lance's voice. And then in Advent Children, I got even more surprised with his super chilling voice with "Good to see you...Cloud!" like I instantly felt the fear and the chills to my spine almost like I feel intimidated. His voice from there was like so hauntingly calm and cool, yet so dark and sinister and that I should shut up when he talks. His voice even perfectly matches to his Japanese counterpart that makes Sephiroth's character to bring in fear to every character he encounters. It's like his super cool voice somehow makes his character, instead of being a love-to-hate type of villain, he's actually a love-to-love type of villain (likeable villain). In Crisis Core, it gets interesting to first time ever see Sephiroth to be on a good side and that they this time let George to add in emotion to his Sephiroth voice since that was the time he wasn't evil yet. From the part when Genesis needed a transfusion, Hollander says Sephiroth isn't viable when he was about to volunteer to be his donor, I first time ever felt pity for Sephiroth after he go "Why couldn't I be the donor...?" Even in the Nibelheim scene, George did an excellent laugh through pain even though we all thought it was an evil laugh when actually it isn't from the part when Sephiroth was asked about his family. After finding out the truth of his origins by Genesis, he went back to being a super villain again (don't mean in a chronological FF7 timeline). This reminds me of his Superman role back in Injustice: Gods Among Us and Superman Vs The Elite where Superman was all bad-guy-like due to the tragedy, like whoa life imitates art. I don't know if it's wrong to say George looks a little bit like Sephiroth excluding the long, silver hair, but his eyes totally resemble Sephiroth's eye color. When you watch him in some live actions roles, he even sometimes accidentally slips out his Sephiroth tone voice. And to add on with your opinion. Original Zack: He has a Sora-like personality with being all naive, cheerful, silly, energetic, friendly, and optimistic, hero-enthusiastic but yet emotional, aggressive, and edgier when it comes to impossible situations like finding out about Angeal's betrayal, "What the hell did you do, Angeal?!", Genesis encounter, forced to go on a mission to track Angeal down, finding out about Sephiroth's betrayal to the humanity, and how many years have gone by after missing for 4-5 years (you get the idea of listing on and on) which is all a very stellar performance. When you hear Rick Gomez in some interviews and the one in GameSpot's RU-vid E3 2012 Bonus Stage video with him and his brother, he talks naturally without even getting into Zack's character (just the same way with Steve's). And to add on with your opinions to mine. Original Barret: He did well with capturing Barret's sense of humor and aggressive personality in Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, and 2015 FF7R gameplay trailer. Not to mention Beau even looks like Barret. Original Aeriths: Starting with Mandy Moore, she's easily amazing. Mena Suvari, her performance in Advent Children is not bad until KH2 her delivery becomes weakened a little bit. Andrea Bowen, she's amazing that her on-voice chemistry with Rick Gomez's Zack is perfectly well fitting in Crisis Core. Every previous Aerith's VAs really did capture Aerith's innocence and kind personality so Idk why this is one of minor flaw Square Enix have done with the inconsistent casting for Aerith. Original Tifa: Her voice captures Tifa's feisty, tough, sensitive, and optimistic personality really well especially from the part when she helps Cloud through with the complicated situations to move forward with his life, for instance when she finds out he had a stigma, willing to help Cloud with her light of hope when fighting with Sephiroth in KH2, working together in Dirge of Cerberus and World of Final Fantasy(though it's a little too short), and in Duodecim where they feel like they felt the connection with each other despite they being on the opposite side, but had to face the inevitable that they're supposed to treat each other like enemies or there'll be worst consequences for them. So that's why I'm fond with Rachael's voice for Tifa and that her battle quotes in KH2, Duodecim, and NT were pretty edgy, feisty, and intimidating. Rachael does even look a little bit like Tifa, and that she does talk naturally like her. So if you'd asked my opinion of who should also play in their live action forms of their own voice characters, that would be Steve Burton as Cloud, Beau Billingslea as Barret, and Rachael Leigh Cook as Tifa (I wouldn't mind if George Newbern can become a live action Sephiroth possibly).

Old cast. Once you hear it, it just fits.

Rather than nerdy I'd say that the new voice makes him sound more callous. He sounds a lot more like a generic action protagonist and is somewhat missing the undertone of Zack's warm goofy kindness and some of the self-reflective inner trouble he develops throughout the story as he matures.

I hope they make a dlc voice pack of the original voices

I believe most of the cast did well enough but zack and sephiroths VAs genuinely captured the characters! It's a shame.. man I miss their old voices so much ㅜㅜ

Thanks. This is perfect

Zack is my favorite character. Was hyped for remakes and CC, but I just can’t get over how badly the new voice actor aligns with Zack’s personality.

Though painful, I enjoy all of the new voices. The most painful ones are really George and Rick. Even as an adult I find myself repeating iconic lines for their characters. Crisis Core is one of my favorite games of all times and I absolutely love the clunky edgy dialogue I grew up with. I’m going to play it in English just to relive the lines, but all of them are going to be bitter sweet. Though the directing for most new cast members seem to pay homage to the original VAs, Zack’s is such a hard miss it’s painful. Every line of his that I loved is ruined. His delivery is plain awful in every line I’ve heard… it’s depressing.

Great video! Your voice is beautiful

I grew up watching my older brother play Final Fantasy 7 on Playstation. When I was older, I loved getting to play that game myself. I was insanely excited when Advent Children came out. I immediately loved all the voices put to each character. And as time went on and I played Dirge of Cerberus and Crisis Core, it just cemented my love for those voice actors. Then the day comes when a trailer for a remake of the original Final Fantasy 7 game comes, and in that trailer, the voices were those from the movie and previous games. It was awesome. But when the game finally comes out, all the voice actors were re cast. And I'm someone that has wanted to be a voice actor since I was 12. I have such respect and love for all the work they do. They brought characters to life in shows, movies, anime, cartoons, etc, etc and I love them for the great work they've done and for the memories they gave me. I'm like you, I'm not here to hate on the new cast, just to say that I do really notice, and miss the old cast. I personally thought the delivery of lines just sounded better coming from the original cast. And most noticeably from Zack Fair. I find his new voice to be the most out of place. We got what we got, but I do wish we could have had FF7 Remake/Rebirth and Crisis Core Reunion with the original voice cast. All the guys and girls did such an amazing job. I will always love what they brought to the characters in one of my all time favourite game franchises, being that of Final Fantasy 7.

Started CCR today and got about 6 hours in. God, I miss Rick Gomez and George Newbern so much...

Zack’s VA change is unforgivable

Thank you for commenting about Mr. Newberns performance, I've noticed that as well, newberns voice gives you goose bumps, it's seriously menacing. 😬

The new voice actors just lack the added character emotion, at times they sound just like they are reading a line, while in the original they voices had a weight that melted away perfectly with the moment. Sadness, happiness, desperation, rage you can feel all those emotions easily in the original voice acting. For some of the parts in the remake, the lines just lack that impact. That is not a problem in the japanese version where the actors can always add that emotion to their lines.

You hit the nail on the head for sure! They could’ve got a lot of the old cast a replay in the new games. Zack’s new voice actor just doesn’t cut it. I really wish they would have gotten Gomez to do Zack again. The new reunion is crisis core essentially there’s nothing different in my opinion other than combat so they could’ve gotten Gomez for sure. I don’t mind some of the newer voice actors for remake. still prefer the old legacy cast. You are 100% right with sephiroth though.

I can asure you that modders will make a mod and bring the OG voices (for only a part of the game since the OG was not fully voiced) into the Reunion on Steam.

God, this just makes me cry. I grew up with those guys, so this brings me so much pain.

Here's a fun fact: George Newbern aka Sephiroth saw this video and totally agrees with these facts regarding the unnecessary voice change.

Can I just say, thank you for making this video. I felt exactly the same way and I’m glad I’m not the only one who felt they should have brought back the original cast.

Thank you for being brave enough to make this video, a lot of people get angry or pull the "who CARES it's voice actors they can be replaced!" anytime english VA's gets brought up. The original cast put a lot of effort and Rick Gomez as Zack really shines. They'll be missed.

Nothing beats the old voice acting...I miss it so much

Woa, until this point I only realized how much I wanted Zack's original VA back. But now I feel the same way about Sephiroth too. T_____T

I think it was once described that Tifa’s voice being lower in the Japanese dub serves as a contrast to Aerith’s voice, which is higher. Maybe that’s a reason for the recast.🧐

I'm so glad you posted. You have such great taste and this needed to be said! I'll have to rewatch your video a few times to get every hidden joke haha

Cloud, Tifa, Barrett, Aerith, most of the cast can stay the same imo. But I ABSOLUTELY am begging S.E. to bring back George Newbern and Rick Gomez. They have such iconic voices that I feel can't be replicated or surpassed. Hoechlin does a great job, but he's channelling Newbern as much as he can and it ends up not giving him space to really go to the extremes. George can do that because it's HIS voice. And I don't think a character as beloved as Zack was ever going to work without a perfect imitation of Rick's voice.

This video just nailed everything on what I was thinking 😂

Considering all the controversy for Zack and Sephiroth VA's, I am skeptical now to hear Vincent's new voice. The voice of Steve Blum really cemented that character and to have someone new replace him will be a challenge.