Roger’s FORGOTTEN Sonic Voice Proved Me WRONG

I've hated Roger Craig Smith's Sonic voice since the very beginning. its been a huge issue for me for almost half my life. I've recently started coming around to it, but apparently there was a performance in a sonic game NOBODY PLAYED, where he sounded EMACULATE.
#sonic #sonicthehedgehog #voiceacting #sonicxshadowgenerations #shadowthehedgehog
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[@OMR3333]

2:23 That "now we're gonna have fun" is so good

[@ZmanShow]

@@OMR3333 I KNOOOOOOOOOW

[@JujuJimenezM]

The directors are the secret final boss?!

[@RetroSammy7]

You need all 7 chaos emeralds in every single game to fight them in the next one.

[@kyurei4478]

Aren't they every time?

[@RetroSammy7]

@@kyurei4478 If you’re responding to my comment: You’re right, but that’s not the point of my joke. The joke is that you’ll need every single emerald from Sonic 1 to Shadow Gen and whatever the next game may be, the directors will be the final boss. (You may ignore this comment and continue to enjoy your day/night if you were instead replying to the original commenter)

[@kyurei4478]

@RetroSammy7 No I was responding to the original comment.

[@jjtheenton]

The direction has been awful with the modern cast for every character until Frontiers and Shadow Generations. It's always been to blame. Rogue's still is unfortunately.

[@Shejejjd]

2:04 As someone who prefers Ryan/Jason, this shocked the ever living shit out of me

[@memezabelle]

i read this comment and was excited to get shocked and goddamn

[@treygavino]

Same, how did they not utilize this in future games?!

[@jovani6044]

I am the exact same way

[@TheTrollingPokémon247]

I thought Frontiers was Roger’s best performance originally, but man, his Super Sonic voice sounds so close to Jason Griffith’s take in Unleashed. It makes sense given that his earlier performances involved him imitating Jason by direction, and it didn’t work that way with the other early 2010s games, but those lines as Super Sonic shows us how Roger is able to do it right.

[@yam9195]

"NOW I'LL SHOW YOU!!!!" *does an impression of Sean's yelling*

[@Door3234]

maybe, it's still kinda giving that gen X guy trying to sound like he's still got it voice imo

[@Lyle10111]

I loved frontiers because the super high voice never sounded like a teenager to me.

[@Chazmo53]

​@Lyle10111 Same. Plus, it reflected the serious tone of the game. My biggest problems with Grifith were when there were high stakes scenes or something serious going on, and his voice still sounds like he's cracking jokes. If everyone keeps bringing up the same stupid Sonic Colors clip as why Roger sucks (which he doesnt) then Im allowed to bring up the fact that Sonic watches Elise die in 06 and sounds exicted. If Sonic fans wanna talk down on Roger using a single game as an example, then I can use a single example as to why Grifith's voice didn't fit any serious moments.

[@Lyle10111]

@ that’s why I liked frontiers, in unleashed it sounded like a older teenager who’s got the hang of things. Frontiers you can hear a VERY young adult talking. “Still thinking about the koco Amy?”

[@Ulymaldo]

I think it’s a good general reminder that lots of VAs have lots of vocal range they can tap in, and sometimes a lot can change from an initial audition for a role, all the way to the end product. But in the end, it’s the voice directors that will have the final say on what stays and what goes.

[@Ra3_ar1adnE]

As ridiculous and crazy Sonic Boom is. I absolutely love Roger's performance as Sonic so very much along with the rest of the cast in the show cause I felt they weren't constraint to a linear plot and writing the games in the Meta era is so they can go all out....still wish we got another season of that show but alas. The boom games suck though.

[@bowserbreaker2515]

I think Roger in Boom is the best performance the character has ever had. He brought so much to the character there. He perfectly played the ego, sarcasm, and humor of Boom Sonic.

[@Steve-e3v6e]

I thought rise of lyric was alright

[@kaxcommentssomethingREAL]

"SHUT YOUR PIE HOLE!!!!!" is my absolute favorite, and it still continues to be :)

[@Steve-e3v6e]

​​@@bowserbreaker2515i always kinda felt roger fit boom sonic more than regualr sonic i think thats because the boom writers wrote sonic in a way that's more fitting with rogers peformance i can't picture ryan or jason voicing boom sonic

[@bowserbreaker2515]

@Steve-e3v6e I do think Roger fits Boom more, but he is still my favorite in the games. And while I do love Ryan's Sonic, my opinion of Jason's has only declined. Unpopular opinion, I know. But I never liked his Sonic outside of Black Knight. His Shadow is just decent. I do love his Jet, though.

[@Genesis-XE]

I know a lot of people hate Roger’s voice for Sonic when he talks during cutscenes but personally, I think the grunts and mini voice clips he does during gameplay sounds great like Colors, Generations, Lost World, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, etc..

[@ZmanShow]

That’s true. I actually never minded the grunts and sounds.

[@kaxcommentssomethingREAL]

those "hup!"s and "hah!" sounds he makes when he jumps in Generations will forever be engrained into my head

[@jamiegioca9448]

@@kaxcommentssomethingREAL And the “WOOOOOO-OOOOOAH!” too, don’t forget

[@sentrogaspers9813]

His grunts honestly what makes me fall in love with Roger's voice, ngl😅

[@theinktician]

In Generations and Puyo Puyo absolutely, but not the others

[@5persondude]

2:05 That was my “come to Jesus” moment too. I’ve always had mixed feelings on his voice, with Lost World being easily the worst IMO, but damn those Super Sonic clips are wild

[@AnotherLikeADragonFan2019]

WE COULD HAVE GOTTEN THIS!?! Somebody had to say yes to middle aged sounding hipster Sonic. Repeatedly. Professor Farnsworth: I don’t want to live on this planet anymore. Yes, Frontiers and Shadow Generations are an improvement, but we could have gotten that! Hearing the Free Riders audio, I think it is really a matter of Roger Craig Smith needing to drop the nasally aspects in his Sonic voice. In other words, he needs to find a middle ground that is not as high pitched as Colors - Forces, or as low pitched as Frontiers.

[@Phantommotions]

I do love Jason Griffith as Sonic but I’ve always been drawn to Roger as Sonic almost anytime I hear him in anything I think of Sonic

[@Xxblade17]

Same

[@CatWarior22]

Free riders is by far my favourite voice performance of Roger's sonic. People always said it was the worst because it was his 1st sonic game but idk, I just feel like it kept getting worse after that

[@kaxcommentssomethingREAL]

one of my first 3D Sonic games ever happened to be Sonic Generations, and that was my first introduction to a more grown up Sonic, to me that was where Roger's performance peaked. but as you said, it got worse, and honestly i think his worst performances has had to have been during Lost World and Colors, surprisingly i actually quite like his acting in Forces as i felt it was a step up from previous games. (probably because he doesn't sound all that annoying during the story)

[@tulip135]

Personally, even though I grew up with Jason’s voice, Roger's voice for Sonic has always been my absolute favorite. He's got Sonic's smug and snarky tone down to a tee, and it's clear he understands the character + knows how to portray it perfectly. Even when he was asked to depict Sonic in a more mature light for Frontiers, I adored the deeper voice and didn't feel like the essence of Sonic's character was lost at all. Then the Final Horizons update came out, and dude went fucking bonkers. I don't know anyone who didn't lose their absolute shit at his performance during the final boss fight against Supreme. Anyway, I get that people have their reasons for liking other VA's, but the hate Roger sometimes gets is so forced.

[@GreekShinobi223]

Some of that forced hate is in this comment section too

[@SuperShadowFan2265]

Glad to see more enjoyers of Roger's Sonic voice

[@GreekShinobi223]

@@SuperShadowFan2265 Me personally, I like all Sonic voices

[@_SSCJ]

I’ve grown to appreciate it more over the years especially Frontiers. But I think I still like Ryan and Jason more. I think they’re all great though.

[@sp4c1ng_0ut8]

Yippee Other Roger VA Enjoyers!

[@Peepimus]

There’s also voice clips that Roger recorded for Alton Towers back in the day that sound just as sweet!

[@JunniEnriquez]

As someone studying Voice acting, alot of these decisions weren't his. Take a look at the many interviews of Frontiers of how they arrived at that voice. Even he disagreed with it. All the same, I still love his performance in everything. And I met the dude, he's a really nice guy!

[@anoldweirdo7084]

2:05 oh shoot, now this, to me, is a worthy rival to jason griffith

[@Boostifer]

It's still a little hard to get used to it these days, especially with new fans wanting Sonic's voice to be SUPER deep and hearing that SUPER deep voice in Frontiers and Dream Team But I really like what he's been doing these days with TailsTube. The clips you showed are great too, generally I just need Sonic to have a higher registry with a jovial energy to it.

[@zackattack0425]

A lot of people want the deep voice? I thought we were against it?

[@Boostifer]

@@zackattack0425 mostly younger fans that grew up or are growing up on Frontiers now. Something something "makes the character sound like he's aging" something something An idea that I'm really not a fan of lol

[@zackattack0425]

@@Boostifer Me neither

[@PauloH100]

I don't know what's so Super Deep about Frontiers' voice. It's far from it. Just because it's minimally deep a lot of people complain

[@Boostifer]

@@PauloH100 Perhaps not in a vaccuum, but it's absolutely the deepest we've heard Sonic himself. If you grew up on Roger, you might be used to it, but as someone who grew up with the general high registry of previous Sonics it's jarring to me lol

[@magreste]

Roger is the best voice actor Sonic has ever had I don't wanna hear SHIT. The guttural scream he let out during the final boss fight in Frontiers (update 3) had me shrieking it was INSANE.

[@thereel1_real]

I’m gonna be on the Defend Roger boat probably forever. I was just talking about how he’s one of my favorite actors and by far my favorite Sonic voice. We don’t deserve him.

[@CinemaToybox]

“I’ll show you what fast is really like” fire 🔥🔥🔥

[@Alterinno]

I mean shoot, he was JUST getting off Bleach at the time, I wouldn't doubt his role there rubbed off onto Free Riders

[@yderga8707]

I grew up with Ryan Drummond so I'm a little biased, but I still think Jason Griffith is the best Sonic voice actor, especially in Black Knight and Unleashed. Ive always known Roger's shitty Sonic voice was due to bad direction and horrible writing, but I still can't understand why they would get rid of Jason in the first place, he was perfect for the character.

[@cezx-]

Pretty sure it was because his contract ended with tv kids or whatever producer was with Sonic x

[@eonnexus]

​@cezx- The 4kids contract DID expire, but iirc, they held auditions for the characters afterwards, and Jason DID try for it, Sega just didn't hire him back. I'm fairly sure thats how Mike Pollock kept his role as Eggman.

[@bowmaj8666]

Because nobody seems to remember, Griffith and almost the entire 4Kids cast were absolutely hated by the majority of fans, and they were demanding that Sega either brought back the old voice cast or a completely new one. Granted it's more likely that the 4Kids contract just expired and Sega just decided to go in a new direction with a new voice cast, but I honestly can't help but wonder if the fan reaction at the time had any sway in their decision. I mean, with how much people whined about "Sonic's yucky green eyes" in Sonic 4 and demanded that Sega brings back the "Real" Sonic, then in the very next game they suddenly bring back Sonic's older design as an entirely separate character, it's pretty obvious that Sega has a habit of letting toxic fans ultimately dictate what can be in a Sonic game.

[@yderga8707]

@bowmaj8666 that's crazy, honestly I couldn't even tell the difference when he played him in Sonic X. I know the Sonic fanbase is notorious for being insane malding savages though. If im not mistaken, didn't Sonic first have the green eyes in the promotional artwork for SA1? In all honesty, i had my gripes with them changing Drummond initially, however Jason was just so good at playing the character i didn't really care and I got used to the voice super quickly. I wish I could say the same about Roger's voice. I tried to give it the same shot, but even after 10+ years he simply doesn't fit the character, Roger sounds more like the Toonami guy level cool, slow paced chill and deep sounding, whereas that's the exact opposite of the way Sonic is supposed to sound, fast paced and higher pitch.

[@bowmaj8666]

@@yderga8707 The point still stands that, back then, people were saying practically the exact same things about Griffith. "Oh he's terrible!" "Oh he doesn't sound right as Sonic!" "Oh they should bring back Ryan or get someone new!" And that's exactly what Sega did, only for everyone to suddenly love Jason and demanded that Sega brings him back. And that's a tragic Sonic cycle. People gripe about something superfluous, Sega responds and changes things in order to keep them happy, only for another set of fans to complain "Urgh, why did you change it? It was perfect the way it was! CHANGE IT BACK!!!"

[@AshcatNicole]

2:42 A Sonic that I used to knoooow

[@SonicTheHedgehogX15]

Is this a reference?

[@AshcatNicole]

@SonicTheHedgehogX15 there's a song with the lyrics "Somebody that I used to know" and I jusg thought that fitted well and was funny :p

[@SonicTheHedgehogX15]

@ lol

[@mattdoesanimations]

But you didn't have to speeeeeeed Me uuuuuuup

[@sentrogaspers9813]

Make out like it never happened and that he was nothiiiiiing

[@amiiinafedora2318]

Um hi! Gen Z here, who experienced Jason from Sonic X on Toonzai and only got into the games when Roger replaced him as Sonic. I remember at the time that everyone HATED the way Roger sounded in Free Riders. It wasn't until Sonic Boom where people generally liked Roger's take on Sonic. I think problem is recency bias. Because now people are looking back and saying his take in Generations/the first Wreck It Ralph were good too, but that's just another form of recency bias because of the wonky script and acting in the 2024 version.

[@ivansilvarodrigues8952]

the directors clearly don't know what they want to do with Roger. I'm used to his voice in shadow gen, i just hope they won't do the voice that they used in frontiers. Just because his voice is deeper doesn't make him more mature.

[@indie_gamer7]

Even Roger doesn't like that voice, in an interview he did a much better take on a "deeper Sonic voice"

[@fruitpun6h]

His voice in Frontiers is so melodramatic lmao. I’m glad Shadow Generations reverted it back to his old voice

[@flixytip4571]

@@fruitpun6h I mean timeline wise it makes sense, its a younger sonic than frontiers

[@Supers_channel]

@@flixytip4571aging doesn’t include losing your personality, nor does maturing include losing your personality, I get they were going for a more serious tone but it just made them feel out of character (Amy’s character was already ruined so I’m not surprised for her) and kinda like serious parodies of themselves.

[@flixytip4571]

@ you havent met a lot of recent adults have you?

[@jt_9999]

Roger sounds like Roger and this guy is glazing it because he hasn’t played the game. Roger has been good for a while

[@Abner-gu3ve]

Roger been a great voice actor for Sonic. I been saying this for years

[@GALLETUTI_ThClassic]

ARE YOU TELLING ME I WAITED MY WHOLE LIFE JUST FOR LITERALLY 32 SECONDS OF ONE OF THE BEST SONIC VOICES I'VE EVER HEARD????? WHAT THE F-

[@DireNemesis]

oh my GOD, i was the BIGGEST hater of roger, but WHAT IS THAT???? where has this side of roger been all these YEARS...wtf was frontiers??? wtf has sega been doing?? if roger sounded like THIS i'd be a fan man. He has UMPH he has HYPE, where IS ITTT.

[@ZmanShow]

I wanted to scream in that restaurant lol my whole life changed

[@ToonsyTheToon]

WE TOLD YALL IT WAS THE DIRECTORS AND WRITERS FAULT!

[@KookieStar]

Between this and his Frontiers voice, I'm legit in love. He's such a chad 💙

[@bowserbreaker2515]

Roger has always been my favorite. I have also heard Ryan and Jason a lot, but I prefer Roger. Ryan is great, too. In things like Boom, Sonic and Shadow Generations, Dream Team, and the Twitter Takeovers, he's great in my opinion. He is bad in Colors and Forces, though.

[@iceman92211]

You know it’s so cursed and bizarre to see you Sally fanboy loving Roger as Sonic, because wouldn’t your beloved inappropriate female character have a boyfriend with a younger voice ?

[@ZmanShow]

Understandable. I’m glad I’ve been getting more used to him as time goes on

[@reeereeebriieee8661]

​@@iceman92211 What are you even talking about? Why are you so rude? What is wrong with you

[@gamanzhiydanil]

Some people just don't go outside ​@@reeereeebriieee8661

[@iceman92211]

@@reeereeebriieee8661 the guy who posted the comment is an American who loves Sally so much and he wants Sonic to be with her, but for some reason he wants Roger to be the voice of him rather than having a younger voice like Jason.

[@bestwitch4414]

Since sonic team has been listening to a lot more criticism lately,I wonder if they’ll take this direction into account.

[@LandyRShambles]

It's worth mentioning that most of the clips in that post (such as "I haven't felt like this in a while..." and "Now we're gonna have fun!") are NOT from Free Riders, but rather from Tales of Vesperia, which Roger voiced Zagi in! It's still a pretty solid voice that would fit Sonic well, but the original post (and replies) imply that this performance was just buried in Free Riders this whole time, when there's very few clips from it that are used in the post.

[@ZmanShow]

@@LandyRShambles ah interesting

[@elliotsturtplus3400]

Hopefully there’ll let Rodger do it next game or the game after frontiers 2

[@mikeanthony3300]

I grew up with the 4-Kids voice cast and never really liked or enjoyed Jason's Sonic voice, but I did love his Shadow voice. But when Roger hit the scene, I surprisingly had a different take on how Sonic sounded. To me, Roger sounds cooler and less goofy than Jason. Roger gives off the vibes of a surfer dude, which, despite what many criticized for, sounds perfect for someone like Sonic! Isn't he supposed to be a stereotypical "cool guy" character? That's Sonic's whole marketing brand, especially when compared to "safety first" Mario. So yeah, for me, Roger's "Radical dude" sounding voice always sounded like an improvement compared to Jason's voice. But I will say I mostly recall Jason's voice from Sonic X, 06, and Shadow 2005. So, as you can tell, not the best games Jason voiced Sonic in with Sonic X being Jason's earliest takes on the character, which sounds very different from the games.

[@Nice_Person7379]

Thats a great train of thought. Though I thought that Jason made sonic sound younger and cooler in a different way. Classic sonic was cool in a sarcastic snarky way. Ryan’s sonic was cool in the sense that he loved adventure. Jason’s sonic was cool in the sense that he was carefree. And each voice showed that. Roger’s voice still sounds a bit old as its not as smooth as the other voices. Thats why he was right at home in sonic boom, where sonic looked significantly older and was much more bored, funny and sarcastic. Though yes, his best performance as modern game sonic was in free riders.

[@Supersonix58]

I actually did unlock super sonic in free riders as a kid but I forgot Super Sonic sounded like this in that game because it was so long ago. It’s so weird that Roger hasn’t been able to use that voice for super sonic since free riders.

[@savebatsfromscratch]

Roger is my favorite sonic voice actor personally, but this video is great haha

[@Shadow_Fenix97]

1:29 that's me. my first and favorite Sonic game is Gens which is a weird way to get into the franchise since its an anniversary game. Roger was and still is my favorite Sonic voice and i get why you love the old Sonic voices more. it's the voice actors you grew up with, same with me and Roger.

[@OrbitalSnapshots2455]

I always felt like Roger has a great sonic somewhere in his voice. Especially in his grunts and efforts in the games. His voice may have bothered me a bit at first, but his efforts during gameplay never bothered me.

[@HdNinjaMsBrickStudio]

If Roger ever gets to do his true Sonic voice again Deven Mack might be dethroned as My favorite

[@tacobelldumpster1538]

“Now I just need to find out who directed this so I can redirect my anger” And his name is Jack Fletcher, the voice director for the Sonic games .

[@andraw4003]

Someone send this Kishimoto.

[@AnshiBezawada]

this was so entertaining but you’re so right my first impression of sonic was actually from wreck-it-rakph, and i instantly thought “he sounds perfectly like a video game character” but nah hearing those super sonic voicelines a few days ago literally sent me to jesus

[@JapanFreak2595]

Basically someone needs to direct Roger like he's voicing an anime instead of a cartoon

[@maxwellourbeloved]

I knew it was sound directing issue because Roger sounded great in Sonic Boom TV series. this shit was FIRE

[@TheSonicBros1]

One glimmer of hope is that since the movies have been such a big hit, Sega might want a bit more brand synergy with the games, and might lean more into the older voice direction that was a little higher

[@illusive4335]

What's crazy is the fact that because so few played Free Riders let alone unlocked Super Sonic in that game, practically nobody heard those voice lines, meaning there was nobody to compliment how good they were, so Sega never saw any positive feedback about Roger's performance and never implemented that style of voice more moving forward. Plus it was during a time where people were hating on Sonic for anything and also people weren't used to the new voices. Kinda sad in a way

[@Ilovtwrknmen]

I mean I personally absolutely loved the more serious tone of voice they made him do for frontiers but I also grew up with mainly Roger so that probably explains it

[@just1randomguy658]

OHMYGOD, WHAT??? WHAT??? WHAT??? WHAT??? WHAT??? WHAT! WHAT. WHAT! WHAT??? W H A T ? THEY HID HIS TRUE POWER FROM US THE WHOLE TIME!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? He sounds amazing!!!! I *ADORE* the energy in those voice lines! He actually sounds like Sonic to me! That's never something I thought I'd say about Roger, but I am and I'm so happy to be able to! Roger can be a wonderful Sonic! That feels so crazy to think now, but wow. That is so unbelievably good compared to how he usually sounds. And I can hear it. I can hear the inspiration from others who've voiced Sonic before, but it still feels fresh. It doesn't sound like imitation. It's building on the sound our blue boy's already had while making it into his own. I can't believe I never knew. How??? How did I never know??? Words can't explain how almost completely shattered my opinion on him as Sonic is now. If that was the voice they had him do, he'd easily be up there with Jason and Ryan. That voice right there? THAT'S Sonic. Thank you so much for making this! I really hope the popularity of this voice blows up 'cause it is absolute insanity that is such a high tier performance to go this unnoticed for this long. Wow. I'm still reeling at this. I don't know how to feel right now.

[@just1randomguy658]

Also can anyone direct me to where I can find the isolated voice clips? Tried searching here on YT but the peak isn't on here. Same with Google. No one's even mentioned the voice anywhere. It really is unknown. I really wanna just hear them over and over to get a feel of the voice. No pressure if you can't find 'em either. I wouldn't be surprised, so it's cool. Thanks in advance for anyone who does though!

[@just1randomguy658]

Oh, nvm, I'm stupid. I literally should've just searched up "Who's the best Super Sonic voice and why is it Roger?" One of the first results. Bruh.

[@Mister_Don888]

Sonic Dream Team needs to go to consoles and PC

[@Preteristboy]

While I agree that it's the directors' fault, keep in mind that Roger's register is naturally lower, so while he _can_ do a higher pitched Sonic voice, imagine him having to do that kind of voice for hours upon hours of takes. Even Ben Schwartz has trouble doing his own Sonic voice for extended periods of time due to how high he has to go for it. As for the inflection... yeah, not sure who's to blame exactly for that.

[@SonicTheHedgehogX15]

There is also a rollercoaster that roger voiced that has jasom voice direction search it up, it sounds amazing

[@Mrjohnny164]

It kinda sounded like Ryan Drummonds high pitch Sonic voice but with Jason Griffiths "action-y" inflection

[@ChuckE.CheesesIllinois]

Junichi is still the goat tho

[@punkypony5165]

I need need NEED Roger to please use this voice again for Sonic!

[@alexoxo1]

This sounds youthful, full of life, powered up, with passion and heart, i cant explain it.

[@WindPearl]

Pretty sure Rogers direction in free riders was "imitate Jason"

[@krystiancharos889]

Jason and Ryan will be at the Simi Valley Toy and Comic Fest on the 23rd, and I will tell them what should've happened throughout the decades.

[@_SSCJ]

Over the years, I’ve started appreciating Roger’s voice more, especially in Sonic Frontiers. But oh my god, he literally had the right voice right there. If he did this voice, I’m sure people would’ve loved him way more.

[@SSBFan33-e6r]

Roger nails Sonic in Smash and SAR Transformed, Team Sonic Racing, Mario & Sonic 2012-2020, and Frontiers especially.

[@vinceperman514]

I love the way you formatted this video in stages of grief - I enjoyed, thank you, sir, earned my sub

[@FrancisKpentey]

Roger knows his stuff. He made me love Deidara.

[@omarnsouli1555]

😮 someone needs to redirect his voice to that lol but I still prefer Jason 2:14

[@bowmaj8666]

Does everyone just intentionally forget how much people hated Jason Griffith's Sonic voice back in the day? And I mean, straight up HATED! So much that there were actually petitions that fans made to try to force Sega to recast Sonic. Not to mention the infamous "Ryan for Brawl" fiasco, where people actually tried to convince Nintendo to hire Ryan Drummond to voice Sonic in Super Smash Bros Brawl over Griffith. I think their thought process was that if they convinced Nintendo to hire Ryan, that would prove to Sega how much people didn't want Jason, and that would apparently convince Sega to rehire Ryan, but it obviously didn't work. If you honestly like Jason's voice for Sonic, that's not a problem, but when people are suddenly calling him the GOAT and demanding that he be brought back, it's honestly just starting to sound like history repeating itself. Plus a lot of nostalgia.

[@emilkata]

There was also a time when in Sonic Generations they were going to re-hire Ryan for "Adventure Sonic" but that wouldn't fully work out.

[@Daiyarma]

The fact that Free Riders was his first performance too is crazy

[@jacknotinbox]

Often times a voice actor will try to replicate the previous voice when they first start out. Mike Pollock originally sounded more like Deem Bristow because that was his only guide to follow. Same with Jason emulating Ryan's voice in Sonic X and Shadow 05. I totally get where you are coming from, that sounds like a cool Super Sonic voice, and it may have been direction that steered it differently for the future games. But I think it's also entirely possible that Roger just found a distinctive voice for Sonic that he preferred to do. Personally I think his best performance was in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, but that's just me. His voice never sounded off to me, I just don't think he's ever gotten a truly well-written story to shine in. If nothing else we can agree Roger has done great so far as Abraham Tower and Omega.

[@AIDRAUZINGS]

What did you say about my voice? Damn sonic got the batman arkham saga in that one.

[@GunnarONeill-j2m]

One word. Frontiers

[@The_Last_Pac]

So most of those voice lines are ACTUALLY from his performance as Zagi from Tales of Vesperia, meaning he wasn't directed to sound like Jason. The lines where he is more grungy and raspy are the more notable lines

[@Søñīçthëhēdgêhög0698]

Source?

[@LandyRShambles]

@@Søñīçthëhēdgêhög0698 kzbin.info/www/bejne/hX-kfKiYndOprZo

[@Søñīçthëhēdgêhög0698]

@@LandyRShambles thanks 👍

[@Søñīçthëhēdgêhög0698]

Me when I spread misinformation on the internet:

[@tacobelldumpster1538]

Misinformation is when someone has a different opinion than you apparently

[@Søñīçthëhēdgêhög0698]

@tacobelldumpster1538 you're dumb the voice clips don't even come from sonic kzbin.info/www/bejne/hX-kfKiYndOprZosi=QZf9geU7DsEQjZIs

[@ZillaYT.]

Wish they got him to use the voice more I didnt know about this either, obviously as a newer fan i didnt find the roger voice that bad since its what ive been hearing since i was younger but yeah thoise voicelines in free riders are great.

[@brandonwilliams6119]

Remember that time Roger said he was leaving and not voicing Sonic anymore? Only to come back and fakeout all of us? Good times

[@ZmanShow]

@@brandonwilliams6119 I do remember that…

[@knuxuki1013]

You narrated my pain, all of it lol This is very hilarious

[@SonicTheHedgehogX15]

Its all the voice directors fault

[@Sussusflakes]

I feel like in Wreck-It Ralph and sonic a generations. The original felt like it was a natural performance.

[@TreeBranchStudios]

Honestly If they just combine Fronteirs and Dream Team’s voices together then it would be the perfect Sonic voice

[@BluePyramidCipher]

You're actually spitting facts no wonder why you went through the 5 stages of grief throughout this video

[@theguythatyouknow8495]

Its literally the voice that the voice directors were looking for frontiers, he should totally use it in the next game! (That sounds like my sonic)

[@LagannDriller024]

Roger even said in a panel it was the voice directors at SacAnime 2023 Spring panel They asked him to go lower as sonic than ever even he was surprised Should check out the panel it was really fun!!

[@ZmanShow]

I’ve seen the clip about frontiers it was pretty funny

[@LagannDriller024]

@ they cut out a part due to copyright but a fan asked the guest what their favorite song was and Roger replied and asked the fan what their favorite song was and if he could sing it the fan started to sing city escape and eventually the whole audience ended up singing along with him and the guest were amazed lol

[@Thaumiel98]

They replaced Jason when he was finally getting good. I heard his scrapped voicelines from Colors and he sounds perfect. He's so natural.

[@hoohoo431]

BRO CAN HE GO BACK TO THAT VOICE WTF

[@maxweII_demon]

I grew up with Roger but even when I was a binky sucking baby I could tell Sonic sounded different in Unleashed, I couldn't tell it was a different actor cause I was too young but somewhere in my pea brain I knew there was some intensity and power that I liked. That's what Free Riders Super Sonic has, but with someone else's tone.

[@tacobelldumpster1538]

When I was a kid, I didn’t question why sonic sounded different, to me he was the same cool dude that I loved. Like I knew they sounded different but I just never cared lol, obviously I know that it’s different now and I generally like Roger’s take a tiny bit more just because the way Jason speaks during most of his lines doesn’t feel natural to me.

[@RealJoBUFF]

i felt those bronchitis outtakes i just can't get rid of this cough

[@Metatronio]

Even Roger's normal Sonic voice sounds better in Free Riders than his current one. Same with Cindy's Amy, although I did like her voice in the Sonic Gens redub, unfortunately, the most recent TailsTube went back to her current voice

[@DrickRT]

Red pill and blue pill but it's between living arrogantly thinking a good sonic voice is just not possible, or accepting a horrible truth knowing that it exists but is unreachable forever

[@droncbaliski]

roger kinda sounds like goku

[@xProErax]

I think he sounds decent in Sonic Boom they actually give him really good direction and make his delivery sound pretty good. But yeah this voice line for Sonic sounds rough and yet not serious and tone deaf in how Sonic should be.

[@StarOfElyon]

Hey, 90% of the Sonic fandom is younger than me. I'm 43. My Sonic in 1992 was Jaleel White. I'm old enough to look at the stuff people complain about with Sonic and just go, "...kids."

[@theroyalgoofball]

I was introduced with Colors so Roger Craig smith is my Sonic Va lmao

[@kyurei4478]

I'm just happy that this video allows to give more value to the existence of Free Riders. Now it should be referred as the only Sonic game where Roger's Sonic voice acting feels right.

[@kyurei4478]

You know that makes me think about when they say to bring your uniqueness to differenciate yourself from the work of the previous person but it just ends up being worse because trying to imitate the previous work that was already good is just better in the end ? Yeah I will never say it enough but originality doesn't mean quality. Don't ruin a good thing just because it's not original or not recent. If it works, it works for a reason. Or else make sure to do it even better. Otherwise there is no point to novelty.

[@zorrovulpa]

I do think that Roger was screwed over by the directors. He was the first sonic voice I ever heard in Generations (I was late to the party) and I think he sounds ok, but Jason will always be my favourite.

[@xthatghomiex2939]

I grew up with Jason and he'll always be THE voice of Sonic for me. I've always suspected Roger had a great Sonic hidden somewhere, as well though and I really enjoy a lot of his more natural, subdued performances. It's abundantly clear direction has been pidgeon-holing him.

[@eslamvszombies1713]

Sonic Boom (show) and Frontiers are the best Roger performances. Boom had the best sassy Sonic ever and Frontiers was much more serious than the past couple of games ever tried.

[@ZetaReticuli1.]

We could have had this. We COULD have had this.

[@ShortDubsVA]

Personally Rogers sonic voice fits the current model they use, but then again, generations was my first sonic game.

[@Combatmax]

5:30 ngl you would make a great Sonic x knuckles maybe even a werehog if you kept that tone while voicing them!

[@JAYCEG27]

Damn that bronchitis clip took me out. Feel better

[@Nakara_Sushi]

Jason and Ryan is best for me as Sonic, but i like more is the JP voice of sonic which is Junichi Kanemaru because since Sonic Adventure he voice sonic and never change

[@edaraujo2169]

Damn boy... That's some serious cough!😮