How a character sounds is just as important as their design and abilities. Even the most powerful video game character won't be taken seriously if they have a voice that doesn't suit them. That's why voice actors are important when it comes to creating a game. They bring even more life and emotion into the characters that they're portraying.
Sometimes, the voice actor's rendition of a character will be taken so well that they become synonymous said character. As such, many will keep the same voice actors for different titles in the series. However, excluding game titles that have different voice actors when games are translated and localized, sometimes game characters are voiced by more than one person.
10 Chloe Price – Life Is Strange
Before the Storm is a prequel game to Life is Strange that focuses on Chloe Price, taking place three years before the start of the main game. It shows how Chloe and Rachael Amber meet and their relationship.
Chloe is voiced by Ashly Burch in Life is Strange, but she did not reprise her role in the main episodes of Before the Storm, due to her participation in the SAG-AFTRA strikes. Rhianna DeVries voices Chloe in Before the Storm, and also did Chloe's motion capture performance.
9 James Sunderland – Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill is one of the most acclaimed horror video game series, with Silent Hill 2 as a fan favorite. The protagonist is James Sunderland, who goes to Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his dead wife, which tells him to come to their 'special place' and find her. In the original game, all the characters were both voiced and motion captured by their voice actors. James' voice actor was Guy Cihi.
For the 2016 HD Collection, all the voice actors were replaced, and Troy Baker took on the role of James Sunderland. The decision caused controversy as Guy Cihi spoke out against Konami about not being informed of any re-release of the game to other consoles, and for not being paid residuals for his likeness used in the game.
8 Azura – Fire Emblem Fates
Azura is a main character in Fire Emblem Fates. She's a princess of Nohr and the hidden country of Valla. Her royal Valla lineage gives her the unique ability to calm and revert Corrin to their human form after they lose control. She does so by singing a special song that can perform magical feats when used with her pendant.
In the English version, the song is sung by Azura's voice actor Rena Strober, but in Japanese, Azura is voiced by two different people. Her singing is performed by the music artist Renka, and she is voiced by Lynn during her speaking parts.
7 Frank West – Dead Rising Series
The original protagonist of the Dead Rising game series, Frank West, is a freelance journalist who finds himself with the story of a lifetime as he finds himself trapped in a mall filled with zombies and dangerous human enemies. In several titles in the Dead Rising series, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite, the character is voiced by Terence J. Rotolo. For Dead Rising 4, however, Frank is voiced by Ty Olsson.
In a fan Q&A in 2016, Dead Rising asset manager Trant Lee-Aimes explains that they wanted to work with someone to create a "more grizzled, older take on Frank." However, during an interview on the Residence of Evil podcast, Terence J. Rolo himself stated that he believes he wasn't called to reprise his role as Frank West because he was a part of the SAG-AFTRA strikes during the game's development.
6 Corrin – Fire Emblem Fates
Corrin is the protagonist of Fire Emblem Fates. As with the majority of Fire Emblem games, players can pick between a male or female avatar as their character. In Fates, players can also customize their chosen avatar with a few different faces, hairstyles, and even hair colors. They can also choose three different voice options based on whether they prefer Corrin's voice to be neutral, mature, or youthful.
Male Corrin has two different options, with Yuri Lowenthal voicing his neutral voice and Cam Clarke voicing both mature and youthful. Female Corrin has three; her neutral voice is by Marcella Lentz-Pope, her mature voice is by Stephanie Lemelin and her youthful one is done by Danielle Judovits. Marcella Lentz-Pope voices her exclusively in both Fire Emblem Warriors and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, as does Cam Clarke for Corrin's male avatar.
5 Chie Satonaka – Persona
Fans of Persona 4 are likely familiar with Chie Satonaka, the bold and spunky martial arts enthusiast of the Investigation Team. Chie joins the protagonist and Yosuke after her best friend Yukiko goes missing, and she goes into the TV World to rescue her. In the original English release of Persona 4, Chie was voiced by Tracey Rooney.
However, in Persona 4 Golden, all the other spin-off games, and the English dub of the anime, Chie is voiced by Erin Fitzgerald. Erin Fitzgerald has been the voice for many other notable female characters, such as like Junko from Danganronpa. Chie isn't her only role for Atlas games either. She voices Erica from the Catherine series, and Futaba's mother, Wakaba Isshiki, in Persona 5.
4 Wesker – Resident Evil
Many fans consider Wesker to be a central villain in the Resident Evil series. His goals are nefarious, and he is a genuinely cold-hearted person, but he's a fan favorite for people that love villains.
In the original Resident Evil he was voiced by Pablo Kuntz. Meanwhile, in the Resident Evil HD Remaster, he was voiced by Peter Jessop. He was voiced by Richard Waugh in Resident Evil 4 and DC Douglas in Resident Evil 5. Wesker's voice actor in Dead by Daylight is Connor Fogarty.
3 Harley Quinn – Batman
Harley Quinn is known for so much more than her association with The Joker, especially in her newer portrayals. Her original voice actor, Arleen Sorkin, has also voiced her in Batman: Arkham Asylum and DC Universe Online.
It's thought that Arleen Sorkin didn't reprise her role in Arkham City because she had retired from doing Harley's voice. Tara Strong voices her in Arkham City and Arkham Knight. She's voiced by Laura Bailey in the Lego Batman 2 game. In Batman: The Enemy Within, she's voiced by Laura Post. In the upcoming Gotham Knights game, she'll be voiced by Kari Wahlgren.
2 Leon Kennedy – Resident Evil
Leon Kennedy made his first appearance in Resident Evil 2 as a protagonist for the game, along with Claire Redfield. As the series progressed fans of Leon have seen him grow from a rookie cop to a skilled and seasoned special agent. They've also seen him with different voice actors. In the original Resident Evil 2, he was voiced by Paul Haddad, and then voiced by Paul Mercier for Resident Evil 4 and The Darkside Chronicles.
For Operation Raccoon City he was voiced by Christian Lanz; and then for Resident Evil 6, and Revelations 2, he was voiced by Mathew Mercer. The Resident Evil 2 Remake has Nick Apostolides doing both Leon's voice and motion capture, and he will reprise his role as Leon in the Resident Evil 4 Remake.
1 Chun-Li – Street Fighter
Chun-Li is not only one of the most popular Street Fighter characters but also one of the most iconic female game characters of all time. There have been many Street Fighter games and spin-off games over the years, and when it comes to the English voice-over work for Chun-Li, Laura Bailey has been her voice for many of them.
The exceptions to this are her appearances in Marvel VS Capcom: Infinite and Teppen, which were voiced by Ashly Burch, and Puzzle Fighter, which was voiced by Shannon Chan Kent. The upcoming game, Street Fighter 6, sees Chun-Li's voice actor baton passed on to Jennie Kwan.