Top 10 Famous Video Game Voices!

I became a software developer because I wanted to make games!  I’ve never come close, however, I have always wondered who the voices behind the characters are! So, I have compiled a top 10 most famous voices in video game history!  Although obviously this is my top ten list, feel free to post your favorites below and I’ll see what can be done about researching the personalities!  Enjoy!

1. Super Mario (Charles Martinet)
   Sometimes referred to as the Mickey Mouse voice with an Italian accent, Charles has been doing the voice of Mario since 1995.  His high pitched Mario voice is now iconic in the video game industry and probably the most recognized voice in the industry.

   Visit Charles web site at: http://www.charlesmartinet.com/

2. Princess Toadstool / Princess Peach (Jen Taylor) 
   Although there have been a handful of people voicing Princess Toadstool, now referred to as Princess Peach over the years, probably the most well known is Jen Taylor.  Jen Taylor is also well known for her role as Cortana in Bungie’s Halo and Halo 2 games.

   Visit Jen at IMDB:
   http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1071768/

3. Cortana (Jen Taylor)
   Jen Taylor is one of the most successful and popular voice actress’s from North America.  Jen is well known for her role as the famous Cortana in Bungie’s Halo franchise.  If you look at the images, there is also a resemblance to the character.

   Visit Jen at IMDB:
   http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1071768/

4. Mortal Kombat Flawless Victory (Steve Ritchie)
   Quit possibly one of the most famous phrase in video game history “Flawless Victory”, Mortal Kombat burst on the scene in 1992.  It was actually originally conceptualized in the late 80’s, but took about four years to develop.

   Steve Ritchie, a Midway employee, is responsible for Shao Kahn’s voice in the series of games.  Shao Kahn is the voice you hear when you perform the special movies as well that made the game so popular!

   Read an interview with Steve Ritchie here.

5. Lara Croft (Keeley Hawes)
   Although Lara Croft has been done by four different voice over personalities, the latest person to take the reins is Keeley Hawes!  An English actress best known for her role in BBC One’s Spooks, Keeley took over from the previous Lara Croft, Jonell Elliot, in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend.
6. Jill Valentine - Resident Evil (Lisa Faye)
   Never credited with her work in the original Resident Evil, Lisa Faye was the voice of Jill Valentine.  The current voice of the character in the Nintendo GameCube version is Heidi Anderson.  Resident Evil was a hugely popular title, that later became a movie, Resident Evil: Apocalypse.  Jill Valentine is portrayed in the movie by Sienna Guillory.

7. Tommy Vercetti - Grand Theft Auto (Ray Liotta)
   One of the most controversial and popular game franchises ever, Grand Theft Auto stormed on the scene in 1998.  Produced by Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto drew a flurry of media attention with its third version of the game, the first version to incorporate a completely 3D environment.  It allowed players to kill police officers and innocent bystanders, and not only allowed you to, but gave you points!
8. Toad - Nintendo (Issac Marshall)
   Toad is one of the cutest and most well known mushroom on the planet!  Famous for his line of “Thank you Mario, but our princess is in another castle!”, he has since made appearances in numerous Nintendo games, including my all time favorite, Mario Kart! Issac Marshall was the voice of toad up until the GameCube’s debut, when Jen Taylor took over the voice.  Issac also worked as a developer on Killer Instinct, Tetris, and Star Fox! Kelsey Hutchison took over the Toad voice role in 2005.
9. Yoshi - Nintendo (Record Scratch)
   Although not technically a voice, the Yoshi sound is extremely well known after his first appearance in Super Mario World, released in 1991 in North America.  The voice or “noise” that Yoshi makes is actually a record scratch a DJ would create, played in reverse.  You can actually hear the file here by playing it in reverse using an audio manipulation program.  Andrew Sabiston was the actual voice of Yoshi in the animated cartoon series in the 90’s.
10. Link - Nintendo (Nobuyuki Hiyama)   
    Link is one of the most popular characters in video game history, probably behind Mario and Luigi.  Link’s games have sold over 47 million copies worldwide.  Although in the games there is never really a voice for Link, the cartoons that aired in the late 80’s and early 90’s had a voice!  This was done by Jonathan Potts!  However one interesting fact that some of you may not know is that there have been multiple Links throughout the game franchise!  At different times in Hyrule, there have been different warriors referred to as Link.  Beginning with the 3D versions of the game, Nobuyuki Hiyama voiced the adult Link, whereas Fujiko Takimoto voiced the child Link.

Something I found halarious is that for the most part, a lot of these characters look like their voices!  If you like the story, make sure yout Digg It!

I chose to end the article with three Nintendo titles, as I feel this is fitting with the recent rise again of Nintendo and its Wii console.  My hats off to Nintendo for sticking the good fight over the years.  As a child I still remember receiving my first Nintendo System (NES) and being so excited about it!  Nintendo really paved the way for other awesome home entertainment systems!  It’s great to see them come on top once again with such a well thought, amazing concept in the Nintendo Wii!

[via realsoftwaredevelopment]

Tags: Video Game Voices