Final Fantasy 7 Remake is an incredible game by Square Enix that's enhanced by its talented Japanese voice actors. Within the gaming community, the subject of whether video game voice acting is better with subtitles or dubbed voices is not often discussed, but it's a subject worth talking about. Games like Sekiro that provide high-quality Japanese audio work well when combined with its fictionalized Sengoku period Japan. Comparably, Final Fantasy 7's character and art designs immerse the player in a fully realized cyberpunk anime, and the Japanese voice actors help bring that world to life.
When Final Fantasy 7 Remake launched, it received high praise for delivering something fans of the series had waited for since a tech demo using the opening sequence of the game was shown at Sony’s 2005 E3 press conference. Despite some cut Avalanche content, Final Fantasy 7 Remake delivered on most of its promises, created a generation of fans and split the game into a trilogy in order to properly tell the full story. While missing from Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s demo, the final version included dub voice options in Japanese, English, or French. All options were given the same attention to their respective characters, but the Japanese voice actors for Cloud, Tifa, and Sephiroth in particular stand out from the pack by embodying their character’s personalities.
Cloud Strife, voiced by Takahiro Sakurai known for his work as Suzaku Kururugi in the anime Code Geass, manages to capture Cloud’s attempts to sound cool and stoic to impress the rest of Avalanche on their first mission. This can be a challenge to pull off properly, especially when you consider that FF7's Cloud (who could be two Clouds in FF7 Rebirth) becomes more attached to the other party as the game progresses. Takahiro’s voice work brings sincerity to Cloud’s softer side while keeping him grounded as Final Fantasy 7’s decisive leader of the party. His encounters with Sephiroth stand out as Cloud’s tone changes to match the intensity of the game’s main villain.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Is Better With Japanese Voices
Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s main villain Sephiroth is only hinted at in the original Final Fantasy 7 for PS1, but the developers decided to add more scenes into the remake to give the character an ominous presence earlier in the story. His Japanese voice actor is none other than Toshiyuki Morikawa, famous for playing the demon sorcerer Naraku in the acclaimed anime series Inuyasha. He’s known for having a deep voice, and it fits perfectly with Sephiroth’s imposing character. Toshiyuki’s version of FF7 Remake's villain Sephiroth makes him sound threatening and unpredictable, coming off like a man in complete control, whereas Cloud is less a threat and more of a toy to be manipulated. Toshiyuki was a perfect choice for casting in this role and it’s hard to picture anyone else playing Final Fantasy 7’s biggest threat so well.
Ayumi Ito has been the voice of Tifa Lockhart since 2005’s Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. She carries her wealth of experience portraying Tifa over the years to Final Fantasy 7 Remake in order to bring her character to life in a way fans have always dreamed of. She’s perfect at showing Tifa’s caring ive side, often coming off as a strong protective figure ready to offer her optimism whenever the party is at its lowest. When it's time for FF7 Remake’s Tifa, changed from her original, to fight, Ayumi shifts her character’s voice to a slightly deeper, serious version emulating a capable martial arts fighter who’s willing to do anything to protect her friends.
Fans of the original Final Fantasy 7 have grown up imagining its character’s voices in their heads for years. With the release of the long-awaited Final Fantasy 7 Remake, players across the globe finally got to hear these voices brought to life. While the game has several voice options each with a strong cast of good voice actors, the Japanese voice actors change the game into the JRPG anime originally hinted at in Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children. To change the voices to Japanese start from the Main Menu and go to Options, Language and from there you can select Japanese. A better Final Fantasy 7 Remake is made possible by FF7's Japanese voice cast, who improve these beloved characters beyond already great characterizations.
