Video games have progressed quite a bit from the times when text and visuals were all that could be used to tell a story. As technology has progressed over time, more and more data can be packed into video games to make for a seamless and enjoyable experience that never ceases to be entertaining. One of the biggest ways in which video games have transformed their narratives is through the inclusion of voice acting.
However, it must be said that several titles that are a blast to play might not exactly be helped by their voice acting. After all, nailing the voices of certain characters that last for hours and hours isn't an easy task in the slightest, and some titles end up failing when it comes to integrating great voice acting in their games. For what it's worth, the following titles are great games that are only let down by their voice acting, although not by much.
10 Final Fantasy 7 Remake
Final Fantasy 7 Remake is a great way for newcomers to experience one of the most legendary titles in the series. However, while the game might have its fair share of strengths, the English voice acting is definitely not one of them.
The poor voice direction makes certain lines sound stilted and out of place, with certain deliveries being pretty flat. Players who want to check this game out should do so with the English dub since that's significantly better.
9 Resident Evil
There's going to be a strong trend here of localized English titles since these games tend to feature the very worst voice acting around. Perhaps the most notable and well-known example of the same is Resident Evil.
The modern games might've done a great job of making the English dub sound more natural, but players still remember the unintended hilarity of the first game's dialogue delivery. The phrase "a Jill sandwich" has become all the more prominent for that reason alone!
8 Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night
Speaking of games localized in English, another great title to come to mind is Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. This title popularized Metroidvanias as a whole, with the combination of platforming and RPG elements being a huge hit.
The voice acting also became iconic... but for all the wrong reasons. Hearing Dracula for the first time should be an intimidating moment... yet falls flat with the unintentionally hilarious dialogue delivery that is prevalent throughout the entire game!
7 NBA 2K15
NBA 2K15 is one of the many entries in this long-running sports franchise that fans absolutely love. The MyCareer mode was expanded quite a bit and even let iconic players dub lines in the series as well!
However, while this might seem like a novelty, it was clear that the players phoned in the dialogue and didn't really bother refining their performances. This can be seen in the laughably flat and stilted dialogues, almost seeming like players were reading the script for the first time when delivering their lines.
6 The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion
For what it's worth, the voice acting in Oblivion isn't really all that bad. It's certainly uninspired, and players won't really feel a sense of awe or epicness from hearing these voice performances during appropriate moments.
However, what makes this voice acting truly egregious is that players will be hearing the same voices over and over again throughout Cyrodil. Mediocre voice acting is pretty bad as is, but hearing these flat deliveries throughout the entire game time and time again is what makes the VA work downright bad in the eyes of many.
5 Dynasty Warriors 3
Dynasty Warriors is one of the longest-running Musou games around, with the quality of these games varying quite a bit over its many entries. Many people consider the third game in the series to be one of the very best, featuring several changes and improvements to the formula that fans appreciated.
However, the voice acting was one place where the entire game fell flat. The majority of voices in the game are so ridiculously over-the-top and ill-fitting that they turn even the most epic moments in the series into comedic masterpieces!
4 Destiny
This might be a bit of an unfair inclusion since the voice acting in Destiny was pretty solid throughout. However, the game marketed Peter Dinklage's voice as one of the biggest selling points of the game... only for his delivery to be completely uninspired.
The fan-named Dinklebot lacked any emotion and delivered his dialogues without any emotion whatsoever, making his intrusive presence pretty hard to bear after a point. Bungie heard the complaints and replaced Dinklage's voice with that of Nolan North, which was a source of relief for many fans.
3 Shenmue
Another localized game makes its way on the list in the form of Shenmue. This game was revolutionary and was one of the most expensive video games produced at the time... but this certainly didn't reflect in the voice acting.
A lot of the dialogue felt out-of-place and unintentionally hilarious, although this did make the game more memorable in the eyes of many. Regardless, players who love Shenmue feel this way in spite of the voice acting, which can be pretty hard to get into.
2 Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure is the first 3D game in the series featuring the lovable hedgehog, and it has certainly divided the fanbase down the middle when it comes to deciding whether the game's good or not. For what it's worth, Sonic Adventure was a pretty epic adventure and was quite enjoyable at the time, even if some might argue that the game hasn't really aged all that well.
However, one department where no one can defend the game is the voice acting, which is mediocre at best and downright laughable in its worst moments. It doesn't help that the facial animation is so poor that the dialogues end up being even more side-splittingly hilarious!
1 Mega Man 8
Speaking of platformers, another game that comes to mind is Mega Man 8. The title itself was fun to play through and served as a great evolution of the series formula... but it's the English voice acting that is worth noting here for just how bad it is.
It genuinely feels like the voice actors were reading their scripts for the first time here. The end result is that the majority of the dialogue in Mega Man 8 is pretty unintentionally hilarious and doesn't really fit in with the overall tone of the scene being depicted in the animated cutscenes.