Kingdom Hearts Trivia #44

[Oracle Spockanort]

Alyson Stoner, well known as the voice of of Xion (358/2 Days) and Kairi (Re:Chain of Memories), held an "Ask Me Anything" on Reddit about two months ago where she answered questions from her adoring fans about her career as a singer, musician, actress, and dancer.

When asked about her time playing Xion and Kairi in the Kingdom Hearts series, Alyson said it was an honor to be a part of it all and noted that her favorite part of recording involves the sound effects. Why? Well, it seems as though the script gets a bit interesting at times:

One time, the paper said "(gets hit in neck with giant key)", and I had to figure out what noise to make! :)

Source: Reddit

Previous trivia: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43]

 

[hemmoheikkinen]

One time, the paper said "(gets hit in neck with giant key)", and I had to figure out what noise to make!

Only in Kingdom Hearts.
I do wonder if Stoner will return. Guess that depends what Xion`s role will be in KHIII. I really enjoyed her voice work. Especially the battle quotes. Man Xion voice was creepy at the end. "Get ready Roxas!"

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

(I'm still happy she answered me at all <3)

YEP! ONLY KINGDOM HEARTS~

I'm fairly certain she'll come back for KH3. She enjoys playing Xion a lot, and we know Xion will be in the game in some way~ I feel like Hayden being Xion in KH3D was a one-off thing.

 

[hemmoheikkinen]

(I'm still happy she answered me at all <3)

YEP! ONLY KINGDOM HEARTS~

I'm fairly certain she'll come back for KH3. She enjoys playing Xion a lot, and we know Xion will be in the game in some way~ I feel like Hayden being Xion in KH3D was a one-off thing.

Wait, did you ask that question related to KH?
Oh god, if Xion ends up being rescued and becoming her own person, and if Lea, Roxas and her have a big hug, I will be a sobbing mess.

 

[Dandelion]

(I'm still happy she answered me at all <3)

YEP! ONLY KINGDOM HEARTS~

I'm fairly certain she'll come back for KH3. She enjoys playing Xion a lot, and we know Xion will be in the game in some way~ I feel like Hayden being Xion in KH3D was a one-off thing.

Considering Alyson didn't get credited for BBS, I'm actually 99% sure that it wasn't her in BBS but Hayden (also considering she sounded more like Hayden, albeit it was one word). There's no reason why Xion and Kairi should have different voice actors in the same game.

Edit: this seems a bit snide, I was just confused as to the logic behind what you said. I think Alyson did a fine job, I just don't see a reason why we would have this one instance of two characters who are supposed to have the same voice be treated differently.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Wait, did you ask that question related to KH?
Oh god, if Xion ends up being rescued and becoming her own person, and if Lea, Roxas and her have a big hug, I will be a sobbing mess.

Yeah, I did. A few of us from the site tried at the same time xD

So will I. I'm not the biggest Xion fan by any means, but I really want to see them all happy.

Edit:

Considering Alyson didn't get credited for BBS, I'm actually 99% sure that it wasn't her in BBS but Hayden (also considering she sounded more like Hayden, albeit it was one word). There's no reason why Xion and Kairi should have different voice actors in the same game.

Edit: this seems a bit snide, I was just confused as to the logic behind what you said. I think Alyson did a fine job, I just don't see a reason why we would have this one instance of two characters who are supposed to have the same voice be treated differently.

Not snide at all! I get your reasoning. I don't like it either but I'm not too keen on them changing voice actors if the VA is willing to return after establishing Alyson as Xion with a significant amount of lines whereas the instance where Hayden voiced Xion were small bits.

 

[LightUpTheSky452]

Aww! It's so cute that she answered this. And good on you for asking her this question, Master Spock! I'm glad she at least answered this one for KH.

This is adorable, as far as I'm concerned, and it makes me like Alyson as Xion even more... if that's even possible.

And now I'm hoping KHIII is full of Xion stuff, so the awesome Alyson Stoner can voice her again and have more cute stories to tell

Also, I just love Xion and want to see her come back as her own person, anyway

 

[Deleted member]

I'm sure she's super lovely, but if the choice is between Alyson or Hayden for KH3 as Kairi/Xion I'd much rather prefer we end the saga with the original voice actress for Kairi.

 

[Rydgea]

Kingdom Hearts has unfortunate inconsistency where voice talent is concerned.

I never did mind Stoner's voice work in Days. It seemed a little bland and hollow, but that's exactly why it lends itself well to the character. I haven't seen the 358/2 Days cinematics in 1.5, but I imagine she's only become better over time.

It wasn't until after I had beaten Days that I found out the Japanese voice actress for Kairi played Xion's role as well. Naturally, I was a bit bitter, because that meant the original version carried more symbolism and recurring themes than ours. However, retrospectively, just knowing about the reasoning behind casting the same actress for Kairi in Japan is good enough an easter egg for me, and hearing Hayden's one-liners for Xion is enough of a nod to make up for it.

The whole point of Roxas and Xion, and the concept behind the development of hearts, was to solidify their unique identities despite how they were created. Giving Xion her 'own' voice, moving forward with her own life / identity, in this last chapter of the Xehanort Saga, via Alyson Stoner would be cool for KHIII's English release - distinguishing her from Kairi. I'd say Ms. Stoner's earned it at this point too.

 

[Deleted member]

Even in the English release, Kairi and Xion had the same voice though. In Days, Alyson redid several of Kairi's lines as Kairi. Having the voices split in the KH3 English release (and the English release only) wouldn't really make sense.

 

[Rydgea]

I'm not saying they won't hire one voice actress for both characters; I'm stating a preference.

Even so, it's not entirely impossible, given this whole tug-of-war with the characters was based around Hayden's schedule conflicts.

 

[kuraudoVII]

One time, the paper said "(gets hit in neck with giant key)", and I had to figure out what noise to make!

Funnily enough, this comment reminds me of that one time when David Gallagher was speaking to his fans talking about how one of his favorite days in the recording booth was Fight Day. XD

Gotta say, though, it's always nice hearing back from voice actors on how they really enjoy the work that they do.

 

[hemmoheikkinen]

I really hope that Stoner returns as Xion voice. I can see all the symbolism in the Japanese voice actor using Uchida, but I kinda liked that Xion had her own voice in English. In turn that could works as symbolism for the fact that she grew to be her own person.