To everyone who finds this video clip heavy. I want to clarify, I'd been mulling the video over for a few months & it's really a love letter to Frank Gorshins portrayal as Marius & the writing of Diablo 2.
Nobody could've done this video better GLD! Frank was on another level with Marius. Your comparison to Gollum & Frodo in LOTR is spot on. Matter of fact, I'm quite sure the same scene @ 11:00 appeared in LOTR when Smeagul is forced to hand back the ring to Frodo after he frames Sam for stealing it. Anyway, RIP Marius. Mans wasn't ready to carry such a burden... RIP Frank Gorshin too of course
I have to say: I still have goosebumps listening to that last claim from Marius: LOOK WHAT THIS STONE HAS DONE TO ME, UUUH... That desperation, that pain... OMG, such an amazing voice acting... Thank you for the video, Dash 😌 You read it from an avocado 🥑
@@aurawolf664 Marius and his relationship to the Dark Wanderer seem to draw more from Dante and Vergil from the Divine Comedy imo, and Marius' ultimate fate draws heavily from Lovecraft. LotR is more of the mother-of-tropes from which a lot of fantasy draws its elements, but I really don't think comparing a dark fantasy game to the fantasy epic that originated the genre is really that big of a revelation, because that's like saying that nobody realises that Aslan or Superman are Christ allegories. Its so painfully obvious as to be almost self-evident.
Marius' voice acting was absolutely ridiculously good. I still think the Diablo 2 intro is the best VG intro ever made, and Gorshin's acting is an important part of it. A performace for the ages!
@@Clock83131 The Red Alert 1 is also one of my all-time favourites, although that's more on the strength of its soundtrack. Man, the late 90s and early 2000s really were the golden age of video gaming :D .
I was about 13yrs old when I started playing this game, I'm 33 today and still get chills from that line," I heard a voice then, like thousand needles in my heart". Like cmon, that voice acting is SICK!
Same bud, im 33 aswell and i played singleplayer till i beat hell. Even tho i played more d2 online then anyother game id still watch the cutscenes every play through.
Go bro. Walk past the prime evils, on the bridge of skulls, over the river of blood into the screaming portal to hell. Who cares if you are literally the lvl 1 mule diablo used to store items. Just do it bro.
My favorite: "My companion drew in the dank, cold air of the Tomb. It seemed to... strengthen him. I stood in the doorway between Light and Dark. What was left of my sanity implored me not to enter. But that voice... was just a whisper now"
It was haunting to me too, but even tho it is a sad tale, it tells smth profound about it isn't always what we do that bites us in the end, but what we "not" do which becomes our greatest regrets. He lacked courage or bravery, he couldn't face his fear and instead retreated to a sad life of constant hiding and misery forever regretting what could have been if he pushed himself. That choice of not entering the portal was his biggest regret, and it was that he did "not" risk his own life to possibly save the world which filled him with horror in his final moments, realizing that by not facing his fears he has doomed the world.
@@kurzackd in this universe being a mercenary and having killed is hardly a sin. Depends on the circumstances of killing, murder then sure? But it isn't as black and white as irl in a dark universe such as this
I thought the same, I didn't learn anything new about Marius other than he is analogues to Frodo if Frodo had failed. But yeah... cool tribute video however to Marius and his voice actor Frank Gorshin
It really adds to the atmosphere that we follow someone who is completely shitting himself over the evil he should never have had to see, yet are forced to keep pushing forward, narrating the story. I think they tried to do the same thing with Leah in Diablo 3, with her being the terrified human element narrating the story.. but it just kind of ended up more like a drama than a horror.
This is not an easteregg reference to Lord of the Rings, it is a callback to the quest myths (most notable in the medieval retellings of the Arthur myth) which existed for hundreds of years and were in turn an influence on Tolkien.
"The blood of Sescheron is all but spent, its pride and dignity forgotten. It is because of Men the Soulstone survives. I was there, Cain. I was there 3000 years ago... when Marius took the Stone. I was there the day the strength of Men failed..."
I love it how right after the demonic eruption, the first thing he does is look at the opium pipe and throws it down, as if to say "that's some bad sh!t".
And again, that's human. That's the exact reaction most of us would have in his situation. Fighting both nightmares and sleep, drugged out of his mind, almost comatose and then this kinda thing happens. Of course you'd first blame it on the drugs.
I remember when I was a kid, first playing this game, I expected with hope to find this man, save him and free him. And when he died I was so heartbroken I cried so much.
I often reference when he says "Take it, take it! Can't you see what it has done to me!" I am so stoked that people appreciate this guys voice acting. I am about 30 seconds in and had to drop a comment.
@@DarkLOREDash very VERY excited for the remastered cutscenes tho. Same audio, HD resolutions? Solllld. Hey Dash you gonna reshoot the D2 lore vids? I love your narration fam highly engaging!
Unironically please try to use little person or dwarf. I'm not real big on the social justice preaching but man, when you really think about it that's a really dehumanizing term.
@@mrosskne You can tell it's mediocre by the fact that no one remembers D2, no one plays D2 anymore, no one thinks about D2, and there certainly isn't a remake of D2 either. That's how you know it's mediocre, you know... like a guy named mike.
I think you missed the point entirely with Marius. During first attack on the monastery Marius had seen how it fell from the inside with hell forces coming up from below. As any other human it scared the crap out of him and he ran but Aiden saw him, made a quick decision to find him and use him later, before hell forces started the assault leaving no man alive. That's why we see Marius in the tavern having sleep deprivation smoking crack, he was trying to forget or at least calm his mind. When Aiden came to the tavern and sat down beside a table, he saw Marius and started the mayhem. When he was about to leave he calls out for Marius, proving he had seen him before. Marius had no choice but to follow, his only safe heaven was in cinders and in both of their state of minds, neither of them wanted to continue their journey alone.
To this day I still hold this performance as the gold standard of voice acting, you can really hear the absolute despair in the last lines Marius ever spoke. "What have I done to deserve this?" Looking at it this way as well, at least Baal just killed him quick instead of the poor man suffering even more.
imagine if marius appears in diablo 3 with his original voice actor. diablo 3 vanilla's story would have been more redeemable. damn baal for killing marius. and that butterfly thingy that killed cain too.
I don't think it's so much mirroring Lord of the Rings specifically as it's just a common "call to adventure" trope in writing that pretty much every fantasy writer uses/has used at some point.
That's one thing you never hear Diablo get enough credit for is that the cinematics for the year 2000 were incredible. That and the fact that every NPC is voiced and voiced with GOOD actors. The game is so damn good.. Fixed a grammatical structuring typo. Cheers.
i am so excited for the resurrected cinematics I hope they are true to the original and not another Reforged&Refunded incident. let us pray to Akarat...
@@derago-dev the whole thing was a mega stretch. It is definitely not an Easter egg and it was most certainly click bait. The reason no one knew this about Marius is because it’s just a ridiculous comparison by one person.
@@rage.kitten Isn't that a bit too harsh dude? I mean, i agree with you but i don't know if that was completely intentional. Not saying the oposite though, not that much of a fan of the channel tbh
@@derago-dev I mean if you consider that harsh, I presume you have a low threshold lol was no hate, just a desperate ploy to put out another video. I’d rather someone only put out videos now and then but be quality content worthy of the watch than release something every day and think... seriously, bruh? 🙄
Though Baal ultimately kills Marius. One could argue Marius had divine protection on his soul. Mortal souls cannot hold one of the soul stones of a great demon without losing their minds, however Marius was able to hold on to it for days, weeks... years without losing his mind.
@@TheQsanity This. This is why, even though it hurts, I refuse to finish the stories of Warcraft, Starcraft, or Diablo with the newer titles. I love Old Blizzard titles, but I can't stand the Activision-Blizzard ones, and I hate what they've done to their games. I played through D3 one time on a friend's pc, and I honestly hated it. It was bland, dry crap I've seen plenty of different times in other cookie cutter bs gambl-ahem, shoot-'n-loot rpgs. WoW sucks, they can't even be original anymore with their storyboarding and it just seems to get cheaper and cheaper with each new segment like your average tv drama. It's why I quit about halfway through BFA. Won't be going back either, there's nothing left that interests me in it. SC 2 was... Ok, even if they radically buffed every single person in it to 'roid rage levels and massively disappointed me with the bs Deus Ex Machina ending. But Now Acti-Bliz have absolutely abandoned the story/single player aspect of it and only hold to the multiplayer aspect, and for a guy that got interested and played Starcraft 1 for its story, that was a major turn-off for me, and I've just kind of... abandoned the game myself, sadly. I only ever play the original or older games anymore. They're the only Blizzard games that I feel like I'm not wasting my time with. Sure, I guess MP is ok, but honestly I'm more interested in the story aspect of a game, and if that sucks then I don't want to play it. Sad to say, but until they either die or actually get better I'm just staying away from everything except their old games. Which'll probably be forever, if I'm being honest. Oh well...
I always had the thought in the back of my mind that Marius was Farnum from D1 and that Marius was just his first name and Farnum was his last name. Since he always hung around Tristram, Trying to drink away the memory of what he saw in the monastery.
That, or even a sanity break of The Dark Wanderer's remaining humanity, with just enough open space to not make it hamfisted. Well, that headcannon fit until they retroactively decided D1's hero was the king's firstborn, Aidan in D3.
The Rogue Monastery and the Church in Tristram are a significant distance apart (I think that was mentioned by Akara in-game at some point, making the teleport from the Cairn Stones needed) But I did click on this vid thinking he found some link to make Marius and Farnham brothers or something lol.
@@drdomvondoom9265 It's a fantasy setting, so drugs probably are fantastic as well. Still kinda funny how he looks at his pipe after all the demonic shit happened and throws it away
These d2 cinematics are insanely nostalgic for me. I’ll never forget watching my dad go through vanilla d2 back in the day. Every cinematic is sheer brilliance. I cannot WAIT to see them reimagined in D2R
Hands down, the one after Act 3 is my favorite! That transformation into big D is INSANE! Plus Mephisto's voice was amazing for 2000 too!! Still sends chills up my spine!
I wonder if Marius and The Wanderer got along on their trip? I mean, they walked all the way, it's not like Marius had any money so The Wanderer probably spotted him some gold for food and drink on their way. It's not like they didn't make camp. All that time they must have made small talk. Diablo was probably going mad having to chit chat with a mortal for like, a few weeks at least.
On Act 2's cutscene the wanderer addresses Marius during camping. He talks about some visions and suggests Marius to rest. It's not much but it always made me feel like despite everything, The Dark Wanderer respected him, which is odd considering he was already full on Diablo, calling Baal his brother and all. That got me thinking, maybe he got influenced by his host? The warrior was a hero in every sense of the word (as in, protect the weak and all) and Diablo's form has changed based on the gender of his previous hosts. Am I just rambling? lol. Both sides on that exchange, host and parasite(?) gets changed by it but since Diablo is a prime evil and the warrior just a human, D comes out on top. I dunno if it makes any sense whatsoever lol but that's what came to mind.
@@gbc2095 I figure that any time Diablo could stop overriding the Wanderer's will, Diablo would. Letting him be nice to Marius is zero risk, so why fight him over it? Take a momentary breather between keeping your host under the boot.
@@thomasbrantley5667 Each to their own and I am glad you enjoyed it! I just couldn't and I really really wanted to... for me it just felt too shallow and grindy.
What has been haunting me all this years is why Baal need Marius to willingly hand him over his soulstone? He could have just enter the cell and took it forcefully after killing Marius? Is this a thing or just for cinematic sake? Secondly, I always thought Tyreal gave the mission to Marius at the Tal Rasha tomb incidentally as Marius is the only mortal there and Tyreal perceive sliver of goodness and courage in all mortals, regardless if they are actually cowards and pitiful like Marius. Its like the saying "dont judge a book by its cover"....Marius's book's cover must have been very bleak but Tyreal didn't judge him on that, instead Tyreal put his faith into Marius. Well, at least thats whay he had hoped but we all know the endings 😉
From what I understand from the lore, Marius took the stone out of Tal Rasha's chest by choice. Tal Rasha was pleading with him to do it, because he was magically bound to not be able to. It had to come from an "innocent soul". We know that Tal Rasha has plenty of other appendages with which to pull out the stone, but was unable to. In the last cinematic, he had to hand it over willingly because he was bound to it. It's similar to the old vampire trope that a vampire cannot just enter your home; they must have permission. Same goes here I think.
@@tlee656 I think that was Baal telling Marius to take the soulstone. Tal Rasha was a mage and he and his followers trapped Baal in the soulstone, then they constructed all the fake tombs, and scattered the pieces of the key for the original tomb. Then Tal Rasha made the ultimate sacrifice to plunge the soulstone of Baal into his chest ask his companions to bind him in the tomb and seal him off where he can wrestle with Baal forever, since if you simply kill Baal he will reform in hell and manifest again in due time.
I'm pretty sure that Baal was just being sadistic and having Marius relive some of his worst memories for his amusement. He's shown to have a sadistic streak in the expansion.
@@varvariiin in order to free him from the stone after all he was trapped within the mage and bound by the stone, by taking the stone he was able to free Baal.
The way LOTR would have ended without Gollum playing his part in the destruction of the ring... Very clever comparison! And I love the subtle shade at D3 😆
Can't believe I never really thought of how similar they are! Taking the Soulstone to be destroyed at the Hellforge was Marius' version of Frodo taking the One Ring to Mount Doom. Frodo of course wasn't an Opium fiend so I guess it's fair to say he had the upper hand of the two lol😂
@@aurawolf664 Frodo had a choice, he CHOSE to bear the object to mordor. Also, he wasnt all freaking alone with no help whatsoever. Frodo had 8 companions at the start, he had a plan, he had a guide, he had supplies, he had support. Marius followed fricking diablo for months getting crazier and crazier over time, then when an archangel shows up, does he get saved? is he protected? NO! He is ordered to go run to the mephisto infested temple in the middle of a jungle and somehow, no clue how, jump through a portal only the prime evils could have opened. And then somehow walk through literal hell, find the soulforge, and smash the stone. What kind of insane quest is THAT?! The dude didnt even have a knife to his name. How was he supposed to ever accomplish that? At BEST I could have seen him stay near the temple hoping against hope for something to happen to make it possible, like seeing an adventurer show up afterwards and kill mephisto *cough* and give it to him to destroy since he already had one soulstone on him. But nobody on earth should blame him for breaking under the insanity inducing nature of what he was facing. Frodo wouldnt have done any better imo. Not too mention frodo failed too anyways. He stood at the crack of doom and failed to destroy the ring. It was purest luck that saw it melt.
Notice that Baal requires Marius to give him the stone rather than just kill him and take it. I imagine some magic within the stones prevents the demons from taking the stones by force if they already have an "owner". Makes me wonder, if Marius had a stronger will, could he have used the stone to control Baal?
All Baal would have to do is just wait a bit longer for Marius to crack, which he inevitably would since owning the soulstone was destroying him so quickly. Or, if he somehow developed an iron will and never cracked even to the end, owning the soulstone would surely reduce his lifespan by a lot. I'm not sure what kind of control Marius would have over Baal, I just imagine Baal being like "Well ok then, I'll just wait for you to die, which shouldn't be too long given how quickly you've aged already." Marius was screwed at that point no matter what he did, keeping the soulstone or giving it to Baal would both result in a much sooner death than he otherwise would have if he never got into this mess to begin with, or if he managed to destroy the soulstone at hellforge.
Nothing was stopping him from burning the place down and grabbing the stone from the wreckage if he couldnt directly take it. Dude was in a locked room in an asylum, he wasnt getting away. I think he just enjoyed playing one last trick on the poor bastard. Getting him to confess everything, then willingly hand it right back to baal would have been utterly delicious to Baal. You saw him in his own cinematic at the gates of whatever barbarian city it was, playing that little game with the herald. He has a sick sense of humor.
Marius does have a character model in D3. In Chapter 4 as you're nearing the top of the tower you can be confronted by random ghosts of characters from the game who claim you failed them and the world. They come from a selection of characters from Deckard Caine to Magda. However a very rare appearance is Marius. It's used to try and make Tyrael bend his knee to Diablo and when it fails like the others it transforms into a minion of the prime evils, fittingly one who served Baal.
The best part for me about that is just how much a non-sequitur it truly is. None of the protagonists of D2, let alone D3, ever met Marius. To them it would just be some rando, and they'd have to ask Tyrael to know what he was lying about. It is essentially a punch at Tyrael in story and I like that.
You know what bugs me? Marius made it all the way to Durance 3, unscathed, which meant he somehow got around the jungle, the council, the compelling orb and all the Act III nasties. If he could make it that far, he could kill Meph, no problem.
aside from the jabs he made at Diablo 3 and the method of narration. I felt that he was pretty spot on for how important the Marius character to the second game. Everyone talks about how iconic Deckard Cain is to the franchise, yet in truth, that character would not have the same gravitas if it was not for Marius, and the high level of performance and commitment to the character.
I have a bit of a different view on this. Long story short: I think Marius is the Warrior from Diablo 1, and the Dark Wanderer is the previous vessel (forgot the prince's name). The reason Marius HAS to follow the Wanderer is that the 2 are 1. Just look at the forehead of Marius. You can clearly see the scar where he forced Diablo's soulstone in. The poor guy has been using all the tricks in the book to keep the evil repressed for years.
I love Diablo 1 and 2 essence, and I like Marius, but I feel he was never a Saint, he was only a simple man not good nor evil. But a stupid soul he was. Diablo was so brilliant even on its cinematics, just a classic forever.
You know what, You are right, Frank's portrayal of Marius really made that game, I remember watching and even looking forward to those cut-scenes the first few times, as opposed to D3 where i don't recall ever watching the cut-scenes, not that i noticed it before watching this video but Frank / Marius made that story relatable and provided a link of sorts between the fantasy of D2 and what it would be like if it was a real thing, that i have not seen in any other game that i can recall over the last 25+ years
well then, you're probably not a true Diablo fan or you would remember Leah's story in D3 was even MORE tragic and gut wrenching because in her case you ACTUALLY fight alongside her and get to know her as a character.
@@daharos Interesting, I have played and completed every single Diablo game + Expansions, with the exception of Imortal. i could not stomach that one. i can remember stories from each leading up to D3, even if it has been upwards of 10 years since the last time i played. yet i remeber nothing of D3, which i likely have either just as much time playing or more than most of the other Diablo games.. Guess im not a true fan..
I wonder what would happen if he actually tried to go through the portal. Would he be attacked by mephisto ? Most likely. But then again maybe not. After all he seemed to walk past all of them zakarum soldiers. On the chance that he'd be attacked. How did tyrael expect him to get past mephisto anyway ?
I'm pretty sure they knew he was there in the room with them they probably would have stopped him before he got to the portal, heck the whole thing was probably an act for him to see, he was their back up plan if Diablo failed
Harvey Weinstein! RIP! XD Damn! That D3 shot tho!!!! I know we've discussed this on Discord, but I still got right hooked with that Lord of the Rings reference. Very well done!
I totally just realized when Marius exits the bar or inn whatever and looks down at his shadow with the blood stain and the laterns shadow makes it look like he is in a cell it's foreshadowing his death in the prison cell
I think they knew he was there. They knew he wouldn’t destroy it. They used him Baal used him as a stash. He says. You haven’t failed, you’ve done exactly as you were meant to do
@@Hogobadaba This. There's simply no way they didn't notice his presence. Wouldn't notice the soulstone. They simply thought him too insignificant, too cowardly to destroy the stone and oppose them.
You are right about the importance of Marius that we can feel the terror vicariously through him as a weak yet normal human being. Without him the ambiance of the whole game wouldn't be that tangible cuz the characters we can choose to play are all fearless warriors who can hacked down hundreds of vicious worms in their own den without breaking a sweat..
I know I am making this up in my mind… but his familiarity with Tyrael, his stated presence at the monastery in Diablo 1, running from that and turning into an outcast troubled man… I have always seen him as a fallen horadrim. He turned his back and ran in Diablo 1, and was desperate to make it right in Diablo 2, but failed again, and his weeping at the end is the despair of ultimate failure… at least, that’s how I spin it in my head. Hence Cain sees himself as the last of the Horadrim, assuming Marius is dead or turned away.
@@edkavanaugh6881 Yeah, seen it. Not a fan. He's just some old bloke now, not the eyewitness of some guy being ripped apart to become a Greater Lord of Hell.
Remastering the cutscenes doesn't seem like they tried to 'enhance' anything about them, just made them less of an eyesore (most remasteries i've played, they don't even bother touching up the cutscenes). The important part is they didn't re-record new voice work, so Marius' reads are just as flawless as ever.
I remember playing d2 as a teen. I am astonished at the talent blizzard was capable of capturing for their cinematics. Especially their voice actors. David Brevick and Mike Morheim made an epic. I hope they work together again with the creation of the new studio Morheim founded.
Agreed. Metzens Auroborous Pen & Paper world is decidedly dark as well. Would love to see the - now bunch of old guys, with an air of conviction - remake the legacy of what made old blizzard what they were.
I remember it well. I saw it before the expansion came out, so at that time, this was THE ending, and boy oh boy, was that a haunting ending for 10 year old me.
I saw it coming as there were enough hints with the screaming and stuff going on that I knew it wasnt tyreal. Still though, his reaction to realizing he had been duped was amazing.
@@chrishubbard64 I had always thought the screams were meant to set the ambience of a medieval madhouse. Even after knowing the end reveal, I never thought of it any different during subsequent playthroughs
I love the Diablo 2 cutscenes. Our computer wasn't strong enough to watch them in the original release of the game but with the remastering of it, it's so nice to see them. Leah is supposed to be that human element for Diablo 3 bit she's just not the same as a hapless drug addict that is Marius.
Ok, everyone keeps beating on Marius for failing to destroy the stone, but how the hell was he supposed to do that? Mephisto was standing right in front of the gate. Even if he does sneak into hell, I can’t imagine him killing Hephasto and getting the hellforge hammer. And yet Deckard Cain blames “that fool Marius” for his failure. Come on, Cain, let’s not pretend you could’ve done all that on your own.
It's weird that people blame Marius when he had 0 chance of success in hindsight (if anything, Tyrael is at fault for not telling him to just hide and seek the pursuing heroes to give them the Soulstone). How exactly was Marius supposed to bypass 2 of the 3 Prime Evils, survive the fires of Hell itself, bypass the 3rd Prime Evil, bypass the legions of demons in Hell, get to the Hellforge, get Hephasto's hammer which Hephasto himself pretty much never lets go of, and hit the soulstone within the Hellforge which is also surrounded by a legion of demons? Even if he tried, he would have probably made it 5 steps at most before getting killed with the Soulstone reclaimed by the Prime Evils. Not even 5 steps into hell, but 5 steps towards the hell portal before Mephisto and Baal just kill him on the spot.
who knows how high marius' sneak and rogue-like skill number. he was an adventurer before, he could hoard some trinkets to help him in his quest for redemption. but that still didn't account the heavy influence of the 3 evils in his mind. also perhaps marius didn't seek any allies to help him out of fear that they will betray him and steal the soulstone. really wish marius had part in the main game instead of just the cinematic.
“Why? What did I do to deserve this?” It’s both the line and the delivery that made me feel the true despair of Marius as well as to feel desperate myself
This game is so influential. My dad, older brother and I love to randomly say "tell me, Marius, how is it *not* your fault?" We love this fucking game to death
For those who aren't seeing the point: The thing most people miss about Marius is that he's the product of a failed Hero's Journey. Most just parse him as the narrator who has a tragic end, but he does have a full arc. He just reaches the precipice of his final trial and flinches; as many people would when confronted with *literally Hell*
@@Miscio94 A shocking number of people don't recognize even obvious story beats and plot arcs. Sadly it seems like this is true for hollywood's current crop of directors too.
@@aircraftcarrierwo-class While it's true that sometimes people are dumb or just not paying attention, I don't think there's any substantial plot that could be missed from these cutscenes. I mean, it's really obvious that this guy fails his "hero duty" since it's called in an awesome cutscene by Tyrael and then repeated over and over by Marius himself. This video is just clickbait. "Most" people didn't miss anything in particular about the character.
there was a theory on reddit that Marius was not he seems to be. the fan theory possits theat Marius was a nephalem like the hereos, a necromancer to be specific and that explains how he was choosen by Diablo as companion to fulfill their ultimate goal. it also explains how Marius has been able the keep the corrupted soulstone of Baal with him without completely lossing his mind.
Here's a dilemma though... when Tyrael told Marius to take the Soulstone to the Hellforge to be destroyed... did he expect Marius to somehow find and wield the Hellforge Hammer?! Or did Tyrael assume some adventurers would do it afterwards?
I think it's a bit of a stretch. The one thing I would like to point out is the fact that Frodo also failed his quest. He ultimately could not overcome the temptation and corruption of the ring.
Did you really just go "LOTR has the Hero's Journey, D2 has Hero's Journey, guess they're the same!" for real? This is why humanities are important, kids.
Frodo fails in his quest too. He chooses to keep the ring, but Gollum fights him for it and bites off Frodo's finger, then falls into the volcano with the ring and dies and inadvertently destroys the ring.
You're right about D3's script... I didn't know why I found the characters odd and out of place, but yeah... it's because nothing they saw really frightened them to the extent that it should. Despite never seeing a demon (or even know it was real), or seeing walking dead bodies, most NPCs in the game were pretty chill about it. Yeah I know magic in Diablo universe is not a rarity, and certain individuals are very familiar with demons (the vizjerei and other mage clans), but most people would be our equivalent 14-15 century peasant in Europe.
I like D3's general story and gameplay/classes, but the script writing really wasnt very good overall. Lots of heavy exposition, cliched villain dialogue and unbelievable reactions, like Leah continuing not to believe Deckard Cain's "crazy stories" during an invasion of undead bc a man fell out of the sky like a meteor.
diablo 3's writing is weak, though the reaper of souls expansion kinda improve the game's writing. and thankfully diablo 4 seems to be trying to follow diablo 1/2's dark writing more closely.
agreed, easily up there with the best... if not the best, Marius as a character doesn't get enough credit another awesome video mate on this fantastic lore
To everyone who finds this video clip heavy. I want to clarify, I'd been mulling the video over for a few months & it's really a love letter to Frank Gorshins portrayal as Marius & the writing of Diablo 2.
@@Sexcalibure thatd be sad to see!
7:50 sick burn brah
Nobody could've done this video better GLD! Frank was on another level with Marius. Your comparison to Gollum & Frodo in LOTR is spot on. Matter of fact, I'm quite sure the same scene @ 11:00 appeared in LOTR when Smeagul is forced to hand back the ring to Frodo after he frames Sam for stealing it. Anyway, RIP Marius. Mans wasn't ready to carry such a burden...
RIP Frank Gorshin too of course
I have to say: I still have goosebumps listening to that last claim from Marius: LOOK WHAT THIS STONE HAS DONE TO ME, UUUH... That desperation, that pain... OMG, such an amazing voice acting...
Thank you for the video, Dash 😌
You read it from an avocado 🥑
@@aurawolf664
Marius and his relationship to the Dark Wanderer seem to draw more from Dante and Vergil from the Divine Comedy imo, and Marius' ultimate fate draws heavily from Lovecraft.
LotR is more of the mother-of-tropes from which a lot of fantasy draws its elements, but I really don't think comparing a dark fantasy game to the fantasy epic that originated the genre is really that big of a revelation, because that's like saying that nobody realises that Aslan or Superman are Christ allegories. Its so painfully obvious as to be almost self-evident.
Marius' voice acting was absolutely ridiculously good. I still think the Diablo 2 intro is the best VG intro ever made, and Gorshin's acting is an important part of it. A performace for the ages!
Totally agree. It can't be overstated how deftly he carried the plot
I'd have to give StarCraft : Brood Wars the win over Diablo 2 for the VG intro, but very close!
@@Clock83131 The Red Alert 1 is also one of my all-time favourites, although that's more on the strength of its soundtrack. Man, the late 90s and early 2000s really were the golden age of video gaming :D .
@@Chyrosran22 It sure was! I am happy to have lived through it!
agreed!
I was about 13yrs old when I started playing this game, I'm 33 today and still get chills from that line," I heard a voice then, like thousand needles in my heart". Like cmon, that voice acting is SICK!
Same here man, I'll never forget that one. Best voice acting I've ever heard
@@gruu Feels good not being the only one
Same
Same but 34 over here.
Same bud, im 33 aswell and i played singleplayer till i beat hell. Even tho i played more d2 online then anyother game id still watch the cutscenes every play through.
Tyrael told him to literally go to Hell.
Go bro. Walk past the prime evils, on the bridge of skulls, over the river of blood into the screaming portal to hell. Who cares if you are literally the lvl 1 mule diablo used to store items. Just do it bro.
Marius is a nephalem. So this isnt even so weird.
@@golkonda8995 no he was not the world stone was still in one piece at the time.
@@golkonda8995 marius is a scrub
@@BMPK a deku scrub 😂
My favorite: "My companion drew in the dank, cold air of the Tomb. It seemed to... strengthen him. I stood in the doorway between Light and Dark. What was left of my sanity implored me not to enter. But that voice... was just a whisper now"
"He moved with demonic speed"
"I realized my companion had not been gaining strenght... He had been loosing what was left of his humanity"
The writing was outstanding.
Marius is amazing but I still get shivers when Baal says "I am not the Archangel Tyrael..."
That face reveal too lol
It was a plot twist which send shivers down my spine. Yes, one could expect it, but witnessing it first hand was so damn cool.
So how did Marius killed by Baal? Is it from Baal’s tentacles?
@@KingofHearts52030 Yes because he gave him the stone so he was no longer protected.
@@arbiter8246 It was a quick, more humane death than that barbarian watchman.
Marius’ line “What have I done to deserve this?” haunts me to this day. He was an innocent man but evil does not care
It was haunting to me too, but even tho it is a sad tale, it tells smth profound about it isn't always what we do that bites us in the end, but what we "not" do which becomes our greatest regrets. He lacked courage or bravery, he couldn't face his fear and instead retreated to a sad life of constant hiding and misery forever regretting what could have been if he pushed himself. That choice of not entering the portal was his biggest regret, and it was that he did "not" risk his own life to possibly save the world which filled him with horror in his final moments, realizing that by not facing his fears he has doomed the world.
@@kurzackd in this universe being a mercenary and having killed is hardly a sin. Depends on the circumstances of killing, murder then sure? But it isn't as black and white as irl in a dark universe such as this
@@Radenshaal that's also if he wasn't a mercenary for beasts not men.
he did set baal free tho even unknowingly he still let one of the 3 prime evils free
Well, he did take the stone to release the freaking demon. lol.
Watched whole video,
still haven't realized anything about Marius
Because this video is shitty clickbait.
Exactly what I thought as well...
Marius is Frodo and Gollum 0_0
I thought the same, I didn't learn anything new about Marius other than he is analogues to Frodo if Frodo had failed. But yeah... cool tribute video however to Marius and his voice actor Frank Gorshin
I think it was the bit about LOTR that was his point.
9 minutes into an 11 minute video and I'm still waiting to find out what it is I don't realize about Marius
It's a far-fetched guess built on very shaky ground constructed as clickbaity revelation.
I'm hoping for a TL/DW
Mee too
He could simply have done a vid about Marius and not klickbate it. Would still have watched...
That parallel is kinda obvious, why is he saying nobody realizes that?
He was an unforgettable character...
I still remember his voice...
Sad that cinematics and NPC characters in D3 didn't reach the same depth. I'm afraid that it is the same with the coming D4 as well.
@@pistool1
I totally agree...
Unfortunately... Diablo 3 was like WOW, etc...
It was forgettable...
I still quote his . " We traveled to the east always to the east." When things are looking bad irl.
@@joshuanoble5895
And you remind me his voice while I remember that scene... ✅✅✅✅
It really adds to the atmosphere that we follow someone who is completely shitting himself over the evil he should never have had to see, yet are forced to keep pushing forward, narrating the story. I think they tried to do the same thing with Leah in Diablo 3, with her being the terrified human element narrating the story.. but it just kind of ended up more like a drama than a horror.
This is not an easteregg reference to Lord of the Rings, it is a callback to the quest myths (most notable in the medieval retellings of the Arthur myth) which existed for hundreds of years and were in turn an influence on Tolkien.
Tyreal: "CAST IT INTO THE HELLFORGE! DESTROY IT!"
Marius: "No."
"The blood of Sescheron is all but spent, its pride and dignity forgotten. It is because of Men the Soulstone survives. I was there, Cain. I was there 3000 years ago... when Marius took the Stone. I was there the day the strength of Men failed..."
@@JonathanJJZ 3 thousand years ago? Oh wait are you mixing up lord of the rings with Diablo?
@@Groovy_Bruce he's mixing a quote from LotR and a quote from Diablo...
"The Shard...is Mine!!!"
My precious soul stone
When I was a kid these cut scenes were so captivating because of Marius
It looked way better back then
@@Thunda1986 duh
@@Thunda1986 it was the hair
His voice actor is so fucking good
We need him back in d4
“What I saw there... was not meant for mortal eyes...” best acting ever
Marius' voice acting pretty much carried the entire Diablo 2 arc in terms of cutscenes.
Totally agree
@@DarkLOREDash his voice actor had severe lung cancer at time of acting. this explains his voice sounding like snow being crushed under a boot
I love it how right after the demonic eruption, the first thing he does is look at the opium pipe and throws it down, as if to say "that's some bad sh!t".
And again, that's human. That's the exact reaction most of us would have in his situation. Fighting both nightmares and sleep, drugged out of his mind, almost comatose and then this kinda thing happens. Of course you'd first blame it on the drugs.
I remember when I was a kid, first playing this game, I expected with hope to find this man, save him and free him.
And when he died I was so heartbroken I cried so much.
Me too. *insert appeal to male fantasy meme*
I often reference when he says "Take it, take it! Can't you see what it has done to me!" I am so stoked that people appreciate this guys voice acting. I am about 30 seconds in and had to drop a comment.
Marius is a character I will never forget. And he only existed for like half an hour. Total.
Absolute legend. Absolute Tragic AF lend.
Legend*
Agree!
@@DarkLOREDash very VERY excited for the remastered cutscenes tho. Same audio, HD resolutions? Solllld. Hey Dash you gonna reshoot the D2 lore vids? I love your narration fam highly engaging!
That midget who served the drinks at the rogue tavern. I'd like to know more about him. "You want samsing?" 😎
funnyly, he still held his serving tray while panicking amongst the demons. and then he just died. poor guy.
Unironically please try to use little person or dwarf. I'm not real big on the social justice preaching but man, when you really think about it that's a really dehumanizing term.
Marius and Baal's conversation is some Legacy of Kain levels of epiciness.
The Voice acting is beyond incredible.
What's incredible is this game is over 20 years old and still more fun than any modern tripple A trash
@@ponchopower it's quite mediocre
@@mrosskne oh sure, a genre defining 20 year old game with a huge player base still to this day is at best mediocre.
@@G00N3YC4NG Yes, it is.
@@mrosskne You can tell it's mediocre by the fact that no one remembers D2, no one plays D2 anymore, no one thinks about D2, and there certainly isn't a remake of D2 either. That's how you know it's mediocre, you know... like a guy named mike.
I think you missed the point entirely with Marius. During first attack on the monastery Marius had seen how it fell from the inside with hell forces coming up from below. As any other human it scared the crap out of him and he ran but Aiden saw him, made a quick decision to find him and use him later, before hell forces started the assault leaving no man alive. That's why we see Marius in the tavern having sleep deprivation smoking crack, he was trying to forget or at least calm his mind. When Aiden came to the tavern and sat down beside a table, he saw Marius and started the mayhem. When he was about to leave he calls out for Marius, proving he had seen him before. Marius had no choice but to follow, his only safe heaven was in cinders and in both of their state of minds, neither of them wanted to continue their journey alone.
To this day I still hold this performance as the gold standard of voice acting, you can really hear the absolute despair in the last lines Marius ever spoke.
"What have I done to deserve this?"
Looking at it this way as well, at least Baal just killed him quick instead of the poor man suffering even more.
imagine if marius appears in diablo 3 with his original voice actor. diablo 3 vanilla's story would have been more redeemable. damn baal for killing marius. and that butterfly thingy that killed cain too.
I don't think it's so much mirroring Lord of the Rings specifically as it's just a common "call to adventure" trope in writing that pretty much every fantasy writer uses/has used at some point.
That's one thing you never hear Diablo get enough credit for is that the cinematics for the year 2000 were incredible. That and the fact that every NPC is voiced and voiced with GOOD actors. The game is so damn good..
Fixed a grammatical structuring typo. Cheers.
i am so excited for the resurrected cinematics I hope they are true to the original and not another Reforged&Refunded incident. let us pray to Akarat...
@@aurawolf664 "By the ancients!"
To this day whenever anyone says the word east to me, i immediately say Always to the east, in my most marius way i can do.
kinda like how severus snape's one word quote "always" be fondly remembered by his fans.
I don't think that's a Easter Egg, its more like a Theory actually...
And a clickbait.
@@MrQbee87 I wouldn't call it a clickbait... but that's just my opinion, since i can see why people would think that
@@derago-dev the whole thing was a mega stretch. It is definitely not an Easter egg and it was most certainly click bait. The reason no one knew this about Marius is because it’s just a ridiculous comparison by one person.
@@rage.kitten Isn't that a bit too harsh dude? I mean, i agree with you but i don't know if that was completely intentional. Not saying the oposite though, not that much of a fan of the channel tbh
@@derago-dev I mean if you consider that harsh, I presume you have a low threshold lol was no hate, just a desperate ploy to put out another video. I’d rather someone only put out videos now and then but be quality content worthy of the watch than release something every day and think... seriously, bruh? 🙄
Though Baal ultimately kills Marius. One could argue Marius had divine protection on his soul. Mortal souls cannot hold one of the soul stones of a great demon without losing their minds, however Marius was able to hold on to it for days, weeks... years without losing his mind.
Marius was so badass he just kept on smoking not getting any damages while the wanderer wrecked em tavern in diablo 2 intro lol
The little snark at D3 is bloody gold hahaha
Well deserved too.
d3's better
@@mrosskne If it's better, then why are people playing PoE and D2 instead ?
@@pepsastomna7758 Because you can't just stare into the sun for too long.
That is how bloomy f*cking D3 is.
Again, I hope that the D4/5 Devs watch this. This is what made D2 so great.
What makes D2 great is the itemization and atmosphere. The story is completely secondary.
@@nathanpapp432 they did both right. The storytelling and cinematics of old Blizz was what Blizz was known for.
@@TheQsanity This.
This is why, even though it hurts, I refuse to finish the stories of Warcraft, Starcraft, or Diablo with the newer titles. I love Old Blizzard titles, but I can't stand the Activision-Blizzard ones, and I hate what they've done to their games. I played through D3 one time on a friend's pc, and I honestly hated it. It was bland, dry crap I've seen plenty of different times in other cookie cutter bs gambl-ahem, shoot-'n-loot rpgs. WoW sucks, they can't even be original anymore with their storyboarding and it just seems to get cheaper and cheaper with each new segment like your average tv drama. It's why I quit about halfway through BFA. Won't be going back either, there's nothing left that interests me in it. SC 2 was... Ok, even if they radically buffed every single person in it to 'roid rage levels and massively disappointed me with the bs Deus Ex Machina ending. But Now Acti-Bliz have absolutely abandoned the story/single player aspect of it and only hold to the multiplayer aspect, and for a guy that got interested and played Starcraft 1 for its story, that was a major turn-off for me, and I've just kind of... abandoned the game myself, sadly.
I only ever play the original or older games anymore. They're the only Blizzard games that I feel like I'm not wasting my time with. Sure, I guess MP is ok, but honestly I'm more interested in the story aspect of a game, and if that sucks then I don't want to play it. Sad to say, but until they either die or actually get better I'm just staying away from everything except their old games. Which'll probably be forever, if I'm being honest. Oh well...
I always had the thought in the back of my mind that Marius was Farnum from D1 and that Marius was just his first name and Farnum was his last name. Since he always hung around Tristram, Trying to drink away the memory of what he saw in the monastery.
That, or even a sanity break of The Dark Wanderer's remaining humanity, with just enough open space to not make it hamfisted. Well, that headcannon fit until they retroactively decided D1's hero was the king's firstborn, Aidan in D3.
@@grahamflorida5942 Yeah I could see a fight club style reveal happening. It would have been an interesting twist.
The Rogue Monastery and the Church in Tristram are a significant distance apart (I think that was mentioned by Akara in-game at some point, making the teleport from the Cairn Stones needed)
But I did click on this vid thinking he found some link to make Marius and Farnham brothers or something lol.
"Smoking opium, while he staves off sleep."
Not a very good choice if you're looking to avoid sleep.
Now if Marius was snorting fat lines of meth, not only would he have staved off sleep but he would have tried to smoke the soul stone
@@drdomvondoom9265 It's a fantasy setting, so drugs probably are fantastic as well. Still kinda funny how he looks at his pipe after all the demonic shit happened and throws it away
@@AdamMichalMarkowski, he was like "Ok, that's it. I'm not smokin that shit anymore."
you can hear in the background the others in the room start getting louded as if they know whats going to happen
These d2 cinematics are insanely nostalgic for me. I’ll never forget watching my dad go through vanilla d2 back in the day. Every cinematic is sheer brilliance. I cannot WAIT to see them reimagined in D2R
Hands down, the one after Act 3 is my favorite! That transformation into big D is INSANE! Plus Mephisto's voice was amazing for 2000 too!! Still sends chills up my spine!
@@tlee656 Correction: it sends needles into your heart*
@@TheDSasterX I was considering going there, but left it implied, :P !
I always thought the cinematics made Marius's role quite clear.
I wonder if Marius and The Wanderer got along on their trip? I mean, they walked all the way, it's not like Marius had any money so The Wanderer probably spotted him some gold for food and drink on their way. It's not like they didn't make camp. All that time they must have made small talk. Diablo was probably going mad having to chit chat with a mortal for like, a few weeks at least.
Marius was the plan to win over Tyrael. Diablo know he is weak.
@Bryce Arnold or about his "I Am sixteen now" party where he was dressed as Britney Spears.
On Act 2's cutscene the wanderer addresses Marius during camping. He talks about some visions and suggests Marius to rest. It's not much but it always made me feel like despite everything, The Dark Wanderer respected him, which is odd considering he was already full on Diablo, calling Baal his brother and all. That got me thinking, maybe he got influenced by his host? The warrior was a hero in every sense of the word (as in, protect the weak and all) and Diablo's form has changed based on the gender of his previous hosts. Am I just rambling? lol. Both sides on that exchange, host and parasite(?) gets changed by it but since Diablo is a prime evil and the warrior just a human, D comes out on top. I dunno if it makes any sense whatsoever lol but that's what came to mind.
@@gbc2095 I figure that any time Diablo could stop overriding the Wanderer's will, Diablo would. Letting him be nice to Marius is zero risk, so why fight him over it? Take a momentary breather between keeping your host under the boot.
Diablo 2 story, characters and just ability to immerse you in the world is so much better than 3
No doubt. D3 could never
You feel the heart and soul of everyone involved in making D2 poured into the game. That was lost...
@@thomasbrantley5667 Each to their own and I am glad you enjoyed it! I just couldn't and I really really wanted to... for me it just felt too shallow and grindy.
@@thomasbrantley5667 Keen for D2 remaster and D4 looking pretty cool as well don't ya think?
@@thomasbrantley5667 lol did your dad make d3 or something? You're kind of sensitive about it.
What has been haunting me all this years is why Baal need Marius to willingly hand him over his soulstone? He could have just enter the cell and took it forcefully after killing Marius? Is this a thing or just for cinematic sake? Secondly, I always thought Tyreal gave the mission to Marius at the Tal Rasha tomb incidentally as Marius is the only mortal there and Tyreal perceive sliver of goodness and courage in all mortals, regardless if they are actually cowards and pitiful like Marius. Its like the saying "dont judge a book by its cover"....Marius's book's cover must have been very bleak but Tyreal didn't judge him on that, instead Tyreal put his faith into Marius. Well, at least thats whay he had hoped but we all know the endings 😉
From what I understand from the lore, Marius took the stone out of Tal Rasha's chest by choice. Tal Rasha was pleading with him to do it, because he was magically bound to not be able to. It had to come from an "innocent soul". We know that Tal Rasha has plenty of other appendages with which to pull out the stone, but was unable to. In the last cinematic, he had to hand it over willingly because he was bound to it. It's similar to the old vampire trope that a vampire cannot just enter your home; they must have permission. Same goes here I think.
@@tlee656 I think that was Baal telling Marius to take the soulstone. Tal Rasha was a mage and he and his followers trapped Baal in the soulstone, then they constructed all the fake tombs, and scattered the pieces of the key for the original tomb. Then Tal Rasha made the ultimate sacrifice to plunge the soulstone of Baal into his chest ask his companions to bind him in the tomb and seal him off where he can wrestle with Baal forever, since if you simply kill Baal he will reform in hell and manifest again in due time.
I'm pretty sure that Baal was just being sadistic and having Marius relive some of his worst memories for his amusement. He's shown to have a sadistic streak in the expansion.
@@flauberb2645 Er what? Baal told Marius to take the soulstone? Why? Seems like a leap in logic.
@@varvariiin in order to free him from the stone after all he was trapped within the mage and bound by the stone, by taking the stone he was able to free Baal.
The story of Marius is just the "Hero's Journey" where the hero fails.
Yeah, that's the conclusion I came to also. Overall it wasn't really all that much of a revelation and it was a pretty pointless statement.
@@Sluppie The reason for the statement was that it wasn't based on Gollum, it's just a general story of failure.
It doesnt help that he was never a hero in the first place, lol. Just the unlucky bugger who drew the short straw.
The way LOTR would have ended without Gollum playing his part in the destruction of the ring... Very clever comparison!
And I love the subtle shade at D3 😆
"Subtle"
Can't believe I never really thought of how similar they are!
Taking the Soulstone to be destroyed at the Hellforge was Marius' version of Frodo taking the One Ring to Mount Doom. Frodo of course wasn't an Opium fiend so I guess it's fair to say he had the upper hand of the two lol😂
@@aurawolf664 Frodo had a choice, he CHOSE to bear the object to mordor. Also, he wasnt all freaking alone with no help whatsoever. Frodo had 8 companions at the start, he had a plan, he had a guide, he had supplies, he had support. Marius followed fricking diablo for months getting crazier and crazier over time, then when an archangel shows up, does he get saved? is he protected? NO! He is ordered to go run to the mephisto infested temple in the middle of a jungle and somehow, no clue how, jump through a portal only the prime evils could have opened. And then somehow walk through literal hell, find the soulforge, and smash the stone. What kind of insane quest is THAT?! The dude didnt even have a knife to his name. How was he supposed to ever accomplish that?
At BEST I could have seen him stay near the temple hoping against hope for something to happen to make it possible, like seeing an adventurer show up afterwards and kill mephisto *cough* and give it to him to destroy since he already had one soulstone on him. But nobody on earth should blame him for breaking under the insanity inducing nature of what he was facing. Frodo wouldnt have done any better imo. Not too mention frodo failed too anyways. He stood at the crack of doom and failed to destroy the ring. It was purest luck that saw it melt.
@@chrishubbard64 true
Holy shit! I had NO idea Marius was voiced by the great Frank Gorshin....... *mind blown* I grew up on the Batman from the 1960's.
How old are you?
Same here!!! How cool to discover this.
Same here, I also enjoyed his appearances on the dean martin celebrity roasts.
Notice that Baal requires Marius to give him the stone rather than just kill him and take it. I imagine some magic within the stones prevents the demons from taking the stones by force if they already have an "owner". Makes me wonder, if Marius had a stronger will, could he have used the stone to control Baal?
All Baal would have to do is just wait a bit longer for Marius to crack, which he inevitably would since owning the soulstone was destroying him so quickly. Or, if he somehow developed an iron will and never cracked even to the end, owning the soulstone would surely reduce his lifespan by a lot. I'm not sure what kind of control Marius would have over Baal, I just imagine Baal being like "Well ok then, I'll just wait for you to die, which shouldn't be too long given how quickly you've aged already." Marius was screwed at that point no matter what he did, keeping the soulstone or giving it to Baal would both result in a much sooner death than he otherwise would have if he never got into this mess to begin with, or if he managed to destroy the soulstone at hellforge.
Nothing was stopping him from burning the place down and grabbing the stone from the wreckage if he couldnt directly take it. Dude was in a locked room in an asylum, he wasnt getting away. I think he just enjoyed playing one last trick on the poor bastard. Getting him to confess everything, then willingly hand it right back to baal would have been utterly delicious to Baal. You saw him in his own cinematic at the gates of whatever barbarian city it was, playing that little game with the herald. He has a sick sense of humor.
Marius does have a character model in D3. In Chapter 4 as you're nearing the top of the tower you can be confronted by random ghosts of characters from the game who claim you failed them and the world. They come from a selection of characters from Deckard Caine to Magda. However a very rare appearance is Marius. It's used to try and make Tyrael bend his knee to Diablo and when it fails like the others it transforms into a minion of the prime evils, fittingly one who served Baal.
The best part for me about that is just how much a non-sequitur it truly is. None of the protagonists of D2, let alone D3, ever met Marius. To them it would just be some rando, and they'd have to ask Tyrael to know what he was lying about. It is essentially a punch at Tyrael in story and I like that.
@@Sorain1 That is very true, I never considered that
You know what bugs me? Marius made it all the way to Durance 3, unscathed, which meant he somehow got around the jungle, the council, the compelling orb and all the Act III nasties. If he could make it that far, he could kill Meph, no problem.
7:33 this cinematic used to scare me so bad as a kid, and the delivery of this line in particular really sold the horror of it.
aside from the jabs he made at Diablo 3 and the method of narration. I felt that he was pretty spot on for how important the Marius character to the second game. Everyone talks about how iconic Deckard Cain is to the franchise, yet in truth, that character would not have the same gravitas if it was not for Marius, and the high level of performance and commitment to the character.
I have a bit of a different view on this. Long story short: I think Marius is the Warrior from Diablo 1, and the Dark Wanderer is the previous vessel (forgot the prince's name). The reason Marius HAS to follow the Wanderer is that the 2 are 1. Just look at the forehead of Marius. You can clearly see the scar where he forced Diablo's soulstone in. The poor guy has been using all the tricks in the book to keep the evil repressed for years.
marius' last words just speak so openly about the hapless mortals caught between heaven & hell in Sanctuary...
Show some respect for Diablo 3. Deckard Cain's death hit me hard.
10:39 The crazy ones asked Marius to not hang it
I love Diablo 1 and 2 essence, and I like Marius, but I feel he was never a Saint, he was only a simple man not good nor evil. But a stupid soul he was. Diablo was so brilliant even on its cinematics, just a classic forever.
You know what, You are right, Frank's portrayal of Marius really made that game, I remember watching and even looking forward to those cut-scenes the first few times, as opposed to D3 where i don't recall ever watching the cut-scenes, not that i noticed it before watching this video but Frank / Marius made that story relatable and provided a link of sorts between the fantasy of D2 and what it would be like if it was a real thing, that i have not seen in any other game that i can recall over the last 25+ years
well then, you're probably not a true Diablo fan or you would remember Leah's story in D3 was even MORE tragic and gut wrenching because in her case you ACTUALLY fight alongside her and get to know her as a character.
@@daharos Interesting, I have played and completed every single Diablo game + Expansions, with the exception of Imortal. i could not stomach that one. i can remember stories from each leading up to D3, even if it has been upwards of 10 years since the last time i played. yet i remeber nothing of D3, which i likely have either just as much time playing or more than most of the other Diablo games..
Guess im not a true fan..
@10:36 An inmate shouting “Al-Hazred! Al-Hazred!!”
Very subtle Cthulhu Mythos reference there 😃
Holy shit, that's a reach and a half. "It's like LOTR, except for all these substantial differences"
Mad respect for fighting that neverending opium nod
Never realised the struggle Aidan fought to keep his soul and contain Diablo's overpowering @8:25
I wonder what would happen if he actually tried to go through the portal. Would he be attacked by mephisto ? Most likely. But then again maybe not. After all he seemed to walk past all of them zakarum soldiers. On the chance that he'd be attacked. How did tyrael expect him to get past mephisto anyway ?
I'm pretty sure they knew he was there in the room with them they probably would have stopped him before he got to the portal, heck the whole thing was probably an act for him to see, he was their back up plan if Diablo failed
Harvey Weinstein! RIP! XD
Damn! That D3 shot tho!!!!
I know we've discussed this on Discord, but I still got right hooked with that Lord of the Rings reference. Very well done!
I totally just realized when Marius exits the bar or inn whatever and looks down at his shadow with the blood stain and the laterns shadow makes it look like he is in a cell it's foreshadowing his death in the prison cell
9:22 Can you really find the courage to enter the portal. when the 3 prime evil guarding it? asking for a friend
Only if you're a lvl 99 barbar/sorcress/paladin/necromancer/assassin/amazon/druid. with Rune Set Items and full socket gear.
What NOBODY realizes is how strong Marius is. How the Prime Evils could not find him for a very long time, even when he was right next to them.
I think they knew he was there. They knew he wouldn’t destroy it. They used him Baal used him as a stash. He says. You haven’t failed, you’ve done exactly as you were meant to do
@@Hogobadaba This. There's simply no way they didn't notice his presence. Wouldn't notice the soulstone. They simply thought him too insignificant, too cowardly to destroy the stone and oppose them.
That voice though. It was so haunting and mesmerizing at the same time. Ugh the memories of nostalgia. The one liners/quote were fire 🔥!
You are right about the importance of Marius that we can feel the terror vicariously through him as a weak yet normal human being. Without him the ambiance of the whole game wouldn't be that tangible cuz the characters we can choose to play are all fearless warriors who can hacked down hundreds of vicious worms in their own den without breaking a sweat..
I know I am making this up in my mind… but his familiarity with Tyrael, his stated presence at the monastery in Diablo 1, running from that and turning into an outcast troubled man… I have always seen him as a fallen horadrim. He turned his back and ran in Diablo 1, and was desperate to make it right in Diablo 2, but failed again, and his weeping at the end is the despair of ultimate failure… at least, that’s how I spin it in my head. Hence Cain sees himself as the last of the Horadrim, assuming Marius is dead or turned away.
One of the things I'm particularly looking forward to in the remastered game is the new cut scenes. I hope they do Marius justice.
They definitely will I'm stoked to catch him in 4k
Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but they failed to deliver. The new cinematic Marius is horrible.
@@edkavanaugh6881 Yeah, seen it. Not a fan. He's just some old bloke now, not the eyewitness of some guy being ripped apart to become a Greater Lord of Hell.
Remastering the cutscenes doesn't seem like they tried to 'enhance' anything about them, just made them less of an eyesore (most remasteries i've played, they don't even bother touching up the cutscenes). The important part is they didn't re-record new voice work, so Marius' reads are just as flawless as ever.
As long as they keep the original voice work, I'll be happy.
I remember playing d2 as a teen. I am astonished at the talent blizzard was capable of capturing for their cinematics. Especially their voice actors. David Brevick and Mike Morheim made an epic. I hope they work together again with the creation of the new studio Morheim founded.
Agreed. Metzens Auroborous Pen & Paper world is decidedly dark as well. Would love to see the - now bunch of old guys, with an air of conviction - remake the legacy of what made old blizzard what they were.
Can't wait for the remastered videos. Should be sweet
The final reveal actually made me go nonononoooo too when I first saw it
I remember it well. I saw it before the expansion came out, so at that time, this was THE ending, and boy oh boy, was that a haunting ending for 10 year old me.
@@Jiggerjaw Baal walking followed by an inferno and fleeing rats was badass af
I saw it coming as there were enough hints with the screaming and stuff going on that I knew it wasnt tyreal. Still though, his reaction to realizing he had been duped was amazing.
@@chrishubbard64 I had always thought the screams were meant to set the ambience of a medieval madhouse. Even after knowing the end reveal, I never thought of it any different during subsequent playthroughs
I love the Diablo 2 cutscenes. Our computer wasn't strong enough to watch them in the original release of the game but with the remastering of it, it's so nice to see them.
Leah is supposed to be that human element for Diablo 3 bit she's just not the same as a hapless drug addict that is Marius.
How sick is the rising of background voices at 11:00! It’s the little things done well 👌
Agree. That scene always gets me
Ok, everyone keeps beating on Marius for failing to destroy the stone, but how the hell was he supposed to do that? Mephisto was standing right in front of the gate. Even if he does sneak into hell, I can’t imagine him killing Hephasto and getting the hellforge hammer. And yet Deckard Cain blames “that fool Marius” for his failure. Come on, Cain, let’s not pretend you could’ve done all that on your own.
It's weird that people blame Marius when he had 0 chance of success in hindsight (if anything, Tyrael is at fault for not telling him to just hide and seek the pursuing heroes to give them the Soulstone). How exactly was Marius supposed to bypass 2 of the 3 Prime Evils, survive the fires of Hell itself, bypass the 3rd Prime Evil, bypass the legions of demons in Hell, get to the Hellforge, get Hephasto's hammer which Hephasto himself pretty much never lets go of, and hit the soulstone within the Hellforge which is also surrounded by a legion of demons?
Even if he tried, he would have probably made it 5 steps at most before getting killed with the Soulstone reclaimed by the Prime Evils. Not even 5 steps into hell, but 5 steps towards the hell portal before Mephisto and Baal just kill him on the spot.
who knows how high marius' sneak and rogue-like skill number. he was an adventurer before, he could hoard some trinkets to help him in his quest for redemption. but that still didn't account the heavy influence of the 3 evils in his mind. also perhaps marius didn't seek any allies to help him out of fear that they will betray him and steal the soulstone. really wish marius had part in the main game instead of just the cinematic.
Diablo 2 got me into my love for gaming and without this voice acting, I probably wouldn’t have fallen in love quite as hard.
Agreed!
One of the first english lines i've heard in games. Also one of the best acted too.
The most chilling moment for me is where the volume and intensity of the screams from the insane growing as Baal retrieved the stone.
They knew.
“Why? What did I do to deserve this?”
It’s both the line and the delivery that made me feel the true despair of Marius as well as to feel desperate myself
Full denial to the very end. A tremendous performance.
7:35 this made my day hahaha love it!
Tyrael: FLY YOU FOOL!
Marius: What choice did I have?
The voice acting in Diablo 1 and 2 was very memorable and stuck with me to this day
"what choice did I have? I jogged" - Marius
This was a shockingly brilliant parallel. Thank you.
Dude I've been playing D2 since before the expansion released. You point out things I've never been keen to. Big props!
i still got my hard box version 1.00 copy i bought when i was 11 or 12 lol
This game is so influential. My dad, older brother and I love to randomly say "tell me, Marius, how is it *not* your fault?" We love this fucking game to death
4:30 I always figured he was the wanderer himself. His remaining humanity.
Amazing video! Thank you for sharing, even though you probably knew there would be a lot of salty reactions. Great analysis and storytelling!
For those who aren't seeing the point:
The thing most people miss about Marius is that he's the product of a failed Hero's Journey.
Most just parse him as the narrator who has a tragic end, but he does have a full arc. He just reaches the precipice of his final trial and flinches; as many people would when confronted with *literally Hell*
How are people missing that when it's literally the plot?
@@Miscio94 A shocking number of people don't recognize even obvious story beats and plot arcs.
Sadly it seems like this is true for hollywood's current crop of directors too.
@@aircraftcarrierwo-class While it's true that sometimes people are dumb or just not paying attention, I don't think there's any substantial plot that could be missed from these cutscenes. I mean, it's really obvious that this guy fails his "hero duty" since it's called in an awesome cutscene by Tyrael and then repeated over and over by Marius himself. This video is just clickbait. "Most" people didn't miss anything in particular about the character.
Diablo 2 is the story of Marius overcoming his opium addiction.
that is absolutely correct ..... the chills i got when he described mephisto .... that makes the use of marius's character so good
there was a theory on reddit that Marius was not he seems to be. the fan theory possits theat Marius was a nephalem like the hereos, a necromancer to be specific and that explains how he was choosen by Diablo as companion to fulfill their ultimate goal. it also explains how Marius has been able the keep the corrupted soulstone of Baal with him without completely lossing his mind.
Here's a dilemma though... when Tyrael told Marius to take the Soulstone to the Hellforge to be destroyed... did he expect Marius to somehow find and wield the Hellforge Hammer?!
Or did Tyrael assume some adventurers would do it afterwards?
It wasn't tyrael, it was Baal in disguise of tyrael
@@erreyth ...read my comment again
He'll probably be escorted to the Pandemonium Fortress by an ally in hell like that NPC Angel in the River of Flame
@@erreyth He's taliking about Tyrael in Act II cinematic telling to Marius to go to hell then destroy the soul stone
I play this whole game over and over just to earn rewatching the cinematics.
I think it's a bit of a stretch. The one thing I would like to point out is the fact that Frodo also failed his quest. He ultimately could not overcome the temptation and corruption of the ring.
Marius needed a Sam
Did you really just go "LOTR has the Hero's Journey, D2 has Hero's Journey, guess they're the same!" for real?
This is why humanities are important, kids.
As spanish speaker I must say that the spanish dub has excelent quality.
He's like Frodo if he never had sam by his side. Poor marius had to shoulder this burden alone.
Frodo fails in his quest too. He chooses to keep the ring, but Gollum fights him for it and bites off Frodo's finger, then falls into the volcano with the ring and dies and inadvertently destroys the ring.
You're right about D3's script... I didn't know why I found the characters odd and out of place, but yeah... it's because nothing they saw really frightened them to the extent that it should. Despite never seeing a demon (or even know it was real), or seeing walking dead bodies, most NPCs in the game were pretty chill about it.
Yeah I know magic in Diablo universe is not a rarity, and certain individuals are very familiar with demons (the vizjerei and other mage clans), but most people would be our equivalent 14-15 century peasant in Europe.
I like D3's general story and gameplay/classes, but the script writing really wasnt very good overall. Lots of heavy exposition, cliched villain dialogue and unbelievable reactions, like Leah continuing not to believe Deckard Cain's "crazy stories" during an invasion of undead bc a man fell out of the sky like a meteor.
diablo 3's writing is weak, though the reaper of souls expansion kinda improve the game's writing. and thankfully diablo 4 seems to be trying to follow diablo 1/2's dark writing more closely.
Nice riff on Diablo 3 there XD.
Is it also bad that i find myself quoting Marius in my head, and Baal as well XD.
agreed, easily up there with the best... if not the best, Marius as a character doesn't get enough credit
another awesome video mate on this fantastic lore