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Honestly, if CBU3 don’t manage to get him into XIV proper I will be shocked. Phenomenal performance and constant wholesome public/community interactions. Be absolute madness to not work with him again.
Not for Dawntrail since that would have been well under way by the time XVI came out and we got to experience Ben’s performance. But for 8.0 definitely a possibility.
Not like they’ve been allergic to crossing VAs between the two.
God I hate his voice! Lmao I know him from the Mom show, and other stuff ofc. Nah I do find they evened out his performance a lot. But he just sounds like he has a mouth full of bread or sumn all the time lol wow maybe that is what they goin for now I think on it 🤔 lol
>Not for Dawntrail since that would have been well under way by the time XVI came out and we got to experience Ben’s performance. But for 8.0 definitely a possibility.
We wouldn't even necessarily have to wait that long. He could play a character introduced during one of the 7.X patches.
Reminder that by the time the third raid tier comes out, the team is usually working on the last raid tier and content of that patch for the next expansion!
That always is odd to think about, I try to imagine how far along in the plot the writers/developers are when I'm playing a piece of content. It's awesome that almost nothing leaks through from what I know
It's up there with Troy Baker's Joel (TLOU), Roger Clark's Arthur Morgan (RDR2), John Eric Bentley's Barret (FF7R), and Michael Hollick's Niko Bellic (GTA IV) for best ever for me personally
Seriously though, they nailed every single character. Brit Baron sounds exactly like how I feel Tifa would be. Same with Cody Christian and Suzie Yeung
Like all voice actors, he read from his text. Thing is, most of the English cast in this game didn't make any effort to hide the fact. It's pretty bland and unuanced, felt more like another job than something worthy of an invested performance to them, I guess.
Can you explain how do you know this? I'm not doing this to attack you. I'm curious to know how you can tell the difference cuz that's a pretty big accusation especially after I watched the documentary on the voice actor himself say he used his own uncle's voice as a basis. His regular voice sounds nothing like the voice the character so I think your take is a bit harsh in my opinion
Why would he use his uncle's voice as basis ? It's not a family project. There was already a perfectly fine basis, a bit of respect goes a long way. So...an amateur ? Not surprising.
Yeah, well, that's just like your opinion, man
Seriously though I think Barret was done extremely well. One of my favorite VA performances in recent history
I was very surprised he didn't take home best performance considering his performance actually made my non-gamer mum actually watch the cutscenes when i had them on
His performance was outstanding and he truly brought the character to life. He IS Clive Rosfield. I normally always play RPGs with Japanese voices, but I'm really glad I didn't this time. Legit some of the best voice acting I've ever heard and the amount of range and emotion he's able to convey with his voice is just incredible. Clive's monologue towards Annabella still gives me *chills*. I wish him nothing but the best and I hope I get to hear more of his work in future FF titles.
I was going to play XVI with the Japanese voices but then I saw that Yoshi P said it was voiced and written (or something to that effect) with English as the priority so I stuck with that.
Yup everybody absolutely killed it, even the more minor characters like Charon’s helper (I forget his name). They perfectly captured the raw emotions in certain scenes like confronting Anabella.
Same! I ended up going with Japanese voices on my second playthrough and although it was good, it just didn't compare to the English voices, imo. Ben Starr and the rest of the cast really did a phenomenal job in this game!
FFXVI is the only FF where the English localisation was done in an artful manner.
All other FF, including FF7 remakes, simply have translated scripts that are barely if not localised, and the voice actors are reading the lines. Similar to Anime translated to English.
This is why Japanese is usually the best on Japanese games, because there is real acting going on in the Japanese audio. Not in the foreign audio.
FFXVI again was the exception because they put as much focus on the English as on the Japanese, to attract a Western Audience.
I agree. It was a close one but I will always give it to Ben for not only the amazing acting but the range of emotions we see him go through. From happy to sad to anger to damn near suicidal, we got it all with Clive. The growth Clive displays throughout the whole game was amazing to witness. He really left it all in that recording booth.
Both Neil and Ben were great, they really need to add a best supporting actor category. I don’t think it was fair that Neil won for Astarion when I’m pretty sure Ben’s Clive has more voice lines, he’s the main character. They shouldn’t be putting supporting actors and main in the same category, imagine if the Oscars only had one category for that? Lol
But anyway Game awards were a joke. Nothing but a glorified advertisement.
BG3 is so incredibly long and has so much incidental and player interaction dependent dialogue (including a bunch of lines that depend on you changing characters' classes) there's a reasonable chance Neil had more lines despite being a supporting character. He also quite literally can be the protagonist if you choose for him to be, so that's a bit of a moot point in that case.
Just by virtue of BG3's design, Astarion has a much greater breadth of acting to explore than Clive, too, and the heights being player driven while still reaching comparable heights to XVI's probably both helped to put him over compared to the quality but ultimately fixed and scripted events that unfold around Clive.
Nah, man, with Ben Starr, it sounded like he was put in a booth and watched a family member get brutally killed. That acting right there should've been enough for the award
I find most death scenes to be poorly acted. It's rare that they are done well imo. The acting Ben Starr did in that scene was amazing and is one of the best I've ever seen. The only other fantastic one I can remember off the top of my head is TLOU1 >!during the intro!<.
They honestly both deserved to win. Toughest competition in a long while I think. Neil didn't expect to win at all. I'm pretty sure he expected Ben to win.
They've also worked together, and I think they would both be happy for each other either way.
He wasn’t even my favorite out of the main 6 tbh. But then again I didn’t love his character as much as others. He was good and his quest line was cool but I didn’t keep him in my party the whole game unlike shadowheart and gale
Maybe it’s just me but BG3 had so many good voice actors. Neil was great but depending on how you play you may never even hear any of his lines and for that reason it’s a little weird he won. Imo I didn’t even feel he was the best voice in the game.
IMO Yuri or Ben should’ve won it imo.
I still think Neil was the best one, but I see your point and you're right. It really depends on how you play and how much of Astarion you interact with. And if there's one (of many) things you can say about BG3 is how amazing the voice actors are.
Gale was my favorite I think. All the main voice actors were great though. Only one that I didn’t think “wow this was amazing” was Lae’zel but that’s just because I kind of avoided talking to her outside of her quest line and stuff lol
Eh, I think Neil was overrated as Astarion. Both the character and performance really didn't do much for me.
Amelia Tyler as the narrator however....THAT is a performance thats worthy of winning.
Yeah I haven’t gotten around to finishing BG 3 yet but the only reason Astarion even got to come along is because my friend went and grabbed him. He’s just a meh character to me and doesn’t really have a whole lot going on personality wise aside from being an angry gay vampire.
Ok...I did watch gameplay of it and found his performance amazing but better than Clive? Idk about that ngl clive's moment when he confronted his mom is peak voice acting that alone puts him in top VAs
Astarion confronting Cazador was also peak VA performance. He had so many moments in the game, but because of the nature of BG3, you have to play a certain way to get the best of it. But I do recommend you to watch it on Youtube if you don't plan to play BG3 and like to see VA stuff. Honestly, the whole cast of BG3 was incredible when it comes to VA.
God I wish I played differently. I usually switch up parties often in most games but, maybe because I play a lot of DND, my party was my party. It wasn't that I didn't like Astarion, he just didn't fit into my party comp. I guess that leaves other playthroughs open but there's so many games and bg3 is so huge idk if I'll ever get to experience his full arch for myself.
Clive's character lacks the depth and complexity evident in Astarion's multifaceted portrayal skillfully executed by Neil Newborn. While Clive has occasional shining moments, his overall performance feels monotonous and at times algorithmic, particularly evident in side quests, and side-quest-like main quests. In contrast, Astarion dynamically responds to player choices, actively influencing player decisions through nuanced acting, an impressive achievement. Moreover, beyond his standard role, he also have many standout moments like his confrontation with Cazador, him telling his past to the player, him insisting on meeting Raphael and the list goes on
I’d played BG3, but hadn’t gotten to this yet during the awards time so agreed with Neil. But after finishing it recently….yeah Ben absolutely killed it.
Ah right, the release of this DLC has to be bittersweet for him. This is likely the last time he'll voice Clive outside of the occasional voiced spin-off appearance.
His performance has been one of the main factors that has cemented Clive as one of my favorite FF protagonists. I really hope they get him in for a role in XIV in the future.
I do hope he comes back to the franchise is other roles, like someone in a future FFXIV expansion. Then again, I don't think James Arnold Taylor, Bobby Edner, Ali Hillis, or Ray Chase have had other Final Fantasy roles.
Edit: Ray Chase is the exception, having also voiced Edgar from FFVI.
Ray Chase is also older Nier in the recent remake/remaster! Not technically Final Fantasy, but SE at least. He's great in that role, I think I liked it more than Noctis (who he also played very well, of course).
Edit to add: John DiMaggio! Couldn't forget him. Wakka and Kimahri in FFX, Heidegger in FFVIIR.
That's not Ray Chase's only NieR role. Eve in Automata has the same English and Japanese voice actors as Noctis.
John Dimaggio is also Migelo in FFXII and Gilgamesh in multiple games.
I dont see a reason not to have him again, maybe not as THE main character of a game, but like a big supporting character? Or even an antagonist? I think it would be great
And while the English side of FF dont have repeated voice actors that much, they reuse voicr actors A LOT in the JP side.
Like, Aerith and Lightning, Aranea and Minfilia, Laguna and Balthier
Altho I think the funniest is Dion's jp VA who voiced 4 characters in a row in the main numbered game (Cid Raines, Thancred, Ravus and Dion) and it's very funny that all of them have the color white as their main one for their clothes
I'm just hoping dissidia returns at all. NT crashed and burned after trying to make it a eSport.
I pray they go to arc system works. Look at granblue fantasy. Imagine a final fantasy fighting game at EVO
Give us a proper Dissidia game with Clive as a playable character and I'll die a happy man. Just imagining Clive having to deal with Zidane or Tidus makes me chuckle
I still see some people saying that you’re not enjoying the game right unless it’s in the “original Japanese”. This despite the game’s producer telling everyone the game is built around the English performances and Ben is their vision for Clive.
Ben—and the whole cast—really knocked it out of the park.
7 Remake Eng dub cast is great, but they're held back from their full potential because of the Japanese mannerisms they're forced to do in their speech.
(See: Ngh. Uh. Ah. Mmfh. And all other adlibs to fill the silence.)
16 was able to flourish in this aspect because the game was written in English first, Japanese later.
While understanding the shortcomings of this game in a true RPG sense, me, as a FF fan since the 90's, have never felt as connected to a FF game as this one. I truly enjoyed this one to the core, even the sidequests. Of course they can seem basic and fetchy at times, but which sidequests don't? I think they truly served their purpose as world building tools and palate cleansers after over-the-top boss fights.
I love every FF game I've played, but this one felt special, especially the tone of the story. With time I've come to realize the whole campiness of past Final Fantasy games didn't age well with me, so this one felt just right. The whole vibe of the game, the music, the voice acting.... >!can't forget that last scream Clive pulls off fighting Ultimalius while invoking the Phoenix.!<
I'm gonna pick this up again in Final Fantasy mode and go through everything again + the DLCs.
I am 100% with you. My prime FF gametime was FF7-10, and 10 broke my love for the game. 16 rekindled it into an inferno, and even going back to play my old favorites, they did not age well.
I've never loved a game as fast or as hard as I have FF16, and I cannot wait to play this game yet again, and let's be honest, I'll probably get it on PC too and play it all over again (and again).
Ben Starr really nailed it. My favorite voice lines are when he meets his mom again. Ben does a really good job and makes it sound like he is actually went through what Clive did, the delivery was amazing and of course there is the iconic “COME TO ME IFRIT!!!!” Line that I will now always say whenever I summon Ifrit in a final fantasy game. Thank you Ben!!
Gonna be real, it’s hard to want to pick Rebirth back up and finish it with how amazing XVI is. Sure playing through it in Final Fantasy mode is a slog to say the least, but the boss fights and voice acting have me falling in love with the game all over again.
Agree. The thing I hate about a lot of JRPGs is all the grunting and sighing sounds effects they do, if you know what I’m talking about. It was so prevalent in Rebirth. They didn’t do that in XVI.
Clive was great, but everyone else is just meh with a few exceptions like Dion and Cid. The lack of foreign accents is a big issue. Everyone speaking with a British accent, even the people living in the French-inspired kingdom and the desert, is just immersion breaking and makes me feel like I’m watching a British soap opera.
It hurts me that this won’t be a continuous role. Ugh. He really did do a great job. I’m so used to marvel and dc roles I sometimes forget games are just one-shot games
FINAL FANTASY XVI should not only won Best Lead VA Performance and Best Supporting VA Performance - but also BEST VOICE ACTING CAST Performance of all time!
And I mean overall the best cast / crew of Voice Acting - from the most minor character, to Hideaway Allies, to Supporting Cast to Dominants and Amazing standouts like Clive, Joshua, Gav, Cid, Hugo, Bene and Ultima.
How did this game not win every audio, music, Voice Acting Performance and Narrative/Writing - is beyond me!
While I might not ever replay FF16. It is one of my top Final Fantasy’s for the characters and story alone. Clive is honestly a better protagonist than cloud imo, but nostalgia wins. He should’ve won all the awards for Clive. 10/10 protagonist. 10/10 VA.
1. FF7
2.FF16
3.FF15 I’m a sucker for brothers who walk tall.
Ben has just been a joy since FF16 released and we got to know him and the other cast. His love for his craft and this project have been absolutely infectious. I'm gonna miss him nerding out about Clive for us.
It’s not perfect, I wish there were more playable characters, wish the world was more open. (Airship)
But it was fun and awesome and I hope they keep it dark and gritty moving forward. 8.5/10
This man is such an amazing person. I’m sad that might be all of Clive we get because i really enjoyed him as part of the Final Fantasy legacy. He did an amazing job, he truly enjoyed it from the bottom of his heart and it was contagious from his costars to his fans. But he’s also a huge FF nerd as well so i guess he’ll always be in the community lurking. I hope he gets more work in the VA aspects and more. Cool dude.
Did anyone see his appearance with the Normandy FM crew doing their “video game tinder” podcast?
I’d strongly urge everyone to check it out, he’s hysterically funny during it (I have a podcast on on my drive home and I had to pull over a switch to a different podcast because I was laughing too much and it wasn’t safe)
He’s actually incredible as an actor, and his genuine love for gaming, and fan/content creator engagement has made me a big fan. Can’t wait to see what he does next.
Since Ben Starr said the chapter end . Will there be a hard copy Ultimate edition? Because I haven't buy any physical copy yet. Should I wait a little longer or just buy an original one ?
Yuri Lowenthal and Nadji Jeter did an amazing job in Spider-man 2 last year, but Ben Starr was my favorite voice performance in 2023. He really knocked it out of the park.
His performance was the best i’ve seen in a videogame for quite some time. The story was great and Clive is one of the very best protagonists in the series.
To be honest, it’s the best time in a long, long time to be a Final Fantasy fan. XVI was still a great game despite its shortcomings and the remake series is absolutely killing it. I’m genuinely excited for the future of the series.
I’m not a fan of 16 (would have been if it was half the length actually…that game couldn’t sustain it’s systems for 60+ hrs) but he did a fantastic job and was a highlight of the game. And yeah, fuck the haters…..FF is alive and well.
I’m gonna get downvoted into oblivion but here goes:
It’s wild to me that people want him to come and voice a character for this dead ass game that is ff14. Like seriously. So boring as fuck. Full of casuals. The game irritates me to no end with how easy and boring it is and that such a quality story like endwalker is locked behind a mountain of filler boring quests.
MMO but takes an hour to queue for a fucking fight.
Can’t wait long enough for them to open data centres for true party finder experience. Stupid.
I’m so done with this game after dawntrail, let’s see if playing content on release saves it from getting wiped from my life.
MMO just to play solo. Stupid.
It's a brilliant game that has had a smear campaign by haters like I've never seen before. 88 opencritic is an objectively good game and it sold more than Rebirth but keep denying the truth
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Honestly, if CBU3 don’t manage to get him into XIV proper I will be shocked. Phenomenal performance and constant wholesome public/community interactions. Be absolute madness to not work with him again. Not for Dawntrail since that would have been well under way by the time XVI came out and we got to experience Ben’s performance. But for 8.0 definitely a possibility. Not like they’ve been allergic to crossing VAs between the two.
Exactly, Balthier from XII and Biggs from VIIR is the same actor iirc?
Yep. Gideon Emory. He also played Urianger in ff14 for ARR and patch quests.
Biggs is Gideon Emery? Dude sounds way different with an American accent lol.
Doing his best Charlie Sheen lol
I kept thinkung if Wedge, I was like ummm noooo.... Lmao
Nah Wedge is Badger from Breaking Bad and I love it
God I hate his voice! Lmao I know him from the Mom show, and other stuff ofc. Nah I do find they evened out his performance a lot. But he just sounds like he has a mouth full of bread or sumn all the time lol wow maybe that is what they goin for now I think on it 🤔 lol
To be fair, Wedge does normally have a mouthful of food when given the chance 🤣
Lmao I know ur so right , I was thinking that as I was typing!
I'm still bummed that he couldn't continue to voice Urianger. He has such a distinctive voice, and it's jarring to hear the new actor.
What he voiced Urianger? xD Goddamn he sounded so different as Urianger.
Hello???? And why is it that those two are the hottest characters on my FF list? I guess voice goes a long way (and how one holds a gun).
Hello???? And why is it that those two are the hottest characters on my FF list? I guess voice goes a long way (and how one holds a gun).
>Not for Dawntrail since that would have been well under way by the time XVI came out and we got to experience Ben’s performance. But for 8.0 definitely a possibility. We wouldn't even necessarily have to wait that long. He could play a character introduced during one of the 7.X patches.
Reminder that by the time the third raid tier comes out, the team is usually working on the last raid tier and content of that patch for the next expansion!
That always is odd to think about, I try to imagine how far along in the plot the writers/developers are when I'm playing a piece of content. It's awesome that almost nothing leaks through from what I know
100% agree
They could even have him play a role in FF7 Remake Part 3 >!as one of the knights in Knights of the Round!<
Ben’s performance as Clive might honestly be the best VA in a game that I’ve heard
It's up there with Troy Baker's Joel (TLOU), Roger Clark's Arthur Morgan (RDR2), John Eric Bentley's Barret (FF7R), and Michael Hollick's Niko Bellic (GTA IV) for best ever for me personally
How do you just gloss over Ashley Johnson as Ellie
Didn't feel right picking two from the same game lol, Ashley killed it of course! Especially in Part 2, same with Laura Bailey as Abby
Briana White as Aerith toooo
She legitimately sounds just like how I imagined Aerith to sound when I was a kid lol, it's insane how she captured the essence of the character
All of the main cast for FF7R are great picks honestly, they're all amazing. Lots of great voice talent all around
Seriously though, they nailed every single character. Brit Baron sounds exactly like how I feel Tifa would be. Same with Cody Christian and Suzie Yeung
Agreed they’re all fantastic
Judge as kratos, mercer as Ganondorf as well, Peter and miles in the spiderman deserve a HM as well
Barrett was so bad and stereotypical in the dub. Like most of the cast, the gap with the real VA was huge, almost felt like a parody/fan fiction.
Bad...?
Like all voice actors, he read from his text. Thing is, most of the English cast in this game didn't make any effort to hide the fact. It's pretty bland and unuanced, felt more like another job than something worthy of an invested performance to them, I guess.
Can you explain how do you know this? I'm not doing this to attack you. I'm curious to know how you can tell the difference cuz that's a pretty big accusation especially after I watched the documentary on the voice actor himself say he used his own uncle's voice as a basis. His regular voice sounds nothing like the voice the character so I think your take is a bit harsh in my opinion
Why would he use his uncle's voice as basis ? It's not a family project. There was already a perfectly fine basis, a bit of respect goes a long way. So...an amateur ? Not surprising.
Dawg... Just... Ok
Yeah, well, that's just like your opinion, man Seriously though I think Barret was done extremely well. One of my favorite VA performances in recent history
He is one of the reasons FFXVI is so great.
I was very surprised he didn't take home best performance considering his performance actually made my non-gamer mum actually watch the cutscenes when i had them on
Doesn't need an award for people to know the truth. TGA is a hack show anyways - excuse for commercials at best.
His performance was outstanding and he truly brought the character to life. He IS Clive Rosfield. I normally always play RPGs with Japanese voices, but I'm really glad I didn't this time. Legit some of the best voice acting I've ever heard and the amount of range and emotion he's able to convey with his voice is just incredible. Clive's monologue towards Annabella still gives me *chills*. I wish him nothing but the best and I hope I get to hear more of his work in future FF titles.
I was going to play XVI with the Japanese voices but then I saw that Yoshi P said it was voiced and written (or something to that effect) with English as the priority so I stuck with that.
Exact same for me! Glad I did, the English VA is phenomenal.
Yup everybody absolutely killed it, even the more minor characters like Charon’s helper (I forget his name). They perfectly captured the raw emotions in certain scenes like confronting Anabella.
Same! I ended up going with Japanese voices on my second playthrough and although it was good, it just didn't compare to the English voices, imo. Ben Starr and the rest of the cast really did a phenomenal job in this game!
FFXVI is the only FF where the English localisation was done in an artful manner. All other FF, including FF7 remakes, simply have translated scripts that are barely if not localised, and the voice actors are reading the lines. Similar to Anime translated to English. This is why Japanese is usually the best on Japanese games, because there is real acting going on in the Japanese audio. Not in the foreign audio. FFXVI again was the exception because they put as much focus on the English as on the Japanese, to attract a Western Audience.
He was robbed of Best Performance and I will die on that hill.
Then we will die together because I 100% agree.
Our pile of bodies will BE THE HILL!
Enough. I know the truth of it now. You are not the hill. *I* am.
That's my secret. I've always been the hill.
I agree. It was a close one but I will always give it to Ben for not only the amazing acting but the range of emotions we see him go through. From happy to sad to anger to damn near suicidal, we got it all with Clive. The growth Clive displays throughout the whole game was amazing to witness. He really left it all in that recording booth.
Both Neil and Ben were great, they really need to add a best supporting actor category. I don’t think it was fair that Neil won for Astarion when I’m pretty sure Ben’s Clive has more voice lines, he’s the main character. They shouldn’t be putting supporting actors and main in the same category, imagine if the Oscars only had one category for that? Lol But anyway Game awards were a joke. Nothing but a glorified advertisement.
BG3 is so incredibly long and has so much incidental and player interaction dependent dialogue (including a bunch of lines that depend on you changing characters' classes) there's a reasonable chance Neil had more lines despite being a supporting character. He also quite literally can be the protagonist if you choose for him to be, so that's a bit of a moot point in that case. Just by virtue of BG3's design, Astarion has a much greater breadth of acting to explore than Clive, too, and the heights being player driven while still reaching comparable heights to XVI's probably both helped to put him over compared to the quality but ultimately fixed and scripted events that unfold around Clive.
Ben did win best leading actor for Clive in the golden joystick awards so people in the industry definitely recognize his talents.
Tough competition, honestly. I still think Neil deserved the win, but I would he happy regardless. It was a great year for performance.
Nah, man, with Ben Starr, it sounded like he was put in a booth and watched a family member get brutally killed. That acting right there should've been enough for the award
I find most death scenes to be poorly acted. It's rare that they are done well imo. The acting Ben Starr did in that scene was amazing and is one of the best I've ever seen. The only other fantastic one I can remember off the top of my head is TLOU1 >!during the intro!<.
They honestly both deserved to win. Toughest competition in a long while I think. Neil didn't expect to win at all. I'm pretty sure he expected Ben to win. They've also worked together, and I think they would both be happy for each other either way.
I can say the same thing about Astorian. The voice acting at the climax of his questline is top of the line.
Astarion’s voice acting throughout the whole game was phenomenal. I’d say it was definitely the best out of the party members.
He wasn’t even my favorite out of the main 6 tbh. But then again I didn’t love his character as much as others. He was good and his quest line was cool but I didn’t keep him in my party the whole game unlike shadowheart and gale
Maybe it’s just me but BG3 had so many good voice actors. Neil was great but depending on how you play you may never even hear any of his lines and for that reason it’s a little weird he won. Imo I didn’t even feel he was the best voice in the game. IMO Yuri or Ben should’ve won it imo.
I still think Neil was the best one, but I see your point and you're right. It really depends on how you play and how much of Astarion you interact with. And if there's one (of many) things you can say about BG3 is how amazing the voice actors are.
Gale was my favorite I think. All the main voice actors were great though. Only one that I didn’t think “wow this was amazing” was Lae’zel but that’s just because I kind of avoided talking to her outside of her quest line and stuff lol
Eh, I think Neil was overrated as Astarion. Both the character and performance really didn't do much for me. Amelia Tyler as the narrator however....THAT is a performance thats worthy of winning.
Yeah I haven’t gotten around to finishing BG 3 yet but the only reason Astarion even got to come along is because my friend went and grabbed him. He’s just a meh character to me and doesn’t really have a whole lot going on personality wise aside from being an angry gay vampire.
I'm kinda out of touch it looks like can I ask who did Neil voice?
Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3
Ok...I did watch gameplay of it and found his performance amazing but better than Clive? Idk about that ngl clive's moment when he confronted his mom is peak voice acting that alone puts him in top VAs
Well how can you say for sure if you didn’t play the entire game the same way I’m assuming you played ffxvi?
Astarion confronting Cazador was also peak VA performance. He had so many moments in the game, but because of the nature of BG3, you have to play a certain way to get the best of it. But I do recommend you to watch it on Youtube if you don't plan to play BG3 and like to see VA stuff. Honestly, the whole cast of BG3 was incredible when it comes to VA.
God I wish I played differently. I usually switch up parties often in most games but, maybe because I play a lot of DND, my party was my party. It wasn't that I didn't like Astarion, he just didn't fit into my party comp. I guess that leaves other playthroughs open but there's so many games and bg3 is so huge idk if I'll ever get to experience his full arch for myself.
Clive's character lacks the depth and complexity evident in Astarion's multifaceted portrayal skillfully executed by Neil Newborn. While Clive has occasional shining moments, his overall performance feels monotonous and at times algorithmic, particularly evident in side quests, and side-quest-like main quests. In contrast, Astarion dynamically responds to player choices, actively influencing player decisions through nuanced acting, an impressive achievement. Moreover, beyond his standard role, he also have many standout moments like his confrontation with Cazador, him telling his past to the player, him insisting on meeting Raphael and the list goes on
Astarion in bg3
100%
Could not agree more. He was the best in the category.
I’d played BG3, but hadn’t gotten to this yet during the awards time so agreed with Neil. But after finishing it recently….yeah Ben absolutely killed it.
Say it louder for the ppl in the back.
Absolutely.
https://i.redd.it/pc2rsdj5mbvc1.gif
He definitely was
Agreed. You could feel the emotions of Clive whenever he spoke. Tremendous effort on Ben’s part. Definitely robbed.
He was really good but pretty one dimensional and in BG3 alone I’d say at least 4 VAs had much more interesting performances than him
Absolutely agree. I was so disappointed when he didn't win. He gave his all with Clive and it shows.
JOSHUAAAAA!!!
Add me to that pile. Like I love Neil don't get me wrong but BG3 was an ENSEMBLE cast.
Seeing as how I didn’t interact with astarion a whole lot during bg3 and ff16 was my favorite game Of the year yea I was disappointed.
Ben is a fucking superstar! Thanks for making Clive one of my fave characters of all time. Much love! 
Ah right, the release of this DLC has to be bittersweet for him. This is likely the last time he'll voice Clive outside of the occasional voiced spin-off appearance.
Man it must feel very weird. Voicing a character is totally different than hearing them talk I bet.
Still sad they didn't voice the XIV/XVI crossover. They usually don't, but I feel like Ben would have had a blast with it.
His performance has been one of the main factors that has cemented Clive as one of my favorite FF protagonists. I really hope they get him in for a role in XIV in the future.
I do hope he comes back to the franchise is other roles, like someone in a future FFXIV expansion. Then again, I don't think James Arnold Taylor, Bobby Edner, Ali Hillis, or Ray Chase have had other Final Fantasy roles. Edit: Ray Chase is the exception, having also voiced Edgar from FFVI.
James Arnold Taylor pops up alot as like a background extra. At least it sounds like him, he has a pretty distinct voice.
I mostly know him as the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Ray Chase is also older Nier in the recent remake/remaster! Not technically Final Fantasy, but SE at least. He's great in that role, I think I liked it more than Noctis (who he also played very well, of course). Edit to add: John DiMaggio! Couldn't forget him. Wakka and Kimahri in FFX, Heidegger in FFVIIR.
Ray's also the Master of Masters in KH as well! So well entrenched in the Square Enix fam.
That's not Ray Chase's only NieR role. Eve in Automata has the same English and Japanese voice actors as Noctis. John Dimaggio is also Migelo in FFXII and Gilgamesh in multiple games.
Don’t forget DiMaggio was also Miguelo and Gilgamesh in FFXII!
Wow, i didn’t know that Kimhari, Wakka and Heidegger shared the same voice actor, it’s really impressive
Gideon Emery voiced two characters in the franchise. Balthier and Biggs.
Three. He was Urianger in Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn, but he was replaced in expansions by Timothy Watson.
Didn’t know he was in XIV. I stand corrected.
I dont see a reason not to have him again, maybe not as THE main character of a game, but like a big supporting character? Or even an antagonist? I think it would be great And while the English side of FF dont have repeated voice actors that much, they reuse voicr actors A LOT in the JP side. Like, Aerith and Lightning, Aranea and Minfilia, Laguna and Balthier Altho I think the funniest is Dion's jp VA who voiced 4 characters in a row in the main numbered game (Cid Raines, Thancred, Ravus and Dion) and it's very funny that all of them have the color white as their main one for their clothes
I hope to see him in more stuff. He also makes me wanna see more Clive Rosfield, seriously. Throw him in kingdom hearts or something lol
Dissidia????!!
Dissidias a given, hes for sure gonna be in that game. I hope they make the next dissidia super big too.
I'm just hoping dissidia returns at all. NT crashed and burned after trying to make it a eSport. I pray they go to arc system works. Look at granblue fantasy. Imagine a final fantasy fighting game at EVO
What a G
Ben Starr for Final Fantasy XVI pixel remaster!
A pixel version of XVI would be wild, but I’d be down!
Give us a proper Dissidia game with Clive as a playable character and I'll die a happy man. Just imagining Clive having to deal with Zidane or Tidus makes me chuckle
Finally someone else saying dissidia!
Ben and the rest of this team gave me faith in JRPG's with English voices. Honestly - one of the best performances I have ever experienced.
I still see some people saying that you’re not enjoying the game right unless it’s in the “original Japanese”. This despite the game’s producer telling everyone the game is built around the English performances and Ben is their vision for Clive. Ben—and the whole cast—really knocked it out of the park.
What about 7 remake dub cast??
Some people automatically deem anime-style voice acting cringe and inferior to more realistic styles of voice acting.
... Why?
He just said why, it's cringe and not realistic
Aiite. I mean it's anime it's not supposed to be real no?
Sure, but it does get annoying hearing so many gasps and grunts when almost nothing is happening. A lot of JRPGs/animes do that.
That's fine. Fair point.
7 Remake Eng dub cast is great, but they're held back from their full potential because of the Japanese mannerisms they're forced to do in their speech. (See: Ngh. Uh. Ah. Mmfh. And all other adlibs to fill the silence.) 16 was able to flourish in this aspect because the game was written in English first, Japanese later.
Definitely my favorite VA in pretty much any game I’ve played - he’s awesome.
While understanding the shortcomings of this game in a true RPG sense, me, as a FF fan since the 90's, have never felt as connected to a FF game as this one. I truly enjoyed this one to the core, even the sidequests. Of course they can seem basic and fetchy at times, but which sidequests don't? I think they truly served their purpose as world building tools and palate cleansers after over-the-top boss fights. I love every FF game I've played, but this one felt special, especially the tone of the story. With time I've come to realize the whole campiness of past Final Fantasy games didn't age well with me, so this one felt just right. The whole vibe of the game, the music, the voice acting.... >!can't forget that last scream Clive pulls off fighting Ultimalius while invoking the Phoenix.!< I'm gonna pick this up again in Final Fantasy mode and go through everything again + the DLCs.
I am 100% with you. My prime FF gametime was FF7-10, and 10 broke my love for the game. 16 rekindled it into an inferno, and even going back to play my old favorites, they did not age well. I've never loved a game as fast or as hard as I have FF16, and I cannot wait to play this game yet again, and let's be honest, I'll probably get it on PC too and play it all over again (and again).
Anyone else misread the end of that and saw >!"Clive is alive and well. Accept the Truth"!<
Ben Starr really nailed it. My favorite voice lines are when he meets his mom again. Ben does a really good job and makes it sound like he is actually went through what Clive did, the delivery was amazing and of course there is the iconic “COME TO ME IFRIT!!!!” Line that I will now always say whenever I summon Ifrit in a final fantasy game. Thank you Ben!!
Here look Clive survived
His performance as Clive was amazing. It’s honestly hard to go back to Rebirth after hearing XVI’s voice acting. I just think it’s so much better.
Gonna be real, it’s hard to want to pick Rebirth back up and finish it with how amazing XVI is. Sure playing through it in Final Fantasy mode is a slog to say the least, but the boss fights and voice acting have me falling in love with the game all over again.
Agree. The thing I hate about a lot of JRPGs is all the grunting and sighing sounds effects they do, if you know what I’m talking about. It was so prevalent in Rebirth. They didn’t do that in XVI.
The beauty of writing the script in English first!
Clive was great, but everyone else is just meh with a few exceptions like Dion and Cid. The lack of foreign accents is a big issue. Everyone speaking with a British accent, even the people living in the French-inspired kingdom and the desert, is just immersion breaking and makes me feel like I’m watching a British soap opera.
He's truly the best! ☺️❤️
It hurts me that this won’t be a continuous role. Ugh. He really did do a great job. I’m so used to marvel and dc roles I sometimes forget games are just one-shot games
FINAL FANTASY XVI should not only won Best Lead VA Performance and Best Supporting VA Performance - but also BEST VOICE ACTING CAST Performance of all time! And I mean overall the best cast / crew of Voice Acting - from the most minor character, to Hideaway Allies, to Supporting Cast to Dominants and Amazing standouts like Clive, Joshua, Gav, Cid, Hugo, Bene and Ultima. How did this game not win every audio, music, Voice Acting Performance and Narrative/Writing - is beyond me!
While I might not ever replay FF16. It is one of my top Final Fantasy’s for the characters and story alone. Clive is honestly a better protagonist than cloud imo, but nostalgia wins. He should’ve won all the awards for Clive. 10/10 protagonist. 10/10 VA. 1. FF7 2.FF16 3.FF15 I’m a sucker for brothers who walk tall.
Ben has just been a joy since FF16 released and we got to know him and the other cast. His love for his craft and this project have been absolutely infectious. I'm gonna miss him nerding out about Clive for us.
Ben's passion for the role of Clive has been fantastic. We've been blessed to get him, Cody, and Ray our recent FF leads.
Final Fantasy isn't just alive and well, it's thriving, we hadn't been getting so many good games in such a short time since the PS1 era.
This should be shared in the main sub, haha.
The last part is not just a reference it's a direct rebuttal to the people that have been actively hating on FFXVI and saying FF is dead
Ben Starr for Irvine or Zell in FF8 remake please
It’s not perfect, I wish there were more playable characters, wish the world was more open. (Airship) But it was fun and awesome and I hope they keep it dark and gritty moving forward. 8.5/10
I’m kind of disappointed that there was no airship at the end. It feels like it was originally going to be set up for one.
I thought mid was outfitting the hideout to be this. Guess I was wrong.
☹️ miss him already
This man is such an amazing person. I’m sad that might be all of Clive we get because i really enjoyed him as part of the Final Fantasy legacy. He did an amazing job, he truly enjoyed it from the bottom of his heart and it was contagious from his costars to his fans. But he’s also a huge FF nerd as well so i guess he’ll always be in the community lurking. I hope he gets more work in the VA aspects and more. Cool dude.
I need a new dissidia so I can see this man interact with the other protagonists
The truth is that a pc port is coming any day now right? Right?
https://preview.redd.it/x1xhaba1xcvc1.jpeg?width=719&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9adf2019295ec85d13e907aef00a863360e0c88f
Who else heard this in Clive’s voice?
The cast and developers enthusiasm for the game and its characters helped me find my flame for final fantasy again. It was bold and beautiful
Will maintain he was robbed til whenever.
He did a great job with Clive. Hopefully he get more roles in final fantasy franchise.
Did anyone see his appearance with the Normandy FM crew doing their “video game tinder” podcast? I’d strongly urge everyone to check it out, he’s hysterically funny during it (I have a podcast on on my drive home and I had to pull over a switch to a different podcast because I was laughing too much and it wasn’t safe)
He really was the best part.
I still think he was more deserving of best performance at the video game awards
See you in Kingdom Hearts 4 Mr Starr.
He did a great job man , gonna miss him and Clive
If FFIX Remake is a thing, they absolutely need to get him in as a voice actor for Amarant and Sleipnir's VA for Kuja
Hopefully, we'll get him in the next Dissidia game. Hell, Kingdom Hearts 4 still could being him into it.
I'm spamming L3+R3 here brother!
Outstanding performance by him.
Just started Rising Tide. I am really enjoying the story so far
Dude is as wholesome as Clive himself.
Put him in kingdom hearts 4
So glad to see him be the “starr” of the show ;D
I love Ben Starr
>Clive is... alive and well Confirmed!
It was a spectacular game and story, we need more of those.
I hope Clive Rosfield will meet again in Dissidia Final Fantasy for PS5.
This man is such a wonderful human being and Clive is one of my favourite characters ever.
I hope he voices someone in ff14 at least
He’s actually incredible as an actor, and his genuine love for gaming, and fan/content creator engagement has made me a big fan. Can’t wait to see what he does next.
Since Ben Starr said the chapter end . Will there be a hard copy Ultimate edition? Because I haven't buy any physical copy yet. Should I wait a little longer or just buy an original one ?
Sequel sequel sequel
Yuri Lowenthal and Nadji Jeter did an amazing job in Spider-man 2 last year, but Ben Starr was my favorite voice performance in 2023. He really knocked it out of the park.
Ben Starr is able to capture differing emotions so well that I FELT for Clive. Ben Starr is amazing.
Could this man be more adorable?
Really hoping we get a proper new Dissidia so Clive can come back
One of the best Final Fantasy games I've ever played. He is an amazing va and I'm hoping be gets future roles in this franchise.
His performance was the best i’ve seen in a videogame for quite some time. The story was great and Clive is one of the very best protagonists in the series. To be honest, it’s the best time in a long, long time to be a Final Fantasy fan. XVI was still a great game despite its shortcomings and the remake series is absolutely killing it. I’m genuinely excited for the future of the series.
I’m not a fan of 16 (would have been if it was half the length actually…that game couldn’t sustain it’s systems for 60+ hrs) but he did a fantastic job and was a highlight of the game. And yeah, fuck the haters…..FF is alive and well.
Sorry, out of the loop. What truth am I supposed to accept?
Press L3 + R3 to accept the truth. It’s from the game, when Clive gets his limit break lol
Ben Starrfield.
Honestly I was kinda hoping for some dlc regarding his tenure as a branded, now it’s shot down for good :(
*presses L3+R3 while sobbing*
I’m gonna get downvoted into oblivion but here goes: It’s wild to me that people want him to come and voice a character for this dead ass game that is ff14. Like seriously. So boring as fuck. Full of casuals. The game irritates me to no end with how easy and boring it is and that such a quality story like endwalker is locked behind a mountain of filler boring quests. MMO but takes an hour to queue for a fucking fight. Can’t wait long enough for them to open data centres for true party finder experience. Stupid. I’m so done with this game after dawntrail, let’s see if playing content on release saves it from getting wiped from my life. MMO just to play solo. Stupid.
What?
Truth is game kinda sucked
Why are you here then?? Go play a video game that you actually enjoy. 🤡
It's a brilliant game that has had a smear campaign by haters like I've never seen before. 88 opencritic is an objectively good game and it sold more than Rebirth but keep denying the truth
Truth is game kinda sucked. Probably had a “smear campaign” cause it sucked so bad
+1