Link to the AMA in question. From FF related questions to personal life, voice acting roles and random ones. This recompilation will have most of his replies but not all since some of them are just simple comments and greetings for his VA role and career.
Q:
1) What was your favorite scene/line to voice?
2) What summon from another FF game would you want in FFXV
RC:
1) My favorite voice lines I think have been supplanted by what we recorded for the Holiday DLC - there are some in there that are GOLD. PURE GOLD. Get excited.
2) I would like to see Alexander done up all realistic style, like a skyscraper from Insomnia...
Q: My question is was how hard was breaking into the voice acting scene for you, and were there any moments that you felt like giving up?
RC: Breaking in is a really gradual process and you're constantly beset by failure - there's no time that you've actually 'made it' until the day you can quit your part time job, and even then you still have to apply for work every single day.
Giving up was not an option for me!
Q: So, Noct, I've been takin' pics of whatever catches my eye, but what do you wanna see?
RC: I think it's interesting that there's no Prompto option there - i guess because you have to wait for him to achieve 'selfie' level but still...
Q:
1) Do you have a favourite line from Noct?
2) What's your favourite thing about him?
3) Favourite FFXV character? (Apart of Noctis, duh)
4) Tell us a secret
RC:
1)So far, I gotta say beeeeeeeeeeeeans.
2)I truly love how three-dimensional he is. You get to see him at all points - quiet intimacy, brazen action, and extreme emotional distress. An actor's dream!
3)Ardyn is just soo cool...
4)I'm just crap at Overwatch. I always let my team down!
Q: Wait you did voice work for Xenoblade? What character were you?
RC: Why I was L'Cirufe of course! Pleasure for you to meet at you!
Q: How much do you love the taste of delicious, healthy Cup Noodles?
RC: We recorded two versions of the really over-selly lines - one sincere, one eye-rolling ironic. I'm quite pleased that they went with the latter! "I know I sure do."
Obligatory
Q: How does it feel to be the voice actor of a character that's in one of my top 5 games of all time ?
RC: To be honest, it still hasn't sunk in that people have really played this game. My life hasn't changed in any way, nor do I see people playing this other than youtubers.
Video games take place in people's living rooms, at home... something people who work on them never see. So when I see comments like this it really gives me pause. So yeah, thank you. I believe you, but it still seems unreal...
Q: When exactly did you acquire the role of Noctis (Like, what year?) and did they let you play an early version of FFXV around that time to help you get a feel of the world and what to expect?
RC: Auditions went out in September of 2014 - and we recorded Duscae starting the following month in October. It's been a long ride, but not as long as Suziki-san's six and a half years!
I traveled out to Square Enix JP and TBT and friends gave me a hero's welcome. It was really heartwarming. That was January of this year and they had a playable version of Leide that I got to mess around in for a bit. But there was so much other exciting stuff that I didn't play too long!
Q: were there any moments that made you cry during FFXV recordings?
RC: Well, that campfire scene I cried throughout. Real tears, real emotion, real catharsis at having come that far.
Q:
1) Just wondering other than the FF games that you're in which was your favorite?
2) Oh and one more. Which Noctis voice did you prefer, the super manly man voice from The original Duscae demo, or the one in the final product?
RC:
1) I love Tactics, V, VIII, X, and even X-2 was a favorite.
2) While the super manly voice was really cool and would have been a very original idea for a JRPG hero - it's good that we didn't go with it because of the 10 year timeline through the game. He would have been very deep coming out of the crystal!
Q: Did you record anything that didn't make it into the final game?
RC: I'll have a better understanding in a few months when I've 100%ed this game!
Q: What do you consider to be the funniest scene you recorded in FFXV?
RC: There's so much funny stuff in this game... One of my favorites is something like "You think this is a game?" "Uh, yeah?"
But I keep harping on it because it's fresh on my mind...but the Holiday DLC... is sooo frkn funny
Q: Do you have any fun or interesting stories from your time recording your lines for the game?
RC:
Well my dog Milo attended almost every session. He's an incredible studio dog and just sleeps by my feet during recording. But he was the life of the party during break-times, constantly trying to steal everyone's food!
I hope that deeply buried in one of my lines is a small Milo snore...
Q:
1) My question to you is- what helped you immerse yourself as Noctis?
2) Are there any attributes of his character that you relate to in real life? Do you like fishing? Ha!
RC:
1) Music is a huge thing for me to help with immersion - every day I drove in listening to music from XV, which at the time was not very much!
2) And while I relate to his not liking vegetables and being nervous around girls, I can't stand fishing in real life. I'd relate to the chocobros in that sense, cat-calling from the peanut gallery!
Q: Have you been asked by square to voice act Noct in anything else? COUGH Kingdom Hearts 3 COUGH and if you haven't, how would you feel about playing Noctis in Kingdom Hearts 3? I just... Really want him in there man... I've grown so attached...
RC: Whoever put us down on imdb for that either is a liar or has more insight than we have! No plans as far as I know of, but of course I'd be happy to be in such a stellar series.
Q: Greetings Ray! In another interview, you mentioned that your favorite games were FFV and FFVIII. Why do you like those two so much?
RC: FFV captures perfectly my conception of "fantasy" perfectly. It's a joy to play - from the puzzle dungeons to the class system, and the funny characters and dialogue.
FFVIII has a lot of great stuff too - I especially loved the draw system once I figured it out. The story and characters were really unique as well - and I found myself really WANTING to play more as I went along, something that other games in the series lack.
Q:
1) Who is your favorite character and why?
2) Can you tell us anything about the DLCs?
RC:
1) Favorite character - gotta be Noctis. He goes through so much and totally transforms as a character in voice, appearance, and outlook.
2) DLCs are looking amazing! We recorded for the Holiday DLC and there are some lines in there that are maybe the funniest things I've ever had the chance to say.
Q:
1) Did you and the voice actors for the other Chocobros do a lot of "team building" things together before you started recording lines?
2) Would you please share a fun or funny moment that happened when you four were hanging out together?
RC:
1) Oh honey...I'm sorry to say that the four of us have never all been in one place! Such is the nature of video games. Robbie and I see each other all the time though because we work on so much stuff together!
2) Keythe Farley deserves all the credit for keeping us all sounding like we knew each other! I think he did a fantastic job.
Q:
1) Of all the lovely recipes Ignis comes up with, which of them would you be most inclined to eat?
2) Of all the Final Fantasies in the series, which is your favourite? (Can be any, be it mainline or spin-off)
RC:
1) Good question! The Golden Egg Galette looks sooo refreshingly delicious... That or the french fries!
2) Ah - well then everyone knows the correct answer is Tactics so I'll say it here! Although honestly FFXV is looking pretty damn good so far...
Q: Have you had a chance to beat the game? Also, how many lines that you recorded ended up being unused?
RC:
Unfortunately I haven't had enough time these past couple weeks. Things are insane at the end of the year with projects having deadlines.
I'm on Chapter 7 right now and I plan on doing all the side-quests no matter what.
Q:
1) What part of the character Noctis do you relate to most? What personal experiences did you channel to gain motivation for this character?
2) Do you plan on doing the English dub for the Brotherhood anime? The ffXV universe is filled with extras like Brotherhood and Kingsglaive that compliment the main story and it would be great if they kept a cohesiveness by adding the OG english actors for the dub.
RC:
1) One thing that I really connected me to Noct's journey was also my journey as an actor working on this. It was my very first time in a professional video game setting and I was really green - still finding my way about how to act both as an actor and as a person! Noct is also a pretty awkward guy who has to really find himself on his journey, too.
2) Unfortunately no plans to dub anything yet... I think maybe we'll try to do a kickstarter or something in the future to do a fan-dub?
Q: Alright I have an important question....Kill, kiss, or marry -- Gladio, Ignis, and Prompto
RC: I thought this would be a tough question, but it's really not! There's actually only one right answer.
Kill Glady, kiss Prompto, marry the amazing cook Ignis.
To be continued below--->
Q:
1) What was your favorite scene/line to voice?
2) What summon from another FF game would you want in FFXV
RC:
1) My favorite voice lines I think have been supplanted by what we recorded for the Holiday DLC - there are some in there that are GOLD. PURE GOLD. Get excited.
2) I would like to see Alexander done up all realistic style, like a skyscraper from Insomnia...
Q: My question is was how hard was breaking into the voice acting scene for you, and were there any moments that you felt like giving up?
RC: Breaking in is a really gradual process and you're constantly beset by failure - there's no time that you've actually 'made it' until the day you can quit your part time job, and even then you still have to apply for work every single day.
Giving up was not an option for me!
Q: So, Noct, I've been takin' pics of whatever catches my eye, but what do you wanna see?
RC: I think it's interesting that there's no Prompto option there - i guess because you have to wait for him to achieve 'selfie' level but still...
Q:
1) Do you have a favourite line from Noct?
2) What's your favourite thing about him?
3) Favourite FFXV character? (Apart of Noctis, duh)
4) Tell us a secret
RC:
1)So far, I gotta say beeeeeeeeeeeeans.
2)I truly love how three-dimensional he is. You get to see him at all points - quiet intimacy, brazen action, and extreme emotional distress. An actor's dream!
3)Ardyn is just soo cool...
4)I'm just crap at Overwatch. I always let my team down!
Q: Wait you did voice work for Xenoblade? What character were you?
RC: Why I was L'Cirufe of course! Pleasure for you to meet at you!
Q: How much do you love the taste of delicious, healthy Cup Noodles?
RC: We recorded two versions of the really over-selly lines - one sincere, one eye-rolling ironic. I'm quite pleased that they went with the latter! "I know I sure do."
Obligatory
Q: How does it feel to be the voice actor of a character that's in one of my top 5 games of all time ?
RC: To be honest, it still hasn't sunk in that people have really played this game. My life hasn't changed in any way, nor do I see people playing this other than youtubers.
Video games take place in people's living rooms, at home... something people who work on them never see. So when I see comments like this it really gives me pause. So yeah, thank you. I believe you, but it still seems unreal...
Q: When exactly did you acquire the role of Noctis (Like, what year?) and did they let you play an early version of FFXV around that time to help you get a feel of the world and what to expect?
RC: Auditions went out in September of 2014 - and we recorded Duscae starting the following month in October. It's been a long ride, but not as long as Suziki-san's six and a half years!
I traveled out to Square Enix JP and TBT and friends gave me a hero's welcome. It was really heartwarming. That was January of this year and they had a playable version of Leide that I got to mess around in for a bit. But there was so much other exciting stuff that I didn't play too long!
Q: were there any moments that made you cry during FFXV recordings?
RC: Well, that campfire scene I cried throughout. Real tears, real emotion, real catharsis at having come that far.
Q: I have a question specifically about Chapter 13. The conversation between Noctis and Ardyn was incredible; easily some of my favorite dialogue in the game (that isn't the comedic stuff). How intense was the recording session(s) for that? You absolutely nailed that entire performance, it was really like you experienced it yourself.
RC: We were very fortunate to do most of the 2-year recording chronologically. Chapter by chapter we got the story scripts over the months, with pick-ups as needed. So by the time it was time for the final showdown with Ardyn - I was ready. I had been prepared emotionally - learning just how twisted and evil he was throughout the storyline as each twist of the knife went through Noct's stomach.
Yeah, that hatred was major.
RC: We were very fortunate to do most of the 2-year recording chronologically. Chapter by chapter we got the story scripts over the months, with pick-ups as needed. So by the time it was time for the final showdown with Ardyn - I was ready. I had been prepared emotionally - learning just how twisted and evil he was throughout the storyline as each twist of the knife went through Noct's stomach.
Yeah, that hatred was major.
Q:
1) Just wondering other than the FF games that you're in which was your favorite?
2) Oh and one more. Which Noctis voice did you prefer, the super manly man voice from The original Duscae demo, or the one in the final product?
RC:
1) I love Tactics, V, VIII, X, and even X-2 was a favorite.
2) While the super manly voice was really cool and would have been a very original idea for a JRPG hero - it's good that we didn't go with it because of the 10 year timeline through the game. He would have been very deep coming out of the crystal!
Q: Did you record anything that didn't make it into the final game?
RC: I'll have a better understanding in a few months when I've 100%ed this game!
Q: What do you consider to be the funniest scene you recorded in FFXV?
RC: There's so much funny stuff in this game... One of my favorites is something like "You think this is a game?" "Uh, yeah?"
But I keep harping on it because it's fresh on my mind...but the Holiday DLC... is sooo frkn funny
Q: Do you have any fun or interesting stories from your time recording your lines for the game?
RC:
Well my dog Milo attended almost every session. He's an incredible studio dog and just sleeps by my feet during recording. But he was the life of the party during break-times, constantly trying to steal everyone's food!
I hope that deeply buried in one of my lines is a small Milo snore...
Q:
1) My question to you is- what helped you immerse yourself as Noctis?
2) Are there any attributes of his character that you relate to in real life? Do you like fishing? Ha!
RC:
1) Music is a huge thing for me to help with immersion - every day I drove in listening to music from XV, which at the time was not very much!
2) And while I relate to his not liking vegetables and being nervous around girls, I can't stand fishing in real life. I'd relate to the chocobros in that sense, cat-calling from the peanut gallery!
Q: Have you been asked by square to voice act Noct in anything else? COUGH Kingdom Hearts 3 COUGH and if you haven't, how would you feel about playing Noctis in Kingdom Hearts 3? I just... Really want him in there man... I've grown so attached...
RC: Whoever put us down on imdb for that either is a liar or has more insight than we have! No plans as far as I know of, but of course I'd be happy to be in such a stellar series.
Q: Greetings Ray! In another interview, you mentioned that your favorite games were FFV and FFVIII. Why do you like those two so much?
RC: FFV captures perfectly my conception of "fantasy" perfectly. It's a joy to play - from the puzzle dungeons to the class system, and the funny characters and dialogue.
FFVIII has a lot of great stuff too - I especially loved the draw system once I figured it out. The story and characters were really unique as well - and I found myself really WANTING to play more as I went along, something that other games in the series lack.
Q:
1) Who is your favorite character and why?
2) Can you tell us anything about the DLCs?
RC:
1) Favorite character - gotta be Noctis. He goes through so much and totally transforms as a character in voice, appearance, and outlook.
2) DLCs are looking amazing! We recorded for the Holiday DLC and there are some lines in there that are maybe the funniest things I've ever had the chance to say.
Q:
1) Did you and the voice actors for the other Chocobros do a lot of "team building" things together before you started recording lines?
2) Would you please share a fun or funny moment that happened when you four were hanging out together?
RC:
1) Oh honey...I'm sorry to say that the four of us have never all been in one place! Such is the nature of video games. Robbie and I see each other all the time though because we work on so much stuff together!
2) Keythe Farley deserves all the credit for keeping us all sounding like we knew each other! I think he did a fantastic job.
Q:
1) Of all the lovely recipes Ignis comes up with, which of them would you be most inclined to eat?
2) Of all the Final Fantasies in the series, which is your favourite? (Can be any, be it mainline or spin-off)
RC:
1) Good question! The Golden Egg Galette looks sooo refreshingly delicious... That or the french fries!
2) Ah - well then everyone knows the correct answer is Tactics so I'll say it here! Although honestly FFXV is looking pretty damn good so far...
Q:
1) How are you liking FFXV so far?
2) The post-credit campfire scene where Noctis tells his buddies "You guys are the best" is one of the most touching and emotional moments I've ever witnessed in a game and your voice work for that scene is half the reason why it was so moving. How did you prepare for that scene? What do you think of this scene?
RC:
1) I'm so excited to play this game. I think it exemplifies actual pure fun that I haven't felt in a game in a long time. Overwatch is the only other thing this year that comes to mind as being fun to play.
2) I'm so happy this scene made it into the game. It really puts a button on the main thrust of the game, that despite all the politics, warfare, destruction - the thing that mattered the most was brotherhood. And it stayed strong through those ten years. I'm getting choked up just writing this!
1) How are you liking FFXV so far?
2) The post-credit campfire scene where Noctis tells his buddies "You guys are the best" is one of the most touching and emotional moments I've ever witnessed in a game and your voice work for that scene is half the reason why it was so moving. How did you prepare for that scene? What do you think of this scene?
RC:
1) I'm so excited to play this game. I think it exemplifies actual pure fun that I haven't felt in a game in a long time. Overwatch is the only other thing this year that comes to mind as being fun to play.
2) I'm so happy this scene made it into the game. It really puts a button on the main thrust of the game, that despite all the politics, warfare, destruction - the thing that mattered the most was brotherhood. And it stayed strong through those ten years. I'm getting choked up just writing this!
Q: Have you had a chance to beat the game? Also, how many lines that you recorded ended up being unused?
RC:
Unfortunately I haven't had enough time these past couple weeks. Things are insane at the end of the year with projects having deadlines.
I'm on Chapter 7 right now and I plan on doing all the side-quests no matter what.
Q:
1) What part of the character Noctis do you relate to most? What personal experiences did you channel to gain motivation for this character?
2) Do you plan on doing the English dub for the Brotherhood anime? The ffXV universe is filled with extras like Brotherhood and Kingsglaive that compliment the main story and it would be great if they kept a cohesiveness by adding the OG english actors for the dub.
RC:
1) One thing that I really connected me to Noct's journey was also my journey as an actor working on this. It was my very first time in a professional video game setting and I was really green - still finding my way about how to act both as an actor and as a person! Noct is also a pretty awkward guy who has to really find himself on his journey, too.
2) Unfortunately no plans to dub anything yet... I think maybe we'll try to do a kickstarter or something in the future to do a fan-dub?
Q:
1) Forgive me for a storyline related question, but you seem to be the best person to ask. In the ending, what happened the rest of the Chocobros? It’s pretty darn clear to me that they survived (otherwise it would cheapen the “Walk tall, my friends” statement, plus they would have attended the wedding. The scene in the crystal is their metaphorical spirit.) I see that everyone is debating on this though, so was hoping you could shed some light.
2) If you can’t answer the above question, could you tell us how you got the role, and at that time did you know you would be voicing the main character of the next FF series? How did you react?
RC:
1) In my personal interpretation... yeah. It makes for a better story, doesn't it?
2) For your second question - yes, I was aware of the gravity of the audition. And when I found out I immediately called Max Mittelman (Saitama from OPM) so we could freak out together! Then I called my mom and explained what Final Fantasy was.
1) Forgive me for a storyline related question, but you seem to be the best person to ask. In the ending, what happened the rest of the Chocobros? It’s pretty darn clear to me that they survived (otherwise it would cheapen the “Walk tall, my friends” statement, plus they would have attended the wedding. The scene in the crystal is their metaphorical spirit.) I see that everyone is debating on this though, so was hoping you could shed some light.
2) If you can’t answer the above question, could you tell us how you got the role, and at that time did you know you would be voicing the main character of the next FF series? How did you react?
RC:
1) In my personal interpretation... yeah. It makes for a better story, doesn't it?
2) For your second question - yes, I was aware of the gravity of the audition. And when I found out I immediately called Max Mittelman (Saitama from OPM) so we could freak out together! Then I called my mom and explained what Final Fantasy was.
Q:
1)What's your personal interpretation for the ending (both scenes)?
2) would you marry Luna in real life??
RC: When we talked about the ending during recording, we talked of it as 'the afterlife'. I'm happy with that.
1)What's your personal interpretation for the ending (both scenes)?
2) would you marry Luna in real life??
RC: When we talked about the ending during recording, we talked of it as 'the afterlife'. I'm happy with that.
Q: Alright I have an important question....Kill, kiss, or marry -- Gladio, Ignis, and Prompto
RC: I thought this would be a tough question, but it's really not! There's actually only one right answer.
Kill Glady, kiss Prompto, marry the amazing cook Ignis.
To be continued below--->
.