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From: maggosh
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  • I love Richard Epcar so much, but Billy Zane was THE. FUCKING. BOMB. in the first game....I'm gonna have to vote Billy here.

  • Richard is awesome, but Billy will always be better (as Ansem).

  • BIlly Zane.

  • EPIC RAP BATTLES OF HISTORY! Richard Epcar vs Billy Zane!!!

  • Billy Zane will always be my favorite, but Richard Epcar does good as well.

  • i like billy zane better ansem really sounds black

  • Why did they change the voice actors?

  • Richard epcar definitly....Billy Zane enunciated TOO much...

  • Billy Zane.

  • Billy Zane was more powerful, and theatrical. Quite fitting for a Disney villain. There was no voice like it. Richard Epcar did get better with time, though. I still have to give this one to Zane. It's a darn shame he never reprised the role.

  • What the hell was the Six Flags guy for?!

  • When he says "Kingdom Hearts, fill me with the power of darkness", there's no competition. Zane needs to return.

  • I watched Titanic for the first time a couple of years ago, and all I could think of when I saw Cal was Ansem.

  • I hope Billy Zane comes back to voice Ansem, Seeker of Darkness for Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.

  • I think what it comes down to, at least in these instances over those in other games, is that Billy Zane's voice carries more resonance and was more effortless... even natural in it's pitch changes and what not. Epcar unfortunately wasn't given the liberty to do what felt right. In trying to achieve the qualities of Zane's voice he had to restrain himself, which makes his voice sound less dimensional.

  • You know in my opinion I think Billy Zane is the best ansem´s voice

  • ARE YOU SERIOUS?!! Billy Zane blew Richard Epcar out of the water when doing Ansem!! His voice was original, it was smooth and more over it was just evil!! Richard Epcar is a great VA but his voice was really raspy and rough and it just wasn't the same...Overall, I think Billy Zane was really selfish not coming back to do the sequels (all one hundred million of them LOL).

  • I honestly love both voice actors of Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. I think that Billy Zane did do a way better job though, while Richard Epcar impressed me when he recited his speech in Birth by Sleep. I just wish they brought Billy Zane back though. And why didn't they just use his recorded lines the KH1 flashbacks in kH2? Sora 's VA went through puberty by then but they still used his old tracks. They could have just done the same for Ansem. ><

  • I honestly like both actors for Ansem. They both have their quirks that make Ansem who he is and I think they both portray him well, even if they're different. It's like with the new VA that replaced Christopher Lee. It's not that he's bad, he's just different, and he's still really good!

  • Having seen a photo of Zane shortly after KH1 on IMDB, I likened him to Lex Luthor from DC Animated (due to voice and appearance at the time).

  • Billy zane is better. Epcar is good, but he just doesn't have the same reverbarations that Zane does.

  • @nickvanitas Because he's not Billy Zane.

  • Are there any other comparison videos? Like for Leon, Aerith, and Yuffie?

  • @jacoblgames Hmm, I hadn't thought of doing those...is this something everyone would be interested in?

  • @maggosh Most definitely. I have seen a video that compares the Leon VAs, but Yuffie and Aerith are still open.

  • @maggosh YES

  • @maggosh It would be neat. I couldn't tell the difference between the Yuffies, but Aerith declined noticeably between the first and second games. I like the current voice actress, as well.

  • Billy Zane is far superior. Why couldn't they use him in the other games?

  • @jacoblgames I believe it had to do with contract issues and other things.

  • @OfficialRandomgames Curses. They need to have him voice Ansem at least one more time. For instance, if Ansem became an unlockable character in a Dissidia game; they would need to have him reprise his role for that.

  • Zane for the win

  • Richard Epcar is an amazing talent, but his portrayal of Ansem just isn't as great as Billy Zane's.

  • i think billy zane does a quite good job but the other one i have heard from somewere befor but were hmmm

  • Some voices are irreplaceable. Some are not. Try as they might, they will never be able to replicate the euphoric magic of Ansem's KH1 voice. To make matters worse, they keep bringing Ansem back. The more they do so it just reminds everyone of how much his original VA rocked. It's just such a shame that they tapped into something so special with Zane's voice on that character only to abandon it out of sheer laziness.

  • Seriously, what the hell? Epcar does a good performance as Ansem SoD, but.. Billy Zane is just far superior! Why on Earth would you change the voice actor? WHY!?

  • Let's just all agree that Ansem hit puberty when KH2 started.

  • I'm sorry Richard but Billy Zane got you here, but I have to agree you did do a god job in BBS. But Billy Zane makes Ansem sound EPIC! No matter what you do. God Job though X)

  • I was in absoulte silence when i heard zanes voice in KH1, no offense but Epcar is just not the same. I felt that Zane's voice is much darker and epic.

  • @WITNESSREVENGE I agree my friend, I agree.

  • is there any known reason as to why they changed the voice actor? I could imagine that Zane was too expensive to hire again, but an answer from official side would be nice^^

  • @NeptunII Zane and Gary Busey had starred in a Turkish film about the Iraq War which (for once) depicted the Americans as the true villains, and they were blasted by every single prostitute in the media for it, labelled as anti-semitic, unamerican, and unpatriotic (because they played the villains who were two Jewish Americans).

    I think maybe that's why they didn't bring Zane back. That's what you get in a dictatorship like the United States of America these days.

  • Wow, I had no idea that Ansem was voiced by someone else in KH2, although I did wonder why the last couple of lines sounded so different! :P

    I like Richard Epcar (he did a decent job as the Joker in MK vs DC, and his imitation of Billy Zane was quite good), but quite obviously, Billy Zane is superior for Xehanort's Heartless! :)

  • Billy Zane did a lot to bring life to Ansem and was absolutely epic and sinister. Epcar is a good voice actor and I liked him as Batou in GitS, but here he either underacts in places and overacts, making the character bland. I fault that mostly on bad directing than bad acting. I have yet to check out Birth by Sleep, since I don't have a PSP yet. I'm in the middle of Re: Coded. I do plan to get a 3DS soon, though.

  • I've noticed that Epcar always has problems subtly emoting. Very black and white, not much middle ground.

    How do I compare the two? Epcar seems like a person that knows the material well, but reads off of his notes with little enthusiasm. Zane sounds like the actor that has a passion for what he's talking about. The tone of his voice sounds like he believes in what he's saying. That creates both a sense of fear and respect in his performance. My respects go out to Zane.

  • Comment removed

  • Epcar did a nice job on that final scene comparison. But I agree that Zane was better for the others.

  • Epcar's a great voice actor, I don't doubt it for a moment. I sometimes think that if Epcar had voiced Ansem from the start, it would have been a little different. It's only because he replaced Billy Zane, someone considered far superior to him, that there were many complaints about Epcar's casting.

    Notice how all the other anime voice actors in KH haven't received the same fuss. I quite like the blend of professional actors, professional voice actors and anime voice actors together.

  • @Visonu

    I honestly felt Epcar's performance was sub par in KH2. But, I gave him the benefit of the doubt, seeing as he was trying to out ham Zane.

    I had no problem with him in Re:CoM though. Which I played first.

  • I think the reason Billy Zane didn't come back was because he and Gary Busey were in a bit of trouble with the media whores in America. They were in a Turkish movie about the Iraq War which, for once, depicted the American soldiers as the villains, and Zane and Busey were the Jewish American villains of the film.

    Now, just like it would be done in a dictatorship, the media whores blasted Zane and Busey for this, calling them anti-American and unpatriotic. Maybe that's why Zane didn't return.

  • richard epcar is okay but the villain in Titanic is better.

  • Although Epcar did get a lot better in Birth by Sleep, but why in the hell did they not just use the same voice track? I know they enhanced the graphics for the cutscene in KH2, but the audio could've been the audio from the first game. It is a flashback after all.

  • @111134531 You forget; Epcar also voiced Riku-Ansem. Yes, if it was just the flashback and no form of Ansem appeared in KHII, they could have used Zane's voice lines. However, he has an Ansem-related role here, and the re-recorded lines were to smooth the transition.

  • why are there two versions?

  • @DeuxTrux Two voice actors.

  • @DeuxTrux the Billy Zane one is from the first Kingdom Hearts and Epcar's version is from Kingdom Hearts 2 when Roxas was dreaming in the beginning .

  • Billy Zane, i think is the best Heartless Ansem

  • While his performance wasn't as good in this game as in later games (Re:CoM and BBS come to mind), I must say that I still prefer Epcar to Zane. Zane sounded more and more like he didn't fit the character. He wasn't exactly as forboding and evil sounding as Epcar, as Epcar's natural voice is that deep. Zane's "Kingdom Hearts! etc." line seemed a bit more like it was slowly suffering a breakdown in a sort of crying, disbelief way, where as Epcar sounded like he was POed. This is just my opinion.

  • Billy Zane FTW!

  • haha nice ending

  • i did'nt actually realize that that changed his VA in KH2 until i saw a DMC parody useing a clip of ansem from KH2 just the KINGDOM HAAAAARTZZZ! part..and i'd seen the first kh game so much it threw me off how it sounded so different..

  • I love Epcar, but Zane did better

  • Richard Epcar is good, but I like Billy Zane way better. Also, has anyone noticed that Richard sounds like Plankton when he's begging Kingdom Hearts for darkness?

  • Epcar is good but if you compare it to Zane then Zane will win everytime

  • epcar himself actually said in a podcast that e thought his performance in kh2 was weak, appearently because of restraining voice direction. He liked his performance in Re: much better. I doubt he ever said he did better then zane but even if he thought that he wouldn't say that without a reason.

  • i know i am going to get alot of haters for this but i think epcar did a better ansem then billy zane

  • I want Billy Zane to narrate my life

  • Okay, although, I like Eopcar's voice, Zane is superior when it comes to Xehanort. Now what I dont understand is whyt people are saying Epcar sucked? He's just inferior to him.

  • I really don't care what any Epcar-Thumpers say. Billy Zane was the best thing to happen in KH1. I don't care if he was in shit that flopped after. He NEEDS to come back for 3D and KH3, otherwise it won't feel like an epic conclusion.

  • @holierthanu1

    maybe Xehanort the heartless should have been billy and epcar as Xemnas?

    like how roxas and sora have dif VA

  • @ValforWing Actually I think is't good like this:

    Seeker of Darkness: Billy Zane

    Xemnas: Paul St. Peter

    Xehanort/Terranort: Richard Epcar

    Master Xehanort: Leonard Nimoy

  • 1:04

    The first time I played KH2, I thought, "Fucking Hell! It's E. Honda as Ansem!!"

  • lols

    FRICKIN EPIC BILLY ZANE

    then

    Richard Epcar

  • I'll probably get flamed for this but I prefer Epcar. Though I admit he did over the top when he said KINGDOM HEARTS, FILL ME, WITH THE POWER OF DARKNESS!! But the rest of the acting he did good.

  • @bobo577 I heard that even Epcar himself didn't like doing that but the director told him to say the line like that.

  • @darknight10000 Is that so? If that's the case, Epcar should of been left to his devices on that particular bit.

  • Zane is freaking awesome as Ansem SOD but Epcar is VERY good as Xehanort (somebody form). His flashback scene in KHII was done quite well.

    I consider it:

    Billy Zane - Ansem SOD

    Epcar - Xehanort

    Paul St Peter - Xemnas

  • @JudgeMagisterDelita I agree with you on that.

  • they sound very similar to me, but Zane does have more of an evil feeling to it. during the Epic clip, Epcar sounded too dramatic

  • Epcar is really good,but Zane can make you dream.

  • I prefered -FREAKIN EPIC BILLY ZANE!!!- over Richard Epcar

    I hope he voices Ansem in BBS2 or 3D

  • Epcar is....eh, he's okay. Billy Zane all the fucking way.

  • Billy Zane all the fuckin way!

  • And Ther Winner Is...Billy Zane he made me shit my pants

  • Anyone else find it weird how a professional voice actor like Richard Epcar can convey so little emotion in the character, while Billy Zane who hasn't had a career voice acting can do a WAY better job?

  • I think Epcar does a pretty good job as Xehanort in Birth by Sleep.

  • @DarkBladeAngel You're kidding! Jason Dohring did a better job than him. Epcar was absolutely TERRIBLE in BBS.

  • @Visonu No sir, I am not kidding.

  • @DarkBladeAngel his not the VA dude.

  • Well. 2,357 views in one year. Not bad, if i do say so myself.

  • I like Richard Epcar as a voice actor, but Billy Zane SOO needs to reprise his role for Xehanort.

  • @ThePinwheel

    He should probably stick to anime roles (I liked him as Skywarp in Transformers: War for Cybertron, though)

  • I think Epcar's calm voice suits Xehanort (the scientist, before he delves into darkness). Xehanort's Heartless, however, definitely deserves a voice that can animate his maliciousness. A voice like, say, Billy Zane's.

  • @SwordSeraph

    If they could get him over to the west coast, Paul Dobson (Naraku from Inuyasha) would not be half bad either

  • i like the chuckle in billy zanes voice

  • I must agree with Bannar. Zane is OBVIOUSLY far superior to Epcar in the AnsemSoD voice. I absolutely CRINGED when I heard "Ansems" voice in KH2 and Re:Chain. Why Billy? Why didnt you come back? We needed you! Only YOU could say 'Darkness conquers ALL WORLDS!!!' with the right emotion and Heart.

  • @KingdomXeiln06 Go look at my reply to ProjectTrinity.

  • @KingdomXeiln06

    I think, Zane would make an inferior Xemnas though. That's not much of a compliment as Xemnas lacks emotion and Epcar can't seem to get emotion right. >.>

  • I know now, without a doubt... the best one is: Billy Zane!

    Seriously now, I much preferred BZ over Epcar, although I must admit Epcar gets better, especially in Birth by Sleep with his line "Your body submits, your heart succumbs, so why does your mind resist!"

  • @PresentationM

    He actually sounds like Billy Zane when he says "Terra...you say"

  • It could've have been worse, they could've gotten that totally not a robot!chick who voiced Aeris/Aerith in KH2 to do Ansem too. :P

    That and Richard Epcar kinda sounds like Dan Green to me. *shrugs*

  • Seriously, Epcar haters just shut up! Yes, Billy Zane was FAR better but Epcar did fine. He was in noway "terrible." You also got to understand the position he was put in. He was just pulled in by Square Enix at random. Billy Zane never played KH1 so he asked if he could hear his lines from KH1, but Square Enix denied and basically told Epcar to just wing it. If you were in his position, you wouldn't be able to do ANY better!

  • really though people there is nothing wrong with Epcar's Ansem. I myself do favor Zane's, but i also enjoyed Epcar's retelling in KH2. That said, i want to point out that since they had a voice for Xemnas, they really didn't even need to re-record Zane's lines for KH1 to use in KH2, wich would dumb down Epcar's role to Riku's first voice in KH2, which would stop this fighting.

  • i loled at the last subtitle for billy zane

  • Well Zane was the original, and so obviously the production team didnt like him but me I think he was fantastic with his voice, pretty good, he was serious just how ansem SoD would be.

  • At first I really hated Richard Epcar as Ansem, he lacks the smooth seductive quality that Billy Zane's voice has. But after Re:Chain of Memories and Birth By Sleep, he's grown on me. Still prefer Billy Zane but Richard Epcar is alright.

  • @DrakeClawfang seductive? O_o

  • Richard Epcar is American Akio Otsuka!

  • Richard is better and he was amazing in Re:chain of memories

  • @DanesoulX

    Noway near as good as Billy Zane. /fact

  • @bosco9012 no Richard Epcar is way better his voice is more Darker go play KH re:com

  • @DanesoulX to each his own opinion but since Xehanort took over terra's body and the body aged within the span of 7 years give or take for sora to age to 13 in KH1 then Xehanort's body is still no less than mid 20s at best and epcar is pushing his mid 40s zane is as well but Zane sounds authentically younger than Epcar so I'd argue that epcar is a good VA but IMO his role should have shifted somewhere else in KH because Zane brought a theatrical persona to the character, epcar is all anime

  • Whoops, It is indeed "Paul St. Peter" who did Xemnas's voice in KH II...

  • Whoops, It is indeed "Paul St. Peter" who did Xemnas's voice in KH II...

  • Jesus H Christ!!! Who gives a fuck if Zane flopped in a movie. I only care about how epic and downright apocalyptical he sounded in Kingdom Hearts 1. He did a very impressive job! Why would Square denounce him just like that? He is not giving an Oscar depending performance, just lending his oblivion of a voice to a character that he has already nailed more than perfect. Why did Square screw up and take a plummeting bet on Epcar?! The end result is purely dismal. My heart died when i heard Epcar.

  • Dude, you are sooooooooo right!!!! Do you or anybofy for that matter, know why Zane was unable to reprise his role in KH II???!!!

  • i like the part with the old man dancing

  • Whenever I played this game, Billy Zane's voice always made me shake when I heard it. Richard Epcar only just gets the point across. His is voice okay but Zane's voice actually makes me wanna believe that darkness is the hearts true essence XD

  • Zane's performance was indeed the best,but Epcar really did more than a great job voicing the character to sound similar to the original voice(not many voice actors can imitate another's performance as great as he did),he deserves more respect for bringing us the character back,instead of another lousy voice actor that might have been horrible and would have ruined the character...I like Zane better, but Epcar is still a great succesor...

  • @ricky777XP

    The only problem with Epcar's Ansem voice is he sounds like he's trying to hard. When he shouts "Kingdom Hearts, fill me with the power of darkness!" he sounds like Plankton from Spongebob. Other times he sounds more like an anime villain than a Square Villain.

  • 1:13-1:14

    EPIC!!!!!

  • You know who would have been a good Ansem?

    Clancy Brown (Lex Luthor in Superman: The Animated Series)

  • @darkruler64 Clancy brown is pretty epic. His voice can be very intimidating when he wants it to be. Or he can be Mr. Krabs. 

  • You Epcar fans can stop talking now. I came here solely due to the lack of soul I heard in Kingdom Hearts 2's Ansem. Looks like Zane didn't catch a cold, but KH for some reason didn't drag the original voice actor in. =(

    And yes, this clearly means I like Billy Zane better. It's almost like some of you only played Kingdom Hearts 2.

  • @ProjectTrinity Apparently, Zane was acting in a film that was a total flop, and his reputation plummeted. Square didn't want to take a chance with him after that.

  • @maggosh Argh. That's a terrible reason not to bring him back! D': I was a HUGE fanboy of Ansem and his voice/voice actor when the first game came out.

  • @maggosh Zane (and Gary Busey) acted in a film which showed what Americans are TRULY doing in Iraq, and he played one of the two villains (Busey was the other). They were subsequently demonised by the media whores as being anti-American, anti-Semitic and unpatriotic (it's like something that would happen in a dictatorship, like the US, nowadays).

    I think that unjust smear campaign against Zane and Busey lead to Zane's replacement. The film was successful in Turkey, but not in the USA.

  • @maggosh He already proved he had the right stuff though. I would have gone with his experience.

  • @maggosh Really? Is that what happened? Well that's bullshit! I like Richard Epcar and all but Billy Zane was far superior when it came to playing Ansem. When he did the role Ansem had an air of power about him. That deep booming voice made Ansem seem a lot more powerful and sinister compared to the other villains in the game. When I first played Kingdom Hearts II and heard the Richard Epcar I was GREATLY dissapointed that they changed the actors and since then I still can't get over it.

  • Comment removed

  • I think Epcar fits it better than Zane. He just sounds more evil. And no, I don't think Zane would be a good Terra.

  • Billy Zane is shit in this game. Richard Epcar is the best, cos his voice is just epic and sinister lol.

  • Epcar isnt bad, but Billy Zane is so good he makes EVERYONE who tries to voice Ansem look bad. I liked Epcar as Riku though

  • billy zanes voice are better for ansem... <3

  • To the Richard Epcar haters:

    There was an interview with Richard Epcar and he had NO knowledge of Kingdom Hearts whatsoever. He asked the voice director to show him clips of Billy Zane's voice work, but the director said no and just told him "Act over-the-top!" So to be fair, Richard Epcar did exactly what he was told and I'm certain if he was given the clips of Zane's voice he would've done much better.

  • The background music is different for Epcar which makes the scene seem more soft.

  • Hello Batoo. . .you are king.

  • "Kingdom Hearrrrts!! Take your paws off me, you damn dirty ape!" - - Charlton Epcar.

  • @colininla

    Kingdom Hearrrrts!! Give me the Kraby Patty secret Formula!!! XD

  • i think richard epcar is fine for when xehanort is talking but if he he screams or talks with excitement zane should do that part

  • Zane fit Xehanort's Heartless. He was articulate and needed to emote.

    Epcar is fine for Xemnas, since you don't require much emotion to play a Nobody.

  • But Epcar didn't play Xemnas. Paul St. Peter did.

  • I think Zane should do the voice of Terra in BBS. Unless you want him to sound more like the typical and sinister anime villan.

  • Well, Terra isn't exactly a villain, per se.

  • @yuna923

    Billy Zane's voice coming out of Terra? No... that wouldn't fit at all! That's like making James Earl Jones become the voice of Aqua, it just doesn't fit at all!

  • indeed, Zane is the best Xehanort.

  • I fail to see how ANYONE could think Epcar is better than Zane. Now Epcar did get much better in Re:Chain of Memories compared to how terribly he did in these clips, but it's still a typical "anime villain" voice. Billy Zane's performance was just much more powerful and theatrical.

  • Says the guy with Lelouche in his display picture. :P

  • What does that have to do with anything? That Lelouch is an anime villain or that Lelouch is theatrical?

  • Wow, that was a while ago, man. Lay off it.

  • @Bannar When did Epcar say these lines?

  • @Bannar I agree with you...Billy Zane to me will always be the voice of Ansem. You're right about Richard Epcar he did sound better as Ansem in Re:Chain of Memories vs his small role as Ansem in Kingdom Hearts II. Billy Zane however was by far the best choice for Ansem. I was sad to hear that he left the cast. He would have rocked Riku's story in Re:Chain of Memories if he had returned to do Ansem's voice. I thought of something.

  • I prefer Epcar.

  • Zane's not doing it anymore--Epcar does a great job--get the f**k over it.

  • and Batouisking is Richard Epcar. Fail.

  • @batouisking Yeah, he thinks he did a better job. Get over it.

  • Billy Zane's more suited to voice Terra. Epcar would sound kind of scary voicing him...

  • They both did well on the last line. The problem with Epcar wasn't that he SUCKED (I LOVED him as Ziggy in Xenosaga) but that he's not suited for voicing characters as dramatic as this. His acting is what puts him below Billy Zane.

  • y did zane stop voicing ansem?

  • I have to say Zane and Epcar are good quite suits ansem very well.

  • Epcar is better

  • Zane definitely has my vote. Epcar sucks!

  • o.o nice! 5/5

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