Line #47 HeReallyCanAct/VideoGames


1	* Music/JesseMccartney:
2	** Ask the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' fandom, and most will say that the prologue for ''Kingdom Hearts II'' took a turn for the heart-wrenching towards the end. The sob-inducing performance of Roxas? Yeah, that was the same guy who sang "Beautiful Soul." Same goes for Alyson Stoner (the English voice of Xion) in ''358/2 Days''.
3	** And if you were still unconvinced by Jesse in [=KH2=], then ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth By Sleep]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2 358/2 Days]]'' '''will''' change your opinion.
4	* Georgia van Cuylenberg spent most of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' making Vanille into an overacting {{Genki Girl}} type (admittedly for a reason; her character uses cheerfulness to hide her issues). Then came a little scene on a stormy rooftop in Nautilus. ''Damn'' but she can act an [[HeroicBSOD epic breakdown]].
5	** While we're on the topic of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', there's something to be said about Vincent Martella's Hope. It's very easy for Hope's initial petulance and selfishness to make one view him as an unlikeable character, and to this day, [[BaseBreakingCharacter there are arguments over whether the in-story explanation for his behaviour was sufficient]]. But the actor never fails to ground the character and makes sure that you can empathise with the character. This becomes especially rewarding once his CharacterDevelopment kicks in.
6	* Carrie Anne Moss' stint as a voice actress for ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' and ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' is also noteworthy, managing to convincingly play a very vicious [[TheDon crime boss]].
7	* When it comes to Jack Black, there's his VA performance in ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'' where he combines his silly and goofy character with badassness and a touch of deepness. Then again, there were a lot of instances in that game, especially from the guest stars. [[Music/JudasPriest Rob Halford]] plays both an effeminate BigBad with tendencies for hitting extremely high notes and a deep voiced, [[Music/TheRunaways Lita Ford]] plays a [[TheStoic stoic]] ProudWarriorRaceGuy, [[Music/{{Motorhead}} Lemmy Kilmister]] plays himself to great extent, as does Music/OzzyOsbourne, alongside the fact that [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking you actually hear the latter.]]
8	* Stephen Merchant's performance as Wheatley in ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'' showed off his impressive voice acting skills [[spoiler:and his ability to turn in a [[FaceHeelTurn genuinely menacing and threatening performance]]]].
9	* There's no question that Creator/JenniferHale has talent, but some of her roles arguably did not make the best use of them. Then she was called in to play Commander Shepard in ''Franchise/MassEffect'', a character defined as the galaxy's ultimate badass and an extremely charismatic MagneticHero, both of which she managed to successfully portray for the entire trilogy, with a good deal of unexpected emotional nuance as well, [[VideoGame/MassEffect3 particularly later in the trilogy]] as [[ShellShockedVeteran Shepard became more jaded and weary]]. This earned Hale such accolades as being called the Creator/MerylStreep of the gaming industry and currently being regarded as one of the best [=VAs=] in the medium.
10	** Likewise, her male counterpart for the voice of Commander Shepard, Creator/MarkMeer. While he was criticized by many for being flat and monotone in the first two games, he was highly praised for his performance of Shepard in VideoGame/MassEffect3.
11	** From the same series and game, Creator/SethGreen as Joker. Normally known for portraying comedic characters, he does the same here, until he explains why he acts like a comedian all the time: to keep Shepard sane after all the horrible things s/he goes through. It's a powerful, dramatic moment taking place right after arguably the darkest mission in an already incredibly dark game, and he brought his A-game.
12	* Steve Downes as Master Chief in ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}''. He'd always been good as a VA, but a recurring criticism was that Chief was too flat a character (owing to his being a HeroicMime and so on). The increased dialogue was put to good use by Steve, who manages to steal the show and simultaneously humanise him. It gets even better when [[spoiler:he's saying goodbye to Cortana]] and his voice is cracking, with Chief clearly trying to fight back tears. If that isn't a tear-jerker for the game, what isn't?
13	* Creator/CharlesMartinet as Mario in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'': Mario is usually a happy-go-lucky [[TheEveryman Everyman]], but the surprisingly deep storylines in ''Brawl'' show him as a true battle-hardened hero. When Mario is about to unleash his [[LimitBreak Final Smash]], he delivers his line with utter, barely-contained '''joy'''.
14	** ''VideoGame/MarioTeachesTyping'' was the first real game where Martinet voiced extensive lines and sentences in his Mario voice. Not only is [[FountainOfMemes it memorable]], its legitimately funny and among the highlights of the game.
15	** One of Charles Martinet's roles outside the Mario universe was the [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim dragon Paarthurnax]]. Contrary to the high-pitched voices of many Mario characters, Paarthurnax has an incredibly deep voice and is well-acted.
16	** Another one of Martinet's roles is Fowl Mouth in ''VideoGame/CelDamage''. Fowl Mouth is an avian Chicago gangster from the 1920s with an appropriately deep voice, who, as his name indicates, says a lot of vulgarities. In other words, the exact opposite of Mario. Martinet proves able to keep up with the rest of the cast, who consist mostly of comedy specialists and stand-up comedians.
17	** Charles also played the role of the Homunculus in ''VideoGame/ShadowOfDestiny'', who sounded very quiet and mysterious and gave a sense of uneasiness every time they appeared. Compared to Charles' impression of Mario, who is very loud and excitable, hearing him voicing a stoic and quiet character can be unrecognizable a first.
18	** Voicing Lagerfeld in ''VideoGame/ResonanceOfFate'', Charles got to play a dramatic AntiVillain role as a character who lost his faith in God due to the actions of one of the protagonists, Zephyr, and gives him a heartbreaking speech before they battle about the after-effects of the past carnage, his words a mix of despair and rage.
19	** While he has done full voice acting outside of the Mario series before, as Wario, Charles Martinet is usually limited to grunts and other short voice lines. But in ''VideoGame/WarioWareGold'', he gets to do full voice acting for Wario, and many players consider his LaughablyEvil, LargeHam performance to be one of the best parts of the game.
20	* We always knew Creator/NolanNorth was a good actor, but he was always pigeonholed in the same roles. Then he played The Penguin in the ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries'', where he [[NightmareFuel terrified the audience]] and made him quite possibly one of the most memorable versions of the character... ever.
21	** This is to say nothing of his performance in ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'', [[spoiler:where his character, Captain Martin Walker, [[SanitySlippage starts going batshit insane]] in an epic PlayingAgainstType work, and he gradually becomes so much worse than the person he thinks he is hunting. His performance in that game is truly nightmarish... even better, the developers said that they hadn't chosen him as a case of PlayingAgainstType, just that he'd auditioned successfully. When the developers realise you have the potential to be that creepy and then use it to full effect... damn]]. What's most impressive though, is that you can tell how Nolan North clearly had a lot of fun here, because there's a very good reason as to why ''Spec Ops: The Line'' is his favorite video game (evidenced by him recommending it several times already anywhere he can) and Captain Martin Walker [[CreatorsFavorite is his favorite character that he has ever portrayed]].
22	** Also, in ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', where in another good instance of PlayingAgainstType, North proves his chops as Merasmus the Magician by delivering a performance that's both [[LargeHam ham-tastically]] entertaining and menacing, made even better by how he nails that Creator/VincentPrice impression perfectly.
23	** And then he put any doubts to rest with his performance as David in ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'', where he steals the game from the lead actors.
24	* Freddie Prinze Jr. pleasantly surprised people with his performance as James Vega in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', which provided more nuance to the character than one would initially expect from looking at him and coming from a guy best known for '90s rom-com roles, [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap preemptively helping to rescue the character from the scrappy heap everyone thought he would be in]]. But it was his performance as [[TheBigGuy The Iron Bull]] in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' that really got people singing praises. In addition to showing off a vocal range that nobody thought he had and often being hilarious, it gave a whole new perspective into the Qunari, by depicting one GoingNative, which he managed to capture in almost every piece of dialogue, making Iron Bull a big favorite. His work on Iron Bull's [[SadisticChoice personal quest]] was a particular stand out.
25	* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'''s Creator/JasonDohring. Perhaps he went a little too far with the DullSurprise for most of the game, but at the end of Terra's story when Terra finally confronts Master Xehanort directly, Dohring manages to make Terra sound ''very'' angry, and [[BerserkButton for very good reasons]].
26	--> '''Terra:''' My friend, Ven... You tell me, Xehanort. What did you do to him?!\
27	'''Terra:''' Was [[spoiler:my master-- no, my father, Eraqus]] not enough for you?! ''Leave my friends alone!''
28	** As of [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts02BirthBySleepAFragmentaryPassage 0.2]], the fandom is largely in agreement that Dohring has ''really'' upped his game in the years since [=BbS=].
29	-->'''Terra''': [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tZMsBJK8Y3I That is ENOUGH!!]]
30	* While his performance in ''[[VideoGame/KingsQuestVAbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder King's Quest V]]'' is nothing to write home about, Creator/JoshMandel showed how emotional King Graham could get in the [[FanRemake AGD remake]] of ''[[VideoGame/KingsQuestIIRomancingTheThrone King's Quest II]]''. In a vision of the future showing Daventry in ruins during the events of ''[[VideoGame/KingsQuestIIIToHeirIsHuman King's Quest III]]'', The Father, head of the Black Cloak, taunts Graham during his darkest hour. Mandel gives one hell of a performance, portraying a King Graham being forced to make decisions that would risk the life of his daughter, but save his kingdom. Remember, this is a guy who started out as a comedian before becoming a writer and designer at Sierra before being thrust into the recording booth.
31	* When it comes to Franchise/FiveNightsAtFreddys, one of the characters who is easily loved by fans is Circus Baby from [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSisterLocation Sister Location]]. And Heather Masters is having a blast voicing her. She easily captures the soft voice very well to help fit the animatronic perfectly so players will be scared while playing Sister Location. Every moment when Baby talks is phenomenal and the best times are during the incident of the murder of Elizabeth Afton in Night 3, the starting and reveal in Night 4 and [[spoiler:the entirety of The Private Room in Night 5]]! Heather returns to voice Scrap Baby in Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator and she still does an excellent performance of voicing the broken down animatronic turned evil!
32	** Dave Steele to a lesser but still great extent voices the role of the Cassette Man/[[spoiler:Henry Emily]] from VideoGame/FreddyFazbearsPizzeriaSimulator. And he does an amazing job at showing the man's realization of how much his old business partner has fallen and that the loss of his daughter have caused him to atone for all his failures for not keeping her safe. [[spoiler:And his final speech of the Completion Ending is the finishing touch of the emotion especially since all the animatronics can lift up their spirits and can finally rest in peace]].
33	* Creator/AshlyBurch was most well-known for her web series, ''Hey Ash Whatcha Playing'' as well as voicing high-pitched characters in ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' and ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime''. But when she voiced Chloe Price in ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'', she proved herself as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wDM2xAqVbs an incredibly capable actress.]]
34	* ''VideoGame/StarFoxZero'' showed once and for all that Mike West can still play [[Franchise/StarFox Fox McCloud]]. Then the Switch version of ''VideoGame/StarlinkBattleForAtlas'' cemented it.
35	* ''VideoGame/DMCDevilMayCry'': While the acting in this game is already solid, if not stellar, David de Lautour gets some bonus points during Vergil's Downfall. He can portray Vergil's descent into madness, and fall from grace pretty well and scarily.
36	-->'''Vergil''': Where did he go... Stop running, Dante!
37	** Tim Philips gets a few points in the game's more somber scenes. [[spoiler: Missions 12 and 20 (in the original ending, not the Definitive edition) are pretty noteworthy.]]
38	* ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet'' might be the last game you'd expect to show up here, what with its lighthearted, if not downright cheesy voice acting and script as part of its deliberate NarmCharm throwback to 90s gaming. But when Lilac and Carol have their temporary falling out after Torque is captured by the enemy, it's genuinely sad seeing Carol throw in the towel and quit her best friend. '''Creator/DawnMBennett''' as Lilac delivers some absolutely gutwrenching screams when she's being subjected to ElectricTorture, and crying out Milla's name after she's seemingly killed is nothing less than heartbreaking. Her rage at Brevon is nothing short of a CatharsisFactor after all the hell he's pulled. While there are many critics of the voice direction in the game, few have anything bad to say about Dawn's work.
39	* Creator/RichardStevenHorvitz has always [[Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers played]] [[WesternAnimation/InvaderZim comedic]] [[WesternAnimation/TheAngryBeavers roles]]. In ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'', while not being as [[LargeHam large a ham]] as he is notorious for, his character Raz is still pretty lighthearted. And then you see scenes [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-Q1tNxWGG4 like]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WumAlZ2T-uM#t=265s this]] and it hits you that maybe it's just the littlest bit serious. [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments The littlest bit.]] And he can still pull that off.
40	* Creator/CristinaValenzuela, despite having been cast in roles before (such as ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}''), her role as Velvet Crowe in ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' had her PlayingAgainstType ''massively'', and it was seen as perhaps one of her best performances ever. Those who heard her as Riven from ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' or more "stereotypically girly" characters were shocked at hearing how ''well'' she played Velvet, as demonstrated by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_knpSsCTvDY this]] scene.
41	* Creator/LexLang replaced Creator/ClancyBrown as Dr. Neo Cortex from ''VideoGame/CrashTwinsanity'' onwards. Brown had played Cortex since the second game, and Cortex was depicted as a serious, menacing villain, though he started getting more of a weak, pathetic side in the third game. ''Twinsanity'' focused on an EnemyMine situation between Crash and Cortex, which paved the way for Cortex to become much more humorous. He got praise from critics from his performance as Cortex, and this stuck in the Radical games, despite Cortex going back to being an antagonist, and Lang would repeatedly ham it up. Then [[VideoGame/CrashBandicootNSaneTrilogy the first three games were remade]] after a long hiatus, with Lang reprising Cortex. He brought his tone back down to ''Twinsanity'' levels and played Cortex far more seriously than he ever did before. The result is a more emotive Cortex that still manages to be threatening, and while Lang wasn't unpopular as Cortex before, he became far more respected by the fanbase for his performance here.
42	* Even if the ''VideoGame/SlyCooper'' games have already had some memorable voice acting, Kevin Miller delivers more emotions into his lines as Sly as the series progresses, a stark contrast to the more quiet, monotone voice consistently used throughout [[VideoGame/SlyCooperAndTheThieviusRaccoonus the first game.]]
43	* If anyone loves the Telltale Games then VideoGame/SamAndMaxTheDevilsPlayhouse is the game for you. And if everyone loves the protagonist Sam, then you will be caught off guard by David Nowlin's performance of how much anger the dog is releasing after see his little buddy's brain has been stolen in the [[Recap/SamAndMaxTheDevilsPlayhouse303TheyStoleMaxsBrain usual title]]. It is a sign that you should never, ever piss off Sam if you try and kill off Max!
44	* More like "He Really Can ''Sing''," but Creator/MatthewMercer stunned fans with his performance as Shigure in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', specifically in the ''Heirs of Fate'' DLC. Shigure's more soft-spoken voice is already PlayingAgainstType for Mercer since he tends to be associated with baritones (notably as Chrom and Ryoma, two of his other ''Fire Emblem'' roles). On top of that, Mercer gets several singing lines in ''Heirs of Fate'', including ''the background music'' for the final stage, where he's alongside clips of Rena Strober (who's known for her Broadway singing). He absolutely nails it despite being more known as a voice actor than a singer.
45	* ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'' impressed many on just how much Creator/YuriLowenthal was allowed to show his range off as the title hero. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcbkZkeoaVU He absolutely nails it]] during the game's climax [[spoiler:with his [[TranquilFury quiet rage]] as he realizes that Dr. Octopus always knew his true identity, [[BrokenPedestal his grief]] realizing that the man he once looked up to is gone and has been replaced with one of the worst criminals he's ever fought, and his [[Tearjerker/SpidermanPS4 utter heartbreak]] as he spends one last time with Aunt May in her final minutes before she dies.]] Many fans have praised the game's climax for how emotional it gets, with Lowenthal's performance being seen as a primary contributing factor.
46	* In the 2022 Remake of ''VideoGame/LiveALive'', voice acting is now present in the entirety of the game. And the best one that anyone will always remember is Oersted voiced by Dario Coates. Now don’t get us wrong. While he is supposed to be a HeroicMime, we can listen to his voices while in battle, [[spoiler:it is just the ending where Princess Alethea stabs herself after calling Oersted out after he killed Streibough which is the final nail on the coffin for the protagonist's heart. And he makes an awesome speech on that he will become the new vessel for the Lord of Dark: Odio]]! Seriously! Dario killed it with his spectacular performance!
47	** To the same extent, one of the playable protagonists is Akira Tadokoro from the Near Future chapter. And he is voiced by David Cui Cui who easily fits the character perfectly to act like any JapaneseDelinquent who be. However his best moment would at [[spoiler:the final chapter titled The Dominion of Hate where if he is picked as the main protagonist, he gives a satisfying ReasonYouSuckSpeech to Oersted of all people for his choice to turn to the dark side after his people thought he was The Lord of Dark]]! David, whatever you just did, that was phenomenal!
48	--->'''Akira''': Know what your problem is? You blamed everyone else. Said it was them or gods or fate that made you what you are. But it was YOU! Just you! Yeah, people can suck. We can be selfish--look out only for ourselves. But if you focus only on the bad--judge them at their worst, well... You've already made up your mind, haven't you? Everything else is just an excuse!
49	* Literally everyone in ''VideoGame/NotForBroadcast''. Acting like it really is a news broadcast is one thing, but acting out the behind the scenes moments in-universe makes it even better, especially during the final two broadcasts of Episode 2 where the game takes a very, ''very'' dark turn [[spoiler: with the main anchor Jeremy either being gunned down, committing suicide, or getting arrested, to Advance getting extremely oppressive to the point one of the leaders themselves begins doubting the other]]. Every actor makes it seem like the in-game world is actually real and makes it full of emotion, ranging from comedy to dark, serious themes in a second. Everyone really ''can'' act.
50	** However, even in a cast of near-complete unknowns delivering absolutely ''everything'', special mention has to go to Paul Baverstock, who manages to turn the abrasive and jerkish Jeremy Donaldson into a pitiable and likable character, and Lucy Foley, who comes from a career of mostly music videos to deliver an absolutely ''heartwrenching'' TheReasonYouSuckSpeech towards the end of the game.

Context HeReallyCanAct / VideoGames