Ocarina Of Time's Ganondorf Called "One Of The Biggest Miscasts In Gaming"

"One Of The Biggest Miscasts In Gaming": Matt Mercer Is Getting A Lot Of Heat For His Latest Role Published Nov 5, 2026, 7:00 PM EST Sam Woods is TheGamer’s Senior Reporter. He’s been in games journalism since 2020 and has undertaken a variety of roles in that time. These have included roles such as SEO Editor, Managing Editor at DualShockers, and Global Head of Gaming, and he's also been seen on the BBC. He was promoted to the Senior Reporter position in 2025 following a series of high-quality reports and exclusives for TheGamer. Since 2020, Sam has written over 3,000 articles and specializes in telling the stories of the people behind the games. He’s interviewed the biggest game directors, some of the industry’s top talents, told the stories of how indie games came to be, and spoken to players about what really makes them tick. He’s also interviewed some of the world’s biggest musical artists to find out how the medium has inspired their work, and TV and Film actors about their roles in video game adaptations. He even hosted a PAX panel in 2021 and made a documentary in 2024 surrounding the creation of a Disney game. Alongside this, Sam focuses on breaking news. He got the scoop on Perfect Dark’s cancellation, provided context on some AI drama, and revealed that Lady Dimitrescu’s actress would love to step back into the character’s giant shoes. These articles have been picked up by the biggest gaming sites, including IGN, GameSpot, and PC Gamer. He also loves to dive into the numbers behind the games. Sam’s journey in games journalism has taken him all over the world. He’s covered Gamescom in Germany, Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles, and Tokyo Game Show in Japan, each on three occasions. He’s been learning Japanese since 2024 with the intention of identifying and translating Japanese-language news and bringing it to English-language audiences first, something he’s done countless times. Sam’s first review was 2020’s Battletoads reboot, and he’s since reviewed games in The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, and Pokemon franchises. Matt Mercer is one of the world's most accomplished voice actors. He's held dozens of roles across TV, film, and games, appearing in series like Attack on Titan, Resident Evil, Persona, Fire Emblem, Death Stranding, Baldur's Gate, Like A Dragon, and Final Fantasy. He earns near-universal praise for every role he steps into, but one has been a little more divisive: The Legend of Zelda's Ganondorf. He first appeared as the character in 2023's The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, reprising the role in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, and most recently in the Switch 2 remake of Ocarina of Time. The TotK performance drew some criticism from long-time The Legend of Zelda fans, and that criticism has resurfaced now that Ocarina of Time is out. Matt Mercer's Ganondorf Is Lacking "Bass" And "Grit" If you look back at online Tears of the Kingdom discussions, you'll see that Ganondorf's voice was a slight bone of contention. Many cited him as their least favorite version of the character. With Ocarina of Time now out in the public, and Mercer returning as its primary villain, debate has begun to rage again, with many feeling he's not right for the role. One such discussion is taking place on ResetEra, where Mercer's Ganondorf was called "One of the biggest miscasts in gaming." While that particular phrasing was deemed harsh, there was plenty of criticism of the actor's return. "I always imagined Dorf to have a very deep, likely accented voice. When he talks in these newer games, it breaks the immersion so much," reads a further snippet from the original post. This was an opinion shared by others. Zekes said, "Love Matt Mercer, but he just doesn't have enough bass." Boopers added, "I agree, actually. Not a fan of his Ganondorf voice. But eh, whatever, it's not like there's too much of a character there anyway." Love Matt Mercer, but he just doesn't have enough bass. The discussion around Mercer's performance on ResetEra became quite nuanced. While some blamed the actor, others blamed Nintendo's voice direction. "BotW and TotK have some of the worst voice direction in recent memory," posted Lumination, with Papercuts adding, "BotW/TotK just have horrific dubs in general regardless of talent." The discussion was also continued on Reddit once Mercer was revealed for the role, and the reception there was similar. "I'm surprised [Mercer was cast]; it's really generic American voice acting," one commenter said. If his role as Ganondorf doesn't do it for you, you won't have to wait long for his next appearance, with Mercer returning in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation as Vincent Valentine. Systems Released November 5, 2026 ESRB Everyone 10+ / Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence Developer(s) Nintendo Publisher(s) Nintendo Genre(s) RPG, Action, Adventure