# Worst voice acting scene in videogames **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 13, 2008, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-voice-acting-scene-in-videogames/456324 "2008-07-13T13:11:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-voice-acting-scene-in-videogames/456324/21 "2008-07-14T17:58:16Z")
I’ve always cringed at the horrible voice acting in what is otherwise the best video game ever made. _Castlevania: Symphony of the Night_. The guy who did Alucard isn’t bad, but Richter and Dracula are terrible, and they have the opening scene together! ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-voice-acting-scene-in-videogames/456324/22 "2008-07-14T19:46:46Z")
[QUOTE=Mahaloth] That game had live action in it, so I’m not sure what you mean. [/QUOTE] Yeah, it wasn’t until I looked at those clips that I remembered it was more than voice acting. Still some cringeworthy stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-voice-acting-scene-in-videogames/456324/23 "2008-07-14T19:52:52Z")
[QUOTE=fusoya] I’ve always cringed at the horrible voice acting in what is otherwise the best video game ever made. _Castlevania: Symphony of the Night_. The guy who did Alucard isn’t bad, but Richter and Dracula are terrible, and they have the opening scene together! [/QUOTE] > [@Dracula](#): > > What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets! I fondly remember the one time when playing on the Playstation where I somehow triggered the ability to skip the cut scenes. That was the best Secrets of the Night game ever. I never did manage to get that to work again. ---
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-voice-acting-scene-in-videogames/456324/24 "2008-07-14T20:05:00Z")
[QUOTE=RichS.] Most of the voice actors in GTA: San Andreas, especially the voice of C.J. Frank Vincent, however, made it all worth it. [/QUOTE] I agree with Really Not All That Bright, thought CJs voice acting was very good, if sometimes a bit silly for comedic effect. Resident Evil 4’s pirate/cockney merchant is worth a mention… “Ha ha ha ha… come back ANY time!” ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-voice-acting-scene-in-videogames/456324/25 "2008-07-14T20:09:50Z")
[QUOTE=turkleton] My vote goes for this [http://youtube.com/watch?v=BU8-e-C4Uy0](http://youtube.com/watch?v=BU8-e-C4Uy0) . What do you think [/QUOTE] Not the voice-acting, but around 1:25 in that video, I was hoping that the guy was wearing a diaper. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-voice-acting-scene-in-videogames/456324/26 "2008-07-15T16:14:26Z")
[QUOTE=Just Some Guy] I fondly remember the one time when playing on the Playstation where I somehow triggered the ability to skip the cut scenes. That was the best Secrets of the Night game ever. I never did manage to get that to work again. [/QUOTE] “This is a Playstation black disc…” “This is a Playstation black disc…” “This is a Playstation black disc…” I really liked the song, so I sat through it. ---
**Author:** ![essell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@essell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/essell)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-voice-acting-scene-in-videogames/456324/27 "2008-07-15T16:23:39Z")
**DarkStar One** has some really off voice acting. Not really bad, unless you’re annoyed by such things. But the emphasis and intonations are terrible, suggesting the acting was done by non-native english speakers, or the script was changed and the lines chopped together from crap, like a hotdog. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-voice-acting-scene-in-videogames/456324/28 "2008-07-15T17:56:25Z")
[QUOTE=jhinman] Seven of Nine in Star Trek: Voyager: Elite Force. Note done by Jeri Ryan. So bad 1 of the patches to the game replace her with Jeri Ryan voice. [/QUOTE] Wait is this… Note: done by Jeri Ryan or… Not done by Jeri Ryan ? ---
**Author:** ![Omi\_no\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Omi\_no\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omi_no_Kami)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-voice-acting-scene-in-videogames/456324/29 "2008-07-15T18:21:10Z")
It’s not the worst I’ve ever heard, but _Oblivion_ should get honorable mention for the clusterfuck that was the random dialog generator. Half of the conversations start randomly in inappropriate contexts (see: a merchant talking with the evil death cultist about a new newspaper article, in a dark alley, in the middle of the night, while studiously ignoring the pile of corpses I’ve just “discovered”). The greatest bit, though, was how most NPCs rotated through the same lines in different voices. Imagine, you’re listening to an old beggar woman croak out pleas for spare change from a random passerby, when her voice suddenly and inexplicably changes to a clear, crisp, upper-class British accent. There was no small amount of :smack: invested in that otherwise-wonderful game’s architecture. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-voice-acting-scene-in-videogames/456324/30 "2008-07-15T18:37:59Z")
[QUOTE=Omi no Kami] It’s not the worst I’ve ever heard, but _Oblivion_ should get honorable mention for the clusterfuck that was the random dialog generator. Half of the conversations start randomly in inappropriate contexts (see: a merchant talking with the evil death cultist about a new newspaper article, in a dark alley, in the middle of the night, while studiously ignoring the pile of corpses I’ve just “discovered”). [/QUOTE] I kept running into situations where I’d enter a crowded room, and all the NPCs would trigger their “random” conversations at the same time, using the same line of dialogue. I’d walk into a bar, and be greeted by a chorus of, “I hear there are goblins in the hills!” by every single person in there. As my own nod to roleplaying, my character would then back slowly out of the room. ---
**Author:** ![Pithy\_Moniker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8dc957/32.png) [@Pithy\_Moniker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pithy_Moniker)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-voice-acting-scene-in-videogames/456324/31 "2008-07-15T22:26:45Z")
I didn’t see it linked yet but here’s the [intro to Resident Evil.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cf0EpML-AWM) There’s this gem from the ending of [Final Fight](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSXAGsNnu-o). The bad acting begins at about the 2 minute mark. ---
**Author:** ![jhinman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/779978/32.png) [@jhinman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jhinman)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-voice-acting-scene-in-videogames/456324/32 "2008-07-16T18:46:36Z")
[QUOTE=smiling bandit] Wait is this… Note: done by Jeri Ryan or… Not done by Jeri Ryan ? [/QUOTE] Not done. Sorry about that. ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-voice-acting-scene-in-videogames/456324/33 "2008-07-16T19:44:00Z")
[This is by far the worst voice acting ever. No contest.](http://youtube.com/watch?v=BAtC1SzWSXg) Well okay, there is some competition: [pretty much everything by Phoenix Games](http://youtube.com/watch?v=JsV5ymHCNww). ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-voice-acting-scene-in-videogames/456324/34 "2008-07-16T20:51:48Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] I kept running into situations where I’d enter a crowded room, and all the NPCs would trigger their “random” conversations at the same time, using the same line of dialogue. I’d walk into a bar, and be greeted by a chorus of, “I hear there are goblins in the hills!” by every single person in there. As my own nod to roleplaying, my character would then back slowly out of the room. [/QUOTE] And let’s not forget the time I walked out into the streets, with no around for fifty feet, and suddenly quests started popping into my notebook. Apparently some NPC somewhere wanted to have a conversation, and so I got the notes for it. The fact that I couldn’t see nor hear anyone didn’t matter. In fact, while I like the concept, I don’t think I once got any sensible result out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-voice-acting-scene-in-videogames/456324/35 "2008-07-16T21:02:02Z")
[QUOTE=Yumblie] [This is by far the worst voice acting ever. No contest.](http://youtube.com/watch?v=BAtC1SzWSXg) [/QUOTE] That was so bad it actually made me shudder. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-voice-acting-scene-in-videogames/456324/36 "2008-07-16T21:07:24Z")
[QUOTE=Illuminatiprimus] That was so bad it actually made me shudder. [/QUOTE] Yeah. I think that wins, given that: 1. I thought it was a joke at first (and I’m still not convinced it’s not–maybe somebody did a voiceover for Youtube?) 2. I was giggling until I reached about 1:30; and 3. I couldn’t watch any more at that point. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-voice-acting-scene-in-videogames/456324/37 "2008-07-17T00:36:45Z")
[QUOTE=Yumblie] [This is by far the worst voice acting ever. No contest.](http://youtube.com/watch?v=BAtC1SzWSXg) [/QUOTE] Th Hell? At first, I thought maybe it was the result of some sort of contest. Send in the form, you could win the chance to do a voice for a video game! It would make sense as a way to have it done for cheap…and it would explain the piss-poor quality! But [this website](http://voiceoverture.net/video-games/dont-hire-your-family-to-voice-over-your-video-game/) explains it as an even _cheaper_ option…the CEO of the company that made the game just got his family to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2008, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-voice-acting-scene-in-videogames/456324/38 "2008-07-18T02:16:57Z")
I remember this gem from the first Resident Evil: I was playing as Jill, investigating a room. As I approached the fireplace a giant snake burst out of it and attacked me. I used a bazooka with acid rounds to kill it. When it was finally dead, another cutscene triggered: Jill was on the ground gasping. There was smoking purple ooze and chunks of giant snake corpse all over the floor and walls. There’s a hole in the floor that the snake burst through at one point. **Barry** walked in. **Barry** : Jill, have you found anything interesting yet? **Jill** : Why, yes, I was about to investigate this hole. **Me** : :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Emerald\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Emerald\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emerald_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2008, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-voice-acting-scene-in-videogames/456324/39 "2008-07-18T19:50:26Z")
[QUOTE=metonymic] Tenchu for PS1 has some really bad examples – made more painful by the fact that you have to sit through _so many_ cutscenes! I couldn’t find video, but here are some audio samples from [this](http://www.audioatrocities.com/games/tenchu/index.html) site: [/QUOTE] From the same site, my pick is [Castle Shikigami 2](http://www.audioatrocities.com/games/castleshikigami2/index.html). Wince at the [most awkward flirting ever](http://www.audioatrocities.com/games/castleshikigami2/clip1.mp3). Apparently, [Duke Nukem _hates_ activities](http://www.audioatrocities.com/games/castleshikigami2/clip4.mp3). ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2008, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-voice-acting-scene-in-videogames/456324/40 "2008-07-18T20:01:38Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise] I was going to nominate _7th Guest_ (which I know dates me as a gamer) but… [/QUOTE] You weren’t in to nominate…? **HARBINGER… COMING!** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-voice-acting-scene-in-videogames/456324.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-voice-acting-scene-in-videogames/456324.md?page=3)