Your thoughts on Sonic's English VAs

[Kuzu]

Drummond is still my favorite. His voice was perfect for Sonic. And his acting... I saw nothing wrong with it.

[batson]

Ryan for me. He sounded energetic and enthusiastic, which is admitatly something that Roger also do, but Roger sounds to much like a jock for my tastes. Jason just sounded... flat, somehow, like Sonic didn't really have anything in his mind while speaking.

[Djawed]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVVVudAV1IQ

I just dont get how this is bad acting...

You know, that sounds actually really good and I havent ever been really on any side with the VA debate. Usually I don't even bother lol.

I am happy with roger craig smith, but then again I don't care much about voice acting, especially now we have a mute c.sonic back. But ryan drummonds voice just naturally suits sonic really well in a weird way. It's just that it feels as if he got worse in sonic heroes. It might have been the script maybe, but he's defenitly better than jason griffith, which I personally think is a bad voice actor in genral.

Edited July 21, 2011 by Jaouad

[Ducktor Naldush]

Well, to be honest, I like Jason. I mean, sure, his voice sounded off sometimes, but it was perfect for Sonic. In Sonic & Black Knight, he was amazing.

Now, Roger, on the other hand, is certainly a good voice actor, I can't deny that, but I don't hear Sonic in his voice. Maybe is the deep voice.

Ryan is a difficult case for me. I liked some of his lines in Sonic Adventure 2, but his performance in Sonic Heroes was forgettable, to say the least.

[Pawn]

I don't have a problem with any of them, but I always find a change of voice actors jarring at first. It's a shame because they tend to get better over time.

[ChikaBoing]

Personally I didn't even notice the VA change when Shadow the Hedgehog came out...other than Rouge, ugh.

[CobaltBlue]

Roger is god

fucking ezio, sonic, and CHRRIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSS

And Zagi.. though his work for Zagi may not be so popular, I absolutely loved him when I played it myself. Roger is awesome.

[Octarine]

As a general rule, I prefer the 4Kids voice cast over the originals and the current voice cast over 4Kids', with only a few caveats like Maddie Blaustein's baffling Omega in '06 and the decision to give Bella Hudson something like a dozen identical-sounding roles. I feel pretty much the same way about Sonic's voices specifically: Ryan's voice was fine, but his acting tended to be pretty awkward. Jason might've been a little less authentic-sounding, but his acting, especially in Unleashed and Black Knight, was a considerable improvement and I'll never understand where this perception of him as an awful actor came from. Maybe he was really lousy in Sonic X; I haven't seen much of it, so I wouldn't know. Roger's my favourite, though. Yeah, he's maybe a little too deep, but he sounds very natural.

Mind you, half of these issues could just as easily be up to direction or dialogue. I know that I'd find it much easier to read the script from Colours convincingly than I would some of the awkward translations that plagued the Adventure era.

Edited July 21, 2011 by Octarette

[Dr. Crusher]

I like all of Sonic's voices. Even Martin "I sound like a British Male 4Kids Rouge" Burke.

As I've said before, I don't care about voices nearly as much as most people. As long as they sound vaguely fitting (eg: Sonic sounds cool, Knuckles sounds tough but smooth, Tails sounds smart and male, Robotnik sounds evil, etc etc) whilst being unique in their own way, I'll be fine. The only voices I can think of that really pestered me were Emily Corkery's Charmy, Cindy Robinson's Amy and Maddie Blaustein's Omega, and even then that's because the former two both sound like they've been sucking air from balloons, and Omega sounds rather... un-Omega. Otherwise, I'm good with all of the voices. Hell, even 4Kids Rouge didn't bother me that much.

Edited July 21, 2011 by Dr. Crusher

[Shiny Gems]

I do like them all myself, though some voice actors from different times are better in some areas than voice actors from other times, like some of the VAs of the new voice actors in comparison to the 4Kids VAs and the original VAs.

In terms of Sonic, I like the voice actors Jason (4Kids) and Roger (modern) for Sonic more than Ryan. Despite sounding a bit different from the other two, I have already gotten used Roger voicing Sonic, as well as liking it. Still, Jason was good as a Sonic voice actor. I am sure gonna miss him.

[ClassicHedgehog]

Ryan is and probably will be my favorite forever. I just love the sound of his Sonic voice. The acting may not be the best but still he's awesome. I think his voice with Roger's acting would be ideal.

Jason is definitely a close second. I think his voice is also great for Sonic.

Now Roger I absoulutely HATED at first but continously watching the Colors cutscenes made him grow on me.

I still think he is a bit deep but I guess that's what SEGA wanted for some reason.

Also has anyone noticed that the announcer in those Pizza Hut commercials sounds just like his Sonic?

Martin Burke is prolly my favorite Classic Sonic voice. I don't know why but I like the Irish accent.

And Jaleel White he has got a pretty good voice I actually like him on Classic Sonic. I just can't picture him as Modern so it's kinda odd for Eddie Lebron's fan film hearing it with the modern design but whatever.

[Dejablue]

I liked Jason in Sonic X. Especially near the start. I think all of the hate tumors into one spot known as Sonic 06. Where everybody did their worst.

I'm still indifferent to Roger. He's good I'll tell ya. But I'm just...indifferent. Maybe its the years of VA wars and butt hurt finally hardening like a scab and falling off of my soul. If this change had happened a few years back I would have been doing some internet raeg. Omg I don't like the person I was a few years ago.

[azoo]

Martin Burke will always be my classic Sonic. I seriously can't imagine classic Sonic with any other voice. Well, I could, but it wouldn't, you know, *click* as well as Burke's. His accent, his sassiness, his range regarding emotion is just spot on to what I imagine for classic Sonic's personality. I'm not exactly sure why this voice gets so much hate (I can understand Tails, but this guy? Really?), because his voice alone practically defined how I viewed Sonic's personality in my 90s-laden childhood.

Jaleel White just bothers me. I mean it's alright and all, but his voice is just so nasally and obnoxious at times. It fits the cheesy and silly premise of AoSTH, but otherwise it grated me to death. Probably because I commonly associate his portrayal of Sonic with the westernized "surfer dewd with an attitude" schtick Sonic had in the early days.

Ryan Drummond? Dang good actor, and he holds up as my favorite Sonic under Burke. His voice was a tad too deep in SA1, but in SA2 the tone and feel of his voice was just about right. In Heroes however, his voice seemed to sink into a nasally and obnoxious tone that drove me away from him (seems to be a recurring theme with me). I would have liked Drummond to keep his SA2 voice all throughout his time as Sonic.

Jason Griffith had an... erm, questionable voice. His voice work ranged from decent (SatBK), to really good (Unleashed), to abysmal (everything else, especially Sonic X). My main beef with this voice to me is that it doesn't define Sonic. Instead it defines that Danimals monkey guy from the Dannon yogurt commercials, and over 500 different voices from 4Kids' productions, and then Sonic. It's the exact same voice for everything, which kind of makes him a two-trick-pony, considering his other trick, the "dark" voice, is what he uses for Shadow. I will admit that he got into the spirit of Sonic in SatBK, and I thought his work for Unleashed was quite brill.

RCS? Not sure. Heard him in a random Kinect game, and a game with little good script. Kind of deep for Sonic, but that may just be me needing to fully get used to it, unless he's already changed it back for Generations. He can really pack emotion behind his words though, I'll give him that.

[TwoTailedFox]

Taken from the old voice actors topic:

Me? I personally prefer Roger with Ryan being second and Jason being 3rd.

Jason is good and all, but really, the only thing I ever liked that he said when he was Sonic? That one early cutscene of Secret Rings when, wait for it, Sonic sneezed and he explained he got a cold. No joke. That's it. (Oh I am so gonna get hated for that!) Besides, every time I hear him, he sounds the same.

Ryan was pretty good. I will say he can act, but he made Sonic sound like he was a 23 year old man, at least in SA2. I kinda preferred his performance in SA. Sure, it didn't have the best acting, but at least Sonic sounded more like he was 15 years old. As for Sonic Heroes, um, yeah, I have no idea how to describe that one, other than it sounds like he drank 3 cups of coffee. And Sonic Shuffle? Er, I only heard that like, one time and I don't feel like looking up it up again. So no opinion on that one.

As for Roger, I quite like his performance as Sonic. I really like the voice he gives Sonic: about 15-16 years old and cute. Plus, the man is really good in general. I've said this many times before, but he was really good as Oliver Oken in Hannah Montana: Spotlight World Tour. No joke, he sounded just like Mitchell Musso. (Yeah, I used to watch Hannah Montana).

That's just my opinions though

Also has anyone noticed that the announcer in those Pizza Hut commercials sounds just like his Sonic?

I have! I remember when I first heard a Pizza Hut commercial with his voice, I was like, "That sounds like... SONIC!"

[T-Min]

I'm not exactly sure why this voice gets so much hate (I can understand Tails, but this guy? Really?), because his voice alone practically defined how I viewed Sonic's personality in my 90s-laden childhood.

The voice itself is okay to me, but the acting is a bit...well...STERRRRAAAANGE, ISN'T IT? I suppose it could kind of be blamed on the script like in Adventure, but there also seem to be times where I can tell he's trying to suppress his accent. It's a little jarring IMO.

Instead it defines that Danimals monkey guy from the Dannon yogurt commercials

You could say Griffith's voice is...DANIMALICIOUS! OHHHHHH SNAP!

Edited July 22, 2011 by T-Man

[Dr. Crusher]

You could say Griffith's voice is...DANIMALICIOUS! OHHHHHH SNAP!

[Dr. Mechano]

Marin Burke forever. His acting is hilarious and extremely quotable. It had the effect of making OVA Sonic sound like a rather verbose cheesy superhero at times, which had my full support, just because I love that sort of thing.

[Dr. Crusher]

Marin Burke forever. His acting is hilarious and extremely quotable. It had the effect of making OVA Sonic sound like a rather verbose cheesy superhero at times, which had my full support, just because I love that sort of thing.

Great, now I imagine Martin Burke's Sonic voice saying something like "Cease your insidious pedestrian pickpocketing ways, rabid ne'er-do-well!" Thanks for that.

[azoo]

Great, now I imagine Martin Burke's Sonic voice saying something like "Cease your insidious pedestrian pickpocketing ways, rabid ne'er-do-well!" Thanks for that.

Oh my geez, you have no idea how much I want this now. ;_;

[Dr. Crusher]

Oh my geez, you have no idea how much I want this now. ;_;

"You might be under the delusion that you may spot one's resemblances, but that will prove to be most ineffective, for I have the keen hindsight to predict, with exquisite pinpoint accuracy, of all the fisticuff actions of the very opponent before me! PREPOSTEROUS, ISN'T IT!? HUTUTUTUTUT!"

*moustache twirl*

[Shawn7]

Jaleel White because I got into the franchize through AOSTH.

I still watch that show for nostalgia

[Melru]

Ryan video

....

Jeez, lol, I should probably refresh myself before posting, because that actually was pretty good. >:

Better than Griffith, although I don't know if I still like Roger as much as I used to haha.

I mean, Voice actors were never a huge deal for me, so I never really cared. The only issue I had with Sonic's voice and all the other voice actors was that they seemed to talk... really slow. I don't know if it was just me, maybe it is, but I can understand since they have to make the translations fit the mouth flaps and all.

Edited July 22, 2011 by Melru

[azoo]

"You might be under the delusion that you may spot one's resemblances, but that will prove to be most ineffective, for I have the keen hindsight to predict, with exquisite pinpoint accuracy, of all the fisticuff actions of the very opponent before me! PREPOSTEROUS, ISN'T IT!? HUTUTUTUTUT!"

*moustache twirl*

You make me proud, sir.

Also, off-topic, but I'm not sure why I got down-repped for showing my opinion and not being stuck up jerk about it. Flip, what the zip? Owhy thank you person who posrepped, although my purpose of mentioning wasn't as much for it to be neutralized as it was to have explanation and reasoning behind why it was negrepped.

Edited July 22, 2011 by Azukara

[Nepenthe]

*coughcough* I decided I was going to pos rep you to counteract that before I read your complaint about it.

And in my experience, you're not going to get an explanation from the person who did it. People drive by the rep system whether pos and neg repping and love the anonymity it affords. *coughcough returns to the shadows*

[Amomynous]

Newbie here, yay!

I somehow manage to write an essay on the subject.

I wasn't considering non-game actors until I actually read the first post, but as I have...

Martin Burke - He had a great 'voice' for and the acting was good but a tad inconsistent, I find it much better than his Japanese VA.

Jaleel White fit Sonic's cartoon portrayal perfectly, but really, calls for his return as classic Sonic in generations...just no, it wouldn't fit, ignoring the fact that Jaleel probably couldn't do the voice any more.

Ryan Drummond - He was only 'good' to me in Sonic Heroes (even though he gave him an annoying voice I think it fit)

That was still an incredibly fast improvement considering I deemed him terrible in SA1 and mediocre in Sa2 and ended up putting the Japanese audio on.

I know what you mean by Ryan's voice being incredibly hammy in Sonic heroes,but you have to remember that every line in Sonic heroes is ham incarnate, Ryan's voice just picked up on the feeling the lines already gave,and in Sa1 and Sa2 he could end up being awfully flat at times.

He probably would have been A great Sonic voice actor for further Sonic titles, shame really.

Jason Griffith, poor old Jason, his Sonic X performance was horribly flat (and quite nasal, actually) but what made him actually unbearable where the vocalisations (basically any noise that isn't a word),but some people some how managed to distort 'Jason is a bad actor' to 'Jason is in legue with the devil'.

Come Shadow The Hedgehog, he was developing some tone,the nasal quality had gone, but he also developed a weIrd AccEnt that mAde hIs voIce for SOnIc Infamus, I've even heard some people call it 'the Griffith'.

Clearly caused by Jason affecting a voice that was too high pitched for him, thus he ending up talking out of tune.

Sonic 06, if Anything, Jason's acting went downhill,both Sonic and Shadow, I guess the script isn't exactly motivating (I actually think the acting on the Japanese side went down as well)

Secret rings- He seems to change between the infamous upward inflection and a different American accent, the process carries on through SaTBk, at which point I declare him 'good'

Sonic Unleashed- No more accent slippage, it seems to have found a nice middle ground, the upwards inflection is there but it strikes me as natural-sounding, It's a crying shame he was cut off at this point when it was looking like he saved himself.

Roger Smith, I think,kind of bad, right now, it's flat, but not near as bad as Ryan or Jason on their first try, as with Ryan, I hope third time's the charm for Roger.

I also get the impression Sonic' supposed to be a ham sometimes, but I think it's been exaggerated too much as I think it's pretty much the opposite of cool,doesn't mean it has to totally go, I mean he can't be strutting around showing off all the time.

Edited July 22, 2011 by Mysterics