Nobuyuki Hiyama

Nobuyuki Hiyama is a voice actor that voiced Adult Link in Ocarina of Time, Super Smash Bros., Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Soul Calibur II. He also voiced Fierce Deity Link and Zora Link in Majora's Mask, as well as Nightmare/Siegfried Schtauffen and Yoshimitsu in the Soul Series. Back at E3 2005 or so, Nobuyuki Hiyama's voice for Link was heard in Twilight Princess, but in the final cut, they replaced him with the current voice actor, Akira Sasanuma. The reason for the last minute change was unknown, most likely to try a new seiyū. Prior to the release of Twilight Princess, a short preview of the game was shown on "Toonami", showing Link performing the one-handed jump slash, with the voice of the attack being Hiyama. It can obviously be taken from this that the preview is footage of the game prior to the game's "final cut" that removed Hiyama completely from the game. It is speculated that the change of Link's voice actor in Twilight Princess was likely to have been Eiji Aonuma's decision, it is also believed that Shigeru Miyamoto had no say in the matter. It is likely that Hiyama would make a return in future games, but it has been confirmed that Sasanuma will still voice Link in Skyward Sword, for unknown reasons.

See also: Nobuyuki Hiyama on