Kingdom Hearts II voicework revealed
by Ross Miller 
{ Feb 8th 2006 at 8:00PM }
Square Enix's latest press release proves their commitment to the Kingdom Hearts franchise: Kingdom Hearts II will have an all-star cast for its characters. Haley Joel Osment, David Gallagher, and Hayden Panettier all reprise their roles as Sora, Riku, and Kairi, respectively. Mena Suvari is replacing Mandy Moore as Aerith, James Woods reprises his role as Hades, and they got the original Mulan (Ming-Na) to do her voice in the game. We're expecting, then, to have no qualms with the game's audio.
Square Enix's statement does not include the entire list, so here is to hoping they kept a majority of voice actors from the original: Chris Sarandon (Jack Skellington), Billy Zane (Ansem), David Boreanaz (Squall), Lance Bass (Sephiroth), and Sean Astin (Hercules).
The game is set for release on March 28th on the PlayStation 2. According to Japanese reviews, this title surpasses the original in almost every way, so it should make any fan of this Disney/Final Fantasy hybrid very giddy, indeed.
The partial list, as denoted from the press release:
- Haley Joel Osment as Sora
- David Gallagher as Riku
- Hayden Panettier as Kairi
- Jesse McCartney as Roxas
- Britany Snow as Namine
- Christopher Lee as DiZ
- Steve Burton as Cloud
- Rachael Leigh Cook as Tifa
- Mena Suvari as Aerith
- Hedy Buress as Yuna
- Tara Strong as Rikku
- Gwendoline Yeo as Paine
- Ming-Na as Mulan
- James Woods as Hades
- Zach Braff as Chicken Little
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Goobers @ Feb 8th 2006 8:21PM
gotta say... nice voice cast.
not to bring up anything bad, but i'm always curious when someone is replaced...
~NX~ @ Feb 8th 2006 8:25PM
No matter who does the voices, I still hate dubs. They should at least leave the option to have Japanese audio with English subtitles.
jakk of guildofIV @ Feb 8th 2006 8:26PM
who the hell decided to have lance bass voice sephiroth?!?!?!
Snogrog @ Feb 8th 2006 8:29PM
...chicken little is in this?
Ross Miller @ Feb 8th 2006 8:30PM
Hey, don't knock lance bass, he actually did a good job voicing in the original KH (it was a small part, but still...).
Sure, the guy was in N'Sync, but can you blame him? "Hey Lance, check this out, sing in a pop group, and we guarantee you that girls aged 15 to 51 will be all over you. Not to mention millions of dollars."
What would you say? I'll dye my hair blonde.
Dan @ Feb 8th 2006 8:37PM
Christopher Lee as DiZ.
AWESOME.That's an awesome choice. He makes a great villan, what with his commanding voice and all.
ener @ Feb 8th 2006 8:54PM
Yeah, KH2 was a lot better than KH1. Tons more to do, it's a bit shorter but... definitely worth it.
I'm a little disappointed that Mandy Moore didn't return to voice Aerith, though.
Brian @ Feb 8th 2006 9:39PM
Yes, but do they have Bruce Boxleitner as Tron?
Telemacus @ Feb 8th 2006 9:40PM
Dang
Brittany Snow is in this game
shes hot!!
Debikul @ Feb 8th 2006 9:47PM
Wow, and why do studios feel the need to hire names such as this to voice characters in a video game? I don't know about you, but I know of many a freelance voice actor that could hand these actors their ass on a plate when it comes to this specific kind of voice job. Someday a game studio might be able to turn a profit when they decide to lose the "well know actor" crap and get cheaper, but better vocal performers.
Doug teh H-Nut @ Feb 8th 2006 10:05PM
Zach Braff and his show rock...but Jesse Mc-Freaking-Cartney is in this? Aaron Carter mkII? Oh dear...
bluebren @ Feb 8th 2006 10:46PM
Snogrog beat me.
Chicken Little? :X
elle @ Feb 8th 2006 11:12PM
B-b-b-but JOHNNY DEPP? WHERE IS THE JOHNNY DEPP?
Seroth @ Feb 8th 2006 11:28PM
"Wow, and why do studios feel the need to hire names such as this to voice characters in a video game?"
This isn't just any studio. This is DISNEY. They have the resources to get these names and they can afford it.
And it's not like these people do a bad job, either. Christopher Lee is badass, so all is good. I guess I should finish Kingdom Hearts 1 someday before I get Kingdom Hearts 2...
MoeWong @ Feb 8th 2006 11:49PM
>13
Tehy haven't stated who'll be Jack Sparrow, but not using Johnny Depp would be stupid considering that they are using the original VAs for some of the other Disney characters this time around.
dynamius @ Feb 9th 2006 12:30AM
bleh... i still don't think the disney world should be mixed final fantasy... it's not right. but whatever... disney goes wherever there's massive amounts of money to be made.
Brian @ Feb 9th 2006 12:44AM
The thought of hearing Setzer given a voice makes me ill, but I can't help to think that Square's going to do it...
Alkaiser @ Feb 9th 2006 12:47AM
"No matter who does the voices, I still hate dubs. They should at least leave the option to have Japanese audio with English subtitles."
Erm, in this case the JAPANESE voices are the dubs. So you'll be getting 1/2 of what you want, American actors voicing the American Disney characters.
I don't really think they're going to put in an option so that Sora, Riku, Kairi and co. speak in Japanese and the Disney folks speak in English.
Anyway, aside from Sora, no Square character really plays a major role in this game. The cameo voices really shouldn't bother you.
Dezro @ Feb 9th 2006 9:41AM
Alkaier, that's not the point. The point is Donald Duck speaking in Japanese is HILARIOUS!
Zo? @ Feb 9th 2006 10:32AM
It's not just a Square Enix game, it's a Disney game... so I don't see how complaining about english voiceovers and their persistant inferiority to the so-called "original" japanese voices is even relevant.
The game, if it had to be released one way around the world, would probably be done in english. The majority of the cast are english-speaking American cartoon characters. It's released in japanese first because that's where it's made, and it's near necessity to do so.
The kind of people who whine about english voices piss me off when I want to sit there and watch FLCL with its wonderful english dubs (of which were cast and handled by Kazuya Tsurumaki, the director himself, same as the original voices). Hell, any anim?ith decent english voice overs, for that matter. Americans speak mainly english. Get used to it.
OTAM @ Feb 9th 2006 12:04PM
What is the deal with this game? Hasnt this game been being made for the past like 4 years? I have old gamepro magazines from years ago that shows stuff about this game.I remember playing the first one back when I first got my PS2.
Anyone want to fill me in with what the hell is up with this game? Has it really been in the making for 5 f'ing years?If so,why hasnt anyone commented on how long it's taking to be made?
Pata Hikari @ Feb 9th 2006 8:53PM
OTAM: This game has been in production for about three years. And yes, there have been comments on how long it's been in production.
And ROFL at the "dub" complaints. This is a Disney game. In truth, I'm more inclined to conicider the japanese version as the "dub" =)
TopaZ @ Feb 10th 2006 5:40AM
So, howza bout announcing the english voice cast for the f***ing ONE YEAR OLD ADVENT CHILDREN?!?
Franklin @ Feb 10th 2006 12:01PM
Here's why having GOOD English dubbing (notice I emphasized GOOD) is a good thing:
I find it distracting having to read the subtitle text because I want to use my eyes to enjoy LOOKING AT THE BEAUTIFUL ANIMATION. Isn't that the point for appreciating anime in the first place? The actual animation itself??
Hane @ Feb 25th 2006 10:23AM
In reference to #23:
I'm gonna take a WILD GUESS and assume that the reason Mandy Moore isn't returning to voice Aerith is because Mena Suvari got the part for the movie. Likewise, some of these FF7 characters weren't really in the last game, so I wouldn't be surprised if these actors will also be in the movie.
I hate Mena Suvari's voice for Aerith though. She is NOT what I imagined at all.
#8: Yes they do.
Axel @ Feb 26th 2006 5:12PM
Hey ppl! I just wanted to clear some doubts out. I'm living in Spain and I pre-ordered KH II from British Amazon site. It will be shipped March 28th. I wanted to know if the british version includes subtitles in Spanish. Can anyone help me out? Here's my e-mail so that you can contact with me: hansel86@caramail.com. It's really important. Thanks a lot!!
Jill @ Feb 28th 2006 3:42PM
In case #13 was still wondering or doesn't know yet... Johnny Depp, along with the rest of the Pirates of the Carribean people, WILL be doing the voices in Kingdom Hearts.
At least i's almost positive. If they aren't doing the voices you should be able to sue because that would be just WRONG!
mark chapman @ Mar 22nd 2006 2:31AM
kingdom hearts II is one of the best game I have ever played I can't wait to play it.
Lindsye @ Mar 29th 2006 7:41PM
I couldn't find any of the actors from pirates of the carribean on the cast list for kingdom hearts 2 I looked at the one on imdb.com please tell me that orlando...i mean pirate's cast is in it. I did see pintel and regetti though. :)
Arnold @ Apr 12th 2006 3:05AM
hmm I was really disappointed that Mandy Moore didnt do the voice for Aerith, cause honestly Mena Suvari sucked as the voice, it sounded as if she was just reading the lines, very bad voice acting...anyone else think so?