The best video game characters manage to last the test of time. While some of the most famous ones have been largely mute, likeThe Legend of Zelda’s Link orHalf-Life’s Gordon Freeman, a good vocal performance can go a long way in defining the character.
Related:Game Characters That Have Had Multiple Voice Actors
While somevoice actorshave made their characters iconic, they haven’t always played the character. For one reason or another, they’ve had alternate versions that required a different performer in the booth.
7Batman
ObviouslyBatmandidn’t start off as a video game character. But he has appeared in a lot of them since the days of the ZX Spectrum and the NES. While some of them have been good, the best Bat-games are theBatman: Arkhamseries. They had the Dark Knight’s most famous voice actor,the late Kevin Conroy, reprise his role from the Animated Series for all 3 of the mainline games fromArkham AsylumtoArkham Knight.
However, the prequelArkham Originsand its 3DS sequelArkham Origins Blackgateneeded someone else to do a younger take on the Bat. They found him in Roger Craig Smith, best known for voicing Chris Redfield in theResident Evilgames. He’d later return to the role for theBatman Unlimitedseries, theBatman Ninjamovie, andSuperman: Red Son.
6Ratatoskr
Everyone jokes about Troy Baker being in nearlyevery role under the sun, but they’re made for a reason. This won’t be the last time his name turns up. First off, he was primarily in the 2018God of Wargame as Thor’s son Magni. He also provided funny quips for Atreus’ spirit squirrel Ratatoskr as he dug for pickups.
He reprized the role forGod of War: Ragnarökwith a difference. His Ratatoskr isn’t the same as the actual squirrel creature from Norse mythology. He’s just a ghostly recreation made from Atreus' magic. The real Ratatoskr inRagnarökis voiced by ‘ProZD’ SungWon Cho, the man behind Hyodo inAggretsukoand Tesso inLost Judgment. He’s just as much of a smart Alec, while being more tangible than his Baker-based apparition.
5Kratos
Sticking withGod of War, its leading man Kratos was originally voiced by TC Nelson across the classic Greek games andhis guest appearances. He really captured the character’s barely suppressed rage and occasional sense of melancholy. Christopher Judge continued this angle for the character in the Norse games too, making him more weary and reflective.
Related:God of War: Other Characters Voiced by Kratos' Voice Actors
What might not be well known is that he was also voiced by Antony Del Rio (of Pit fromKid Icarusfame) forGod of War: Ghost of Sparta’s flashbacks to his childhood. It showed he was just as angry as a child. Though without his scar and tattoos, he looked more likeBully’s Jimmy Hopkins than a god of war.
4Nathan Drake
Likewise, Sony’s other big star from theUnchartedseries is synonymous with Nolan North. He’s voiced the character in everything from the mainline series toPlayStation All-Stars Battle Royaleand the Subway commercials. That’s not to mention his cheeky cameo in theUnchartedmovie. Still, like Kratos, the role has occasionally required a younger actor to voice the character for flashbacks.
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deceptionhad Billy Unger play a teenage Drake during its opening stages, which showed how he met his father figure Sully for the first time. WhileUncharted 4: A Thief’s Endwent back further, showing Drake as a young boy playing truant from his private school, where he was voiced byAvatar: The Way of Water’s Britain Dalton.
3Revolver Ocelot
Metal Gear Solidoffers up some good examples of this topic’s opposite: the same voice actor playing separate but similar characters. For example, David Hayter and Christopher Randolph famously played Solid Snake and Otacon before playing their dads Big Boss and Huey Emmerich. While Steve Blum used the same voice for both villains inPortable OpsandPeace Walker. However, there is one character who fits the bill: the sneaky multi-agent Revolver Ocelot.
The character’s most defining actor was Patric Zimmerman fromMGS1, 2,and4, who voiced him with a sly, sinister relish. InMGS3, he was voiced bySpectacular Spider-Manactor Josh Keaton, who portrayed a younger, cockier Ocelot who liked to point at people and meow. Then, forMGS5, middle-aged Ocelot had Troy Baker give him a more subdued, authentic cowboy voice, which he would later give to another Western enthusiast:Mortal Kombat’s Erron Black.
2Mario
Charles Martinet has voicingNintendo’s premier mascot for so long that it’s hard to remember when he wasn’t behind the Italian plumber’s set of pipes. While he’s been behind the character for 30+ years now, others have had a go withMario. His earliest VA, Ronald B.Ruben, voiced him in 1991’sMario Teaches Typing, before being succeeded by Nicholas Glaeser forMario is Missing!
Related:The Worst Mario Games of All Time (According to Metacritic)
Marc Graue ofRatchet & ClankandWorld of Warcraftfame gave Mario and his brother Luigi a more Italian-American sound inHotel Marioa la Captain Lou Albano and Walker Boone from the TV shows. If this list counted those and movies as well, Mario would need his own list. Still, they did provide Mario his earliest speaking roles, the first of which was actually done byTransformers’actor Peter Cullen for the 1983Donkey Kongcartoon.
1The Playa/Boss
Saints Row’s Create-A-Character protagonist is unique as, fromSaints Row 2onwards, the games made them different depending on which of the 6-7 voices (3 male, 3 female, and a gimmick option) the player chose. InSaints Row the Third, they could be a hardened London Cockney (Robin Atkin Downes), a Russian woman with a crush on her sidekick Pierce (Tara Platt), or an incoherent, mumbling zombie (Steve Blum).
Saints Row 4went meta by offering ‘Nolan North’ as an option. This isn’t as an in-character performance. It’s just Nolan North as himself quipping about his multiple voice acting gigs while occasionally lilting into his Nathan Drake and Deadpool voices. They could’ve done the same joke with Troy Baker if he wasn’t already one of the default male options.
More:Bayonetta & Other Video Game Characters Whose Voice Actors Changed Between Games
