You ever feel that rush when a game just nails its voice cast? Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment does exactly that, and honestly I’m still buzzing from it. Koei Tecmo’s latest musou masterpiece dropped on November 6th exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2, and it’s already scoring a solid 79 on OpenCritic with critics recommending it 84% of the time. But what really brings this Imprisoning War epic to life? The absolutely stellar voice performances that make every cutscene feel like you’re watching a blockbuster anime unfold.
Patricia Summersett returns as Princess Zelda, and if you’ve played Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom, you already know what kind of emotional depth she brings. Summersett’s been Zelda’s official English voice since 2017, but she’s also lent her talents to Ash in Rainbow Six Siege and did full performance capture work for Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed series. There’s something about how she captures Zelda’s determination mixed with vulnerability that just hits different, especially in this game where she’s literally lost in time trying to find her way home.
King Rauru is voiced by Chris Hackney, who gaming fans will instantly recognize from his iconic role as Dimitri in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Hackney also brought Rauru to life in Tears of the Kingdom, so there’s that perfect continuity. His work spans from Ayato Kamisato in Genshin Impact to Illumi Zoldyck in Hunter x Hunter, and he’s got this incredible deep voice that makes Rauru feel both ancient and powerful. The dude literally voiced the last of the Zonai race, and you can hear that weight in every line.
Queen Sonia gets the royal treatment from Cherami Leigh, whose voice you’ve probably heard a million times without even realizing it. Leigh’s credits are insane—she’s Lucy Heartfilia from Fairy Tail, Asuna from Sword Art Online, and Makoto Niijima from Persona 5. She even played Sailor Venus in Sailor Moon Crystal and voiced Female V in Cyberpunk 2077, which got her a BAFTA nomination. When Sonia talks about governing Hyrule with boundless wisdom, Leigh makes you believe every word of it.
Mineru’s brought to life by Heather Gonzalez, who also voiced the ancient sage in Tears of the Kingdom. Gonzalez is known for her work as Homare Todo in Blue Exorcist and more recently as Wolf in Destiny: Rising. She’s got this measured, intellectual quality to her voice that perfectly fits a character who’s literally excavating ancient constructs and uncovering secrets that could destroy the Zonai race.
The Goron chief Agraston rumbles onto the battlefield thanks to Joe Hernandez, who you might recognize as Gaston from Unicorn Overlord. Hernandez absolutely nails that boisterous Goron energy (he even called it a “Goro sized THANK YOU” when he announced his role on social media). There’s something genuinely heartwarming about hearing a Goron leader who’s also Rauru’s sworn brother—the loyalty just radiates through his performance.
Qia, the newly crowned Zora queen dealing with the devastating loss of her father to the Forbidden Construct, is voiced by Judy Alice Lee. Lee previously brought Mipha to life in Age of Calamity, so she’s already deeply familiar with Zora nobility. Her work as Pink No. 6 in The Knight in the Area shows she’s got range, but it’s that regal grief she brings to Qia that really makes the character unforgettable.
Joe Zieja voices Raphica, the Rito elder who’s old friends with the wandering Korok Calamo. If that voice sounds familiar, it’s because Zieja is THE voice of Claude von Riegan from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. He’s also voiced Fox McCloud in Star Fox Zero and Bumblebee in the Transformers: War for Cybertron Netflix series. The former Air Force captain turned voice actor brings this wonderful mix of wisdom and warmth to Raphica, and his chemistry with the other characters feels completely natural.
Speaking of Calamo—okay, this Korok wanderer searching for a place to put down roots is absolutely scene-stealing, and that’s all thanks to SungWon Cho (you might know him as ProZD on YouTube). Cho’s voiced everything from Abs Saja in KPop Demon Hunters to Ratatoskr in God of War Ragnarok, but his take on Calamo is legitimately one of the game’s highlights. Multiple reviewers have specifically called out how much he shines in this role, and after spending hours with the game I totally get why.
And then there’s Matthew Mercer as Ganondorf. Yes, THAT Matthew Mercer from Critical Role. The man who’s voiced everyone from Levi in Attack on Titan to Cole Cassidy in Overwatch to Leon S. Kennedy in Resident Evil 6. Mercer told Inverse that he wanted to capture Ganondorf as “a brutish tyrant who also sees himself as the rightful ruler of all, and there is a regality in how he sees himself.” He literally ran through his house screaming when he got the role (which makes sense since he’d previously played Ganondorf in his 2009 web series There Will Be Brawl over a decade ago). The way he delivers lines like “leave no survivors” with that underlying cunning confidence? Absolutely chilling.
The game also introduces brand-new characters like Ardi, the Gerudo second-in-command betrayed by Ganondorf who’s voiced by Rei Shimoda (Sonya from Fire Emblem Heroes), and the mysterious Knight Construct—basically a construct powered by a shard of Link’s broken Master Sword that got sent back in time. There’s even Lenalia, Zelda’s lady-in-waiting who designs the murals chronicling the war, brought to life by Allegra Clark who also voiced Attal in Destiny: Rising.
Voice director Hari Leigh and the team at The Halp Network deserve serious props because they wrangled an absolutely massive cast of 34 English voice actors for this thing. Every character feels distinct, every interaction crackles with energy, and the sheer amount of fully voiced cutscenes in this game puts most musou titles to shame.
What makes Age of Imprisonment special is how these performances elevate what could’ve been just another hack-and-slash spinoff into something that genuinely expands Tears of the Kingdom’s lore in meaningful ways. Yeah, you’re mowing down hundreds of enemies with Zonai devices and pulling off ridiculous Sync Strikes, but between all that action you’re getting character moments that actually land emotionally because these actors committed to making ancient Hyrule feel alive.
