The Dragon Age cast

[Casual Shinji]

The only character I liked in DA2 was Avaline, but I couldn't get into her panties so I guess that leaves no one. [sub]I'm shallow, fuck it[/sub]

But seriously, DA:O had Alistair, Oghren, and Wynne. And to a lesser extend Morrigan and Leliana. No one from DA2 could compete with that.

 

[Defective_Detective]

TBH, I'm not sure if you can really weigh in on one side or the other unless you've played both games at least a few times each in order to experience each and every characters story and personality.

Let's be honest, I can't expect many people to have played either game more than twice in entirety. And party interactions can vary quite broadly depending on your dialogue choices. There are many folks who don't even pick up or drop certain characters very early on. Personally, I was very tempted to send Sten packing as soon as conversations with him initially resembled speaking with a supporting construction of brick and mortar. I chiselled away at him regardless, and became one of my best loved fictional characters in the end.

 

[Kahunaburger]

Jeffers must be a mason, building all those walls of text. :|

I don't like lengthly discussions about games! That's why I post on The Escapist!

 

[Kimarous]

snip

Yes, yes, yes. That's all well and good...

But what does it have to do with the topic?

The OP asked "which cast did we enjoy more" and he gave his reasons why. Not everyone likes to have completely morose tragedies with unlikable characters and distasteful situations. Even great tragedies tend to have some levity in them; with the way you're carrying on, I almost get the feeling that you'd like the snarky humour in Hamlet removed.

Bottom line, people enjoy stories in different ways, and who the hell are you to blast people for having different tastes than you? If we have fun in our tragedies, let us have our fun and don't be an asshole about it.

 

[draconiansundae]

Both games had characters I loved, loathed, and couldn't care less about. To me, the characterization in DA2 stands out more simply because the overall narrative is quite weak in many places, as opposed to DA:O which had superior writing in general IMO. Though, I think overall DA:O has more characters I don't really care for, i.e. Sten, Wynne, and Leliana. But I also absolutely loved Alistair, Morrigan, and Zevran.

I slightly prefer the characters of DA:O, mostly because DA2 was such a let down for me overall. If it weren't for Varric, Isabella, and Anders, it wouldn't even be playable...

 

[draconiansundae]

Let's be honest, I can't expect many people to have played either game more than twice in entirety.

Whoa. I played DA:O so many times I ran out of character slots. I think I've heard every line of dialogue from every character in the game. DA2 on the other hand, I could only be bothered to play twice, even though I liked the romances better.

 

[AppleShrapnel]

Jeffers must be a mason, building all those walls of text. :|

I don't like lengthly discussions about games! That's why I post on The Escapist!

I read that response in the voice of Sammy Jackson. It's beautiful. :`D

 

[go-10]

Morigan, Leilana, and Alistar

Merrill, Tallis, Varric, and Isabela. This is one of the rare cases where 2 is better than 1

I'm actually a little surprised you didn't mention Anders or Fenris for the second one. It seems like any DA fan I've ever talked to absolutely adored at least one or the other.

I really hate Anders he just annoys me and Fenris is just a generic revenge elf so I didn't find either too interesting

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

Leilana, Shale and Alistar were my favourite characters in a game I have played... mostly because Leilana and Alister were the most like people I know, or people I would actually hang out with! I enjoyed being around them in the game!

Saying that, I haven't played 2 enough to really 'get to know' the characters, so this could change...

 

[dragonswarrior]

Definitely liked DA:O's cast better. They have some cool personalities and lines and stories and everything and etc.

DA2 had great characters, but I just couldn't get past how Fenris seemed totally in it for the JRPG crowd. I enjoyed some of the conversations I had with him yes, and some of his quests and such, but for the most part I couldn't get over how he just screamed "ANIME!!"

So even though I like both games' cast of characters, I am gonna have to go with Origins.

 

[Kahunaburger]

Definitely liked DA:O's cast better. They have some cool personalities and lines and stories and everything and etc.

DA2 had great characters, but I just couldn't get past how Fenris seemed totally in it for the JRPG crowd. I enjoyed some of the conversations I had with him yes, and some of his quests and such, but for the most part I couldn't get over how he just screamed "ANIME!!"

So even though I like both games' cast of characters, I am gonna have to go with Origins.

Hey, man, don't diss on shallow/angsty JRPG characters by comparing them to Fenris. At least Squall wears shoes.

 

[putowtin]

Origins had Alistair and Shale. Dragon Age 2 had Varric and Aveline. I call it a wash.

Edit: Wait, Origins also has Wynne. So it actually wins. Yeah...Wynne wins.

this man wins!

No-one can top Alister in my eyes!

 

[Jaeke]

Ehh i dont think you can compare the two groups collectively against each other, some were better than other from each game.
My favorites were Morrigan, Sten, Oghren, Varric, Alistair, Shale, Anders, and Aveline.

 

[Sejs Cube]

DA:O because DA2 was fuckawful, and that extends by and large to its one-note cast.

 

[drh1975]

I liked the casts from both games, except Fenris and the DA2 Anders. What happened to the kinda-funny, bad-joke-telling, happy Anders from DA: Awakening? "Wah! Mages are persecuted in Kirkwall! Wah! The Grey Wardens made me get rid of my cat!" I couldn't wait to kill this tool. Sure, Alistair was a whining wanker, but he grew out of it. Sort of. And Fenris was worse. "I hate mages. I hate mages." Change the record, asshole. It's getting old.

 

[LittleBlondeGoth]

I think I'd probably have to plump for the cast of DA:O, and not just because I've got a fangirl thing going for Alistair. Alight, maybe that influenced me just a little bit.

Anyway. I appreciated the range of characters available in both games, and the fact that they each had their own stories and motivations, responding to different things. It was realistic, in that not everyone was always going to agree with the choices I made. It forced me to think about what I was doing and who was with me.

One thing DA:O has over the sequel for me is that I could talk to my party whenever I wanted. I could be wandering round Denerim and strike up conversation with whoever was with me. OK, so that occasionally ended up extremely inappropriately, but it was good. DA2's method of only being allowed to advance character stories and conversations when the game told me felt restrictive.

The banters are one of the things that keep me coming back to the game. Alistair / Morrigan sniping at each other, Zevran / Wynne, Oghren / Alistair... The interaction between them was great. I particularly enjoyed the Aveline / Isabella dynamic in DA2, as it felt like their relationship advanced. Aveline's "whore" comments begin as quite cold and nasty, but by the end, it's more in the nature of friends taking the mickey. Just my impression, anyway.

In DA2, I did miss the Anders of Awakening, and his mocking humour. I see why he'd changed, and it was an interesting idea, but I still prefer old Anders to moody, self-flagellating Anders. Varric was clearly awesome. Fenris was... Very angry. Again, I can see he'd have a reason for it, and Gideon Emery's voice was enough to make me forgive a lot in that instance. But I'd have liked to see more development, perhaps?

DA2 did have a good idea with the friendship / rivalry thing though. I liked that the cast would still hang around with you, even if you disagreed on things, they'd just have a different kind of relationship with you.

I've played Origins more, so this may well have a bearing on everything. Maybe I've bonded with these guys because I've spent more time with them.