First off, the contestants!
Ryan Drummond--Known for being the first in-game voice actor, Drummond voiced Sonic until 2004. He also stepped in for Knuckles in one game, and voiced Sonic's robot double, Metal Sonic, in Sonic Heroes.
Jason Griffith--Taking over by voicing Sonic in Sonic X, Griffith voiced Sonic until 2010. He voiced Sonic's transformations as well as rivals Shadow the Hedgehog and Jet the Hawk.
Roger Craig Smith--The current voice actor, who also voices Sonic in Sonic Boom. He voices Dave the Intern and other characters on the show.
The Evaluations:
Winner: Jason Griffith.
Griffith voices Sonic with with enthusiasm and feeling. From making Sonic the adventure-loving traveler in Sonic Unleashed to the "bring it on" racer in Sonic Riders. He is able to show Sonic's more serious side like with Darkspine Sonic, and his final boss battle in Sonic and the Black Knight. He greatly improved his voice acting since the beginning of Sonic X, giving Sonic the illusion of maturing. His only faults are a few odd-ball lines and phrases that sounded corny, mainly in Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 and Shadow the Hedgehog.
Second: Ryan Drummond.
I often think the reason Drummond often gets credited as the best voice actor is because he's the first. Sort of the Connery of Sonic. But, not really because he had a voice in the cartoons. Anyhow, Dummond easily transformed Sonic into the easy-going, "it doesn't matter" hedgehog he needed to be. He was at his best in Sonic Heroes, where Sonic sounded excited and ready for the challenge ahead. He was at his worst at his start, though, in Sonic Adventure, where Sonic lines seemed a little weird (not to mention his mouth movements). The main problem later on seemed to be with sarcasm--Sonic would say something saracastic, but he wouldn't sound sarcastic. Still, Drummond easily got Sonic's style and attitude down pat.
Loser: Roger Craig Smith.
I hated Smith's voice. When playing Sonic Colors, when Sonic did the "BWAH" sound effect when he died, I'd say "Damn it RogerCraigSmith!"--it's one of the reasons I hate that game. It was bad enough they had to replace Griffith, but they replaced him with THIS? Combined with the trashy jokes the writers started throwing in the games, it was a disaster. Sonic was now a lame, emotionless jerk, bored with life. Luckily when Sonic Boom started, Smith began to improve a bit. When I watched the cutsecnes of the Sonic-Lego Dimensions game (because there was no way I was going to buy that) I was surprised to find that Smith did a pretty good job. Going into season 2 of Boom, the same reaction. He was able to make Sonic funny and sympathetic. So I was satisfied with his work in Forces, but there were still lines that weren't "Sonic," and I never really felt the guy matched Sonic's personality to begin with. Which is why he's the "loser."
Now for our cartoon and movie add-ins...
Jaleel White--Voiced Sonic in the first three cartoons. In Sonic Underground, he also voiced Sonic's siblings, Sonia and Manic. But the singing was done by some other people.
Martin Burke--Voiced Sonic in the OVA/"Sonic: the Movie."
Ben Schwarts--Announced as the voice of Sonic in the upcoming film, Schwarts is excluded from this until 2019 (when the movie comes out). I've never heard of this guy: no idea what to expect.
The Evaluations:
Winner: Jason Griffith
Ultimately, Griffith was the perfect Sonic. He combined what was great about the actors before him and yet made it his own. Griffith's Sonic is exactly the what Sonic should be: funny, friendly, and dynamic.
Runner-up: Jaleel White
White set the bar for what Sonic should sound like. He made Sonic thick with attitude--clever, smart, and heroic in a 90s kind of way. If Classic Sonic spoke, we all know who'd be voicing him.
Lucky Third: Ryan Drummond
Drummond did a good job. Just not as good. He fit the role and, even though I consider Griffith better, I agree that it was a shame he didn't get to voice more games.
Loser: Roger Craig Smith
Although he improved, Smith is far from perfect. Smith has been voicing Sonic for a while now and I think that's in part because of Sonic Boom (Sega wants Sonic to sound the same in all media and it would be weird for Sonic to change voices on mid-show). So we'll probably be stuck with him awhile.
Dead Last: Martin Burke
Burke tired, and he still captures Sonic's cocky personality. He's just...bad. Maybe it's not fair because he only voiced Sonic once, but when I hear him I either want to cringe or ignore how "anime dub" he sounds. Compared to all the other voice actors in the movie, though, he was pretty good.
Some people prefer Sonic silent. Those people are *ssholes. It's important to have good animation and expressions, but a voice can add so much more. Determination, courage, anger: true emotions. Part of that is on the script, and on the people who make the game, but the rest of it is on the actors. Sonic has had some great versions of his voice, and I'd rather have to deal with his current one than have him say nothing at all.
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| No offense, pal. |
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