Kingdom Hearts is Love!!!
Hooray, we get to hear semi-serious Hollywood actors saying stuff like that again!
Published: February 8, 2006
Some big-name video games in the past have purported to have sizeable voice casts featuring Hollywood talent, but they ain't got crap on Kingdom Hearts. It helps the movie was one giant fanservice tribute to Final Fantasy and Disney geeks, but the sheer number of voice actors that reprised their roles from the Disney movies and the new hot names in Hollywood that gave voices to Final Fantasy characters that didn't have them was just staggering.
In all honesty, though, Square Enix (or just good ol' Squaresoft at the time) didn't really have a choice. Nobody wants to hear someone doing an impression of James Woods doing Hades from Hercules, they want the real thing, and Square rightly tapped the proper talent in all the proper places. This, likely, was the impetus for the complete tidal wave of talent that donated their pipes to Kingdom Hearts II. That, or Square and Disney just really like complementing each other.
“We have enjoyed success with the Japanese release of Kingdom Hearts II this past December and cannot wait to roll out this title in March in North America – North America is where Kingdom Hearts all began,” gushed creator Tetsuya Nomura. “The entire team has been working day and night to perfect the North American version and we hope the gamers will find it even more exciting than the original.”
“Kingdom Hearts is the perfect creative example of how BVG is growing and developing the Disney brand and relevance in video games worldwide,” injected Graham Hopper, Buena Vista Games' Senior VP and GM. “Our excellent relationship with Square Enix has once again resulted in a game that sets the artistic benchmark in developing video games based on popular entertainment intellectual properties.”
“The Kingdom Hearts series has given us the opportunity to showcase Square Enix’s expertise in game design and development together with Disney’s memorable worlds and characters. This collaborative project is a situation most can only dream of and we are fortunate to have had this opportunity,” added Shinji Hashimoto, producer, Square Enix. “Kingdom Hearts II is packed with even more excitement and amazing adventures and we cannot wait for gamers to experience it for themselves.”
So, about that cast. You ready for a nerdgasm? Then get ready, pal, cause here comes the luv:
-Returning Characters-
Haley Joel Osment - Sora
David Gallagher - Riku
Hayden Panettiere - Kairi
James Woods - Hades
Steve Burton - Cloud
-New Characters-
Jesse McCartney - Roxas
Brittany Snow - Namine
Christopher Lee - Diz
Rachael Leigh Cook - Tifa
Mena Suvari - Aerith (looks like Mandy Moore passed this time)
Hedy Buress - Yuna
Tara Strong - Rikku
Gwendoline Yeo - Paine
Ming-Na - Mulan
Zach Braff - Chicken Little
This joins past news of the massive list of new worlds to explore, including Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Mulan, Pirates of the Caribbean, Steamboat Willie and m-fing Tron, baby, as well as revisiting the Aladdin, Disney Castle, Hercules, The Little Mermaid, Winnie the Pooh and Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas worlds that were in the first game. New summons also include Chicken Little and Stitch from Lilo and Stitch.
There's no way in hell we'll be able to contain ourselves if/when any new info rolls in on the game. Expect updates soon, as the game officially hits on March 28th. Maybe we can use Walt's cryogenic chamber to sleep through the next month and a half...
In all honesty, though, Square Enix (or just good ol' Squaresoft at the time) didn't really have a choice. Nobody wants to hear someone doing an impression of James Woods doing Hades from Hercules, they want the real thing, and Square rightly tapped the proper talent in all the proper places. This, likely, was the impetus for the complete tidal wave of talent that donated their pipes to Kingdom Hearts II. That, or Square and Disney just really like complementing each other.
“We have enjoyed success with the Japanese release of Kingdom Hearts II this past December and cannot wait to roll out this title in March in North America – North America is where Kingdom Hearts all began,” gushed creator Tetsuya Nomura. “The entire team has been working day and night to perfect the North American version and we hope the gamers will find it even more exciting than the original.”
“Kingdom Hearts is the perfect creative example of how BVG is growing and developing the Disney brand and relevance in video games worldwide,” injected Graham Hopper, Buena Vista Games' Senior VP and GM. “Our excellent relationship with Square Enix has once again resulted in a game that sets the artistic benchmark in developing video games based on popular entertainment intellectual properties.”
“The Kingdom Hearts series has given us the opportunity to showcase Square Enix’s expertise in game design and development together with Disney’s memorable worlds and characters. This collaborative project is a situation most can only dream of and we are fortunate to have had this opportunity,” added Shinji Hashimoto, producer, Square Enix. “Kingdom Hearts II is packed with even more excitement and amazing adventures and we cannot wait for gamers to experience it for themselves.”
So, about that cast. You ready for a nerdgasm? Then get ready, pal, cause here comes the luv:
-Returning Characters-
Haley Joel Osment - Sora
David Gallagher - Riku
Hayden Panettiere - Kairi
James Woods - Hades
Steve Burton - Cloud
-New Characters-
Jesse McCartney - Roxas
Brittany Snow - Namine
Christopher Lee - Diz
Rachael Leigh Cook - Tifa
Mena Suvari - Aerith (looks like Mandy Moore passed this time)
Hedy Buress - Yuna
Tara Strong - Rikku
Gwendoline Yeo - Paine
Ming-Na - Mulan
Zach Braff - Chicken Little
This joins past news of the massive list of new worlds to explore, including Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Mulan, Pirates of the Caribbean, Steamboat Willie and m-fing Tron, baby, as well as revisiting the Aladdin, Disney Castle, Hercules, The Little Mermaid, Winnie the Pooh and Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas worlds that were in the first game. New summons also include Chicken Little and Stitch from Lilo and Stitch.
There's no way in hell we'll be able to contain ourselves if/when any new info rolls in on the game. Expect updates soon, as the game officially hits on March 28th. Maybe we can use Walt's cryogenic chamber to sleep through the next month and a half...