The Final Fantasy 7 Remake has already left a large impression on the gaming world. Recreating one of the most beloved video games ever made is certainly no easy task. Despite this, Nomura and his team have created a mostly faithful rendition of one of the most highly regarded arcs in gaming. Although Final Fantasy 7 Remake does take liberties with the story, the heart of Final Fantasy 7 is still at the core of this project. Perhaps one of the most shocking ways that Remake articulates this understanding of its source material is in the fantastic voice talent and scriptwriting.
Oftentimes, voice acting in JRPG’s has received criticism for being overly cheesy and much different than their Japanese counterparts. Sometimes, such criticisms are valid, as translating not only the language but the nuance and tone between cultures can be very difficult. The localization of the original Final Fantasy 7 didn’t help Final Fantasy 7 Remake in this regard either. Final Fantasy 7 had an infamously rushed translation, mustering up some incoherent lines such as “This guy are sick” which eventually were ingrained in the game’s meme culture. Despite all of this working against the team, the scriptwriting in Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s English translation is incredibly solid.
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In the modern gaming era, good scriptwriting can be elevated by equally good voice acting. Thankfully, Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s voice cast is nothing short of stellar. Cody Christian’s take on Cloud brings the character back to his roots in an incredible way. It feels as if many would assume Cloud was a bit of a one-dimensional character, given the culture surrounding him and how he acts in the Kingdom Hearts series. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Cloud is a nuanced and complex character in almost every sense of the word. Thankfully, Christian brings all of this nuance out while voicing the iconic swordsman. He delivers lines with awkward confidence that perfectly fits the character at this point in the story. Given this is only the start of Cloud’s arc, the prospect of Christian’s nuanced approach to the character shines a bright light on future Final Fantasy 7 Remake parts.
Why FF7 Remake’s Voice Acting Is So Good
The rest of the voice cast is similarly fantastic. John Eric Bentley’s work as Barret is without a doubt the best voice work the character has ever received. While some early game interactions with him still leave much to be desired, the payoffs during his arc make the rocky start worthwhile. Final Fantasy 7 Remake places Barret more as a father figure to both his crew and his daughter Marlene, and Barret’s interactions with Marlene are nothing short of wholesome, and every time they interact it’s hard to not get teary-eyed.
Brit Baron’s work as Tifa may be the best in the entire game. She brings a gentle kindness to Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s Tifa that was sorely missing from other iterations of the character. Despite Tifa’s amazing combat abilities, many had forgotten how delicate and sensitive she truly is. Baron perfectly brings that side of the character to life. Brianna White’s first voice acting gig was voicing Aerith in Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Despite this, she sounds like a pro already. She captures Aerith’s wacky and chaotic nature fantastically. At the same time, she is also able to pull off the more serious scenes as well. Considering this is her first big voice acting job, she has done an impeccable job.
Overall, many fans were nervous the voice acting in Final Fantasy 7 Remake would be subpar. However, after playing the game it’s going to be hard to imagine these characters without this talent behind them. The thought of these characters expanding and growing even further in a new part of Final Fantasy 7 Remake is immensely exciting.