9 Video Game Recastings That Pissed Everyone Off
5. Aerith - Kingdom Hearts 2
When Kingdom Hearts crossed Final Fantasy characters with it's scramble Disney universe, for many of them it was the first time they had been given a voice. Largely, it seems that careful care had been taken with the casting, as well Disney’s budget and name value. After all, David Boreanaz was far from being a nobody when he briefly played Leon, KH’s equivalent to Squall.
In particular, Mandy Moore’s turn as Aerith was a wonderful take that managed to be light, airy and wistful without losing its way into dim-wittedness. She was soft, motherly and tough all at once. Unfortunately, it only lasted for a brief moment and the Cetra was one of many characters who were recast for the sequel.
Enter Mena Suvari, whose take on the character was that Aerith was a one-note narcoleptic.
Whilst her tone of voice was fine, every line that Suvari’s Aerith delivered sounded as though it was coming from someone about to yawn. In all likelihood this was a direction problem, as she did much better work when she played Aerith for the CGI film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Nonetheless, this early attempt quite rightfully drew ire and likely sits at the bottom of the list for most fans when it comes to Aerith’s portrayals.