Part 1 of this series will cover the 5th, 4th, and 3rd place games. Part 2, which covers the 2nd and 1st place games, can be viewed here.

Special thanks to Audio Atrocities for allowing GTG to use their sound clips. This article is partly inspired by the famed voice acting website (and partly inspired by the sheer fun of writing on such a topic.) Please ask their permission if anyone uses their sound clips. We encourage everyone to check out their website for more bad voice "acted" games!

This article contains minor spoilers from each game it reviews.

I still remember the days when my friends and I would make our own voice acting to games that did not have any. In fact, back in the mid and late 90s, very few console games had any voice acting at all, as the major systems were the Super Nintendo, Genesis, and later, the Playstation 1. From Final Fantasies IV and VI to Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG, we dubbed our voices to our favorite games – mostly RPGs at the time. Oh, we were pretty bad at this “gig,” sometimes even atrocious. We wouldn’t wish our worst enemies the pain of hearing our eviscerations of “good voice acting.” If our voice acting were used in prisons and military tribunals to force confessions to crimes and nuclear weapon passwords, we would get these well-guarded secrets in no time flat.

As bad as we sounded though, the fun and enjoyment we had in those late gamer nights doing our version of Mystery Theatre 3000 – the over-dubbing of voices – were awesome and unforgettable. My friends knew that it was only a matter of time before voice acting would become a major staple in gaming… and unlike our voice acting, we were good on that prediction.

Fast forward to 2010. Video gaming has advanced a lot since the mid 90s when I grew up. But the one thing that astonished these same friends of mine and I today – some of whom are now working for gaming studios and developing today’s games – are that there are worse voice actors than us! In published games no less! And what’s even more appalling – or exciting if you’re a bad voice actor trying to break into video games – is they get paid for being bad!

Many of us can whine and complain that the world is not fair. We complain how good looking people get a ton of attention, how money rules the world, that Japan gets better console RPGs than the US. Yet, with every downside comes a silver lining: we get to poke fun of and laugh at these very games’ bad voice acting. And there are many of them too. For every Metal Gear Solid, Uncharted 2 , and Persona 4 – whom all had an excellent cast of voice actors – there are a lot more stinkers in the realm of video games.

Bad voice acting is a guilty pleasure for some. I am in the minority that actually thinks that bad voice acting is pretty entertaining. While yes, I do think bad voice acting can tarnish a great game (especially if the game is near perfect in every other aspect like the after mentioned Metal Gear Solid and Persona 4,) for mediocre, less polished games, terrible voice acting can actually make a game more memorable. These games can give you those same chuckles, giggles, and rolling-on-the-floor-laughing moments you get when watching a good comedy movie.

So what does a talking monkey, Lake Michigan, a four acronym tactical squad, a guy named Barry, and a castle have in common? They all made this list’s Top 5 Best Bad Video Game Voice Acting.

5. Resident Evil (1997)

While many are accustomed to the good voice acting in the newest Resident Evil 5, its great-great-great-great grandfather didn’t have the same quality of “acting.” In fact, the voice acting in the original Resident Evil was pretty bad. About the only decent “acting” found in the game is in the very beginning, with its Jerry Bruckheimer-esque action-packed, adrenaline-filled, explosion intro.

Resident Evil 1's "quality" acting in the intro:

Actually, I take that “decent acting” comment back. The dog that chased the STARS (the special forces team’s name in the game) sounded more like Dragonzord from the Power Rangers. And the “Noooo, don’t go!” quote from Chris wasn’t much better. At least their camera poses were pretty funny, especially Albert Wesker’s. Let’s move on.

When the STARS team finally reaches the mansion after being chased by the raptor… errr rabid dog, the hilarity ensues. Being a true survival horror game – unlike the more recent Resident Evils – there should be a sense of suspense, fright, maybe even horror. Yet, for as many scary thrills this game provides, the game also dishes out many unintended funny quotables – courtesy of bad voice acting. The main star leading the charge of terrible voice acting is none other than Barry Burton.

Barry's "Jill Sandwich" pick up line:

A “Jill sandwich” eh? Isn’t putting the moves on your STARS teammate the last thing you want to do in a mansion filled with zombies? The poor voice acting makes Barry’s delivery sound more like sexual innuendo. And to top it off, he finds some amusement in this situation. If you listen closely, Barry actually laughs a bit at Jill’s almost unfortunate end.

Between Barry, Jill, and the trap room that was about to crush Jill, I would say the trap room easily “acted” the best out of the three. At least the deadly room was trying to do its job of crushing something. Well, I take that back. Barry and Jill’s horrible dialogue did its job too. It almost crushed my eardrums as painfully. The trap room has competition after all…

During the beginning of the game, Barry and Jill find “something.” With the way Barry says his lines, you’d think he discovers gold. Check out this sound clip:

Barry describing "something" powerful

What Barry alludes to is that he found a gun. A pistol to be more accurate. Yet, instead of simply saying, “I found a gun,” he actually manages to make finding a gun akin to solving a riddle. “It’s a weapon and it’s really powerful… especially against living things,” proclaims Barry. Hmmm, this could be, oh, a million different things. I hear that rocket launchers are pretty “powerful” and “good against living things” too.

The delivery above is plagued as much or more by a bad script. At least Barry is consistently bad with his dialogue.

For those who have already beaten the game – or does not care about spoiling the game’s plot – watch this clip near the end for the pinnacle of Resident Evil’s “acting.”

Saving the best "acting" for last (near the end of the game):

Alongside the cheesy, suspenseful music, anyone can see why this game gets dinged a lot by fans for its terrible voice acting.

Resident Evil set the standard for the survival horror genre back in 1997, in terms of gameplay and scary environment. Conversely, it also set the bar low for mainstream voice acting in games. The game’s genre is listed under survival horror, but after playing this game, you would think it would be listed under comedy instead.

For all the bashing I’ve done to the game’s voice acting, the actual game itself is really good. The bad scripting, voice acting, and dialogue hold the game back. However, they did not make Resident Evil a bad game overall. Yet, imagine if the game had top-notch voice actors; the game would be hailed as an instant PS1 classic, ala Metal Gear Solid. I shudder of even thinking what would happen if the voice actor that played Barry, Barry Gjelde, replaced David Hayter (Solid Snake’s voice actor.) Well, at least Barry offered something valuable to the series: his first name.

4. Michigan: Report from Hell (2005)

When the ZakaTV news crew is sent to investigate a strange virus in Chicago, they were expecting a big news story. Yet, what became a special news report would later become a frantic escape out the “Windy City.”

But wait a minute… Chicago? Isn’t the game called Michigan: Report from Hell? For a title with the name Michigan in it, you would think that the game takes place in the US state of Michigan. The name is named because the game’s events occur around Lake Michigan. For many first time players, the title would be very misleading. There is one thing not misleading though. After hearing this game’s horrendous dialog, it really was a report from Hell.

Like the ZakaTV news crew fighting for their survival, players will too. You, the player, will fight for your very ears’ survival in your own living room. Your best friends will be the lower volume button and the mute option on your TV controller. Yes, the voice “acting” is that bad.

Out of all the games in this list, Michigan: Report from Hell is the only one I haven’t played. And for good reason too. The game was never released in the US, being kept on the shores of Japan and later released in Europe. For my ears’ sanity, that decision was a good one. But in the search of truly horrible and hilarious voice acting in gaming, I almost missed this gem. Almost.

Where do we start? Let’s hear this clip first:

Sassy overtures

Whoa! Saying “bastard” in that sassy tone? Those are some fighting words there. I’ve heard people on the street talking to their friends with more conviction and believability than this female actress. She sounded a lot more sarcastic than angry that someone was being “a real jerk” to her.

This delivery alone shows that the voice actors in the game were subpar to put it nicely. The tone is way off. The dialogue is very poor. The actress felt like she didn’t want to be there. Judging by her “co-workers” voice acting skills, I can’t blame her. Let us continue.

This clip will assault anyone’s hearing:

The cries for help:

From the very first line of “You idiot, that’s Pamela,” you know that voice acting quality will only get worse. And it does. When Brisco – the main guy talking in this clip – screams “Pamela, Pamela, oh my GAAAWWWDDD” towards the end of the video, laughter from your mouth will follow as naturally as Pamela’s blood vomit. The female reporter’s death in the very first stage is supposed to set the tone of sheer horror. And in a sense, the voice acting does instill a deep feeling of horror: that voice actors this bad and still be in a published title. To sum up the tone of the acting in one word: over-dramatic. You cannot take anyone seriously in this clip. Not the cameraman, not Brisco, not even the female-turned-zombie.

Anyone that says this game’s voice “talent” is eerie similar to Resident Evil’s is definitely onto something. The person in charge is none other than Lynn Harris, the voice director who directed both games. It had been eight years between directing Resident Evil 1’s “talent” in 1997 and Michigan: Report from Hell’s “quality” in 2005. I see she kept the same “high level of standards” when looking for new voice talent. At least Harris has kept the “charm” in both games.

I leave you with this final clip. This is probably one of the worst voice clips in video game history:

More overdramatic screaming

With voice acting like that, I would “off” the soon-to-be zombie victim too. Sometimes, a mercy killing is for the culprit.

3. T.R.A.G: Mission of Mercy (1999)

When a terrorist group took over the Togusa Building, things started looking bad. So naturally, the city enlisted the help of a Special Forces group called the Tactical Rescue Assault Group (TRAG.) Only when the fearsome four of TRAG showed up would the terrorists’ days be numbered. But the question shouldn’t be “who will save the terrorists from the mighty TRAG?” Rather, the question should be “who will save the player from TRAG’s horrible voice acting?”

For the subtitle “Mission of Mercy,” the game didn’t grant the players – myself included – any benevolence at all. The game’s “acting” was merciless from the very beginning. At the time, I never thought voice acting could hit a lower low after Resident Evil in 1997 and a slew of older Turbo Grafx 16 games. When Metal Gear Solid came out in 1998, I felt great optimism for the future of quality voice acting. Yet, those thoughts came crashing down when TRAG showed up a year later in 1999. TRAG, why did you have to ruin it for the rest of us?

With a mix of a bad script, horrible evil laughter, flat delivery, and squeally girl voices, this game covers its bases in all forms of bad “acting.”

Speaking of terrible evil laughter, check this one out:

The wannabe Joker with ghetto slang

Oh dear, this villain sounds like a ghetto Joker. Except, you know, the late Health Ledger (in Batman: The Dark Knight) was actually good at acting. This just assaulted my eardrums; Cesar Romero was more threatening. Between the horrible dialogue, the bad accent, and even the dialogue being slightly cut off towards the end, this clip reeks of terribleness. I’m not sure which one is a greater threat to the player: the building being blown to pieces or this atrocious villain continuing his diatribe. I know which is more likely to spur me to shut my system off.

Let’s continue:

The fuse to the left or right... hmmm...

So I have to turn the fuse to the left… or the right. According to this person, deciding which way to turn the fuse is the problem. And if I mess up, the bomb explodes and we all die. Thanks Captain Obvious.

This piece of fine “acting” is half bad dialogue and the other half monotone delivery. The person speaking is very flat in a supposed life-or-death situation. With such bad acting, I have a better time believing he records those boring, monotone cassette tapes for children grammar lessons instead. The believability is non-existent.

One more nugget: if this person got a bomb detonation wrong in the past and it went “boom!” wouldn’t he be a goner? A person only gets one chance at disarming an explosive. I guess this demolition expert can survive full-on bomb blasts. Which explains his monotone delivery. What does he have to worry about?

Let’s venture forth:

Actual believable acting

This is actually one of the best pieces of “acting” in the game. He actually seems believable and concerned about, you know, bombs being a threat. But what’s with these bombs? If there’s one thing this game taught me, it’s that you better enjoy bombs. The missions are always in the form of: “we have to disarm this bomb or explosive.” I feel like the creators of the game wanted to recreate their version of a bomb-defusal SAT, an interactive standardized test. The voice actor certainly sounds like he’s proctoring an exam.

Well, at the very least, you can put “bomb diffusing” on your resume thanks to TRAG.

And one last clip:

Miguel and his chopping ways

Don’t get in Miguel’s way or he’ll chop you up and have you for dinner. But realistically, that situation can only happen if: a) his incredibly bad voice acting doesn’t kill you first or b) the seemingly endless supply of bombs in this building fail to detonate.

TRAG: Mission of Mercy isn’t the worst game I’ve played. The concept, story, and gameplay aren’t horrible (nor good either.) Yet, the voice “acting” has few funny moments or comedic memories to soothe the ears. Rather, much of the “acting” is sheer, agonizing pain to one’s hearing.

So What's Your Take?

There are many other games with bad voice acting in them. After hearing the first three in this list, your ears may need some rest from all the "abuse" they just heard above. Chect out part 2 of Top 5 Best Bad Voice Acting in Gaming.