Jump to content

FE Heroes English Voice Acting: Ranked


KoolioKenneth
 Share

Recommended Posts

In this list, I’ve taken it upon myself to rank, in no particular order, 20 of the best, and 10 of the worst voice acting performances/choices for previously voiceless characters making their English voiced debut in Fire Emblem Heroes.


Some ground rules for this list:

- No characters who have appeared with an English voice in any other game.

- Seasonal units do not count.

- No voice actor may appear more than once.

- A voice simply being “good” or “bad” won’t cut it. There needs to be something about the voice and how it compares to the quality of work the actor is known for. A certain degree of effort, or lack thereof, is required.

- If a character from the Tellius games has a different actor than they did back in their original games, they may be included.

- This is based on opinion, so you are more than welcome to disagree with me.

BEST:

1. Sigurd - Grant George:
George’s iconic voice and unique intonations made him the absolute perfect choice for Sigurd. He sounds noble and regal, just like he should.

2. Hector - Patrick Seitz:
One of my personal favorites, FE voice director Patrick Seitz nails anything he casts himself into. Hector is no exception.

3. Jeorge - Mick Wingert:
This one was a toss-up between Jeorge and Arden, but Jeorge took it due to having more consistency. Clearly Wingert has no problems adapting his incredible range.

4. Michalis - David Vincent:
The good ol’ voice of Robin proves he can do more as Michalis. He truly sounds villainous in every line he has, and that’s a good thing for a warrior of his caliber.

5. Cain - Taliesin Jaffe (credited: T. Axelrod):
Hearing Jaffe’s energy come out of Cain is a true joy. It reminds me of Owain/Odin, in a way, and that’s never a bad thing. Cain is easily one of my very favorites.

6. Eirika - Kira Buckland:
Surpassing her brother in the VA department, Eirika’s voice is widely considered to be one of the very best the game has to offer. Buckland’s voice oozes with kindness and respect, which couldn’t be more fitting for Eirika.

7. Seliph - Christian La Monte:
I honestly have no idea who Christian La Monte is, but I cannot deny his skill as a voice actor. Seliph and Roderick’s voices sound like freshly-opened butter, and I must give him the credit he deserves.

8. Julia - Cassandra Lee Morris:
Seliph’s younger half-sister also proves to have a respectable voice. She sounds quiet and serene, but clear and with conviction, just as I would expect from the lady who voiced Morgana.

9. Black Knight - Robert Clotworthy:
My favorite character in the game has been blessed with divine armor, a holy sword, and a god-like voice. Though I haven’t heard much of Clotworthy’s work, personally, I cannot deny I would be willing to hear more after this exemplary performance.

10. Maria - Wendee Lee:
Despite having voiced Lyn three different times, I still hold true to the belief that FE Heroes’ Director Wendee Lee’s best voice is Maria. She captures her pure-hearted innocence and youthful energy so well.

11. Arvis - Xander Mobus:
The award for my personal favorite voice in the whole game goes to Mobus’ Arvis. It’s just amazing in every way. Who knew the Smash Bros. Announcer could sound so evil?

12. Klein - Edward Bosco:
Speaking of Xander Mobus, his best friend Edward Bosco did a fantastic job as Klein, perfectly capturing his respectful mannerisms and noble characteristics.

13. Hawkeye - Jamieson Price (credited: Taylor Henry):
Smooth and serene at one moment, powerful and angry the next, Price’s range is explored entirely through one character as Hawkeye proves the breadth of his personality.

14. Nino - Sarah Blandy:
Though the same could be said for Fae and Midori, I adored the childlike, youthful energy found in Blandy’s voice as Nino. It’s no surprise that her “I’ll do my best!” has won the hearts of so many players.

15. Lucius - Michael Sinterniklaas:
Capturing a feminine disposition is no easy feat, but Sinterniklaas did so without any problem. I would consider his best role to be Lucius over Takumi and Niles, without a doubt.

16. Ninian - Brianna Knickerbocker:
Gentle and caring, just like Sakura. But still different and unique enough to be easily identified with the icy dragon girl. Knickerbocker’s role as Ninian is a treat for the ears.

17. Priscilla - Marcella Lentz-Pope:
Contrary to her prior roles as the determined Corrin and Scarlet, Lentz-Pope now finds herself voicing the serene Eturian noble Priscilla. Fortunately, she nails it.

18. Valter - Imari Williams:
It’s weird to think that the guy who voiced the gentle Benny in Fates now voices the crazed Moonstone general Valter. Regardless, he does so very well, perfectly capturing his bloodlust and crazed obsession with battle.

19. Lute - Brina Palencia:
Moreso than her performance as Ayra, Palencia’s role as Lute was spot-on. She sounds deadpan, confident, and somewhat narcissistic, which fits her character perfectly.

20. Dorcas - Kirk Thornton (uncredited):
I am very saddened that Thornton doesn’t get to be properly credited for his fantastic performance as Dorcas. His lines referring the old 2003 commercial are too hilarious to ignore, and his tone in general is exactly as I would expect from the depressed family man.

WORST:

1. Lachesis - Cristina Valenzuela:
This one is one of my least favorites, personally. While Valenzuela has had many good roles in the FE series, like Athena and Tatiana, her role as Lachesis is definitely not one of them. 

2. Karel - Bryce Papenbrook:
Despite his fantastic performance as Oscar, Papenbrook has found himself knocked down a peg when it comes to Karel. I wouldn’t fault him on it, though; it was most likely just a bad casting choice.

3. Nephenee - Julie Ann Taylor:
I like Taylor’s roles as much as the next guy, but her role as Nephenee could’ve used some work. She lacked her shy presence, and her accent didn’t feel natural.

4. Eliwood - Yuri Lowenthal:
He sounds exactly like Marth; there was no discernable difference to me whatsoever. Even Merric sounded more distinct.

5. Lilina - Julie Kwieler:
Lilina to me is one of the very worst. Her insanely high-pitched, squeaky voice wouldn’t sound good on anybody, much nonetheless on Hector’s adorable daughter.

6. Ephraim - Greg Chun:
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Chun’s voice. His performance as Lukas still makes my heart melt. But Ephraim didn’t feel quite right, at least to me.

7. Rebecca - Hunter Mackenzie Austin:
This one felt like a loss of potential more than anything else. While not necessarily bad, I do wish she had a little more personality, especially for a girl described as “helpful and bright”.

8. Gwendolyn - Cherami Leigh:
Gwendolyn sounds exactly like Caeda, and without any of the personality to go with it. This caused Gwendolyn to become generally forgettable, which should never be said for an FE character that made it into Heroes.

9. Mist - Sarah Williams:
After the misery we were put through listening to Mist’s awful voice in the Tellius games, I was hoping for something better. Unfortunately, Williams’ voice for Mist was not a good replacement, making her sound squeaky and too young.

10. Gordin - Max Mittelman:
I simply didn’t feel as though Mittelman’s voice was a good fit. It often sounded like an awkward blend of Gray and Kaden, and didn’t quite sit right with me.


Well, that’s my list, and the explanations behind them. I worked hard on it, so I’m eager to hear what you all think. Any suggestions or comments are very much appreciated. Thanks for reading! - KoolioKenneth

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mae (Cherumi Leigh) is probably my favourite voice in all of Fire Emblem, particularly in Shadows of Valencia. I also give strong nods to the voices for Athena and Arthur but that's just mostly me loving the eccentricities and exoticness of the characters. Damn, I love Arthur.

I love everything Brianna Knickerbocker voices as well (Sakura, Est).

Edited by Vince777
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The good

Narcian: Basically Odin on a power trip, the voice work and artwork for Narcian are firing on all cylinders to portray such an egotistical villain. Leaning directly into FE6's common criticism of cartoony villains, Narcian is a proud "so what?"

Lachesis: The artwork was always the problem. The voice and text dialogue for Lachesis are a spot on interpretation. Drawing her as another little sister healer would honestly have insulted me if I had any love for FE4.

Legion: YESYESYES!

Catria: One of very few female characters not trying to sound like children. And that makes her a valuable respite

Summer Xander: The voicework is definitely selling it better than the Spring interpretation if you ask me. The Tap! line about writing a list of beach babes slays me. I often hear people mis-attribute the various Xanders as having been done by different voice actors, but nope, it's just one dude having a lot of fun with this one character.

Sakura, Charlotte, Ninian, and Est. All great portrayals, and all the same actress - impressive tonal range.

The not so good

Cain: While I do like over-the-top performances in general, this is not Cain. While Cain is generally portrayed as the fiery counterpart to Abel's level head, he's far away from the bombastic characters of later titles. When I hear Cain's lines, I'm actually imagining them coming from Kieran.

Zephiel and Michalis. Part of the reason I love FE Heroes is being able to play as these villain characters. Maybe the dialogue writing is to blame more than the delivery, but I just don't believe that Zephiel and Michalis would say half the things they do in the Tap! voice clips. Voice cracks when making threats to the player? I don't buy it.

Laslow: This actor's british accent sometimes comes off as a surfer bro when I hear it. And as a Californian, I've heard every bad surfer impression.

Peri: Peri is a hard character to believe in this game, as well as in Fates. But I remember getting a real kick out of some quips in Fates, like the "Yay, Violence ~" when battle starts with her as a pair up partner. This new actress just isn't hitting that same level of surrealism for me.

Soleil: I didn't recruit most of the Fates brats, so is this how she sounded in that game? I can't stand it. The only good thing about her voice is affirming what I always pegged as the correct pronunciation of her name. Her freaky personality would fit right in with the Cirque de Soleil if you ask me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, Glennstavos said:

The only good thing about her voice is affirming what I always pegged as the correct pronunciation of her name.

It's how the Japanese intends it to be pronounced. Rhymes with "Marseille".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, Glennstavos said:

Soleil: I didn't recruit most of the Fates brats, so is this how she sounded in that game? I can't stand it. The only good thing about her voice is affirming what I always pegged as the correct pronunciation of her name. Her freaky personality would fit right in with the Cirque de Soleil if you ask me.

Actually it's a different VA from Fates.

I think this one from Heroes used to do female Robin in Awakening?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Glennstavos said:

K.

It's not a Japanese word tho

Katakana is purely phonetic, meaning pronunciation is determinate. "Marseille" isn't an English word, either, but we have a pronunciation in English.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, mcsilas said:

Actually it's a different VA from Fates.

I think this one from Heroes used to do female Robin in Awakening?

Michelle Ruff was also Noire in Awakening in addition to providing two of F!Robin's voice options.

Soleil's original VA, Amber Hood, also voiced Nyx and Candace (the female thief from Midori's paralogue).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Ice Dragon said:

Katakana is purely phonetic, meaning pronunciation is determinate. "Marseille" isn't an English word, either, but we have a pronunciation in English.

I'm not unaware of how the Japanese integrate foreign words. I'm just really confused about what prompted your factoid about the Japanese version when I was complimenting the correct pronunciation of a French word

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, Glennstavos said:

I'm not unaware of how the Japanese integrate foreign words. I'm just really confused about what prompted your factoid about the Japanese version when I was complimenting the correct pronunciation of a French word

I was simply affirming your statement.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It has come to my attention that the problem with Lachesis is not her voice, but her art. At least, that's the consensus among the FE community and the sub-reddits. My apologies; I did not mean to misinform you all.

Edited by KoolioKenneth
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, KoolioKenneth said:

It has come to my attention that the problem with Lachesis is not her voice, but her art. At least, that's the consensus among the FE community and the sub-reddits. My apologies.

Her Japanese voice, art, and personality match up with each other perfectly, though. I'm more surprised at how deep her English voice is, which is probably where the disconnect is in the English-speaking community.

I mean, if I didn't know better, I'd have though she was some collab with the usual moeblob anime with how much she goes on about her dear Eldie. I'd totally watch that if it existed, though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My Best (don't know va names sorry)

Reinhardt/Seth: I could listen to that for hours. Especially now since Rein's on both of my accounts

Berkut: Loved him in Echoes, love him even more especially with all the "teenage edge" quotes that make him more believable as a 17 yr old

Lon'qu: Still badass as normal

Leon: Another Echoes return with an amazing va

Lukas: I could listen to this for days og

Ike: I didn't even know he got a different va

I dont have any worsts right now so I'll come back to this with my worsts

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, KoolioKenneth said:

It has come to my attention that the problem with Lachesis is not her voice, but her art. At least, that's the consensus among the FE community and the sub-reddits. My apologies; I did not mean to misinform you all.

Hey man don't worry about it. She hails from a game most of us experienced through a fan-slation, so it's a little disingenuous to say she's not portrayed correctly.

For all we know, FE4 Echoes will make her the cinnamon roll little sister. I'm sure IS are looking at the game they have to remake and tearing their hair out about the main character not having a little sister in Gen 1. Speaking of which, don't think you're off the hook, Julia.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, Glennstavos said:

Hey man don't worry about it. She hails from a game most of us experienced through a fan-slation, so it's a little disingenuous to say she's not portrayed correctly.

For all we know, FE4 Echoes will make her the cinnamon roll little sister. I'm sure IS are looking at the game they have to remake and tearing their hair out about the main character not having a little sister in Gen 1. Speaking of which, don't think you're off the hook, Julia.

...Ethlyn?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Glennstavos said:

FE4 Echoes

"Echoes" is the first subtitle of FE15. "Shadows of Valentia" is the second subtitle.

In the same manner that "New Mystery of the Emblem" is the first subtitle of FE12 and "Heroes of Light and Shadow" is the second subtitle.

Heroes corroborates the fact that "Echoes" specifically refers to FE15 by having the names of Dark Aura and Dark Excalibur be named "Echoes Aura" and "Echoes Excalibur".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Ice Dragon said:

"Echoes" is the first subtitle of FE15. "Shadows of Valentia" is the second subtitle.

In the same manner that "New Mystery of the Emblem" is the first subtitle of FE12 and "Heroes of Light and Shadow" is the second subtitle.

Heroes corroborates the fact that "Echoes" specifically refers to FE15 by having the names of Dark Aura and Dark Excalibur be named "Echoes Aura" and "Echoes Excalibur".

Nothing stops them from making “Echoes” a series of remakes. Which would be cooler than slapping “Shin” on top of everything. Looking at you, Shin Ankoku no Ryu and so on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, Ice Dragon said:

Her Japanese voice, art, and personality match up with each other perfectly, though. I'm more surprised at how deep her English voice is, which is probably where the disconnect is in the English-speaking community.

I mean, if I didn't know better, I'd have though she was some collab with the usual moeblob anime with how much she goes on about her dear Eldie. I'd totally watch that if it existed, though.

Her art looks really nice, but it makes her a look a little too lolish young than she is supposed to be, and her voice is fine IMO.

The worst voice acting I've seen is probably... Athena.

As for some notable good ones:

- Everything Matt Mercer. He just nails it.

- Reinhardt - he sounds exact like he should

- Gray - the cockiness in his Gray's voice is just so well done.

- Lyn - <3

- Lissa - Sounds cheerful and lively, but also with a bit of loud annoyance to it. I like it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Logos said:

Her art looks really nice, but it makes her a look a little too lolish young than she is supposed to be, and her voice is fine IMO.

The worst voice acting I've seen is probably... Athena.

I find your post ironic given the same VA does both of them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Vaximillian said:

Nothing stops them from making “Echoes” a series of remakes. Which would be cooler than slapping “Shin” on top of everything. Looking at you, Shin Ankoku no Ryu and so on.

I mean, Echoes is probably named as such specifically because "New Sidestory" is a particularly shitty-sounding and undescriptive name. Gaiden is, after all, the one Fire Emblem game without a "proper" subtitle considering for all intents and purposes, the name "Fire Emblem Gaiden" is functionally equivalent to "Fire Emblem 2" or "Fire Emblem 1½".

 

4 hours ago, Logos said:

Her art looks really nice, but it makes her a look a little too lolish young than she is supposed to be, and her voice is fine IMO.

She's about 17-18 years old at Eldigan's death, which is the fourth year of high school in the States or the third year of high school in Japan. Doesn't look off the mark to me. Heck, some of the undergrad summer interns and new hires at work look younger than her.

Edited by Ice Dragon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, Ice Dragon said:

She's about 17-18 years old at Eldigan's death, which is the fourth year of high school in the States or the third year of high school in Japan. Doesn't look off the mark to me. Heck, some of the undergrad summer interns and new hires at work look younger than her.

She looks much younger to me in her art. When I think of a FE character in that age range, I think of Hinoka's design. Maybe it's just the big pearly anime eyes that make me think she's prepubescent., because usually those are found in much (younger-body type) characters. Example being, Sakura, Elise, or Nowi (I know they're not children, but I imagine they were made to look very young, and if not the first two, then at least Nowi.)

16 hours ago, Sentinel07 said:

I find your post ironic given the same VA does both of them.

Lol, I just find Athena's voice acting bad. What does it matter if it's the same actor attempting to do it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Logos said:

She looks much younger to me in her art. When I think of a FE character in that age range, I think of Hinoka's design. Maybe it's just the big pearly anime eyes that make me think she's prepubescent., because usually those are found in much (younger-body type) characters. Example being, Sakura, Elise, or Nowi (I know they're not children, but I imagine they were made to look very young, and if not the first two, then at least Nowi.)

Most of it is because you're comparing art between artists with different styles without taking into account the difference in style. If Est, Delthea, Lachesis, and Mist were the only characters in the game, it's not difficult to pick out the fact that Lachesis is the eldest of them and Delthea the youngest. The other thing you'll notice, though, is that the baseline size for eyes done by Miwabe Sakura is huge. When comparing to art done by different artists, the difference in the artists' baseline eye sizes (among many other features where a baseline can be arbitrarily defined by the artist) needs to be taken into account. My assumption is that most people who say that Lachesis looks younger than her actual age are either looking at her art in a vacuum (in which case the only reference the person has for baseline eye size is reality and any previous exposure to anime) or are comparing her art to that of other artists without accounting for the stylistic differences between them.

Akiyama Mio (K-On!) is the same age as Senjougahara Hitagi (Bakemonogatari), but no one would probably think so if you compared their art in a vacuum. Tohsaka Rin between Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Extra, and Fate/Kaleid Liner (including the different adaptations of each) are clearly intended to have the same appearance (Fate/Extra's is a different person, but that doesn't matter), but have different proportions for facial features in each due to the differing styles (Wada Arco's style also has massive eyes).

As a more extreme example, the Nendoroid style uses extremely stylized proportions, yet once you get accustomed to the style, you can start picking out intended ages (or at least relative ages) despite the fact that everyone's eyes are the size of tea saucers.

 

tl;dr: Lachesis has no trouble passing as a high school senpai in a world where everyone has the giant eyes that Miwabe Sakura gives them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Ice Dragon said:

Most of it is because you're comparing art between artists with different styles without taking into account the difference in style. If Est, Delthea, Lachesis, and Mist were the only characters in the game, it's not difficult to pick out the fact that Lachesis is the eldest of them and Delthea the youngest. The other thing you'll notice, though, is that the baseline size for eyes done by Miwabe Sakura is huge. When comparing to art done by different artists, the difference in the artists' baseline eye sizes (among many other features where a baseline can be arbitrarily defined by the artist) needs to be taken into account. My assumption is that most people who say that Lachesis looks younger than her actual age are either looking at her art in a vacuum (in which case the only reference the person has for baseline eye size is reality and any previous exposure to anime) or are comparing her art to that of other artists without accounting for the stylistic differences between them.

Akiyama Mio (K-On!) is the same age as Senjougahara Hitagi (Bakemonogatari), but no one would probably think so if you compared their art in a vacuum. Tohsaka Rin between Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Extra, and Fate/Kaleid Liner (including the different adaptations of each) are clearly intended to have the same appearance (Fate/Extra's is a different person, but that doesn't matter), but have different proportions for facial features in each due to the differing styles (Wada Arco's style also has massive eyes).

As a more extreme example, the Nendoroid style uses extremely stylized proportions, yet once you get accustomed to the style, you can start picking out intended ages (or at least relative ages) despite the fact that everyone's eyes are the size of tea saucers.

 

tl;dr: Lachesis has no trouble passing as a high school senpai in a world where everyone has the giant eyes that Miwabe Sakura gives them.

I just looked at what other works Miwabe Sakura has done, and yeah now I see what you mean. However, it still doesn't excuse the artists decision to still make them look slightly younger than they are supposed to be, and just stick to his normal style. That's what I'm criticizing Lachesis's art for actually. Est and Lache actually look kind of around the same age to me, and in fact all of the girls are drawn to be about the same height, though Delthea and Mist seem a bit more zoomed in on, or it could just be that the artist wanted to make everything on them bigger. So really there's not much of a difference between the artists other works even. Although then again it is just my perspective so whatevs ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...