Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion launched back in December 2022 to a mostly positive reception from fans and critics. Many praised some of the voice work while other performances (notably Sephiroth) were criticised. However, the voice actor behind Genesis was told by Square Enix to tone down his voice after noting that he sounded “too sexual.”
Voice actor Shaun Conde, who plays Genesis in the English dub of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion, was told by Square Enix to ‘tone down’ his performance after the publisher noted that it was too sexy. “A fun note, little bonus, is with both characters I did with [voice director Kirk Thornton],” began Conde, referring to his other role as Shiba in NEO: The World Ends With You. “I got the note several times, ‘it’s sounding too sexual. It sounds like you’re seducing. We need you to tone it down a bit.'”
“‘People of Shibuya, I’ve got some red hot news,'” Conde spoke in a seductive voice. “But especially [Genesis] because it’s playful and he is a little flirty. Just a little flirty.”
This isn’t the first time that a voice actor has been told to tone down his sexy voice. Neil Newbon, who voiced Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3, was also given similar instructions by Larian Studios. It’s hard to say if any “toning down” was actually done in the end since Astarion went on to be Baldur’s Gate 3‘s poster boy for sexy characters, no doubt owed to his award-winning performance of the vampire companion.
In related news, Square Enix says it’s looking into possibly making expansions for the Queen’s Blood deck-building card game in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Speaking of sexiness, here’s a guide on all the romantic options and relationships you can form in the game.
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC and Nintendo Switch.
Source: Square Enix
