Sega recasting voice actors for main characters(Sonic, Tails Amy etc)

[AlphaRuby]

1 minute ago, Stasis said:

One option is the Adventure 1 and 2 remakes are real and they've got Ryan back.

Not sure he's been doing much of anything lately though.

According to his BTVA page, his most recent role was the Godfather Part 2 game.

[Marcello]

1 minute ago, AlphaRuby said:

Not sure he's been doing much of anything lately though.

According to his BTVA page, his most recent role was the Godfather Part 2 game.

He seems to do more in theatre.

He did also voice Sonic in a fan made audio drama last year.

[SupahBerry]

10 minutes ago, Kuzu said:

His last game as Sonic wasn't even a Sonic game, it was fucking Puyo Puyo 2 lmao. 

Well neither was Jason's, which was All Stars Racing 1 (Unless reusing 06 lines doesn't count)

 

No matter what happens, Mike Pollock needs to stay or there will be war

[Kuzu]

The last time Ryan auditioned for Sonic, Sega wanted him to leave his union. 

I don't think Ryan is ever coming back in an official capacity to the series, so I'd get that expectation out of our head now. 

[McGroose]

If Ben Schwartz takes over as the new voice actor for Sonic, I'd definetely be happy with that. His performance in the Sonic movie is excellent and I'm sure he'd be fully capable of delivering future high quality voice acting in the games as well. 

I've always been really picky about what I think Sonics voice should be like. I think that Jason Griffith was the best modern Sonic voice actor, but he was really only good past Sonic 06 and even then I admit he was still a little flawed. Before 06, I just really wasnt a fan. Ryan Drummand was alright  (not enough for me to keep the voice acting in English instead of switching to Japanese), but I never liked Roger as Sonic. I liked every single new actor they got for the other characters, but not really Sonic. I can appreciate and respect how much Roger gave to this franchise for the past decade, and he probably could've been more convincing to me if he didnt have to read such poorly written dialogue given to him, but I'm not exactly upset by this change in cast. I'm actually quite optimistic, I'm hoping whoever they get knew to voice Sonic, whether it be Schwartz or someone else, can voice the character in a way we all (or at least most of us) agree with is the perfect choice for Sonic. It's too early to say that Schwartz is my favorite voice actor for sonic, since all we've got from him is the first Sonic movie, but if he keeps it up, then he could definitely take that spot for me.

Best of luck to Roger Craig Smith, who really is a terrific voice actor for the other characters he has portrayed, just not really Sonic, in my opinion. 

[Marcello]

3 minutes ago, Kuzu said:

The last time Ryan auditioned for Sonic, Sega wanted him to leave his union. 

I don't think Ryan is ever coming back in an official capacity to the series, so I'd get that expectation out of our head now. 

To be fair, it's been over a decade. Things and personnel change. They might think differently now.

Though, I don't expect Drummond to return.

Decisions can vary between series, obviously, but did they get union actors for Yakuza and Judgement?

[SaturnWolf]

I had been critical of his Sonic...basically from when I first heard him when they released that Sonic colors cutscene, but it's clear he had a ton of fun with the role and it kinda bums me out, that be it the scripts were garbage or the voice directors weren't paid enough to care, he never really got to, like, do anything but what we saw out of him in Colors? Hopefully he finds success beyond Sonic, I wouldn't mind seeing him come back as Batman at least

If I had to swing a guess, I would say we're probably seeing Ben Shwartz take over. It wouldn't really make sense to go find someone else...but then again, this is Sega, and they're not exactly renowned for their business choices. Jason seems to have moved on from voice acting, they asked Ryan to leave his union, and everyone else doesn't have the range they once did

 

[Kuzu]

4 minutes ago, Marcello said:

To be fair, it's been over a decade. Things and personnel change. They might think differently now.

Though, I don't expect Drummond to return.

Decisions can vary between series, obviously, but did they get union actors for Yakuza and Judgement?

I have no way of knowing which actors are part of a union or not, so its up in the air. But they did replace Laura Bailey, Troy Baker, and Travis Willingham, and I'm almost certain they're all part of a union given the high profile games they're in. 

There's nothing to suggest Sega's policies have really changed. The only way I can see Drummond coming back is if they did in fact intend to remake Sonic Adventure, but there's nothing to suggest that either. 

[Dr. Detective]

I don't like it. The American division needs to change voice directors. Get a new one of those instead.

I did always wonder how I'd feel should this ever happen and it's only sadness and disappointment over here. Yeah, It was a hard voice to get used to. Yeah, there were times where it got a little too nasally. However, one thing I always loved was the attitude and the acting chops. Roger was easily the best voice actor out of the English Sonics we've ever gotten and it really shines whenever he's in something that isn't a Sonic game. The difference is always immediately noticeable to me and it really just highlights how they're not doing a good job handling all the talent they've got.

This doesn't even cover the fact that he's been around for 10 years and is the longest running English voice actor too. They really need to stop playing hot potato with these voice actors. It feels like half the ones in Generations have been replaced by this point. I know Japan highly values their voice actors to the point where they don't replace them unless they either die or need to take emergency leave but it's still impressive that the Japanese cast has been the same since Adventure, even during Sonic X. Of course, Ōtsuka's death meant replacing Eggman's voice actor but again, that's just how it happens. I don't know how Unions work and all that but it's a little hard to care, honestly.

I will also comment on, if Team Sonic Racing is his last game then he'll be leaving on another racing game, which is the same way he started considering Sonic Free Riders. 

[thumbs13]

I'm not convinced that Schwartz will be in the games, but I have a feeling that this was done for movie synergy. If the next Sonic VA is someone doing a Ben Schwartz impression I won't be surprised.

I'll miss Roger, though. 

[Marcello]

Someone on Resetera mentioned this guy from Persona would be good as Sonic:

Sounds good to me.

20 minutes ago, Kuzu said:

I have no way of knowing which actors are part of a union or not, so its up in the air. But they did replace Laura Bailey, Troy Baker, and Travis Willingham, and I'm almost certain they're all part of a union given the high profile games they're in. 

There's nothing to suggest Sega's policies have really changed. The only way I can see Drummond coming back is if they did in fact intend to remake Sonic Adventure, but there's nothing to suggest that either. 

Oh, I was just checking who voiced Knuckles is TSR, and apparently he (Dave Mitchel) is a part of SAG-AFTRA. So, I guess they might be ok with it now.

https://www.sagaftra.org/get-involved/tv-animation/tv-animation-supporters

Assuming it's the same Dave Mitchell lol Wikipedia list hims as Dave B. Mitchel, but says he's part of SAG-AFTRA, but doesn't have the source. IMDB says he was credited as Dave Mitchel in TSR.

[SBR2]

Roger IMHO was the best Sonic voice we've gotten. He captured the attitude and personality of Sonic perfectly and was just so great in the role.

There's a less than zero chance Ben Schwartz is taking over the role BTW. He's way too big a name to be doing Sonic full time. 

Also should point out that there was a rumor going around Twitter a few days ago of a project called "Sonic: Rose" that said there was going to be a new cast and I'm more inclined to believe it now.

[Fletch]

I'm pretty sad that Roger is leaving. I actually liked him when I first heard his voice way back when Sonic Free Riders and Colors came out. I think he truly hit his peak at voicing Sonic during the Boom cartoon show because it allowed for him to display a wide variety of emotions with Sonic. I'm still honestly...a bit surprised that he last 10 whole years voicing the character. Has it really been that long? It's crazy to see how time has flown by so fast. 

In terms of replacements, while I like Ben as Sonic in the movie, I'm not sure if I would like him in the main games. Ben, to me, captured a very playful and childlike version of Sonic that I just can't see going well with my depiction of game Sonic as more of an older cool teen (something I think Ryan, Jason, and Roger all nailed, though, I think Roger actually pushed it much farther into making Sonic come off as even older).

I ran into this video grabbing some voice clips of Max Mittleman voicing Ryuji Sakamoto from Persona 5, and I never made the connection until now but...yeah. Max would do a perfect job as Sonic if he was using his Ryuji voice.

 

 

[Nix]

Shame. Roger knocked it out of the park day one and is easily the best Sonic voice we've ever had.

It's gonna be odd adjusting to another voice after 10 years.

[Ryusuke]

I have a strange relationship with Roger Craig Smith's Sonic. At first, I was all in for him. But, he has lost his charm on me. The voice is too deep, and leans too heavily on the jerk personality and it doesn't do genuine emotions quite well. But, the one thing I appreciated about Roger's Sonic is that he had a lot of fun with it. Sonic Boom is probably my favorite. That show really flexed his comedic muscles and I think I'll remember him as the Sonic that made me laugh. hah So...he may not be my Sonic. But I'm glad he took it with as much passion and fun as he can. Because that's what Sonic is all about.

Yeah...it's probably going to be Ben Schwartz. I liked him in the movie. We'll see how he does in the game, if he gets it. But if its someone else, I wish them the best of luck. And to Roger, I'll see you in Resident Evil hah

[Eurisko]

Gutted.

Roger bought a sense of true character to Sonic. 
It never felt forced or awkward. His work on Boom was phenomenal. I honestly thought Roger would become almost inseparable from Sonic in a similar way we associate Mike Pollock with Eggman.

Roger was the best.

I hope SEGA get someone who will follow his performances well. 

BOUNCEPAD!!!!

 

 

 

[azoo]

Let’s fucking GOOOOOOOOOOO.

 

[Ryannumber1gamer]

I've said it in the status updates, but I really do hate how SEGA have this habit of just destroying the voice cast every so often. Like, random supporting characters - I can understand recasting, like Silver in TSR, I think the only times Silver had voiced appearances before then was Generations and Forces. But literally just removing what seems like the main cast and replacing them every while is incredibly frustrating, especially when it means getting a new set of VAs who will inevitably have to take a year or two to get comfortable with the roles and really understand the characters more.

But I think this is even more of a crappy situation for Roger. The man got dealt a shit hand with Sonic, frankly. He joined the franchise when it was in the midst of a total series shake up to the core, including the voice cast, the writers, the tone, everything, and I think because of that, he never got a great chance to properly show off what he can do with Sonic.

His first games were when the writers had been changed up, and Potac and Graff came on-board, providing possibly the worst writing in the series to date, and Roger's performance sort of just suffered with that. There's only so much you can do with bad jokes and no real plot. Hell, there is some jokes he actually did really well with, and the lines are a bit quotable thanks to that ("There's no copyright law in the universe that can stop me!"), but other than that, ehh.

But when Roger really gets decent material where he can stretch his legs, I do think he was a fantastic Sonic. Team Sonic Racing, the better written episodes of Boom, the Twitter Takeovers - hell even the OK KO crossover, all of them had a lot better writing than what we get within the main series, and I think Roger did really well with all of them. The stuff in TSR where he tries to teach Silver smack-talk is one of my favourite interactions in the whole series, because of Silver's new VA being a better fit for him and playing up Silver's dorkiness, and Roger playing up Sonic's ego, and eventual exhaustion from Silver not getting it, plus the writing being better in general.

Hearing that he's just been kicked out of the series right as the writers have been thrown out, and we have a chance of getting a game with better writing for the 30th anniversary is really crap to me tbh. I think recasting everyone for the 30th anniversary is actually a bit of a shitty move in general, and a hit on whatever game we do get for the 30th anniversary, since we'll get a new voice cast who're gonna have to try get into character very quickly. Even Jason got Unleashed and Black Knight before he had to leave, and those two are arguably the best written Sonic games in the series, so it sucks that Roger had to leave right when TSR was showing signs of better writing.

[Johnny Boy]

Really sad by this news as I loved Rogers take on Sonic. I just hope Mike stays as Eggman since he survived the 4kids cast purge and I really see him as the definitive Eggman voice.

[Cuz]

It's a shame. I never liked Roger's Sonic, and yeah that's not helped by the fact most of his tenure has been on games that practically lack a script, but even under the best of circumstances I can't say anything he's done has stood out to me, and I wish that wasn't case. I want to like him in the role, but I just don't. It's weird, but for once, I'm actually looking forward to hearing a new voice from the Blue Blur. 

[Ryannumber1gamer]

48 minutes ago, Fletch said:

I'm pretty sad that Roger is leaving. I actually liked him when I first heard his voice way back when Sonic Free Riders and Colors came out. I think he truly hit his peak at voicing Sonic during the Boom cartoon show because it allowed for him to display a wide variety of emotions with Sonic. I'm still honestly...a bit surprised that he last 10 whole years voicing the character. Has it really been that long? It's crazy to see how time has flown by so fast. 

In terms of replacements, while I like Ben as Sonic in the movie, I'm not sure if I would like him in the main games. Ben, to me, captured a very playful and childlike version of Sonic that I just can't see going well with my depiction of game Sonic as more of an older cool teen (something I think Ryan, Jason, and Roger all nailed, though, I think Roger actually pushed it much farther into making Sonic come off as even older).

I ran into this video grabbing some voice clips of Max Mittleman voicing Ryuji Sakamoto from Persona 5, and I never made the connection until now but...yeah. Max would do a perfect job as Sonic if he was using his Ryuji voice.

I have to admit, as much as I love Persona 5, and I like all of the Phantom Thieves, it's hard for me to think of Ryuji in the role of Sonic. I think it's because when I think of Ryuji, I think more about how much of a loudmouth he can be, and how - despite the cool teen attitude, he's a bit of a doofus, and tends to be one of the Phantom Thieves who gets the most disrespect (Between the godawful Morgana plot in Okumura's palace, and...

Spoiler

getting beaten down by the Phantom Thieves for saving their lives)

There's some lines in the video where I can definitely agree that he's a good fit (the intro lines/outro lines of the video at least), but I do think there'd need to be a bit more adjustment to Ryuji's voice to make it fit. 

[Johnny Boy]

Well according to Mike on Twitter, he’s still voicing Eggman. So that’s good.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

5 minutes ago, Johnny Boy said:

Well according to Mike on Twitter, he’s still voicing Eggman. So that’s good.

Well, he's playing coy about it, but seems like it:

 

[Johnny Boy]

Wonder if this means Kirk Thornton is out as Shadow. If so then that’s not a big loss for me. Never really liked his take on the character.

[Winston]

This is pretty disappointing to see. Of course, Mike Pollock is my favorite voice actor and I'd be absolutely devastated if they got rid of him, but Smith was a decent Sonic. He was never my favorite, but I'm also really not wanting a major voice actor shake-up again. He did the role well though for the material he was given, and I'm sure he certainly could have shined given better writing. I never did watch Sonic Boom, but I heard that's where he's the best, so I'll have to check it out one day.

If it's Ben Schwartz that takes over the role as many people have been mentioning, I guess I'd be fine with it. I liked him in the Sonic movie, and he's usually a pretty good VA in things like Ducktales. I'd be even fine if they brought back Drummond or Griffith, although the likelihood of that is pretty slim. I'm just hoping it's not another they get rid of everybody thing minus Pollock.