Yesterday I posted an article about the Derek Chauvin verdict in place of my originally scheduled piece. Today I give you the article on DA2 I was going to post.
I originally planned on making my next “Monday Musings” be about the Dragon Age series as a whole, but then David Gaider went and did a whole tweet thread about what he loved about DA2 and what he wished could have been, and it inspired me.
Some brief background – DA2 was the first game in the series I ever played. My partner thought it would be the best introduction for me (Inquisition had not been out long, and we did not own it at the time). I’m glad he started where he did, because I think it helped me love the game without any comparisons and was a perfect way for me to fall in love with the world of Thedas. To date the characters and stories from this game are some of my favorites. Having said that, I knew that there was always the qualifier “it’s good for the time they had to work on it.” I always wondered what could have been, and today some of my questions have been answered.
It all started with a tweet thread and turned into pretty much everyone at BioWare reminiscing about their time working on my favorite game ever. Going forward there will be spoilers for DA2, especially the ending, as this was the change I was most fascinated by when browsing through all the stories of what had to be changed for one reason or another. Anyone who has played the game knows that it all comes down to a choice: side with the mages or the templars. Except no matter what you do, you end up having to fight both Orsinio (the First Enchanter of the Circle) and Meredith (the Knight Commander of the Templars). I have always sided with the mages, so I don’t know what it’s like from the other point of view. I always felt it was odd that Orisinio suddenly turns to blood magic with no prior indication he would ever consider it. I get that desperate people do desperate things when backed into a corner, but it always felt kind of forced and made me feel like no matter what I chose at the end of the day the lesson was that mages could not be trusted with the power they wield. It was revealed that this was not always how things were supposed to go, but Orisnio’s boss fight had been cut and they had to do something to weave everything else together.
It’s unfortunate this change had to be made, because it would have felt like our choices mattered more if it had resulted in different endings depending who you sided with. I also would love to have seen the implications (if any) for DAI with this addition. Especially since the mage rebellion does at least get mentioned if not come into play when you (spoilers for DAI) have to choose between recruiting the mages or the templars. What if Orsinio lived for those who sided with the mages in DA2? Would the mage rebellion have taken a different turn with him still around? We may never know, as I doubt this was considered given how much time passed between the two games.
On the other side of things, Gaider said that if he had more time to work on the game, he would not have had Meredith driven mad by red lyrium. It was a story beat that was pushed on him to make her super powered for her boss fight, but it took away the legitimacy of the templar side of the argument.
I wholeheartedly agree. I love the idea that the situation isn’t black and white, and both sides have valid arguments to make. I’m sorry that’s not the story they got to tell.
Overall I will always love DA2 for what it is, but do wish it had been given more time to be fully fleshed out. It’s nice to see some of the changes I would have made were originally intended.
What about you? What things did you love about DA2? What things do you wish could have gone differently in the story? Let me know in the comments, and come back next week where I’ll dive into my thoughts of the franchise as a whole.