Final Fantasy 7 Remake: An interview with Aeriths voice actress, Briana White
Briana White has orbited the gaming and entertainment industry for some time, hoping to catch a big break. She’s worked as an on-air host, filmed commercials and hustled as a content creator on YouTube and Twitch for years. She even started her own merchandise line for her personal brand, Strange Rebel Gaming. But little of that mattered little in her audition for the role of Aerith Gainsborough, one of the most popular and beloved video game characters.
“The one thing I could nail so easily was video game battle cries. Because I played so many video games, I knew exactly what they should sound like,” White told The Post. “I could just imitate them on the spot. It definitely came exactly from Link [of The Legend of Zelda], smashing pots.”
Video game voice talent don’t just recite lines. Controlling a character means they’re going to be yelping and exclaiming all kinds of things while in action. White loves to imitate these yelps as she streams Zelda games. Square Enix asked if she had ever done voice acting before. She hadn’t. And they didn’t even know she’d been a hardworking YouTube talent for years.
Advertisement
“And I was like, ‘I promise I just play a lot of video games,’” said White. “It was so easy, so quick every time. Those were the sessions I got to have the most fun and freedom because you could just make random sounds, you’re engaging your lungs and diaphragm. .... Sometimes you spit out a noise that’s so strange and you don’t know where it came from, and everyone is like, ‘That is a ridiculous sound, let’s play that back at 10 times the speed.’"
White’s performance as Aerith in Final Fantasy VII Remake has brought almost universal acclaim. Kotaku’s Mike Fahey dedicated a whole piece on her performance, saying that White’s Aerith helped the character evolve “from a waifish tagalong character into the dynamic, witty, and playful young woman she was always supposed to be.”
Because the English voice acting is technically a localization effort, translating it from native Japanese, White said she actually had very little input on how to portray Aerith, and that a lot of the direction of the character came from the writing team. She used her acting training to stick to the script handed to her in the booth.
Advertisement
“We didn’t get a lot of freedom to make a lot of choices," White said. “A lot of times it was, ‘Stick to the script, stick to the Japanese interpretation,’ or a purposeful change that the writers and the directors came to."
White also said that none of the lines were recorded in a group, which may come as a surprise, since the back-and-forth chemistry and dialogue is among the best and most natural Square Enix has ever produced.
White recently went viral streaming her first playthrough of the game on her Twitch channel, when she reacted to Aerith’s first appearance and heard her own voice. She thought back to all the hard work she and the rest of the cast did to nail this experience, and she felt overwhelmed with how well it came together.
I was not prepared for this moment. Hearing my voice over work in the finished product for the first time... Pure magic.
(light spoiler warning) #FF7R pic.twitter.com/ECelqkicqQ
“The flower pops up on the screen, and Aerith’s theme kicks in, those kind of choices were so well done, well crafted, and I felt it and I showed it,” White said. “I’m really glad I was able to share that experience with other people because I feel like a lot of other people felt the same way.”
Advertisement
As far as the follow-up to Final Fantasy VII Remake, White said she couldn’t discuss anything regarding the project, but also that she doesn’t yet know anything.
White hopes the role helps her land others. She’s a big fan of the Zelda series, but also expressed interest in voicing Elena Fisher, the swashbuckling journalist wife of Uncharted hero Nathan Drake. She also hopes to portray a wider variety of characters beyond the maternal princess that Aerith embodies.
“There’s always the concern that now my voice is so iconic as Aerith that I’ll always be pigeon-holed into that role or that type forever,” White said.
But she says she’s not picky, and is just grateful to be making a living doing what she loves.
“I’ve done a lot of work that isn’t aligned with my passion, and every time I do, I can just feel my soul drifting away,” said White. “There’s nothing else for me besides making a living doing what I love. It doesn’t even have to be a big living! I’m really happy being comfortable where I am. That’s driven me, and that’s worked out so far."
Read more:
Predictions for Final Fantasy VII Remake’s sequel: How it might play, what it might be called
Final Fantasy VII Remake rouses old, romantic feelings. But some of its changes will be divisive.
For all its greatness, Final Fantasy VII wasn’t a good game. Let’s remember why.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZMOqsMSoZKCZnZrAcH6Pa2doaGRkf3R7waugmqaRYsSptdOeZLKnp6GypXnBmqutpJVisLO1xKxkmq2UnsGqu82sZK2glaN6tLTEZpmem5Gism7CzqKanmWRmr%2BqwMdo