Why Zack's Voice Matters | Jaynalysis
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ธ.ค. 2022
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#zackfair #crisiscorefinalfantasyvii #squareenix #crisiscorefinalfantasyviireunion #crisiscore #finalfantasy7remake #finalfantasy7remake #finalfantasy7 #rickgomez #calebpierce #jayniac #jayniacjr #voiceacting - บันเทิง
Embrace your dreams. And whatever happens, protect your honor...as SOLDIER!
Based video my dude
This rings heavily for us first soldiers... and I'm grateful to hear that I'm not the only one who wants to have that option to use the old voice lines as rick did us proud and made it fit
It's a very sad thing ngl. Ff7 crisis core really impacted my life a lot when I was a kid aswell. I didn't know the original VA wasn't returning so when I booted up the game, I was immediately saddened by it. No shade to the new voice actor but the delivery is horrible. This whole thing makes me want to revisit the psp version again at some point in the future.
Jayniac Jr. If the new voice of Zack can be a voice actor so can you I think you should do it
COME AND GET IT!!
It’s crazy how much a voice can change a character. All the lines are the same but he feels like a completely different person.
Yup cause I actually don’t like Zack anymore it’s crazy
@@Dangangela6565 nah, maybe 🤔 it’s your fault
@@Dangangela6565 nah, it’s just a bad characterization.
Exactly!!
both voices are trash
I absolutely miss the original voice actor for Zack, his voice was so reassuring and strong. The new voice actor just isn’t Zack
New voice actor just sucks. Not even about whether it's what really expresses the character. Just why would they have voice actors with poor pacing and bad show of emotions or depth
Sephiroth's voice too. The old VA has that menacing aura and authority that the new one lacks.
He lacks the emotion compared to Rick's delivery. IMO CCR feels like their voices got pulled out of a Musou game, and that's an insult to Musou games
@@CDodger24 idk at least he doesn't sound so fkn bad as zack
@@CDodger24 I think he did a bit better in CC Reunion than the Remake
I think we all loved Zack because he not only was confident (which sometimes can lead to being annoying and arrogant) but he was kind and wanted to be good with everyone, he was a team worker, didn't want all the praise for himself, but for his friends too. There is a lot to admire and to aspire to be in Zack.
I haven't played Crisis Core but based off of the clips shown, my takeaway is:
Rick Gomez feels like he's in the zone and enjoying what he's doing.
Caleb Pierce sounds like he's just reading words off the paper and reciting them, not acting out a scene.
I miss Rick Gomez he did great job as Zack Fair
Out of all the characters that Square had to get the new voice right, it was Zack, and they bombed it. Whats frustrating is that we complained about the new voice since the 7Remake ending, they had plenty of time to make it right… yet they didnt.
Remake was my introduction to ff7 and even I was taken a back on zacks voice acting. I had to search up the original scene to see if I was trippin 😭 I will say tho his second take on that final cutscene was a bit better than his ff7r take. There’s no point for asking Rick Gomez back so I’m just hoping that he or the directors for the voice acting improves
Anytime I wanted to give up and call it quits, I just thought of Zack. This make me feel much better.
OG Zack flirting with Aerith at the park is 😳
New Zack flirting with Aerith at the park is 🤓
Fans: “By the way, ... do you know Rick Gomez?”
Nomura: “Sort of...”
Fans: “Talked to him?”
Nomura: “No.”
Fans “Shouldn't you do something?”
Nomura: ”No.”
Alright what is with people and blaming Nomura for everything? Nomura didn't even work on Crisis Core Reunion (at least not to the extent people seem to think he did), and he was only character designer for the original psp game
@@TheLegendOfLame that's the joke. Sorry if that wasn't obvious enough.
Though, Nomura can stand up for himself. He can take it I imagine. People have been unfairly criticizing him since at least the Kingdom Hearts III reveal in 2013 and attribute EVERY negative thing to him. I can't take people seriously anymore, so I started just using blaming stuff on Nomura as a joke.
@@thogameskanaal interesting..
Nomura: No I don't think I will
@@thogameskanaal got ya, sorry. I'm used to people doing that legitimately all the time and it gets on my nerves. He is not the ultimate downfall of the company like everyone acts like he is.
I really appreciate your heart to heart at the end. I was going through a tough time in my life with lots of surgery, my gf gave me her PSP with Crisis Core. I cried like a baby at the end, because Zack never gives up. So I can't either.
One thing I do like in that inn scene is that the OG voice did great at making Zack’s voice sound like he is on the bed (like what posture Zack is in affects how his voice sounds like)
I am going to put this as simple as I can.
Rick Gomez feels like he's living as the character. Just about every line he says I can totally believe that's him as the character he breathes life into them.
Caleb other hand sounds like he's reading directly from a script and doesn't put any real emotion into his lines.
I love how the community is generally fighting back about his voice! seeing this everywhere. His new voice ( no offence to the voice actor) is NOT him. It's too boy or kiddish. It lacks depth. Almost like they dumbed him down it feels. I hope they release this for PART 2 and change it back.
I doubt it
they probably won't...
Nah they dont care. I do wish they give us a patch or a voice pack with the original voice audio as an option
The most effective way to fight back is not buying the game
@@1eye1tear95 yup
It's amazing how much a voice can entirely change a character
As a voice acting hopeful myself, this kind of thing is extremely important to me. I've been told in a couple sessions that I have sounded flat or my cadence was samey. So it's a bit strange when hearing the new VA's delivery being just that but for a multi-million dollar franchise. The direction is completely out of this world.
Rick VA - Living the lines
Caleb VA - Speaking the lines
That's the difference.
Rick Gomez is the true voice of Zack fair! ❤
I agree 🙏🏾
Sorry Caleb but Rick is on top
"The prize of old VA is steep." -s.e probably
Well said! I totally agree with you. I wish Square Enix would release a DLC with the original voices. That would be perfect. The new fans would see a huge difference with Zack and why he is so loved!
I would be fine with just Zack lol
That's a great idea him and sephiroth both they have that feature for ff15
Also the original Soundtrack
If SE can't release a DLC like that, it should be someone who can mod it to replace all VA or just Zack's
I'm afraid that newer players might not have that same connection with zack cuz of his voice...
You pretty much summed up my same feelings. So far the casting has been almost perfect for the remake, I wish I could understand why Zack had to be so different.
My theory is that Square probably looked at the original performance and thought that it was too expressive for someone in soilder. It’s essentially military right? I also think that they wanted Zack to feel younger and even a bit unsure of things. The performance in remake in particular really reflects that to me.
Well it could just be a mistake.
@@joshz2491 wouldn't make any sense when the rest goes crazy and still sounds like someone, not some soulless husk, they just fucked it up or the new VA is trash, because he just sounds like nothing. Extremely boring.
Not having Zack's personality in the remake is really a deal breaker for me, I liked Zack because of how he moves forward despite how everything's changing around him
Had to turn the Japanese voice instead of English cus the new Zack VA is cringe and horrible af. Hate how he sounds. Rick Gomez gave heart and soul to Zack and it was one of the reasons I fell in love with the character
Ditto
Same
I have to say i definitely love "AWESOOOME! WE'RE GONNA FAIL!" line change. Made me laugh out loud
8:52
Felt that, along with Zach and other characters. About to play CCR myself to relieve the early years of me being an ff fan
Every other one of the new voice actors still represent their original characters. Zack's changes his significantly. I don't know why the most jarring and out of place change was so strong for such a major character. His new voice is the only one that detracts from the characterization. I don't know how the devs were in favor of this.
Glad people are having conversation about this. I love the OG cast and I love most of the new cast except Zack. He just sounds like a guy doing a Ryan Reynolds impression and it takes me out of it everytime he talks
Bro on Weenie Hut Jr timing💀
😭😭 no u didn't
Goofy Goober type shi
This VA is the only reason i have put my favourite of all time on hold for now. If they don't have a mod, I'll play Japanese
I'm really glad someone did a video on this. I am unfortunately in the same camp. I really wanna like Caleb pierce, but he feels so... inexperienced.
Imo, it sounds like he concentrates too much on trying to make a voice and sound young that it impairs his delivery. There are even times in the game where it sounds like he is just reading his lines, not acting them. Maybe he was missing context for some of these scenes, but it really broke my immersion.
While I love Rick Gomez, I would still gladly embrace another voice actor doing Zack... but they have to sound the part. They need to be good enough that I don't pause and wince at a line read. I wanna focus on the story and the characters. All respect to Caleb. I wish he had better direction.. or just... maybe been recast into another role, just not this one.
This is exactly how I feel... some of the lines... unfortunately sound like a grade school student attempting to read something out of a textbook to the class ☹️ Sometimes I am in shock by the line direction/final product... But hey, it's not over appalling... just not that same gung-ho Zack with his zeal for excellence and righteousness willing to take on the world and deliver on truth
The voice directing needs to get better honestly. Caleb just doing what he's told to rlly, it sounds subpar to us but the director thought it was good enough
I think it’s because he IS inexperienced. There’s an interview on TH-cam and he said this this was his FIRST time voice acting a game. I’m not sure if it’s his first time voice acting in general but if that’s the case I don’t have a clue why they would hire him 😭😭
In that case, he’s kinda shooting himself in the foot for agreeing to be a part of it. One doesn’t learn how to climb by going up Mt. Everest. He needs a better agent and get different roles.
I keep going back and forth on the voice. I know it's not entirely his fault yet at times I feel like it can't be the voice directors fault either cause of all the other voices.
My favorite part so far is how he handled the monologue between chapters 5 and 6, that's where he shines for me.
He's not bad, but it feels like someone messed up along the way
Imo it may be because he’s restricted to reciting the exact lines as the original (except for some scenes) therefore not giving him and other voice actors any freedom on how THEY would interpret it. I do hope it just improves in rebirth
Sir, you spoke facts and agree with everything you said. They picked the wrong guy for Zack’s voice. Period.
Playing though Japanese dub because I didn’t want to listen to Caleb. It’s a great dub and remembered that Zacks VA is married to Aeriths VA irl and you can tell the chemistry is there lol
Sure if you understand JP
@@semekiizuio then read
I adore both the original english dub and japanese dub but couldn’t stand the new english dub. Definitely playing it on japanese.
@@Xehangetsu right cause reading dialogue alone portrays such chemistry
@Semeki Izuio they still got jp voice with eng text/dialogue, so not like there isnt chemistry between two married VAs acting out their lines. better than what remake eng dub zack is giving out and yes even reading dialogue between characters can give off chemistry if the writer/s talented enough. light novels, web novels, manga, romance novels do that.
I love „Awesome, we’re gonna fail” a lot more 😭
The new zack voice sounds like 🤓
💀💀
lol
Like a dweeb lls
Old Zack: 😳😏😅
New Zack: 🤓🙄💩
100 percent
Whether a game/story is good or bad one of the most memorable things will always be the voice acting, and if it's bad that can really take away from the experience of something no matter how well it's written.
I think people shouldn’t blame the VA he’s just doing his job but people should blame the director because they’re in charge
Agreed.
Nah both take the blame
@@omensoffate no
@@mobpego1345 yup
@@omensoffate close minded
I feel that Caleb's voice is just too high pitched and nasally. I guess it could work for 16 year old Zack, but not when he's older.
It's also my preference, but I prefer Rick's choices over which words to enunciates over Caleb. Maybe Caleb was given different direction from the voice director? Like the part where Zack says "What the hell did you do Angeal?"
Rick's delivery was "What the HELL did you DO ANGEAL?" versus Caleb's fairly flat delivery, which tries to imitate Rick's cadence but not going as extreme. Rick's delivery was much more expressive since you can clearly hear him getting louder and ending up with a higher pitch LOUD voice, whereas Caleb's seems to be around the same volume and ended with a lower pitch, to the point where it sounds more quiet in the end.
I don't understand what the Voice Director was thinking. I can see that Caleb tried to sound like Rick. "Sephiroth? Long time no see!"
That line. Rick gave a shocking high pitched voice when he said his name and then changed his voice so it's deeper for the "long time no see" but I feel like Caleb couldn't really deepen his voice enough to do that. But I can tell that he tried to.
I mean I don’t really have a problem with going for a more higher pitched Zack. The Japanese VA is pretty much that. It’s really just the line delivery.
@@REChronic54 I chuckle when people say they're switching to Japanese lol.
Man, you really made me tear up at the end!! 😢❤ excellence video
While I did not enjoy Crisis Core's story when I played the original, what made it worthwhile was Rick Gomez as Zack. I thought it was completely unfair to judge the new voice actor with just 2 lines in VII Remake but it seemed like something went very wrong in the voice direction department on purpose. The new voice actor seemed to be the only one singled out because of this, everyone else sounded fine in my opinion. When Rick Gomez is angry or frustrated it's clear as day but with the new voice actor Zack sounds more annoyed like "oh what now??". Somebody did him dirty and it sucks. I remember some article in 2019 saying the new voices will be exclusive to the remake game and legacy actors will continue to voice their characters in future projects they so happen to be featured in. I guess that's a damn lie for damage control. Regular PR stuff.
@@Killer_Kris7I thought he sounded fine but I guess you don't care about the opinions of others
@@Killer_Kris7 I have. I grew up with the original cast
@@Killer_Kris7 Let's not trash on someone's opinion and make assumptions. I understand why you would prefer the old Sephiroth voice but someone having a different opinion than you doesn't mean you need to trash on theirs.
Towards he end, when you got choked up.. I FELT that.. I *REALLY* felt that. Same with the wanting-to-be-a-voice-actor thing! The thought of your performance one day being able to inspire someone, in the same way that you were inspired by characters like zack.. it just.. HNN 😤👌Also, a lot of the points you make, are the same reasons I love him as a character, and why his voice is so important. Thanks for putting it into words for us ☺
Zack is my favorite video game character of all time, and the new remake of crisis core ruins all of his magic. A crisis core remake was my wet dream since forever, but now that it's here ahhhhhhhh man it makes me cry 😭
For me, Rick Gomez as Zack sounded like the real hero we loved.
This is absolutely spot on. Apparently, there's a mod for the PC version being worked on (it's out but buggy) that removes the voices from Reunion and replaces them where applicable with the PSP voiceover so I'm going to give that a look in the future. But yeah, you absolutely nailed it, great job.
Amazing video jayniac, as a voice actor you portrayed the thoughts execently, i always thought it was a shame they were recast but zack is easily the most noticeable
Rick prior to Crisis Core was already an established talented character actor. So he flexs that all throughout the projects he plays Zack.
Idk wtf Caleb Pierce's is doing
He did great in Band of Brothers as Luz.
The way your voice cracked when you remembered what Zack aproach on life was abling you to push even on toughest of situation hit home really hard. Zack is my favorite character too, i've been playing games since I can remember and never I could came up with nothing even close to him. People always talk about that movie than inspired them or make them re-think important aspects of their life, but that rarely happens with games. I just can't stress enough how the DMW mechanics resonated with me 'cose, whenever you're facing something you think will tear you, your thoughts about your loved ones will definely be your strongest weapon, I LOVE how it is "random" since sometimes, the things that would go to your head that pushes you through are sometimes "random". Remembering that joke with a friend, that kiss with a loved or that advice from a family figure which is like a "kick/push" in your butt that gives you the strenght to keep going, to keep fighting.
Zack will always be that eternal reference about how, even if things look as dark as they can be, you need to keep your DMW spinning and just give It another try.
Embrace your dreams everyone.
I honestly feel this also applies a bit to sephiroth as well
I dunno. I think he did fine. But Zack's voice is just awful.
Sephiroth’s voice is fine. It’s not the OG VA but he didn’t do a bad job at all
Seph’s new VA has some line delivery issues too but he’s generally similar to George Newman. I don’t mind it but I can’t get through Zack’s voice _at_ _all_
Don’t get me wrong, I MUCH preferred Sephiroth’s previous voice but I can live with the new one. I can not live with the new Zack voice. Call me petty, but it is the sole reason I didn’t purchase CCR, a remake of my favourite game.
@@arac7690 Caleb got better as the game progresses.
Zack’s new voice is the only reason I’m not playing the remaster version. I’ve seen enough examples and I don’t like the new English VA for Zack. He sounds way too odd and line delivery is pretty bad at times but like you said it’s probably to do with the direction given.
Zack is my favourite FF character so I’m trying to keep my memories of Zack as I remember 😂
Same.
yeah... but the problem is the remake and now rebirth... where he is alive now in another timeline :v
No please you can still chase your dreams!! This is the first time I’ve ever watched your content, and I really resonate with Zack too for similar reasons. I definitely think you can be a voice actor!! It’s never too late. I really liked your video and message, thanks for sharing, and I hope you chase your dreams too💛
This is something that I’m glad more people are talking about. Pretty graphics and cool gameplay aside, the voice acting is just all wrong for me personally. An aspiring voice actor myself, I had a mini campaign to try and voice Wesker in Dead by Daylight. But since the odds were slim to none to begin with coupled with the hype for Wesker’s return in a playable sense no less, fans were able to overlook his less than stellar voice actor. That said, it’s refreshing to see people talking about the nonsensical practice of American VA’s constantly being shifted out of roles they are perfect in, Rick Gomez as Zack is like Peanut Butter and Jelly, a match made to be! Great video!
Zack old voice actors play Zack the best I just love how he can make Zack sound very mature when time calls for it.
Zack Fair is my favorite Final Fantasy character (and now that I think of it he's also my fave video game character) of all time as well. My name is also Zack in real life and I always felt like he portrayed the version of myself that I couldn't express at my adolescent stage of life.
Now I'm 30 and married and I do feel like I have become more like my true self (and more like Zack Fair) in terms of being an upbeat, optimistic, and sometimes goofy/confident (and over confident at times) person.
I feel the new voices were hired without thought about whether the new voices could act and more whether they were hip cool and most likely cheaper than the og. While some worked out, other like Zack are just disappointing.
@@Dangangela6565 directing is not responsible if Caleb has a naturally annoying voice and 0 talent. wakey wakey
@@Dangangela6565 Hoechlin and Pierce do not do suit the characters they are voicing .
post-rebirth now... caleb's performance (at least in my eyes) has improved MULTITUDES. i think some of the weirdness might have to be very much on the voice director's part. caleb shined in Rebirth- it might have been because of Reunion that his performance got so much better- but either way i WISH that Reunion's Zack sounded as good as Rebirth's.
I didn’t have any friends in 8th grade. So that summer (after playing Crisis Core) I practiced my voice all because of Rick Gomez. I started emulating his and it helped me find myself over the years. Never realized how iconic a voice could be until he was gone 😢
(Edit)
I made lots of friends that year, many I still know even after college. #thanksrickgomez
4:45 These are probably the only voice line change i’m okay with. Plus, the way caleb delivers it makes me laugh a little
GREAT JOB with the review, it brought me to tears too towards the end of the video. I totally agree, the first moment when i heard it in the new trailer it felt so weird. Keep up, zacks original voice just had the clam and sincere tone that made a huge difference. Even though I love the Japanese VC way more the Og English was better than the current one for sure. Thanks for pointing this out.❤
I'd say the VA's I'm the previous game captured the character's personal and set the tone for the story and the world better although the differences are mostly negligible overall. Except, surprisingly for the main character, Zack. So far, and not to he mean, he sounds mostly like a little brat instead of a cool, young; confident and at times hot-headed soldier on the rise.
This was a beautiful video, I definitely understand that feeling of playing Crisis Core at a young age and being so impacted by themes and trials that are hard to comprehend yet still executed well. Zack is a fantastic character who deserves a good amount of respect from Square who defined a generation. His new voice isn't up to par, and it shows when you compare them.
Honestly replacing Sephiroth's VA was a big mistep to me too, because Rick and George carried the Original Crisis Core on it's back. They had good line delivery and very good chemistry given the circumstances. Nevertheless, thank you for posting.
Yes!!! Finally someone else who’s favorite character is Zack! He made such an impact on me as a teenager and Rick’s performance was a large part of that! I got the remake for Christmas and while I’m loving the remaster overall, I sorely miss his voice and this very clearly explains why. Thank you!
I didn’t get why people are shaming on the voice acting so much at first. Thanks to you, I think I understand. The nuances behind the voice delivery is the reason why you felt so strongly about Zack. It’s why we felt it. It must have been tough for Caleb to replicate, he did his best still. This game is special to many of you.
Crisis Core is one of my favourite games of all time. I had never completed a super secret FF boss until CC. But now I can’t even bear to play CCR until someone completes the Rock Gomez full voice mod via AI.
It’s not just Zack. Square Enix is getting slack when it comes to vocal performances in their new games.
Case in point, Kingdom hearts. The voice directions are awful, its only the talented voice actors that carry it to make sound better than its supposed to.
@@xestalfer5774 I agree with you. The only time I felt like the vocal direction and delivery flowed better, was in the first Kingdom Hearts. Then its like from 2 on up, they started saying lines awkwardly and talked slow and put pauses inbetween words.
Don't buy from them anymore
@@JasLamArr91 I would argue the dub is having difficulty with the lip sync/character interactions.
@@AnakinSkywakka I definitely agree with you on that one!
Beautifully explained.
Rick Gomez immensely captured the growth Zack goes through. Inflections and Delivery matters. I didn't feel that with reunion and I'll still support the old cast.
Lol the "awesome. We're gonna fail" was wholesome and glad they did it.
Honestly to me, some of those moments are just Zack energy.
thank you so much for this video! I have a soft spot for Zack Fair and was relieved to hear that at the very least in the Japanese version, his original VA, Kenichi Suzumura, has returned to voice him since I adore his voice acting work so much! Voice acting is more than just reading lines off a script; the best voice actors really get into the role of their characters which is what makes them so compelling.
I didn’t know what to expect for Zach’s new EN voice actor as I haven’t been following pre-release news and was a little concerned because I’ve observed that many of the FFVIIR voice cast members don’t belong to the greater sphere of US-based agency VAs who have been getting much more refined with their voice work in the last decade whom you’ll typically hear across anime and other games from East Asia released in NA.
I grew up watching my older sister play Crisis Core and Rick Gomez’s voice acting was what I remembered the most because he would do little charming, dorky inflections in his delivery of Zack’s lines which is how I ended up loving him so much as a character, which was what made me empathize more with Aerith, Cloud and Tifa in the original games seeing how Zack was when he was alive (even the cheesy “Me? Gongaga” line hehe). Gomez’s performance really emphasized the “acting” part of voice acting as a profession which is similar to what I would say of SuzuKen (who is a stellar voice acting professional too!).
I try my best not to be too harsh with voice actors because it may also be a matter of voice direction choices (I say this as an enjoyer of voice acting in multiple languages with much respect to the art form when acted and directed very well!) because it may also be a matter of that part of the job as well.
Sometimes it’s intentionally done at the discretion of the voice director’s instructions. Sometimes it’s notes coming from the game studio overseas (see: Final Fantasy XIV and XVI’s intentional British accents in their English voicework because this was a request from those game’s lead dev teams for a more classic high fantasy approach). It’s kinda disappointing to hear and makes me a little hesitant to really tune in this remake.
It's not even just nostalgia-boner for Rick Gomez's voice at this rate, his voice is just very satisfying sounding while giving such a great performance as Zack even despite the somewhat awkward script at times in the original. His voice is like a smooth deepness, not too deep or too high, and especially not nasally sounding. Funnily thing, there's a bug in the game which has the old VA's lines play instead of the new VA's and it serves as a day-and-night comparison to how unbearable the new voice is compared to the old one.
I'm surprised I haven't seen a single idiot try and say that thinking Rick Gomez did a much better job is just "nostalgia" You really can tell in just about every scene
Let us not sugar coat it, please. His new VA is atrocious.
Agreed
DAAAAAAMNNNN
Atrocious is putting it lightly.
No he’s not. All of you purists just have your own preconceived notions of what he should sound like.
He was perfectly fine. He has way more emotion than Rick Gomez. I’ve watched Rick in several shows and he’s monotone in all of them.
God you purists are annoying as sh*t.
You exaggerate. He sounds fine.
Hey man I just discovered your channel and I feel so fortunate to have stumbled upon you. Your content is fantastic! Man you totally caught me off guard towards the end when you had a very delicate emotional moment there. I was in the kitchen indulging in snacks and I was not ready for it, but I absolutely loved it. It was so genuine and natural. And you're spot on, Rick Gomez's voice really is something special.
Sephiroth and Zack old voices was just perfect for me.
I hate how the new cool is being quirky. Early 2000s cool is way better objectively. Jason Griffith Sonic vs Roger Craig Smith is a great example.
It's never too late to voiceact my friend! There are roles for all ages
This is so true. Vocal changes can both impact a character and story. And zack also influenced Me as well was the first ff game I beat and thr first game to make me cry.
I'm really enjoying the Japanese voice acting.
I get recasting VAs if the original VA is not available or if fans reacted badly to the original voice (eg: Aerith's) but Rick Gomez, George Newbern and Steve Blum had voices which suit their characters to a T. A cynical part of me wonders if the recasting was done because localization team did not want to hire veteran VAs because they would cost more.
With all the money they probably is receiving from the game since 2020, I doubt that costing more should be a problem. It's marketing strategy all the way to go. All of the new english VAs are connected with actors from HBO/CW/Warner.
Idk about Steve Blum, his voice is too deep for Vincent imo
Thank you for your heartfelt statements on this. I can tell Zack had an effect on you like many of us. It's sad about this new voice direction, (not blaming the VA) but hopefully in Rebirth onward he can improve
9:21 Zack is my favorite video game character too along with Dante/Vergil it’s just not same without Rick Gomez voice I’m hoping the voice actor for Dante Reuben Langdon didn’t actually get replaced for the new Dmc anime or future games
The new guy's voice actually grew on me a lot. I think I prefer it in fact.
I prefer the Caleb’s performance for like 80% of the game. Especially the ending, I just liked Caleb’s delivery better, but Rick Gomez is great too. There’s a few times when I thought the original was better but majority of the time I just liked caleb’s better overall. But this is my ff hot take that I will probably get eaten alive for, you are not alone
In scene with Cloud in hotel Zack is still 18. Which is only 2 years older, than Cloud. He turns 23, when they run towards Midgar. So, youthful voice here is still ok. Even though Rick and Caleb are obviously different people, Caleb learned his mistake in the end of Remake and now tried to deliver his lines more or less the same way as in original CC. But because he IS different person, we will hear difference anyway. I think the only character, who doesn't really sound much different, is Cloud. Steve and Cody are very similar, but Cody gives more depth with his voice.
It's not just his voice, but also his delivery, in that scene in particular Zack should have sounded more charismatic and confident because obviously Cloud needed some guidance in that moment. Zack is also hardened soldier, even if he's only 18, so he's had to mature a lot over those 2 years. Despite their different personalities and experience, there just isn't enough contrast in that scene anymore which makes the scene less impactful.
@@joseph8546 I mean, yes, Rick Gomez was perfect, but we'll have to get used to Caleb now. He's not bad. But different, yes.
@@creativebodyflying no offense he certainly is bad. It is as if he's reading over the script other than putting actual emotions through the character. Rick Gomez actually acted out his lines and it is why it sounds more human and more emotional in comparison to Caleb.
I apologize, while you do have your own opinion I feel that no one is going to get used to it. At least most of the community has changed the voice option to Japanese when buying reunion. Caleb has to do better in his deliveries. Rick Gomez had shown his love and compassion for this character.
Caleb did not. And square enix had been greedy, as a multimillion dollar company to even hire back the old VA for Zack. It's all SE's fault in general.
@@HayatoPato I’ve seen different opinions. I’ll stick to mine. 😉 I prefer Rick, but I don’t feel Caleb did bad. 🤷🏻♀️
It matters. It's only a reunion with old people you met and know, else it's not a reunion, it's a meeting. And I'm not nice to meet these new voices.
This comment's awesome, you've captured the "Crisis Core"-level edgy cringe writing that I loved when I was a teenager. Please write more!
My man we had the exact same experience with this character. My absolute hero and favorite character of all time ever
So George newborn will always be the perfect voice for sephiroth, but even Genesis voice in crisis core was a remake because originally he sounded like Antonio Banderas if you collect all the g files in dirge of cerebrus
Zack’s new voice robs him of his bombastic presence it’s almost scary we need his old voice track and for Rick to come back because they no longer feel similar in the slightest.
I'm glad I'm not the only one getting mad at this, this character made me realize just how important a good or bad voice acting is 🥺.
The other thing I don’t understand about “reunion” is the change of the buster swords design. I’m pretty sure they just reused the asset from remake because it was Easier. But thats the story of the sword it’s self. In the original the design of the buster sword was supposed to look ornamental. Like it wasn’t supposed to be used just seen with all the small flourishes and engravings. And angel never used it so it never really had any scratches or damage on it. Until Zack gets it and even then, “even though it’s not represent in game” Zack does say that he only uses the blunt side of the sword, in order to preserve the edge of the blade. And it maintains mostly a good look throughout the year that he has it, but then it gets passed on to cloud who proceeds to let it degrade with constant use and mishandling and I would assume causes it to lose most of its luster, even the engraving on the hilt, which would lead to him having to replace it with the metal bar that goes t throgh the middle. Giving it the iconic look but now they just make it look like it always looks like that and it hasn’t changed in over 10 years span. Like the sword history, never really matter to begin with. it’s just always been a huge hunk of metal that cloud swings around.
They gave a reason to the design change actually. When Crisis Core came out, it was after Advent Children and you see the Buster Sword in that has the same color scheme and design as CC. When they did Remake, the Buster Sword returned how it was back when the first FF7 was out so they changed it back to match that version. So it was less of it having a fancy design because it was supposed to always looked like that but more of just using whatever current version they had. If Advent Children had the old design we would've just had that version just like in Remake and Reunion.
@@JVdragoon i see… thank you
when ff7r came out i honestly didnt understand why people where so upset abt zack’s new va. now im playing cc reunion and im so disappointed with the choices they made with zack’s voice (and ultimately his character) and i miss the old raw and impactful voice acting
Because it easy to spot.
Now that scene where Zack grab angeal to the wall. Omg, that is like the worst angry, frustrated that celeb able to gives to zack. Now people should see why in that scene alone just compare.
Finally someone points it out, my ears have been in pain
Zack is eighteen* in the Nibelheim Inn scene, but he is still two years older and wiser and has seen a lot of nonsense by then. So, I feel like everything you said still applies. I do feel like Caleb could do a lot of great voice work. I just feel like he doesn't have the voice acting experience yet to do the heavy lifting and fill the shoes Rick Gomez left which were really difficult shoes to fill in the first place. It was an uphill battle for him from the get-go.
Bruh Zack sounds even younger in that scene with Cloud
Wow. Making a game and having it have that impact on a man. Love it, bro! Thanks for the raw production. 👍🏻
All you said hit the nail on the head. I'll miss Rick as Zack.
Sidenote, I love The Bouncer, the announcers voice is drilled into my head.
Aside from the shift in age tone, I think the original VA was a bit more anime in his delivery. Anime has a more exaggerated tone and emphasis to match the exaggerated animations. The new VA, aside from the pitch range selected for Zack sounds a bit more natural.
The hard part is that we fell in love with old Zack. I remember when we got the extra scene after Intergrade and Zack had new lines it didn’t sound bad at all and people were thinking, “maybe we just needed time to get used to it.” I knew it was because it was new lines, but I hoped they were right and I’d get used to it.
I didn't think Caleb sounded natural at all. He sounded like he was reading his lines off a script instead of acting.
The second I heard the voice I was like "Japanese with English subs it is then."
Great Video .. gives a new perspective on Zack
❤ I think you should do voice acting! Rick Gomez will forever be Zack’s English voice
Dont worry. The original crisis core lives on in our hearts. I too owe a lot to this games lessons and respect you for opening up.
Just wanted to leave a positive comment, I'm really glad to finally come across the content that I'm really looking for in the context of problematic choices and/or changes to games, a vision that shows respect to both angles, clear ways in how one works better than the other instead of just saying "listen to how bad it sounds!" and not pushing hard on making jokes at the expense of the lower quality voice acting.
I'm really not a fan of the new voice acting either, but it's great to just have a nice, calm take that's focusing more on the positives of the original rather than the negatives of the new one, and it's really touching hearing what the character means to you, and again, using that in a positive light to elevate Rick Gomez's performance, instead of weaponizing it against Caleb Pierce.
"Awesome! We're gonna fail!" made me chuckle bahaha