Daily Debate: How Does The Quality Of The English Voice Acting in Tears of the Kingdom Compare To Breath of the Wild?
Posted on July 01 2023 by Sean Gadus
Minor Spoilers for Tears of the Kingdom
Voice acting has been a major topic of discussion in the Zelda series for years, especially as other game series have embraced voice acting in significant ways. Breath of the Wild introduced voice acting for its key supporting cast including Princess Zelda, King Rhoam, Impa, the four Champions, and the Champions’ descendants. The voice acting for Breath of the Wild was only implemented in key story cutscenes, as well as key flashback sequences (memories). Tears of the Kingdom adopts a similar structure for its voice acting, utilizing voice actors for key story cutscenes and flashbacks.
With this in mind, how does the quality of the English voice acting in Tears of the Kingdom compare to its predecessor? Is the English voice acting in Tears of the Kingdom of a better quality, worse quality, or about the same as Breath of the Wild?
Overall, I think that the English voice acting in Tears of the Kingdom is an improvement on the voice acting in Breath of the Wild. Patricia Summersett’s performance as Princess Zelda is my favorite of her three performances so far (Breath of the Wild, Age of Calamity, and Tears of the Kingdom), and it feels like the actress has a strong understanding of her character. The other major improvement in the voice acting is the addition of Matthew Mercer as Ganondorf. One of the major disappointments in Breath of the Wild was lack of voice acting for the main villain, but Matthew Mercer gives a strong performance as the longtime Zelda villain in Tears of the Kingdom. Some of the other new additions to the cast like Chris Hackney and Cherami Leigh, who I recognize from their voice work in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, do a nice job with the new characters.
What do you think? How does the quality of the English voice acting in Tears of the Kingdom compare to the English voice acting in Breath of the Wild?
Sean Gadus is a Senior Editor at Zelda Dungeon. His first Zelda game was Ocarina of Time, and he loves all of the 3D Zelda games from 1998-2011. The final battle of Tears of the Kingdom is one of his favorite final battles in the entire series. He wants to help build a kinder, more compassionate world. You can check out his other written work at The-Artifice.com.
