The Many Voices Of Sonic The Hedgehog
Image Source: IGN
The Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has been around for 31 years and has undergone various changes. However, unlike its rival, Super Mario, one of these changes has been the voice of the titular character. Whereas Mario has had one primary voice actor since 1992 (Charles Martinet), Sonic has had several in his various media forms, including his video game appearances. As a result, the history of Sonic's voice is most certainly a wild one.
Takeshi Kusao (1991-1993)
Image Source: Nintendo Life
Sonic first had a voice in video games as early as 1991. Takeshi Kusao, famous for voicing Trunks in the Dragon Ball franchise, made his first appearance as the blue blur in the Japanese exclusive arcade game Waku Waku Sonic Patrol Car. He continued voicing the character in SegaSonic Popcorn Shop, SegaSonic the Hedgehog, and SegaSonic Cosmo Fighter. Surprisingly, Sonic had a lot to say in this early incarnation, even having an opening cutscene in Waku Waku Sonic Patrol Car.
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Misato Nishimura (1993)
Image Source: Last Minute Continue
Sonic's second voice was Masato Nishimura, and his first appearance was in the game Sonic the Hedgehog CD for the SEGA CD in 1993. He didn't have much to say other than "Yeah" when getting an extra life or "I'm outta here" when the player is inactive for too long, among other incidental voice clips. Masata Nishimura was one of the game's designers rather than a voice actor like Kusao.
Jaleel White (1992-1999)
Image Source: Complex
Sonic's first official English voice was Jaleel White, known for playing Steve Urkel in Family Matters. He first appeared in Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and the Saturday morning Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon. White reprised his role in the 1999 Sonic Underground cartoon, voicing Sonic's siblings Manic and Sonia. His portrayal helped to solidify Sonic's attitude and adventurous spirit that is present in most other portrayals that came after. White reprised his role again in the 2013 Sonic the Hedgehog short fan film and was even considered for 2011's Sonic Generations as the voice of Classic Sonic but was never contacted.
Masami Kikuchi (1996) And Martin Burke (1999)
Image Source: Nerd Stash
In 1996, a two-episode original video animation was released in Japan. This brought yet another actor for Sonic, Masami Kikuchi (known for voicing Joe Kiddo in Digimon). The voice differs notably from previous incarnations and is a bit deeper than some. The anime was licensed by ADV Films and released in 1999, and rather than have Jaleel White voice the titular character, Martin Burke (known for voicing Sumida in Dai-Guard) voices him instead. The voice is noted as more nasal than in past portrayals, and the dub was heavily criticized.
Junichi Kanemaru (1998-) And Ryan Drummond (1998-2004)
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In Sonic Adventure, the mainline games started featuring full voice acting. Junichi Kanemaru took over as the voice of Sonic in Japanese and has remained in that position ever since. Kanemaru is known for portraying the character in an energetic yet sensitive and emotive way. The actor is also known for adding gratuitous English to his dialogue. In Japan, the cast from Sonic Adventure has mostly remained consistent and continues to voice their characters to this day.
In English, Ryan Drummond voiced Sonic in the games from 1998 to 2004. Though the dubbing of the early 3D titles has been criticized, many fandoms have held the cast from this era (especially Drummond) in high regard. Ryan Drummond's performance has been said to have captured the character's youthful energy in addition to his attitude. Though the last game in which he voiced Sonic was Sonic Advance 3, he reprised his role for the fan audio drama Sonic and Tails R. He was asked to reaudition in 2010 as either the main voice for Sonic or a third Sonic in Sonic Generations, he did not return due to SEGA requesting the actor to leave his union.
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Another Sonic series premiered in 2003, the Japanese anime Sonic X. In Japan, the voice cast was carried over from the games. However, when the series was licensed by 4kids Entertainment, they decided to go with their own New York-based in-house talent. Ryan Drummond, then the voice of Sonic in the video games, reached out to the production team as to why he was not called in to reprise his role, and the response he got was that it was because the then-current cast for the games was based in San Diego, and the dub would be recorded and produced in New York. Though Drummond would have happily relocated to New York, the company decided to go with Jason Griffith as Sonic's voice for the anime's English dub.
Jason Griffith (2005-2010)
Image Source: YouTube
The game cast and the Sonic X cast remained separate for a time. However, starting with 2005's Shadow the Hedgehog, the Sonic X cast replaced the original English cast. The former cast members, however, should have been notified of this change. Ryan Drummond had this to say at the time of the recast:
"I am NOT leaving Sonic's voice by choice…Sega decided that product continuity WAS important to them starting with this new Shadow game. So, WITHOUT TELLING ME, they have *replaced* me as the voice of Sonic with the fella who does Sonic's voice for the Sonic X show. I was only told after it happened… Now I have no ill-will towards the new voice… I DO, however, have issue with Sega for having no grace in letting me go from my position."
Like the rest of the cast, Jason Griffith was given reference audio from the games, so his early performances in Sonic X resemble Drummond to an extent. However, he was often criticized for lacking the emotion Drummond brought to the role. As he progressed, however, many began to praise him, with fans citing Sonic Unleashed and Sonic and the Black Knight as his best performances as the character. When his tenure ended, he was regarded as highly as Drummond, with some placing him higher than him.
Roger Craig Smith (2010-)
Image Source: The Direct
The cast was changed once again in 2010, except for Mike Pollock as Dr. Eggman. Everyone was replaced after having the current cast reaudition (as mentioned before, even Drummond was asked to reaudition this time around). Roger Craig Smith was cast as the blue blur, making his first appearance at the Alton Towers resort, where his voice could be heard at the Sonic Spinball ride and in Sonic-themed rooms. His first game appearances were in Sonic Colors and Sonic Free Riders. He was initially met with a favorable reception by critics but mixed reception from fans. His voice is notably deeper than Griffith's, and Smith said this was due to SEGA asking him to make Sonic sound older. It was also noted at the time that he had a surfer or cheesy attitude as well in his performance. However, some praised him for his energy and blamed most of the pitfalls on poor writing and direction. After all, this voice change came with a new set of writers: Ken Pontac and Warren Graff. Smith reprised his role in several media in which Sonic appeared, including the Sonic Boom cartoon series, Wreck it Ralph and Wreck it Ralph: Ralph Breaks the Internet, O.K. K.O. Let's Be Heroes, and Puyo Pop Fever.
On January 28th, 2021, Roger Craig Smith announced that he would be leaving the role of Sonic. Fans speculated whether another cast change was imminent, as some fellow cast members either were ambiguous or said they were leaving as well. Though fans feared Smith was fired, Smith stated that he left on his own accord, stating that he was growing tired of the trends seen in the modern gaming voicing acting industry, citing feeling neglected when he wasn't invited to Resident Evil 5's launch party despite voicing the main character, Chris Redfield. He was also growing tired of California life and feeling lonely, far away from his childhood home.
However, on May 26th of the same year, he announced that he was returning to Sonic once more. In the next mainline Sonic game after his brief retirement, Sonic Frontiers, he was given a vastly different direction and writing than in the past, thus leading to a much different sounding Sonic, one that is deeper and shows a broader array of emotions. Fans cite Frontiers as the best game for the current cast and Smith especially. He is currently the longest-running voice for Sonic.
Ben Schwartz (Sonic The Hedgehog Film Series)
Image Source: The Digital Fix
In 2019, it was announced that rather than bring in Sonic's current voice actor, Roger Craig Smith, to voice Sonic in the Sonic the Hedgehog film, Parks and Recreation star Ben Schwartz (who has recently appeared as the droid TAY-0 in The Bad Batch) was cast to voice the blue blur instead. The actor has immense respect for the fandom and the franchise, with him even playing through the first two Sonic games to discover how he would portray Sonic. Even with the first trailer, though the design was rejected, Schwartz was instantly accepted as another version of the blue blur and praised for his performance. The actor plays a much more youthful version of Sonic with infinite energy. Schwartz has been praised immensely within the Sonic fandom, with some wondering how the actor would take on the main version of the blue blur.
Deven Mack (Sonic Prime)
Image Source: YouTube
Due to the Netflix series Sonic Prime being produced in Canada, a new cast with Canadian talent was required to meet Canadian content laws. As a result, Deven Mack is cast as Sonic in this cartoon. Mack grew up watching the Sonic cartoons and looked up to Sonic as a child. His performance was instantly praised by the fandom, with some noting how his performance takes elements from several Sonic voice actors (especially Smith and Drummond). Mack has stated that the Sonic Prime cast is not replacing the game cast at this time.
Sonic has had a lot of voices over the years. Whether you have a favorite or like them all, each has brought something new to the character and left its mark on the franchise's history. As of 2010, SEGA has found a mostly consistent voice cast, and the days of constant Sonic voice changes are over. Only time will tell if and when the vocal folds of Sonic will change once again.
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Source(s): Animated Times, Sonic Stadium, Sonic News Network, [1], [2], [3], [4]
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