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Megillah Gorilla
Sep 22, 2003

If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.



Bread Liar
I've always had a soft place in my heart for old Hephaestus. He got shat on a lot in the myths, it's like even history is not above going, "Nerrrrds!"


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Technowolf
Nov 4, 2009




Some time ago you asked if there were any famous volcanic eruptions that Greeks would have been familiar with. Well, there is one: The Minoan eruption from the 2nd millennium BC. It may have led to the downfall of the Minoan Crete civilization and contributed to the myths of Atlantis, given that the island of Santorini, where the volcano sits, was basically destroyed. Oh, and the caldera's still active, having erupted as recently as 1950.

Captain Lavender
Oct 21, 2010

verb the adjective noun

Kratos is so angry.

Glazius
Jul 22, 2007

Hail all those who are able,
any mouse can,
any mouse will,
but the Guard prevail.

Clapping Larry
I dunno, you could probably do a pretty good reskin of Russian History Tetris following Kratos' arc to godhood, against the gods, and now this unstoppable revenge engine.

IBlameRoadSuess
Feb 20, 2012

Fucking technology...

At least I HAVE THIS!
Oh cool, just noticed this, gonna watch all the videos now.

What is your favorite GoW game and why?

It's a toss up for me, but I lean more towards 1 or 2 rather than 3. A big part of it is that on the whole I was rather disappointed in 3. Having played the first and second ones to death, I was disappointed to find that there were no real extras in 3. There was no cow costume or briefcase blades of chaos, there was nothing extra that made it stand out. It was literally just the story on difficulty X, Y, and Z. There was nothing that gave it its own sort of personality, aside from, "Kratos gets mad and kills all the things."

Is Kratos thus far justified in his desire to kill Zeus and, by extension, the Gods of Olympus?

Zeus yes, the rest of them, not so much. Zeus is a horrible jerkbag throughout the main series, and the only reason he doesn't die sooner is because he uses all the other gods as de facto meat shields. Athena in 2, and the rest of the olympians in 3. He is, by and large, a self serving asshat who's only bone to pick with Kratos is the prophecy that says, "Yo, your son is gonna kill you, sorry bro." So he proceeds to make life hell for Kratos.

Who is your favorite Greek deity and why?

Athena honestly. It's more due to the fact that I have very little knowledge on Greek mythology as a whole, other than "Hades is pretty chill, Zeus and Poseidon are both in the running for biggest assholes on Olympia, and Athena is the goddess of wisdom."


What is your opinion on the Greek view of the afterlife?

I honestly don't know enough about it to form a coherent opinion on it, but if I had to say one thing, it's that it really doesn't favor the average joe. Heroes and those who do something special and important get into heaven or whatever it's called and live the high life, and those who aren't special are tossed into the underworld forever. Yay?

SirPhoebos
Dec 10, 2007

WELL THAT JUST HAPPENED!

I recently replayed the God of War series, or at least the numbered ones (never played Ascension or the PSP games). In terms of gameplay I think 3 is the best, although I would put 2 as more fun (the time mechanic was used very imaginatively). God of War 1 has too many frustrating deaths, and not just in Hades. In terms of the story told in each game my opinion is switched-The first game is my favorite, and even benefits from being self-contained. The departure of the lead director after each game kept the story from having a singular focus.

The biggest misstep I think came at the end of 2. Zeus should have bit it and a new antagonist (Kratos' brother, or even Athena) ready to take his place in the sequel.

Rigged Death Trap
Feb 13, 2012

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

SirPhoebos posted:

I recently replayed the God of War series, or at least the numbered ones (never played Ascension or the PSP games). In terms of gameplay I think 3 is the best, although I would put 2 as more fun (the time mechanic was used very imaginatively). God of War 1 has too many frustrating deaths, and not just in Hades. In terms of the story told in each game my opinion is switched-The first game is my favorite, and even benefits from being self-contained. The departure of the lead director after each game kept the story from having a singular focus.

The biggest misstep I think came at the end of 2. Zeus should have bit it and a new antagonist (Kratos' brother, or even Athena) ready to take his place in the sequel.

I think that's what they were aiming for since Athena returns in 3 and all, but for some reason they stuck with Zeus.

BottledBodhisvata
Jul 26, 2013

by Lowtax
Oh hey guys who wants a shiny new UPDATE?

Episode 9: gently caress Your Butler -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH_2-aDvZ1c

No mythology segment this time, but we will be having a new supplemental video on the horizon. Update schedule may be a bit slower here on out, but I'll promise at least one update per week, and probably longer updates at that.

Kurieg
Jul 19, 2012

RIP Lutri: 5/19/20-4/2/20
:blizz::gamefreak:
The thing about Athena is that she's most definitely not your ally. She helps you, yes, but remember that in Ghost of Sparta she was complicit in the kidnapping and torture of Kratos's brother. Which is why Kratos razes her city to the ground in God of War 2. He didn't intend to kill her at the end of GoW 2, no, but that's mostly because Kratos seems to think that offing Zeus will make the dominoes fall into place and fix everything. Even in GoW 3 he only kills the gods who get in his way. Unfortunately due to reasons that includes pretty much everybody.

SirPhoebos
Dec 10, 2007

WELL THAT JUST HAPPENED!

^^^That was revealed after 3 came out, but any level of pattern recognition would alert a player to the fact that here she's not reliable. In the brief appearances she has in GoW II (prior to eating her own blades) she does come across as trying maintain peace in a house of lunatics. Had she more screen time, maybe that could have been spun to her throwing up her hands and go full rear end in a top hat.

Rigged Death Trap posted:

I think that's what they were aiming for since Athena returns in 3 and all, but for some reason they stuck with Zeus.

Admittedly, it would have taken more than changing one cut-scene to sell Athena heel-turning and becoming the new BBEG. A good villain needs buildup, which they did masterfully in the first game with Ares. Maybe the devs felt that Kratos killing Zeus and Athena chewing him out wouldn't be enough, and didn't want to add more cut-scenes. I dunno...

Rigged Death Trap
Feb 13, 2012

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

SirPhoebos posted:

Admittedly, it would have taken more than changing one cut-scene to sell Athena heel-turning and becoming the new BBEG. A good villain needs buildup, which they did masterfully in the first game with Ares. Maybe the devs felt that Kratos killing Zeus and Athena chewing him out wouldn't be enough, and didn't want to add more cut-scenes. I dunno...

I was thinking the change was done in an early stage, and Athena 'living' is a holdover from that concept.

Kurieg
Jul 19, 2012

RIP Lutri: 5/19/20-4/2/20
:blizz::gamefreak:
It is kind of weird that they put so much effort into demonizing Ares in the sequels and prequels when you kill him in the first game. All Zeus really does chronologically before the second game is dig a bunch of graves in his bid for the "worst father of the Eon" contest.

Though I guess "doing nothing" counts as rather villainous when your son has to mercy kill his mother.

Hello Sailor
May 3, 2006

we're all mad here

SirPhoebos posted:

Admittedly, it would have taken more than changing one cut-scene to sell Athena heel-turning and becoming the new BBEG. A good villain needs buildup, which they did masterfully in the first game with Ares. Maybe the devs felt that Kratos killing Zeus and Athena chewing him out wouldn't be enough, and didn't want to add more cut-scenes. I dunno...

Well, they have to leave someone around for GoW 4.

BottledBodhisvata
Jul 26, 2013

by Lowtax

Hello Sailor posted:

Well, they have to leave someone around for GoW 4.

I'd like to see the series go to bed, frankly, rather than have Kratos go out and slaughter, say, the Egyptians. Or have a God of War game that opens with Kratos fighting the Norse gods, getting his poo poo kicked by Thor, and then you play Thor's Awesome Drunken Boat Voyage Massacre for 10 hours.

Corbeau
Sep 13, 2010

Jack of All Trades

BottledBodhisvata posted:

[H]ave a God of War game that opens with Kratos fighting the Norse gods, getting his poo poo kicked by Thor, and then you play Thor's Awesome Drunken Boat Voyage Massacre for 10 hours.

I'd be down for this.

Wa11y
Jul 23, 2002

Did I say "cookies?" I meant, "Fire in your face!"
I know it's a bit late to be asking this, but are there options for subtitles? When I had the audio set so I could hear you comfortably, I couldn't hear a drat thing Hermes was saying. Normally, it's not been too bad, but it's still been hard to hear the game audio and plot.

BottledBodhisvata
Jul 26, 2013

by Lowtax

Wa11y posted:

I know it's a bit late to be asking this, but are there options for subtitles? When I had the audio set so I could hear you comfortably, I couldn't hear a drat thing Hermes was saying. Normally, it's not been too bad, but it's still been hard to hear the game audio and plot.

I have a bit of a headway in terms of recording, although we're starting to catch up. I could see if the game has a subtitles option. I'd be surprised if it didn't.

Smornstein
Nov 4, 2012
All i remember of the various rivers of Hades is that in one episode of the old Disney Hercules cartoon Hades tricked the gods into swimming in a pool filled with water from the river Lethe and tried to become king of Olympus. Which is kind of the opposite of how he's normally depicted in Greek myth where he was mostly okay with his seat of power and was worshiped by merchants, which was a taboo from what i've read sort of like demon worship, as Hades was ruler and owner of everything below the earth including gems and other precious stones.

Megillah Gorilla
Sep 22, 2003

If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.



Bread Liar
Kratos has killed a lot of poo poo in his time, men, women, beasts, gods. But Hermes is the first one where you're really cheering him on.

"Dammit Kratos, hurry up and kill that smug prick :argh:"

Kaboom Dragoon
May 7, 2010

The greatest of feasts

Gorilla Salad posted:

Kratos has killed a lot of poo poo in his time, men, women, beasts, gods. But Hermes is the first one where you're really cheering him on.

"Dammit Kratos, hurry up and kill that smug prick :argh:"

i think the thing I like most about this fight is that Kratos says one line to Hermes the entire time. Hermes is talking a mile a minute, while Kratos has absolutely zero interest in indulging him in repartee. The whole sequence is Hermes literally trying to outrace death, until it catches up with him.

Megillah Gorilla
Sep 22, 2003

If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.



Bread Liar
I liked how, when Hermes was sitting on the chain taunting Kratos, he was just pacing back and forth silently like a tiger.

:black101:

TwistedSynapse
Dec 31, 2012

Voted Most Purple Wizard
2007, 2009, 2011, and 2014
I also totally enjoyed Kratos' very predatory pacing during that - I also like his contemptful and childish but oddly satisfying shoulder brush move afterwards.

Desfore
Jun 8, 2011

Confirmed at least one furry on the Smash team

SirPhoebos posted:

The biggest misstep I think came at the end of 2. Zeus should have bit it and a new antagonist (Kratos' brother, or even Athena) ready to take his place in the sequel.

David Jaffe, the director of the first two GoW games, said his original intention was for Kratos to kill Zeus at the end of GoW2, and have a cliffhanger ending where other Gods from Norse or Egyptian or whatever mythologies come and wanna take over now that Zeus is dead. He had an overarching vision of Kratos basically destroying all mythologies from antiquity, but Jaffe left during the development of GoW2, and they stretched out the story from that game to make GoW 3. I might be remembering some of the details wrong, but I think there was an interview around the release of GoW2 where he mentions all this.

Edit: Found it: http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/mmw93t/gt-tv-sdcc-10--david-jaffe-interview Starts around 10 minutes in, after he's done talking about Twisted Metal.

Desfore fucked around with this message at 13:02 on Oct 24, 2014

BottledBodhisvata
Jul 26, 2013

by Lowtax
Speaking of David Jaffe (and I am loathe to link Polygon but) he is apparently awesome and hunts ghosts.

http://www.polygon.com/2013/9/20/4728152/the-man-behind-god-of-war-is-working-on-his-new-game-and-hunting

Glazius
Jul 22, 2007

Hail all those who are able,
any mouse can,
any mouse will,
but the Guard prevail.

Clapping Larry
Oh. So Kratos has been running on leftover Titan evil. Maybe that explains something?

BottledBodhisvata
Jul 26, 2013

by Lowtax
Yes, I know, I haven't updated this in awhile. The Demon's Souls LP is a lot easier to do updates for and as I have a new job, a lot of my free time to obsessively research mythology is lessened.

Still! I will make an update this Sunday, so help me Zeus.

Megillah Gorilla
Sep 22, 2003

If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.



Bread Liar
That's cool, putting all the extra stuff in has to be a lot of work :thumbsup:

Major_JF
Oct 17, 2008

BottledBodhisvata posted:

Still! I will make an update this Sunday, so help me Zeus.

Looks like you should have picked someone other than Zeus to call on.

But, really thanks for the work you are putting in.

BottledBodhisvata
Jul 26, 2013

by Lowtax
Well Zeus is a twerp anyway. We forge on ahead by the grace of Odin One Eye, and bring forth a new update:

Episode 10: Inspirational Fratricide:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnlvJImibsY

If I sound really tired in the first half of the episode it's because I was. I took a day between recording the first half and second half, so I'm a bit fresher there.

ManlyGrunting
May 29, 2014
Kratos even plays instruments on a superhuman scale using all of his bottomless rage, I love it. :allears:

e: well of course Hercules (which should be Heracles argh :argh:) is the best boss, he follows the Vergil rule: the humanoid bosses who have powers closest or complementary to your own are always the most fun to fight.

ManlyGrunting fucked around with this message at 20:09 on Nov 12, 2014

Trogdos!
Jul 11, 2009

A DRAGON POKEMAN
well technically a water/flying type
BottledBodhisvata, you're not updating the OP! I had no idea there even was a part 9. Anyway, I'm following both this and your Souls LP and I love both as I'm a giant lore sperg who can't help reading about mundane fantasy poo poo :v: Applies to mythology as well.

Edit: aww I kinda liked Hermes. The video was just the big, slow guy complaining about the "cowardliness" of an agile opponent. Made me think of The Mountain and the Viper. At least this time I didn't get sad at the end.

Trogdos! fucked around with this message at 23:33 on Nov 12, 2014

Miyamoto Musashi
Jul 22, 2006

Hercules is indeed the best boss in the game (maybe the series), and the Nemean cestus is indeed the most fun weapon. Hitting enemies with it is so satisfying--so much so that I usually begin leveling them up immediately and only go back to putting red orbs into my Blades of Exile once these are maxed out. If I recall right, the first Devil May Cry also featured a slow gauntlet weapon you picked up halfway through the game. There's something very enjoyable about the raw power those weapons represent, and honestly, the range limit here isn't even as bad as you'd think at first. Hopefully we'll see a lot of this weapon in future videos--I am getting the feeling you'll show it off a lot.

One other note on Hercules: he's voiced in the game by Kevin Sorbo, which is pretty awesome.

And a little Googling suggests that the "reverse cuckolding" you mentioned is termed "cuckqueaning". Learn something new every day!

Megillah Gorilla
Sep 22, 2003

If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.



Bread Liar

Miyamoto Musashi posted:

One other note on Hercules: he's voiced in the game by Kevin Sorbo, which is pretty awesome.

This fact alone makes Hercules my favourite boss. Going into that fight having no idea Kevin Sorbo had done the voice acting and then hearing him speak just floored me :allears:

Glazius
Jul 22, 2007

Hail all those who are able,
any mouse can,
any mouse will,
but the Guard prevail.

Clapping Larry
Are the thorns just there to hurt Heracles, or do you also get wrecked if he knocks you into them?

C-Euro
Mar 20, 2010

:science:
Soiled Meat

Miyamoto Musashi posted:

One other note on Hercules: he's voiced in the game by Kevin Sorbo, which is pretty awesome.

I've caught up with the LP and was just coming here to post this. There are some pretty cool VO cameos in this game, Rip Torn (Zeus from Disney's Hercules, among other stuff) was Hephaestus and we'll even hear from Malcom McDowell later.

And yeah, the closer the boss is to your size, the better the fight in pretty much any game. And the reward for this one is pretty great too, as we'll see in the next video nudge nudge.

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BottledBodhisvata
Jul 26, 2013

by Lowtax
Sorry folks, but I just have no inclination to keep this one going, and the footage is filling up my memory space, so I'm just gonna call this one dead. Thanks for your support, and don't worry, I fully intend to finish my Demon's Souls LP, so please go watch that if you haven't!

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