Square Enix community team member Hvinire came out of the woodwork today on the official forums and answered some fan questions on the upcoming fourth beta phase, and one particular piece of information stood out: As of Phase 4, the game will have voiced cutscenes as well as a choice between English and Japanese voiceovers.
The voiced cutscene tidbit is exciting enough, but language options? This is a feature most JRPG fans ask for and never get; the very concept of it being available in Final Fantasy game is just too much!
The list of Japanese voice actors/actresses taking part in Final Fantasy XIV is a star-studded array of talent. Industry veterans such as Houchu Ohtsuka and Masako Ikeda are cast alongside newer popular voice actors like Emiri Katou and Aki Toyosaki to bring the world of Eorzea to life.
You can check out this visual list of voice actors alongside characters they have voiced in the past to get an idea of just how impressive this cast is. Below is an easy (but long) list of names for easy reference:
- Rie Tanaka
- Yuichi Nakamura
- Shinnosuki Tachibana
- Emiri Katou
- Akio Ohtsuka
- Aki Toyosaki
- KENN
- Houchu Ohtsuka
- Kosuke Toriumi
- Hiroki Yasumoto
- Satoshi Hino
- Nobuhiko Okamoto
- Yuki Ono
- Goh Inoue
- Anri Katsu
- Yuu Kobayashi
- Marina Inoue
- Mariya Ise
- Aya Endo
- Daichi Endou
- Ai Kayano
- Eri Kitamura
- Kei Shindo
- Hiromi Hirata
- Miyuki Sawashiro
- Rikiya Koyama
- Suichi Ikeda
- Takumi Yamazaki
- Atsuko Tanaka
- Masako Ikeda
- Hidemitsu Shimizu
- Rie Murakawa
- Yayoi Sugaya
- Riki Kitazawa
- Masakazu Nishida
- Sayaka Oohara
Never in all my years playing video games would I have expected a Final Fantasy game with a dual audio option, much less one that is online. I’ve not kept up on dramas or anime for 10 years, but I still prefer to have a Japanese language option when playing Japanese-made games. They’re not always the greatest, but they take me back to a simpler time. Just another reason to look forward to Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn!
