A character’s voice is a crucial part of their personality and a good vocal performance adds to how likable and compelling a character is. Here are the ten best voice actor performances in video games.
10. Hidenari Ugaki as Goro Majima – Yakuza series
Goro Majima is arguably the most beloved and strongest character from the Yakuza series. His chaotic, unpredictable and often-times hilarious personality are some reasons why. In the games, Majima has two accents: the Kansai accent and the Osakan accent. Kansai accent was his original accent and you may have heard it from Yakuza 4‘s flashback scenes. Hidenari Ugaki is perfect in both these accents. And not to mention the many ways that Majima speaks in, including his “female” version in Kiwami – Goromi, his serious-toned voice which is a few octaves lower than his usual goofy style of talking, and also high-pitched screams and singing. Hidenari Ugaki is a huge reason why Majima is such a great character.
9. Doug Cockle as Geralt of Rivia – The Witcher series
Any Witcher fan can instantly recognize Geralt‘s calm, relaxed and unique voice. Geralt being a superhuman mutant, his voice is way calmer and often even emotionless in many scenarios than normal humans. Sure, he still has feelings but his mutations have rid him of being noticeably emotional in even the most perilous situations. His is a confident voice, which is perfectly done by Doug Cockle. I highly doubt that any Witcher fan could imagine any other voice actor other than Doug doing Geralt‘s voice. His voice is just that iconic.
8. Roger Clark as Arthur Morgan – Red Dead Redemption 2
Many players say that they were originally taken aback because Red Dead Redemption 2 didn’t feature John Marston as the playable protagonist in the story, but this quickly changed. By the end of the game – or rather, a few hours into the game, players understood that Arthur is just as great as John in every way, maybe even better. If you ask many gamers to name their favorite characters, it’s highly unlikely that there will be anyone who will not include Arthur in their list.
Like I said at the beginning of the list, a good voice-acting performance results in a more compelling and likable character. Roger Clark is a perfect example of a VA making a character iconic. Like Hidenari Ugaki, Roger went above and beyond with his voice acting for Arthur. His perfect performance won him The Game Award for Best Performance in 2018.
7. Rob Wiethoff as John Marston – Red Dead Redemption
John Marston is an obvious pick for a list like this. Before Arthur Morgan, the first Red Dead Redemption game’s protagonist’s voice was deeply admired by every player of the game. Rob Wiethoff has a unique voice that perfectly fits John‘s character. In the previous entry, I mentioned that players were taken aback by the absence of Marston as the player character; Rob Wiethoff‘s brilliant performance was clearly a reason why the players missed him so much. Rob Wiethoff even said that he would like to return to the franchise as John Marston again, hopefully in a remaster or a remake of the first game.
6. Micheal Mando as Vaas Montenegro – Far Cry 3
Vaas Montenegro from the Ubisoft classic Far Cry 3 is one of the greatest villains ever in a game. This insane pirate is unpredictable, abusive, cynical, and twisted. He doesn’t have an exact goal; it seems like he kills, pillages, and violates people just for the heck of it.
Vaas‘s model and voice are those of Micheal Mando, whom you will remember if you’ve seen Better Call Saul. Micheal is a great actor indeed, and his magnificent performance as Vaas in Far Cry 3 proved that he’s equally proficient in the voice acting department as well. He reprised the role in Far Cry 6 DLC.
Check out this live-action short film of Far Cry 3 which stars Micheal Mando himself as Vaas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-wn4ytEy-I
5. Jen Taylor as Cortana – Halo
I doubt that there’s any Halo player who doesn’t love Cortana. She’s the ever-faithful companion to Master Chief on his missions to save the galaxy. Jen Tayler’s voice is quite recognizable among gamers because Cortana’s voice is heard in nearly every mission of Halo’s Master Chief campaigns. Because of Jen’s brilliant performance as Cortana, Microsoft hired her to voice the personal assistant, who is obviously named after our favorite AI.
4. Sumire Uesaka as Saeko Mukoda – Yakuza: Like A Dragon
Saeko Mukoda is one of the major characters in Yakuza: Like A Dragon. “Sacchan” is one of the most beloved characters from the game. This is mainly because of her great looks, her “Tsundere” personality, and of course, her magnificent voice. Sumire Uesaka, the voice actress of Saeko is one of Japan’s best VAs.
You might be familiar with her name if you’re an anime fan. In fact, she voiced one of the most popular girls in recent anime: Hayase Nagatoro. Her performance as Saeko in Like A Dragon is stellar, just like her performance with Nagatoro and tons of other characters.
Check out our list of the best minigames in Yakuza: Like A Dragon!
3. Mark Hamill as Joker – Batman Arkham Series
The Batman Arkham series still stands as the best superhero game series of all time. Even after the recent release of Gotham Knights, gamers are still returning to the Arkham series, especially Arkham City. In all three Arkham games, Mark Hamill voices the Joker and he does a darn good job. His clever voice lines are everywhere in these games, from start to finish.
But will you ever get tired of hearing him? Nope. He won BAFTA’s Best Performer Award for his performance as the Joker in Arkham City in 2012 and that should say plenty about how good he is. Also, he voiced the Joker in many other Batman stories, including the animated series.
2. Felicia Day as Veronica – Fallout New Vegas
The Brotherhood of Steel member Veronica is one of the most adorable companions in Fallout: New Vegas. It’s hard to not smile when you hear her clever and funny dialogue. She’s mostly sarcastic and goofy because she’s actually a quite lonely person in the game. Having her as a Companion makes your journey more fun.
Felicia Day is an avid gamer and is perfect as Veronica. She has also written and starred in Dragon Age: Redemption. The reason why Veronica is so popular among the New Vegas community is partly because of Felicia’s great voice, clearly.
1. Keith David as Admiral Anderson – Mass Effect
If you played Mass Effect (you definitely should, if you haven’t) you definitely will remember Admiral Anderson. If not, you will remember him if you hear his voice. Keith David’s voice has so much bass, he sounds wonderful no matter which volume he speaks in. Keith David is a great example of how a character is more loveable than ever when they’re voiced brilliantly.
Oh, and he also voiced the Arbiter from Halo 2. It’s the playable Covenant member. You may also remember Keith‘s voice as Vice President Keith David in Saints Row IV. No matter which character he voices, that character surely becomes loved by the community.
