Fans of the Dynasty Warriors universe will have a fitting way to pay tribute to the legendary Taiki Matsuno, a professional who passed away in June of this year 2024. The actor, who worked for years voicing Ling Tong, passed away due to a cerebral hemorrhage. However, he had previously completed his voice work in Dynasty Warriors Origins, so fans will have the opportunity to enjoy his voice one last time.
Although Matsuno had also voiced Liu Shan in the franchise, his work as Ling Tong remains the most important in the series. That he had the opportunity to leave his contribution in this game that returns to the origins of the characters is, without a doubt, a great gift for his fans. In the world of video games, he had also participated in Kessen, where he had the opportunity to play several historical figures, such as Hideyori Toyotomi. On the other hand, his voice could also be heard in Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s side 3rd Story Premium and in Tales of Destiny.
Omega Force has confirmed that Matsuno Taiki had already completed recording voice lines for Ling Tong in DW Origins before his passing, so this will be his last & posthumous work as the character’s seiyuu / Japanese voice actor. https://t.co/WlhkLnaj8w pic.twitter.com/iwwTTqO2ls
— 黒凧 BlackKite (@bk2128) October 27, 2024
Of course, Matsuno had a long career in the anime industry. He was present in many of the most famous anime of the 90s, such as Sailor Moon, Pretty Sammy or Rurouni Kenshin. In the 2000s he appeared in Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, Inuyasha, One Piece and in different Pretty Cure series. In addition to that, he had a career as an actor on television, having great fame with the role of Shurikenger in the Ninpu Sentai Hurricanger series.
Dynasty Warriors Origins will be released on January 17, 2025 and promises to be one of the best installments of the franchise. We had the opportunity to play it at the Tokyo Game Show 2024 and, although we will publish some hands-on soon, we can tell you that the game recovers everything that made the first installments shine. Some more recent playable elements that made the gameplay less tactical are removed and the game maximizes the feeling of being within the fights. It will be, barring any surprises, a grand farewell for Taiki Matsuno.