Aside from gameplay, voice acting is probably the one thing that can either make or break a story based game. A good voice actor can make even the most bland, two dimensional character come alive and can bring together a story in ways that good writing alone just can't. However many gamers don't know, or worse, don't even care who the people are that make the stories they love so memorable. This list is dedicated to the ten best voice actors, in my opinion, and the roles they are best known for.

"These are the closing days of the third era, and the final hours of my life." I bet half of the people reading this list just thought "This is a list about voice actors and the first person he put down is Captain Picard? N00b." But what many people don't realize is that Patrick Stewart is just as talented as a voice actor as he is a screen or theater actor. Which is a lot harder than it sounds. I can't tell you how many video games have had celebrity voice actors, people who are good screen actors mind you, totally and completely suck at voice acting. It's hard to convey emotion with nothing but your voice when you are used to using your facial expressions and body language to do it but Patrick Stewart does it like he was born to it. He was only in the game a short while but he set up the story for The Elder Scrolls IV perfectly as King Uriel. And I do have to admit to a certain pleasure in seeing a Shakespearean theater actor doing voice work on video games, it shows a lack of the pretentious attitude most theater actors develop. Other roles include: Professor Charles Xavier (X-Men Legends), Khelban "Blackstaff" Arunsun (Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone), King Richard (Lands of Lore) And, of course, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Too many Star Trek games to name).

"To show my appreciation, I'll only beat them half to death." Barbara Goodson has been doing voice work since the early 70's and she's only improved as time passed. Sadly most people will go through life without ever hearing her name, but more likely than not they will have loved one of more of her characters. Whether it's Rita Repulsa from Power Rangers or the cute demon boy Laharl from Disgaea she is probably one of the best voice actors to not receive the recognition she deserves by the mainstream. Other roles include: Ryoko Liengod (Star Ocean: Till The End of Time), Zeldalia (Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana), Mizzog the Sighted (EverQuest II) and Lola (Grim Fandango).

"Where can I buy a phone?" If you watched Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and the first thing you thought when you heard Vincent speak for the first time wasn't, "What a bad ass" then you should probably get a new TV because the sound is obviously broken on the current one. There is only one voice that screams "hardcore bad ass" more than Steve Blum as Vincent and he's number 7. I will admit that I don't really follow Steve Blum as much as his awesome voice warrants, but he more than deserves a place on any Top Ten list to feature voice acting just for Vincent alone, however he is basically THE voice for bad ass characters. Other roles include: Gene (MGS: Portable Ops), Wolverine/Venom (Marvel: Ultimate Alliance), Ares (God of War) and Daelan Red Tiger (Neverwinter Nights).

"Tell me what you cherish most. Give me the pleasure of taking it away." As far as I'm concerned there no is better definition of the term bad ass then George Newburn's portrayal of Sephiroth in FFVII: Advent Children. The first time I saw the movie and heard his voice my mouth dropped open and I got goose bumps. It was everything I had hoped it would be, it was absolutely perfect. I also just recently found out that he voices Sephiroth in Kingdom Hearts 2 and now I'm more eager than ever to play it with my boyfriend. If there is anyone that could rival number 2 for the best villain voice acting it would be George Newbern. Other roles include: Meyvn Nooj (FFX-2), Superman (Justice League) and Danny (Friends).

"It's-a me, Mario!" If someone called you up one day and asked you to be the voice of the most famous video game character of all time could you do it? More importantly, could you do it well? Charles Martinet sure as hell can. Since Super Mario 64 he has been the voice of Mario and he did the impossible, he made Mario even more memorable. Whether it's his trademark introduction or his almost as recognizable jumping noises everything uttered by Martinet's Mario makes the character come alive in ways that are hard to forget and even harder not to imitate. Aside from Mario he is also the official voice of Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi. Other roles include: Sangonar (Slave Zero), Ray Trace (Space Quest VI) and Spinner (Solar Eclipse).

"I've completed over 300 missions in VR. I feel like some kind of legendary mercenary." This may be a controversial choice. I've noticed that a lot of people dislike Quinton Flynn, however, much of this dislike seems to stem from resentment about having to play most of Metal Gear Solid 2 as the Flynn-voiced character Raiden instead of the better known and more popular Solid Snake. However a lot of people tend to overlook how talented Flynn really is. He did excellent work voicing Raiden in MGS2 and Reno in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and I think he is one of the most underrated mainstream voice actors of all time. Other roles include: Issaru (FFX-2), Askari (Shadow of Rome), Axel (Kingdom Hearts 2) and Venom (Spider Man: Friend or Foe)

"You. Shut up." Tara Strong is probably best known as Rikku, the cute, perky Al-Bhed girl from Final Fantasy X. Anyone who knows her probably also knows that she is mostly associated with perky girl or kiddie roles. However in Lost Odyssey we get to see a different side of her. She voices Seth Balmore, the immortal ex-pirate struggling to regain the memories of her thousand year long life. The role has a lot more emotional depth than people would usually expect from a Tara Strong character but she pulls it off perfectly. She goes from playful, to annoyed, to serious, to sad, to happy and makes it all seem natural. None of her emotion seems forced and she raises above the great voice cast that Mistwalker put together for Lost Odyssey. Outshining Jansen is not an easy feat but she does it constantly. Other roles include: Princess Clara (Drawn Together), Kluke (Blue Dragon), Rachael (Ninja Gaiden) and Dil Pickles (Rugrats).

"But suppose you throw a coin enough times... Suppose one day, it lands on its edge." Every time I play Soul Reaver 2 I get a chill when I hear this line. In my mind there is no better voice casting than Simon Templeman as Kain in the Legacy of Kain series. Templeman IS Kain, there could never have been anyone else. He has the perfect voice for him, the perfect tone, the perfect speech patterns, without Templeman Kain would not be as legendary as he is today. But Kain isn't the only role he voices well. Every time I'm looking through the credits in the back of an instruction manual and I see his name I know the character he plays will be excellent, and I haven't been disappointed yet. Other roles include: Kai Lan the Serpent (Jade Empire), Judge Magister Zargabaath (FFXII), Narrator (LOTR: Battle for Middle Earth) and the Angel of Death (Charmed). Note: As far as I'm concerned the last three are equal in VA talent, all of them should be number one.

"Snake! Your blood will be the first to be spilt by this glorious new weapon. Consider it an honor... a gift from your brother." Cam Clarke was the voice actor that first made me start taking notice of voice actors. He has the second most recognizable voice in video gaming and he is almost without peer. He can play a hero or a villain with equal perfection and, like Simon Templemen, I have never been disappointed with a character voiced by him. He practically made the Metal Gear Solid series with his portrayal of Liquid Snake who, in my mind, is the greatest video game villian of all time. (Sorry Sephiroth fans) Cam Clarke is a modern day legend and I hope to see him in many more leading roles in the future. Other roles include: Drizzt Do'Urden (Baudur's Gate 2), Daniel (Painkiller), Sky, (Jade Empire) and Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles).

"Looks like there won't be a love scene after all." Even if you don't know his name (which should be impossible unless you can't read) you'll recognize his voice. He has what is possibly the most famous video game voice of all time, the gravely rasp of Solid Snake. Snake is the epitome of the brooding, reluctant hero. He seems to want nothing more than to be left alone and live a peaceful life but he always keeps getting dragged into situations where he's forced to use his amazing knowledge of warfare to save the world from certain doom. And David Hayter brings all that emotion to the character even though he hardly changes the pitch of his voice. With any other voice actor it would be impossible to pull that off without sounding monotone and bland but David Hayter not only pulls it off, he's made it probably the best known voice of all time. What many people don't know is that Hayter is also a screen actor and a script writer. He starred in The Guyver 2 and wrote the screenplay for the first X-Men movie and its sequel, X2. Other roles include: Captain America (Spider Man), Sean Baker (The Guyver 2: Dark Hero) and Additional Voice roles (Street Fighter II V)

I hope you enjoyed the list. To me voice acting is one of the great unsung professions of our time. However it's becoming more and more recognized and admired, largely due to the Metal Gear Solid series and it's wonderful tradition of showing you who voices all the main characters. I hope as time goes on more and more people start to appreciate the hard work that these men and women put into making video games the great interactive storytelling medium that they are today.

List by cyhort182