Player poured almost 200 hours into an MMORPG to hear the voice of his deceased friend

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A close friend of late voice actor Stephen Critchclow spent tons of hours in FFXIV hearing his friend’s voice.

After British actor Stephen Critchclow passed away on September 19, 2021 at the age of 54, his voice and talent was missed not only by the film and theater world, but also by the gaming community.

Which voice is it? He is known as the voice of Count Edmont de Fortemps (English voice) and as the narrator in the Heavensward expansion of Final Fantasy 14. After his death, players from all over the world in FFXIV gathered to honor him. They met at the House of Fortemps in Ishgard.

Robert Harper, a longtime friend of Critchlow, was impressed by the warmth with which the FFXIV community honored his friend. Although he had been a passionate gamer for over 40 years, he had never given the MMORPG a chance before. But as the first anniversary (2022) of Critchlow’s death approached, he decided to give the game a chance.

He said the following:

As the anniversary of Stephens [Tod] As he grew closer, I began to think about him, our time together in the ’90s, and remembered how fondly the Final Fantasy XIV community thought of him. And I thought: I want to experience what they all experienced. I want to explore and find and fight to work my way through the story so I can hear my old friend perform so magnificently in Heavensward.

Robert Harper GamesRadar

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After 194 hours of play, the time had finally come

How was the journey through Eorzea? He immersed himself in the game, motivated by a desire to hear his friend’s voice and honor his memories. Harper spent countless hours in the game, leveling up his crafters and collectors. But his real goal was to hear his friend’s voice, and he was determined to achieve this before the anniversary of Critchlow’s death.

On September 6, 2022, just before the anniversary, Harper finally reached Heavensward. There he experienced the moving moment when the opening sequence was narrated by none other than Critchlow.

You can see the moment on X here:

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Harper also shared his emotional experience on the Final Fantasy XIV subreddit. The post has over 5,000 upvotes and more than 200 comments.

There he describes the moment when he heard his voice for the first time in FFXIV:

I got there around 2am last night and it was emotional. Almost 200 hours of gameplay, I’ve been immersed in the game and after the final scenes of A Realm Reborn I finally heard my friend’s voice.

I don’t mind admitting that I shed a few tears. I love you, Critch, old buddy.

Robert Harper on Reddit

How did the two of them meet? According to GamesRadar, the two met on the set of the BBC Radio Drama Company in the ’90s and developed a close friendship while appearing on air together. “We both got a contract to be part of the BBC radio drama company for a year,” revealed Robert Harper.

“There wasn’t a day I spent with Stephen that didn’t involve a lot of laughter,” the actor says of his late friend. He could make a room laugh in an instant.

Player says: He’s been playing MMORPGs for 20 years and has seen it all, but now one game has really hit him

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