Although some have become accustomed to the current 4Kids voice actors, there are many who still long for the original cast to get their jobs back. I'm one of them. However, I was recently asked "Deam Bristow's dead. What about Eggman?".
This got me thinking, "If I had it my way, Burger King style, who would I cast as new VAs for the Sonic games?" That, and the fact that the same forum topic became flooded with off-topic voice acting recommendations.
So the idea is simple. If 4Kids were ditched, and all the original voice actors died of plauge/assassination/zombie bite/giant robot/godzilla attack, and you were in charge of casting, who would be you're dream cast? (lol, Dreamcast!) The only rule is that your chosen actors have to have had experiance in voice acting before in other games, cartoons, anime etc. (i.e. no big hollywood names that realisticly Sega could never afford), and you can choose more than one actor for one character, or more than one character for one actor.
Also I ask that this NOT turn into a debate over whether the Sonic games should have voice acting or not, or who's better between Drummond and Griffith because... well, just because.
So I shall start!
Character ............................................ Voice Actor
Sonic the Hedgehog ............................. Vic Mignogna
Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik ................... Richard Newman
Miles "Tails" Prower .............................. Aaron Dismuke / Tara Strong
Amy Rose .............................................. Hilary Haag / Kari Wahlgren
Knuckles the Echidna ............................ Steven Blum / Kevin Conroy / Judd Nelson
Shadow the Hedgehog ......................... Richard Cansino
Rouge the Bat ....................................... Colleen Clinkenbeard / Wendee Lee
Cream the Rabbit .................................. Laura Bailey
Espio the Chameleon ............................ Kirk Thornton / Steven Blum
Vector the Crocodile .............................. Beau Billingslea / Jim Byrnes
Charmy Bee ........................................... Melissa Fahn
Blaze the Cat ......................................... Colleen Clinkenbeard / Wendee Lee
Tikal ....................................................... Juliet Cesario / Bridget Hoffman
Well, those are the only ones I've thought/cared about. My brother disagrees with me on a lot of 'em, but I stand by them. Theres a lot of talented actors that I could have mentioned, but couldn't think of a character they could play. I'll update my list if I can be bothered to try and cast Big, Silver, the Babylon Rogues etc. and think of appropriate actors.
As a side note, I didn't include him, but honorable mention of Junichi Kanemaru for the new english voice of Sonic. Hell, that guy speaks enough english in the Japanese games anyway, we might as well have him over here too.
If you're willing to revive Long John Baldry from the dead to voice Eggman, why not just use Deem?
Also, killing off the 4kids actors means killing Lisa Ortiz. Do what you want with her, but only AFTER she dubs Slayers Revolution. *Shakes fist* Ain't no one messing with my favorite sorcery genius.
I recognize very few of those names, so could you please list some of their noteworthy past roles?
Sonic the Hedgehog: Johnny Yong Bosch(Think Ichigo from Bleach)
Miles 'Tails' Prower: I would second Aaron Dismuke(Alphonse from Fullmetal Alchemist) if not for adolescence potentially interfering with his ability to voice little boys. I think Derek Stephen Prince(Think Uryu from Bleach or Ken from Digimon 02) would be a good fit if they ever decided to turn Tails from child genius into teen genius.
Shadow the Hedgehog: Johnny Yong Bosch(Think Lelouch from Code Geass)
Cream the Rabbit: Rebecca Forstadt(Think Nunnally from Code Geass)
Chao: Ootani Ikue(Pikachu)
The only one I can really think of that I've been thinking about before is Debbie Mae West, who voices Tsunade from Naruto, for Rouge. I think she has a really cute voice as Tsunade, who's known for big boobs, and think she would be awesome as Rouge, who's known for big boobs so it would kinda fit that way, too. 
Rebecca Forstadt(Think Nunnally from Code Geass)
I think she was the English voice of Lynn Minmay in Robotech.
I still say Uncle Phil (James Avery) for Eggman. Come on people, you know it's a good move.
Stephen Fry as all characters, 'cept Tails (who will be played by Alan Davies).
I recognize very few of those names, so could you please list some of their noteworthy past roles?
For future reference, you know you can just drop the names into the search button on Wikipedia or IMDB.
But just for you I'll tell you a few of the best known roles for those I mentioned:
Vic Mignogna: Edward Elrich (Fullmetal Alchemist), Broly (Dragonball Z)
Richard Newman: Rhinox/Tankor (Beast Wars/Beast Machines), KOMPLEX (Bucky O'Hare), Kerberos' true form (Cardcaptors)
Aaron Dismuke: Alphones Elrich (Fullmetal Alchemist), Hiro Sohma, Young Akito Sohma (Fruits Basket)
Tara Strong: Bubbles (The Powerpuff Girls), Timmy Turner (Fairly OddParents), Ben Tenneson (Ben 10), Raven (Teen Titens), Sari Sumdac (Transformers: Animated)
Hilary Haag: Rosette Christopher (Chrono Crusade), Chihiro (Azumanga Daioh)
Kari Wahlgren: Fuu (Samurai Champloo), Mika Asagi (Gungrave), Emma Frost (Wolverine and the X-Men), Haruko Haruhara (FLCL)
Steve Blum: Spike Speigal (Cowboy Bebop), Mugen (Samurai Champloo), Vincent Valentine (FFVII: Advent Children), Wolverine (Wolverine and the X-Men), Zabuza, Orochimaru (Naruto), Heatblast (Ben 10)
Kevin Conroy: BATMAN!! (Batman: The Animated Series and spin-offs, Batman: Gotham Knight, Batman: Arkham Asylum)
Judd Nelson: Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime (Transformers the Movie, Transformers: Animated), John Bender (The Breakfast Club), Himself (Family Guy: Blue Harvest)
Richard Carsino: Legato Bluesummers (Trigun), Kenshin Himura (Rurouni Kenshin)
Colleen Clinkenbeard: Rose Thomas, Riza Hawkeye (Fullmetal Alchemist), Eclair (Kiddy Grade), Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)
Wendee Lee: Faye Valentine (Cowboy Bebop), Kei (Akira, 2001 redub), Haruhi Suzumiya (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya), Konata Izumi (Lucy Star), Urd (Adventures of Mini-Goddess - Oh My Goddess chibi spin-off series), Chai Xianghua (Soul Calibur series), T.K. (Digimon)
Laura Bailey: Tohru Honda (Fruits Basket), Young Trunks (Dragonball Z), Lust (Fullmetal Alchemist), Henrietta (Gunslinger Girl), Sana Kurata (Kodacha), Shin Chan (Shin-chan), Chun-Li (Street Fighter IV)
Kirk Thornton: Jin (Samurai Champloo), Brandon Heat/Beyond the Grave (Gungrave), Rai Dei the Blade (Trigun), Saito Hajime (Rurouni Kenshin), Black Jack, (Black Jack), Gabumon and digivolutions (Digimon)
Beau Billingslea: Jet Black (Cowboy Bebop), Barrett Wallace (FFVII: Advent Children), Bear Walken (Gungrave)
Jim Byrnes: Inferno (Beast Wars), Thrust (Beast Machines), Nick Fury (X-Men Evolution) Duke Dermail (Mobile Suit Gundam Wing)
Melissa Fahn: Edward (Cowboy Bebop), Gaz (Invader Zim)
Juliet Cesario: Belldandy (Oh My Goddess! OVA), Miyuki Kobayakawa (You're Under Arrest!), Peorth (Ah! My Goddess: Flights of Fancy)
Bridget Hoffman: Belldandy (Ah! My Goddess: The Movie, Adventures of Mini-Goddess), Rem Severem (Trigun), Shinobu Maehara (Love Hina)
Hope that helps! It took me all freakin' night!
And wah? Wait! Baldry's dead? I guess I made a goof on that one ^^; *edits to avoid futher embarresment* And also, don't worry about Lisa Ortiz, Craig. Hilary Haag can be her replacement! =D
I recognize very few of those names, so could you please list some of their noteworthy past roles?
Kirk Thornton: Jin (Samurai Champloo), Brandon Heat/Beyond the Grave (Gungrave), Rai Dei the Blade (Trigun), Saito Hajime (Rurouni Kenshin), Black Jack, (Black Jack), Gabumon and digivolutions (Digimon), Matthieu (Eureka Seven)
MOTHER ******* FIXED!
Sorry, but I loves me sum E7! ^^;
Stephen Fry as all characters, 'cept Tails (who will be played by Alan Davies).
I'd allow Bill Bailey & Phil Jupitus to join the cast, too 
DW
I'd allow Bill Bailey & Phil Jupitus to join the cast, too
DW
Sure! And while we're at it, get Dara O'Briain, Frankie Boyle, Hugh Dennis, Andy Parsons and Russel Howard in on it. Let's just have a cast chock FULL of TV Panel Quiz Show comedians! ¬_¬
EDIT: Hey Gamma, I jsut saw an episode of Fresh Prince! Damn you're right! James Avery ftw!
Sonic the Hedgehog: Johnny Yong Bosch(Think Ichigo from Bleach)
"I, Sonic vi Hedgehog, command you... GOTTA SPEED UP!"
"I, Sonic vi Hedgehog, command you... GOTTA SPEED UP!"
I'm sorry. I'm TOTALLY not getting that reference. A better one may have been during Sonic's super transformation:
"IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!!"
*so cool if that actually happened*
"I, Sonic vi Hedgehog, command you... GOTTA SPEED UP!"
I'm sorry. I'm TOTALLY not getting that reference. A better one may have been during Sonic's super transformation:
"IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!!"
*so cool if that actually happened*
Obviously, you've never watched Code Geass; 'tis a very awesome show and you can't beat the theme songs either. I love FLOW!!
Yeah, the FLOW songs are awesome. I love that they were brought back to do the 5th (and final) opening in R2.
Oh did someone say FLOW? 
Life is Beautiful, WORLD END, Remember, GO! (Fighting Heroes). By George they cannot do no wrong!
... unlike Ali Project! >>;;;;
EDIT: I cannot believe I forgot to add DAYS! I must've been really tired! XD;
Oh, heck, yeah, every song I've heard them play, I've loved. I've only listened to Go!, Re: Member, Colors, and World End, but I have every single one of them downloaded onto my DSi. The only one I didn't like at first was Colors, which I heard on YouTube, but for the life of me, I can't figure out why I didn't like it. Also, Asian Kung-Fu Generation is pretty awesome as well!!
I'd allow Bill Bailey & Phil Jupitus to join the cast, too
DW
Sure! And while we're at it, get Dara O'Briain, Frankie Boyle, Hugh Dennis, Andy Parsons and Russel Howard in on it. Let's just have a cast chock FULL of TV Panel Quiz Show comedians! ¬_¬
EDIT: Hey Gamma, I jsut saw an episode of Fresh Prince! Damn you're right! James Avery ftw!
Bill and Phil would be excellent playing the voice of Cream and Amy.
However the rest of those peon comedians are far too common and wouldn't be suitable.
Dr Eggman/Eggman Nega - Brian Blessed
Sonic/Metal Sonic - Michael Angelis doing his Scouse James the Red engine voice.
Tails - David Mitchell
Amy - Katie Price
Knuckles - Bill Bailey
Shadow - Christian Bale
Rouge - Carmen Electra
Omega - ED 209 from Robocop
Espio - Stephen Fry
Charmy - Alan Davis
Vector - Paul Heyman
Silver - Frankie Boyle
Blaze - Someone doing a bad Catwoman impression
Cream - Arleen Sorkin aka Harley Quinn
Marine - Kylie Minogue
There we go.
Dude! Brian Blessed and ED 209 are freakin' awesome choices!
Back on what we were saying about Johnny Yong Bosch, I just saw a voice reel on Youtube, and while I still don't agree with the idea of him voicing Sonic, if he lowered the tone of his voice he'd actually make a pretty nice sounding Knuckles.
If Johnny Yong Bosch wasn't overexsposed to the point that he's voicing the main young male lead in every other anime and video game, then I might have agreed that he would have been good fit for Sonic.
That said, I think Joshua Seth would be a perfect fit for Sonic.
If Johnny Yong Bosch wasn't overexsposed to the point that he's voicing the main young male lead in every other anime and video game, then I might have agreed that he would have been good fit for Sonic.
That said, I think Joshua Seth would be a perfect fit for Sonic.
Ah! The voice of Tai Kamiya. Nice choice! Actually, the actor who played Matt (Michael Reisz) would be a good Shadow, and Philece Sampler who played Mimi in the same show could do a decent Amy.
I think Lisa Ortiz is already a good choice for Amy even though she has close to the same concerns as JYB. She's typecasted in yet another perky young female role.
I wonder what if they cast actual children and teenagers(who can act) again for Sonic and co. You'll get some authenticity on how the characters should sound but it will probably be too big of a hassle for Sega to switch them up every few years.
I guess that idea wouldn't be too bad if Sonic was an animated franchise instead of a video game one.
I think you may be getting a bit too concerned with the ethics of voice acting and voice actors. Since cartoon, anime and video game characters tend to conform to narrative archetypes, its only natural that some actors will be better in some roles than others. And if certain actors get "overexposed", as you say, or typecast, then it only goes to show how good they are in those roles.
And I don't want to have to correct you on a technicality, but Lisa Ortiz wouldn't be playing a role like that because either a) she'd still be in that role, or b) as the opening post said, she'd have already been fired from that role, and if you are re-casting her then who's fault is it then that she's being "typecasted in yet another perky young female role."
