New York Comic Con; 10/08/2026
Square Enix has been present in many conventions and showcases in the past months, promoting their upcoming games, the most important is unarguably, Final Fantasy VII Revelation. Several of the English voice actors sat in on a panel, titled “One Last Ride: A Conversation with the English Voice Cast of Final Fantasy VII Revelation”, at New York Comic Con to share their experiences and feels as the remake trilogy approaches its end.
Attending panelists included:
- Cody Christian as Cloud Strife
- Britt Baron as Tida Lockhart
- John Eric Bentley as Barret Wallace
- Max Mittelman as Red XIII
- Suzie Yeung as Yuffie Kisaragi
- Paul Tinto as Cait Sith
- Matt Mercer as Vincent Valentine
- J Michael Tatum as Cid Highwind
- Briana White as Aerith Gainsborough
- Caleb Pierce as Zack Fair
- Travis Willingham as Sephiroth
The panel kicked off with Christian (Cloud) expressing that the conclusion of the FFVII remake trilogy felt bittersweet. He reflected on the past seven years and told the crowd he easily dedicated over 800 hours to this project. Because of this, Christian stated, “…there’s a certain level of attachment” to his character and to his newfound family. He fought off sentimental tears as Baron (Tifa) referred to his performance as Oscar-worthy.
“[There’s an] immense amount of gratitude,” Christian admitted. He’s a newer voice actor, comparing himself to the greats such as Mercer, but Christian also stated he always felt confident that he would be able to bring a genuine performance to this iconic Final Fantasy protagonist.
When asked which scenes were his favorite to record in the trilogy, Christian replied that many were in Revelation, especially in the heavy emotional scenes. Bentley (Barret) chimed in that the Final Fantasy VII trilogy has been a great journey and great adventure. He stated that, as actors, they were responsible for taking the audience through a distinct beginning, middle, and end.
Baron also reflected on her years playing Tifa Lockhart. She said that it is rare to play a character over several years, and now, Tifa feels like a part of her. When asked what it feels like to say good-bye to Tifa, Baron replied, “[it’s] very hard and emotional”. Baron appreciated her role in taking form of Tifa, and she spoke several times throughout the panel of how meaningful it was as a female voice actor. Bentley added that he hoped that the three female voice actors that were on stage—Baron, Yeung, and White—set the new standard, with no more objectification. The entire crowd erupted in cheers.
Baron concluded by echoing the sentiment that the voice cast behind the FFVII remake trilogy felt a lot like family. “There’s so much goofing off,” she said with a wide grin. “We felt like a family, [compared to] other projects [where you feel] like a guest”.
Other panelists spoke similarly over the honor of participating in such a project. White (Aerith) recalled the very last E3 conference where the Tifa reveal trailer was showcased. She admitted feeling very nervous, as she wasn’t sure how the fans would receive the news. Seven years later, White states this “…is the most wild thing ever”. Her excitement was palpable, and you could feel the passion from her and the other voice actors.
Because Wutai is a featured location in Final Fantasy VII Revelation, the host asked Suzie how she approached her role as Yuffie. Suzie leaned in, enthusiastically stating that this was Yuffie’s home turf. Wutai has expanded since its 1997 iteration, and so should Yuffie’s arc and growth as a character. Suzie concluded that she is proud of her character and all the trials and tribulations she’s going to go through.
The same question was lodged at Willingham, who portrays the formidable Sephiroth. The actor highlighted what made Sephiroth a villain favorite, and that was the character’s balance between menace and show of restraint. He credited Morikawa-san as his “North Star” on how to approach voicing the English iteration. This led him to honing that light and alluring but dangerous tone. Willingham put a chill through the audience’s spine when he finished with, “Nothing is more dangerous than a villain that doesn’t need to shout to be heard”.
It was then Tinto’s turn to talk about his experience voicing Cait Sith. Tinto explained the balance he has to strike given Cait’s performative nature. While Cait is over-the-top, Tinto explained that by the final installment in the trilogy, the character’s mask slowly drops. He appreciated the opportunity to find another way to explore this glass-half-full character.
Mercer got a lot of laughs as he shared his time voicing Valentine. He focused on exploring the character’s personality further in the battle sequences. While Valentine is stoic and stone-faced, Mercer is able to bring the flavor when hashing through the battle mechanics in Revelation. The panel shared a laugh when reflecting on the scenes between the all-serious Valentine and Yuffie.
Cid is another new playable character in Revelation, and J Michael Tatum expressed excitement in exploring his character more as well. Tatum said that you can tell a lot about a character by who they are willing to stand with. He also shared that he was a Final Fantasy VII fan since childhood, so the opportunity to voice Cid was nothing short of a fantastic experience. In order to give it his all, he leveraged the opportunity to listen to the other casts’ recording to help shape the delivery of his lines.
When Pierce (Zach) was up, he expressed his surprise when he got the call to return for Revelation. He had thought his time voice acting for the character was brief, and he said that “…this has been the greatest adventure”.
When the panel wrapped up, the host asked each member to share a word or feeling about their journey through Final Fantasy VII, and they were: fans, fulfilled, agency, family, gratitude, grateful, honored, legacy, faith, embrace your dreams, and, of course, “Cloud” (thanks, Sephiroth).
Check out this behind-the-scenes video with these wonderful cast:
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