The voice behind the iconic Brazilian Kratos, who recently went viral with his striking lines from the first game God of War, belongs to J.Junior. Morador of Araçariguama, interior of
In February 2026, the green and yellow war god’s fandubbing gained new attention, with phrases like “Come on, men” and “My Deus, what have I done” becoming memes. The journey, however, began much earlier, in 1999, driven by the desire to localize games for the Brazilian public.
Junior’s initiative, together with friends and, notably, his mother Terezinha, resulted in the creation of STR Brasil. Este group of enthusiasts was responsible for several adaptations, culminating in the version of God of War that today celebrates its success on social media.
The origin of STR Brasil and its pioneering spirit
J.Junior’s passion for games and the lack of localization for Brazilian Portuguese was the initial spark. Conversando with a friend, he realized the potential for modding PC games and imagined what it would be like to apply this idea to consoles like the PS1. Esse visionary thinking began an ambitious project that would change the way Brazilian fans interacted with their games.
In 1999, Junior took its first steps in this universe with Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, on PS1. Contou with the help of programmer Cassiano Vargas and, gradually, the team grew. With the strength of online forums and Orkut, STR Brasil was born, an acronym for Sistema of Tradução Radical, the group that dubbed God of
A trajectory in dubbing before Kratos
Before immersing themselves in the voice of the god of war, the STR Brasil team dedicated themselves to countless other projects. Dublar a complete game in the early 2000s was a monumental undertaking, which required not only dedication, but also the development of specific tools to access game files and the ability to send and receive media, such as recordings, on a still incipient internet. Adotando a strategy similar to large studios, the team compartmentalized the work: while dedicating themselves to a large project, they simultaneously carried out smaller adaptations to maintain the pace and improve their techniques. Essa approach allowed them to build a solid foundation of experience and technical knowledge, setting the stage for the greater challenges to come. Foi a period of experimentation and constant learning, where each project contributed to improving the group’s skills.
The timeline of STR Brasil modification work stretches back to the 1990s, demonstrating the group’s vast experience. In 2000, the team began the first dubbing of Silent Hill, for PS1, a project that took three years to complete. Paralelamente, worked on adaptations of other titles, such as Ultraman and Tekken 3, which received a Brazilian soundtrack and dubbed narration, highlighting the team’s versatility. The dubbing of Resident Evil 1, released in 2004, was the first work officially under the name STR Brasil. With the growth of the team after Resident Evil, new opportunities arose, allowing the exploration of the PS2 and the dubbing of Shadow of the Colossus, a milestone in the history of national fandubbing.
The dubbing saga of God of War
Dubbing for God of War began shortly after work on Shadow of the Colossus. In 2013, a demo version was released, and quickly gained popularity among players, generating great expectations for the full version. However, the project faced serious obstacles, including a catastrophic hard drive failure that nearly resulted in the total loss of recorded content. The team’s perseverance was crucial in overcoming this adversity and rescuing the work.
The full dub version of God of War was officially released in 2018, consolidating STR Games’s recognition. Mais recently, in February 2026, a significant update was made available. Esta new version brought audio improvements and, notably, included a mode with profanity censorship. J.Junior commented on the update, highlighting that “Even children can play”, expanding the audience that can enjoy the dubbed version.
The improvised cast and family support
STR’s dubbing routine involved not only technical challenges, but also the need to improvise a cast. Muitas times, J.Junior assumed most of the male voices, using filters to create differences in tone between the characters. Ele often turned to family members, asking, for example, his cousins to record some lines, which contributed to the vocal diversity of the projects.
A name that stood out in the fandubbing credits was “Terezinha”, J.Junior’s mother. With remarkable frequency, she actively participated in game adaptations into Brazilian Portuguese, lending her voice to several characters. Sua contribution was valuable to the group’s work, adding a unique and personal layer to the productions.
Terezinha gave her voice to important characters in titles such as Silent Hill, Resident Evil and, in God of War, she played the powerful Gaia. J.Junior explained the collaboration: “We brought her to vary her voice with the other voice actress, Vera, who performed Atena”, demonstrating the concern with enriching the vocal cast. Atualmente At 75 years old, Terezinha no longer dubs, but her legacy in Brazilian gamer culture is undeniable, and she proudly follows her son’s work, following the live broadcasts and celebrating the recognition.
The challenges of the Kratos voice actor
One of the most curious aspects of STR Games’s dubbing is Kratos’s tone of voice. Diferente of the original PS2 character, who is known for his thunderous screams, J.Junior’s interpretation is noticeably more restrained. Essa peculiarity has a practical and very human explanation, revealing the conditions under which the work was carried out and the necessary improvisations.
J.Junior shared that he recorded all the lines for the game over a period of approximately 15 days, in a time of intense routine. Devido To this, the recording sessions were carried out exclusively at night, with the constant concern of not waking up the other residents of the house. Essa limitation prevented him from shouting, forcing him to adapt his interpretation to a softer and more controlled tone.
He described his routine: “I would arrive at night, take a shower, have dinner, watch something and then go record.” Essa description illustrates the effort and dedication required to produce dubbing, even with the restrictions imposed by the domestic environment. The voice actor highlighted that Kratos’s original lines are almost always shouted or full of curses, which made the challenge of adapting the interpretation even greater.
Despite the restraint in the recording, J.Junior and the technical team had planned that Kratos’s voice would be improved in the editing, with the application of filters to differentiate her from other characters. Contudo, post-production was not enough to achieve the strident sound expected for the god of war. Mesmo Thus, this unexpected feature ended up contributing to the dubbing going viral on the internet, making it even more memorable. J.Junior comments that, although he doesn’t follow social media intensely, he notices the “fever” around the work, hoping that the meme’s wave of success will be temporary.
Legality and the “fan to fan” philosophy
Despite the improvised nature of the production, the STR Games team has always shown great concern regarding the distribution of the content, seeking to avoid legal problems with companies like Sony. J.Junior explained that they learned from “masters” from old forums from the 90s, who guided them on best practices for dealing with these situations, ensuring that the work remained within the bounds of legality and respect for copyright.
Modifications are distributed through patches, which are added as extra content to the original games. J.Junior emphasized that “The player needs to have the original content to apply”, ensuring that fan dubbing does not replace or distribute illegal copies of the games. The modifications are made available on a blog and published on social networks, in addition to an exclusive group on Discord, where the community organizes itself. Contudo, on the internet, it is common for some users to integrate modifications into pirated ROMs, but the voice actor reiterates that STR Brasil has no connection with this illegal distribution, maintaining its working pact “from fan to fan, non-profit” signed since the 90s.
The future of fandubbing and the legacy of Junior
The gaming industry has undergone significant transformations since the early 1990s. Atualmente, major titles now have professional dubbing in Brazilian Portuguese, and gaming platforms have become more restricted, which has impacted STR’s work pace The team has been producing a smaller number of dubs, and one of its most recent projects, carried out the previous year, involved a patch in collaboration with streamers.
Despite the slowdown in large-scale productions, the team’s Discord group remains very active, attracting new modding and fandubbing enthusiasts. Technical work remains ongoing, and the team promises news for PS2 game fans soon. Quanto to J.Junior, he continues to encourage the new generation of voice actors, although he is increasingly removed from voice work. Questionado about a game he dreamed of dubbing, Junior didn’t hesitate to mention Legacy of Kain: Defiance, a desire that would close a cycle of more than two decades of dedication to dubbing. Curiosamente, a remastered version of this title, with voices in Brazilian Portuguese, is scheduled for March 3, leaving expectations about the approval of the “Brazilian Kratos” for the localization work done by Crys.
