5 Video Game Protagonists You Didn’t Know Were Recast

When you think of video game protagonists, who comes to mind?

Voice acting has become one of the most fundamental practices in video game creation. Developers who aim to tell quality stories and create remarkable scenes often take this part of production very seriously. It first began with the earliest 3D games in the nineties, with the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog being one of the earliest games with a cast. After a while, the practice became more multilayered and sophisticated. As time went by, more titles like Metal Gear and GTA refined the industry's level of character development. Today, there are thousands of actors and actresses across multiple video game genres. 

The quality of production keeps getting better—with some almost reaching movie quality. There's no doubt a lot of changes were necessary to achieve this. One example of such major changes includes recasting leading characters. Some took their respective game characters to higher levels, while others just didn't seem to help. Let's take a look at the five video game protagonists you didn't know were recast.

5. Troy Baker – Silent Hill HD Collection

Silent Hill is considered one of the best video game movie adaptations. The voice acting for the first releases in the franchise was pretty much fitting for a survival horror game. All the voices were haunting and thrilling, which made the game as unnerving as it ought to be. However, for some reason, the game's developer, Konami, decided to make a new release with a totally different cast.

The new release consisted of a HD collection that featured the remasters of Silent Hill 2 and 3. The upgrades were a nice development for the franchise, but what set the fans on edge were the changes in the voice acting. The original James Sunderland actor was Guy Chihi, who carried the main role for both Silent Hill 2 and 3. Konami cast Troy Baker, who, despite a great performance, was just not accepted by fans of the game.

4. Roger Craig Smith – Sonic The Hedgehog

Roger Craig Smith has a long experience of hosting popular characters across various mediums, such as television, video games, and films. However, the ones which make him most memorable are the various Sonic games he appears in; these include Sonic Colors, Sonic Forces, and Sonic Generations. For a long while, gamers were only familiar with Jason Griffith, who took on the role in the early 2000s. He started out with Sonic X and went on to voice the hedgehog in up to 16 different games in the Sonic series, up until 2010.

This includes Sonic and SEGA All Stars Racing, whereby his performance best symbolized Sonic's pompous character. This may explain why he got to play the character for a longer time than anyone. It's common practice for Sonic voice actors to take the role across other media as well, which includes films and cartoons. Although the role was taken over by Smith, the actor did not get to feature in the live-action movie. This time, the part fell to actor Ben Schwartz, who will also feature in the coming sequel of the film.

3. Ben Jordan – Spider-Man

Some recasts tend to have more rooted reasons than others, and such is the case with Spider-Man. The game series has had a variety of actors as the friendly neighborhood hero, and the most recent is Ben Jordan. This actor received Spiderman's role due to the difference in age dynamics with the previous actor. Since Peter Parker is meant to be in his mid-20s, the actor needed to be younger. Before Jordan, Yuri Lowenthal voiced Peter Parker, while John Bubniak portrayed the likeness of the character in the games.

While Bubniak appeared a bit old for the role, the decision to recast him caused some complaints from some fans. They argued that they were already accustomed to Bubniak's appearance and that the change was unnecessary. However, Jordan continues to give his best performance in the game's PS5 remaster, which also features top-tier visuals and updated character models designed to portray incredible facial features. That, among other amazing upgrades, seem to have distracted most fans who were previously displeased with the change. 

2. Ty Olsson – Dead Rising 4

Not all video game protagonists recastings are welcomed. One major change that didn't particularly sit well with the Dead Rising fanbase is the Dead Rising 4 recast. The game opted to recast the lead TJ Rotolo, who had been with the franchise since the beginning, and gave way the role to Ty Olsson. This action was not well received, despite how hard developers tried to justify the recast. Since the character was older in this title, they needed him to sound more grizzled, and that's why they had to let go of Rotolo. 

But good old Rotolo had embodied Frank's character so well that it was impossible to imagine another voice behind him. From the humor to the arrogant demeanor Frank portrayed, his presence was just incredible and memorable. Most fans thought the developers' reasons to be entirely disrespectful since the original Frank voice actor could have well accomplished what Olsson was meant to do and even do it better. Any other actors that came after Rotolo sounded more like his imitators, which made the whole recast a drawback for the franchise.

1. Christopher Judge – God Of War

Any changes made to the renowned God of War franchise have always had a great impact on its fans. Given how big of a fanbase the series has managed to garner over the years, it's pretty hard for certain things to go unnoticed. Such is the case with the recasting of Kratos. Since its introduction in 2005, God of War's protagonist has been voiced by TC Carson. That changed in 2018 when the role was taken over by Christopher Judge, who picked up immediately after Carson to take Kratos' story to the next level.

Although Carson had delivered the character's incredible cutscene with immense impact, the developers wanted a more mature voice for Kratos. That's where Christopher Judge stepped in and has been a great fit for the part so far. His powerful voice continues to wow fans with various memorable lines. Judge is an established actor who is no stranger to big-name franchises. Before God of War, the actor played a major role in a sci-fi film known as Stargate SG-1.

Which video game protagonists did you not know was recast? Share your pick with us in the comments below or over on our socials here!