Just two weeks before the one-year anniversary of his death, one of Stephen Critchlow’s former colleagues has reachedHeavenswardafter a near-200-hour journey throughFinal Fantasy 14to hear his old friend welcome him to Ishgard. The belovedFinal Fantasy 14voice actor passed away on June 03, 2025, due to health complications.
In the English version ofFinal Fantasy 14, Critchlow voiced Count Edmont de Fortemps–a major character in theHeavenswardexpansion and its narrator besides. After his death, theFinal Fantasy 14community held vigils of remembranceoutside the Fortemps manor in Ishgard and sent love and support to Critchlow’s friends and family. Robert Harper, one such friend of the late voice actor, saw this support and decided to pick upFinal Fantasy 14to hear Critchlow’s voice one last time.
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Harper, also known as anOldVideoGamer on Reddit and thePoetPlays on Twitter and Twitch, was hooked immediately–he spent194 hours inFinal Fantasy 14’sfree trialmeandering through the critically-acclaimed MMORPG, leveling his crafting and gathering classes. As the one-year anniversary of Critchlow’s death neared, Harper put his nose to the grindstone so he could reachHeavenswardbefore the date–a feat he has just recently succeeded on.
Critchlow and Harper first met doing work for the BBC’s Radio Drama company, where they became fast friends. Harper himself has been a long-time gamer, but he never got intoFinal Fantasy 14due to its daunting size and popularity. However, after Critchlow’s death, he decided to give the game another try, in no small part due to thewarmth of theFinal Fantasy 14communitylast September. Needless to say, Harper was glad he did.
Harper’sfellowFinal Fantasy 14fanswere moved by his heartfelt journey through the game. Within 24 hours of reporting his first steps into Ishgard, hundreds ofFinal Fantasy 14players showered Harper with affection, love, and remembrance for Critchlow in his depiction of Count Fortemps. Harper thanked his fellow fans for the gestures and for keeping Critchlow’s memory alive, even going so far as to record a short voice message for the community.
As the anniversary of Critchlow’s death approaches, Harper plans to hold another vigil in Ishgard for his old friend. Harper plays on the Phantom server of the Chaos Data Center, meaning EU characters can join him in person withFinal Fantasy 14’snew Data Center Travel system. Those on other Physical Data Centers can instead hold vigils on their own home servers.
Final Fantasy 14is available now for PC, PS4, and PS5.
