www.reddit.com/r/KingdomHearts/comments/9crv2a/kh1_rare_opportunity_with_billy_zane/ Recently, this reddit user got the chance to meet with Billy Zane, who remembered voicing Ansem, loved the role, provided a few words about how unique it was, and even drew a sketch of Ansem to sign for this fellow. At this time, he revealed the reason that he didn't return to voice the character: Disney simply did not contact him. He never turned it down, had scheduling conflicts, didn't tell them he would only do it for a steep price, or anything like that. It was simply laziness. What a shame. The person who made this decision needs to be smacked lol.
Nothing against Richard Epcar but he never brought cold soothing evil sound Billy Zane that did. Zane would've been great in COM and KH3. I'd love to ask Nomura or whoever is in charge of the dub why they didn't bring back Zane. Was it saving money or they wanted something different?
To me Billy Zane was the definitive Ansem, something about his voice for the character conveys a deep feeling of evil as well as sadness behind that evil. Richard Epcar is okay but his voice for the character really felt out of place at times and felt like a generic anime bad guy, For Zane to pull of the role as well as he did it's a shame he wasn't called back for the character on a regular basis because this role worked for him very well.
One way I look at Epcar's performance is that he makes Ansem sound more powerful and lead a more commanding presence. That's my take but Billy Zane was an awesome pick.
Zane is such a better voice actor for Ansem!!! "Kingdom Hearts fill me with the power of darkness" Zane saying that just gives you the feels. While Epcar for me not nearly as much.😞
To be fair, Kingdom Hearts can be for kids, the gameplay is simple enough to make it through the base game. Understanding the lore... is a different story.
It's kind of funny how Ansem's original talk with Sora is telling him that his attempts at learning anything are meaningless because he's too stupid to understand anything. His last talk with Sora is him being completely unable to understand why Kingdom Hearts is light.
I like how the game starts out as a fun romp, takes a sharp turn into "what the fuck" when Disney gets involved, and through countless twists, ends in a deep philosophical debate about the natural order of mankind. Fuck I love these games.
@@AluminumFusion22 honestly the explanation in DDD is fine tbh especially that a you needs to be in the time period you want to go but adding that onto the already complex fucking lore, and the fact it ain’t really explained how long they stay or how they return or even come to the future or past
"Take a look at this tiny place. To the heart seeking freedom, this island is a prison, surrounded by water. And so this boy, sought out to escape from his prison. He sought a way to cross over into other worlds. And he opened his heart to darkness." That fucking face when Ansem was actually describing a young Xehanort.
EndreVanan what? Um No he was talking about Riku. Riku was eager to leave the islands and open his heart to darkness obsessing to leave which drew the heartless too that world. And escaped through the portal above destiny islands. Don't confuse people with wrong assumptions
Jared Berry Jared Berry where does it apply that he was also talking about Xehanort ? Do tell where is this information? The difference between Riku and Xehanort is that Riku destroyed destiny islands obsessed by going to see other words drawing the heartless there while Xehanort found a way to travel to other worlds without even destroying the islands. Why would he bad mouthing on himself Ansem is technically Xehanort in a form.
The statement mirrors what Xehanort experienced as well as Riku, but it obviously wasn't written that way since we didn't even see Young Xehanort until 8 years after the first game.
I like Richard Epcar and he's a great voice actor as well as an awesome Ansem and all... But he had nothing on Billy Zane. Billy Zane has such a dark, suave and seducing voice that showed great confidence in his ability to turn even the strongest hearts over to the darkness. While Richard Epcar is more brute and menacingly filled with rage.
I must say, if I were a movie director and The Legend of Zelda were to get an animated movie, I would cast Billy Zane as Ganondorf! The way he delivered his lines as Ansem just sound like a great fit for Ganondorf. Who doesn’t love villains with such deep and relaxing tones? They give you chills by every second.
I REALLY miss Billy Zane. Richard Epcar is getting better as Xehanort, but just PLEASE bring Zane back for Kingdom Hearts 3! Billy Zane would make an EPIC Xehanort!
You know, you can canonically explain why Billy Zane stopped voicing Ansem. Yeah, it was because of a disagreement with Disney, but think about this: At no point after KH1 does Ansem make any "real" appearance. In Chain of Memories, he's actually a remnant of the darkness left in Riku. In Days and KH2, he's actually Riku under Ansem's appearance. And in 3D, Ansem simply made sure he was present in those specific worlds before they fell to sleep, therefore making them like a past image or a "dream" of him. So the only completely physical appearance by Ansem is in KH1, the only time Zane voices him.
@@Marane8 How are they unreliable? Are you referring to CoM? Because once KH2 hits and you start playing as Sora his memories of the first adventure are back in place.
the problem is that kh3 has blackcoat ansem from the end of kh3d(scenes after riku entered the castle that never was)and that one is 100% the real ansem timetraveling. was a good theory while it lasted tho
This is why Kingdom Hearts is by far the best entry in the series. The main villain was built up throughout the whole game, collecting parts of his report, learning more about him and the darkness. Until finally it was revealed what had become of him, and surprise, he's the main antagonist. He's not just another incarnation of "Xehanort", he was was the perfect opposite to Sora, the light versus the darkness.
From a storytelling perspective, it's easily the best one. But the combat was rough around the edges and the platforming left plenty to be desired. On the flipside, kh2 had much better (albeit also a bit too easy) combat, messy but still coherent storytelling, and though the bad platforming was gone, it was replaced by linear level design, which was a bummer. Rest of the series can eat a dick, though.
The most interesting thing about Ansem SOD is that he never refers to Sora or Riku by name, and only mentions Kairi by name once while merged with Riku. Instead, Sora/Riku are just "foolish boys" and Kairi is just "the princess". Unlike Xemnas or even Xehanort, he sees them as so insignificant that their names hold no meaning.
Okay, here's an admission. My first Kingdom Hearts game was Re: Chain of Memories, and after that, I simply moved onto KHII and so forth. I knew the plot of KH1, of course, but never bothered to actually play it. So Richard Epcar was practically the only Ansem I knew. When the seven year wait between DDD and KHIII was finally coming to a merciful end, I finally decided to play KH1 for the first time and man, let me tell you. The moment I heard Billy Zane as Ansem, I knew that while Epcar would always hold an air of sentimental importance to me, Zane was the true Ansem. His voice was so dark and seductive. It didn't rely on being loud to portray his power. No, the opposite, and it worked to great affect. From his first conversation with Sora, danger and foreboding surround him. And the only indication we get of the type of person he is at that time is through his voice. Deep, soft, almost soothing, but strong and intimidating too. It's masterclass voicework.
Hearing epcars voice instead of zanes in kingdom hearts 2 in the beginning to me is a huge blow for the character....without zane i feel the end of kingdom hearts would not have been as perfect as it was
Billy Zane is the best behind the voice actor, his role for doing Ansem was amazing work. That line he uses gives me chills when he says "a meaningless effort one who knows nothing can't understand nothing." 👏👏❤
Richard Epcar IS Ansem and i've accepted this but damn did Billy Zane leave a lasting impression. His voice is just so powerful and I can't help but wonder in a alternate reality how sweet it would have been if they never got rid of him.
Jeez.....Billy zane taking over the part of Ansem makes everything really strong and deep! He makes the character really sinks into darkness and shows how evil he can be, showing it's true. I just looove this voice, excellent work Billy!
It's still crazy, Someone as powerful as Xehanort managed to hang on to keep a form as a Heartless. Like Xemnas, they said when someone with a strong will loses their heart they're will becomes a Nobody. And their heart is captured by their heartless, but Xehanort's heartless managed to retain some form of humanity, while Sora became a Shadow.
The implied difference is that it's because both Xehanort and Sora willingly gave themselves up to the darkness and became a heartless, where as others had no will in becoming a heartless and instead their hearts were corroded, courupted, and eventually captured by the heartless. It really checks out with the lore, as Emblem Heartless are heartless made from 'captive' hearts that were taken forcefully, while pureblood heartless are born from the collective darkness in peoples hearts, manifested real (hence why heartless can never be completely eliminated unless all darkness disappears, and yet weren't an issue until Xehanort created emblem heartless that could capture peoples hearts). This is also why both Sora's heartless and Ansem SOD in his original form both do not have emblems, as they are both pureblood heartless. Ansem only gains an emblem after he merges with Riku, capturing his heart, thus becoming an emblem heartless. It's also why Riku only regains himself after Ansem is defeated, and also why he shows up on the other side of the door to darkness, as when an emblem heartless is defeated by a keyblade, the heart is released and returns to the realm of darkness (or more specifically kingdom hearts in the realm of darkness, which is conveniently exactly where Riku shows up).
Nothing will ever top Zane’s performance here (especially the End of the World speech) but Epcar did finally come into his own in DDD. The biggest issue with Epcar is he plays the role straight. Zane played up the evil-villain hamminess to 11 and it worked so well.
Man i really wish Zane would voice Ansem in KH3. He did such a good job in KH1. Why did they have to recast him? Epcar is ok as Ansem but Zane is perfect for the role. Please bring him back Square!
***** Dude, that's informative as fuck. I really don't like Richard Epcar as Ansem as much as I love Billy Zane's Ansem. Like, Epcar can do evil, but Zane's Ansem was just so... I don't know, his voice has this calm and chilling vibe to it. It tells you that you're not facing some crazy evil villain, you're facing a /researcher/. Epcar can be a force of darkness, but Zane is a better Seeker of Darkness.
***** I agree. The JP VA director really needs to back off the English dub. The first Kingdom Hearts had excellent voice acting and Billy Zane really nailed it as Ansem/Xehanort's Heartless.I don't know whether or not it was due to the budget or the JP's VA director.
The very first cutscene in 3D shows Terranort summoning Xehanort's Keyblade and striking down Braig. The implication being he regained Master Xehanort's memory as the ability to wield a Keyblade is connected to the memory of having one.
Agreed. While Richard does do a damn good attempt at hamming it as much as Billy does, the differance is just in the deeper attachment to the role. While Richard does the role with passion, Billy zane just let's the role completely consume him, becoming one with his role. His preformance comes way more natural with how his voice shifts & moves.
There were other actors in the 1st KH that disappeared come the production of sequels. David Boreanaz(from Angel) played Leon(Squall), Mandy Moore as Aerith, etc.
www.reddit.com/r/KingdomHearts/comments/9crv2a/kh1_rare_opportunity_with_billy_zane/
Recently, this reddit user got the chance to meet with Billy Zane, who remembered voicing Ansem, loved the role, provided a few words about how unique it was, and even drew a sketch of Ansem to sign for this fellow. At this time, he revealed the reason that he didn't return to voice the character: Disney simply did not contact him. He never turned it down, had scheduling conflicts, didn't tell them he would only do it for a steep price, or anything like that. It was simply laziness.
What a shame. The person who made this decision needs to be smacked lol.
SolaFide someone said it’s bc he made a movie that made America look bad or something, but I don’t know how credible that is.
@@Alphacarmine72 That was a rumor which was debunked IIRC.
Hayden Penattire (or however it’s spelled) said the same thing to a question on twitter about not being contacted for Kairis voice in Kh3
Nothing against Richard Epcar but he never brought cold soothing evil sound Billy Zane that did. Zane would've been great in COM and KH3. I'd love to ask Nomura or whoever is in charge of the dub why they didn't bring back Zane. Was it saving money or they wanted something different?
thought Nomura requested Richard Epcar to play ansem? Richard Epcar and ansem's japanese voice actor voice the same character in an anime I believe
To me Billy Zane was the definitive Ansem, something about his voice for the character conveys a deep feeling of evil as well as sadness behind that evil. Richard Epcar is okay but his voice for the character really felt out of place at times and felt like a generic anime bad guy, For Zane to pull of the role as well as he did it's a shame he wasn't called back for the character on a regular basis because this role worked for him very well.
One way I look at Epcar's performance is that he makes Ansem sound more powerful and lead a more commanding presence. That's my take but Billy Zane was an awesome pick.
Zane is such a better voice actor for Ansem!!!
"Kingdom Hearts fill me with the power of darkness" Zane saying that just gives you the feels. While Epcar for me not nearly as much.😞
preach
Zane made Ansem sound like he's from a movie.
I can see you're a true Zanester.
"One who knows nothing can understand nothing."
Seeing people who haven't played the games try to understand the story.
DittoMaster6 I've played I and II and don't have a fcking clue what's going on in II 😂😂
Even if you have played them the quote rings true
The quote also applies to those who say "kingdom hearts is for kids"
To be fair, Kingdom Hearts can be for kids, the gameplay is simple enough to make it through the base game. Understanding the lore... is a different story.
@@murphymoerf That's because you skipped "chain of memories"
It's kind of funny how Ansem's original talk with Sora is telling him that his attempts at learning anything are meaningless because he's too stupid to understand anything.
His last talk with Sora is him being completely unable to understand why Kingdom Hearts is light.
poetic justice at it's finest
Whic is almost ironic, given his origin.
In the end it’s the arrogant who are incapable of understanding, not the foolish. It’s a lesson that Ansem had to learn the hard way.
I like how the game starts out as a fun romp, takes a sharp turn into "what the fuck" when Disney gets involved, and through countless twists, ends in a deep philosophical debate about the natural order of mankind. Fuck I love these games.
Yeah but the story becomes more complex and I don't hate that it's just hard to keep up.
@@matthewbuckley7757 It gets especially bad with retcons and the inclusion of time travel.
@@AluminumFusion22 honestly the explanation in DDD is fine tbh especially that a you needs to be in the time period you want to go but adding that onto the already complex fucking lore, and the fact it ain’t really explained how long they stay or how they return or even come to the future or past
"deep"
"Take a look at this tiny place. To the heart seeking freedom, this island is a prison, surrounded by water. And so this boy, sought out to escape from his prison. He sought a way to cross over into other worlds. And he opened his heart to darkness."
That fucking face when Ansem was actually describing a young Xehanort.
I originally thought he was referring to Riku. But as the series goes on, I found that he was actually referring to his Somebody, Xehanort.
EndreVanan what? Um No he was talking about Riku. Riku was eager to leave the islands and open his heart to darkness obsessing to leave which drew the heartless too that world. And escaped through the portal above destiny islands. Don't confuse people with wrong assumptions
It applies both to Riku and Xehanort.
Jared Berry Jared Berry where does it apply that he was also talking about Xehanort ? Do tell where is this information? The difference between Riku and Xehanort is that Riku destroyed destiny islands obsessed by going to see other words drawing the heartless there while Xehanort found a way to travel to other worlds without even destroying the islands. Why would he bad mouthing on himself Ansem is technically Xehanort in a form.
The statement mirrors what Xehanort experienced as well as Riku, but it obviously wasn't written that way since we didn't even see Young Xehanort until 8 years after the first game.
Favorite quote:
''You see, darkness is the heart's....TRUE...
*lifts hand and shakes*
ESSENCE.
Even the move he makes between true and essence.
One who knows nothing can understand nothing
@@samuelvillarreal4157 every light must fade, every heart return to DARKNESS!
💯💯💯
what makes this better the controller rumble when he says "ESSENCE"
How come all of Xehanort's forms have such soothing voices? It's almost a shame having to kill them.
Uh...what about Leonard Nimoy's (Master Xeanhort in BBS) gruff voice is soothing?
Actually, yes. It's hard to explain, but yes.
Tohru Adachi So I'm not the only one who's noticed.
Meant to draw you in to their voice's charm?
Nick Farron Yes, perhaps.
"listen to Billy Zane... he's a cool dude"
I like Richard Epcar and he's a great voice actor as well as an awesome Ansem and all... But he had nothing on Billy Zane. Billy Zane has such a dark, suave and seducing voice that showed great confidence in his ability to turn even the strongest hearts over to the darkness. While Richard Epcar is more brute and menacingly filled with rage.
R
yeah i really miss him as Ansem.
Agreed. Epcar had nothing on Zane.
Honestly Billy Zane as Ansem is probably the best performance in the whole series
Probably yeah. I like Christopher Lee as diz a lot tho
Billy Zane's voice is mesmerizing.
That awkward moment when you realize Ansem is Rose's fiance from _Titanic_
Sanguiluna I realised it when he shouted "I put the coat on HER"
My favorite part of playing Kingdom Hearts was the fact that I'd be beating Cal to death.
ZainR LOL i never see in that way
Sanguiluna IKR? I was about to post that comment. XD
great, now I'm imagining him saying all those lines to Rose. Casually after sex "You have served your purpose. But now it's over"
Take a shot every time he says 'darkness'
So many people would pass out lmao
Nah, I want to be alive when KH3 comes out.
That's suicide
@@d4rksonic474 to qoute xehanort that's if you can survive that long
I mean, come on dude. He’s the Seeker of Darkness, what else do you expect? Lmao
Trying to get his voice... is not easy.
MegamanNG believe it
I must say, if I were a movie director and The Legend of Zelda were to get an animated movie, I would cast Billy Zane as Ganondorf! The way he delivered his lines as Ansem just sound like a great fit for Ganondorf. Who doesn’t love villains with such deep and relaxing tones? They give you chills by every second.
Sometimes while playing kh3, I try to imagine what it'd be like if Zane was still voicing Ansem.
"You are wise"
I REALLY miss Billy Zane. Richard Epcar is getting better as Xehanort, but just PLEASE bring Zane back for Kingdom Hearts 3! Billy Zane would make an EPIC Xehanort!
+steamedrice97 Billy Zane is so good. The first Kingdom Hearts would not have been complete without him.
Unpopular Opinion: Billy Zane has the best voice in the Kingdom Hearts series.
You know, you can canonically explain why Billy Zane stopped voicing Ansem. Yeah, it was because of a disagreement with Disney, but think about this: At no point after KH1 does Ansem make any "real" appearance. In Chain of Memories, he's actually a remnant of the darkness left in Riku. In Days and KH2, he's actually Riku under Ansem's appearance. And in 3D, Ansem simply made sure he was present in those specific worlds before they fell to sleep, therefore making them like a past image or a "dream" of him. So the only completely physical appearance by Ansem is in KH1, the only time Zane voices him.
Huh...so the real Ansem SoD being voiced by Billy Zane is dead while his appearances afterward are just copies...I kinda like it
Except Sora's flashbacks in KH2 have Zane's dialogue redubbed by Epcar, the new guy. And the Ansem in DDD is the Ansem from KH1 who has time traveled.
1.) Sora's memories, which have been proven to be unreliable.
2.) Still a dream.
@@Marane8 How are they unreliable? Are you referring to CoM? Because once KH2 hits and you start playing as Sora his memories of the first adventure are back in place.
the problem is that kh3 has blackcoat ansem from the end of kh3d(scenes after riku entered the castle that never was)and that one is 100% the real ansem timetraveling. was a good theory while it lasted tho
Personally,
I prefer his voice from Just a Pancake. XD
D A R K N E S S
okay i believe you
@@raetekusu1 Darkness within Darkness awaits you.
Okay, I believe you...
I could listen to Billy Zane do a book reading ASMR
*Ansem whispers sweet nothings into ears as you sleep*
The same could be said about Xemnas as well. ;)
There would be no unhappy women if bedroom talk consisted of his voice. Just saying.
"The keyhole is now complete"
"Take a look at this tiny place. To the heart seeking freedom, this place is a prison."
"surrounded by water"
"And so this boy, sought out to escape from this prison."
@@naoaquieopatrickpatrick8565”He sought a way to cross into other words and he opened his heart to darkness “
This is why Kingdom Hearts is by far the best entry in the series. The main villain was built up throughout the whole game, collecting parts of his report, learning more about him and the darkness. Until finally it was revealed what had become of him, and surprise, he's the main antagonist. He's not just another incarnation of "Xehanort", he was was the perfect opposite to Sora, the light versus the darkness.
Agreed 100%!
Superslash so thats what you call evolving? God Nomura fans are so pathetic.
And his haters are just pure asinine cancer.
From a storytelling perspective, it's easily the best one. But the combat was rough around the edges and the platforming left plenty to be desired. On the flipside, kh2 had much better (albeit also a bit too easy) combat, messy but still coherent storytelling, and though the bad platforming was gone, it was replaced by linear level design, which was a bummer. Rest of the series can eat a dick, though.
@@fabesey2016 I enjoyed KH 1 but I agree the combat is a bit dated compare to KH 2 and 3.
The most interesting thing about Ansem SOD is that he never refers to Sora or Riku by name, and only mentions Kairi by name once while merged with Riku. Instead, Sora/Riku are just "foolish boys" and Kairi is just "the princess". Unlike Xemnas or even Xehanort, he sees them as so insignificant that their names hold no meaning.
Okay, here's an admission. My first Kingdom Hearts game was Re: Chain of Memories, and after that, I simply moved onto KHII and so forth. I knew the plot of KH1, of course, but never bothered to actually play it. So Richard Epcar was practically the only Ansem I knew. When the seven year wait between DDD and KHIII was finally coming to a merciful end, I finally decided to play KH1 for the first time and man, let me tell you. The moment I heard Billy Zane as Ansem, I knew that while Epcar would always hold an air of sentimental importance to me, Zane was the true Ansem. His voice was so dark and seductive. It didn't rely on being loud to portray his power. No, the opposite, and it worked to great affect. From his first conversation with Sora, danger and foreboding surround him. And the only indication we get of the type of person he is at that time is through his voice. Deep, soft, almost soothing, but strong and intimidating too. It's masterclass voicework.
Billy Zane has one of the best male voices of all time!
The absolute GOAT
WE ONLY GET FOUR AND A HALF MINUTES OF THE ONLY ULTIMATE VOICE FOR THE MAIN VILLAIN OF KH1 FUCK THIS
Zyborggian 6 if you count riku/ansem.
This voice acting will be in the history books. One of the best EVER.
Bring back Billy Zane!
This makes me more upset that they replaced Billy Zane with Richard Epcar later
Hearing epcars voice instead of zanes in kingdom hearts 2 in the beginning to me is a huge blow for the character....without zane i feel the end of kingdom hearts would not have been as perfect as it was
There's just something SOOO bone-chilling and hypnotic about Billy Zane's Ansem.
Billy Zane is the best behind the voice actor, his role for doing Ansem was amazing work. That line he uses gives me chills when he says "a meaningless effort one who knows nothing can't understand nothing." 👏👏❤
mmm yeah whisper sweet darknesses to me
oh now you're yelling darkness *yes yell at me*
WHY ARE YOU SHIRTLESS??
Adding Billy Zane to the my list of voice actors, James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Billy Zane.
Mason Perry don’t forget Paul St Peter for Xemnas
Also, Tony Jay.
If only Disney had made him sign a contract to play Ansem consecutively with each game.
Richard Epcar IS Ansem and i've accepted this but damn did Billy Zane leave a lasting impression. His voice is just so powerful and I can't help but wonder in a alternate reality how sweet it would have been if they never got rid of him.
The best voice acting of any video game villain. He was Ansem, and always will be.
I miss Zane as Ansem/Xehanort. I actually got to meet Richard Epcar last week at a convention. He's just awesome. Both as a person and a voice actor.
Billy Zane and Lance Bass were perfect for the voices of Ansem and Sephiroth
It just dawned on me that the speech he gives Sora about Riku at End of the World could apply to Young Xehanort as well
The true ansem seeker of darkness voice never know why they didn’t call him back to do these VO again
Jeez.....Billy zane taking over the part of Ansem makes everything really strong and deep! He makes the character really sinks into darkness and shows how evil he can be, showing it's true.
I just looove this voice, excellent work Billy!
The wacky island stuff in the first level and then that voice kicks in in the cave and the game changes up.
It's still crazy, Someone as powerful as Xehanort managed to hang on to keep a form as a Heartless. Like Xemnas, they said when someone with a strong will loses their heart they're will becomes a Nobody. And their heart is captured by their heartless, but Xehanort's heartless managed to retain some form of humanity, while Sora became a Shadow.
The implied difference is that it's because both Xehanort and Sora willingly gave themselves up to the darkness and became a heartless, where as others had no will in becoming a heartless and instead their hearts were corroded, courupted, and eventually captured by the heartless.
It really checks out with the lore, as Emblem Heartless are heartless made from 'captive' hearts that were taken forcefully, while pureblood heartless are born from the collective darkness in peoples hearts, manifested real (hence why heartless can never be completely eliminated unless all darkness disappears, and yet weren't an issue until Xehanort created emblem heartless that could capture peoples hearts).
This is also why both Sora's heartless and Ansem SOD in his original form both do not have emblems, as they are both pureblood heartless. Ansem only gains an emblem after he merges with Riku, capturing his heart, thus becoming an emblem heartless.
It's also why Riku only regains himself after Ansem is defeated, and also why he shows up on the other side of the door to darkness, as when an emblem heartless is defeated by a keyblade, the heart is released and returns to the realm of darkness (or more specifically kingdom hearts in the realm of darkness, which is conveniently exactly where Riku shows up).
What a journey you and I have had.
I can't handle 0:00 - 1:20 @.@ So hypnotic and amazing
I get that Richard Epcar had become established in the role of Ansem by that time, but it's a crime that they didn't get Billy Zane back for KH3
Billy Zane will always be Ansem. No offense to Epcar but he just isn't the same
Nothing will ever top Zane’s performance here (especially the End of the World speech) but Epcar did finally come into his own in DDD. The biggest issue with Epcar is he plays the role straight. Zane played up the evil-villain hamminess to 11 and it worked so well.
I want an ASMR with this voice😍😍pls i need it!
I want that along with a Xemnas ASMR!
Good news doesn't even begin to describe it
This man's voice lord
Something incredible I found, overlay Mephiles whisper from Sonic 06 with Billy Zane speaking as Ansem and the effect is chillingly good
Man i really wish Zane would voice Ansem in KH3. He did such a good job in KH1. Why did they have to recast him? Epcar is ok as Ansem but Zane is perfect for the role. Please bring him back Square!
***** Dude, that's informative as fuck. I really don't like Richard Epcar as Ansem as much as I love Billy Zane's Ansem. Like, Epcar can do evil, but Zane's Ansem was just so... I don't know, his voice has this calm and chilling vibe to it. It tells you that you're not facing some crazy evil villain, you're facing a /researcher/. Epcar can be a force of darkness, but Zane is a better Seeker of Darkness.
***** Billy zane is also very similer to how he delivers his lines as the voice actor that voices Xemnas is.
***** I agree. The JP VA director really needs to back off the English dub. The first Kingdom Hearts had excellent voice acting and Billy Zane really nailed it as Ansem/Xehanort's Heartless.I don't know whether or not it was due to the budget or the JP's VA director.
My guess is he was probably too expensive to come back. Would have been cool to hear him again.
Kingdom Hearts, can you give me some darkness, I was a good boy.
Billy Zane for Master Xehanort!
Kind of wish he did, or for Terra.
Rutger Hauer was pretty good though
Jason Dee no he wasn’t LMAO
Come kingdom hearts
The beginning really sounds like an ASMR
And I like that
Billy zane can plunge deeper into my darkness.
This is ASMR for Kingsom Hearts Fans.
Something, something, something darkness. Something, something, something Kingdom Hearts.
What a Beast. Such is the nature of a legend 🤩
“Every heart return to darkness” that line made my younger self shit my pants
(0:00-1:19) ASMR *I N T E N S I F I E S*
God, I miss this dude :(
The very first cutscene in 3D shows Terranort summoning Xehanort's Keyblade and striking down Braig. The implication being he regained Master Xehanort's memory as the ability to wield a Keyblade is connected to the memory of having one.
Agreed. While Richard does do a damn good attempt at hamming it as much as Billy does, the differance is just in the deeper attachment to the role. While Richard does the role with passion, Billy zane just let's the role completely consume him, becoming one with his role. His preformance comes way more natural with how his voice shifts & moves.
Billy Zane was in an anti-war movie called Valley of the Wolves between KH1 and 2, and Disney didn't want him in the games anymore.
asmr to listen to at light
THEY NEED TO BRING HIM BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK
I wish Billy Zane comes back in Kingdom Hearts 3 as Apprentice Xehanort in the end!
those quotes are the best in the series
But nobodies have no risk in using the corridors of darkness since they don't possess hearts. They wear them because they look damn fancy :3
3:38 Me going outside for the first time after quarantine
I can’t skip around without hearing darkness or kingdom hearts
TFW you realize his End of the World speech is both about Riku AND Young Xehanort.
Thank you for uploading this!!
L. C. R
I love this Ansem voice more than the Chain Of Memories and Dream Drop Distance. :p
He sounds like he doesn't have a heart, great voice acting like damn
Listening to this as I'm going to bed. Hahahaha.. Surprisingly soothing.
This gave me chills...
I would vote for a Presidential candidate with the platform of having this voice.
What an epic end to the video
Losing him as the voice was an absolute travesty.
he should have stayed as ansem he made his role so well
Xehanort's heartless scares me. I'm always trying to get away from him as soon as Ansem yells SUB-MIT!!!!!!!
Out of all his forms, his Ansem heartless is the best one.
Around 17 Darknesses in this few 4 Minutes of lines he basically has. Tough Skript, Nomura.
There were other actors in the 1st KH that disappeared come the production of sequels. David Boreanaz(from Angel) played Leon(Squall), Mandy Moore as Aerith, etc.
Best Ansem, it's a shame he didn't return.
His voice makes me thighs open.
best voice acter team up ever billy zane and Paul St. Peter
Billy zane sounds almost exactly like clancy brown o.O
The first minute and a half is almost perfect for meditation!
OMG, SO crazy that I didn't even realize until now that Cal from Titanic is also Ansem!
drink everytime he says "darkness"
I've tried to no end replicating this voice. It's just too damned perfect. Epcar is an amazing SoD but Zane... just why so perfect.
SubMIT!!!
He sounds so much better with Billy though... Apathetic without sounding totally bored.