i just finished the game for the first time, when anders did what he did i was torn, but then i remembered what flemeth said earlier, "we stand upon the precipice of change. The world fears the inevitable plummet into the abyss. Watch for that moment... and when it comes, don't hesitate to leap. It is only when you fall that you learn whether you can fly." for what it's worth, listening to what the old bat said saved me 3 hours questioning what anders did and what i should do, and because of that i'm stand with this game
I absolutely love the Qunari story in this game and how they were treated as a distinct and separate culture with its own strengths and weaknesses compared to the Human, Elven, and Dwarven societies seen in the series. I hope to see more of them in DA4
Such an underrated gem of a game. Lots of great storytelling concepts and ideas. Shame about the hamstrung development time, although sometimes I wonder if we would've gotten II at all, or instead Origins 2.0, if it hadn't been made on such a time crunch. That said, I'll always miss the removal of other races, and the UI design felt like a step back as well. Wasn't a fan of the wave system myself, although the combat overall felt updated and more balanced compared to Origins. An interesting point about the dialogue wheel is that if you consistently pick one 'tone', even outside of dialogue choices your Hawke will say or do things with that same tone. I'm ambivalent on the dialogue wheel--I agree it feels more like you're controlling a character as opposed to controlling a blank slate, but I actually really like the concept of the 'blank slate' in rpgs. It makes the roleplaying more engaging to me, although if you come at it from a 'choose the most optimal dialogue choice', I can see your side. I'm not sure 'I didn't have to think about my selecting my dialogue options' is really all that compelling of an argument for most people, however. My favorite way to play Hawke was always to have her start as naive idealist who flips to a quipper by the second act to handle her trauma and ends the third as a hardened asshole broken by the events of the game. It's a shame so many of the criticisms at the time seemed to be rooted in 'not like Origins'. II is where the developers really start to understand the direction they want to take the series, further expanding upon the other races, elves and qunari in particular, as well as delve further into the mage vs templar conflict. II feels much more like it has its own niche, its own identity, compared to Origins with its amalgam of references and inspiration to other, better fantasy narratives. Regarding the qun, it's as flawed a system as the feudalism that drives the majority of Thedas--its pitfalls are different, however, in the same way that the pitfalls of Tevinter, based on the Roman Republic, are different from the problems in Orlais, in Fereldan, in the Free Marches, etc., etc. Inquisition posits that the broken nature of these systems all stem from the Veil, although Solas' proposed solution is a matter of debate and also where a lot of the fantasy metaphor begins to feel muddled. As we once again find ourselves having another conversation about choice, a touch of existentialism: "If nothing matters in an uncaring universe, then all that matters is what we do." I agree there's a tragic bleakness to II, a sense that Hawke is just constantly treading water. I personally adore it. The point you made about Merrill and the pride demon Audacity was actually quite brilliant. That's not a perspective I've ever considered before. I love it! It's an inversion of what people expect from the mentor-apprentice role, a tragic conclusion to the idea of the student surpassing the master. People didn't appreciate the nuance of Anders the way they would now in 2020. Because Anders was right and the time for compromise ended a long time ago. Elthina's 'rational moderate' approach is always going to result in the oppression of minorities. No discussion of the rivalry system? Kind of surprised by that. I remember first ever seeing Felicia Day on Buffy. Nostalgia. Your love for DA II made this a much more enjoyable retrospective compared to Origins, imo. I still think there's a touch too much summary at times, but your understanding of how up close and personal II is, is appreciated. Thanks.
It's not true that all of the rebel mages die as you can save Alain, it's also not true you have to fight the Arishok as if Isabella comes back you can hand her over to him. It wasn't Tal Valshosh who took Fenris in it was the resistance fighters on the island that Tevinter and the Qunari were fighting over.
Regardless of whether one agrees or disagrees with your critique of the Dragon Age Series, there is no denying you have given an exceptional subjective analysis that is additionally backed up with comprehensive objective evidence. Basically, fantastic work. I've watched your critiques from start to finish in one sitting and they made the day fly by. Great stuff - you've earned another sub. Please keep up the good work. CHIZ
I had to re-upload this video a week after its initial release once I realized the video quality had some weird artifact problems. I'll be posting the Inquisition video tomorrow around 4PM EST or so, so I'm sorry if this doubled up on your notifications.
Looking forward to that Inquisition video. Should be interesting. I feel like with Inquisition there are a lot more people who genuinely like it and are personally attached to it.
Stumbled upon your channel this week. You do good stuff, I enjoy how detailed and reflective your work is. Your channel will blow up in the near future. Long form videos are catching on and you have that format down. Thank you for some great content :)
Your take, not only on the game, but how to approach the characters and mechanics is worth watching. I learned so much from this video, I started a new playthrough. Thank you. Subd.
This is a great personal retrospective. The internet loves to bang on about objectivity but I think hearing someone talk about something they love, even if you don’t feel that love yourself is meaningful and fun to listen to! I always really liked the story of DA2 but those reused dungeons and wave based battles teleporting in everywhere just completely take me out of the experience and have stopped me from going back after my 2nd play through compared to the many origins play throughs. I also feel the polar opposite on the role playing potential of the dialogue wheel and the many differing dialogue options in origins (snarky/mad/good Hawke feel basically the same to me compared to any two of my wardens), but I can totally see why you feel how you do on it. Anyways just discovered your channel and it’s great, well done!
You really can't have an objective opinion. Otherwise you'd just say: It is a game, that has mechanics of the RPG kind, it is a sequel, you play as a character, you have battles, you make some choices, you finish the game. That is being objective in a very basic format. X3 But see what I mean?
@@kinagrill yeah I agree. I think its basically impossible to be objective about art. Even some of those statements you made could be subjectively applied. Hence why hearing someone unabashedly give their subjective opinion without pretending it to be some revealed truth is so nice to hear, even if I personally feel differently.
@@kinagrillIt is objectively bad to remove deeper customization systems in order to attract sales. The fans will quickly decrease the moment they find a better fit for their niche. Creatively, your argument is nonsense and I hope you look back on this unnecessary fixation with the technical function of objectivity while reliving the walking corpse that was Inquisition.
I love the companions on DA2, even the siblings were interesting. bethany who saw herself as a danger to her family due to her being a mage and be in the run from templars and depending of hawke choice she turns herself to the circle to keep her family safe from templars being relieved and having more selfsteem, dies on the deep roads or becomes depressed and nihilistic after seeing the horrors the grey wardens have to figth On the other hand carver suffers from inferiority complex due to feeling left out from his sibblings and father who were mages and constantly feeling like the shadow of his more successful and loved sibling, in one instance of inferiority and rage blaming the death of bethany on hawke, but just as bethany his attitude changes depending of hawke's choice. Either him becoming a templar and growing more resentful of hawke for being a mage but still maturing and leaving behind his constant rage or becoming a warden and getting a new sense and pourpose on his life, making a name for himself and coming to peace with his sibling and growing up from his agressive attitude Tho their development is hidden in the DLCs specially in legacy where they interact with hawke and the rest of the party Also I love how the party on DA2 are a bunch of misfits that would go for each others throats the moment hawke is not there, it sets them appart from DAO or DAI companions who most of the time are figthing for a common cause and greater good that most of the time keeps them united
If you're only going to play as one of the 3 Hawke personalities without even thinking about it, and if you are playing from Hawke's PoV... then why even have a choice? Hawke will still say they same thing, you just choose the flavor of how sassy or angry they say it.
Because following one line or another does actually change the course of the game; different people will die, and the lives of nearly every companion will change purely based on the direction you decide to take the character. By dividing it into 3 direction of tone and 2 directions of morality, it makes the game infinitely easier to replay while quickly knowing what you've missed the first playthrough. Ease of access encourages replayability, and replayability develops the full story over time. You're right, something is absolutely lost in the exchange, but the vast majority of crpgs with 6 dialogue options per chat bubble also rely on redundant choices to force you in the same direction either way.
You really went on a complete stretch as to why the dialogue wheel is "far superior" to the classic dialogue tree lol. The Dialogue tree was never about what YOU would say but what best thing your character would say without the constraints of Good, Funny, or aggressive. Or just Good or evil. With classic dialogue tree, you could get anywhere from 4 to 6 options of what your character could say giving you far more flexibility on keeping your character consistent or choosing to change your character based on the games story. Tell me, how is it "far superior" to roleplay your character if you've decided you want your Hawke to be snarky? That would mean you only pick sarcastic options close to every time. How is that roleplaying when you pick the same option because it has a laughing face and your character is the one of three choices: Funny Hawke? The statement you made about the wheel being better than the dialogue tree for roleplaying is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard!
firstly I really enjoyed this review, great work overall! one thing that stuck out to me tho is you reacting to the choice of killing Anders with:" [...] This was Ander's story: A life of pain, and loss, and good deeds that never went unpunished." while I guess i get the notion the framing makes it feel like mass murder by nuking a major capital so after one's death everything devolves into madness is not only viable, but actually the one committing this horrible crime should be pitied because this person met tragedy in their life. I simply disagree. it feels like a desperate attempt to create a complex character that goes to extreme measures while reaming relatable. but Ander, as far as I'm concerned, is just another blind extremist that has lost all concern for anyone and anything beyond his mad ideology. that being said keep up the good work :)
That's exactly what it is. It just became flanderization for the sake of a simpler conflict resolution. No work for the Templars as a Templar or extension of the Circle as a faction member, rather, just a stranger to both vaguely familiar with bad actors. There is no personal stake aside from Bethany being an apostate or Hawk being detested by either at the end. The Warden is deeply-involved, and it's not a question, from their origins as somebody who's life was ripped away from them due to sinister circumstance or the fact that a fucking apocalypse will occur and they're just capable enough to heed the call of duty. Hawke is a refugee who just stumbles into the Kirkwall situation. But without the nuance of even Inquisition, Hawke is not entangled in the web of destiny, rather a glorified Everyman who just happens to be amazing at killing while feeling for their life. Warden? Violent background, training, troubled life, etc. Inquisitor? Magic powers from the Heavens in their hand, possibly divine in origin. Hawke? Random guy who manages to kill an ogre for no reason. Anders? Mage hippie who liked the idea of being close with a spirit of Justice far too much, so he becomes a *terrorist* to solve what realistically would've been a complete one-sided slaughter by the Mages or Templars, as both have massive amounts of power, training and experience with the other's people, and one small factor would tip the scales completely.
I feel like both Origins and 2 would greatly benefit from a remastered collection similar to what Mass Effect got, but I feel like it would be hard for them to modernize the old combat while keeping fans happy with it. But I enjoy 2 a lot, the story is very strong.
@@spiderz5145 origins is the masterpiece, it doesnt need to be modernized, its the reason why 2 and 3 even exist at all... fans dont want the game to be changed, they would love to just have the bugs fixed and the graphics improved, etc...
I disagree with many things about this DA2 analysis, but I am still glad, you can find and justify why you enjoyed it this much. One thing that I will however politely disagree with is combat assesment, as someone who enjoyed DA:O combat on the first playthrough on normal and second playthourgh on hardest, I found it genuinely enjoyable and satisfying to figure out many of the encounters, while switching all sorts of loadouts and party compositions throughout the game. The build variety and possibilities in that game felt like a real sandbox puzzle and the whole game was treat through and through. Sure, you could go through with one singular startegy that works, but why ruin it to yourself. In DA2, I felt exact opposite as fights quickly turned to be a chore and every time I tried to push myself through (I tried to finish the game around three times), I simply could not do it, not to mention that actiony combat felt similarly boring as "low strategy" overworld mode. Also the story sounds pretty good when you describe it in the video, but I had real trouble to connect with said characters due to general blandness of atmosphere and flavour the game had, or in other words, I recalled many events described in the video, but unlike with other games where I usually remember story pretty well, I could not connect any dots at all here. So I assume there are simply production value holes due to short dev time, which is a shame. I really like games with compelling story. That being said, I absolutely love the loading screen/cutscene handpainted artsytle unlike in any other game I have seen. It is genuinely work of some really talented artists. Also don’t pay attention to folks who can’t stand your opinion just because it differs. I disagree with a lot of stuff here, but I can take it. You can and should have your own opinion and understanding of art that is videogames. Nice video.
Dragon age 2 is underrated. If you look at more as a stepping stone rather than a full blown sequel its pretty great. I personally hate the slow methotical combat of dragon age origins.
A lil late to the party, but that video essay was fantastic, great work :)! You added a lot of context and valuable criticisim both negative and positive that I have barely heard before (and I lurk around DA reddit and YT quite a lot, being a huge fan of the series and all that jazz :D). Your especially right about the companions in my opinion. While I love the crew of DAO and DAI, I'm totally head over heels for the characters in DA2 since IN THEROY their stories have sooo much depth. It's a shame Bioware didn't have enough time, otherwise I think DA2 could have been just as strong as Origins. I also never got the hate regarding Anders and how Bioware allegedly butchered his character. His development was logical - and not that severe in my opinion, since he still cracks quite a few jokes and generally reacts postive to a sarcastic Hawke in the first 2 acts. His overly joking personality in Awakening was kind of a coping mechanism anyway, as he already went through quite traumatic shit lol. Such an interesting character. Also loved the Merill explanation! Keep it up :)
Felicia Day did a short series of Talis on her youtube channel and Bioware liked it so much they wanted to do a dlc based on her character story so they called her in and Mark of the assassin was created
Origins already did explained the Qunari mindset and the tension between the mages and templars and there was nothing subtle about the introduction of red lyrium
So before I dive into this I wanna say I’m hype. I’m 2 minutes in an you’ve already done more justice than a lot of reviews about this game. I played it when I was a kid, I recently got into the whole series again and replaying dragon age origins and I can’t get off that game lmao I have put in almost 200 hours between to separate characters and as soon as I finish the story and awakawning again on my newer character I’m gonna be restarting AGAIN before I start dragon age two 🥴🥴🥴 but I remember quite a bit I played this A LOT back in the day lolol. The writing was phenomenal for how lackluster the game comes off as at first. I remember when your siblings leaves you, when your mom dies and you’re just in that big empty house you worked so hard for. Discovering the red lyrium and that whole arc with varik and his brother. The lead up to the 1v1 w the qunari that was way too hard for noob me. A lot of people just wash it up as “oh it wasn’t that good” but it’s so much deeper than that. The highs of that game were some of my favorite moments in the entire series. I’m a bit more classic and prefer the gameplay of origins than to either 2 or inquisition, but the story of 2 was very captivating.
Played it around time it came out and I liked it. Tried to replay it some time ago... I bounced off waves of enemies and blankness or emptiness of the world. Although I think DA:I was the worst when it comes to combat and gameplay world but variety of locations helped me alot to not notice it. Might try DA II once again.
I put Origin aside at first due to not being able to play isometric, eg the camera zooming in. But with autohotkey to hold down the right mouse button for me and make the game an actual 3d game + pausing when I wanted to issue commands, I found it fun as over the shoulder with pause. I feel that's the niche it fills, over the shoulder and when you pause the mouse becomes free so you can target and pick abilities. I wrote to bioware to suggest that when you pause you should auto unlock the mouse in da4 so it's effectively a 3d game with thinking time
I never play any RPG as 'myself'. That's not roleplay, it's powerfantasy and is more of a fetish than anything. So yeah, I really always have in mind what kind of person my character will be before I 'make them'.
Dude I played this game at 14 and DID NOT pick up on the 'pride' aspect of merill's story at all. I thought it was about a little girl playing with fire and eventually got her whole tribe killed. I had to pick my jaw from the floor after I realized that it was the opposite way around. Insane that this kind of writing was what bioware was capable of if you look at inquisition and it's garbage disney storyline
DA2 is a good game, it's easy to jump in and play through, the companions are lovely and yes, this is the hill I will die on. Fun story though, the first time I played the game I was really clueless about the plot, romanced Anders, Isabela and Fenris left me and I could really identify with Hawke looking at the mess by the end.
Have you seen the live-action series based on Talis? I didn't realize there was a DLC directly related to it, I thought it was just some fun side content.
Criticising The Origins combat system but praising the Dragon Age 2 combat system is laughable. Never ending spwans of enemies to blatantly padding the game and hiding how short the game is. The combat system of 2 is an absolute joke
Curious the game's marketing focused so much on the Arishok duel when the game's combat mechanics... well... they're obviously not designed with duels like that in mind. So from gameplay's perspective it's a bit of a nothingburger of a battle.
I'm at the point where you talk about roleplaying and diologue options. I disagree. So far I've played origins twice. And I have a very clear view of what I wnat my characters to be. My first warden (dalish warrior) is a himbo who undergoes a character arc of a sort. All she wants is to help people and fight for the "good guys" which is a bit of an oxymoron in the world presented in dao. She is naive and takes things at face value, rarely asking questions unless it's "who's ass am I kicking to solve the problem" or "are the people okay". This causes problems however, as she isn't quite thinking all her actions through (the eprfect leader. Why did they give her power? Because she's super strong and good at kicking ass. Also they think she's more competent than she actually is). For my second warden (city elf rogue) I made him more distrustful and more of a darker vengeful presence. This was however because of the tough life he lived in the alienage. He does have several soft spots and cares a lot about the friends he made, but occasionally he still falls into old patterns, proclaiming his hatred of humans or his thirst for vengance. He also undergoes a character arc, becoming more forgiving, though he alwaslys remains a bit shifty (yes. He stole from orphans but he also saved them first). So far I have a warden who is genuinely a decent person but compeltely out of her depth and a warden who isn't a bad person, but has no issue with doing bad things and taking advantage of situations he's in. That's not what I can say about da2. I can headcanon a character arc if I like, but suddenly going from one colour to the other just seems a bit... Jarring. I do understand your point however. If you made your dao choices simply by what was "more dramatic" you inherently weren't making character choices.
Totally agree with your take on roleplaying. I've just been watching an LP from a youtuber who seemed to take himself quite seriously as a roleplayer and addressed each problem in the series through arched fingers, carefully considering the historical context and possible long term socio-political consequences of every decision. I found it immersion breaking that the characters of Hawke or the Warden would both have access to this knowledge and consistently engage in a sort of speculative chess match about outcomes. Far better, I think, to play Hawke as she might exist in the world, a sellsword and fixer who has some general understanding and opinion of the big picture, but is ultimately motivated more by some (player determined) combination of money, family, friendship, duty to the city, and empathy to the individual people she interacts with - rather than as a kind of artificial 'dungeon master ex machina'.
I disagree that the personality types improve roleplaying. They give you three preset personalities and very little customization within that. It means every blue/purple/red Hawke is fundamentally the same character as every other blue/purple/red Hawke respectively. One you've played those three characters... that's it. I liked Origins' system because it let you create a unique character rather than having to choose from three characters that were already created for you.
he already explained, this isn't a dnd like game where you create a character, this is a story about a person called Hawke. Players are essentially experiencing a preset story not one where you make up the adventure
@@V2ULTRAKill Witcher 3 is an RPG even though Geralt is the protagonist. Not all RPG needs to have completely blank characters to be RPG. What characterise a RPG is the role playing aspect of the game. Geralt have a variety of personality you can make out of him and all kinds of special abilities to chose from.
In every playthrough i destroy the templars.. As much as blood magic are mad with power and dangerous Templars are just fascistic murderers who abuse people just for being born with magic "champions of the just" what a joke... Also either my Hawke is a mage or is doing everything she can do protect Bethany.. and if Bethany dies in the Deep Road the only conclusion she can came up with is "she died because of the templar" Same way i can never be friendly with qunari.. communist muslims.. bah
Dragon Age 2 is one of the worst abominations ever created. Origins shits all over it from a great height, and to hear DA:2's combat lauded over the FAR superior original's literally had me lol.
Whether this game was rushed or not, it was always destined to be mediocre. The reason why is because instead of building upon what made Origins great, the team that was left after the exodus of the original leadership of DAO thought they could do better with combat, story, and overall presentation. They were flat out wrong because they were the B-team of Bioware thinking they could dumb the game down to appeal to a different type of gamer who would press a button so something as happens and also make the game "cool" and "sexy". But the game just ended up being goofy and full of cringe moments and dialogue as well as 'Woke' Bioware awakening and beginning their endless preaching to us of their personal ideology. I get some people love DA2 but that game was made for the generation that grew up with Marvel's Avengers and Joss Wheadon type dialogue., not for the generation that grew up on classic rpgs and the classic fantasy genre. As far as I'm concerned, Dragon Age died after Awakening. Then the series became something else entirely. Dragon Age Origins was a love letter to fantasy and classic rpg lovers from Ray Mazuka, Greg Zeschuk, James Ohlen, Dan Tudge, and Brent Knowles. These were guys that loved and respected Fantasy and rpgs. Mike Laidlaw and Mark Darrah went on to destroy Dragon Age by turning it into some goofy hybrid of an anime, 300, and Buffy the Vampire slayer.
Your entire rant about role-playing at the start sounds like someone who's never once played dnd Picking what flavour of generally the same result the game gives you isnt roleplay Its the illusion of such
i just finished the game for the first time, when anders did what he did i was torn, but then i remembered what flemeth said earlier, "we stand upon the precipice of change. The world fears the inevitable plummet into the abyss. Watch for that moment... and when it comes, don't hesitate to leap. It is only when you fall that you learn whether you can fly." for what it's worth, listening to what the old bat said saved me 3 hours questioning what anders did and what i should do, and because of that i'm stand with this game
I absolutely love the Qunari story in this game and how they were treated as a distinct and separate culture with its own strengths and weaknesses compared to the Human, Elven, and Dwarven societies seen in the series. I hope to see more of them in DA4
Nah sadly more mages and elves in dreadwolf
You forgot to mention. "It was supposed to be golden!". That line still sends a shiver whenever I heard it.
Such an underrated gem of a game. Lots of great storytelling concepts and ideas. Shame about the hamstrung development time, although sometimes I wonder if we would've gotten II at all, or instead Origins 2.0, if it hadn't been made on such a time crunch. That said, I'll always miss the removal of other races, and the UI design felt like a step back as well. Wasn't a fan of the wave system myself, although the combat overall felt updated and more balanced compared to Origins.
An interesting point about the dialogue wheel is that if you consistently pick one 'tone', even outside of dialogue choices your Hawke will say or do things with that same tone. I'm ambivalent on the dialogue wheel--I agree it feels more like you're controlling a character as opposed to controlling a blank slate, but I actually really like the concept of the 'blank slate' in rpgs. It makes the roleplaying more engaging to me, although if you come at it from a 'choose the most optimal dialogue choice', I can see your side. I'm not sure 'I didn't have to think about my selecting my dialogue options' is really all that compelling of an argument for most people, however. My favorite way to play Hawke was always to have her start as naive idealist who flips to a quipper by the second act to handle her trauma and ends the third as a hardened asshole broken by the events of the game.
It's a shame so many of the criticisms at the time seemed to be rooted in 'not like Origins'. II is where the developers really start to understand the direction they want to take the series, further expanding upon the other races, elves and qunari in particular, as well as delve further into the mage vs templar conflict. II feels much more like it has its own niche, its own identity, compared to Origins with its amalgam of references and inspiration to other, better fantasy narratives.
Regarding the qun, it's as flawed a system as the feudalism that drives the majority of Thedas--its pitfalls are different, however, in the same way that the pitfalls of Tevinter, based on the Roman Republic, are different from the problems in Orlais, in Fereldan, in the Free Marches, etc., etc. Inquisition posits that the broken nature of these systems all stem from the Veil, although Solas' proposed solution is a matter of debate and also where a lot of the fantasy metaphor begins to feel muddled.
As we once again find ourselves having another conversation about choice, a touch of existentialism: "If nothing matters in an uncaring universe, then all that matters is what we do." I agree there's a tragic bleakness to II, a sense that Hawke is just constantly treading water. I personally adore it.
The point you made about Merrill and the pride demon Audacity was actually quite brilliant. That's not a perspective I've ever considered before. I love it! It's an inversion of what people expect from the mentor-apprentice role, a tragic conclusion to the idea of the student surpassing the master. People didn't appreciate the nuance of Anders the way they would now in 2020. Because Anders was right and the time for compromise ended a long time ago. Elthina's 'rational moderate' approach is always going to result in the oppression of minorities.
No discussion of the rivalry system? Kind of surprised by that.
I remember first ever seeing Felicia Day on Buffy. Nostalgia.
Your love for DA II made this a much more enjoyable retrospective compared to Origins, imo. I still think there's a touch too much summary at times, but your understanding of how up close and personal II is, is appreciated. Thanks.
It's not true that all of the rebel mages die as you can save Alain, it's also not true you have to fight the Arishok as if Isabella comes back you can hand her over to him. It wasn't Tal Valshosh who took Fenris in it was the resistance fighters on the island that Tevinter and the Qunari were fighting over.
Regardless of whether one agrees or disagrees with your critique of the Dragon Age Series, there is no denying you have given an exceptional subjective analysis that is additionally backed up with comprehensive objective evidence.
Basically, fantastic work. I've watched your critiques from start to finish in one sitting and they made the day fly by. Great stuff - you've earned another sub. Please keep up the good work.
CHIZ
I had to re-upload this video a week after its initial release once I realized the video quality had some weird artifact problems. I'll be posting the Inquisition video tomorrow around 4PM EST or so, so I'm sorry if this doubled up on your notifications.
Looking forward to that Inquisition video. Should be interesting. I feel like with Inquisition there are a lot more people who genuinely like it and are personally attached to it.
Stumbled upon your channel this week. You do good stuff, I enjoy how detailed and reflective your work is. Your channel will blow up in the near future. Long form videos are catching on and you have that format down. Thank you for some great content :)
Your take, not only on the game, but how to approach the characters and mechanics is worth watching. I learned so much from this video, I started a new playthrough. Thank you. Subd.
I have ADHD... So i NEED the variety between games.
This is a great personal retrospective. The internet loves to bang on about objectivity but I think hearing someone talk about something they love, even if you don’t feel that love yourself is meaningful and fun to listen to!
I always really liked the story of DA2 but those reused dungeons and wave based battles teleporting in everywhere just completely take me out of the experience and have stopped me from going back after my 2nd play through compared to the many origins play throughs. I also feel the polar opposite on the role playing potential of the dialogue wheel and the many differing dialogue options in origins (snarky/mad/good Hawke feel basically the same to me compared to any two of my wardens), but I can totally see why you feel how you do on it. Anyways just discovered your channel and it’s great, well done!
You really can't have an objective opinion. Otherwise you'd just say: It is a game, that has mechanics of the RPG kind, it is a sequel, you play as a character, you have battles, you make some choices, you finish the game.
That is being objective in a very basic format. X3 But see what I mean?
@@kinagrill yeah I agree. I think its basically impossible to be objective about art. Even some of those statements you made could be subjectively applied.
Hence why hearing someone unabashedly give their subjective opinion without pretending it to be some revealed truth is so nice to hear, even if I personally feel differently.
@@kinagrill its objectively bad that you cant choose and cutsomize your own character in an rpg sequel when you could in the 1st game...
@@visceraeyes525 you can customize your HAWK but they’re aren’t builds in the game.
@@kinagrillIt is objectively bad to remove deeper customization systems in order to attract sales. The fans will quickly decrease the moment they find a better fit for their niche. Creatively, your argument is nonsense and I hope you look back on this unnecessary fixation with the technical function of objectivity while reliving the walking corpse that was Inquisition.
I love the companions on DA2, even the siblings were interesting. bethany who saw herself as a danger to her family due to her being a mage and be in the run from templars and depending of hawke choice she turns herself to the circle to keep her family safe from templars being relieved and having more selfsteem, dies on the deep roads or becomes depressed and nihilistic after seeing the horrors the grey wardens have to figth
On the other hand carver suffers from inferiority complex due to feeling left out from his sibblings and father who were mages and constantly feeling like the shadow of his more successful and loved sibling, in one instance of inferiority and rage blaming the death of bethany on hawke, but just as bethany his attitude changes depending of hawke's choice. Either him becoming a templar and growing more resentful of hawke for being a mage but still maturing and leaving behind his constant rage or becoming a warden and getting a new sense and pourpose on his life, making a name for himself and coming to peace with his sibling and growing up from his agressive attitude
Tho their development is hidden in the DLCs specially in legacy where they interact with hawke and the rest of the party
Also I love how the party on DA2 are a bunch of misfits that would go for each others throats the moment hawke is not there, it sets them appart from DAO or DAI companions who most of the time are figthing for a common cause and greater good that most of the time keeps them united
If you're only going to play as one of the 3 Hawke personalities without even thinking about it, and if you are playing from Hawke's PoV... then why even have a choice? Hawke will still say they same thing, you just choose the flavor of how sassy or angry they say it.
Because following one line or another does actually change the course of the game; different people will die, and the lives of nearly every companion will change purely based on the direction you decide to take the character. By dividing it into 3 direction of tone and 2 directions of morality, it makes the game infinitely easier to replay while quickly knowing what you've missed the first playthrough. Ease of access encourages replayability, and replayability develops the full story over time. You're right, something is absolutely lost in the exchange, but the vast majority of crpgs with 6 dialogue options per chat bubble also rely on redundant choices to force you in the same direction either way.
You really went on a complete stretch as to why the dialogue wheel is "far superior" to the classic dialogue tree lol. The Dialogue tree was never about what YOU would say but what best thing your character would say without the constraints of Good, Funny, or aggressive. Or just Good or evil. With classic dialogue tree, you could get anywhere from 4 to 6 options of what your character could say giving you far more flexibility on keeping your character consistent or choosing to change your character based on the games story.
Tell me, how is it "far superior" to roleplay your character if you've decided you want your Hawke to be snarky? That would mean you only pick sarcastic options close to every time. How is that roleplaying when you pick the same option because it has a laughing face and your character is the one of three choices: Funny Hawke? The statement you made about the wheel being better than the dialogue tree for roleplaying is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard!
On point
Fenris looks like a JRPG protagonist.
this whole game feels like a JRPG
He does, I still love him though
firstly I really enjoyed this review, great work overall! one thing that stuck out to me tho is you reacting to the choice of killing Anders with:" [...] This was Ander's story: A life of pain, and loss, and good deeds that never went unpunished."
while I guess i get the notion the framing makes it feel like mass murder by nuking a major capital so after one's death everything devolves into madness is not only viable, but actually the one committing this horrible crime should be pitied because this person met tragedy in their life.
I simply disagree.
it feels like a desperate attempt to create a complex character that goes to extreme measures while reaming relatable. but Ander, as far as I'm concerned, is just another blind extremist that has lost all concern for anyone and anything beyond his mad ideology.
that being said keep up the good work :)
That's exactly what it is. It just became flanderization for the sake of a simpler conflict resolution. No work for the Templars as a Templar or extension of the Circle as a faction member, rather, just a stranger to both vaguely familiar with bad actors. There is no personal stake aside from Bethany being an apostate or Hawk being detested by either at the end. The Warden is deeply-involved, and it's not a question, from their origins as somebody who's life was ripped away from them due to sinister circumstance or the fact that a fucking apocalypse will occur and they're just capable enough to heed the call of duty. Hawke is a refugee who just stumbles into the Kirkwall situation. But without the nuance of even Inquisition, Hawke is not entangled in the web of destiny, rather a glorified Everyman who just happens to be amazing at killing while feeling for their life. Warden? Violent background, training, troubled life, etc. Inquisitor? Magic powers from the Heavens in their hand, possibly divine in origin.
Hawke? Random guy who manages to kill an ogre for no reason. Anders? Mage hippie who liked the idea of being close with a spirit of Justice far too much, so he becomes a *terrorist* to solve what realistically would've been a complete one-sided slaughter by the Mages or Templars, as both have massive amounts of power, training and experience with the other's people, and one small factor would tip the scales completely.
Look at that video quality
Please come back for more videos absolutely amazing retrospectives. Good quality Audio and video cuts. There is a lot of potential in your channel.
I enjoyed this game. I just wish it got more time to polish everything but all in all, is a great game.
I feel like both Origins and 2 would greatly benefit from a remastered collection similar to what Mass Effect got, but I feel like it would be hard for them to modernize the old combat while keeping fans happy with it.
But I enjoy 2 a lot, the story is very strong.
@@spiderz5145 origins is the masterpiece, it doesnt need to be modernized, its the reason why 2 and 3 even exist at all... fans dont want the game to be changed, they would love to just have the bugs fixed and the graphics improved, etc...
I disagree with many things about this DA2 analysis, but I am still glad, you can find and justify why you enjoyed it this much.
One thing that I will however politely disagree with is combat assesment, as someone who enjoyed DA:O combat on the first playthrough on normal and second playthourgh on hardest, I found it genuinely enjoyable and satisfying to figure out many of the encounters, while switching all sorts of loadouts and party compositions throughout the game. The build variety and possibilities in that game felt like a real sandbox puzzle and the whole game was treat through and through. Sure, you could go through with one singular startegy that works, but why ruin it to yourself. In DA2, I felt exact opposite as fights quickly turned to be a chore and every time I tried to push myself through (I tried to finish the game around three times), I simply could not do it, not to mention that actiony combat felt similarly boring as "low strategy" overworld mode.
Also the story sounds pretty good when you describe it in the video, but I had real trouble to connect with said characters due to general blandness of atmosphere and flavour the game had, or in other words, I recalled many events described in the video, but unlike with other games where I usually remember story pretty well, I could not connect any dots at all here. So I assume there are simply production value holes due to short dev time, which is a shame. I really like games with compelling story.
That being said, I absolutely love the loading screen/cutscene handpainted artsytle unlike in any other game I have seen. It is genuinely work of some really talented artists.
Also don’t pay attention to folks who can’t stand your opinion just because it differs. I disagree with a lot of stuff here, but I can take it. You can and should have your own opinion and understanding of art that is videogames. Nice video.
Good stuff, honestly making me interested in trying the series out, there seems to be passion behind the world at least.
It does, until they forget a whole moon.
Great stuff man. Great structure, detailed info, pleasant voice!
This is really great enjoyed it so much
thanks...now i wanna play it again!only played it on release and didnt think much
about it because i was way into the souls games at this point
This is an excellent video essay. I really enjoyed it and subscribed. Keep 'em coming!
Great analysis dude, this definitely deserves more views.
I never took anders wirh me cause i really really dislike him, even in Awakening
Dragon age 2 is underrated. If you look at more as a stepping stone rather than a full blown sequel its pretty great. I personally hate the slow methotical combat of dragon age origins.
A lil late to the party, but that video essay was fantastic, great work :)! You added a lot of context and valuable criticisim both negative and positive that I have barely heard before (and I lurk around DA reddit and YT quite a lot, being a huge fan of the series and all that jazz :D). Your especially right about the companions in my opinion. While I love the crew of DAO and DAI, I'm totally head over heels for the characters in DA2 since IN THEROY their stories have sooo much depth. It's a shame Bioware didn't have enough time, otherwise I think DA2 could have been just as strong as Origins. I also never got the hate regarding Anders and how Bioware allegedly butchered his character. His development was logical - and not that severe in my opinion, since he still cracks quite a few jokes and generally reacts postive to a sarcastic Hawke in the first 2 acts. His overly joking personality in Awakening was kind of a coping mechanism anyway, as he already went through quite traumatic shit lol. Such an interesting character. Also loved the Merill explanation! Keep it up :)
Felicia Day did a short series of Talis on her youtube channel and Bioware liked it so much they wanted to do a dlc based on her character story so they called her in and Mark of the assassin was created
Really enjoyed the commentary. I still think Dragon Age 2 is incredibly underrated.
For the time given to the creators I respect this game. It's not the best but I find it very addictive.
At last, a review of DA2 by someone who actually likes the game!
Your videos on the Dragon Age series are great. I'd love to see you do a critique on the Mass Effect series.
Did you know Fenris is basically Cloud from final fantasy 7? Big sword, injection of mystical substance to a dangerous degree, emotional.
Origins already did explained the Qunari mindset and the tension between the mages and templars and there was nothing subtle about the introduction of red lyrium
This is one of the best critiques I've ever seen. Subscribbed with two thumbs up.
So before I dive into this I wanna say I’m hype. I’m 2 minutes in an you’ve already done more justice than a lot of reviews about this game. I played it when I was a kid, I recently got into the whole series again and replaying dragon age origins and I can’t get off that game lmao I have put in almost 200 hours between to separate characters and as soon as I finish the story and awakawning again on my newer character I’m gonna be restarting AGAIN before I start dragon age two 🥴🥴🥴 but I remember quite a bit I played this A LOT back in the day lolol. The writing was phenomenal for how lackluster the game comes off as at first. I remember when your siblings leaves you, when your mom dies and you’re just in that big empty house you worked so hard for. Discovering the red lyrium and that whole arc with varik and his brother. The lead up to the 1v1 w the qunari that was way too hard for noob me. A lot of people just wash it up as “oh it wasn’t that good” but it’s so much deeper than that. The highs of that game were some of my favorite moments in the entire series. I’m a bit more classic and prefer the gameplay of origins than to either 2 or inquisition, but the story of 2 was very captivating.
Played it around time it came out and I liked it. Tried to replay it some time ago... I bounced off waves of enemies and blankness or emptiness of the world. Although I think DA:I was the worst when it comes to combat and gameplay world but variety of locations helped me alot to not notice it. Might try DA II once again.
Great video, really well done.
I put Origin aside at first due to not being able to play isometric, eg the camera zooming in. But with autohotkey to hold down the right mouse button for me and make the game an actual 3d game + pausing when I wanted to issue commands, I found it fun as over the shoulder with pause. I feel that's the niche it fills, over the shoulder and when you pause the mouse becomes free so you can target and pick abilities. I wrote to bioware to suggest that when you pause you should auto unlock the mouse in da4 so it's effectively a 3d game with thinking time
I never play any RPG as 'myself'. That's not roleplay, it's powerfantasy and is more of a fetish than anything. So yeah, I really always have in mind what kind of person my character will be before I 'make them'.
1:17:04 Every time you say sword and board i wanna SCREAAAAM 😭
Dude I played this game at 14 and DID NOT pick up on the 'pride' aspect of merill's story at all. I thought it was about a little girl playing with fire and eventually got her whole tribe killed. I had to pick my jaw from the floor after I realized that it was the opposite way around. Insane that this kind of writing was what bioware was capable of if you look at inquisition and it's garbage disney storyline
DA2 is obviously a superior game, anyone who prefers DAO is insane (joking but not really). Great video!
DA2 is a good game, it's easy to jump in and play through, the companions are lovely and yes, this is the hill I will die on.
Fun story though, the first time I played the game I was really clueless about the plot, romanced Anders, Isabela and Fenris left me and I could really identify with Hawke looking at the mess by the end.
Have you seen the live-action series based on Talis? I didn't realize there was a DLC directly related to it, I thought it was just some fun side content.
Criticising The Origins combat system but praising the Dragon Age 2 combat system is laughable.
Never ending spwans of enemies to blatantly padding the game and hiding how short the game is.
The combat system of 2 is an absolute joke
As a rouge it blistered my thumb to play DA2
Curious the game's marketing focused so much on the Arishok duel when the game's combat mechanics... well... they're obviously not designed with duels like that in mind. So from gameplay's perspective it's a bit of a nothingburger of a battle.
👏🏽👏🏽
Really grimacing through the part where you keep pronouncing Javaris “jar-vay,” but I’m sticking it out.
Poetic ass words
I'm at the point where you talk about roleplaying and diologue options.
I disagree. So far I've played origins twice. And I have a very clear view of what I wnat my characters to be. My first warden (dalish warrior) is a himbo who undergoes a character arc of a sort. All she wants is to help people and fight for the "good guys" which is a bit of an oxymoron in the world presented in dao. She is naive and takes things at face value, rarely asking questions unless it's "who's ass am I kicking to solve the problem" or "are the people okay". This causes problems however, as she isn't quite thinking all her actions through (the eprfect leader. Why did they give her power? Because she's super strong and good at kicking ass. Also they think she's more competent than she actually is).
For my second warden (city elf rogue) I made him more distrustful and more of a darker vengeful presence. This was however because of the tough life he lived in the alienage. He does have several soft spots and cares a lot about the friends he made, but occasionally he still falls into old patterns, proclaiming his hatred of humans or his thirst for vengance. He also undergoes a character arc, becoming more forgiving, though he alwaslys remains a bit shifty (yes. He stole from orphans but he also saved them first).
So far I have a warden who is genuinely a decent person but compeltely out of her depth and a warden who isn't a bad person, but has no issue with doing bad things and taking advantage of situations he's in.
That's not what I can say about da2. I can headcanon a character arc if I like, but suddenly going from one colour to the other just seems a bit... Jarring.
I do understand your point however. If you made your dao choices simply by what was "more dramatic" you inherently weren't making character choices.
Totally agree with your take on roleplaying. I've just been watching an LP from a youtuber who seemed to take himself quite seriously as a roleplayer and addressed each problem in the series through arched fingers, carefully considering the historical context and possible long term socio-political consequences of every decision. I found it immersion breaking that the characters of Hawke or the Warden would both have access to this knowledge and consistently engage in a sort of speculative chess match about outcomes.
Far better, I think, to play Hawke as she might exist in the world, a sellsword and fixer who has some general understanding and opinion of the big picture, but is ultimately motivated more by some (player determined) combination of money, family, friendship, duty to the city, and empathy to the individual people she interacts with - rather than as a kind of artificial 'dungeon master ex machina'.
I disagree that the personality types improve roleplaying. They give you three preset personalities and very little customization within that. It means every blue/purple/red Hawke is fundamentally the same character as every other blue/purple/red Hawke respectively. One you've played those three characters... that's it. I liked Origins' system because it let you create a unique character rather than having to choose from three characters that were already created for you.
he already explained, this isn't a dnd like game where you create a character, this is a story about a person called Hawke. Players are essentially experiencing a preset story not one where you make up the adventure
@@arcdraconis9579 thats not an rpg then
@@visceraeyes525 you’re literally playing a ROLE a AE hawk, so I don’t know what you’re talking about?
@@initailo1536youre playing a role as a soldier in call of duty
Is that an rpg now?
@@V2ULTRAKill Witcher 3 is an RPG even though Geralt is the protagonist. Not all RPG needs to have completely blank characters to be RPG. What characterise a RPG is the role playing aspect of the game. Geralt have a variety of personality you can make out of him and all kinds of special abilities to chose from.
It is refreshing to see a long form critique where the critiquer uses a female character as the default.
In every playthrough i destroy the templars..
As much as blood magic are mad with power and dangerous
Templars are just fascistic murderers who abuse people just for being born with magic
"champions of the just" what a joke...
Also either my Hawke is a mage or is doing everything she can do protect Bethany.. and if Bethany dies in the Deep Road the only conclusion she can came up with is "she died because of the templar"
Same way i can never be friendly with qunari.. communist muslims.. bah
In a better timeline DA2 was another expansion for Origins where your still the Hero of Ferelden.
Dragon Age 1, could not put down. Dragon Age 2, could not force my self to finish (yawn)... This is why I don't preorder games anymore.
I play DAO almost exclusively over-the-shoulder. Find it to be way better tbh.
Dragon Age 2 is one of the worst abominations ever created. Origins shits all over it from a great height, and to hear DA:2's combat lauded over the FAR superior original's literally had me lol.
Whether this game was rushed or not, it was always destined to be mediocre. The reason why is because instead of building upon what made Origins great, the team that was left after the exodus of the original leadership of DAO thought they could do better with combat, story, and overall presentation. They were flat out wrong because they were the B-team of Bioware thinking they could dumb the game down to appeal to a different type of gamer who would press a button so something as happens and also make the game "cool" and "sexy". But the game just ended up being goofy and full of cringe moments and dialogue as well as 'Woke' Bioware awakening and beginning their endless preaching to us of their personal ideology. I get some people love DA2 but that game was made for the generation that grew up with Marvel's Avengers and Joss Wheadon type dialogue., not for the generation that grew up on classic rpgs and the classic fantasy genre.
As far as I'm concerned, Dragon Age died after Awakening. Then the series became something else entirely. Dragon Age Origins was a love letter to fantasy and classic rpg lovers from Ray Mazuka, Greg Zeschuk, James Ohlen, Dan Tudge, and Brent Knowles. These were guys that loved and respected Fantasy and rpgs. Mike Laidlaw and Mark Darrah went on to destroy Dragon Age by turning it into some goofy hybrid of an anime, 300, and Buffy the Vampire slayer.
Your entire rant about role-playing at the start sounds like someone who's never once played dnd
Picking what flavour of generally the same result the game gives you isnt roleplay
Its the illusion of such