If you liked this video, check out the project I made on the NEW Saints Row 2022 Reboot... Safe to say I wasn't best pleased ruclips.net/video/AVbqCLLXr5A/видео.html
I didn't care about the craziness I cared about the lack of content compared to 1 or 2. SR2's map was so good. It varied so much. Every block or so was a different neighborhhod. Not to mention the underground mall and the river throiugh the caves whatever it was.
From a multiplayer point SR1 is so goated. TDM in the parking garage with the floating car glitch 😂. Bling my ride was fire. And capture the pimp was so good lol.
Don’t hold your breath. Someone apparently found multiple interviews of Volition basically disowning SR1 and 2. With the remaster of 3 and the new game, I don’t think it’s entirely wrong
Played it on Switch recently cuz it was like $10. I thought “oh boy! SR3 was perfect Saints”, and I hadn’t played it since it first came out but remembered it being good. After Gat dies OFF SCREEN, the vehicles become obsolete, there weren’t any fun activities, the gangs were lame as shit, and didn’t feel “right”. 20% through I said “this isn’t a good game” even though I hated to admit it. The Switch version had all DLC. They were A FUCKING JOKE! I’m WAY more pissed about 3 and 4 and the DLC I am at the remake. That’s why I don’t get people saying “they betrayed our feelings” because THEY didn’t show THEMSELVES as gangsters. So entitled... They were NEVER on our side! WE allowed this to happen by supporting their incompetence and psychotic need for profits and mass appeal. The GTA trilogy I’ll get because I’ve only ever play 4, 5, and SOME of Vice City. They updated graphics, gameplay, and added some new stuff. There’s not a lot of ways to play them because they are old. If we had a “Saints Row Trilogy” that did those things, I think it would be GREAT!
"there's nothing rememberable" I don't know, I think the mission where you parachute into the penthouse while Kanye west is playing is pretty rememberable.
3 and 4 definitely won't be for everyone but I have nearly as many fond memories of 3 as I do with 2, I loved the new characters, the new tools, the gangs were weird and varied, fighting stag was great, there was a zombie outbreak
18:45 if we look at it, Johnny kept his word. Technically he didn't kill him at Aisha's funeral. He just buried him alive. He probably died later, after the funeral.
They killed Johnny in SR3 to let us know that the old saints row was gone. Shaudi was different, pierce was different, boss was different, gat was the same, which is why he had to go.
I was okay with the change in Pierce. I didn’t like him too much in SR2 but I did prefer him in SR3. And Shaundi was the opposite. Liked her in 2, absolutely hated her in SR3. I think with Pierce, it seemed like a natural progression for the character to me. Maybe I’m alone in that thought though.
now that you mentioned it, i feel like Johnny could be used as a meta-insert of the fanbase, specifically near the start of the game when he basically points out how the saints aren't really the saints anymore, they went from being a bunch of gangsters to idols and moviestars and shit. Basically just calling out how everything is different (in story is obviously him being like "yo, tf, when did we sell out" but from a meta point it could be the fans going "yo, wtf, why is it so different?" whether it was intentional or not, who knows, probably not. but interesting none the less
@@mark9960 Word. Troy keeps the boss alive and even is an unlockable homie. I'm not sure what it says about Troy. Either he still feels a sense of loyalty to the Saints and the boss or he really hates Dane Vogel and Ultor and believed Stilwater was better under a purple thumb than a corporate one.
Johnny's lines about selling out the saints to become corporate in SRTT hit me more because it's exactly and explicitly why the new saints are being formed and what I felt lost me about the old saints in the 3 & 4
Hey reece, hope your doin great in your life. This is just my opinion but i think... i think that with the reboot dispite its questionable and controversial characters with the story there heading in the same direction, at least so far at what i saw with the gameplay, but will see how it will go once it comes out on August 2022
Yeahh true they might be heading back to the old ways but they only doing it bcz they ruined it with 4 and had no ideas left doubt it still be like saints row one and two
The reason Saints Row 3 is “always night” is because there’s no day/night cycle. It changes whenever you reload the game, finish an activity or die. Given that the game runs out of content quickly, and becomes very easy, it’s mostly just going to stay one time of day.
I remember there being an issue where this can also soft-lock you out of progression for one of the side activities too. Might have been hitman or something where the activity target would only spawn at a certain time of day, or something like that. I haven't played SR3 in years, but I remember being pissed that I had to roll back to an earlier save on my completionist playthrough to get around this. lol
I'd kill for a Saints Row 2 remaster. Like a proper remaster with love put into it. And it can think saint's row the third for in a roundabout way, meeting my core friend group now.
SR2 is the best out of the series. Perfect balance of serious and ridiculousness. The characters were serious in a ridiculous world. Love the ending line, “this city is ours. We can do whatever the fuck we want”. Also love the crossover between SR2 and Red Faction Guerilla, one of my other favorite games of all time.
@@zeehero7280Nah 2 was much better story wise where people actually died and the deaths actually meant something. Seeing Carlos died hurted much more than having Shaundi randomly die in the alt ending of 3
I think what makes SR unique is having a consistent character in The Boss, who is also completely customizable, which is a thing not many other game series do. Either it's a silent protagonist like Fable (or indeed SR1), a character whose personality you can choose in Dragon Age or Mass Effect or a chosen character for you like The Witcher. But The Boss seems to stand out from them as being both completely customizable in appearance and voice yet still having one set of character traits that unites all those different versions without it feeling jarring or out of place. (Some of the more wacky abuses of the character creation system notwithstanding lol.)
I think its because the boss reacts to everything in the most extreme way most of us probably would to everything but cant because real life . Like we would all love to bottle a person who annoys us but we cant for obvious reasons 😂 im pretty sure this aspect is gonna be missed in the reboot
Player customization don't maintain a franchise on the map for years. Its like saying tetris appeal is the colors on the pieces, its not but yeah is a cool aspect.
I have one memerable moment from Saints Row the Third, that one mission early on where you skydive out of a helicopter into one of the other gangs safehouses to take over during a big party while Kayne West's "Power" plays. Shit gave my 13 year old self chills
why is everyone bringing that up? it's literally beginning of the game and the song fucking sucks say something like "yeah we blew up aircraft carrier" or "we blew up a city monument" or WE FUCKING WON MURDERBRAWL MATCH AGAINST IT'S CHAMPION those are achievements not a fucking sky dive into a penthouse
@@ryszakowy literally all your opinion. Just like it’s many other peoples opinion that the mission was fun why does it bother you so much other people liked that mission?
One of my favorite/most memorable moments was in Saints Row 2 where you drove around a residential area in a septic truck spraying crap on people's houses. I was laughing so much. Good times.
I grew up with 1 and 2. 2 personally is my favourite by far, it was such a great game, like you said, the moment with Carlos is one of the best in the series, even the "death" of Johnny didn't top it and I love his character. It was unforgiving and brutal, funny and stupid, blended perfectly into a game.
There’s something else that I feel is often overlooked in the SR franchise: mission/cutscene replaying. SR2 (maybe 1 also, I never played it so I don’t know) allowing you to replay missions and cutscenes to your heart’s content, with your current character no less, allows for so much more longevity in the game, letting you simply enjoy all the parts that you loved without the fat. Pretty much every other game in the genre demands that you replay the whole thing to see everything again, which isn’t always bad, but sometimes you just want to watch that one badass cutscene with a more fitting character, you know? I think that was the most jarring thing missing from SR3 and 4 for me.
Absolutely. I realized this recently. Why have all the character customization if you can't replay missions? Makes no sense. Hopefully this changes with the reboot.
People said it was competing too much with gta but I thought they were totally different! Saints row was all about customisation and it was a big selling point! Certainly for me, I loved being able to choose who my character was and what they wore and how they acted. GTA, the character is already fully written out and all out of your control. People who say they couldn’t have carried on in that direction are so wrong. At the time as a young kid I preferred it to gta iv! I was 10 at the tjme and it suited me more back then. If they’d have upped the game mechanics, map size and story size… it would still be a great game. They never needed divert so hard into another direction to stop all the stupid comments about gta
@@Jwallworth to be fair i feel like most people who played both can look back now and clearly see the differences. its just back then not a lot of open world games existed, let alone urban third person gang shooters. So in that sense, the base formula/foundation for saints and GTA was/is the same. But as im sure you know, story wise (along with just how it tells the story, any humor it has, etc) is vastly different from each other, the world is fairly different, etc like literally the only way they're the same is because its an open world gang shooter lol and then of course as the games went on they became more distinct, in saints row's case it seems to be a consensus that it was for the worse
I miss 1 and 2, back when they had one foot in realism. The rest of them feel like over the top spin offs DLCs, like a Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon or something
7:35 The world of Stilwater was heavily inspired by Detroit and Chicago, it's been stated in past livestreams by the devs and they say that Stilwater is located in Michigan. I've lived in metro Detroit my whole life and there's a lot of places you can tell where the Detroit inspiration came from, such as Saints Row and the Red Light District, which looks just like Joy Road. Even the radio stations are based on real life Detroit radio stations. 89 Gen X, the alt rock station, is based on the now defunct 89x that played alt rock, 95.4 Krhyme, the rap station, is based on the real life 95.5 that plays rap, 106.6 The Krunch, the metal station, is based on 101.1 The Wriff that plays metal, etc. A lot of small details that just scream Detroit.
I'm pretty late to the party but I low-key love your interpretation of what the theme of SRR could be. It'd be pretty fitting too since those Saints do seem to err on the younger side and it probably takes place in a pretty modern setting. Also I just wanna say it's cool that you didn't use this as a chance to take some cheap pot shot at the game.
In the new one, Im hoping the characters start off soft and thinking their gonna breeze through this without needing to act like a gangster but as they go they have to wake up with brutal events and harsh realities of crime. Kinda like in Far Cry 3 how the protagonist starts off as a soft party guy and ends as a brutal killing machine without thought but more gangster in SR reboot
Yeah im with you there, like....really dark, but one of their families gets killed and you witness them just become a true, dark gangster type figure and they realise that gang life isn't a joke, so they stop treating it like one
2 and 4 are the only ones I played (and owned) and I love both. To me SR1 just seems like a more basic version of 2 and 3 seems like a more basic version of 4 so I never bothered playing 1 and 3
SR and SR2 had this real gang feel that a street dude like me appreciated. Especially after playing games like san andreas. But SR3 is when shit got weird to me. It went from a real gang street game to some kind of sci-fi game. I never beat SR3 and that was the last saints row i played.
For SR1&2, they consulted actual gang members (former and current) for insight into behavior, posturing, phrasing, and methodology. Every step was taken completely seriously, which is why the silly things they added resonated all the better.
SR4 - Has super powers... ahem yea, dev team said powers were -turn up run speed (no new animations) add effect under -increase jump power -blast atta-COUGH grenades -flying, increase gravity on fall
love the cockney voice shout out. that's the voice i've always used because the performance is soooo good. they even make minor changes to the wording of the main character's lines that really enhance the humor they're going for
I remember when Saints Row the 3rd came out. A Volition employee said something like "Saints Row 2 did alot of things but didn't do anything really good" so that's why SR The 3rd had less content. That was my biggest problem with 3. I liked the game alot but it felt like it had alot less than SR 1 & 2. I remember SR 2 if you drove 1 block there would be a different neighborhood. Drive another block another different neighborhood. I didn't care that everything wasn't fined tuned and polished. The amount of content and thoings to do is what I loved.
The last mission with I Need a Hero was damn memorable. Also the carrier mission as well as the skydiving mission many have mentioned. As well as the mission where you become code. Saint Row 3 was fun and wacky. Could’ve been a bit more serious but it was still fun with memorable, entertaining moments
My head canon is that after a few years of the saints being on top the world around them became more chaotic as a result. With no one to test them, they fell in to the silliness as it allows for more appeal to the masses. The boss in saints row 3 is the same from 2 but older and more complacent, SR4 boss is a return to form as it showed his SR2 self was always under the surface
I played the heck outta SR3 there were great moments. The opening mission, falling on a giant Boulder through a building, the plane crash, the purple bat, Stagg, the cosplay, the sheer ridiculous energy was fun like ZOMBIES?!
This is brilliant When they announced the third was announce for remaster, they messed up by not doing number 2 And now with the relaunch, I have very low expectations
The sheer emotional roller coaster that came from playing through SR2 made me long for the older games and even though I didn’t play through the first game, I found those to be the best even though my introduction was Saints Row the Third. I honestly felt the gut punch of Carlos’s death, and the enjoyment I got from killing Jessica was real. The fleshed out characters and the beautiful world is something I still revisit to this day and I long for it’s comeback.
My first exposure to Saints Row was SRTT, so my entire perception of Saints Row is centered around chaos and disorder. I still have to try Saints Row 1 and 2.
Well good luck on playing those 2 games. It's a blast I assure you. It has its wacky moments,but it's still feel grounded in reality. Both from the dark ascept to the character ascept as well. 😊 Also if you have a XBOX360,then play Saints Row 1 on that,since that was *LITERALLY* the only time where that game can be played. But for SR2,that game is played on XBOX360,PS3,and PC. 😊
The Third is when they realized GTA is super serious now and there was a lane open for a wackier game. Then they wrote themselves into a corner with 4. And they finally ran out of ideas with Gat Out of Hell.
SR3 and SR2 are not really comparable - SR3 is a fun game, there are some memorable gameplay moments and it’s just excellent goofy fun with a friend. SR2 is a well-written crime drama. In my opinion the gameplay isn’t as strong, but it more than makes up for it with the writing and characters. They’re targeting different audiences and it’s upsetting knowing that they could have just focused on creating a SR game that has both gameplay and story as key focuses.
when I used to watch my brother play saints row 1 then 2 and then 3, I instantly fell in love with these games. I always felt like we were the only people on the planet who knew what these games were alongside the friends who I got into it. Its amazing to see that there are more people out there who loved these classic games and feel the same love I have for these games
I played SR4 at the tender age of 17, and it was the first game I ever played that had pop culture references that didn't make me feel condescended to. Maybe it's just me, but SR4 really felt like it was made by actual people who knew what they were writing about and not a room full of 50-somethings who had to google what a furry was.
@@TwighlightLugia That's exactly it. If anything it probably inspired you to learn what some of the stuff they were referring to was, as you said, without making you feel dumb for not "just knowing". Some of the references in that game were so subtle, it was really something else. I don't get what happened with this new game, but as far as "IV" goes, it's amazing.
28:30 this is why I purposely chose the "bad ending" on my first playthrough, it felt right that the boss would get so caught up in revenge that he let maybe his most loyal lieutenant die just so he could take down his nemesis
I was so angry at Gat Out of Hell. It really, really seemed like it wanted to be a full-blown sequel, but it just didn't go all the way. I couldn't be my Boss! All throughout the revamped series I'd been wanting to give my Boss angel wings, and what happens? They remove customization entirely and make Gat the main character! And since when is Kinzie one of the heavy hitter street fighters?? So the character I've been building and playing all this time sits out the climax of the whole series, reduced to a damsel in distress! Sheesh. Should've stayed in development longer. As it stands, it was a half-assed product. Half of a beautiful ass, but still just half.
As an old fan of Saints row i have to say that you are right about "its their time now" part. Yes we wanted to go back to roots and they didnt do it, they want to make this game for younger people. At this point all i can wish is the best for the new fans. And for us, i know its bad news for us but at least we know that they never going to make another street crime gang game like sr1 and 2 again and we dont have to wait anymore . Its our time to say good bye to this franchise and move away from empty expectations , dreams.
@@duvaughnkelly6947 The Snowflakes who gets offended by everything and expect royalty while hoping that everyone agrees with their shitty opinions while *"punishing"* of those who disagrees or has a different and genuine opinion.... Like a totalitarian dictator. 😂
@@duvaughnkelly6947 Simple: Money. They think that pleasing the loud-mouthed Snowflakes that are pushing an agenda would make them *TONS* of money,but they're gonna suffer in the long run.
@@drawnborn5896 its honestly kinda funny how many times this kind of thing has happened(with so many franchises),the famous "reboot to try to modernize and reach a wider demographic" it fails almost every time but it keeps hapening
All I know is if this new one flops then they will have to do something to get their audience back, maybe bring back all of the characters from the old games?
SR1 and SR2 both have a day and night cycle, but SR3's "day and night" are static and change as you do missions/activities. If you don't do missions or activities, the time of day doesn't change.
There is quiet a few remarkable missions in SR 3: 1. When you escape the morningstar plane and falling to Steelport 2. The one when you take over morningstar mansion with Kenya West banger 3. Kill-Deckers.EXE 4. Both final mission are pretty memorable 5. Philip Loren kill with a giant ball and Oleg rescue 6. Mission when you have to fly to a STAG plane, enter it and then ending up falling in a tank and creating a zombie outbreak 7. The mission when you fight a Killbane and A CHAINSAW! WHAT THE F***?! 8. And how could you possibly not remember a ride on BDSM-carriages that EXPLODES when shot? I also myself really like SR 3 but I guess I can't be objective because it was literally one of my first games that I've played so it's nostalgic for me.
Dude, fantastic retrospective on a series I don't feel gets a solid look at anymore. Not in terms of being ignored; Just in terms of not gettin' a real solid analysis of what works, what changes, and what doesn't yet here ya are doing just that last year. As a huge Saints fan, much appreciated. 2 will always remain my all time favorite for the series due to its balance between silly fun and having the foresight to include serious, character driven moments. Really like some of the lines you've written to describe that phenomenon: Things like "The story you're following is serious, but the world you live in is ridiculous" But I ain't gonna ramble ya off. Ace stuff. Great take on 3's lacking parts. Enjoyed hearing someone who really enjoyed 4's adjustments since my take was always "It's fun... but it's lacking." Hearing another person's take, however different, is genuinely a joy and prompts me to revisit it again with a more open mind to enjoy more of it :) Great stuff.
Can confirm, SR1 multiplayer was fantastic. Buggy and glitchy AF.. but fantastic. There were two stand-out game modes, Blinged-out Ride (personal favorite) and Protect the Pimp. Both were ultra enjoyable. Some of my best gaming memories came from B-O R. Its multi wasn't as popular as say Gears of War at the time.. but there were plenty people playing it that you weren't running into the same people very often. It died off after about 2 and a half, 3 years
Zinyak is easily one of my favourite villains in gaming. He was actually a threat to the boss unlike other villains where we just mowed them down like they were nothing in the story.
You can't be for real? Zinyak was painfully easy to kill at the end I rlly didn't feel like he was much of a villain? I Mena he's huge but our character easily pummels him 🤣 I mean idk I like the 4th game I ain't hating I just see it as a seperate game. Better if it's not associated with the actual franchise. Hate 3 tho 😵💫😵💫
@@deckardtate1309 I'm not talking about his final fight lol I mean his voice actor and his performance was really good and he had a lot of good lines through game. Plus he comes in at the start of the game and absolutely destroys the Saints and well the World. He got W's atleast in the plot
@@MistahJay7 ohh yeah nah I agree honestly !! The end fight was lackluster but overall he was a really cool villian ,, way more memorable than the villains in 3 imo (if you can't tell I have a vendetta against the 3rd game haha)
thank you so much for making this!! It was really awesome to watch an elaborate and insightful exploration of the series history. You put a lot of my own personal experiences into words where I couldnt, and you did it beautifully.
Even as a mega fan of Saints 3, I can't deny saints 2 really balances it's tone the best out of all the games. I understand why everyone wants SRR to follow in the footsteps of 2, and I really hope 2 gets its PC port fixed
i played all of them (never finished the first) and I like them all but I think sr2 was probably the best balance of tone i also love that it sets the saints in the same universe as red faction and with the aquisition of ultor and being basically space prince at the end of 4 all leads be to beiive that the saints are personally responsible for the human rights and labor violations committed on mars
SR2 is the best but tbh I think SR4 is better than SR3 cause the super powers and weapons were super addicting to play with. Not only that but seeing past characters return and seeing how they interact with other character was amusing. Just have Kieth David and Julius follow you and they’ll have a funny interaction
Ahh seeing that head rip of Zinyac (spelling whatever) reminded me how I had it glitch and the head stayed through the whole credits, it was pretty funny
Sr3 was my first video game love affair. 9 year old me playing on the ps3 in my dads living room on Sunday mornings with my step brothers. I definitely have a soft spot for it. Looking back, there are some problems but it was just SO MUCH FUN!!!!! That's why I'll always love it. The fact that I played that game first has left me distinctly underwhelmed by one aspect of SR2: Pierce Washington. When I played SR3, Pierce was instantly my favourite character, and when I first saw him in SR2 on a RUclips video I almost cried. Pierce's transformation is one of the few changes in SR3 that was seen as an improvement by pretty much everyone. As for SR3, I do think the story needed work and the characters and their relationships with the Boss were shallow and/or inconsistent. The most obvious point is when Angel pursues Killbane and the Boss is clearly really concerned about Angel. Where did that sudden closeness come from? It wouldn't have been so bad even if the two seemed to connect more in the wrestling match. The Boss also didn't seem appreciative of Oleg when he could've been, and Viola had so mucj potential to be similar and different to Shaundi which could've made her very interesting. It was a good idea to add 2 more female characters at first. However, Viola wasn't explored enough and she didn't exactly get her revenge on Killbane since she wasn't in the Luchadore storyline, coming to blows with the Boss and Angel (that would've been sick). I have nothing to say about how they could've improve Kinzie in SR3 because she was just empty, but I love her in the next game. Zimos was funny but only funny and needed work too, but when you're 9 a guy who always talks musically and says "Lotta pussy on that thang" is the best thing ever. All the new Saints except for Kinzie were killed off in SR4, which actually upset me after I'd finished the game, because the "newer" (new to me) intense relationships left me wondering what might've been with the other 4. They could've been as iconic as Kinzie. That was the allies. Now for the enemies. Philippe's death needn't change much. The saints blow up the building (removing the choice to take it over) and Philippe is at the Boss's mercy where the Boss finishes him off in some form of sheer brutality. Matt should've been left alive. The Boss remembers how Johnny thinks the Saints have sunk, and doesn't think an utterly defeated punk kid with a laptop is worth his time (that's my view). It could also help improve the Boss's relationship with Kinzie. I don't quite know how I want Killbane to end because he was entwined with STAG and Cyrus needs to be kept alive because the opening to SR4 was amazing. In my idealised SR3, someone takes over the Morningstar (preferably a hubristic man) and he's the one who isn't spared. Viola scoffs at how he tried to run things and the Boss, having little animosity towards him to start with, just pops him the Stillwater way. The ultimate ending would be STAG removed by the government (basically identical to the actual game), not sure about Killbane, Matt Miller is left to fester in his misery and squalor so he can return in SR4, the Morningstar usurper is dead, and all the other Saints are alive. No one needs to die to add to the story. Johnny is dead, and that has shaped all the Boss's choices in Steelport. He's taken over another Metropolis and brought the Saints back to their approach of do what they want and never give a fuck about anyone else. The Boss has new, different friends (whose improvements I've already mentioned). He and Pierce are now closer than ever, and Shaundi is happier than she was in the real game, but still changed by Johnny's death so it seems meaningful. And that is MY SR3. I realise some bits are missing. Could Josh Birk have played a greater role? But I've already typed a novella in this comment so I'll leave it there. Congratulations on having the patience to read all this waffle about my opinion.
I gotta say this retrospective is something I'm eager watch I'm a fan of 1 yet I can't get it due to not owning a working Xbox of any kind. 2 was my first taste and I loved saints row 2 me and my buddy played through the whole story it was a blast and doing the tasks together made the game so much more memorable. I hope the reboot does the same and I can also understand why people were on the fence due to voltions terrible marketing around the time. I'll be watching this today and probably leaving it a like soon :D
You're actually awesome for making this. I remember as a kid seeing the Kanye West trailer for Saint's Row The Third and thinking it was the coolest thing ever. But I was never allowed to play SR or GTA (I had to smuggle GTAV basically lol). But the cartoony weirdness of 4 and 3 kinda turned me off as I got older. You make 1 and 2 sound awesome as hell lol I'm sold on them. And based on this vid, I might understand 3 and 4 better after playing the first 2
To be fair about Matt Miller, it was established that he was supposed to be a teenager and because he wasn't all that threatening, I suppose the Boss didn't take him that seriously and probably wouldn't resort to killing someone underage. As for Killbane, I don't think that was actually him on the movie set, but rather an actor playing him.
They could have done it in a way so that the Boss wouldn't seem like they will listen to anything. Sure Matt is harmless at that point but he's still a gang leader who has obviously killed people and is as dangerous as anyone else
@@buldockschannel1528 But killing a child, not sure if that would sit well among some people. Then again, I personally felt that some stuff from the second game went a little too far.
@@emanuelespinoza9325 I mean the Boss had no problem putting Shogo in the ground, literally. It's gruesome but he had it coming. If the game has problem with killing minors then just make Matt older. It didn't make sense narratively given how psychopathic the Boss was established
@@buldockschannel1528 Just going to say this once. One, most of the stuff with Shogo was on Johnny. Sure, the Boss took part in burying him, but the beating Shogo took was from Johnny. If you see the cutscene, the Boss turns around. That bit could be interpreted in different ways. The other thing that I want to say is that by the time the third game, because it was a few years after, it's possible, if likely that the Boss had loosened up a bit and wasn't as sadistic as before.
@@LazerzZ no hard feelings, look I love the video, and 2 is my favorite but idk, the set pieces in 3 are so cool despite the story itself not being very strong, I’m not tryna change your opinion I’m just sayin
I grew up on SR3 and SR4. So they have a special place in me. I also love SR2 but SR3 will always be my favorite and hold some of my most favorite gaming memories
Due to nostalgic value and offering great memories to me, saints row 3 forever will be one of my favourite games. I loved its over the top violence and humour, for me it was refreshing to play as it felt lighthearted. I have not played 1 or 2, I have played 4 and didn’t even get half way through as it was not for me. However, saints row 2 looks so good to me. I am looking forward to playing it a lot. I feel like 3 missed out a lot on Charecter development.
Saints Row and SR2 were epic. The rest of the entries were ... maybe the Boss ate a bad burrito? I had fun with them, but they weren't quintessential Saints Row. Remastered 3 was nice, but I keep hoping for a remastered SR2 (or even an SR 1/2 combo). As for the new millennial version... Form a gang to pay off student debt? Shades of Let's Go Brandon. I'll pass.
Saints Row 2 & 3 were my favorite. SR 1 was good and SR4 was just so over the top. Overall I still enjoyed them all. I like Saints Row more than GTA. I’m on the fence with this new Saints Row since they said it’s toned down.
Have to disagree on you saying that Steelport felt more alive compared to Stilwater in 1 and 2. I would say it was exactly the other way around, the NPCs in 1 and especially 2 behaved in a way that was much more realistic, diverse and fun than what they did in The Third. Also, pretty much every area in Steelport felt exactly the same with very little to do and explore. Stilwater was the exact opposite again, with every block feeling different and there being little details on every corner.
I've never played a saints game, I've never felt intruiged by "funny" games that don't take themselves seriously. But this video was awesome, and has made me want to play it. Very great video 👍
Saints row 1 and 2 have humor comparable to GTA games, but are a tiny bit more serious in many aspects and a tiny bit less serious in other aspects. 3 and 4 are straight up silly and comedic 24-7 though
Sorry, I feel like I may have said this wrong, I wouldn't usually feel interested by this because of how ubisoft makes their games. But after this video, I have played saints row 1 and am enjoying 2 aswell 😄 not sure why that upset so many people wtf 😄
Thank you SO MUCH LazerzZ for giving SR4 the merits that it deserves. It has it's flaws, yes, but it's a genuinely compelling game with a good story with well written characters and fun as hell superhero gameplay. Is it a "true saints row game"? Not quite but it has the dna in it's bones and feels like a love letter to the franchise to me but also attempting to be it's own thing. Would I want them to try this ever again? NO. Unless it was a spin-off and not a mainline game. But yeah. SR4 I adore almost as much as SR2. I get why people aren't for it, yes. It's incredibly jarring. But the execution of the craziness while also taking itself seriously is what set it apart from 3. Thanks again LazerzZ for shining a light on a game I very much feel is underappreciated.
saints row 2 is still my favorite game in the series. It came out at tough time in my life. I was in my senior year of college and extremely stressed and it just hit the spot perfectly. I remember countless weekends and evenings playing co-op with one of my best friends and it helped me clear my head and deal with the stress. I still go back and play it from time to time. I agree i didn't like the 3rd game much my first go through but went back and gave it another go after beating 4 and enjoyed it a bit more. It still is nowhere as great as the 2nd game but giving it another chance I had more fun with it once i was able to take it for what it was.
I will never forget opening Saints Row 2 and jamming out to Gangsta Bitch on the main menu... Goodbye saints row. The latest entry is the last I will ever have hope in
Your view on what Saints Row has become is basically how I felt about the mcu. Saints Row 1 and 2 like phase 1 and 2, were good, building this universe, creating interesting stories and characters and content that fans were excited to see. And then Saints Row 3 and so on is phase 3 and especially 4, basically they just throw shit together and put it out there without a care because they know people will consume it.
Saints Row1 will forever be my personal favorite and the best, in the series despite it being the first and oldest. What it kicked off for the series was perfect.
As a player who came from third to the whole series one by one, I might say that after the second part, the movement of being original and sarcastic made the series way better, as before it was mostly called GTA clone.
4 is on that risky knifepoint of an edge. Without perfect balance you'd either fall off or be sliced in half. 4 did almost fall off and did get slightly slashed. But it hangs on. Despite all the things that should have pulled it down.
It's as if the devs don't realize why people like SR, and pushed the wacky nature of the series way too hard because they didn't want to be known as the "GTA clone" anymore.
This video is so good, I finally understand saints row properly, I always thought it was just like saints row the third, I wish that more game developers would realize that a game not being realistic doesn't mean the characters cant, if you think about it how fucking dumb are attack on titan and invincibles worlds, but you never ever feel that way because of how the characters live within them
They not only killed off Gat in Saint's Row The Third, they also killed off Shaundi. Because really, no one is ever gonna convince me that this is the same character. From semi hippie very easy going fun girl to a gun obsessed sociopath who hates everyone. The only character that holds any resemblence to their SR2 counterpart is Pierce, because even in SR2 Pierce was a comedic relief character.
Damn I always thought I was the only one who really enjoyed SR 1/2 but hated 3/4. I loved the gang dynamic and rising up in the ranks. I loved the bat shit insane dialogue alongside meaningful character development. The mini games and gimmicks were fun af. All of that unique charm was lost after sr2. If the first two were remastered for a total of $20, I’d probably buy them.
@Adrian Scott no you’re right I don’t. I played 1&2 as a young teen and then whenever 3&4 would come out I watched a few videos and skipped it. Honestly I forgot about SR till this new one was announced. And tbh I wish I didn’t know about it
I absolutely adore SR1. Then 4 is just goofy fun that leans into the genre and has SO many references and throwbacks to sci-fi (Transformers: The Movie being my favourite). Then 2 which is a really solid game. Then Gat Out of Hell, which is only okay (but flying feels fantastic). Then. SR The Third... I honestly cannot stand this game. Even when I replay the rest, I won't be touching this again. EDIT: I never seem to like transitionary titles SRTThird is transitioning from great to super cheesy, 4 is already super cheesy and leans into it. Same reason I hate Batman Forever, but love Batman & Robin. It knows exactly what it is. EDIT 2: The SRTThird remaster played like garbage for me. I had nothing but glitches and bugs CONSTANTLY.
I don't really get the hate for it over 4 personally I feel this way with 4. 3 is just enough goofy fun for me without being annoying and simple to the point of 4 but that's just me it seems, everyone else seems to feel the opposite way which is so weird imho. Since 4 took everything from 3 and dialed it up to max in an obnoxious way.
If you liked this video, check out the project I made on the NEW Saints Row 2022 Reboot... Safe to say I wasn't best pleased ruclips.net/video/AVbqCLLXr5A/видео.html
A definitive edition of saints row 1 and 2 would be nice
@@jkhk7051 agreed
saints row has always been turd, you can delete video now, cheers.
The Mini--Games makes it Completely worth getting. Um.... i have never heard of Agents of Mayhem was this even advertised?
You said the 2020 and not 2022. Nice error bozo
Saints Row 2 is definitely the best in my opinion. SR The Third was way too goofy and ridiculous for me, and 4 just went further in that direction.
I loved 1-3 with 2 being my favorite and i had fun with 4 but it just went to crazy
I didn't care about the craziness I cared about the lack of content compared to 1 or 2. SR2's map was so good. It varied so much. Every block or so was a different neighborhhod. Not to mention the underground mall and the river throiugh the caves whatever it was.
Totally agree 1&2 were the best and the third was the start of the downfall
They totally fucked themselves with Saints row 3
From a multiplayer point SR1 is so goated. TDM in the parking garage with the floating car glitch 😂. Bling my ride was fire. And capture the pimp was so good lol.
I would Love a Remaster or Remake of Saints Row 1+2. Stillwater will look Insane and Replaying 1+2 on Next Gen will look and play Incredible.
I would love a remaster where both share the same game. Like, instead of sr1 ending after the boat explosion it just picks up in the prison
Saints row 1 out of all the games deserves an remaster or remake, as it was only an Xbox exclusive
Don’t hold your breath. Someone apparently found multiple interviews of Volition basically disowning SR1 and 2. With the remaster of 3 and the new game, I don’t think it’s entirely wrong
@@q.h.s5051 - Didn't they say "they werwe embarrassed"?
Played it on Switch recently cuz it was like $10. I thought “oh boy! SR3 was perfect Saints”, and I hadn’t played it since it first came out but remembered it being good.
After Gat dies OFF SCREEN, the vehicles become obsolete, there weren’t any fun activities, the gangs were lame as shit, and didn’t feel “right”. 20% through I said “this isn’t a good game” even though I hated to admit it. The Switch version had all DLC. They were A FUCKING JOKE!
I’m WAY more pissed about 3 and 4 and the DLC I am at the remake. That’s why I don’t get people saying “they betrayed our feelings” because THEY didn’t show THEMSELVES as gangsters. So entitled...
They were NEVER on our side! WE allowed this to happen by supporting their incompetence and psychotic need for profits and mass appeal.
The GTA trilogy I’ll get because I’ve only ever play 4, 5, and SOME of Vice City. They updated graphics, gameplay, and added some new stuff. There’s not a lot of ways to play them because they are old.
If we had a “Saints Row Trilogy” that did those things, I think it would be GREAT!
"there's nothing rememberable" I don't know, I think the mission where you parachute into the penthouse while Kanye west is playing is pretty rememberable.
wow such action many emotions
i had more reactions running from STAG carrier and every plane i got near exploded
3 and 4 definitely won't be for everyone but I have nearly as many fond memories of 3 as I do with 2, I loved the new characters, the new tools, the gangs were weird and varied, fighting stag was great, there was a zombie outbreak
Amen!
Oh right, that happened. When was it because I played it 2 weeks ago but I don't remember it. Was it the part where you get the penthouse for zimos?
@@Noelfriday you take over some huge building and got the choice to keep it or blow it up it’s fault early on I think that mission was dope
18:45 if we look at it, Johnny kept his word. Technically he didn't kill him at Aisha's funeral. He just buried him alive. He probably died later, after the funeral.
Yeah duhh he was buried in a casket where he lost air
@@Slavtron shut up.
They killed Johnny in SR3 to let us know that the old saints row was gone. Shaudi was different, pierce was different, boss was different, gat was the same, which is why he had to go.
He didn’t die
I was okay with the change in Pierce. I didn’t like him too much in SR2 but I did prefer him in SR3. And Shaundi was the opposite. Liked her in 2, absolutely hated her in SR3. I think with Pierce, it seemed like a natural progression for the character to me. Maybe I’m alone in that thought though.
@@azurecobalt294 facts Pierce was GREATLY improved upon.
Been saying this Johnny was too solid to change so they took him off the board Johnny was basically a clone in sr4 cause he started liking all of it
now that you mentioned it, i feel like Johnny could be used as a meta-insert of the fanbase, specifically near the start of the game when he basically points out how the saints aren't really the saints anymore, they went from being a bunch of gangsters to idols and moviestars and shit. Basically just calling out how everything is different (in story is obviously him being like "yo, tf, when did we sell out" but from a meta point it could be the fans going "yo, wtf, why is it so different?"
whether it was intentional or not, who knows, probably not.
but interesting none the less
A great quote that came into fruition when SRTT came out: “We were just the Vice Kings that wore purple”
Even as a kid with that line stuck with me. It just makes you stop and think especially after remembering that troy is still friendly with the saints.
That was actually Julius in sr2 but I getchu lol
@@skrublordnord69 he said it in SR2, Julius was right about the boss, and it came true in SRTT
@@mark9960 Word. Troy keeps the boss alive and even is an unlockable homie. I'm not sure what it says about Troy. Either he still feels a sense of loyalty to the Saints and the boss or he really hates Dane Vogel and Ultor and believed Stilwater was better under a purple thumb than a corporate one.
Johnny's lines about selling out the saints to become corporate in SRTT hit me more because it's exactly and explicitly why the new saints are being formed and what I felt lost me about the old saints in the 3 & 4
Sants Row 2 story was just amazing. I loved the cutscenes, seeing my character killing the boss of each gang. Wish they would go back to their roots.
Hey reece, hope your doin great in your life. This is just my opinion but i think... i think that with the reboot dispite its questionable and controversial characters with the story there heading in the same direction, at least so far at what i saw with the gameplay, but will see how it will go once it comes out on August 2022
@@christiamcruz7454 thats some serious positivity in that first sentence
@@Imnotsemi thanks friend as long as the other is being that way i will treat him the same way. Respect 💕
The Boss was savage in 2. Didn't care about nothing wasn't afraid of nothing straight killer.
Yeahh true they might be heading back to the old ways but they only doing it bcz they ruined it with 4 and had no ideas left doubt it still be like saints row one and two
The reason Saints Row 3 is “always night” is because there’s no day/night cycle. It changes whenever you reload the game, finish an activity or die. Given that the game runs out of content quickly, and becomes very easy, it’s mostly just going to stay one time of day.
Yeah I remember it being daytime a lot
I remember there being an issue where this can also soft-lock you out of progression for one of the side activities too. Might have been hitman or something where the activity target would only spawn at a certain time of day, or something like that.
I haven't played SR3 in years, but I remember being pissed that I had to roll back to an earlier save on my completionist playthrough to get around this. lol
@@Iritis- danm thats rough
I'd kill for a Saints Row 2 remaster. Like a proper remaster with love put into it. And it can think saint's row the third for in a roundabout way, meeting my core friend group now.
You can get it on Xbox and PC, also PC version has cool modes.
SR2 is the best out of the series. Perfect balance of serious and ridiculousness. The characters were serious in a ridiculous world. Love the ending line, “this city is ours. We can do whatever the fuck we want”. Also love the crossover between SR2 and Red Faction Guerilla, one of my other favorite games of all time.
Also the new saints row looks like trash
Nah, SR3 was the best tone and most fun gameplay wise. SR3 shenanigans with better writing and pacing like SR2 would be best.
@@mattfarr137 Its one of those shallow propaganda outlets pretending to be a game. why it flopped so hard.
Forgot saint row 4 and 5 exists
@@zeehero7280Nah 2 was much better story wise where people actually died and the deaths actually meant something. Seeing Carlos died hurted much more than having Shaundi randomly die in the alt ending of 3
I think what makes SR unique is having a consistent character in The Boss, who is also completely customizable, which is a thing not many other game series do. Either it's a silent protagonist like Fable (or indeed SR1), a character whose personality you can choose in Dragon Age or Mass Effect or a chosen character for you like The Witcher.
But The Boss seems to stand out from them as being both completely customizable in appearance and voice yet still having one set of character traits that unites all those different versions without it feeling jarring or out of place. (Some of the more wacky abuses of the character creation system notwithstanding lol.)
I think its because the boss reacts to everything in the most extreme way most of us probably would to everything but cant because real life . Like we would all love to bottle a person who annoys us but we cant for obvious reasons 😂 im pretty sure this aspect is gonna be missed in the reboot
For me, it's the silliness over anything.
The boss is so different in SR3 and IV though
Player customization don't maintain a franchise on the map for years. Its like saying tetris appeal is the colors on the pieces, its not but yeah is a cool aspect.
Just wanted to point out that the protag in SR1 does actually speak a few times during that game.
SR2 is one of my fav games ever with one my fav cutscenes ever, the one where Gat beats up the ronin kid in the graveyard, Masterpiece of a game!
I have one memerable moment from Saints Row the Third, that one mission early on where you skydive out of a helicopter into one of the other gangs safehouses to take over during a big party while Kayne West's "Power" plays. Shit gave my 13 year old self chills
why is everyone bringing that up?
it's literally beginning of the game and the song fucking sucks
say something like
"yeah we blew up aircraft carrier"
or "we blew up a city monument"
or WE FUCKING WON MURDERBRAWL MATCH AGAINST IT'S CHAMPION
those are achievements
not a fucking sky dive into a penthouse
I agree ot sucks,ante up or go hard or go home would've been way better
@@ryszakowy literally all your opinion. Just like it’s many other peoples opinion that the mission was fun why does it bother you so much other people liked that mission?
A great moment as well as the Singing "what I got" with pierce or the "I need a hero" ending. Really anything that involved music was iconic to me
@@alexescutia4805 his insecuritys are showing lol
One of my favorite/most memorable moments was in Saints Row 2 where you drove around a residential area in a septic truck spraying crap on people's houses. I was laughing so much. Good times.
The Saints Row series is like the Fast & Furious series, it started off great, but then slowly descended into madness
I think you mean became amazing
@@SillyBanjo it preety much dropped after the 3rd one after that it wasent gang stuff just random bs
@Kevalanium nah I overall enjoyed 3 and 4 and I had the first game pretty much at launch.
@@SillyBanjo I said after 3 keep the gang stuff not the random alien bs and I’ve also been saints row since launch
1 was like gta with it's own spin on customisation 2 took side jobs to 11 from 3 onwards the story was the focus as did death rays and dildos
I grew up with 1 and 2. 2 personally is my favourite by far, it was such a great game, like you said, the moment with Carlos is one of the best in the series, even the "death" of Johnny didn't top it and I love his character. It was unforgiving and brutal, funny and stupid, blended perfectly into a game.
1 was personally my favorite but 2 was a masterpiece I just loved the story telling of the first one
SR2 is my favorite open world crime game of all time
There’s something else that I feel is often overlooked in the SR franchise: mission/cutscene replaying. SR2 (maybe 1 also, I never played it so I don’t know) allowing you to replay missions and cutscenes to your heart’s content, with your current character no less, allows for so much more longevity in the game, letting you simply enjoy all the parts that you loved without the fat. Pretty much every other game in the genre demands that you replay the whole thing to see everything again, which isn’t always bad, but sometimes you just want to watch that one badass cutscene with a more fitting character, you know? I think that was the most jarring thing missing from SR3 and 4 for me.
Absolutely. I realized this recently. Why have all the character customization if you can't replay missions? Makes no sense. Hopefully this changes with the reboot.
People said it was competing too much with gta but I thought they were totally different! Saints row was all about customisation and it was a big selling point! Certainly for me, I loved being able to choose who my character was and what they wore and how they acted. GTA, the character is already fully written out and all out of your control. People who say they couldn’t have carried on in that direction are so wrong. At the time as a young kid I preferred it to gta iv! I was 10 at the tjme and it suited me more back then. If they’d have upped the game mechanics, map size and story size… it would still be a great game. They never needed divert so hard into another direction to stop all the stupid comments about gta
@@Jwallworth You didn't really get to make them act different. You can change their voice but the dialogue would be near identical.
@@Hidden_lvl no I’m aware of that but as a child that was about 11 when those games came out, I loved messing with features like the appearance
@@Jwallworth to be fair i feel like most people who played both can look back now and clearly see the differences.
its just back then not a lot of open world games existed, let alone urban third person gang shooters.
So in that sense, the base formula/foundation for saints and GTA was/is the same. But as im sure you know, story wise (along with just how it tells the story, any humor it has, etc) is vastly different from each other, the world is fairly different, etc
like literally the only way they're the same is because its an open world gang shooter lol
and then of course as the games went on they became more distinct, in saints row's case it seems to be a consensus that it was for the worse
I miss 1 and 2, back when they had one foot in realism. The rest of them feel like over the top spin offs DLCs, like a Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon or something
7:35 The world of Stilwater was heavily inspired by Detroit and Chicago, it's been stated in past livestreams by the devs and they say that Stilwater is located in Michigan. I've lived in metro Detroit my whole life and there's a lot of places you can tell where the Detroit inspiration came from, such as Saints Row and the Red Light District, which looks just like Joy Road. Even the radio stations are based on real life Detroit radio stations. 89 Gen X, the alt rock station, is based on the now defunct 89x that played alt rock, 95.4 Krhyme, the rap station, is based on the real life 95.5 that plays rap, 106.6 The Krunch, the metal station, is based on 101.1 The Wriff that plays metal, etc. A lot of small details that just scream Detroit.
SR1: Loyalty
SR2: Revenge
SR3: Power
SR4: Introspect
SRR: Discontentment (?)
Gat Out of Hell: We're officially out of ideas.
SR: They put milk in my soy latte
I'm pretty late to the party but I low-key love your interpretation of what the theme of SRR could be. It'd be pretty fitting too since those Saints do seem to err on the younger side and it probably takes place in a pretty modern setting.
Also I just wanna say it's cool that you didn't use this as a chance to take some cheap pot shot at the game.
SRR: Student Loans
Ironically, I feel like SR went corporate and lost its edge from SRTT onwards
In the new one, Im hoping the characters start off soft and thinking their gonna breeze through this without needing to act like a gangster but as they go they have to wake up with brutal events and harsh realities of crime.
Kinda like in Far Cry 3 how the protagonist starts off as a soft party guy and ends as a brutal killing machine without thought but more gangster in SR reboot
The odds of that happening are like the chances of Ubisoft making an Assassin's Creed game that has sensible stealth and parkour. Slim to non.
@@kronosleblu888 I know that. I but that doesnt change my one last excuse for why the charcters could be okay
That would make me like the Reboot more. I am not hating the chars, though. The idea is cool and at one point they act like the "old" gang.
Yeah im with you there, like....really dark, but one of their families gets killed and you witness them just become a true, dark gangster type figure and they realise that gang life isn't a joke, so they stop treating it like one
@@TheEldritchL Exactly! Like Carlos brutal with the same sadness as Aishas death to the Ronin.
Finally someone who loves SR2 and SR4. Dude I am so happy.
🙌🏻
2 and 4 are the only ones I played (and owned) and I love both. To me SR1 just seems like a more basic version of 2 and 3 seems like a more basic version of 4 so I never bothered playing 1 and 3
@@Gameprojordan I have played all and you're right. They're still good games but 2 and 4 are on another level.
4 is very fun… but honestly if it wasn’t a saints row game (which it could’ve easily not been), I wouldn’t have been interested. I did enjoy it though
I love them both but saints row 4 is really Agent of Mayhem in my eyes
SR and SR2 had this real gang feel that a street dude like me appreciated. Especially after playing games like san andreas. But SR3 is when shit got weird to me. It went from a real gang street game to some kind of sci-fi game. I never beat SR3 and that was the last saints row i played.
Same
On god
For SR1&2, they consulted actual gang members (former and current) for insight into behavior, posturing, phrasing, and methodology. Every step was taken completely seriously, which is why the silly things they added resonated all the better.
Street dude playing video games
@@squidguard1 it happens we play gta and nba 2k and that’s about it with a lil call of duty
SR4 - Has super powers...
ahem yea, dev team said powers were
-turn up run speed (no new animations) add effect under
-increase jump power
-blast atta-COUGH grenades
-flying, increase gravity on fall
love the cockney voice shout out. that's the voice i've always used because the performance is soooo good. they even make minor changes to the wording of the main character's lines that really enhance the humor they're going for
I remember when Saints Row the 3rd came out. A Volition employee said something like "Saints Row 2 did alot of things but didn't do anything really good" so that's why SR The 3rd had less content. That was my biggest problem with 3. I liked the game alot but it felt like it had alot less than SR 1 & 2. I remember SR 2 if you drove 1 block there would be a different neighborhood. Drive another block another different neighborhood. I didn't care that everything wasn't fined tuned and polished. The amount of content and thoings to do is what I loved.
The Cockney voice for SR2 was amazing, especially because it was a great performance by Charles Shaughnessy. Shame he didn't return for future games.
The last mission with I Need a Hero was damn memorable. Also the carrier mission as well as the skydiving mission many have mentioned. As well as the mission where you become code. Saint Row 3 was fun and wacky. Could’ve been a bit more serious but it was still fun with memorable, entertaining moments
Yup
My head canon is that after a few years of the saints being on top the world around them became more chaotic as a result. With no one to test them, they fell in to the silliness as it allows for more appeal to the masses. The boss in saints row 3 is the same from 2 but older and more complacent, SR4 boss is a return to form as it showed his SR2 self was always under the surface
"some asshole is in my pool"
Yeah, agreed. Some people definitely have a hate boner for SR3 when its definitely fun and wacky, just SR in a slightly different take.
I played the heck outta SR3 there were great moments. The opening mission, falling on a giant Boulder through a building, the plane crash, the purple bat, Stagg, the cosplay, the sheer ridiculous energy was fun like ZOMBIES?!
When i was younger when SR3 first came out i thought the dildo bat was bubblegum on a stick lmao.
This is brilliant
When they announced the third was announce for remaster, they messed up by not doing number 2
And now with the relaunch, I have very low expectations
The sheer emotional roller coaster that came from playing through SR2 made me long for the older games and even though I didn’t play through the first game, I found those to be the best even though my introduction was Saints Row the Third. I honestly felt the gut punch of Carlos’s death, and the enjoyment I got from killing Jessica was real. The fleshed out characters and the beautiful world is something I still revisit to this day and I long for it’s comeback.
My first saint row was the third as well I found the second one and I was shocked at the difference
My first exposure to Saints Row was SRTT, so my entire perception of Saints Row is centered around chaos and disorder. I still have to try Saints Row 1 and 2.
Well good luck on playing those 2 games.
It's a blast I assure you. It has its wacky moments,but it's still feel grounded in reality. Both from the dark ascept to the character ascept as well. 😊
Also if you have a XBOX360,then play Saints Row 1 on that,since that was *LITERALLY* the only time where that game can be played.
But for SR2,that game is played on XBOX360,PS3,and PC. 😊
I'd highly recommend waiting for SR2's PC port update if you're on PC, as for SR1, there's Xenia
@@drawnborn5896 sr2 can be bought on the Xbox 1 for 5 bucks
The Third is when they realized GTA is super serious now and there was a lane open for a wackier game. Then they wrote themselves into a corner with 4. And they finally ran out of ideas with Gat Out of Hell.
I started with 3 then 4 and later played 1 then 2 and honestly playing 2 just makes me disappointed with 3 story wise years later
SR3 and SR2 are not really comparable - SR3 is a fun game, there are some memorable gameplay moments and it’s just excellent goofy fun with a friend. SR2 is a well-written crime drama. In my opinion the gameplay isn’t as strong, but it more than makes up for it with the writing and characters. They’re targeting different audiences and it’s upsetting knowing that they could have just focused on creating a SR game that has both gameplay and story as key focuses.
when I used to watch my brother play saints row 1 then 2 and then 3, I instantly fell in love with these games. I always felt like we were the only people on the planet who knew what these games were alongside the friends who I got into it. Its amazing to see that there are more people out there who loved these classic games and feel the same love I have for these games
I would really like to see you do a mafia retrospective the first two games are my favorite crime sims ever
Gat saying "occam's razor" in Gat out of hell made me laugh uncontrollably.
James. James. James you know why.
They seriously need to remaster SR2, it's so poorly optimized on PC 😣 seriously miss that game
I'm gen x, and SR4 really felt like a love letter to that generation. My friends and I were even rather moved at a few parts.
I played SR4 at the tender age of 17, and it was the first game I ever played that had pop culture references that didn't make me feel condescended to. Maybe it's just me, but SR4 really felt like it was made by actual people who knew what they were writing about and not a room full of 50-somethings who had to google what a furry was.
@@TwighlightLugia That's exactly it. If anything it probably inspired you to learn what some of the stuff they were referring to was, as you said, without making you feel dumb for not "just knowing". Some of the references in that game were so subtle, it was really something else. I don't get what happened with this new game, but as far as "IV" goes, it's amazing.
@@TwighlightLugia of all the modern things to be referenced, why would you mention those sick people
My guy sr4 was the worse of them all nothing beats sr1 and 2
@@israelsanchez1017 OK, I concede to your infinite wisdom.
28:30 this is why I purposely chose the "bad ending" on my first playthrough, it felt right that the boss would get so caught up in revenge that he let maybe his most loyal lieutenant die just so he could take down his nemesis
Saints Row 2 = Most fun PS3 game ever
Maybe top 30.
It's better on the 360 😜
@@MrSjc1220 nope
@@ElonTusk. yep x 10
@@MrSjc1220 pc master race😉
I was so angry at Gat Out of Hell. It really, really seemed like it wanted to be a full-blown sequel, but it just didn't go all the way. I couldn't be my Boss! All throughout the revamped series I'd been wanting to give my Boss angel wings, and what happens? They remove customization entirely and make Gat the main character! And since when is Kinzie one of the heavy hitter street fighters?? So the character I've been building and playing all this time sits out the climax of the whole series, reduced to a damsel in distress! Sheesh. Should've stayed in development longer. As it stands, it was a half-assed product. Half of a beautiful ass, but still just half.
Gat out of hell should have been a Dante's inferno parody where the boss descends into hell to save him if they wanted to do a concept like that.
No joke, when I finished the main story of Gat Out of Hell, I said to myself out loud, "Wait, is that it?"
As an old fan of Saints row i have to say that you are right about "its their time now" part. Yes we wanted to go back to roots and they didnt do it, they want to make this game for younger people. At this point all i can wish is the best for the new fans. And for us, i know its bad news for us but at least we know that they never going to make another street crime gang game like sr1 and 2 again and we dont have to wait anymore . Its our time to say good bye to this franchise and move away from empty expectations , dreams.
@@duvaughnkelly6947 The Snowflakes who gets offended by everything and expect royalty while hoping that everyone agrees with their shitty opinions while *"punishing"* of those who disagrees or has a different and genuine opinion....
Like a totalitarian dictator. 😂
@@duvaughnkelly6947 Simple: Money.
They think that pleasing the loud-mouthed Snowflakes that are pushing an agenda would make them *TONS* of money,but they're gonna suffer in the long run.
@@drawnborn5896 its honestly kinda funny how many times this kind of thing has happened(with so many franchises),the famous "reboot to try to modernize and reach a wider demographic" it fails almost every time but it keeps hapening
@@asura7915 Ikr? The DMC Reboot technically kinda suffered through that
All I know is if this new one flops then they will have to do something to get their audience back, maybe bring back all of the characters from the old games?
SR1 and SR2 both have a day and night cycle, but SR3's "day and night" are static and change as you do missions/activities. If you don't do missions or activities, the time of day doesn't change.
There is quiet a few remarkable missions in SR 3:
1. When you escape the morningstar plane and falling to Steelport
2. The one when you take over morningstar mansion with Kenya West banger
3. Kill-Deckers.EXE
4. Both final mission are pretty memorable
5. Philip Loren kill with a giant ball and Oleg rescue
6. Mission when you have to fly to a STAG plane, enter it and then ending up falling in a tank and creating a zombie outbreak
7. The mission when you fight a Killbane and A CHAINSAW! WHAT THE F***?!
8. And how could you possibly not remember a ride on BDSM-carriages that EXPLODES when shot?
I also myself really like SR 3 but I guess I can't be objective because it was literally one of my first games that I've played so it's nostalgic for me.
This video makes me wanna play the first 2 Saints Row games because I've only played the last two
Idk going to rescue shaundi at the end of SR3 while “I need a hero” blasted on the radio was pretty fun. Then again I’m a sucker for that song.
Its nice to hear someone show appreciation to SR4. Its the first one I played and it made me a fan of the franchise.
Dude, fantastic retrospective on a series I don't feel gets a solid look at anymore.
Not in terms of being ignored; Just in terms of not gettin' a real solid analysis of what works, what changes, and what doesn't yet here ya are doing just that last year.
As a huge Saints fan, much appreciated.
2 will always remain my all time favorite for the series due to its balance between silly fun and having the foresight to include serious, character driven moments.
Really like some of the lines you've written to describe that phenomenon: Things like "The story you're following is serious, but the world you live in is ridiculous"
But I ain't gonna ramble ya off. Ace stuff. Great take on 3's lacking parts. Enjoyed hearing someone who really enjoyed 4's adjustments since my take was always "It's fun... but it's lacking." Hearing another person's take, however different, is genuinely a joy and prompts me to revisit it again with a more open mind to enjoy more of it :)
Great stuff.
Really appreciate the kind words! Glad you enjoyed the video, I had a good time working on this one 👌🏻
Can confirm, SR1 multiplayer was fantastic. Buggy and glitchy AF.. but fantastic. There were two stand-out game modes, Blinged-out Ride (personal favorite) and Protect the Pimp. Both were ultra enjoyable. Some of my best gaming memories came from B-O R. Its multi wasn't as popular as say Gears of War at the time.. but there were plenty people playing it that you weren't running into the same people very often. It died off after about 2 and a half, 3 years
Zinyak is easily one of my favourite villains in gaming. He was actually a threat to the boss unlike other villains where we just mowed them down like they were nothing in the story.
Bro was a fuckin alien
He was a threat to America alright.
It’s because he was an illegal alien.
You can't be for real? Zinyak was painfully easy to kill at the end I rlly didn't feel like he was much of a villain? I Mena he's huge but our character easily pummels him 🤣 I mean idk I like the 4th game I ain't hating I just see it as a seperate game. Better if it's not associated with the actual franchise. Hate 3 tho 😵💫😵💫
@@deckardtate1309 I'm not talking about his final fight lol I mean his voice actor and his performance was really good and he had a lot of good lines through game. Plus he comes in at the start of the game and absolutely destroys the Saints and well the World. He got W's atleast in the plot
@@MistahJay7 ohh yeah nah I agree honestly !! The end fight was lackluster but overall he was a really cool villian ,, way more memorable than the villains in 3 imo (if you can't tell I have a vendetta against the 3rd game haha)
thank you so much for making this!!
It was really awesome to watch an elaborate and insightful exploration of the series history. You put a lot of my own personal experiences into words where I couldnt, and you did it beautifully.
Absolutely need a Remake of SR 1&2 I miss those days some of the Best & Most memorable Games I’ve ever played
they won't listen to use.
Even as a mega fan of Saints 3, I can't deny saints 2 really balances it's tone the best out of all the games. I understand why everyone wants SRR to follow in the footsteps of 2, and I really hope 2 gets its PC port fixed
i played all of them (never finished the first) and I like them all but I think sr2 was probably the best balance of tone i also love that it sets the saints in the same universe as red faction and with the aquisition of ultor and being basically space prince at the end of 4 all leads be to beiive that the saints are personally responsible for the human rights and labor violations committed on mars
I've never heard that some one was disappointed in SR3 but enjoyed SR4, thought I was the only one.
Me too
@Adrian Scott Oh yea thats true
h o w?
It's funny cuz my play order was:
SR2
SR4
SR3
But imo SR3 still was the close to SR2's roots
i loved 3 and hated 4. super powers simulator ruined the whole thing for me. there was no point to anything and so lost my will to keep playing.
SR2 is the best but tbh I think SR4 is better than SR3 cause the super powers and weapons were super addicting to play with. Not only that but seeing past characters return and seeing how they interact with other character was amusing. Just have Kieth David and Julius follow you and they’ll have a funny interaction
Nah saints row 4 is garbage saints row 2 3 is better
Good to see someone give Saints Row 2 the props it needs. It had some very deep moments. Carlos still gets me
I’m pretty sure Volition confirmed that Agents was cannon and early concepts of the cover pretty much confirmed that
Saints row 4 is pretty much prototype but with the same cast of saints row 3
Ahh seeing that head rip of Zinyac (spelling whatever) reminded me how I had it glitch and the head stayed through the whole credits, it was pretty funny
Sr3 was my first video game love affair. 9 year old me playing on the ps3 in my dads living room on Sunday mornings with my step brothers. I definitely have a soft spot for it. Looking back, there are some problems but it was just SO MUCH FUN!!!!! That's why I'll always love it.
The fact that I played that game first has left me distinctly underwhelmed by one aspect of SR2: Pierce Washington. When I played SR3, Pierce was instantly my favourite character, and when I first saw him in SR2 on a RUclips video I almost cried. Pierce's transformation is one of the few changes in SR3 that was seen as an improvement by pretty much everyone.
As for SR3, I do think the story needed work and the characters and their relationships with the Boss were shallow and/or inconsistent. The most obvious point is when Angel pursues Killbane and the Boss is clearly really concerned about Angel. Where did that sudden closeness come from? It wouldn't have been so bad even if the two seemed to connect more in the wrestling match. The Boss also didn't seem appreciative of Oleg when he could've been, and Viola had so mucj potential to be similar and different to Shaundi which could've made her very interesting. It was a good idea to add 2 more female characters at first. However, Viola wasn't explored enough and she didn't exactly get her revenge on Killbane since she wasn't in the Luchadore storyline, coming to blows with the Boss and Angel (that would've been sick). I have nothing to say about how they could've improve Kinzie in SR3 because she was just empty, but I love her in the next game. Zimos was funny but only funny and needed work too, but when you're 9 a guy who always talks musically and says "Lotta pussy on that thang" is the best thing ever. All the new Saints except for Kinzie were killed off in SR4, which actually upset me after I'd finished the game, because the "newer" (new to me) intense relationships left me wondering what might've been with the other 4. They could've been as iconic as Kinzie.
That was the allies. Now for the enemies. Philippe's death needn't change much. The saints blow up the building (removing the choice to take it over) and Philippe is at the Boss's mercy where the Boss finishes him off in some form of sheer brutality. Matt should've been left alive. The Boss remembers how Johnny thinks the Saints have sunk, and doesn't think an utterly defeated punk kid with a laptop is worth his time (that's my view). It could also help improve the Boss's relationship with Kinzie. I don't quite know how I want Killbane to end because he was entwined with STAG and Cyrus needs to be kept alive because the opening to SR4 was amazing. In my idealised SR3, someone takes over the Morningstar (preferably a hubristic man) and he's the one who isn't spared. Viola scoffs at how he tried to run things and the Boss, having little animosity towards him to start with, just pops him the Stillwater way. The ultimate ending would be STAG removed by the government (basically identical to the actual game), not sure about Killbane, Matt Miller is left to fester in his misery and squalor so he can return in SR4, the Morningstar usurper is dead, and all the other Saints are alive. No one needs to die to add to the story. Johnny is dead, and that has shaped all the Boss's choices in Steelport. He's taken over another Metropolis and brought the Saints back to their approach of do what they want and never give a fuck about anyone else. The Boss has new, different friends (whose improvements I've already mentioned). He and Pierce are now closer than ever, and Shaundi is happier than she was in the real game, but still changed by Johnny's death so it seems meaningful.
And that is MY SR3. I realise some bits are missing. Could Josh Birk have played a greater role? But I've already typed a novella in this comment so I'll leave it there. Congratulations on having the patience to read all this waffle about my opinion.
This was an amazing look at the Saints Row series!
I know everyone thinks saints row 4 was kinda shit but I don’t care the wall running & super speed was one of the most fun features ever.
I very much enjoyed the whole saints row series, I always go back to replay each game, I enjoy it everytime 😊
I gotta say this retrospective is something I'm eager watch I'm a fan of 1 yet I can't get it due to not owning a working Xbox of any kind. 2 was my first taste and I loved saints row 2 me and my buddy played through the whole story it was a blast and doing the tasks together made the game so much more memorable. I hope the reboot does the same and I can also understand why people were on the fence due to voltions terrible marketing around the time.
I'll be watching this today and probably leaving it a like soon :D
You're actually awesome for making this. I remember as a kid seeing the Kanye West trailer for Saint's Row The Third and thinking it was the coolest thing ever. But I was never allowed to play SR or GTA (I had to smuggle GTAV basically lol). But the cartoony weirdness of 4 and 3 kinda turned me off as I got older. You make 1 and 2 sound awesome as hell lol I'm sold on them. And based on this vid, I might understand 3 and 4 better after playing the first 2
To be fair about Matt Miller, it was established that he was supposed to be a teenager and because he wasn't all that threatening, I suppose the Boss didn't take him that seriously and probably wouldn't resort to killing someone underage.
As for Killbane, I don't think that was actually him on the movie set, but rather an actor playing him.
They could have done it in a way so that the Boss wouldn't seem like they will listen to anything. Sure Matt is harmless at that point but he's still a gang leader who has obviously killed people and is as dangerous as anyone else
@@buldockschannel1528 But killing a child, not sure if that would sit well among some people. Then again, I personally felt that some stuff from the second game went a little too far.
@@emanuelespinoza9325 I mean the Boss had no problem putting Shogo in the ground, literally. It's gruesome but he had it coming. If the game has problem with killing minors then just make Matt older. It didn't make sense narratively given how psychopathic the Boss was established
@@buldockschannel1528 Just going to say this once. One, most of the stuff with Shogo was on Johnny. Sure, the Boss took part in burying him, but the beating Shogo took was from Johnny. If you see the cutscene, the Boss turns around. That bit could be interpreted in different ways.
The other thing that I want to say is that by the time the third game, because it was a few years after, it's possible, if likely that the Boss had loosened up a bit and wasn't as sadistic as before.
“There’s nothing memorable about SR3” weird considering I remember a ton of awesome scenes from that game
Cool for you, but that's simply how I feel
@@LazerzZ no hard feelings, look I love the video, and 2 is my favorite but idk, the set pieces in 3 are so cool despite the story itself not being very strong, I’m not tryna change your opinion I’m just sayin
yeah, I meant what I said, that's cool for you, glad you enjoy SR3 & glad you enjoyed the video!
I grew up on SR3 and SR4. So they have a special place in me. I also love SR2 but SR3 will always be my favorite and hold some of my most favorite gaming memories
How can you "grow up" on SR4, it literally came out 3 weeks ago.
@@nogoodgod4915 sr4 is the one in the alien ship simulation
@nogoodgod4915 what are you talking about, SR4 came out in 2013 lol
Scott Phillips being the director for SR3 isn't surprising he also made the critically acclaimed Odyssey, we all know that game is a masterpiece.
Sr3 is lackluster when i was young i liked itbut now doesnt feelsame tbh
Glaf replaying sr2 sr3 going back to store
Due to nostalgic value and offering great memories to me, saints row 3 forever will be one of my favourite games. I loved its over the top violence and humour, for me it was refreshing to play as it felt lighthearted. I have not played 1 or 2, I have played 4 and didn’t even get half way through as it was not for me.
However, saints row 2 looks so good to me. I am looking forward to playing it a lot. I feel like 3 missed out a lot on Charecter development.
It's hard to say witch is my favorite. The games were different from each other and I liked all the games for different reasons.
This might sound bad but the main reason I love saints row 3 and 4 is because shuandi got some huge knockers. Like wtf happened 😂
Your thoughts on SR4 are spot on. Well done
Saints Row and SR2 were epic. The rest of the entries were ... maybe the Boss ate a bad burrito? I had fun with them, but they weren't quintessential Saints Row. Remastered 3 was nice, but I keep hoping for a remastered SR2 (or even an SR 1/2 combo). As for the new millennial version... Form a gang to pay off student debt? Shades of Let's Go Brandon. I'll pass.
Still waiting for a proper Saints Row 3.
This series was very important to my childhood im sad how it turned out and i hope this new game is better than 4 at least
@John blaze well 4 is aliens reboot is earth. Aliens better.
Saints Row 2 & 3 were my favorite. SR 1 was good and SR4 was just so over the top. Overall I still enjoyed them all. I like Saints Row more than GTA. I’m on the fence with this new Saints Row since they said it’s toned down.
I know it's Pre-Alpha but dang, it doesn't look like Saints Row it looks more like Watch Dogs 2 without the hacking
Have to disagree on you saying that Steelport felt more alive compared to Stilwater in 1 and 2. I would say it was exactly the other way around, the NPCs in 1 and especially 2 behaved in a way that was much more realistic, diverse and fun than what they did in The Third. Also, pretty much every area in Steelport felt exactly the same with very little to do and explore. Stilwater was the exact opposite again, with every block feeling different and there being little details on every corner.
I've never played a saints game, I've never felt intruiged by "funny" games that don't take themselves seriously. But this video was awesome, and has made me want to play it. Very great video 👍
Well.
Saints row 2 is serious
So you've never glimpsed 1 or 2 then. Just say that?
Saints row 1 and 2 have humor comparable to GTA games, but are a tiny bit more serious in many aspects and a tiny bit less serious in other aspects. 3 and 4 are straight up silly and comedic 24-7 though
Sorry, I feel like I may have said this wrong, I wouldn't usually feel interested by this because of how ubisoft makes their games. But after this video, I have played saints row 1 and am enjoying 2 aswell 😄 not sure why that upset so many people wtf 😄
Thank you SO MUCH LazerzZ for giving SR4 the merits that it deserves. It has it's flaws, yes, but it's a genuinely compelling game with a good story with well written characters and fun as hell superhero gameplay. Is it a "true saints row game"? Not quite but it has the dna in it's bones and feels like a love letter to the franchise to me but also attempting to be it's own thing. Would I want them to try this ever again? NO. Unless it was a spin-off and not a mainline game. But yeah. SR4 I adore almost as much as SR2. I get why people aren't for it, yes. It's incredibly jarring. But the execution of the craziness while also taking itself seriously is what set it apart from 3.
Thanks again LazerzZ for shining a light on a game I very much feel is underappreciated.
saints row 2 is still my favorite game in the series. It came out at tough time in my life. I was in my senior year of college and extremely stressed and it just hit the spot perfectly. I remember countless weekends and evenings playing co-op with one of my best friends and it helped me clear my head and deal with the stress. I still go back and play it from time to time. I agree i didn't like the 3rd game much my first go through but went back and gave it another go after beating 4 and enjoyed it a bit more. It still is nowhere as great as the 2nd game but giving it another chance I had more fun with it once i was able to take it for what it was.
Better play saints row 1
I will never forget opening Saints Row 2 and jamming out to Gangsta Bitch on the main menu... Goodbye saints row. The latest entry is the last I will ever have hope in
Your view on what Saints Row has become is basically how I felt about the mcu. Saints Row 1 and 2 like phase 1 and 2, were good, building this universe, creating interesting stories and characters and content that fans were excited to see.
And then Saints Row 3 and so on is phase 3 and especially 4, basically they just throw shit together and put it out there without a care because they know people will consume it.
another day, another night of me crying cause the Saints Row 2 PC patch isn't out
Well damn, yet another Lazerzz video convincing me to hop on a new franchise! Always entertaining as hell, James!!
New ?
@@evilovesperry well new for me, I’ve never touched a Saints Row game
Saints Row1 will forever be my personal favorite and the best, in the series despite it being the first and oldest. What it kicked off for the series was perfect.
had the best story , best gangs , the pushbacks were fun , and it was actually in the hood
also u got the pimpcane and coat for doing the 3 hoin' missions instead of at the end of the game like SR2
As a player who came from third to the whole series one by one, I might say that after the second part, the movement of being original and sarcastic made the series way better, as before it was mostly called GTA clone.
4 is on that risky knifepoint of an edge. Without perfect balance you'd either fall off or be sliced in half. 4 did almost fall off and did get slightly slashed. But it hangs on. Despite all the things that should have pulled it down.
It's as if the devs don't realize why people like SR, and pushed the wacky nature of the series way too hard because they didn't want to be known as the "GTA clone" anymore.
One of the best series out there SR1 and SR2 were just the best in my opinion
This video is so good, I finally understand saints row properly, I always thought it was just like saints row the third, I wish that more game developers would realize that a game not being realistic doesn't mean the characters cant, if you think about it how fucking dumb are attack on titan and invincibles worlds, but you never ever feel that way because of how the characters live within them
The conversation between Benjamin King and the Boss in SR4 was what made me want to go back and try SR2 in the first place.
They not only killed off Gat in Saint's Row The Third, they also killed off Shaundi. Because really, no one is ever gonna convince me that this is the same character. From semi hippie very easy going fun girl to a gun obsessed sociopath who hates everyone. The only character that holds any resemblence to their SR2 counterpart is Pierce, because even in SR2 Pierce was a comedic relief character.
If we had the character writing of SR IV, and a rewritten story for SR III, it would be a great way to bring back the series
Damn I always thought I was the only one who really enjoyed SR 1/2 but hated 3/4. I loved the gang dynamic and rising up in the ranks. I loved the bat shit insane dialogue alongside meaningful character development. The mini games and gimmicks were fun af. All of that unique charm was lost after sr2. If the first two were remastered for a total of $20, I’d probably buy them.
@Adrian Scott no you’re right I don’t. I played 1&2 as a young teen and then whenever 3&4 would come out I watched a few videos and skipped it. Honestly I forgot about SR till this new one was announced. And tbh I wish I didn’t know about it
Insane that you really thought you were the only one with this opinion considering it's basically the idea of the masses.
I absolutely adore SR1. Then 4 is just goofy fun that leans into the genre and has SO many references and throwbacks to sci-fi (Transformers: The Movie being my favourite). Then 2 which is a really solid game. Then Gat Out of Hell, which is only okay (but flying feels fantastic). Then. SR The Third... I honestly cannot stand this game. Even when I replay the rest, I won't be touching this again.
EDIT: I never seem to like transitionary titles SRTThird is transitioning from great to super cheesy, 4 is already super cheesy and leans into it. Same reason I hate Batman Forever, but love Batman & Robin. It knows exactly what it is.
EDIT 2: The SRTThird remaster played like garbage for me. I had nothing but glitches and bugs CONSTANTLY.
I loved saints row 1 and 2, when I got sr3 in 2011 I dropped it after like two missions and went back to playing mw3 lol
I don't really get the hate for it over 4 personally I feel this way with 4. 3 is just enough goofy fun for me without being annoying and simple to the point of 4 but that's just me it seems, everyone else seems to feel the opposite way which is so weird imho. Since 4 took everything from 3 and dialed it up to max in an obnoxious way.
I absolutely loved when gat slugs shogo akuji's head through the headstone. That entire scene was amazing