That kinda happened to Thor in from Marvel Comics in a Alternate Universe where he can no longer lift his hammer. Cept he trained in Kun Lun where Iron Fist trained
@@Zeebeelee I i feel like Kratos learning drunken fist is more appropriate cause he started drinking and went on this rampage that now his drunken master (Jackie Chan btw) teaches him
Hes transported to ancient mythological China and he lives a peacefull life for a time, but then Quing dinasty pussy gets him acting unwise, and chaos ensues.
I really like a lot of ideas in this video, that spear training idea should have been in the game. I think my only critique is that a lot of the story beats you wrote for this version end up undoing everything that happened in God of War 2018. For example, though you argue that Kratos had no real character arc in the game, a notion which I disagree with for reasons I will outline later, I find that this version of him essentially reverts him back to becoming the very thing he was trying to get away from when coming to Midgard and undoes all the character development he had in that game. The idea of Atreus growing up without Kratos is also an interesting idea in theory but I fear it ignores the main theme of both the first game and Ragnarok, that being a father-son coming of age story. Having Thor become a sort of surrogate father for Atreus out of guilt and personal duty for the murder of Kratos makes complete sense in context but it has the unfortunate drawback of also undoing all the development in the relationship between Kratos and Atreus that happened in the first game. Now, let me explain my criticisms. I mentioned earlier that I disagreed with the notion that Kratos had very little development in Ragnarok. Kratos' development in the sequel, while perhaps not quite as obvious and directly presented as it was in the previous game, is very much still there. Kratos' major thematic elements as a character in the reboot games are grief, acceptance, and redemption. In GoW 2018, Kratos spends nearly half of the story's runtime avoiding his past like the plague, only being forced to confront it when it starts to show in his son. That story ends with Kratos finally accepting his scars as a part of himself (literally in this case). In Ragnarok, we learn that although he might have accepted those scars, he still hasn't come to terms with why he got them. He harbors immense guilt for his past and seeks redemption. The mere mention of his past as a general causes him to lash out in fear and guilt of his past actions. The development he has in Ragnarok is him grieving his trauma, accepting his past, and redeeming himself for his actions. He becomes a general once more and leads the charge in Asgard but this time on his own terms. He appears on the battlefield with something to live for, not something to kill for. The fact that, in your version, he reverts to becoming a vengeful avatar of hate and rage just feels like it disregards all the development he went through previously. I suppose you could argue that this regression can be a way for him to confront his past as well but that's already in the games. Every time he's had to kill a god, he's confronted with the terrifying notion that he will always be the same monster he once was. Both Baldur's and Heimdall's deaths were moments where Kratos was face to face with his past self and both had repercussions. If you want an even more direct confrontation with his past self, the Valhalla DLC has that in spades, its kind of the whole point of it. Ironically, having his journey to Asgard be fueled by revenge and hatred makes him a far simpler character than he was in Ragnarok. I also mentioned that Atreus being raised by Thor in Asgard after the supposed death of Kratos was a good idea but ignores the main theme of both the first game and Ragnarok. The story in these games are fundamentally a father-son coming of age story. GoW 2018 spent its entire story deepening the relationship between Atreus and Kratos. However, it ended when Atreus was still quite young and we needed to see how their relationship develops further as Atreus grows and enters the most formative years of his life. To have Atreus and Kratos separated in the way that they are in this version just feels like we completely skipped that second half of that story just to have it tread old ground with Odin and Thor. GoW 2018 was about Kratos and Atreus getting closer as father and son and, with this version, Atreus would just be having that same arc again but with a different dad. Additionally, I feel you've strayed away from exploring a key part of Atreus' character. While you go over the god half of Atreus, it's important to not neglect the other half. His whole reason for wanting to come to Asgard in the first place was to get answers about the giants. One of the main reasons he wants to find Tyr so bad is because he is someone that can give him those answers that isn't Odin. Atreus learning about his people feels so core to his character in GoW that omitting it makes him feel incomplete. I'm also confused with the purpose of Odin revealing to Atreus that Kratos is "dead". You say that it is to quench his curiosity but I can't really bring myself to believe that Atreus would simply let things be after that reveal. Knowing what he does of the Aesir, I'd argue that it'd be far more in character for him to actually continue pressing them about what happened. I don't see Odin lying about what happened in all honesty. Odin is a liar but a good liar tells more truths than lies. I feel it would be far more in character for him to tell Atreus all the same stories that Kratos told him about his past but with a more gruesome twist revealing hidden "truths" that Kratos didn't want Atreus to know about as well as how the death of Baldur, Modi, and Magni has affected everyone in Asgard to slowly but gradually destabilize the trust and crush any sense of fondness he might have had for his father. He would then frame the murder as self defense and shift the blame onto Thor. Feeling the way he does about his actions, Thor would wear his guilt on his face which would all but confirm Odin's story to Atreus. Of course, he'd still try to attack them but you've said that he's tried that already to no avail. So instead he notices that they haven't killed him after all this time even after his previous attempts to either flee or attack them meaning they must really need him. Remember, Odin still needs Atreus because he believes he is the key to all the answers he's been looking for. Recognizing this and taking what he's learned from Odin, he turns his knife on himself and uses his position as a valuable asset to his advantage. I also don't think Odin would believe that Kratos is dead. The guy has eyes everywhere and the moment he saw that Kratos' body isn't where it was when he left it, he'd probably investigate that. Overall, I think what you have here is a great story, just maybe not what God of War Ragnarok needed to be.
Thank you, sir, I love the enthusiasm and what the story could have been in another time from ranton, but I don’t get why so many ppl are praising it in the comments as if this would have been a better story veriosn. I am sure it would received a lot of backlash like tlou2 with the way the beginning starts.
Thank you. Reading through the comments, I was asking myself the questions, "Is it because the video is still "new"? Is it because people were unhappy with ragnorak, so rewrites are automatically seen as better? Or do I just have bad taste?". You voiced much of what I was feeling While Ranton's rewrite is good, it is also flawed (as everything is) as it doesn't fit well with gow 2018. If we had received ranton's rewrite instead of ragnorak I feel that people would be similarly critical with is as they are with the real story Many of the issues that many people have with ragnorak, including myself, likely could've been fixed with not shoving everything down into two games
Got my lunch, saw a 40 minute Ranton video and was expecting to spit my lunch out from laughing (barely even saw the title). Finished lunch, downed the video, and crying over such a beautiful story. I can't count how many times I caught myself saying "This makes so much more sense." And I did expect the time skip to be far longer than how you were presenting it, but even though you didn't have any storyboards or actual cutscenes, the way you told that final meeting between Atreus and Kratos just... hit so hard. It's one of those few times where NOT having a fight felt much, much more IMPACTFUL than having a boss battle. Towards then end when you brought up that you didn't even touch up on Ragnarok, I was actually shocked because of how deep the story was that I had forgotten all the war stuff. However, I must agree with @The_Kave_man when he indicated that Kratos IS Ragnarok - tie that concept even further with this story you've made to clean up some details - badabim badaboom - perfection. This might be one of the most personal rewrites I've ever seen and repaired so much of what was lacking from the original. Thank you, monkey man.
This is perfect. I'm crying at the end wtf! Atreus breaking the cycle of violence when he has every reason to continue it with Thor, coupled with the conflict that he would be feeling because Thor would be his second dad in this version, is just so RIGHT. So well constructed. And he would be seeing the effect of continuing said violence with his first dad, old and broken by obsessive fear for his son and rage at himself for not being there for him. I want this story!
And in the end, Kratos did what he always does: destroys everything because he is the God Killer. That’s what the God of War would do, even if he isn’t happy about killing. I found the conflict extremely interesting; however, I saw in a comic that the Blades of Chaos always return to Kratos. It would make more sense in the narrative for Thor to break the blades and the axe with Mjolnir in the first fight. But overall, that was absolute cinema.
I liked it, but I think devolving Kratos would be a little lame to me. Rantons issue was that Kratos got no arc in Ragnarok, but then just makes Kratos into a killing machine that goes through the whole game, only to realize he didn’t really need to anything, and then it ends. Kratos soaring Thor in the game was an awesome moment for me, and I think it would help Rantons story a lot if that act of mercy was here.
Just a small point, anyone can lift Thors hammer. That whole "being worthy" nonsense is purely a Marvel creation. Theres an entire story in the Eddas about a random giant stealing the hammer while Thor slept.
@@echo.romeo. it's not brain dead it's factual moron. And it's not irrelevant. We don't actually know the truth behind this. Thor also has his gauntlets which help him lift the hammer. And nothing in the game shows Kratos being stronger than Thor. So that's conjecture. Either way, it doesn't appear that the weapons have the same Marvel enchantments anyway which is my point. You've provided nothing in the way to challenge what I've said.
I think thor was able to lift mjölnir only because he had megingjord, a magic belt that gave him giant-like strength. In the myth in which a giant just nicks the hammer off him he also steals his belt, so he isn't strong enough to get it back. So no, nothing about "being worthy", he could use mjölnir just because he was strong.
@juanignaciodecarlofadu6304 no. The belt doubles his strength but it isn't required. And no the belt wasn't stolen. Just the hammer. Thor wore nothing but a wedding dress to the feast. He had no problem holding the hammer to kill all the Jotnar. Also, the gods Frey and Odin inspect the hammer when it's presented to them by Brok. And all three of them (one of whom is a dwarf) handle it no problem. The only time any accessories are mentioned is in the Prose Edda by Snorri and they're the iron gloves Thor has that let's him wield his hammer fully. But a) it's Snorri, who isn't a prime source, and b) it's moreso implied that the gloves are simply needed to make full use of the hammer in combat due to the short haft. Not to carry it around normally.
That's a great spin-off, but I have a few points to discuss: **1. Weapons:** The Blades of Chaos are bound to Kratos by a curse, so he can’t get rid of them. The idea of a spear is amazing, but how can a weak spear compete with godly weapons, especially when it can only be upgraded by Kratos, who isn’t a blacksmith? Additionally, Kratos lacks ranged attacks for at least the first half of the game, which complicates things, particularly for a weakened Kratos. Also, you didn’t mention him learning magic, even though he is desperate for power and revenge. Plus, Spartans traditionally use a shield with their spear, so he should have one too-ideally one that isn’t retractable. **2. Kratos' Weakness:** How does Kratos become weak? Gods don’t get weaker with age; they typically become stronger, as seen with Zeus and Odin. His injuries should be manageable with Freya's healing abilities. **3. Brok and Sindri:** It’s odd that Brok and Sindri are removed from the story. They have a strong relationship with Kratos and Atreus, so their absence feels strange. The only role they have is upgrading Mjölnir-why not let them help with the spear too? They could easily assist in finding Atreus and gathering information. **4. Power from Killed Gods:** Kratos should gain power from any god he kills, adding to his desperation for revenge and the need to find his son, while also wanting to kill Thor and Odin. **5. Atreus' Trust in Odin:** Why does Atreus trust Odin? He learned from Freya, Mimir, Brok, and Sindri not to trust him. After being kidnapped by Odin, it seems unlikely he would believe anything he says. Perhaps he could have a plan to use Odin for power, but this undermines the story you created and contradicts Atreus' growth. **6. Meeting Angrboda:** Atreus should meet Angrboda to fill plot holes, such as how the World Serpent came to life. Fenrir should also be involved, as this ties into Norse mythology. Atreus, as Loki, should connect with his giant heritage and learn about magic and knowledge. **7. Valkyries and Dragons:** The Valkyries that Kratos freed should play a role, as should the dragons. He could learn techniques or magic from them, or acquire weapons and armor or recruit them in his army to fight asgard. **8. Kratos’ Character Growth:** The development of Kratos' personality seems to have regressed. He should be portrayed as a man on a mission, a killer with a purpose-not blinded by rage, but rather a focused avenger, similar to John Wick. This would enhance his character growth and maintain continuity with the first game or maybe make him become a general and lead an army. **9. Faye’s Role:** Faye doesn’t have a significant presence in either the original game or your spin-off. She should have more flashbacks and hints for Kratos to deepen her role. **10. The Name "Ragnarok":** The game is titled "Ragnarok," but Kratos doesn’t actively work to bring it about. Instead, he becomes Ragnarok itself, which raises plot holes-like Thor blasting the World Serpent through time and Odin’s efforts to prevent it being futile. If Kratos is Ragnarok, Odin should realize this. Alternatively, Kratos could use the Gjallarhorn and Surtr to finish the game quickly and help Atreus. **11. Atreus Searching for Kratos:** It’s puzzling that Atreus doesn’t search for his father. He reads the murals, knows about his giant powers, and should have met Angrboda. He should have an idea of whether Kratos is alive and should actively look for him. **Final Thoughts:** You’ve created a narrative to end Kratos’ story, while Santa Monica aimed to give him a new life-one where he is worshipped as a god who helps others. Fans want to see his story continue, so ending it here would be disappointing. If these points are addressed, the story could become deeper, darker, and sadder while still allowing for a satisfying conclusion and potential for more games. To achieve this, the game would need to be at least twice as long to give every character a fulfilling arc and resolve any plot holes, which would be quite a challenge for the studio.
The original games story is good, and so is the story in the video, but people really are glazing this version a bit too much. For example he says that freya was quick to forgive kratos in the original story, but that was only after kratos helped get rid of a literal curse preventing her from travelling realms. More importantly though Kratos as a character devolves back into his gow 1-3 days in this version, something Ranton specifically said he doesnt want happening. And instead of what we have (where Kratos mind numbingly has to make decisions that will either play into or against fate) he just starts killing all gods again. Another point is that why would Thor even kill kratos at the start, he never really much cared about his own sons, he was the one that beat the ever living shit out of modi for failing him so doesnt really make sense for him to not talk and go straight to killing, especially considering Thor does what Odin says and Odin doesnt have any reaons to want Kratos dead yet. He also says that the Aesir were portrayed as generic villains, when thats not the case at all. It literally took Ragnarok arriving at asgards doorstep for Odin to turn "evil" Also maybe its just me but the idea of kratos having visions of his wife constantly shaming him just seems generic and boring.
Damn👌🏾,this criticism doesn’t take away from the video at all. It gives a chance to create a beautiful fan made story, I doubt 2-3 games of kratos trying to get to Atreus would be interesting to us as views but a story like this with your points would have to be more than one to make sure we don’t lose what was built from the 2018 game , what we got from ragnarok and this iteration 👏👏
Fucking beautiful. Ranton said he doesn't care about the event of Ragnorok but the whole time I was thinking, "Holy shit, Kratos is Ragnorok." He said eariler in the video that we write the lore because its just a game, this would be a super satisfying way to bring the end of an "old" Asgard because Kratos Killed all the gods that represented Odin's reign including Odin at the end just the way Ranton wrote it. 10\10.
OMG this is absolute genius, even the title would be perfection. God of War Ragnarok and he literally IS Ragnarok. Imagine Odin at the end after he lost to Kratos saying something along the lines of "I can see it now, you really are the god of war destined to bring us Ragnarok"
Damn, and you could even have Kratos free Fenrir, wake up Jormungandr help Skoll and Hati catch their targets (and many more examples), all to bait out the gods, sent by Odin, untimely killing them off, one by one, or perhaps later in pairs or triplets.
And even if you’d want a ragnarök closer to mythology and the game Atreus would still be the inciting factor-> kratos killing all And on his way there he could release all the monsters/enemies in mythology for the attack on the village
I just wanted to say in advance Congrats on your new role as the Narrative writer lead at Santa Monica Studio. This was without a doubt one of your best videos and filled with amazing ideas. You can be a great addition to their team.
@@RealRanton I think this idea of fixing issues of the games... while it can get crazy difficult... is actually what is missing in RUclips gaming contents. And trust me it doesn't have to be script writing. Try with menu UI, and give ideas of the game UI architecture. You can see a game and just give solutions for its UI. Or its Character design, OST choice, .... anything really. Since its just overall ideas. I see a great future in this genre of content. It's not just reviewing, it's not criticizing, but also trying to come up with a solution. You are a rare content creator man. Massive respect.
Next time he should make a 10 hour video fixing the story and gameplay of my favorite game, Skyrim. It could use it. Just kidding, I'm not a sure you'd need a long video for a game that isn't narrative heavy like Skyrim, you'd just have to describe ways to manipulate things to make more sense or be more impactful. Skyrim seems scared to give people too much personality and depth. Though it also seems to, in part, be a necessity for the design of the game in some ways, but that shallowness could have been hidden better with good writing maybe. I don't know. The gameplay could use a total rework without affecting the story and character interactions amd the game would be much better. I wouldn't want Dark Souls per se, but I think Bethesda could learn from the somewhat simple, at least to me, depth of those games' systems, even if only in enemy attack variation and enemy variety. Not the stats though, god, not the stats. The stats in Oblivion were a senseless nightmare and I don't like them all that much in Elden Ring either. Showing a ton of numerical stats that you can meticulously manage has always been incredibly immersion breaking. Skyrim has a perfect design for progression in my opinion, but a less than ideal implementation. It's super easy to understand, but the balancing is off and many perks aren't enticing enough for the player to actually want to figure out what's best. For smithing, the grind is insane for such little return, when even using cheesy methods it still takes hours and hours to gather enough materials and smith them, and for what? All of the non combat skills are like this as if they're expecting you to be a careerer blacksmith that's constantly smithing armor over a whole playthrough, which still wouldn't level you enough, when in reality you probably just where armor you looted off your enemies and only use smithing to upgrade them. Lockpicking is better, but I should probably be master after 150 hours, not halfway there. The grind is real. Even on Novice difficulty the fights are a slog and the higher you go in difficulty the only thinf that changes is how long you have to tap on your enemy in the lame combat. I do like the freedom in some ways because when I have a mental break there's no locked in animations so I can just leap around enemies like I monkey as i tap them to death. In some way skyrim feels like a perfect mess that I wouldn't change for the world*, but I also can't help but imagine this perfect game that was never delivered. Oh well, people would hate my version of the game. *Unless that change is SkyUI
There's so many seemingly interesting people in interesting positions, but you can't go any further than skin deep, even if you go on many adventures with eachother. I think that's something that Fallout 4 did ever so slightly better, at least from what I saw, you could talk to people like they were people, like Piper, until you couldn't and there was no more progression. I also felt this playing New Vegas, like the people were people and not cardboard cut outs. What about the Jarl of Whiterun? He seems like an interesting guy, why are his kids like that? What about Lydia and Aela or the girl working the forge? Who are these people really? And delphine! If there was one character to delve into it was her! They didn't, though. You know who they did do that with? Serana, and people lover her. What about Falion in Morthal? He knows so much, but he's so secretive. What's his story? Yeah you have moments where you learn a little about some characters in their quests, like aela I guess, but they only feel somewhat significant because it's absent everywhere else. What about the old storied smith at the Skyforge? I've pretty much only mentioned characters in Whiterun but there's already so much to explore, and I can only think of more, especially those in Markarth, which seems to be among the cities with the most care put into them. I'd say it's Whiterun, Riften, and Markarth. It's a shame Solitude is so big but it's underwhelming in the base game due to lack of things to do and general depth. It's nice looking and draws you in from far away with its striking placement in the world and the shock when you first enter when met with an execution. It's cool then there's not much past that beyond a few shallow quests and the worst guild. The docks are more interesting, lol. The world is good, the history is good, the playable stories and characters could be better.
I appreciated the manipulator and manipulatee dynamic of Odin and Thor though, so I enjoyed the original beginning already showing the sheer control over Thor which Odin has, that despite Thor definitely wanting to kill you full force as you've put together, he's on a tight leash by the All-Father and also yearns for his approval. I did like the Artreus kidnapping idea though.
Bc its much easier to "fix" something that was heavily criticized in a final product than it is to come up with an original product... not coming at ranton, cuz im sure this wasn't his intention. But we see this fan fiction writers all the time. They then get a huge ego thinking their product is somehow better than the original... and that is how we got season 2 and 3 of the witcher.
Because he rewrote God of War Ragnarok, a game that was already a sequel to "God of War, but the Last of Us" to be, "God of War, but the Last of Us Part II."
this shit slaps! A few notes: •The blades always return to him(even if he tries to get rid of them), according the lore, because they are considered a curse, so it would make sense for them to return half way through or after the first god he kills. •Kratos is a greek god, the greek gods get stronger as they age, so taking into account the time gap he should be significantly stronger and not look old/weak as he is already 1000+ yrs at the time of GOW 2018, taking a look at his father who is almost as old the creation of earth he was in peak physique, so there is no reason for Kratos to be so "tired" at the end. •Atreus is Loki and in the mythos loki marries angrboda so him being with thrud makes no sense myth-wise. But then again him as loki makes little -to-no sense anyway no big deal. •And last, the huldra brothers where a big part of GOW 2018 and not including them would be kinda odd since they were integral to the story and gameplay. I know you mentioned them in aiding to fix up mjolnir for Kratos, but i believe having them play a bigger part would suit the story, because after all atreus is the one who got them back together and they'd want to return the favor.
I think there is a quick "way" to fix the aging plus time skip. Right, according to lore, Thor hit the World Serpent back to time, why not do the same with Kratos? Instead of hitting him back to time, Thor hit him to the future. and an older Freya found the bloodied Kratos later in the future. For the Blades, I think its best the they stay with Kratos, but the Leviathan Axe can come with Atreus, giving reason for Mjonir to be a weapon in the dev's side.
Bro I haven't even played these games and you got me tearing up 😭 I'm a real sucker for parallel character arcs and how you can use them to show differences and growth between characters by subverting those parallels or playing into them. The thought you put into portraying that through the Kratos flashbacks, the Atreus flashbacks (that we don't know are flashbacks), and the final reveal of just how much time has really passed is so so good 🔥
I think the main problem of GoW: Ragnarok is that they try to compress & conclude the Norse mythology story in one game, instead of just making another one. They were able to milk the Greek mythology story in like 5+ games.
Back then games weren't as big in scale as they are now. If the new games had the same gameplay as the old ones, then maybe more games would be possible. But it takes like 5 years just for one game these days. I'm ok with 2 games as long as it's good but ragnarok had alot of issues story wise.
The main problem with gow ragnarok was the highlighting of uninteresting side characters or depicting them as sensitive family members, instead of focusing more on kratos and his forecast of death. Playing as atreus can be left out completely. The story should have been made as simple as in gow 2018, just delivering atreus mothers ashes. Bring jormungandr to asgard for ragnarok or something. And kratos coping with hallucinations of Athene or zeus should also have been included. Compared to gow 2018 this game had 0 atmosphere. It's a huge disappointment.
I agree, the last two missions should have belonged to a third game and it should have ended with Brok's death/ funeral. In the majority of the story Kratos is uncertain if he wants to take part in fighting Odin only to change his mind at the end of the game because of Brok, I feel that a entire third game where Kratos is focused on gathering forces to assemble an army for Ragnarok, while fighting other Gods that are allied to Odin would be more compelling.
ragnarock feels in both gameplay and especially story like a bigger but less focused version of the prior game, a mile wide and a inch deep as the saying goes, ill never forget when that one guy no one cares about sacrifices himself and the music starts playing like im meant to care about his guy who i meet 2 minutes before, idk if it was rushed or not, but though ragnarock is a good game its very dissapointing... 7/10 lol
@@RealRanton i remember when the sound effects got muted and the dramatic music started as the camera panned to the guy, turning my head to the side and looking at a non existent camera and saying "they are not going to do this right? they dont think im going to care do they?" i was in pure disbelief lmao.
@@tinygrove7623 it was so fucking hilarious. like it felt exactly like the gag from the new suicdide squad movie with James gunn (the good one) and they had that gag with Peter who nobody fucking knows dying
@@EziodaBsurM the fact that you cant even remeber his name is more proof about how stupid it was, it was the big knight guy, you find ou he survived in a side quest but still,in the main story they play out his sacrafice like this crazy sad thing but its just no inteligente.
what part of odin and thor showing up and trashing the house just because they could sent the message of “yeah home is still a safe space unlike the first game”
Holy shit..... You did it. This is a better story. Great punch up. Works better on almost every level. Kratos not raising his boy broke my heart in a way that kind of reminds me of Berserk. Damn. Strong fiction. Write a novel. Not about god of war, just in general.
It's not that hard, tbh. Ragnarok was dogshit. This guy didn't just write a better story, he utterly obliterated every aspect of the old slop with this brilliant rewrite. The first two minutes already had more good writing than the entirety of Ragnarok.
Brutal review lol. Even if we were to say "it's not that hard" that doesn't necessarily mean it's easy to do. They aren't mutually exclusive. Similarly, Ragnarok was good, falling short of its full potential doesn't make something dogshit. Emotional Angry completely negative reviews of art like yours always make me think "damn that person felt something." and I'd say a dogshit piece of art is one that makes you feel nothing. The opposite of Love is not hate,, It's Apathy. So if we were to say you hated Ragnarok. We most certainly can't say you don't actively right now still deeply care for Ragnarok. Food for thought lol. But yes I will agree brilliant rewrite, hats off Ranton.
Your Idea is at the sametime "breath taking" and painfull. As a Father myself, missing most of my son's upcoming would be the worst torture (or punishment) possible. This version would both make me awe at the courage of the writing, and make me sorrowfull for the characters. Kratos would skyrocket in the rankings of the most fuck up characters ever made, not only did he repeat the mistakes of the past, but lost his sons upcoming and died. I'm mixed, that's the type of writing that makes you want to forget and distance yourself from the immersion, while at the same time would be the most defining development of videogame history, i would become a classic.
I like a lot of this, especially the smaller cast. I'm absolutely in love with the Spartan segments proposed, but a couple things to note/improve/retcon(?): The Blades of Chaos are bound to Kratos no matter where he goes, or what happens. He physically cannot get rid of them, as they will simply follow him everywhere as a curse. I'm not sure if it was intentional, but for the whole story, every character's arc just seems to be deteriorating. Kratos rescinded to a desperate, vengeful murderer and Atreus inching towards becoming a power obsessed god, which leaves the middle act kind of confused, as the characters only trend downward from where they started, only to spike up and finish their development at the final act with what can only be a moderately long cutscene. Speaking of development, the Atreus arc about becoming a power obsessed god was already resolved in the last game, so a player who remembers that will not buy into Odin indoctrinating him, and would take away even more momentum from the twist at the end, as the lesson internalised was already there from past events we saw happen. It seems a bit generous to the plot that Atreus just takes Odin at his word for Kratos abandoning him, when Atreus was repeatedly warned of Odin's trickery by Mimir. In fact, Atreus has very little reason to attempt to impress Odin and forsake Kratos in the flashbacks, especially in the wake of the last game, where they learn to embrace eachother as father and son proper. Compounding this, Odin is a very corrosive character to everyone around him. Thor and his family, Heimdall, they are all blatant examples of the All-Father being manipulative and ruining lives, and with Atreus becoming so intimate with Thrudd in this version, he would pick up on Odin's bs far sooner than suggested, meaning Odin has to either be mellowed out a lot as an antagonist, or some other big change be made to his character. There's more I can think of, but I don't think it's the best use of anyone's time to tear into a video like this, where you express a lot of humbleness and passion for these characters. This is just constructive criticism. I look forward to the next steamy Ranton fanfic
Good Points. I thought about the blades of chaos but it seems to not even be true for the first game. Kratos is able to travel around and go to other realms without them. So they don't seem to follow him that much lol
They actually did a terrible Job of making Odin seem bad or evil in this game. It made it seem like we heard a bunch of Bias slander instead his true character.
@@RealRanton I imagine it's more that he can't purposefully rid himself of them. Like if he tossed them into the void or something, they would reappear somewhere along his path. So, it's not that they literally follow behind him like a dog would, but rather they are bound to his story and destiny, or something like that.
@celestialsoldier622 Agree so much! That goes for Thor as well I think. We went an entire first game hearing these just amazing stories about them and how just if you even look at Thor funny he's liable to just destroy you on the spot instantly! Definitely not the kind of characters that would wait whole years to finally confront the killer of their family members at the very least.
''I was hoping to see those blades, but I guess they don't come when you call.'' - Thor, GOW Ragnarok I know the Fallen God comic kinda says they follow him, but it's clearly not that direct. There can be years in between. It's not a big deal. Deteriorating characters is good. Character development goes both ways. Walter White is a great example. This isn't the MCU. Atreus becoming power obsessed isn't the same as him becoming an arrogant a-hole, which is what he was in the first game. In the first game he wasn't power obsessed. He became a god supremacist, thinking he was better and stronger than everyone else because he was a god. Those are two different things. You can be the most humble martial artist in the world, yet still strive for absolute, unrivalled power and skill. Look at Tom Aspinall for a great example. Humble, but proud and sure of himself, striving every day to be better, to be the best. Writing Atreus like that is absolutely possible. In fact, it ADDS to his arc from the 2018 game, because it shows that he has learned. The lesson? Do not think yourself better. *Make* yourself better. Make a reality of what your younger, arrogant self believed you to be. Atreus assuming Odin is honest about Kratos leaving is iffy if we're talking a short time span, I agree. But it's not that hard to pull off. Atreus in Ragnarok straight up attacks Kratos and his other friends and then ditches him to go to Odin. So if you can write that, you can write Odin convincing Atreus over the course of like 20 years that Kratos left him. Odin being manipulative and evil is a result of THIS game's writing because Santa Monica took a paycheck from BlackRock and wanted to make one of European mythology's most badass characters a pathetic old man, just like they made Thor a useless fat drunk and Angrboda and Hildisvini black. Put those ideas out of your mind for this rewrite. Odin here seems to be written more in line with his mythology self, meaning self-serving and intelligent and tricky, but not overly evil like the poorly written comic book-esque trash we got in Ragnarok. Even AC Valhalla wrote Odin better than Ragnarok did. Odin doesn't need to be intentionally corrosive to those around him. It can be a natural result of his indifference in his quest for knowledge. Not knowing that you're asking/demanding too much of your loved ones is far better writing than someone being evil inexplicably. Like, why the hell would he rip Freya's wings off and take her warrior spirit? Even from an intellectual standpoint, it makes no sense. Freya tried to make that marriage work. She taught Odin her magic. She made peace between their peoples. She's beautiful, she tried to be a great wife and mother. She's a massive catch. And on top of it all, the literal artbook and the devs say she's Kratos' equal in every measure, even combat. She'd be a RIDICULOUSLY effective ally. Why ruin that just for the sake of what? ''Hurr durr I'm eeevooool!''??? Odin was WASTED in the game. Tried to make an intelligent villain, ended up with an idiot who ruined his own chances for allies because ''Hurr durr I'm eeevooool!'' They don't even try to explain why he did any of this. They just assume that we accept him being evil. And apparently, most GOW glazers did just that. Honestly, I don't see the complaints here. I'm an aspiring writer myself, and if Ranton gave me this script, I'd hammer it into something absolutely believable and spotless within actual hours. And even if it was left flawed, it's still a million times better than the slopfest we actually got. Only game I ever felt I wasted money on was Ragnarok.
This was great! Only issue that would be hard to make work is Freya being the companion. I can't imagine in a 40hr game she never mentions how long it's been.
The whole "why" of Odin's willingness to teach Atreus I think becomes pretty obvious if you notice the meta parallels between Atreus and Kratos in your hypothetical story - Odin wanted a Kratos of his own, so he made sure Atreus grey up exactly like his father did. The only thing that was a wrench would be Thor interrupting his plans.
I still remember this one term that you used from your initial review video that summed up every complaint about ragnarok for me "unearned catharsis". Its like the game knew this is the end point that they want to reach (which can be a great moment if properly built unto) but the story just flounders its way to that point, just hoping that we forget that literally nothing before this led to this point. its like reading the ending of a novel just for fun before you begin reading it, and thinking wow I can't wait to how we reach this point, and you realise the entire novel is just some recipe for paneer tikka or something idk what I'm saying
My gripe with this story as someone who likes ragnarok story is the tonal shift, 2018 already had one and doing it again with this one kinda alienates the people who like 2018, at least that’s what I think, killing Mimir and taking Atreus away from Kratos, loses both his weapons, it doesn’t make the game a sequel it makes it a whole new thing
Ok, Ranton, hear me out: what if instead of completely removing the blades of chaos altogether, how about making them the weapons that appear when he enters spartan rage? Like, instead of „Spartan Rage“, it now becomes „God of War status/ rage“ where Kratos taps into his old power as the God of War and he then summons his Blades of Chaos as his rage weapons instead of him just throwing fists. Now, remember Ranton, the Blades of Chaos *are* the most iconic weapons of the game, so leaving them completely out just seems a bit too much. I mean, you wouldn’t remove the Master Sword from a Zelda game because it was in every other game before, would you?
I love the blades so much, but relating to the rest of what Santa Monica wanted to do with the game with moving on and rarely even acknowledging the past games, it would make more sense leaving them completely out as well.
I think having them as the Spartan Rage weapons is a good idea since in the comic, it says they always return to him. He cannot escape them. He tried. So yeah, them being available is a good idea, but sparingly.
@RealRanton to add on to the mjolnir bit - in the lore, the handle is short bc of Loki's interference as Brok & Sindri forged it. In your story, you could have it be some argument between them that distracted them so when Kratos brings it back to them they make the handle proportional, allowing him to wield it.
what about giving them to atreus. i kinda fell that it would be symbolic since he took his mom's knife and now kratos's blades. but i think he should have a different move set with them. ir you could also give him the axe
I know Atreus is a vital part of the story. But honestly i just hate having a little minion following you like RE4. I wanna feel like a god that can lift buildings and jump to space and not be a father of an angsty teen. Still loved the story of 2018, haven't played Ragnarok because it's not available in my country (Thanks Sony) but i think they could've made a different story and be just as good.
@@kingmobcollective That would be kinda counterintuitive to Kratos arc, the whole point of his character in these last two games is that he tries to forget the past and keep his anger intact and be more open to others. But a doomguy Kratos does sound fun.
I got legit chills at the final scene man, good fucking job, I never expected this from you, but it's safe to say you got some writing talent, would love to see more of it in the future!
I have to admit, I did not agree with your review of Ragnarok when you first put it out, but seeing what could've been I can't help but agree with you. I actually teared up a little thinking of the final scene in my head. Thanks Ranton! Great stuff as always :)
Man, I was in tears watching this. Wanted to play Space Marine 2 but ended up watching the whole thing! This was brilliant and I would've loved to play your version, Ranton!!! Alles Gute aus Hamburg ❤
I prefer the game we actually got, because it shows Kratos progressing as a character, not regressing fully into vengefully killing everyone, but this would haved defintiely been an interesting game to play
I wanted them to do more with Atreus being Loki. At the end of the 1st one, I thought that hidden prophecy was Atreus going back in time to heal Kratos at the end of god of war 3. Maybe something to do with hope because Kratos stabbed himself to give hope back to the people. It could have been more with Atreus finding the side characters like Angerbotha and secretly plotting with them to use Ragnarok to do time travel stuff or something.
Gods don’t get weaker with age, they get stronger. Kratos himself confirmed this. Just like at Odin as evidence. It doesn’t make sense for Kratos to start getting weak from age all of a sudden since he’s more than 1000+ years old, and him getting weak from injuries doesn’t make sense either since he heals back all damage in time just like any other god
I liked all your gameplay ideas but the story choices were baffling. The entire point of the reboot games is Kratos proving against all odds that he can become a better person for the sake of his son. Undoing all of that and having Atreus figure it all out on his own robs Kratos of his growth and undermines the idea that Kratos's redemption is necessary for his son to thrive. The takeaway from Ragnorok is that your own nature can be overcome if you can find the strength to make better choices than you did before. And that doing so will have a contagious effect on those around you. The takeaway in this version is that people like Kratos can’t change and Atreus was possibly better off without him. Thats a fine story to tell but not really what GOW 4 was setting up
so.. he wants a revenge story instead of a more chill story, but that would undermine the reason why Kratos had a family, which is to start over after he completed his mission with the Olympus, which was already a story about revenge, in other word, you are just remaking all god of war, but in asgard
Am I the only one who doesnt like this? It makes the God of War 2018 a totally pointless game. Kratos is trying to change and teach Atreus to be better than him, but in your version Kratos is just God of War 3 Kratos till the ending. In this version Freya forgets Kratos just like that? In the original we see Freya try to kill Kratos even when Atreus is around, Atreus is even holding her at "bow" point and begging her not to shoot her. Atreus himself sneaks to find Freya so she would forgive Atreus, it was a lot of effort to get Freya back on their side, it took Kratos defending her from enraged transformed Atreus to even have her think about forgiving him. I think the original game is good, but ït would be way better if this game wasnt called Ragnarok and this whole norse saga should have been a trilogy, Thor would be the main boss in this game and the game should have ended with Kratos blowing the horn. 3rd game should have been called Ragnarok and it would entirely take place in Asgard, I always thought that Asgard would be this massive realm like the others but on steroids. You could have other gods in there, Gna would be there as well. Also this video totally ignores the fact that Kratos will die at Ragnarok if he doesnt change, which in this video he doesnt change.
There are some great ideas here, but Atreus would never forgive Thor for hurting his father and there’s no way they would become friends. Other than that I love the idea of Thor almost killing Kratos and you having to get Atreus back. Well done!
I found a unique connection while watching through this video, the way you introduce the weapons are the opposite to the previous entry. I can't explain it well with words but I really like a detail that when we start GOW (2018) with a completely new weapon that's unfamiliar to all of us in how it works, and then later in the game when we get the blades of chaos we are right back at home with something very familiar. But the decision to start with the spear, a weapon that's (technically lorewise) familiar to us and especially to Kratos, and then end by him gaining Thor's hammer, is a very well done detail that is just, oh so nice
Sounds like a banger game. The video felt like 15min and I just saw it was 40. I don't like fan fictions that much, but damn, give me moaar. Gute Arbeit mein Freund. Keep up the good stuff. Every of your videos is a highlight.
Eric Williams and Cory Barlog once had an idea similar to this until Williams got lazy and Barlog decided to facilitate his laziness by rewriting it for two games instead of saying ''Buckle up, we're sticking to the original plan for three games''. So yeah, maybe.
There's nothing to fix and there is no problem. The plot doesn't need fine-tuning and nothing missed the mark. The people who think the narrative or gameplay is flawed are wrong. The game served its purpose and delivered accordingly.
I wouldn't even call the game bad at all but it does make you wish that the game itself wasn't Rush then some story areas would have been fully completed instead of changing some things of the story they should have some stuff that is missing to the story because that's the only way I would fix this game
Couldn't they just tell him: ''bro Atreus is not here. He is old chill. Many years have past.'' Cause that means his killing spree was for nothing right?
I like the spear, but I do think there were things in the first game that still need resolved. How does he become loki, and how does loving husband loki work? Also his relationship with his own sons as loki. The wolf the horse and the snake. The actual game neglected this to some degree as well, but the Norse mythology needs to be written into the story more, I believe. The first game was really good about setting up ideas from mythology. It would have been nice to see those ideas played out.
Yup, for me to match the myth, the gameplay need more improvements, like Thor can destroy a world with just one swing with his hammer(isn't it cool to saw a realm destroyed just because thor can) or make Odin more powerful than zeus(fear zeus) and make the world feel the impact from classes of the gods, just like wukong the mountain destroyed the world shaken, like kratos vs baldr but more grand and horrifying. And ragnarok, ohh, my hopes why high for that battle, what a disappointment it was.
Thing is its always been a Mythology game second even more so in the soft reboot's focusing on the Mythology would basically take a chunk out of the character development I'm sorry but we're going to have to axe that whole bit can't be done right now without bloating the game its gonna have to be cut bro sorry we're gonna have to find a real true to the the spirit Norse Mythos game elsewhere because no one can do it well.
Yeah the only problem with this outline is he is pretty much ignoring the mythology and lore in favor for a deep personal story. Which is interesting but neglects too much set up
Damn RANTON thats actually really good, that quote from the creative director is something i look for in shows. I dont want world ending events, id rather have a room full of well fleshed out characters with room for development. More of these kinda videos pleeeeas❤
I really liked Ragnarok. Liked it even more than 2018. Kinda hope they remake the older games in the style of these new ones before doing a follow up to Ragnarok.
I'm absolutely sold on this new story! I wanna go to the Dimension where Ranton is a video game story director! I'm done with this dimension! Now where did I put my Doctor Strange ring? I already misplaced Rick and Morty's portal gun...😅
I was very underwhelmed with the original story, but I never knew what I wanted instead. Now I know. I want this. This is so much better in pretty much every single aspect. Story, characters, wepons, everything!
I like the video but I disagree with the arc. I think that Kratos seeing that being worshipped is a possibility, was a nice ending for him and opens up the future for him to do good. This vengeful path for me is a regression and doesn't make sense. Don't get me wrong I'm not a big fan of Ragnarok at all, I think it put way too much into a big plot twist as opposed to having a coherent story first. They just needed to make it streamlined so making it going from realm to realm made sense like the first game. Also jjst cut stuff out, it's too bloated and a snoozefest a lot of the times. I agree about the weapons, we need different ones as Ragnarok was just the first game with a less compelling story for me.
that IS WHAT I AM SAYING, he said he has no character development in this game, so he suggests to make him vengeful again. LIKE WHAT ? that the exact opposite of character development.
I would've loved to play your version of the game, but hearing it in this video will have to be good enough :P Srsly tho, very heartfelt, and I think that THAT is what matters
And you want to tell me that this was not how it went in the game?! Haven't played a single God of War game, but now I regret a little bit that I didn't. I don't usually comment on videos, but I had to write that this was incredible and I have to confess that a tear was shed at the end. Great work Ranton.
Just started watching. You might already have heard this, but apparently the first draft of Ragnarok’s story involved Thor killing Kratos in the beginning, and Atreus has to travel to Hel to get him back. They scrapped it because they didn’t think people would want to play as Atreus, but I’ve always loved the idea of that opening, and I’m really enjoying your take on it.
one little plothole maybe? ---> if Atrius is much older when Kratos meets him, shouldn' the gods he kills also look older and thus reveal a lot of time has passed?
We can see that Atreus is now a teenager and not a child he was in GoW first part. It’s been only 3-4 years between games. So I assume Gods grow up like usual humans up to 18-25 and then stop aging. Or they age super slow. So it would make sense. Btw, according to 1 theory it’s been 1000 years between Kratos’ Greek last game and GoW 2018. And he aged like what? 10 years? Maybe 15 max. So it completely makes sense
I absolutely loved this content by you Ranton! I adore every other video you've made but I think your creativity and passion is so high that I thought this style of video worked just as well! Keep doing what you're doing!
I think it works for me... mostly. I don't really like Kratos reverting to his old ways and just repeating the god killing spree of his past. Him growing into a better god while also teaching his son to be better than him was my favorite part of the game. A little biased because as a dad my motto towards parenting is that we shouldn't try to make our kids like us but to help them grow into the best versions of themselves. Also I agree on the Mimir correction and that he was a bit annoying. I did like seeing Kratos becoming more open and seeing his friendship with Mimir grow.
Please do more Videos like this one. That was amazing. I didn‘t even play any god of war game but still enjoyed it very much. Maybe also for movies/series like you did with Andi in your Podcast for Endgame?
I generally like this rewrite and I think it would have made for a better game, but one thing I take a major issue with is the idea of Kratos going around killing gods again. Kratos is done killing gods. He experienced first hand what happens when you upset the forces these gods hold authority over. With every kill, Greece was plunged further and further into chaos, and, as much as he wants Atreus back, I doubt he would want that for the norse realm. He must be better than this. A lot of the rough edges in your rewrite can be easily fixed, but this is the one aspect that needs to be changed entirely for this story to work, in my opinion.
I completely agree. It removes the whole importance of "we must be better" and "I was wrong" dialogues. Yea its fanservicey and cool in concept but ignores a lot of themes presented in the earlier game
@@ziontea7045I don't think it does at all. Kratos didn't become a "good" or "peaceful" guy in the first game. Also, if Atreus is taken from him, u think he's gonna be chill about it?
Big problem. You completely ignored the last two games. Kratos killed, Magni, Modi, and Balder, in the first game without regret or shame. Simple self defense and moved on. If he can kill in self defense why not in a search to protect his son? Was he regressing in 2018? No. Then it isn't the same in this rewrite. Balder is the only death that effected the world. Heimdall, and Thor and Odin did not. He also caused Ragnarök in the second game, the death of all the Gods and nuked Asgard for simple revenge for that Blue dudes death. While the game narrate tries to pretend Kratos is above god killing, that's not the case. He just changed his reasons for killing Gods, kinda. This rewrite does the same thing the actual game did but gave better reasons to do it.
@@celestialsoldier622 i think there needs to be more drive for kratos beyond just killing gods. idk it just seems so regressive taht it feels like a repeat of the first game's overall journey.
This is genuinely amazing stuff man, almost got emotional by the end. The melancholy and sadness I felt that Kratos wasn't able to see so much of his son's life, along with the happiness that they finally meet each other again, and Atreus is able to break the cycle of violence Kratos couldn't get out of for years upon years, felt amazing. Only gripe I have is with some parts of the video; I love Tak Fujii but including his applause at the end kinda ruined the moment of, "holy shit that was incredible," and took a lot of emotion out of it; a slow fade out would've been perfect there. I couldn't really simmer in the emotions you just brought out. I love the comedy, but I think for this video it should've been removed for a tone as melancholic as the story you are telling (even if it was very subdued). But otherwise, that was incredible overall.
Chef’s kiss. Your version sounds more emotional and impactful. As you said, we write the lore. I 100% agree that there was no need to shed light on unimportant characters.
I will rewrite Breaking Bad next bro watch me
@@RealRanton make it another 40 mins video pls, I want to consume your content moree
Wanton White and Jesse Enkamp kill ACGus Fringe. Already seeing the accolades flood in 😂
Yeah sure. Make Gus more sus
Bruder you joke but we would watch the hell out of that
You can't rewrite peak bro
Ranton -> Ranting -> Writing
Incredible character development.
Rantoni -> Macaroni
Kratos almost dies and trains with shaolin warrior monks to learn wingchun and defeat zeus like mike tyson vs ipman
bro thats even better than my version wtf
LMAO
That kinda happened to Thor in from Marvel Comics in a Alternate Universe where he can no longer lift his hammer. Cept he trained in Kun Lun where Iron Fist trained
and then develops some rivalry with Wukong
@@Zeebeelee I i feel like Kratos learning drunken fist is more appropriate cause he started drinking and went on this rampage that now his drunken master (Jackie Chan btw) teaches him
Next game Kratos wakes up and hear monkey noises and BOOM! Wukong is infront of him. God of War: RagnaMonk
Hes transported to ancient mythological China and he lives a peacefull life for a time, but then Quing dinasty pussy gets him acting unwise, and chaos ensues.
LOL
😂😂😂😂
God of War: Monke rock
Bro, I would have shed so many manly tears if the game was actually like this. This is my favorite video I think you’ve made
Sheesh thanks dude
@RealRanton I agree, you could have warned me bruh! I'm trying to not do that whIle I'm at work... WTH?!
Then Kratos says “you are the true god of war ragnarok” roll credits.
😂😂😂
So that's it huh, we're some kinda god of war Ragnarok?
@@versionstar4352 lmfao
😂😂 the whole title
„The true ragnarök is the friends we made along the way” ➡️ credits
Nah the shit with young kratos spear tutorial is fucking peak
you know it
It's straight out of Jedi fallen order but yeah Santa Monica could make it so much more badass
@@RealRantonat this point, make ur own games
@@RealRanton and imagine if they got the original Kratos voice actor to come back for those scenes
@@petergrigorov7042 It wasn't even close to being an original idea when Jedi Fallen Order did it either.
40 minute ranton video essay is insane but exactly the stuff we need more of.
holy shit this is a blast
rantoni doing some movie lvl cooking god damn this is good
this needs to be a animated at least or something.
38:33 legit shed a tear.. well done
This is basically a slightly modified version of the Last of Us Part II
I really like a lot of ideas in this video, that spear training idea should have been in the game. I think my only critique is that a lot of the story beats you wrote for this version end up undoing everything that happened in God of War 2018. For example, though you argue that Kratos had no real character arc in the game, a notion which I disagree with for reasons I will outline later, I find that this version of him essentially reverts him back to becoming the very thing he was trying to get away from when coming to Midgard and undoes all the character development he had in that game. The idea of Atreus growing up without Kratos is also an interesting idea in theory but I fear it ignores the main theme of both the first game and Ragnarok, that being a father-son coming of age story. Having Thor become a sort of surrogate father for Atreus out of guilt and personal duty for the murder of Kratos makes complete sense in context but it has the unfortunate drawback of also undoing all the development in the relationship between Kratos and Atreus that happened in the first game.
Now, let me explain my criticisms. I mentioned earlier that I disagreed with the notion that Kratos had very little development in Ragnarok. Kratos' development in the sequel, while perhaps not quite as obvious and directly presented as it was in the previous game, is very much still there. Kratos' major thematic elements as a character in the reboot games are grief, acceptance, and redemption. In GoW 2018, Kratos spends nearly half of the story's runtime avoiding his past like the plague, only being forced to confront it when it starts to show in his son. That story ends with Kratos finally accepting his scars as a part of himself (literally in this case). In Ragnarok, we learn that although he might have accepted those scars, he still hasn't come to terms with why he got them. He harbors immense guilt for his past and seeks redemption. The mere mention of his past as a general causes him to lash out in fear and guilt of his past actions. The development he has in Ragnarok is him grieving his trauma, accepting his past, and redeeming himself for his actions. He becomes a general once more and leads the charge in Asgard but this time on his own terms. He appears on the battlefield with something to live for, not something to kill for. The fact that, in your version, he reverts to becoming a vengeful avatar of hate and rage just feels like it disregards all the development he went through previously. I suppose you could argue that this regression can be a way for him to confront his past as well but that's already in the games. Every time he's had to kill a god, he's confronted with the terrifying notion that he will always be the same monster he once was. Both Baldur's and Heimdall's deaths were moments where Kratos was face to face with his past self and both had repercussions. If you want an even more direct confrontation with his past self, the Valhalla DLC has that in spades, its kind of the whole point of it. Ironically, having his journey to Asgard be fueled by revenge and hatred makes him a far simpler character than he was in Ragnarok.
I also mentioned that Atreus being raised by Thor in Asgard after the supposed death of Kratos was a good idea but ignores the main theme of both the first game and Ragnarok. The story in these games are fundamentally a father-son coming of age story. GoW 2018 spent its entire story deepening the relationship between Atreus and Kratos. However, it ended when Atreus was still quite young and we needed to see how their relationship develops further as Atreus grows and enters the most formative years of his life. To have Atreus and Kratos separated in the way that they are in this version just feels like we completely skipped that second half of that story just to have it tread old ground with Odin and Thor. GoW 2018 was about Kratos and Atreus getting closer as father and son and, with this version, Atreus would just be having that same arc again but with a different dad. Additionally, I feel you've strayed away from exploring a key part of Atreus' character. While you go over the god half of Atreus, it's important to not neglect the other half. His whole reason for wanting to come to Asgard in the first place was to get answers about the giants. One of the main reasons he wants to find Tyr so bad is because he is someone that can give him those answers that isn't Odin. Atreus learning about his people feels so core to his character in GoW that omitting it makes him feel incomplete.
I'm also confused with the purpose of Odin revealing to Atreus that Kratos is "dead". You say that it is to quench his curiosity but I can't really bring myself to believe that Atreus would simply let things be after that reveal. Knowing what he does of the Aesir, I'd argue that it'd be far more in character for him to actually continue pressing them about what happened. I don't see Odin lying about what happened in all honesty. Odin is a liar but a good liar tells more truths than lies. I feel it would be far more in character for him to tell Atreus all the same stories that Kratos told him about his past but with a more gruesome twist revealing hidden "truths" that Kratos didn't want Atreus to know about as well as how the death of Baldur, Modi, and Magni has affected everyone in Asgard to slowly but gradually destabilize the trust and crush any sense of fondness he might have had for his father. He would then frame the murder as self defense and shift the blame onto Thor. Feeling the way he does about his actions, Thor would wear his guilt on his face which would all but confirm Odin's story to Atreus. Of course, he'd still try to attack them but you've said that he's tried that already to no avail. So instead he notices that they haven't killed him after all this time even after his previous attempts to either flee or attack them meaning they must really need him. Remember, Odin still needs Atreus because he believes he is the key to all the answers he's been looking for. Recognizing this and taking what he's learned from Odin, he turns his knife on himself and uses his position as a valuable asset to his advantage. I also don't think Odin would believe that Kratos is dead. The guy has eyes everywhere and the moment he saw that Kratos' body isn't where it was when he left it, he'd probably investigate that.
Overall, I think what you have here is a great story, just maybe not what God of War Ragnarok needed to be.
Thank you, sir, I love the enthusiasm and what the story could have been in another time from ranton, but I don’t get why so many ppl are praising it in the comments as if this would have been a better story veriosn. I am sure it would received a lot of backlash like tlou2 with the way the beginning starts.
thanks man. I feel so gaslighted seeing a lot of people praise this. I mean, it's a solid plot but does not feel like a continuation of gow 2018
Really good critique, I also felt like this was interesting story, but not fitting to what GoW 2018 did.
Thank you. Reading through the comments, I was asking myself the questions, "Is it because the video is still "new"? Is it because people were unhappy with ragnorak, so rewrites are automatically seen as better? Or do I just have bad taste?". You voiced much of what I was feeling
While Ranton's rewrite is good, it is also flawed (as everything is) as it doesn't fit well with gow 2018. If we had received ranton's rewrite instead of ragnorak I feel that people would be similarly critical with is as they are with the real story
Many of the issues that many people have with ragnorak, including myself, likely could've been fixed with not shoving everything down into two games
Got my lunch, saw a 40 minute Ranton video and was expecting to spit my lunch out from laughing (barely even saw the title).
Finished lunch, downed the video, and crying over such a beautiful story.
I can't count how many times I caught myself saying "This makes so much more sense."
And I did expect the time skip to be far longer than how you were presenting it, but even though you didn't have any storyboards or actual cutscenes, the way you told that final meeting between Atreus and Kratos just... hit so hard. It's one of those few times where NOT having a fight felt much, much more IMPACTFUL than having a boss battle.
Towards then end when you brought up that you didn't even touch up on Ragnarok, I was actually shocked because of how deep the story was that I had forgotten all the war stuff. However, I must agree with @The_Kave_man when he indicated that Kratos IS Ragnarok - tie that concept even further with this story you've made to clean up some details - badabim badaboom - perfection.
This might be one of the most personal rewrites I've ever seen and repaired so much of what was lacking from the original.
Thank you, monkey man.
Glad u liked it my guy ❤
Middle-aged men watching middle-aged man's fanfiction... Crazy times, but I'm glad!
😭😭
Middle-aged? Ranton doesn't even look close to 40
He’s only 30
This is perfect. I'm crying at the end wtf! Atreus breaking the cycle of violence when he has every reason to continue it with Thor, coupled with the conflict that he would be feeling because Thor would be his second dad in this version, is just so RIGHT. So well constructed. And he would be seeing the effect of continuing said violence with his first dad, old and broken by obsessive fear for his son and rage at himself for not being there for him. I want this story!
🥹🥹❤️
Exactly this. It gave me Vinland saga vibes which I absolutely freaking love. This would've been such an epic game to experience
And in the end, Kratos did what he always does: destroys everything because he is the God Killer. That’s what the God of War would do, even if he isn’t happy about killing. I found the conflict extremely interesting; however, I saw in a comic that the Blades of Chaos always return to Kratos. It would make more sense in the narrative for Thor to break the blades and the axe with Mjolnir in the first fight. But overall, that was absolute cinema.
Actually perfect,I'm so glad we stumbled on this
I liked it, but I think devolving Kratos would be a little lame to me. Rantons issue was that Kratos got no arc in Ragnarok, but then just makes Kratos into a killing machine that goes through the whole game, only to realize he didn’t really need to anything, and then it ends. Kratos soaring Thor in the game was an awesome moment for me, and I think it would help Rantons story a lot if that act of mercy was here.
The spear alone in the beginning is a fantastic idea. The idea of him reminsescing of his younger spartan days is amazing, also. BRAVO
Just a small point, anyone can lift Thors hammer. That whole "being worthy" nonsense is purely a Marvel creation. Theres an entire story in the Eddas about a random giant stealing the hammer while Thor slept.
@@echo.romeo. it's not brain dead it's factual moron. And it's not irrelevant. We don't actually know the truth behind this. Thor also has his gauntlets which help him lift the hammer. And nothing in the game shows Kratos being stronger than Thor. So that's conjecture. Either way, it doesn't appear that the weapons have the same Marvel enchantments anyway which is my point. You've provided nothing in the way to challenge what I've said.
@@casthedemonjust ignore that clown,its a waste of energy arguing with someone who has an IQ of a house fly
@casthedemon further proves how Santamonica studios did no homework regarding the Norse Mythology and instead made a Marvel GoW
I think thor was able to lift mjölnir only because he had megingjord, a magic belt that gave him giant-like strength. In the myth in which a giant just nicks the hammer off him he also steals his belt, so he isn't strong enough to get it back. So no, nothing about "being worthy", he could use mjölnir just because he was strong.
@juanignaciodecarlofadu6304 no. The belt doubles his strength but it isn't required. And no the belt wasn't stolen. Just the hammer. Thor wore nothing but a wedding dress to the feast. He had no problem holding the hammer to kill all the Jotnar. Also, the gods Frey and Odin inspect the hammer when it's presented to them by Brok. And all three of them (one of whom is a dwarf) handle it no problem. The only time any accessories are mentioned is in the Prose Edda by Snorri and they're the iron gloves Thor has that let's him wield his hammer fully. But a) it's Snorri, who isn't a prime source, and b) it's moreso implied that the gloves are simply needed to make full use of the hammer in combat due to the short haft. Not to carry it around normally.
That's a great spin-off, but I have a few points to discuss:
**1. Weapons:** The Blades of Chaos are bound to Kratos by a curse, so he can’t get rid of them. The idea of a spear is amazing, but how can a weak spear compete with godly weapons, especially when it can only be upgraded by Kratos, who isn’t a blacksmith? Additionally, Kratos lacks ranged attacks for at least the first half of the game, which complicates things, particularly for a weakened Kratos. Also, you didn’t mention him learning magic, even though he is desperate for power and revenge. Plus, Spartans traditionally use a shield with their spear, so he should have one too-ideally one that isn’t retractable.
**2. Kratos' Weakness:** How does Kratos become weak? Gods don’t get weaker with age; they typically become stronger, as seen with Zeus and Odin. His injuries should be manageable with Freya's healing abilities.
**3. Brok and Sindri:** It’s odd that Brok and Sindri are removed from the story. They have a strong relationship with Kratos and Atreus, so their absence feels strange. The only role they have is upgrading Mjölnir-why not let them help with the spear too? They could easily assist in finding Atreus and gathering information.
**4. Power from Killed Gods:** Kratos should gain power from any god he kills, adding to his desperation for revenge and the need to find his son, while also wanting to kill Thor and Odin.
**5. Atreus' Trust in Odin:** Why does Atreus trust Odin? He learned from Freya, Mimir, Brok, and Sindri not to trust him. After being kidnapped by Odin, it seems unlikely he would believe anything he says. Perhaps he could have a plan to use Odin for power, but this undermines the story you created and contradicts Atreus' growth.
**6. Meeting Angrboda:** Atreus should meet Angrboda to fill plot holes, such as how the World Serpent came to life. Fenrir should also be involved, as this ties into Norse mythology. Atreus, as Loki, should connect with his giant heritage and learn about magic and knowledge.
**7. Valkyries and Dragons:** The Valkyries that Kratos freed should play a role, as should the dragons. He could learn techniques or magic from them, or acquire weapons and armor or recruit them in his army to fight asgard.
**8. Kratos’ Character Growth:** The development of Kratos' personality seems to have regressed. He should be portrayed as a man on a mission, a killer with a purpose-not blinded by rage, but rather a focused avenger, similar to John Wick. This would enhance his character growth and maintain continuity with the first game or maybe make him become a general and lead an army.
**9. Faye’s Role:** Faye doesn’t have a significant presence in either the original game or your spin-off. She should have more flashbacks and hints for Kratos to deepen her role.
**10. The Name "Ragnarok":** The game is titled "Ragnarok," but Kratos doesn’t actively work to bring it about. Instead, he becomes Ragnarok itself, which raises plot holes-like Thor blasting the World Serpent through time and Odin’s efforts to prevent it being futile. If Kratos is Ragnarok, Odin should realize this. Alternatively, Kratos could use the Gjallarhorn and Surtr to finish the game quickly and help Atreus.
**11. Atreus Searching for Kratos:** It’s puzzling that Atreus doesn’t search for his father. He reads the murals, knows about his giant powers, and should have met Angrboda. He should have an idea of whether Kratos is alive and should actively look for him.
**Final Thoughts:** You’ve created a narrative to end Kratos’ story, while Santa Monica aimed to give him a new life-one where he is worshipped as a god who helps others. Fans want to see his story continue, so ending it here would be disappointing.
If these points are addressed, the story could become deeper, darker, and sadder while still allowing for a satisfying conclusion and potential for more games. To achieve this, the game would need to be at least twice as long to give every character a fulfilling arc and resolve any plot holes, which would be quite a challenge for the studio.
The original games story is good, and so is the story in the video, but people really are glazing this version a bit too much.
For example he says that freya was quick to forgive kratos in the original story, but that was only after kratos helped get rid of a literal curse preventing her from travelling realms.
More importantly though Kratos as a character devolves back into his gow 1-3 days in this version, something Ranton specifically said he doesnt want happening. And instead of what we have (where Kratos mind numbingly has to make decisions that will either play into or against fate) he just starts killing all gods again.
Another point is that why would Thor even kill kratos at the start, he never really much cared about his own sons, he was the one that beat the ever living shit out of modi for failing him so doesnt really make sense for him to not talk and go straight to killing, especially considering Thor does what Odin says and Odin doesnt have any reaons to want Kratos dead yet.
He also says that the Aesir were portrayed as generic villains, when thats not the case at all. It literally took Ragnarok arriving at asgards doorstep for Odin to turn "evil"
Also maybe its just me but the idea of kratos having visions of his wife constantly shaming him just seems generic and boring.
Damn👌🏾,this criticism doesn’t take away from the video at all. It gives a chance to create a beautiful fan made story, I doubt 2-3 games of kratos trying to get to Atreus would be interesting to us as views but a story like this with your points would have to be more than one to make sure we don’t lose what was built from the 2018 game , what we got from ragnarok and this iteration 👏👏
Chat, is 3 times a day too much?
You Gotta Pump Those Numbers Up, Those Are Rookie Numbers
Eating? Yes. 3 times is normal.
as long as it's under 9 it's not too much
12 is my record
Nah you gotta keep it around 8 to stay healthy anything above and your doing it too much and anything below could be fine but it isn’t that great
Fucking beautiful. Ranton said he doesn't care about the event of Ragnorok but the whole time I was thinking, "Holy shit, Kratos is Ragnorok." He said eariler in the video that we write the lore because its just a game, this would be a super satisfying way to bring the end of an "old" Asgard because Kratos Killed all the gods that represented Odin's reign including Odin at the end just the way Ranton wrote it. 10\10.
Didn't think of that. Cool 😎
@@RealRanton Holy shit, gotta go tell my brother he's not the only one who got a Ranton interaction anymore 🙇♂️
OMG this is absolute genius, even the title would be perfection.
God of War Ragnarok and he literally IS Ragnarok.
Imagine Odin at the end after he lost to Kratos saying something along the lines of "I can see it now, you really are the god of war destined to bring us Ragnarok"
Damn, and you could even have Kratos free Fenrir, wake up Jormungandr help Skoll and Hati catch their targets (and many more examples), all to bait out the gods, sent by Odin, untimely killing them off, one by one, or perhaps later in pairs or triplets.
And even if you’d want a ragnarök closer to mythology and the game Atreus would still be the inciting factor-> kratos killing all
And on his way there he could release all the monsters/enemies in mythology for the attack on the village
I was edging for the 1st 2 sections...and the climax WAS worth it
😭😭
I just wanted to say in advance Congrats on your new role as the Narrative writer lead at Santa Monica Studio.
This was without a doubt one of your best videos and filled with amazing ideas. You can be a great addition to their team.
Yeah I wish
@@RealRanton I think this idea of fixing issues of the games... while it can get crazy difficult... is actually what is missing in RUclips gaming contents. And trust me it doesn't have to be script writing. Try with menu UI, and give ideas of the game UI architecture. You can see a game and just give solutions for its UI. Or its Character design, OST choice, .... anything really. Since its just overall ideas.
I see a great future in this genre of content. It's not just reviewing, it's not criticizing, but also trying to come up with a solution.
You are a rare content creator man. Massive respect.
Next time he should make a 10 hour video fixing the story and gameplay of my favorite game, Skyrim. It could use it. Just kidding, I'm not a sure you'd need a long video for a game that isn't narrative heavy like Skyrim, you'd just have to describe ways to manipulate things to make more sense or be more impactful. Skyrim seems scared to give people too much personality and depth. Though it also seems to, in part, be a necessity for the design of the game in some ways, but that shallowness could have been hidden better with good writing maybe. I don't know. The gameplay could use a total rework without affecting the story and character interactions amd the game would be much better. I wouldn't want Dark Souls per se, but I think Bethesda could learn from the somewhat simple, at least to me, depth of those games' systems, even if only in enemy attack variation and enemy variety. Not the stats though, god, not the stats. The stats in Oblivion were a senseless nightmare and I don't like them all that much in Elden Ring either. Showing a ton of numerical stats that you can meticulously manage has always been incredibly immersion breaking. Skyrim has a perfect design for progression in my opinion, but a less than ideal implementation. It's super easy to understand, but the balancing is off and many perks aren't enticing enough for the player to actually want to figure out what's best. For smithing, the grind is insane for such little return, when even using cheesy methods it still takes hours and hours to gather enough materials and smith them, and for what? All of the non combat skills are like this as if they're expecting you to be a careerer blacksmith that's constantly smithing armor over a whole playthrough, which still wouldn't level you enough, when in reality you probably just where armor you looted off your enemies and only use smithing to upgrade them. Lockpicking is better, but I should probably be master after 150 hours, not halfway there. The grind is real. Even on Novice difficulty the fights are a slog and the higher you go in difficulty the only thinf that changes is how long you have to tap on your enemy in the lame combat. I do like the freedom in some ways because when I have a mental break there's no locked in animations so I can just leap around enemies like I monkey as i tap them to death. In some way skyrim feels like a perfect mess that I wouldn't change for the world*, but I also can't help but imagine this perfect game that was never delivered. Oh well, people would hate my version of the game. *Unless that change is SkyUI
@@trashtrash2169 Search "God of War Ragnarok producer"
There's so many seemingly interesting people in interesting positions, but you can't go any further than skin deep, even if you go on many adventures with eachother. I think that's something that Fallout 4 did ever so slightly better, at least from what I saw, you could talk to people like they were people, like Piper, until you couldn't and there was no more progression. I also felt this playing New Vegas, like the people were people and not cardboard cut outs. What about the Jarl of Whiterun? He seems like an interesting guy, why are his kids like that? What about Lydia and Aela or the girl working the forge? Who are these people really? And delphine! If there was one character to delve into it was her! They didn't, though. You know who they did do that with? Serana, and people lover her. What about Falion in Morthal? He knows so much, but he's so secretive. What's his story? Yeah you have moments where you learn a little about some characters in their quests, like aela I guess, but they only feel somewhat significant because it's absent everywhere else. What about the old storied smith at the Skyforge? I've pretty much only mentioned characters in Whiterun but there's already so much to explore, and I can only think of more, especially those in Markarth, which seems to be among the cities with the most care put into them. I'd say it's Whiterun, Riften, and Markarth. It's a shame Solitude is so big but it's underwhelming in the base game due to lack of things to do and general depth. It's nice looking and draws you in from far away with its striking placement in the world and the shock when you first enter when met with an execution. It's cool then there's not much past that beyond a few shallow quests and the worst guild. The docks are more interesting, lol. The world is good, the history is good, the playable stories and characters could be better.
I appreciated the manipulator and manipulatee dynamic of Odin and Thor though, so I enjoyed the original beginning already showing the sheer control over Thor which Odin has, that despite Thor definitely wanting to kill you full force as you've put together, he's on a tight leash by the All-Father and also yearns for his approval. I did like the Artreus kidnapping idea though.
FROM 0 to 7 - HOW UNHINGED AM I
Siebzehn
Novecientos noventa y cuatro
6.9
Yes
you are perfectly sane
Santo Monica HIRE THIS MAN !!! I NEED THIS GAME NOWWW!!!
Call me
@@RealRanton They're more likely to laugh at you seeing this video
Why hasn’t any game company picked him up for story writing yet? You’re all missing out on a goldmine!
Hahaha thanks man 🙏🏼
Wkwkwk gak nyangka gw ngeliat lu disini, bang
Cuz they need someone who can build on established lore
Bc its much easier to "fix" something that was heavily criticized in a final product than it is to come up with an original product... not coming at ranton, cuz im sure this wasn't his intention.
But we see this fan fiction writers all the time. They then get a huge ego thinking their product is somehow better than the original... and that is how we got season 2 and 3 of the witcher.
Because he rewrote God of War Ragnarok, a game that was already a sequel to "God of War, but the Last of Us" to be, "God of War, but the Last of Us Part II."
this shit slaps!
A few notes:
•The blades always return to him(even if he tries to get rid of them), according the lore, because they are considered a curse, so it would make sense for them to return half way through or after the first god he kills.
•Kratos is a greek god, the greek gods get stronger as they age, so taking into account the time gap he should be significantly stronger and not look old/weak as he is already 1000+ yrs at the time of GOW 2018, taking a look at his father who is almost as old the creation of earth he was in peak physique, so there is no reason for Kratos to be so "tired" at the end.
•Atreus is Loki and in the mythos loki marries angrboda so him being with thrud makes no sense myth-wise. But then again him as loki makes little -to-no sense anyway no big deal.
•And last, the huldra brothers where a big part of GOW 2018 and not including them would be kinda odd since they were integral to the story and gameplay. I know you mentioned them in aiding to fix up mjolnir for Kratos, but i believe having them play a bigger part would suit the story, because after all atreus is the one who got them back together and they'd want to return the favor.
I think there is a quick "way" to fix the aging plus time skip. Right, according to lore, Thor hit the World Serpent back to time, why not do the same with Kratos? Instead of hitting him back to time, Thor hit him to the future. and an older Freya found the bloodied Kratos later in the future.
For the Blades, I think its best the they stay with Kratos, but the Leviathan Axe can come with Atreus, giving reason for Mjonir to be a weapon in the dev's side.
Bro I haven't even played these games and you got me tearing up 😭 I'm a real sucker for parallel character arcs and how you can use them to show differences and growth between characters by subverting those parallels or playing into them. The thought you put into portraying that through the Kratos flashbacks, the Atreus flashbacks (that we don't know are flashbacks), and the final reveal of just how much time has really passed is so so good 🔥
I think the main problem of GoW: Ragnarok is that they try to compress & conclude the Norse mythology story in one game, instead of just making another one. They were able to milk the Greek mythology story in like 5+ games.
Back then games weren't as big in scale as they are now. If the new games had the same gameplay as the old ones, then maybe more games would be possible. But it takes like 5 years just for one game these days. I'm ok with 2 games as long as it's good but ragnarok had alot of issues story wise.
The main problem with gow ragnarok was the highlighting of uninteresting side characters or depicting them as sensitive family members, instead of focusing more on kratos and his forecast of death. Playing as atreus can be left out completely. The story should have been made as simple as in gow 2018, just delivering atreus mothers ashes. Bring jormungandr to asgard for ragnarok or something. And kratos coping with hallucinations of Athene or zeus should also have been included. Compared to gow 2018 this game had 0 atmosphere. It's a huge disappointment.
@@DeepDeepEast I mainly go back to it for the Greek roguelike mode dlc. It's really fun and replayable.
I agree, the last two missions should have belonged to a third game and it should have ended with Brok's death/ funeral. In the majority of the story Kratos is uncertain if he wants to take part in fighting Odin only to change his mind at the end of the game because of Brok, I feel that a entire third game where Kratos is focused on gathering forces to assemble an army for Ragnarok, while fighting other Gods that are allied to Odin would be more compelling.
@@Spoopy_man strip out the atraeus gameplay and agreboda and I'm fine with that.
ragnarock feels in both gameplay and especially story like a bigger but less focused version of the prior game, a mile wide and a inch deep as the saying goes, ill never forget when that one guy no one cares about sacrifices himself and the music starts playing like im meant to care about his guy who i meet 2 minutes before, idk if it was rushed or not, but though ragnarock is a good game its very dissapointing... 7/10 lol
bro i cried from laughter in that exact same moment 😂😂
@@RealRanton i remember when the sound effects got muted and the dramatic music started as the camera panned to the guy, turning my head to the side and looking at a non existent camera and saying "they are not going to do this right? they dont think im going to care do they?" i was in pure disbelief lmao.
@@tinygrove7623 it was so fucking hilarious. like it felt exactly like the gag from the new suicdide squad movie with James gunn (the good one) and they had that gag with Peter who nobody fucking knows dying
What ? Who? Brok??! Or Freyr? I mean it wasn't a huge death, they don't talk about it much after it, he just saves their ass
@@EziodaBsurM the fact that you cant even remeber his name is more proof about how stupid it was, it was the big knight guy, you find ou he survived in a side quest but still,in the main story they play out his sacrafice like this crazy sad thing but its just no inteligente.
Atreaus just became Thorfin form Vinland saga
He truly had no enemies at the end...
what part of odin and thor showing up and trashing the house just because they could sent the message of “yeah home is still a safe space unlike the first game”
Holy shit..... You did it. This is a better story. Great punch up. Works better on almost every level. Kratos not raising his boy broke my heart in a way that kind of reminds me of Berserk. Damn. Strong fiction. Write a novel. Not about god of war, just in general.
Thanks my guy ❤
It's not that hard, tbh. Ragnarok was dogshit. This guy didn't just write a better story, he utterly obliterated every aspect of the old slop with this brilliant rewrite. The first two minutes already had more good writing than the entirety of Ragnarok.
Brutal review lol. Even if we were to say "it's not that hard" that doesn't necessarily mean it's easy to do. They aren't mutually exclusive. Similarly, Ragnarok was good, falling short of its full potential doesn't make something dogshit. Emotional Angry completely negative reviews of art like yours always make me think "damn that person felt something." and I'd say a dogshit piece of art is one that makes you feel nothing. The opposite of Love is not hate,, It's Apathy. So if we were to say you hated Ragnarok. We most certainly can't say you don't actively right now still deeply care for Ragnarok. Food for thought lol. But yes I will agree brilliant rewrite, hats off Ranton.
@@yeahrightr No, I hate it precisely because I felt nothing. Only good scene in Ragnarok was the talk between Atreus and Kratos in Helheim.
@@TheStraightestWhitest yeah but it still won best narrative over Elden Ring. Welp...
Your Idea is at the sametime "breath taking" and painfull. As a Father myself, missing most of my son's upcoming would be the worst torture (or punishment) possible. This version would both make me awe at the courage of the writing, and make me sorrowfull for the characters. Kratos would skyrocket in the rankings of the most fuck up characters ever made, not only did he repeat the mistakes of the past, but lost his sons upcoming and died.
I'm mixed, that's the type of writing that makes you want to forget and distance yourself from the immersion, while at the same time would be the most defining development of videogame history, i would become a classic.
Thank you so much
@RealRanton i can tell how much ranton cares about this video and his version of the game by how much he is replying to comments lmao
Duuude Shadow of Mordor was exactly how the ending felt for this!! Soooo powerful.
But in the end Atreus is well and became a good man which is all Kratos really wanted, is a pretty happy ending actually
I like a lot of this, especially the smaller cast. I'm absolutely in love with the Spartan segments proposed, but a couple things to note/improve/retcon(?):
The Blades of Chaos are bound to Kratos no matter where he goes, or what happens. He physically cannot get rid of them, as they will simply follow him everywhere as a curse.
I'm not sure if it was intentional, but for the whole story, every character's arc just seems to be deteriorating. Kratos rescinded to a desperate, vengeful murderer and Atreus inching towards becoming a power obsessed god, which leaves the middle act kind of confused, as the characters only trend downward from where they started, only to spike up and finish their development at the final act with what can only be a moderately long cutscene.
Speaking of development, the Atreus arc about becoming a power obsessed god was already resolved in the last game, so a player who remembers that will not buy into Odin indoctrinating him, and would take away even more momentum from the twist at the end, as the lesson internalised was already there from past events we saw happen.
It seems a bit generous to the plot that Atreus just takes Odin at his word for Kratos abandoning him, when Atreus was repeatedly warned of Odin's trickery by Mimir. In fact, Atreus has very little reason to attempt to impress Odin and forsake Kratos in the flashbacks, especially in the wake of the last game, where they learn to embrace eachother as father and son proper.
Compounding this, Odin is a very corrosive character to everyone around him. Thor and his family, Heimdall, they are all blatant examples of the All-Father being manipulative and ruining lives, and with Atreus becoming so intimate with Thrudd in this version, he would pick up on Odin's bs far sooner than suggested, meaning Odin has to either be mellowed out a lot as an antagonist, or some other big change be made to his character.
There's more I can think of, but I don't think it's the best use of anyone's time to tear into a video like this, where you express a lot of humbleness and passion for these characters. This is just constructive criticism. I look forward to the next steamy Ranton fanfic
Good Points. I thought about the blades of chaos but it seems to not even be true for the first game. Kratos is able to travel around and go to other realms without them. So they don't seem to follow him that much lol
They actually did a terrible Job of making Odin seem bad or evil in this game. It made it seem like we heard a bunch of Bias slander instead his true character.
@@RealRanton I imagine it's more that he can't purposefully rid himself of them. Like if he tossed them into the void or something, they would reappear somewhere along his path. So, it's not that they literally follow behind him like a dog would, but rather they are bound to his story and destiny, or something like that.
@celestialsoldier622 Agree so much! That goes for Thor as well I think. We went an entire first game hearing these just amazing stories about them and how just if you even look at Thor funny he's liable to just destroy you on the spot instantly! Definitely not the kind of characters that would wait whole years to finally confront the killer of their family members at the very least.
''I was hoping to see those blades, but I guess they don't come when you call.'' - Thor, GOW Ragnarok
I know the Fallen God comic kinda says they follow him, but it's clearly not that direct. There can be years in between. It's not a big deal.
Deteriorating characters is good. Character development goes both ways. Walter White is a great example. This isn't the MCU.
Atreus becoming power obsessed isn't the same as him becoming an arrogant a-hole, which is what he was in the first game. In the first game he wasn't power obsessed. He became a god supremacist, thinking he was better and stronger than everyone else because he was a god. Those are two different things. You can be the most humble martial artist in the world, yet still strive for absolute, unrivalled power and skill. Look at Tom Aspinall for a great example. Humble, but proud and sure of himself, striving every day to be better, to be the best. Writing Atreus like that is absolutely possible. In fact, it ADDS to his arc from the 2018 game, because it shows that he has learned. The lesson? Do not think yourself better. *Make* yourself better. Make a reality of what your younger, arrogant self believed you to be.
Atreus assuming Odin is honest about Kratos leaving is iffy if we're talking a short time span, I agree. But it's not that hard to pull off. Atreus in Ragnarok straight up attacks Kratos and his other friends and then ditches him to go to Odin. So if you can write that, you can write Odin convincing Atreus over the course of like 20 years that Kratos left him.
Odin being manipulative and evil is a result of THIS game's writing because Santa Monica took a paycheck from BlackRock and wanted to make one of European mythology's most badass characters a pathetic old man, just like they made Thor a useless fat drunk and Angrboda and Hildisvini black. Put those ideas out of your mind for this rewrite. Odin here seems to be written more in line with his mythology self, meaning self-serving and intelligent and tricky, but not overly evil like the poorly written comic book-esque trash we got in Ragnarok. Even AC Valhalla wrote Odin better than Ragnarok did. Odin doesn't need to be intentionally corrosive to those around him. It can be a natural result of his indifference in his quest for knowledge. Not knowing that you're asking/demanding too much of your loved ones is far better writing than someone being evil inexplicably. Like, why the hell would he rip Freya's wings off and take her warrior spirit? Even from an intellectual standpoint, it makes no sense. Freya tried to make that marriage work. She taught Odin her magic. She made peace between their peoples. She's beautiful, she tried to be a great wife and mother. She's a massive catch. And on top of it all, the literal artbook and the devs say she's Kratos' equal in every measure, even combat. She'd be a RIDICULOUSLY effective ally. Why ruin that just for the sake of what? ''Hurr durr I'm eeevooool!''??? Odin was WASTED in the game. Tried to make an intelligent villain, ended up with an idiot who ruined his own chances for allies because ''Hurr durr I'm eeevooool!'' They don't even try to explain why he did any of this. They just assume that we accept him being evil. And apparently, most GOW glazers did just that.
Honestly, I don't see the complaints here. I'm an aspiring writer myself, and if Ranton gave me this script, I'd hammer it into something absolutely believable and spotless within actual hours.
And even if it was left flawed, it's still a million times better than the slopfest we actually got. Only game I ever felt I wasted money on was Ragnarok.
unironically good story wowzers thats another thing the talented ranton can do. Scream, dance and write stories. Man of many talents
This was great! Only issue that would be hard to make work is Freya being the companion. I can't imagine in a 40hr game she never mentions how long it's been.
The whole "why" of Odin's willingness to teach Atreus I think becomes pretty obvious if you notice the meta parallels between Atreus and Kratos in your hypothetical story - Odin wanted a Kratos of his own, so he made sure Atreus grey up exactly like his father did. The only thing that was a wrench would be Thor interrupting his plans.
Not bad yeah 👍🏼
Isnt thor already his kratos
@@musashi20779 Thor is still a gluttonous drunken mess of a man. Loki on the other hand is a teenager and ripe for the imprinting.
this is the Gow Ragnarök i will tell my kids
😂
Guess they won't be very good writers when they grow up
@@enol1466 GOW glazer. This is legit a few thousand times better than Woke of War: Slopnarok
@@TheStraightestWhitestHe’s not wrong it’s awfully written lol
@@TheBlackAdder1964 How?
40 min long video? This will be cinema 😂
Ranton chose violence today 0:46
No this is KINO
I still remember this one term that you used from your initial review video that summed up every complaint about ragnarok for me "unearned catharsis". Its like the game knew this is the end point that they want to reach (which can be a great moment if properly built unto) but the story just flounders its way to that point, just hoping that we forget that literally nothing before this led to this point. its like reading the ending of a novel just for fun before you begin reading it, and thinking wow I can't wait to how we reach this point, and you realise the entire novel is just some recipe for paneer tikka or something idk what I'm saying
My gripe with this story as someone who likes ragnarok story is the tonal shift, 2018 already had one and doing it again with this one kinda alienates the people who like 2018, at least that’s what I think, killing Mimir and taking Atreus away from Kratos, loses both his weapons, it doesn’t make the game a sequel it makes it a whole new thing
bro right now i'm just mad that this game doesn't exist. implacable work ranton, brings tears to my eyes!
Ok, Ranton, hear me out: what if instead of completely removing the blades of chaos altogether, how about making them the weapons that appear when he enters spartan rage? Like, instead of „Spartan Rage“, it now becomes „God of War status/ rage“ where Kratos taps into his old power as the God of War and he then summons his Blades of Chaos as his rage weapons instead of him just throwing fists.
Now, remember Ranton, the Blades of Chaos *are* the most iconic weapons of the game, so leaving them completely out just seems a bit too much. I mean, you wouldn’t remove the Master Sword from a Zelda game because it was in every other game before, would you?
Id prefer to leave them behind but I know it's asking a lot hehe
I love the blades so much, but relating to the rest of what Santa Monica wanted to do with the game with moving on and rarely even acknowledging the past games, it would make more sense leaving them completely out as well.
I think having them as the Spartan Rage weapons is a good idea since in the comic, it says they always return to him. He cannot escape them. He tried. So yeah, them being available is a good idea, but sparingly.
@RealRanton to add on to the mjolnir bit - in the lore, the handle is short bc of Loki's interference as Brok & Sindri forged it. In your story, you could have it be some argument between them that distracted them so when Kratos brings it back to them they make the handle proportional, allowing him to wield it.
what about giving them to atreus. i kinda fell that it would be symbolic since he took his mom's knife and now kratos's blades. but i think he should have a different move set with them. ir you could also give him the axe
I love how your first move is instantly get rid of Atreus. This is already a masterpiece .
I'm not tho. I love Atreus
I know Atreus is a vital part of the story. But honestly i just hate having a little minion following you like RE4. I wanna feel like a god that can lift buildings and jump to space and not be a father of an angsty teen. Still loved the story of 2018, haven't played Ragnarok because it's not available in my country (Thanks Sony) but i think they could've made a different story and be just as good.
@@Ligmaballin i feel atreus is the perfect character to die so that kratos can be blinded n consumed by hatred n rage once again
@@kingmobcollective That would be kinda counterintuitive to Kratos arc, the whole point of his character in these last two games is that he tries to forget the past and keep his anger intact and be more open to others. But a doomguy Kratos does sound fun.
@@kingmobcollectivemeh.
I got legit chills at the final scene man, good fucking job, I never expected this from you, but it's safe to say you got some writing talent, would love to see more of it in the future!
Thanks so much 🥹🥹
I have to admit, I did not agree with your review of Ragnarok when you first put it out, but seeing what could've been I can't help but agree with you. I actually teared up a little thinking of the final scene in my head. Thanks Ranton! Great stuff as always :)
Go back and upvote the review now 🤓🌝
@@RealRanton oh I disagreed with your opinion but I still thumbs upped lmao
Man, I was in tears watching this. Wanted to play Space Marine 2 but ended up watching the whole thing! This was brilliant and I would've loved to play your version, Ranton!!! Alles Gute aus Hamburg ❤
Grüße
I prefer the game we actually got, because it shows Kratos progressing as a character, not regressing fully into vengefully killing everyone, but this would haved defintiely been an interesting game to play
I wanted them to do more with Atreus being Loki. At the end of the 1st one, I thought that hidden prophecy was Atreus going back in time to heal Kratos at the end of god of war 3. Maybe something to do with hope because Kratos stabbed himself to give hope back to the people. It could have been more with Atreus finding the side characters like Angerbotha and secretly plotting with them to use Ragnarok to do time travel stuff or something.
Ranton I legit got insane goosebumps with that spear concept, with flashbacks to him as a kid, it would have been absolutely insane
Gods don’t get weaker with age, they get stronger. Kratos himself confirmed this. Just like at Odin as evidence. It doesn’t make sense for Kratos to start getting weak from age all of a sudden since he’s more than 1000+ years old, and him getting weak from injuries doesn’t make sense either since he heals back all damage in time just like any other god
I liked all your gameplay ideas but the story choices were baffling. The entire point of the reboot games is Kratos proving against all odds that he can become a better person for the sake of his son. Undoing all of that and having Atreus figure it all out on his own robs Kratos of his growth and undermines the idea that Kratos's redemption is necessary for his son to thrive. The takeaway from Ragnorok is that your own nature can be overcome if you can find the strength to make better choices than you did before. And that doing so will have a contagious effect on those around you. The takeaway in this version is that people like Kratos can’t change and Atreus was possibly better off without him. Thats a fine story to tell but not really what GOW 4 was setting up
so.. he wants a revenge story instead of a more chill story, but that would undermine the reason why Kratos had a family, which is to start over after he completed his mission with the Olympus, which was already a story about revenge, in other word, you are just remaking all god of war, but in asgard
Am I the only one who doesnt like this? It makes the God of War 2018 a totally pointless game. Kratos is trying to change and teach Atreus to be better than him, but in your version Kratos is just God of War 3 Kratos till the ending.
In this version Freya forgets Kratos just like that? In the original we see Freya try to kill Kratos even when Atreus is around, Atreus is even holding her at "bow" point and begging her not to shoot her. Atreus himself sneaks to find Freya so she would forgive Atreus, it was a lot of effort to get Freya back on their side, it took Kratos defending her from enraged transformed Atreus to even have her think about forgiving him.
I think the original game is good, but ït would be way better if this game wasnt called Ragnarok and this whole norse saga should have been a trilogy, Thor would be the main boss in this game and the game should have ended with Kratos blowing the horn. 3rd game should have been called Ragnarok and it would entirely take place in Asgard, I always thought that Asgard would be this massive realm like the others but on steroids. You could have other gods in there, Gna would be there as well.
Also this video totally ignores the fact that Kratos will die at Ragnarok if he doesnt change, which in this video he doesnt change.
There are some great ideas here, but Atreus would never forgive Thor for hurting his father and there’s no way they would become friends.
Other than that I love the idea of Thor almost killing Kratos and you having to get Atreus back. Well done!
I found a unique connection while watching through this video, the way you introduce the weapons are the opposite to the previous entry. I can't explain it well with words but I really like a detail that when we start GOW (2018) with a completely new weapon that's unfamiliar to all of us in how it works, and then later in the game when we get the blades of chaos we are right back at home with something very familiar. But the decision to start with the spear, a weapon that's (technically lorewise) familiar to us and especially to Kratos, and then end by him gaining Thor's hammer, is a very well done detail that is just, oh so nice
Sounds like a banger game. The video felt like 15min and I just saw it was 40. I don't like fan fictions that much, but damn, give me moaar. Gute Arbeit mein Freund. Keep up the good stuff. Every of your videos is a highlight.
Why did the ending make me cry bro 😭 Someone give this man Kojima's number!!!
Santa Monica will watch this video and regret they ever made Ragnarok the way they did I guarantee it.
I doubt it 😂
@@RealRantonnah this shi was so gass
Eric Williams and Cory Barlog once had an idea similar to this until Williams got lazy and Barlog decided to facilitate his laziness by rewriting it for two games instead of saying ''Buckle up, we're sticking to the original plan for three games''. So yeah, maybe.
Unfortunately god of war is a franchise. It will be milked to death instead of reaching a natural conclusion
I like it as a fanfiction, but its far too edgy and pretentious, but i really love the work this guy did!
There's nothing to fix and there is no problem. The plot doesn't need fine-tuning and nothing missed the mark. The people who think the narrative or gameplay is flawed are wrong. The game served its purpose and delivered accordingly.
I wouldn't even call the game bad at all but it does make you wish that the game itself wasn't Rush then some story areas would have been fully completed instead of changing some things of the story they should have some stuff that is missing to the story because that's the only way I would fix this game
Couldn't they just tell him: ''bro Atreus is not here. He is old chill. Many years have past.'' Cause that means his killing spree was for nothing right?
I like the spear, but I do think there were things in the first game that still need resolved.
How does he become loki, and how does loving husband loki work?
Also his relationship with his own sons as loki. The wolf the horse and the snake.
The actual game neglected this to some degree as well, but the Norse mythology needs to be written into the story more, I believe.
The first game was really good about setting up ideas from mythology. It would have been nice to see those ideas played out.
Yup, for me to match the myth, the gameplay need more improvements, like Thor can destroy a world with just one swing with his hammer(isn't it cool to saw a realm destroyed just because thor can) or make Odin more powerful than zeus(fear zeus) and make the world feel the impact from classes of the gods, just like wukong the mountain destroyed the world shaken, like kratos vs baldr but more grand and horrifying. And ragnarok, ohh, my hopes why high for that battle, what a disappointment it was.
Thing is its always been a Mythology game second even more so in the soft reboot's focusing on the Mythology would basically take a chunk out of the character development I'm sorry but we're going to have to axe that whole bit can't be done right now without bloating the game its gonna have to be cut bro sorry we're gonna have to find a real true to the the spirit Norse Mythos game elsewhere because no one can do it well.
Yeah the only problem with this outline is he is pretty much ignoring the mythology and lore in favor for a deep personal story. Which is interesting but neglects too much set up
@@Pixeltwist22 Its exactly how it should be the Mythology has always been second we aren't gonna sacrifice character dev for it.
Absolute cinema 11/10
Thanks dude ❤
i say i don’t like your vision overall but i like bits and pieces here and there
Fair enough
Damn RANTON thats actually really good, that quote from the creative director is something i look for in shows.
I dont want world ending events, id rather have a room full of well fleshed out characters with room for development.
More of these kinda videos pleeeeas❤
I really liked Ragnarok. Liked it even more than 2018. Kinda hope they remake the older games in the style of these new ones before doing a follow up to Ragnarok.
You actually wrote an incredible story. I wish I could play this version. Also the spear and hammer as weapons would be really cool!
Jesus, you got me locked in for 40 min, well done sir🔥🔥🔥
Awesome dude 🎇
I'm absolutely sold on this new story! I wanna go to the Dimension where Ranton is a video game story director! I'm done with this dimension!
Now where did I put my Doctor Strange ring? I already misplaced Rick and Morty's portal gun...😅
I was very underwhelmed with the original story, but I never knew what I wanted instead.
Now I know.
I want this.
This is so much better in pretty much every single aspect.
Story, characters, wepons, everything!
13:52 This attention to detail is why your editing is the best
to say your version is awesome would be an understatement, good job man very well done
Thank you so much
I like the video but I disagree with the arc. I think that Kratos seeing that being worshipped is a possibility, was a nice ending for him and opens up the future for him to do good. This vengeful path for me is a regression and doesn't make sense. Don't get me wrong I'm not a big fan of Ragnarok at all, I think it put way too much into a big plot twist as opposed to having a coherent story first. They just needed to make it streamlined so making it going from realm to realm made sense like the first game. Also jjst cut stuff out, it's too bloated and a snoozefest a lot of the times. I agree about the weapons, we need different ones as Ragnarok was just the first game with a less compelling story for me.
that IS WHAT I AM SAYING, he said he has no character development in this game, so he suggests to make him vengeful again. LIKE WHAT ? that the exact opposite of character development.
Dude is the god of rewriting. I like it a lot.
I’m actually in tears amazing writing this is why I have RUclips
Faye’s dreams were important in the game because she was guiding Kratos whenever he didn’t know what to do or was losing hope.
This was fantastic man. Now i am sad for what we didnt get or rather what could have been.😭
The atreus and thor relation like vinland saga thorfin!
I would've loved to play your version of the game, but hearing it in this video will have to be good enough :P
Srsly tho, very heartfelt, and I think that THAT is what matters
Cried so much after watching this video. Need a book about your story. You did such a good job 🩷🩷🩷
real
❤
unironically a good story, he needs to write
I'd take this any day over the avengers plot we got in the actual game. Great work, I demand more fanfinction out of you Mr. Ranton.
The whole time you were talking around the 10min mark about his skills/relying on the past/flashback I had goosebumps.
Alright, took me 8hrs to get through the vid.. cause ya know. I have a full time job. But it was absolutely incredible!
I can't play Ragnarok now, knowing this could've been the story. Ranton's version is so epic!
was not expecting the Rantoni Feeleronis at the end 😭
Man, change characters names and work in a prequel. AND WRITE A FUCKING BOOK SERIES. This is a amazing concept!
And you want to tell me that this was not how it went in the game?! Haven't played a single God of War game, but now I regret a little bit that I didn't. I don't usually comment on videos, but I had to write that this was incredible and I have to confess that a tear was shed at the end. Great work Ranton.
Thanks bro! Definitely go play God of War 2018. Masterpiece from start to finish. You don't even need any previous knowledge to enjoy it
Just started watching. You might already have heard this, but apparently the first draft of Ragnarok’s story involved Thor killing Kratos in the beginning, and Atreus has to travel to Hel to get him back. They scrapped it because they didn’t think people would want to play as Atreus, but I’ve always loved the idea of that opening, and I’m really enjoying your take on it.
Bro, make more of this. This is insane.
I don't think I will haha. This is an outlier
one little plothole maybe? ---> if Atrius is much older when Kratos meets him, shouldn' the gods he kills also look older and thus reveal a lot of time has passed?
We can see that Atreus is now a teenager and not a child he was in GoW first part. It’s been only 3-4 years between games. So I assume Gods grow up like usual humans up to 18-25 and then stop aging. Or they age super slow. So it would make sense.
Btw, according to 1 theory it’s been 1000 years between Kratos’ Greek last game and GoW 2018. And he aged like what? 10 years? Maybe 15 max. So it completely makes sense
Thor wanting to die could be the explanation to why Kratos can use Mjolnir.
I was so locked in that Ranton saying "is 3x a day too much?" made me snap out of reality to dimensions that you could not even possibly comprehend.
I absolutely loved this content by you Ranton! I adore every other video you've made but I think your creativity and passion is so high that I thought this style of video worked just as well! Keep doing what you're doing!
Rantoni posting a 40 Minutes is a rare gem
She can hear, Kratos make a sound. Uee Aee had me crackin 😂
I think it works for me... mostly.
I don't really like Kratos reverting to his old ways and just repeating the god killing spree of his past. Him growing into a better god while also teaching his son to be better than him was my favorite part of the game. A little biased because as a dad my motto towards parenting is that we shouldn't try to make our kids like us but to help them grow into the best versions of themselves. Also I agree on the Mimir correction and that he was a bit annoying. I did like seeing Kratos becoming more open and seeing his friendship with Mimir grow.
I haven't played any of the God of War games, and I still loved this. Ranton, you gotta write your own stories, too, man!
Please do more Videos like this one. That was amazing. I didn‘t even play any god of war game but still enjoyed it very much. Maybe also for movies/series like you did with Andi in your Podcast for Endgame?
As someone who always tries to rewrite things whether in my head or on a document, i feel vindicated
I generally like this rewrite and I think it would have made for a better game, but one thing I take a major issue with is the idea of Kratos going around killing gods again. Kratos is done killing gods. He experienced first hand what happens when you upset the forces these gods hold authority over. With every kill, Greece was plunged further and further into chaos, and, as much as he wants Atreus back, I doubt he would want that for the norse realm. He must be better than this.
A lot of the rough edges in your rewrite can be easily fixed, but this is the one aspect that needs to be changed entirely for this story to work, in my opinion.
I completely agree. It removes the whole importance of "we must be better" and "I was wrong" dialogues. Yea its fanservicey and cool in concept but ignores a lot of themes presented in the earlier game
@@ziontea7045I don't think it does at all. Kratos didn't become a "good" or "peaceful" guy in the first game. Also, if Atreus is taken from him, u think he's gonna be chill about it?
Big problem. You completely ignored the last two games. Kratos killed, Magni, Modi, and Balder, in the first game without regret or shame. Simple self defense and moved on. If he can kill in self defense why not in a search to protect his son? Was he regressing in 2018? No. Then it isn't the same in this rewrite.
Balder is the only death that effected the world. Heimdall, and Thor and Odin did not. He also caused Ragnarök in the second game, the death of all the Gods and nuked Asgard for simple revenge for that Blue dudes death.
While the game narrate tries to pretend Kratos is above god killing, that's not the case. He just changed his reasons for killing Gods, kinda. This rewrite does the same thing the actual game did but gave better reasons to do it.
@@celestialsoldier622 i think there needs to be more drive for kratos beyond just killing gods. idk it just seems so regressive taht it feels like a repeat of the first game's overall journey.
40 minutes of Ranton!? My neurons can’t keep firing that quickly for that length of time!
Turns out it was actually pretty chill.
This is amazing but I really liked that kratos became the god of hope and wish that could be built in somehow aswell
This is genuinely amazing stuff man, almost got emotional by the end. The melancholy and sadness I felt that Kratos wasn't able to see so much of his son's life, along with the happiness that they finally meet each other again, and Atreus is able to break the cycle of violence Kratos couldn't get out of for years upon years, felt amazing.
Only gripe I have is with some parts of the video; I love Tak Fujii but including his applause at the end kinda ruined the moment of, "holy shit that was incredible," and took a lot of emotion out of it; a slow fade out would've been perfect there. I couldn't really simmer in the emotions you just brought out. I love the comedy, but I think for this video it should've been removed for a tone as melancholic as the story you are telling (even if it was very subdued). But otherwise, that was incredible overall.
Chef’s kiss. Your version sounds more emotional and impactful. As you said, we write the lore. I 100% agree that there was no need to shed light on unimportant characters.