HellCat
11-25-2006, 07:40 PM
It's been roughly a year since the 4Kids cast assumed full vocal duty on the Sonic series. With their time possibly at an end, I thought it'd be interesting to discuss views on how well or not they hold up
Sonic- This is a tricky one. Ryan Drummond is the face of the "SEGA screwed the original cast" campaign. When I first saw Sonic X I wasn't too sold on the casting but right now I think both voices are about equal. Ryan had clearly become comfortable in the role, pretty much avoiding mishaps like the infamous "Watch out, you're gonna crash. Agh" and I think Jason has likewise become comfortable.
Tails- Tails never seems to get a decent voice. The most recent prior game voice wasn't too good but I'm not completly sold on the 4Kids one either. You can tell pretty easily it's a woman trying to do a kid. She's improved slightly but I think we've yet to hit the definitive Tails voice. His SA one was pretty good though.
Eggman- I think most feel Mike Pollock is the best of the new cast. He does a good job and no disrespect to the man but for me the late Deem Bristow was perfect. It's exactly how I pictured him sounding since I was 5, not the Jim Cummings spawn of satan that various fans insist is his 'true' voice. I think it's a shame that Pollock has been there for some of the weaker adventures. I like the character development but now EVERY game has Eggman as the villain for 95%, only to come crying to Sonic at the end with not a word said. This worked in SA and SA 2 but they really need to just let him be the out and out villain again as he's losing any credibility as a villain, regardless of his voice.
Knuckles- I loved Knuckles game voice from SA 2 onwards. One of the few who could act and act well. His SA voice was a little too light and naive, the recasting corrected all that. So understandably I wasn't too partial to Dan Green initially, who portrayed Knuckles like he was constantly constipated and very angry about it. He's improved since then and is probably the best suited 4Kids voice for the role, but I prefer his predecessor.
Shadow- Shadow's solo game made me a fan of Jason's take. Some people say he makes him sound too 'emo' but I think he does a good job, quite and gruff without slipping into annoying wannabe-bad ass.
Amy- Her original voice made me always think of Fran Drescher. Her new voice is slightly better though the actress sometimes doesn't hit it right (eg in The Last Way in Shadow's game, as everyone wishes him well Amy's "Please, hurry!" always sounds to me a little rude, like she's been asking him all evening to take the trash out and he's ignored her).
Rouge- The biggest hurdle from the 4Kids take- she cannot emote. Whenever Rouge is supposed to be suprised, she plays it as FAR too lowkey. It's close to monotone. The other criticism which most agree with is she sounds like a chain smoking 40 year old porn actress. Rouge's original voice could be a little annoying but she at least sounded the right age and could emote.
E-123 Omega- I'm a fan of the gentle montone voices for the E-series, so I was glad to see that kept in Shadow. Now however we're back to the similar mistake they pulled with Sonic X, with Omega sporting a high pitched "BEEP BEEP. I.AM.A.ROBOT." voice.
Cream- Her first voice, hands down. ANYTHING but the shrill, almost unintelgible voice 4Kids have given her. She's supposed to be a little girl, not a helium addict.
The Chaotix Crew- Again, their initial voices are my preference. 4Kids have given them voices that make them sound more like comic relief characters. Vector's new voice is infamous.
Sonic- This is a tricky one. Ryan Drummond is the face of the "SEGA screwed the original cast" campaign. When I first saw Sonic X I wasn't too sold on the casting but right now I think both voices are about equal. Ryan had clearly become comfortable in the role, pretty much avoiding mishaps like the infamous "Watch out, you're gonna crash. Agh" and I think Jason has likewise become comfortable.
Tails- Tails never seems to get a decent voice. The most recent prior game voice wasn't too good but I'm not completly sold on the 4Kids one either. You can tell pretty easily it's a woman trying to do a kid. She's improved slightly but I think we've yet to hit the definitive Tails voice. His SA one was pretty good though.
Eggman- I think most feel Mike Pollock is the best of the new cast. He does a good job and no disrespect to the man but for me the late Deem Bristow was perfect. It's exactly how I pictured him sounding since I was 5, not the Jim Cummings spawn of satan that various fans insist is his 'true' voice. I think it's a shame that Pollock has been there for some of the weaker adventures. I like the character development but now EVERY game has Eggman as the villain for 95%, only to come crying to Sonic at the end with not a word said. This worked in SA and SA 2 but they really need to just let him be the out and out villain again as he's losing any credibility as a villain, regardless of his voice.
Knuckles- I loved Knuckles game voice from SA 2 onwards. One of the few who could act and act well. His SA voice was a little too light and naive, the recasting corrected all that. So understandably I wasn't too partial to Dan Green initially, who portrayed Knuckles like he was constantly constipated and very angry about it. He's improved since then and is probably the best suited 4Kids voice for the role, but I prefer his predecessor.
Shadow- Shadow's solo game made me a fan of Jason's take. Some people say he makes him sound too 'emo' but I think he does a good job, quite and gruff without slipping into annoying wannabe-bad ass.
Amy- Her original voice made me always think of Fran Drescher. Her new voice is slightly better though the actress sometimes doesn't hit it right (eg in The Last Way in Shadow's game, as everyone wishes him well Amy's "Please, hurry!" always sounds to me a little rude, like she's been asking him all evening to take the trash out and he's ignored her).
Rouge- The biggest hurdle from the 4Kids take- she cannot emote. Whenever Rouge is supposed to be suprised, she plays it as FAR too lowkey. It's close to monotone. The other criticism which most agree with is she sounds like a chain smoking 40 year old porn actress. Rouge's original voice could be a little annoying but she at least sounded the right age and could emote.
E-123 Omega- I'm a fan of the gentle montone voices for the E-series, so I was glad to see that kept in Shadow. Now however we're back to the similar mistake they pulled with Sonic X, with Omega sporting a high pitched "BEEP BEEP. I.AM.A.ROBOT." voice.
Cream- Her first voice, hands down. ANYTHING but the shrill, almost unintelgible voice 4Kids have given her. She's supposed to be a little girl, not a helium addict.
The Chaotix Crew- Again, their initial voices are my preference. 4Kids have given them voices that make them sound more like comic relief characters. Vector's new voice is infamous.