GLaDOS fangirling over the Lemon Rant will forever be one of the funniest moments in any media.

In reference to Cave Johnson's Lemon Rant, I laugh every time I hear it. However, I personally prefer the quote I got from someone on DeviantArt: When life gives you lemons, make grape juice! Then sit back and watch the world wonder how you did it.

No matter who’s on this list, YOU are the #1 Disembodied Voice, Oscar!

Before even watching this, I'm guessing that Stanley Parable's narrator and The Ancestor from Darkest Dungeon will find their way on here.

Howard and Kreese need to do more commentary. Maybe one day, if Death Battle puts a Madworld character in a fight, the two could commentate with Wiz and Boomstick.

Awesome that you mention fighting game announcers, my cousin voiced the Skullgirls announcer

"I'm the little voice in your head. No I'm the little voice in your head. Will the real little voice in your head please stand up? I'm the little voice in your head. I'm the little voice in your head."

It’s good to see the voices in my head are getting some recognition! XD

I actually like that he put Cave Johnson as number 1 cause that shit is some of the best writing in gaming

Gonna take a wild guess the Narrator from The Stanley Parable is going to make a an appearance here.

I squealed when I saw Howard and Kreese made the list. “NOBODY SAID THERE’D BE MATH!”

Minor unimportant note: I agree with you on the blind faith thing I’m Christian too and I always felt that complete unquestionable blind devotion is pretty dangerous, That’s how fanatics get started

I have a strange idea for a countdown. Top 7 Games with 7 Deadly Sins themes. I know you are more of a character type of guy, but I think it could be an interesting topic because you always see media using the 7 Deadly Sins as a plot device. I think it would just be cool.

The ancestor must be on here Edit: mortality clarified in a single strike

So can be please get a top 10 psychos PLEASE I’d love to see highlight some of gaming’s greatest crazies

Raiden saying "....huh???" is one of the most underappreciated works of voice acting ever performed.

You forgot to add the voices in my head.

Aren't YOU a disembodied voice telling us what to do-? Oh. You beat me to it.

Gotta admit, your entry on The Boxer is what finally got me to buy Transistor. One week later, and I have cleared it four times. The game is that good.

Saw the Stanley parable coming Feels like Glados These have great voice actors Also I forgot about that guy at 3 and 2 Speaking of portal 🍋 Legend of Korra cameos one via voice actors

My favorite disembodied voice will probably always be System from BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle. Short description: What if GLADoS ran a fighting tournament? An artifical intelligence locked within an artifact known as the Keystone (by none other than Rachel Alucard's father), System has the power to create a sort of in-between dimension composed of several realities' worth of worlds, including the people in those worlds. She (yes, the voice is female) gives each group a piece of the Keystone and tells them they need to protect it and/or take the others if they want to go back to their original worlds (each group gets varied information). And all the while, she comes off as an overexcited tournament announcer who just loves to mess with whoever the focus character is. Like I said, the best comparison to make is to GLADoS, as she pops in suddenly, delivers comedically frustrating dialogue, and has complete control over her created world. While she does have a physical form, it's only during her boss battles, when the battle data she collects from the Keystone holders gives her the power to do so. I get that not a lot of people will have played this game, but I think it's worth it just for System alone.

Personally, I freaking loved Ruck's work in Bastion; but as for other characters, the administrator of TF2 was someone I thought of, and... would the guy who had something to say about Henry Stickmin's countless fails count?

Honestly, I'm really surprised that Atlas didn't make the list! That's one of the first characters that comes to mind when I think of "Mission Control" types of things. Was still really happy to see number 4 though. You did great as always, Oscar, can't wait to see what you do next!

The narrator from the stanley parable has got to be my #1 favorite

I was expecting one of Stamper's roles to be on this list--either the narrator from Battleblock Theater or Pit People. He did an amazing job in those two, and especially in the commercials for them.

It’s amazing how much a disembodied voice can truly impact the games experience. Well done here, man!

You forgot to mention that Paul Eiding provided the voice of Max Tennyson from the Ben 10 series.

For me, one interesting example has to be Dr. Janice Polito from System Shock 2. ...until you find out she’s been dead the whole time, and it’s really SHODAN, my actual example!

Character's in voice only? Now this is going to be good and as per usual here are my thoughts: 10: I would have gone with Smitty from Quiplash but I think it's the same VA. 9: Ah Stanly's Narrator pal. I got nothing to add this guy is gold. 8: A ghost in a Machine? Neat. 7: Talking sword with the voice of a former bodyguard? Near 6: One of the kindest boss character's we know. 5: The meme worthy duo from the world's bloodiest TV show. 4: Thanks for the advice and leaving us to clean up this mess Gramps! 3: The Phone guy who started this nightmare 2: Hats off to the Roy Campbell. 1: The man who caused Glados, was J. Jonah Jameson? Awesome.

6. I've just binged The Owl House already! I can't wait for the next season. 5. Lets face it, Howard and Creese practically ARE Wiz and Boomstick at this point. *This entry is brought to you by drugs. Drugs: Take them often and indiscriminately.* 1. So glad they brought Simmons back for Spiderman Far From Home.

Shoutout to Clarence from Penumbra: Overture. Imagine having a snarky parasite in your brain who actively causes your character to have auditory and visual hallucinations, forcing you, the player, to constantly second-guess if enemies and obstacles are even real.

I had no idea Buckshot and Kreese would be on here, and thank you so adding them. XP

Always loved how interesting and specific your countdowns are! I would never expect anyone else tackling this.

Here's an idea for a future countdown: Top 10 Video Game Guiding Forces. Basically, characters that you meet at the beginning of the game who lay out your quest for you and send you on your merry way. Characters like Sylvia from No More Heroes, King Rhoam from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Master Eon from Skylanders, or Rat God from Mad Rat Dead.

A unique countdown Green Scorpion and I love it. What's going to be next? I'm thinking Top Ten Video Game Aliens.

One of my favorite video game disembodied voices is the clone trooper logging entries into the 501st Journal from the original Battlefront II (2005) campaign. Temuera Morrison, the actor for Jango Fett and the clones reprises the role, too. This to me was Morrison's time to shine in Star Wars, where he delivered a great performance of a weary soldier reminiscing about the events of the films, not from the heroes' point of view like we were used to - but from a clone's perspective (with some creative liberties). Crazy to think that using crude cutscenes with in-game assets, a simple voiceover between missions, recycled music from the films, and a few movie clips, LucasArts made a vastly more compelling campaign in 2005 with around a year of development time than EA could in 2017 with a triple-A budget, shiny new graphics and animations, and double the amount of time. I'll end this comment with my favorite journal entry from the game: _"What I remember about the rise of the Empire is... is how quiet it was. During the waning hours of the Clone Wars, the 501st Legion was discreetly transferred back to Coruscant. It was a silent trip. We all knew what was about to happen, what we were about to do. Did we have any doubts? Any private traitorous thoughts? Perhaps, but no one said a word. Not on the flight back to Coruscant, not when Order 66 came down, and not when we marched into the Jedi Temple. Not a word."_

A trifling victory but a victory none the less

Personally speaking, one of my favourite disembodied voices is the narrator from Hades. There's something about the way he talks and describes the events in game, he sounds just like how you think a guy telling a story about the underworld would. And the interactions he has with Zagreus (though admittedly one-sided since one is committed to not get involved) add a lot of personality to the game. Also, SPOILERS INCOMING: The fact that it's because Zag can hear him speak about his true mother and THAT being the main reason as to why he sets out on this journey was hilarious to me. He's just the guy telling the story, he's not supposed to get involved. Yet it's a result of his direct actions that, basically caused the main plot of the game to happen. Now THAT'S glorious.

So glad Howard and Kreese made the list.

Not gonna lie, when you said Glados wasn't in the list, I was expecting SHODAN of System shock. I completely forgot about Cave.

Well done, Oscar. Many of what I expected found its way here. Great job! 👍

A Green Scorpion podcast does sound neat.

*sees Mad World* Me: "For the last fucking time, NOBODY SAID THERE'D BE MATH!"

Don't forget that Cookie Masterson also appeared in other Jackbox Party Pack games, such as Fakin' It and Fibbage.

Dang, no Stamper from BattleBlock Theater. The way Stamper talks during cutscenes is hilarious and that's what makes him so memorable. And as if dialogue wasn't enough, he actually sings in a few tracks in the game for some extra charm. There's also the fact that he reacts to deaths, but you'll start hearing repeat lines after a while, so it isn't anything too special.

This countdown theme is interesting and like I said in Twitter, glad that you made your rules clear, thank you and good job.

33:00 Oscar, as someone who has kept up with the theories, there are two things to say: Phoneguy is the strongest candidate for the killer which is indirectly confirmed by Scott Cawtho,n the creator of the series, but the lore and theories are more complex than ever. Some of the things currently adding confusion is a living metal holding the souls of the dead, multiple purple guys and, I kid you not, a time travelling ball pit from the second line of books. Paired with the ever changing nature of the theories, and the word confusing becomes more than appropriate.

Can’t believe no ones mentioning the narrator from Thomas was Alone. That man gave emotion and personality to featureless colored squares.

Those two announcers looove their jobs

My personal favorite disembodied voice is one you meet early on in BioShock, as early as Welcome to Rapture. No, I'm not talking about Atlas/Fontaine, you see him multiple times throughout BioShock, and he really can't count as a Disembodied Voice. No, who I'm talking about is Andrew Ryan. When you first meet him, you're trapped in a room, and a Projector flickers to life, where Ryan himself asks you who sent you: The KGB, or the CIA, and says that he's not going to let you just freely explore his city. In Medical Pavilion (The Most Terrifying Chapter without the Rosebud Splicer IMO), he puts a Bounty on your head worthy of 1000 ADAM. Several Splicers try to reach that Bounty when you get the Incinerate Plasmid, and when Jack's in Neptune's Bounty, he talks to him personally on his Short Wave Radio, saying that if he presses the button, then they're true enemies from that point onward. We know what Ryan looks like, sure, but the fact you don't meet him face to face until the near end makes him not only intimidating, but powerful through manipulation and Rapture's Politics. He was also capable to crack the code behind Jack, and even uses the 'Would You Kindly' Trigger Phrase to prove that Jack was not acting of his own free will, rather on the orders of Fontaine, who nobody knew was still alive other than those Jack had killed earlier, which leads to his eventual death. Ryan possibly even knew about Jack being his Bastard Son, and before Jack meets Ryan in his office, he says "Come now my child, there's one final thing to discuss." I know I've gone on for way too long, but I can't help it, BioShock's a masterpiece when it comes to storytelling.

I honestly think you could just do a top 10 of fighting game announcers too. There's so many good ones.

howard and kreese remind me of wiz and boomstick

Insert Randy Orton joke here..... But in all seriousness, great list man! Possibly one of my favourites from you, I really liked that this was essentialy an essay about narrators, and the fact that it features a lot of games I wouldn’t otherwise expect you to talk about (though I TOTALLY called like 50% of this list) This really made me appreciate the narrator as a narrative device more than I already did, the only real gripe I have is the exclusion of the narrator of the LittleBigPlanet games, partly because I want more people talking about those games (especially after the fiasco that was the third game 😖) and the fact that the Narrator is a whimsical cinnamon roll of a man that encourages creativity no matter how unorthodox, as an autistic man who spends his free time creating stupid little things like original characters, stories, drawings, and Mario maker levels that probably no one but me will know exists, that really resonated with me and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed in the lack of a mention, but then again from what I know about you, LBP probably isn’t your kind of game, and granted, the narrator only really matters during the tutorials of the game, and not the actual levels, probably not as thematically nuanced as what did make the list. so I’d understand the exclusion even if you were familiar. Apologies if this doesn’t make any sense, I’m not good at the whole speaking thing. But my soap box aside, keep on keepin’ on Oscar! Can’t wait for the next one!

My Personal DV is Zelda in BOTW, cause usually when she talks, it’s short and cuts straight to the point. Which makes since in her predicament as she is holding off Gannon for 100+X amount of time you’ve been playing the game

I know this doesn't qualify for the lisr, but shoutouts to Eggman's PA announcements from Sonic Colors. Say what you will about how this era of writing has affected the series, but those PA voice clips are pure GOLD.

We actually see Cave Johnson in Aperture Desk Job. Well sort of. The tester and Grady the personality core meet Cave Johnson but he’s actually managed to have his brain uploaded into a giant metal head that was to be part of a robot. Now Cave, still alive in a giant metal head is now trapped at the bottom of Aperture’s basement in a pit next to a perpetual energy source.

Persona Awakening are disembodied voices "I am thou, thou art I."

idea for a top ten top ten police officers in games :3

Amazing job for tackling such a unique subject. While it’s not a disembodied voice, Hespith (Dragon Age) poem you hear in the Dead Trenches about how Broodmothers are created before meeting made them far more terrifying and turned Dragon Age for a brief moment into a Horror game.

Is it weird that the first example of this topic I thought of before watching was the narrator from Pokémon Battle Revolution? It’s totally fan service, but I can’t help it.

15:06. The love for Transistor warms my heart haha

I know that the narrator of the Stanley Parable is more iconic, but I am kind of sad that the Narrator of the Beginner's Guide didn't make it onto the list. He completely strings you along throughout the game, pretending to be this objective observer telling you about his old friend and the games he left behind, only for the game to slowly reveal that he isn't entirely what he appears to be. The reveal behind his true nature (which I won't give away because that twist deserves to be experienced blind) makes you question everything that you have gone through and raises some really fascinating questions, it becomes even more interesting when you learn the true context behind the game itself.

“DO YOU HEAR THE VOICES TOO?!”

A little sad that the Guilty Gear X2 announcer wasn't mentioned in the honorable mentions. It is just such an iconic one that they have never quite been able to top. Also a bit sad that the narrator from ICEY didn't make it given that the Stanley Parable one did.

In high school drama class we had to read short monologues. We could pick any one we wanted so I performed Cave's Lemon rant.

These are all absolutely fantastic. Delilah is my personal favourite on this list, I loveeeeeeee that game. Also all roles on this list is partly why I want to get into Voice Acting.

8:11 a bit ironic that some of those is what makes them fantastic and memorable. A voice in your head, you know what they say: let your conscious be your guide. Fantastic list.

The irony is there was a short lived You Don’t Know Jack tv show, with Paul Reubins as the host.

Man im so happy he is still making these

I mean who is not surprise that cave Johnson is number one I mean he’s the man is going to burn your house down with lemons! :also unrelated sidenote I just can’t get into darkest dungeons it seems right up my alley but it’s just to punishin. also also The person who voiced cave Johnson did J joma Jamison from the Spiderman trilogy? honestly not surprised.

I played the 1999 YDKJ version and all i can say Jack AND Cookie are both genius. Jack give the Player the Tutorial in a Gameshow like setting and Cookie is Cookie!

Writing is also the voice-over Earth now narrator for dungeons 2

Honorable Mentions: *The Narrator - The Gunstringer -The only kinect game I found to be worth a damn. *Felicity - Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel -While she DOES have a character portrait, we never see her in person as she's an AI. *Ahrah - Dust: An Elysian Tale -Another talking sword. *Snuggly - Souls Series -It's implied that Snuggly and his descendants are invisible. As when we come to his nest, he's never present in the flesh, all we get is his voice. *The Narrator - MediEvil -Whenever you open a book or read a description in the bestiary, this voice will chime in.

10 - I actually remember having YDKJ on the PS1... and it was a 2 disk game because it had so many questions!

I though the gravemind from halo would make an appearance, he is really good

The administrator from TF2, personality on par of the 9 psychotic mercs, and distinct enough that you can always hear it even in the middle of a fight. Although, she might be closer to the fighting game announcers that you gave the honorable mention to at the start of the list, as she doesn't have a conversation with anyone and just reacts to and announces the events during the round, she should've been in one of the earlier spots.

Top 10 video game psychics

Yo, interesting idea for a Top 10, how did I not guess the Death Watch Announcers or Phone Guy, idea for another video, Top 10 Dancers, here is hoping for Phantom R

YEEEEES! I love this type of character SO MUCH!!!

It’s kinda disturbing now that I think about it, the two funniest people in Madworld are literally snuff film commentators.

For me, one of my favorite disembodied voices was the narrator from the Naughty Bear games. A sadistic disembodied voices akin to the host of a young children's show like the Teletubbies or Barney the Dinosaur, motivating Naughty Bear to go out to punish the other bears for their actions. It does help that he has a wonderful accent as well

Funny enough there’s a line by Kreese in Madworld that literally says it’s his job to take jabs at Howard lol

I personally like Mirror's Edge's Merc a lot, from what I remember. And that Transistor bit made me think of Rachel from the very much unknown and unappreciated Wiiware exclusive LIT (made by Wayforward). She talks to you solely through your Wii Remote, if you manage to reach the phones in time that is. Very clever.

Some of my personal favourites are the knockout city pirate radio host (I think he’s been named but I don’t quite remember it) and Mission Control from deep rock galactic

Paul Eiding; I remember him best as Zephyr, Gally ''Vanish'' Gregman, Captain Vladimir, God of War's Grave Digger and Theseus and Max Tennyson instead of Colonel Campbell.

Just saying, but when I hear Colonel speak, all I hear is Grandpa Max from Ben 10. (Yes I know they're voiced by the same guy)

&^You need a dedicated section for honorable mentions. I'm sorely disappointed Dormin wasn't talked about.

Cave Johnson buying Black Mesa in an alternate reality really REALLY explains a lot of Half-Life 1's plot.

#5: I didn't know Greg proops is in this game. Hearing his voice just make me think of "Whose line is it anyway?". Nostalgia.

Nicely done, but I must admit, I feel there's one disembodied voice who should've been included. It is the big bad of an infamous horror game. I admit, I see the logic in the usual 'only video game characters' rule, as he and the game were originally a short story. On the other hand, the game's story goes in a very different direction and the disembodied voice of the game doesn't actually speak out loud, his only dialogue being neon text on a steel pillar. So, with all that in mind, let's talk about AM of I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. Originally built as a supercomputer to control all of America's nukes during the Cold War, AM was accidentally given sentience, hence how he came up with his own name: I think therefore I AM. And soon after, he realized how trapped he was, unable to experience the world in the wires and circuits that housed him and went mad with rage. So, he proceeded to hack into and take control of his Russian and Chinese equivalents, discovered Dr. Nimdok's morphogenetic research, then destroyed the world and most of humanity, the only survivors being a colony on the moon in cryosleep and 5 people AM kept for himself for his own sick amusement. The Anarchic AI then spent over a century tormenting his playthings, not needing to worry about death, including aging or starvation, thanks to the research he obtained. They can still die, feel painful hunger, or whatever else AM wants to inflict, but unless they leave his area, which he can easily influence them not to, he has full control over their states. Hell, he even mutated Benny from his handsome self into an ape-like creature, and even changed his sexuality to torment Ellen. He also created special scenarios he forces the humans to go through to torment them more. How he does this isn't exactly clear, either making an environment for each of them or downloading their minds into digital settings. Either way, it's pretty sick and they can feel everything. Gorister has his heart removed and has to find it while dealing with his wife who went insane and her parents who hate him. Ellen has to go through a yellow environment after being traumatized and associating yellow with her trauma. Ted as to undergo a fairytale story to save a princess while staying faithful or being punished. Benny has to survive in a primative village that makes sacrifices to AM. And Nimdok has to go through a Nazi Concentration camp to 'find the lost tribe.' And even in the ways they win their scenarios can be pretty horrifying. However, AM isn't the only computer here. The Russian and Chinese supercomputers, as well as a rogue subroutine named Surgot, manage to help the humans win, causing AM's mind to retreat into itself. It's here we get the closest 'look' at AM, and even then, it's representations of his ego, superego, and id. Depending on your actions, you can shut AM and the others down, taking their place and shepherding the humans on the moon. Or, you could end up with AM so furious, he turns you into a massive abomination that can barely move and is no longer able to do anything that could upset AM again. And that's not even getting into his voice actor, the writer of both the short story and the game himself, Harlen Elison. And he is equal parts over-the-top and maniacal, which is perfect for AM's god complex. I highly recommend looking up the opening to the game to get a good introduction to the game, the humans, and AM himself. This is one Diabolus ex Machina who makes you fear for his subjects, but also makes you want to see what he does next. One minute, he's chastising Gorister for trying to blow himself up, the next, he's making a Wizard of Oz reference while accepting a sacrifice.

What will you come up with next? Top 10 3-dimensional characters in video games?

Does Tiny Tina count as a disembodied voice specifically during the Bunkers and Badasses DLC? Specially when it comes to the fact that it was the game she was managing during this DLC being her means to cope with the death of Roland who she saw as a second father.

dude its been so long since i saw one of your top 10s

Fun Fact: In the universe where he bought Black Mesa he actually stopped the resonance cascade, preventing the events of the entire Half Life series

This is a really interesting topic to cover

This was a very interesting topic for a countdown!

You know, there’s a thought. Bring a character from madworld into death battle, and making have Howard and Kreese cameo.

Glad to see The Ancestor on here, personally he's my number 1, but there were a lot of solid points made and I don't think there was a single character i disagree about putting on the list.

I'll be honest. I was fully expecting Dormin from Shadow of The Colossus on here.

1:45 Actually, his face has been seen couple of times in some older countdowns, not just the streams.