1. Quinton Flynn - Raiden (Metal Gear Solid 2)
What We Should Have Got: Oh boy. Raiden is the kind of character that seems impossible to make likable, given the context of him being the unexpected protagonist in the most highly anticipated action game in history - but I believe it could have been a lot better with the right performance. As we all know, Raiden was supposed to be a total rookie who's got a false sense of confidence. He was shaped by VR training and convinced that he was a real FOXHOUND member, but when he's finally out on his first mission, he's constantly caught off-guard by the things he encounters, from the sudden appearance of his girlfriend, to the President of the United States groping his crotch, to the vampire who walks on zero-buoyancy water and comes back to life when he gets shot in the head. He's not as cool and collected as he'd like to be. "Jack" is almost always reacting to some strange thing he discovers, which is why the most important thing we needed was respect for the material. That, and a willingness to be the Alice in the great big Wonderland of MGS2; somebody who understands what the character/player is supposed to be feeling in that moment. Raiden was meant to be the relatable, sane element in this over-the-top plot.
Why It Matters: As the main character of Metal Gear Solid 2, Raiden's performance meant everything. We had to see the world from his perspective, but more importantly we control him through the Big Shell. We don't want to try our hardest when we're controlling a loser. Players subconsciously sabotage themselves when they dislike the character they control; part of us wants to see the character die, fall off ledges, or take a stupid risk at a tense moment. If we love a protagonist and we want to see him/her win, we'll feel motivated to be extra careful and get into the role. A voice performance infuses a character with life and personality, so you'd better believe Raiden should have gotten a top-notch delivery that players could enjoy. If done correctly, Raiden should feel like a reflection of ourselves, not a disappointing kid we can't even root for.
What We Got: Quinton Flynn is all over the place, it's hard to know where to start. I think it's no overstatement to say that he ruined the character of Raiden (and therefore MGS2) for Western audiences. Some of the biggest issues include an inconsistent mood and a lack of respect for the script's punctuation. Yes, punctuation is a big deal, and Quinton Flynn is terrible at respecting it. Mute the game the next time you play and find out for yourself (this is an interesting litmus test for any performance)! You'll start to respect Raiden as an intelligent person if you just read the words without the sound, because you'll figure out how Kojima intended it to be, not the way Quinton Flynn badly interpreted it. And listening to Quinton Flynn in interviews; it's obvious that he didn't have any respect for Raiden as a serious character to begin with. He understood that Raiden is a young hotshot who gets disrespected, bossed around, and harshly manipulated from beginning to end, so it would seem he decided to make him the kind of irritating jerk who deserves it. Wrong, wrong, wrong. The bottom line, sadly, is that it's almost impossible for us to imagine Raiden as a relateable guy, and it's because Quinton Flynn turned him into a jokey loser who alienates the audience (best intentions, I'm sure). Which MGS voice actors irk you the most? Let us know in the comments below.