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Final Fantasy 16's lead actor Ben Starr is back and flexing his vocal chords in Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, notably as a character "who's very different" to everyone's beloved Clive Rosfield – and "kind of a piece of shit," actually.
In The Ivalice Chronicles, Starr plays antagonist Dycedarg Beoulve, a role he's been discussing in a new Square Enix video alongside some of the other cast. During their chat, voice director Oli Chance notes that in the new tactical RPG, "Ben, you are also horribly duplicitous and kill people," to which Starr somewhat concerningly replies: "Yes, and that's why I said I want to do it."
Don't worry, though, he's not been filled with a sudden bloodlust in real life. He's actually got a good reason for wanting to take on such a different character, and it comes down to something he's mentioned before – the fact that he's been part of the series already.
"You've been able to be a part of creating something that's very iconic in a lot of people's eyes," he begins, "and certainly coming off Clive Rosfield, which a lot of people have this very intense relationship with because they've been with him for a long period of time, and they've been with my voice – or my performance – for a long time, it was a very difficult decision to come back to this franchise because I thought, 'I don't know, do you want to come back? Is it going to be as good?'"
That's where Dycedarg and his wildly different vibes come into play. "I think we managed to have a conversation about how in which we can do a character who's very different," he continues, before adding: "And Dycedarg is… he's kind of a piece of shit, really."
Starr acknowledges that "there's a beauty in it, and there's a playfulness, and there's all this plotting and scheming," noting that "obviously you don't want to play him as a piece of shit, but he has to have his own reasons." Dycedarg "believes his reasoning," he adds, even if that reasoning doesn't line up with the goals of protagonist Ramza.
Of course, the rest is history, but it's clear that Starr was thoughtful about his return to the JRPG series and didn't want to voice just anyone. There's no doubt fans will always be happy to hear him wherever he pops up again, though.
