The new voice of the Joker, Troy Baker.

Some folks were pretty upset when they found out Mark "Luke Skywalker" Hamil wouldn't be The Joker in Arkham Origins. (we don't like change!) Well, out those concerns away, he's great. How do you know? Well, listen to him read a paragraph from The Killing Joke, and see for yourself.

This is a link to an article about the video with more details on Mr.Bakers increasingly impressive resume. He could be the next Nolan North.

I wasn't necessarily upset, but I was kind of surprised that Hamil wasn't going to be doing the voice anymore.

However, Baker is flippin awesome in this. His name sounds really familiar for some reason.

Every time i hear Troy Baker, I just think of "The Boss" from Saints Row. He's been in tons of games though. He's in danger of reaching Nolan North levels of VO saturation.

Yeah, Jesus I hear Nolan North in almost everything, and it harms the experience because when I hear him, I always hear Nathan Drake. Much like how when I hear Jennifer Hale I always think of a spacefaring lesbian war machine.

Thanks for the link, that was awesome.

He actually sounds quite a bit like Hamil in his rendition which makes sense given that they wanted the Joker in Origins to sound like the Joker from the other games.

I remember reading that Hamil said he was done with the character after Arkham City (his voice just can't take it anymore) so it's good to know they have found somebody capable of carrying on the character in a similar vocal fashion.

Also, Origins is shaping up to be a pretty great game despite not being helmed by Rocksteady.

Do You Have More Time to Play MMO

Since Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill both voiced Batman character all the way back to the 90s Animated Series, I guess they teamed together for the first two Arkham games. Maybe Mark Hamill decided upon himself that he would not do voice work for another Arkham game without him. Then again, maybe not.

What I read, and this could be wrong, was that doing the Joker was straining his voice too much. And since his voice is kind of his meal ticket, he was opting to leave the role to the next actor who wanted to take it up. Again, not saying it's true, just what I read somewhere.

I did see a video not long before Arkham City where he commented on not thinking there was much more he could do as Joker. That over the years he'd done more than he'd ever hoped from the Animated Series to the great games, to the reprisal in Batman Beyond. I had half expected he was angling for more money, but with Troy Baker taking up the role I guess one of those must be close to the truth. Who knows?

In my mind, Hamilll is the ultimate Joker. Better than any before and not likely to be toppled from that position. Joker has to be manic, funny, scary, and a full blown sociopath all in the same character. That has to be taxing and he handled it like a champ.

Mark was actually swearing off doing The Joker anymore before Arkham City if I remember correctly, but he ended up doing it just one more time. Heck, I could have sworn he mentioned in an article before Asylum was released that years of working on animated series as The Joker had strained his voice very badly. (specifically, the laugh) We got used to Mark, and he'll always be remembered as one of the best, but their will be other Jokers, and they'll do just fine. I liked the guy who did The Joker in The Dark Knight Returns a whole bunch too. In fact, I just loved that whole thing, it was great.

So let me get this straight:

Bioshock Infinite - Booker
The Last of Us - Joel
Batman Arkham Origins - Joker
Infamous Second Son - Whats his face (lead)
Metal Gear Solid 5 - Mother f*cking Ocelot.

The guy is the Daniel Day Lewis of video games.

Yes, I said it!

Such a talented guy, even more so Nolan North, who you can usually tell right away when it's him.

Oh I don't know about that. Nolan has done lots of characters and changed up his voice significantly. He was Penguin in Arkham City, and the "SPAAAAAAAACE" robot in Portal 2. He's got some range. Of course Baker does too. They're both supremely talented VO actors.

There's probably a joke about compasses in that line if I could be bothered to try... but I can't. :P

Oh wow, I take back my earlier criticism then, that's the first time I've played a game where he was in the cast and had no idea it was him.

Never knew that, but only because I've never played Ratchet and Clank, aside from about ten minutes of the brief PSN game Quest for Booty, before I determined it just wasn't my thing.

Look at his IMDB sometime. The guy has a stunning list of credits.

I still remember the day I found out that the voice of Bender was Marcus Fenix. :) Blew my mind.

I did not know that, but now that I think about it, that doesn't surprise me. It was a rather throaty version of The Joker. (and was, like TDKR, a fantastic animated movie)

Well Hamill, you had a good run. This guy sounds darn near identical to you. I hear very slight differences in their voices but you really have to listen hard to hear it. This guy will be a great replacement

John DiMaggio did a fantastic Joker. But Bender will always be his best role for me.

You can tell in the laugh that it's not same guy. The voice while speaking simply sounds like a younger version of the Hamill Joker.

well im sold~

Not as good as Mark Hamil.It's just not the same for me.

Either way i don't care about this game.The series ended with AC and didn't another one.

He is probably the greatest VO in gaming right now sides Nolan North, very talented guy.

I knew everyone would relax when they found out he's basically Hamill Joker 2.0. I had to laugh when he tried to claim his Joker wasn't supposed to be Hamill Joker 2.0, when it so obviously(intentionally or not) is just that.

Mark Hamill was the defining Joker in my time, but from the very first time I heard him in Arkham Asylum, I knew he just didn't have it in him anymore.

This is all fine and good BUT WHAT COLOR IS BATMAN'S CAPE ? ! ? !

:P

It depends on who's directing him. North has incredible talent but most companies just want him to be himself. His Penguin and David from TLoU were practically unrecognizable.

However, I know what you mean. Hearing North's normal voice takes me out of the experience. I feel the same way with Steve Blum who has so many VO credits and so few voices it's insane.

Pink.

@ZZoMBiE13:

Damn, ninjaed!

@s_h_a_d_o:

*disappears in shadow*

Have you played TLOU?

Nope, not even one tiddly little bit.

If I remember correctly, he played Yuri Lowell in Tales Of Vesperia. :)

Also, this may blow some of you away, since this is new, but I looked him up on IMDB and it looks like he'll be playing Ocelot for MGS V.

@Metamania: CHRIST! Who's REALLY the star of that series? Snake or Ocelot?!