What? I'm doing this now? Well after people stopped giving a shit? Well this was a key element to my early days on the internet, and since I made a Sonic game tier list not too long ago (may even be prone to updating), looking back on this, I gotta say, my introduction to it, StephenKnux, was the worst entry point for me, bar none. I get it's his opinion but he either didn't go about it the right way, or just used the worst possible examples to back it up.
You can consider this my definitive list of choices for Sonic voice actors, an ideal cast would be a mix between all three. Before I go into this, I'd like to set some rules. I'm going by the Sonic Heroes principle, as in I am only focusing on characters I consider truly integral to the Sonic series, meaning the likes of the Babylon Rogues will not be included. I will also focus mainly on the video game cast, with one exception. With that said, let's get into this.
This will be direct focuses on each actor, along with summaries on their best and worst aspects, I hope to provide context where it is necessary.
Sonic
Ryan Drummond, for a time he was in quite a gray area for me. I feel he had been otherwise ruined by people with no foresight, and ironically Spax3 wasn't part of that for me, I only learned about him after the fact. Looking into his earlier performances, it's a little rough, like the "cool" factor took heavier presence than anything else.
For the record, I will base my conclusions on how these actors performed in Sonic Heroes since that would be when they became comfortable with their characters.
When he got to Sonic Heroes, he managed to get it together, well mostly. I don't know if it was the writing or whatever, but it made me question how Drummond would handle scenes that would call for more emotional reactions. He nailed the energy, but that was about it. It's still a good voice, but I question how much staying power it would have, especially since most Sonic games afterward called for more intensive scenes.
Nevertheless, Ryan's a cool guy, unlike the creator of Infinity Train who sarcastically liked my comment, Ryan actually spoke to me during a Twitter spat I had with a Sonic tuber and held no ill-will. I respect the guy and I do consider him a good actor. Maybe he would've demonstrated some good chops had he been given the opportunity to do so.
Jason Griffith's performance is like an anime arc in itself. It started off weak, but grew stronger as he continued on, especially since Sonic games at this point became more story intensive, for better or worse. It felt like he had a character beyond his way past cool adage, and it only got better as time went on. It is important you judge these actors on the last game they performed in, because by then they got the roles down cold. Griffith was good enough to melt Spax3's heart and was cool enough to accept his apology, and also he did well as Shadow apparently.
Roger Craig Smith, sucks balls. Okay that's a stretch. Unlike Drummond and Griffith, whose filmographies are limited to certain niches; Drummond for video game roles and Griffith for English dubs, Smith had involvement in contemporary voice acting roles. But that just means he should be held to a higher level of scrutiny, as he had the experience for it. Simply put, his role does nothing for me, he's just unremarkable as an actor, I'm not gonna try and get him removed, I just don't like him.
He was involved in drama relating to Sonic the Hedgehog R, I think he talked shit about someone getting called out or added to an existing conflict. Drummond and Griffith never did anything like that
He is unremarkable, so, there. It's a tie between Drummond and Griffith.
Tails
Gonna make something painfully clear, as well as give out a fairly hot take. Stop hiring child actors. Tails has been through three of them in the Adventure era alone. It shows how much of a money sink it could be. None of them offer any painfully remarkable performances, and William Corkery has to be the worst by far. If this was all down to a single take then I could understand, but it goes to show how useless it is to hire kid actors, unless you're a pedophile who gets off to the sound of little boys.
One thing I like about Amy Palant or this era of voice actors is that SEGA, or whoever, decided to put their foot down and just hire a woman to do the roles. Sonic fans tended to be quite literal when hearing Tails played by a woman, "He's played by a girl, that means he must be one apparently." It never made any sense, and I'm hoping that's over with, though I guess at that point Tara Strong was an exception because they believed she was single.
Regretful ranting aside, I think Palant nailed the dorky genius aspect of Tails, and of course it would improve overtime as it became more natural for her to do the role. She would fit right in if she was part of the Adventure era.
Kate Higgins does a good job too, continuing where Palant left off, and SEGA keeping their foot down. I don't really have much to say, I would render this section a spiteful one because of how useless child actors are in the realm of consistent voice acting roles, but I consider Palant and Higgins to have done the character justice-
Wait, there's another?
Apparently at one point Tails received another different voice actor. This might've just been for Sonic Boom, but since that technically had a game, I might as well talk about it. Colleen O' Shaugnessey does an okay job, I guess. I'm not cutting her short because I don't like the era she's part of, I just don't have that much to say.
Knuckles
Before I go into this, I'm not gonna address Ryan Drummond's performance as Knuckles, as Sonic Shuffle is outside of the main Sonic cannon.
Michael McGaharn was only involved in one Sonic game, and at some point he left. This was the first time, in the games mind you, that these characters would be given voice actors, so I can imagine having no complete grasp on the character. McGaharn, I was gonna write him off as a bored-sounding, well, bore, but after playing Sonic Adventure, I found some more merit to his character. Hell, McGaharn actually has some impressive range. If you want an example, did you know he played Ken in Detective Barbie: Mystery of the Carnival Caper? I was gobsmacked when I saw he was credited to it, I never would've guessed.
I don't know what led him to call it quits, but I really wish he had more roles.
Scott Drier is... okay. I got to hear him at his best, and his worst, at the exact same time. Maybe he didn't handle the role well, or maybe Knuckles characterization just didn't work out for him. His chill demeanor is honestly pretty irritating, and compared to others I feel like he phoned it in more than others. He also has this odd tendency to speak gibberish.
"Aura Aura Oruah! Dang."
"Shih! Ra! Sha!"
If Knuckles kept the chill demeanor, he'd be close to being interchangeable with the likes of Espio and Shadow, for the most part. A lack of longterm application and maybe just a poor characterization has kept Drier in low numbers for me.
On Dan Green, people were not too happy with the more angry take he gave to Knuckles, at least in the anime. In the games, his new personality, for better or worse, is at least distinctive. You can't expect someone who has spent most of his life guarding the master emerald, to posses key social skills and coping mechanisms. I dunno, I just feel like Green's take made more sense.
Travis Willingham is basically interchangeable with Green, and probably reflected SEGA echoing my feelings on what direction the character should take. I got no comment on him, and I blame his performance in Rise of Lyric on bad writing, he did what was asked of him, blame the askers not the asked.
I'm giving it to Green, but McGaharn comes at a close second because I feel he could use some love as well.
Shadow
Looking back on Sonic Heroes, this was the game that sold me on David Humphrey. He finds the perfect balance between the stoic serious nature of the character, and other emotions, something that indirectly reflects development on his part.
Griffith's introduction to the character can be considered tragic at worst, as his first time voicing the character in any game was Shadow the Hedgehog, which basically hurt the character some, well depending on what path you take. He does fine enough with the role though, even getting a prime Spax's sign of approval.
Kirk Thornton... otherwise insignificant. It didn't stick with me in a good or bad way.
Let's wrap this up, this round goes to David Humphrey.
Rouge
Looking back to StephenKnux's coverage of her actors, it held up poorly, all things considered, it may even be on par with LambHoot's review of Revenge of the Flying Dutchman in terms of its rampant pettiness and ignorance of context. But in a moment.
One thing that pissed me off about his video is that he used a clip of Rouge from Sonic Adventure 2. Why use a clip from when she was starting out, and relegate a more refined take to a brief clip? Because Lani Minella's performance as Rouge in Sonic Heroes was awesome, up there with Humphrey in striking a balance between spunk and seriousness, though leaning on the former otherwise. To be fair she probably had more experience than the other actors.
Caren Manuel... this is where that LambHoot comparison comes into play. I need to provide some context. One thing I noticed in dubs performed by actors associated with 4Kids and the like, they tend to be quite literal with their roles. They have to sound things out whenever a character has their gob open for pete's sake. They also had to make sure a character's voice fit a character's appearance.
Now, I feel, at least back then, Caren Manuel got a bad rep. She does have range, if her role in Winx Club is anything to go by, but because she was a go-to for more seductive characters, and with how Rouge is portrayed physically, the word of the day is typecasting. Any fault Manuel's performance has lies not on the performance, because she was doing what was asked of her. The problem is the direction and the literal nature of characterization according to the dub team.
We have tales that speak of unfortunate direction and a publisher that threw a small developer under the bus, but no, the world ends because of a poor take and a fucking foghorn not going off. Priorities.
Karen Strassman reflects a return to normalcy for the character, and it's also a good performance to boot. I just wanna move on, so I'd give it to Strassman on this one.
E-123 Omega
Omega has been consistent in terms of voice roles, well for the most part. Jon St. John does a good job bringing this character to life, so moving on.
What's interesting is that even after the 4Kids cast took over for future games, Omega was given an actor outside of the union 4Kids used. In Shadow the Hedgehog he was played by Jeff Kramer, and he continues with St. John's take. Did you know Kramer played Superman in that crappy Superman game Rerez covered?
Vic Mignogna unfortunately never got to participate much in the games, and after something happened with him that I don't want to bring up, it's unlikely we'll ever hear from him again. At most I got one clip out of him.
Then there was Maddie Blaustein, she played Omega in Sonic 06. I mean no offense, but why cast her? Seems like a loose bet, all things considered. Her role plays deeper into the literal nature of 4Kids dubbing, she nails the robotic nature a bit too well and ironically peels away any character Omega should have, I mean in terms of expression. I was able to get some expression out of the other actors. If I had to guess, I assume the voice recording process was rushed as well and they were forced to use the best takes they had, and that may go for casting as well.
Also to be clear Blaustein passed away time ago. Rest in peace.
So, who's gonna be my pick? Well I don't want to side with Mignogna, not because of what happened but because I have very little to go by on his performance. Blaustein's performance, may she rest in peace, but I didn't like her performance, she did great everywhere else. Jon St. John can go fuck himself as far as I'm concerned; politics, otherwise he told people who didn't align to his political views to unfriend him on Facebook. Danny Antonucci had bigger balls than him.
Jeff Kramer wins, technically.
Amy Rose
Referring to StephenKnux again... why use a clip from Jennifer Doulliard's very first performance as the character? If you want the proper Adventure Amy experience, once more go to Sonic Heroes. At that point, Amy was... kinda annoying. She sounded like a hyper teenager at times and as the game went on it got on my nerves. It wasn't so bad in the previous games because by then her role wasn't as ironed out, but I have a feeling things might not've improved much had she been kept on. It never got better for me, sorry to say.
Lisa Ortiz has been considered Amy's best voice, and that title has yet to be disputed. She manages to get Amy's character down to a science, the spunk, childish and kindly nature of the character was not lost on her.
Cindy Robinson started off rough, but had never become anything more than passable. Her performance doesn't feel natural, or maybe the writing makes it seem that way.
Okay, so you know the winner, Ortiz. Yeah this didn't require much thought.
Cream
This is gonna be quick. Cream had the most consistent voice changes, all things considered. Sarah Wulfeck was alright, but this was her first time playing the character, and boy does it show. I feel like she struggles to pull off the little girl voice at times, certainly not that natural, but time could've helped matters.
Rebecca Honig managed to provide a more natural sound for Cream, but I can understand if it becomes grating for some the more you hear it.
Michelle Ruff (I think) is probably the most natural of the two.
So it's otherwise a three way tie, but Ruff is on the more favorable end.
Big
Aka a living meme driven into the dirt by a lack of effort to improve the quality and running with the joke until it indirectly disproves the flat earth theory. This is gonna be another quick one, especially since I didn't hear much of Kyle Herbert's performance.
Jon St. John, all things considered, sounded a little flat, even monotone at worst. Even with quick quips during gameplay, they just didn't sound good at all. I'd be saying this no matter who played Big in Sonic Heroes, and I liked St. John's Omega, in spite of what you saw.
So Oliver Wyman, referring back to that literal nature, plays the stupidity of Big straight, but offers some more life in his performance. It's nothing special, but to me it sounds like more effort went into the role, and Wyman does have some decent range, all things considered.
Wyman wins.
Espio
Espio's voice history is interesting, in that his actors not only offer differing voices, but portrayals that otherwise fit the character.
Bill Corkery provides a voice akin to a typical ninja, though more gruff. I gotta say, it grew on me the more I heard it, and helped to provide some distinction between other similar characters. I have a feeling they brought Bill on because of his kids; his son and daughter were in Sonic Heroes. I wonder how that played out?
"Hey Bill, do you have any kids?"
"Uh, yeah?"
"Tell me about them, I swear I don't want to indulge."
"Well, my son's been getting into acting."
"Mhm, he your only child?"
"I got a daughter too, what're you trying to ask?"
"We're hosting a bring your children to work day tomorrow."
"But that's when we're recording the dialog."
"I know."
(after William and Emily arrive)
"Hey kids! Wanna experience what your daddy does? Get into that booth, scripts will be provided."
To be fair that sounds like a big coincidence, but fuck it, Corkery does a good job with what was offered to him.
David Willis' take is closer to that of Shadow, but at least fits the ninja motif for the most part, and is fairly natural. I kinda wish we got a little more out of Willis here, all we had thus far was Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic X, would've loved to see how far he would take Espio.
Troy Baker took the ninja role a bit too seriously. While he got it down... how do I put this? Corkery and Willis did it in a way that helps to provide potential for personalities, characterizations and actions well beyond the ninja motif. For his role in Sonic Generations, there was very little to get from his performance. Would he have been able to break from that? Who knows.
So I'm calling it a tie between Corkery and Willis, because both inspired faith that they could own the roles beyond the ninja aesthetic. Amazingly Willis and Baker are neck and neck, and Willis is ahead.
I haven't heard Matthew Mercer's performance much, but based on one clip, it's fine. Also holy shit Espio was in Sonic Forces?
Charmy
While the boy actors for Tails had nothing to offer, Emily Corkery actually did a damn good job as Charmy. She nailed the hyperactive nature of the character, and made the role believable. Would she have made a good Cream? Who knows.
Amy Birnbaum, she does alright, but I'm picking up a bit of her role as Max from Pokemon, which suggests some minimal range on her part. She is a good actress, heck, like McGaharn she appeared in a PC game from my childhood, I Spy Spooky Mansion (which for the record was developed in New York hence how Birnbaum got involved). It's an okay role, but derivative at worst.
Colleen O'Shaugnessey is another return to form for the character, take what I said about Corkery's performance and apply it here.
All three offer some good roles, but Birnbaum easily ranks below each of them. I'll go with Shaugnessey. O'Shaugnessey? O' who cares.
Vector
Mark Biagi provided a good portrayal of what Vector was meant to be at the time, a gruff goofball, and that's about it.
Let's get this next one out of the way, James Carter Cathcart, aka the former without James, aka Jimmy Zoppi, aka Jack Black's evil twin was clearly trying too hard to capture the spirit of the previous portrayal, and added in a silly voice for some reason. It just didn't work, he has absolutely nothing to show for it. And I'm not just saying that because he gave the finger to a group of actors who didn't deserve it, joined a shittier dub team and I hate him.
Keith Silverstein is like a marriage between both voices, and I dunno, it works well enough. If either is out of the picture you can go with him. He's my pick for this one.
Silver
It's an open and shut case. Both Pete Capella and Quinton Flynn provide decent performances for the character, but the former had a very rough introduction. He was clearly trying his hardest, but never had time to fully iron out his chops. On the other hand, I heard so little of Flynn that I can't make a solid judgement.
So I'll call it a tie, though I feel Capella deserved at least one more chance, we can leave off with what is surefire his best, until I realize I could check out his tenure on Sonic the Hedgehog R, lest it's done ironically.
Blaze
Out of the gate, this is another tie. Erica Schroder helped to establish the serious nature of Blaze early on, and given that 06 was a majority of the new cast at their weakest, it's saying a lot. Lisa Bailey continues from this, but I'm picking up a slight "Eastern" tone in her voice. There may be someone else, but laziness is keeping me from finding out.
But that's all good, it's another tie, let's move on.
Eggman
Someone must've really favored Mike Pollock, and in this day and age it's either him or nobody.
Nevertheless, Deem Bristow offered a great performance as Eggman; one last jab at StephenKnux, way to sell me on only part of what Eggman was like in the Adventure era. His performance in Heroes needs no further word, just know it's an appropriate balance between evil and some other stuff. Point is it's good.
Also, Bristow passed away time after Heroes was released. Rest in peace.
Let's be fair, Pollock has utilized a very common voice used in other 4Kids shows. I sorta dogged on Amy Birnbaum for that, and neglected to bring it up for Ortiz. But in spite of this, Pollock really shined, shined, he's still playing Eggman to this day. There's finding your voice, then finding where the voice fits best, and Eggman is where Pollock's voice fits best.
He provides a malleable performance, and the fact that he managed to stay on really reflects his staying power.
E-102 Gamma
I'm sorta, sorta, am breaking my set rule by talking about a voice change that only occurred in a cartoon and not the games, but I feel it's worth bringing up because Gamma never had much appearances afterwards.
Steve Broadie is sorta like a prototypical Jon St. John for his performance. But I was unable to get that much out of it. It fit the nature of the character, I guess. Did you know he also participated in that crappy Frogger game for the PS2?
Also, Broadie passed away in 2001. Rest in peace.
Andrew Rannells... otherwise continues the literal theory and does a typical robot voice. Rannells himself is quite interesting, as he previously was associated with an Omaha-based talent union (he played Archie in Archie's Weird Mysteries, which used said union), and would go on to perform in The Book of Mormon.
The guy's a decent actor, and did what was asked of him, everyone did what was asked of them, why blame them for a bad performance? It's all about direction, and I learned that the hard way when it came to David Moo, I'm still hurting from that phase in my life.
Conclusion
If Sonic Forces is anything to go by, there is a chance I missed someone. So, because I'm too lazy to do my own research... I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want to.
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