A close friend of the late voice actor Stephen Critchlow spent countless hours in FFXIV to hear his friend’s voice.
After British actor Stephen Critchlow passed away on September 19, 2021, at the age of 54, his voice and talent were not only missed by the film and theater world but also by the gaming community.
Which voice are we talking about? He is known as the voice of Count Edmont de Fortemps (English voice) and as a narrator in the Heavensward expansion of Final Fantasy 14. After his death, players from around the world gathered in FFXIV to honor him. They met at the Fortemps house in Ishgard.
Robert Harper, a longtime friend of Critchlow, was impressed by the warmth with which the FFXIV community honored his friend. Although he himself had been an avid 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:
As the anniversary of Stephen’s [death] approached, I began to think about him, our times together in the 90s, and remembered how affectionately the Final Fantasy XIV community thought of him. And I thought: I want to experience what they all have experienced. I want to explore and find and fight my way through the story so that I can hear my old friend appear in Heavensward so magnificently.
Robert Harper GamesRadar
After 194 hours of gameplay, it finally happened
How was the journey through Eorzea? He dove deep into the game, motivated by the desire to hear his friend’s voice and honor his memories. Harper spent countless hours in the game, leveling up his crafters and gatherers. Yet his true 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, shortly before the anniversary, Harper finally reached Heavensward. There he experienced the moving moment when the opening sequence was spoken by none other than Critchlow himself.
You can see the moment on X:
Harper also shared his emotional experience in the Final Fantasy XIV
-subreddit. The post has over 5,000 upvotes and more than 200 comments.
There he describes the moment when he first heard his voice in FFXIV:
I arrived there yesterday morning around 2 AM and it was emotional. Almost 200 hours of playtime, I had immersed myself in the game and after the last 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 meet? According to GamesRadar, they met in the 90s on the set of the BBC Radio Drama Company
and developed a close friendship while working on air together. “We both got a contract to be part of the BBC radio drama company for a year,” revealed Robert Harper.
There was not a day I spent with Stephen that didn’t include a lot of laughter
, says the actor about his late friend. He could make a room laugh in an instant
.
