Why do people like DA:O better?

[Boj'ana]

I realize not everyone does, but it still seems a lot of people like it better than either of the other games. So I just wanted to ask why?

[MaximumEffort]

Because, in academic terms, its ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ sweet!!!

[Skybrain]

The story is good, the banter is fun and I like the combat. Not everyone will agree, but I like it :-)
The only real downside imho is that AE owns it...

[neil]

Combat that requires your brains to master not dumbed down for console gamers who just mash buttons all the time to get things to happen

Note this is MY opinion

[Dexter]

Originally posted by neil:

Combat that requires your brains to master not dumbed down for console gamers who just mash buttons all the time to get things to happen

Note this is MY opinion

Not only yours.

AI works in Origins, if You set it right it WORKS.
In Inquisition however...

World is nice unlike boring jogging for couple of hours in DA:I.
You don't need to do fetch quests to progress the story or boring capture hill, pick up plants bla bla.
Story is amazing. Dialogue is great. Banter is amazing and feels realistic. They don't throw homosexuals at You on left and right and sexualized jokes.

Morrigan is a grumpy, sweet lady. What else do You want?

note: I do not have anything agains homosexuals, in DA:I it feels forced.

[LilG]

I feel DAO offers a better combat system,storyline & compared to DA2,haven't played DAI yet,DAO is more fun.

I was disappointed with DA2's combat system & how some classes felt weaker,especially Blood Mage.

[Stormsong]

If you make a plan in DA:O either with the tactics screen or just manually controlling everything, you can expect the actors involved to stick to the plan. Now that's not saying you'll succeed if the plan sucked, but everyone involved will stick to their jobs. This is still sorta possible in DA:2, in Inquisition? LOL. No. And I liked Inquisition, but there is no planning in that game beyond "everyone get this guy."

The battlefield you see is the battlefield you get. You can measure what you're up against within reason in DA:O, or if units are coming to join the fray midway, you know why: maybe they were stealthed, but you could hear them skulking about or you actually saw them come running from down one of the actual paths in the map to join in. DA:2 is the WORST about this. MF's literally fall from the sky on you just because. Like honestly what in the hell goes on the in 3rd and 4th floors of Kirkwall? All I can imagine is a criminal empire that solely resides on the rooftops throughout the city.

Specializations: if I'm honest here, I actually liked DA:I's specializations the most (I adore Tempest, sue me), but DA:O's beat DA:2's handily.

The questing in DA:O felt the best. I could follow the logic of how I ended up in a fight moreso than the other 2 games.

I'm sure there's a couple more if I sat down and gave it a think, but this will suffice.

[WardenofSilence]

These are my reasons for prefering Origins.

First, the Warden allowed for a wide range of different ways you could play the character. With no spoken dialogue, the player is allowed to decide the tone of the dialogue, the emotion behind the words, and is given a lot more of it. Dialogue in general branches off a lot more than in the other two games, making conversations feel like they are real and breathing. You also know exactly what the Warden is saying, instead of getting something kinda like what you picked but not quite.

The world was fleshed out. You see examples of some truly dark things, like murder, rape, slavery, and racism. Leliana can have a conversation about Evles in Orlais and display casual racist ideas, which the game lets you call out. This happens with various NPCs, such as the Chantry sister in Ostagar, or at the docks on Lake Calenhad. The Origins themselves gave context to your character and established a bit about the world. You didn't need any prior knoweldge to understand what was really going on.

The main story is strong and tied together through the Blight. Each area you visit has a reason for you to be there. These main quests are good, offer you many different choices, and flow together very well. In addition, you constantly see Loghain's forces or the Darkspawn, reminding the player of the overarching antaginists and connecting the world that much more.

Side quests are fleshed out with its NPCs and allow the player to react in a number of ways. They always have some context to them and try to establish the characters as real people.

Combat I think is really good. The three classes are well put together and feel distinct enough from eachother. Mages in particular have a huge range to options avaliable to them, but the other classes don't feel too linear either. Enemies use the same abilities as you do, and there are many different types of enemies. The enemies are also carefully placed, making sure combat isn't too random or with difficulty spikes. The level design is excellent, allowing the player to take advantage of the enviroment for party set up, such as narrow passages to hold enemies off or closed doors letting you get in a surprise attack. Finally, the game uses the different areas to organically tell the player where to go, such as the bandits outside Orzammar being higher level.

Tactics are wonderful. Players who aren't interested in them can easily leave the default setup on companions to good success. To those who want to plan for everything, the tactics let you do that. The specifics can get really deep, and the player can feel proud coming up with their perfect team setup.

Maps weren't repeative and weren't massive to the point of dragging on. Maps were linear but branching, allowing the player to explore but not overwelming them. Most of the time, it didn't take too long to explore the maps, and content was much more constant.

Skills added an extra amount of gameplay and roleplaying. You could get new ways of approaching a battle, or more options during dialogue, sometimes both. Having Survival allows the player to see enemies on the map, better preparing them, but also allows you to help the Dalish. Herbalism lets you make potions to make the game easier or to sell, but is critical to saving a NPC. While these weren't as fleshed out as I would have liked, they were still solid.

Choices had a lot of meaning here. You could lock yourself out of dialouge or quests if you make the wrong one, or open up new opportunities for yourself. Characters would respond realistically to your actions. Gameplay also rewarded you for your choices, sometimes with new items based on what you do. Many choices have a real weight to them, letting the player see how they impacted the world when they did something. The end game rewards you based on who you side with, with the summoning of the armies. The epilogue gives you the major outcomes of many large events, but also many of the sidequests, making you feel like your actions lasted well past when you made them.

The last point I want to talk about is the characters. NPCs all offer some nice character to them, but the companions truly shine. Each one is fleshed out in their own way, responds to what the player does, has their own opinions, and will even leave should you upset them. They have noticable arcs, and can even change based on your actions. I also want to menction that Loghain is a strong antaginist, can be felt throughout the game, and to this day people still debate if he made the right choices.

I don't think the game is perfect (there are a lot of bugs that have went unaddressed, and the talent/spell trees were made better with the branching paths in later games). On the whole though, I think Origins easily does more things better than the other two, as much of what I menctioned doesn't come close or even exist in the other two. I wish BioWare followed the formula that managed to sell during the recession and sell beyond what BioWare expected it to. Origins is a masterful game.

[Groove]

The simpliest reason I can give is that DAO is a great tatical rpg and the other DA titles aren't. I grew up playing baldurs gate and the original fallout titles. DAO is very reminiscent of and inspired by baldurs gate. At least on PC, its an homage to classic PC tatical rpgs. The other 2 DA games.... no so much. For me it's a strong link to one of my favorite parts of my childhood. Even though I have access to all the games I've mentioned, baldurs gate frankly hasn't aged well, and I need to be in the mood for it, despite how much I love it. DAO is modern enough that i'm always up for it, and unlike the other games in the series, doesn't shift in favor of the modern dark souls/witcher trend. It's a lost cause but I very much hope that if Dragon Age 4 comes to be, it more strongly resembles origins than the later games. It's almost 10 years old now and for me stood the test of time, where even nostalgia couldn't make baldurs gate do that

[ThatOneGuyYouKnow]

Originally posted by Jobst:

I realize not everyone does, but it still seems a lot of people like it better than either of the other games. So I just wanted to ask why?

For me it's as simple as the name "Origins" the way you can set up your character (dwarf noble is my favorite :D) and just playing through their backstory and taking that fall (or rise) with them to come into the wardens and then to listen to the interactions you get as you return to the places you came whether it be hate or love. For me it is one of the greatest experiences in a game that no other game has reallly captured. I loved inquistion also but it was definitaley missing the investment in the main character it does fine with the side characters but I never found myself caring about the main characterI was more interested in figuring everything out about all the side characters.
BTW this thread has so made me want to start a new game on this after like 5 years lol.

[MTV]

I just got into Dragon Age recently. I'm really enjoying the first game, 80 hours in and I haven't even finished a playhrough yet.

Is it worth playing Dragon age 2 and 3? I've heard the general opinon from the fans that the first one is the best , 2 and 3 suck. Is it worth playing the other two games or skip?

[MaximumEffort]

2 maybe, but 3 definitely.

Its one of the best RPGs in last 5 years.

[Stormsong]

Originally posted by M'aiq:

I just got into Dragon Age recently. I'm really enjoying the first game, 80 hours in and I haven't even finished a playhrough yet.

Is it worth playing Dragon age 2 and 3? I've heard the general opinon from the fans that the first one is the best , 2 and 3 suck. Is it worth playing the other two games or skip?

Order for me -

1st: DAO

2nd: Inquisition

5th: DA2

[insolent1]

for me
DAO
DA3
DA2

I liked the tatics(you could fight battles without any interaction from you) in 2 but they really went overboard with reusing map assets which took a lot from the game.

DA3 has very good graphics, the game looks great but I didn't like the armours and a lot of the mechanics in it. I found the story to be abysmal and very uncompelling.
Probably my biggest issue with DA3 is limiting the player and companions to 8 abilities which after the first 2 games felt terrible, when I say limited to 8 abilities you can change them but not while in combat which ruined it for me. The combat was not very fluid either and felt very spammy(this was amplified by the 8 ability restriction), there is also a terrible enemy spawning ie they can spawn nearly on top of you.

[Lath'Din]

I have a couple reasons:
1) there is a set backstory depending on your character creation that gives them a proper set up and gives you a good reason to set out on the journey. Makes you feel for the character you just made with more personality a lot of character creation games lack.
2) found the script more entertaining with pretty much any character compared to the other games
3) A intriguing story and adventure that I found more immersive
4) I'd also just say I found ALL the romances more enjoyable along with the companions

that's just my personal reasons on why it's my favorite in the series 🤗

[MTV]

Thanks for the replies to the people that answered my question. I think I might pass on two. I heard it reuses maps from the the first game. That sounds lame if you ask me.
I am interested in trying the third game. I have a question though. Can I import the choices my warden made from the first game?

The third game isn't on Steam, Will I be able to import my Steam Dragon Age character choices into the game? Thanks for replies in advance.