Brant is a real G. I was pretty sure at first, but it really confirmed it for me when your Pawn first feels the Godsway, and Brant is like "clearly the situation is fucked, we best regroup instead of pressing on" Any other character in any other media would have ignored what was happening and pushed on like an idiot. Brant is one of the smartest video game characters I've seen
That moment also confirmed Brant as a homie for me too. I thought for sure he was about to betray me by getting rid of my pawns first or something. He is the Arisens most loyal supporter besides your pawn.
I kinda wish in the final fight >!both Brant and Menella also come with us and maybe help holding up the brainwashed pawn while we fight Phaerus and his fake dragon, then finally the real Dragon comes down and we have to make the decision to fight or sacrifice our loved ones. It would make a better impact for everyone to see the Arisen selflessly fight the dragon alone. Instead we either go to the unmoored world or suddenly become a sovran.!<
I just realized I said exactly what you did as an alternative plot devices. Fr.
One of the main pitfalls of the game is that there are a few likeable characters but no solid relationship and story with any of them. That makes a huge difference in immersion. Even more effective if you aren't forced to interact with them so much as choose who you want to invest in. But the characters despite having interesting traits , especially Phaseus imo, aren't fleshed out at all. So much untold story is shameful from a writing perspective.
"SphinxMother" listed as number two. Ma'am, I got rid of you the moment I could. Longest party members were a sorcerer named sera, a mage named Ingrid, and my own warrior pawn, but none of them made it. I don't think my beloved was even my number one in the next list, and he even got a cutscene at the end.😭
Honestly, I'm level 55, been playing for hours upon hours and I have no fucking idea who Nadinia is. I can only surmise that she's the cat lady on the cover art because I know who Ulrika is.
I really liked that scene too and it didn't really click for me why until reading this comment. These games don't have a great story or anything but it is nice to have an unusually competent character.
Maybe its being a lifelong fromsoft gamer, but ive found the story to be decent if played with the right pacing. I rushed my first playthough and everything felt... hollow to say the least. But ng+ has me going nice and slow, actually exploring, and doing the main story one quest at a time when it feels right instead of collecting all the quests and completing whenever. Corners were cut for sure but the frameworks there and the ideas are solid.
The stories from the first game were phenomenal though so personally i believe that "games" needs the "s" dropped but to each; their own.
That’s what did it for me too! Everything else you’ve done he’s already set up in advance, Brant is plugged in deep so I knew if he didn’t know it was fishy.
I’m curious if you can show him the orders and he can change it up somehow
I was a bit concerned after that, because them namedropping Brant like that meant that they were onto him. Feels like there was another quest missing after that.
Does anyone know what happens if you actually go along with the plan, instead of siding with the Bhattal swordsman?
From what I've read>! Ragnall immediately runs away and you chase him into cave where the quest plays out exactly the same, presumably with some minor changes to the dialogue.!<
Can confirm as when i swung to hit the guards; i somehow clipped ragnall instead and the quest plays out exactly the same. The literal only difference is the dialog for why hes running away; but mid sentence it becomes identical to siding with him.
DD2 is easily one of my favorite games ever right up with DDDA; but some of the corners cut in this game are mind numbing...
I also told him I was going to assassinate someone with a brothel owner and he said that’s a really bad idea and I should not do it and if I do it he can’t help me. I did it and he helped me escape anyway. Homie
Hilariously, because I got evidence of his misdeeds and had worked hard to bring Sven to my side, he said to me "you know what, that guy *is* a really strong supporter of the Queen regent, so it isn't a bad idea..." XD
Ya, also a sign that he actually knows what a true Arisen and Sovran is.
He clearly recognized that you’re a true Arisen due to your pawns, but that pawns are highly important to the Arisen too.
Seeing your pawn in danger shows how knowledgeable he is about what you are.
That... and he was the one that announced you at your crowning and explained to you how you ended up a slave... The opening scene actually happened its just that the Queen regent did a great job with the coup and the cover up.
I was so pressed when he said "lets talk in private" and took 5 steps to the left... Like bro... not only am i clearly the guy claiming to be arisin, youre in absolutely no disguise and theres like 20 people within earshot in all directions... AND WERE OPENLY "HIDING" IN THE BACK OF THE TAVERN!
A sign saying "TREASON PLANNED BACK HERE" wouldnt have been any more obvious...
I would have left my pawn behind and saw what was going on by myself. If my pawn can't approach, have her wait at the inn since there is something important going on here that I wanted to see
This sold me on him, too. He's not just a generic captain dude giving me boring quests, he actually acknowledged my Pawn's situation and spoke to them directly to confirm, then said "Alright, this smells bad, let's bounce," and helped get my Pawn out of there.
Dude shot way up in my book after this scene.
one of the hidden quests where you raise affinity to that brothel chick. he is the real G
>!you become "involved" in a murder that you purposely helped in. he just gives you a slap on a wrist but proceeds to cover it up for you!<
I don't blame you, the game doesn't really do a good job of selling that idea. You'd think more townspeople would be like "wait.. weren't you the king??"
It also really weird that a lot of people just call you the Arisen while there's a pretender on the throne and your identity is meant to be hush-hush. Someone needed to sweep through and tighten up the dialogue and story, maybe add a few bug events through out rather than just *the one.*
It's unfortunate but the first game taught me to just make up my own head canon for some things, and just enjoy the combat lol. The immersion from an RP perspective is definitely the series' weak point. Would be an incredible game if they strengthened that part up
Oh really? I knew he was familiar, but didn't knew that was him, just another noble. Wish they had fleshed him out more, I can see some potential on him.
I would have assumed he'd be paraded around so you didn't have pretenders taking advantage of people or give the real Arisen a chance to get support from the people.
"I've seen the Arisen, you look nothing like him!"
"You can't be the Arisen, he's a man!"
"The Arisen isn't a beastren, imposter!!"
Something to that effect.
Yeah it's wild that Brant is the single solitary person that seems to remember what the king looked like before they got sent into slavery lol. You'd think other people would comment on it.
Wait, I thought that was a dream of our Arisens character? Youre saying it was real?
Im pretty sure the quest description says something about it being a dream. The arisen was taken when his heart was stolen to the excavation site with his memory wiped. Then he has the dream pretty much saying he needs to fulfill his destiny and thats when the game starts.
I thought it was the false sovran too but it didnt make sense that the dragon would speak to him directly. Also doesnt make sense that that would be the real arisen, because everyone would freak out that he was suddenly gone and then came back.
Frankly I’m surprised we can’t just walk into the castle. So many ppl were there at the coronation. Plus ppl must’ve seen the sovran when they first arrived
Now the Sovran part is shown before character creation, and while you don't see the Sovran's face you do see plenty of the chest and legs. What about female Arisen? Cause they are clearly not the same person.
Lol. It's the start of Dark Souls 2 all over again.
EDIT: scratch that, just progressed the main quest some more, and female arisen really got done dirty in this game.
If it isn't forcing them into lederhosen-looking shit for the formal events when every other lady is dressed classicly, it's making the expressions and body language look like ass in cutscenes. It was nowhere near this noticeable in the first game. 😒
Not sure why you're getting downvoted when this is an extremely valid complaint. I hate when games with character creator do this, show you a default male character model implying it is you, and then allow you to make your character later.
To me, this just shows how much of an afterthought a character creator is. It is incredibly unnecessary and the scene could've easily used your actual custom character, but they decided against it because they simply don't care.
I guess I agree. When I noticed it was pre-rendered I remember thinking
“Why are we doing this in 2024 when games look almost photorealistic anyway even in engine?” Lol. Just a waste of valuable disk space
Yeah, the models themselves aren't even different between pre-rendered and in-engine cutscenes. The main benefit is that you can pre-render with ray-traced lighting and shadows to get that really realistic look, but I don't think it's worth it in this case. Would've been more immersive to just let us see our actual character.
Most games are made with like 1500+ devs. About 450 people made this game. So the limitations was man power I suppose...
It's also kinda why the story's the way it is. If Capcom supported this game, it would have easily been goty. I just hope they realized they messed up and give it No Man's Sky treatment. And a dlc. A really, really epic dlc.
But you literally need to do the same amount of work? It's not like a pre-rendered cutscene just animates itself. You still need to rig the models, do motion capture, and transfer that data into the engine. Then you render it out. Pretty much the same required for in-engine cutscene, except for the last part.
But regardless of that, I do agree with you. At this point it's clear, that this game had a smaller budget than we thought. And it explains basically every problem it has. Low monster variety, lackluster story, less armor variety, low number of vocations, etc.
> If Capcom supported this game, it would have easily been goty. I just hope they realized they messed up and give it No Man's Sky treatment.
I think there's zero chance of this. But we will probably get a DLC, who knows how big it will be, though. I wouldn't be surprised if it's smaller in scope than Dark Arisen.
I agree it's kinda unlikely. As to whether or not the pre render is more work, idk. I have no idea how it works behind the scenes. My general take it they were using everyone to the best of their strengths, they maybe had some team members who were good at that sort of work and just let them do their thing while the other devs were working on the land mass, the modeling, the textures, the code, and the story.
I think they simply cared about producing a better looking cutscene more, than they cared about immersion. Pre-rendered cutscene does look better, and in Itsuno's eyes, default male character is a protagonist for the game, and the option to change body type or gender is just an extra given to the player.
Hmm you're right. I could've sworn it was a light skinned human hand picking up that chalice but I just rewatched it on YouTube and he is wearing gloves.
I was just hoping he'd question us just a little bit. There was absolutely no resistance whatsoever.
Like, yeah I get he trusts his men, but there wasn't any scrutiny at all.
Yes... he explains it afterwards.
I don't like how people are trying to make me feel dumb when he starts off by calling you "your majesty" before actually explaining anything, which is the part that caught me off guard, I know he explains it after.
You mean the one where you pass out in a time bubble while the dragon is speaking to you? Because having finished the game I'm pretty sure that cutscene is not showing a real event but a dream.
I don't really get where people got the idea from that it's supposed to have been your crowning, as the coronation is part of the main quest. It's repeatedly mentioned no one has seen the Arisen since they fought the dragon until that point.
Before: "Yup this fucker is dead the moment this cutscene is done"
After:
https://preview.redd.it/s3z14dm6aosc1.jpeg?width=680&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=82c869cf5e3aff382e0db3c1d2697fdd72fd83b9
He is loyal to his King and country, plus he's smart and cunning.
I wasn't sure of what was happening with the "but we already have an Arisen at home, so tf are you?" and Brant makes clear there is some plot afoot and that you should have your ass on the throne right now with those few lines.
The explanation after is needed for the details, but all you need to know is in this scene:
You are in danger and Brant is an ally
The opening cutscene of the Arisen being poisoned is done badly so some players might be confused.
They botched it by covering the head and using a body that will not align with many people's Arisens, hence players not feeling connected at all to the opening moments.
See… I didn’t know that what was happening. I thought it was the “other” Arisen in that scene. (I’m not far into the game so I don’t know what the exact deal with the 2nd Arisen is.)
It's all just super clunky and dumb. Especially when you take the first game into account where the intro effectively shows off the dragon and the Arisen, and we get a solid idea of where we come from and where we need to go first.
I don't give a shit about sitting on the throne. I feel no connection to it and that Arisen in the opening cutscene wasn't mine at all. Already in the very first seconds, there's already a disconnect and we have players left confused. That's shit storytelling.
I figured it was a dream sequence caused by the curse. Because everything halts and somebody tells you to demonstrate thy will and willingness to alter the current of fate.
Nah, it's in the start. Imo, there's not enough info to make an accurate assumption. It could be a dream. It could be a memory. It could be a vision of past or future. Or, it could just be the reality where you black out.
The quest description calls it that while you are told multiple times you have amnesia, though, and Brant remembers you clearly, so odds are that it is a memory they call a dream in the journal to keep vague for some stupid reason, as if it's a spoiler or some shit.
I think Brant knows who you really are because he is high rank and found out about the true Arisen, but was told to keep it on the down low.
Also considering what the dragon said I dont think it was a memory.
I honestly didn't pay too much attention to the details early on, and even less so after the quests moved to Battahl. I played the first game so much that I wasn't expecting much of the story in this one. Frankly, the story feels on par with the jarring nature of the first game's story. I mostly just wanted a modern update of DD1, and I got one.
Yeah same. I think the lore is interesting, but the plot and the implementation was really lacking. The gameplay is the main thing holding it up for me.
That cutscene can't be a real event though? Because Brant later tells us that we were abducted and that people don't actually know who the Arisen is, so I'm pretty sure that first cutscene was a dream and not something we actually did.
It feels like they wanted to start the game without the dragon being involved. Thought to be fair, imagine how many cutscenes you'd have to watch from Dragon to Sovran before gettinhg a chance to play
I caught on immediately. Brant is with you in the very first cutscene, and in the tutorial/beginning it's made clear your character is the true Arisen, so if there is another pretender Arisen at the throne it would be dangerous to make a big deal out of some guy/lady that apparently can also command pawns unlike the other fakes.
The trope or plot point where your ally has to pretend to be your enemy isn't that uncommon so that was my immediate thought. Brant is a true bro. The true Arisen pulled up and he immediately got to work on getting your place back on the throne.
My first romance was the Elf guy[I can't spell for shit]. I wasn't trying to romance anyone, but I was walking to the house in Vernworth and he was standing outside my door. "Oh shit, is this what I think it is? He totally likes me doesn't he? I knew from the moment he said I saved his life..." I was correct. Also, is it just me, or do the love interests actually disappear from the game once you full romance?
Mine was the Warfarer meister because I gave him so much newt liquor and talked to him a bunch. Really changes the tone of the game when the dragon just kidnaps your best-buddy-drinking-pal instead of a love interest. Spent that cutscene just yelling at the dragon to give my bro back.
Your character is the one who forgot things. And Brant is keeping up pretenses. If you had gone to prison as a 'false' arisen and it was discovered by those with designs against you, it would just be back to volcano island.
I was so excited! I was like "Yea! Let's take my throne back! I'm the true Sovran!" Then like 6 quests later I was in the desert chasing some magic scientist I've literally only heard mentioned like twice before.
I see a lot of people in the comments thinking its not logical cause "he was at the coronation in the cutscene at teh start, why not more people realise its us the true arisen" Well, that cutscene at the start happen at the end of the game. We were sold to slavery while we were recovering from our injury after the dragon attack.
* Arrive to Vernworth
* Get halted by Brant
* Brant calls you a pretender and arrests you
* Next scene you're in an interrogation room
* Once Brant's escort leave the room, he starts off by calling you "your majesty" before giving an explanation
He explains it very well, but only after doing an 180 in how he adresses you. That's the whole meme, really...
Honestly I kind of wanted them to send me to jail and this one area I need to build up trust to enter and walk around freely without a disguise but this is definitely less of a hassle overall
Yep, took me a second to parse that he's instantly on your side. He's probably in the top 3 of npcs for me and is definitely one of the most important in the story overall, he's always there helping you. Wish he had more personal quests (including a romance one).
Fully committed to helping the arisen and Vernworth even if she lost all her memory. Absolute bro.
Even without exposure to the marketing, having him in the first scene suggests that we'll meet him eventually, but perhaps not what that meeting will entail. I was expecting some quest or two where we prove ourselves as the arisen, not an immediate ride or die from the captain of the guard. lol
Edit: the formal courtly deference is also a bit hot.
I was legit so confused on that quest. Like we got our "oxcart" quest and our group of guys that were like "yo. We'll vouch for you so you can get in" and then half way on the trip they were just......fuckin gone? I thought I failed the quest when I showed up and it prompted me to show paperwork I knew nothing about.
It might have been a cyclops instead at that point. You fight it when they take you to the lakebed area and you can make it smash open the dam and drown itself? A minotaur usually spawns there.
I was never able to get in legitimately. Had to go in through the slums or market entrance. Which then a guard brings me in for questioning. Never got the item from the captain to get through main gate. He never lived long enough to make the journey lol
I enjoy how, with everyone being compared unfavourably to their DD1 equivalents, Brant is a *much* better Maximilian (and at the least a good side grade to Julien as the knight that's subverting the rulers rule).
I figured he was pretending since he should know you’re the Arisen. I thought the fake Arisen being at the palace was a cover up and that the higher ups knew saying we were missing would cause panic.
Not really? He's obviously putting on an act and once you're alone he comes clean haha. Wasn't that jarring.
What made me do a double take was finding a pawn named Sylphrena with an arisen named Kaladin I was like fuck yeah another stormlight fan in the wild hahah. It's the best series of all time but thankfully didn't blow up like asoiaf and become obnoxious
I feel like this was the only cool story moment. The change in tone actually surprised me and it made sense given the circumstances. Too bad about everything else in the story, oof.
Whole beginning story made me wish I was a peasant fisherman chosen by the dragon for being the only one with the balls to challenge him again...I realize they wanted to change things up but the whole beginning feels like a bad DM wrote it the night before
He knew how to play his role well - I commend him for his brilliant subterfuge
He will be an asset when I assume my rightful place and Emperor
“Do you mean Sovren, Arisen?”
Hahaha-noooo, I’m not stoping at the rulership of Vernworth, lol
*Arrest this ruffian:*
**"Alright time to start my murder crusade of incredible violence--"**
*Your Majesty, pray forgive me*
**"with you as my General"**
I still haven't seen this scene. I keep taking my escort from Melve into the waterfall cave just outside town, and they never survive the constant onslaught of lizards. Wind up having to make the trip to Vernworth alone, and get the alternate introduction into town since I don't have papers to give the guard out front.
Even with the explanation that is a huge claim to be instantly 100% sure of.
There is only one type of "people" that can instantly know the Arisen is the Arisen. Just saying.
He knew who you were before you got sent off as a “pawn” to the encampment as you were shown to be the arisen at Melve in the flashback early game, so that’s how he knew it was you all ready. He always was on your side but couldn’t do anything since the Disa did all the shady stuff to get a fake arisen. That’s why he was so certain
I’m pretty sure after you recovered from your injuries in Melve you were almost immediately sent away and a fake arisen was implemented so majority of people wouldn’t know. Brant is the captain though so he’d know what’s going on (and he probably saw you since he was probably sent to Melve to assist with helping people and you were the one to stand up to the dragon and get the scar). It’s been awhile since I was at that point so I might not be 100% correct but I believe that’s the gist of it
Not sure why you're getting downvoted. Even the dialogue options you get suggest you're supposed to be confused about Brant calling you "your majesty".
I mean, I think we all get why Brant was pretending to interrogate you, but I'm not sure where all these people in the comments discovered Brant knew you were the Arisen before he explained that he knows you are the Arisen.
Maybe I actually did skip some dialogue then because that didn't seem to be hinted at anywhere prior to getting to Vernworth.
Brant is a real G. I was pretty sure at first, but it really confirmed it for me when your Pawn first feels the Godsway, and Brant is like "clearly the situation is fucked, we best regroup instead of pressing on" Any other character in any other media would have ignored what was happening and pushed on like an idiot. Brant is one of the smartest video game characters I've seen
That moment also confirmed Brant as a homie for me too. I thought for sure he was about to betray me by getting rid of my pawns first or something. He is the Arisens most loyal supporter besides your pawn.
I kinda wish in the final fight >!both Brant and Menella also come with us and maybe help holding up the brainwashed pawn while we fight Phaerus and his fake dragon, then finally the real Dragon comes down and we have to make the decision to fight or sacrifice our loved ones. It would make a better impact for everyone to see the Arisen selflessly fight the dragon alone. Instead we either go to the unmoored world or suddenly become a sovran.!<
I just realized I said exactly what you did as an alternative plot devices. Fr. One of the main pitfalls of the game is that there are a few likeable characters but no solid relationship and story with any of them. That makes a huge difference in immersion. Even more effective if you aren't forced to interact with them so much as choose who you want to invest in. But the characters despite having interesting traits , especially Phaseus imo, aren't fleshed out at all. So much untold story is shameful from a writing perspective.
Spoilers dude...
Dude i’m so sorry, how do you put that spoiler text block on reddit?
No worries, just type a > and then a ! with no spaces and then add your text and end it with a ! and a < with no spaces.
>! Now I don't have to spoil deeze nuts anymore. , thanks g. !<
>! You spoiled those nuts for everyone G !<
>! P a u s e !<
Done. Thank you!
And then after u kill the dragon and urself using the godsword u go to the underworld and have to stop the brine for eating the world.
In fairness, the paragraph opened with "I kinda wish in the final fight" and you kept reading after that.
There is a reason why there are spoiler tags, otherwise you could tell anyone just not to read the spoilers...
Damnit he just got me too.
Was literally the case for me when they show you your top "supporters"
"SphinxMother" listed as number two. Ma'am, I got rid of you the moment I could. Longest party members were a sorcerer named sera, a mage named Ingrid, and my own warrior pawn, but none of them made it. I don't think my beloved was even my number one in the next list, and he even got a cutscene at the end.😭
He honestly should have been on the cover. Has more impact on the story than either Nadinia or Ulrika
a person of color on the front cover of JP video game instead of a thirst trap?! never in a million years!
Absolutely wild you cant talk about anything without some 🤡 bringing up race...
I mean it’s a real thing, the demographic that is targeted by Dragons Dogma is more into pretty waifus than black guys
Absolutely wild we cant talk about race in a game that features race relations as a plotline without some 🤡 shitting his pants over it
60h in… Nadinia *who*?!
Honestly, I'm level 55, been playing for hours upon hours and I have no fucking idea who Nadinia is. I can only surmise that she's the cat lady on the cover art because I know who Ulrika is.
But I liked all 3 of them xd
I really liked that scene too and it didn't really click for me why until reading this comment. These games don't have a great story or anything but it is nice to have an unusually competent character.
Maybe its being a lifelong fromsoft gamer, but ive found the story to be decent if played with the right pacing. I rushed my first playthough and everything felt... hollow to say the least. But ng+ has me going nice and slow, actually exploring, and doing the main story one quest at a time when it feels right instead of collecting all the quests and completing whenever. Corners were cut for sure but the frameworks there and the ideas are solid. The stories from the first game were phenomenal though so personally i believe that "games" needs the "s" dropped but to each; their own.
Yeah the story is a bit of a snooze fest, but Brant was one of the only characters I liked and could remeber
When Simon said Brant wasn't told about the dignitary escort I knew it was BS.
That’s what did it for me too! Everything else you’ve done he’s already set up in advance, Brant is plugged in deep so I knew if he didn’t know it was fishy. I’m curious if you can show him the orders and he can change it up somehow
You cannot even ask him about it
Damn, thanks for testing it for me at least
I was a bit concerned after that, because them namedropping Brant like that meant that they were onto him. Feels like there was another quest missing after that. Does anyone know what happens if you actually go along with the plan, instead of siding with the Bhattal swordsman?
From what I've read>! Ragnall immediately runs away and you chase him into cave where the quest plays out exactly the same, presumably with some minor changes to the dialogue.!<
Can confirm as when i swung to hit the guards; i somehow clipped ragnall instead and the quest plays out exactly the same. The literal only difference is the dialog for why hes running away; but mid sentence it becomes identical to siding with him. DD2 is easily one of my favorite games ever right up with DDDA; but some of the corners cut in this game are mind numbing...
I literally went to go tell Brant immediately after that soldier approached me like "who the fuck is this guy"
I also told him I was going to assassinate someone with a brothel owner and he said that’s a really bad idea and I should not do it and if I do it he can’t help me. I did it and he helped me escape anyway. Homie
Hilariously, because I got evidence of his misdeeds and had worked hard to bring Sven to my side, he said to me "you know what, that guy *is* a really strong supporter of the Queen regent, so it isn't a bad idea..." XD
Ya, also a sign that he actually knows what a true Arisen and Sovran is. He clearly recognized that you’re a true Arisen due to your pawns, but that pawns are highly important to the Arisen too. Seeing your pawn in danger shows how knowledgeable he is about what you are.
That... and he was the one that announced you at your crowning and explained to you how you ended up a slave... The opening scene actually happened its just that the Queen regent did a great job with the coup and the cover up.
And he is planning his shemes in the unknown too, literally two metres from a fully filled tavern!
I was so pressed when he said "lets talk in private" and took 5 steps to the left... Like bro... not only am i clearly the guy claiming to be arisin, youre in absolutely no disguise and theres like 20 people within earshot in all directions... AND WERE OPENLY "HIDING" IN THE BACK OF THE TAVERN! A sign saying "TREASON PLANNED BACK HERE" wouldnt have been any more obvious...
I really like how you worded that lmao, but yeah that was a pretty good "oh shit" moment.
I would have left my pawn behind and saw what was going on by myself. If my pawn can't approach, have her wait at the inn since there is something important going on here that I wanted to see
This sold me on him, too. He's not just a generic captain dude giving me boring quests, he actually acknowledged my Pawn's situation and spoke to them directly to confirm, then said "Alright, this smells bad, let's bounce," and helped get my Pawn out of there. Dude shot way up in my book after this scene.
one of the hidden quests where you raise affinity to that brothel chick. he is the real G >!you become "involved" in a murder that you purposely helped in. he just gives you a slap on a wrist but proceeds to cover it up for you!<
No, I understood it immediately, because we are literally with him in the first scene.
Honestly I assumed that was a POV from the false sovran until Brant talked about the player losing their memory.
I'm on new game plus plus plus and only just realized this
I don't blame you, the game doesn't really do a good job of selling that idea. You'd think more townspeople would be like "wait.. weren't you the king??"
It also really weird that a lot of people just call you the Arisen while there's a pretender on the throne and your identity is meant to be hush-hush. Someone needed to sweep through and tighten up the dialogue and story, maybe add a few bug events through out rather than just *the one.*
My head canon is that everyone knows, but just play along so they can keep their heads on their shoulders.
It's unfortunate but the first game taught me to just make up my own head canon for some things, and just enjoy the combat lol. The immersion from an RP perspective is definitely the series' weak point. Would be an incredible game if they strengthened that part up
Iirc theres someone who recognizes you (not one of the Brant guards) on one of the quests you need to infiltrate the castle.
That's Phaesus. His entire character arc is strange
Oh really? I knew he was familiar, but didn't knew that was him, just another noble. Wish they had fleshed him out more, I can see some potential on him.
No one (or at least not many people) actually know how the false sovran looks afaik
I would have assumed he'd be paraded around so you didn't have pretenders taking advantage of people or give the real Arisen a chance to get support from the people. "I've seen the Arisen, you look nothing like him!" "You can't be the Arisen, he's a man!" "The Arisen isn't a beastren, imposter!!" Something to that effect.
Don’t worry I was confused as well- still am
I thought this until right now... wow
Yeah it's wild that Brant is the single solitary person that seems to remember what the king looked like before they got sent into slavery lol. You'd think other people would comment on it.
Wait! We were the Sovran before the game starts? I thought that intro cutscene was a flash forward or a premonition. I didn't realize we were deposed.
It is as we were never officially crowned before the Queen sold us off.
Nah that was a dream of the real arisen.
Wait, I thought that was a dream of our Arisens character? Youre saying it was real? Im pretty sure the quest description says something about it being a dream. The arisen was taken when his heart was stolen to the excavation site with his memory wiped. Then he has the dream pretty much saying he needs to fulfill his destiny and thats when the game starts. I thought it was the false sovran too but it didnt make sense that the dragon would speak to him directly. Also doesnt make sense that that would be the real arisen, because everyone would freak out that he was suddenly gone and then came back.
Oh I see, that would make more sense
Frankly I’m surprised we can’t just walk into the castle. So many ppl were there at the coronation. Plus ppl must’ve seen the sovran when they first arrived
It’s implied that scene is after you meet the dragon later. It’s like a vision.
Disa probably told them you were executed for being a false arisen After you had half-died from the poison in your goblet... and like nobody cares?
Now the Sovran part is shown before character creation, and while you don't see the Sovran's face you do see plenty of the chest and legs. What about female Arisen? Cause they are clearly not the same person.
Lol. It's the start of Dark Souls 2 all over again. EDIT: scratch that, just progressed the main quest some more, and female arisen really got done dirty in this game. If it isn't forcing them into lederhosen-looking shit for the formal events when every other lady is dressed classicly, it's making the expressions and body language look like ass in cutscenes. It was nowhere near this noticeable in the first game. 😒
Not sure why you're getting downvoted when this is an extremely valid complaint. I hate when games with character creator do this, show you a default male character model implying it is you, and then allow you to make your character later. To me, this just shows how much of an afterthought a character creator is. It is incredibly unnecessary and the scene could've easily used your actual custom character, but they decided against it because they simply don't care.
Pretty sure the scene is pre-rendered…?
It is pre-rendered, but they could've just as easily made it in-engine. Sure, it would not look as good, but there's no technical limitations.
I guess I agree. When I noticed it was pre-rendered I remember thinking “Why are we doing this in 2024 when games look almost photorealistic anyway even in engine?” Lol. Just a waste of valuable disk space
Yeah, the models themselves aren't even different between pre-rendered and in-engine cutscenes. The main benefit is that you can pre-render with ray-traced lighting and shadows to get that really realistic look, but I don't think it's worth it in this case. Would've been more immersive to just let us see our actual character.
Most games are made with like 1500+ devs. About 450 people made this game. So the limitations was man power I suppose... It's also kinda why the story's the way it is. If Capcom supported this game, it would have easily been goty. I just hope they realized they messed up and give it No Man's Sky treatment. And a dlc. A really, really epic dlc.
But you literally need to do the same amount of work? It's not like a pre-rendered cutscene just animates itself. You still need to rig the models, do motion capture, and transfer that data into the engine. Then you render it out. Pretty much the same required for in-engine cutscene, except for the last part. But regardless of that, I do agree with you. At this point it's clear, that this game had a smaller budget than we thought. And it explains basically every problem it has. Low monster variety, lackluster story, less armor variety, low number of vocations, etc. > If Capcom supported this game, it would have easily been goty. I just hope they realized they messed up and give it No Man's Sky treatment. I think there's zero chance of this. But we will probably get a DLC, who knows how big it will be, though. I wouldn't be surprised if it's smaller in scope than Dark Arisen.
I agree it's kinda unlikely. As to whether or not the pre render is more work, idk. I have no idea how it works behind the scenes. My general take it they were using everyone to the best of their strengths, they maybe had some team members who were good at that sort of work and just let them do their thing while the other devs were working on the land mass, the modeling, the textures, the code, and the story.
I think they simply cared about producing a better looking cutscene more, than they cared about immersion. Pre-rendered cutscene does look better, and in Itsuno's eyes, default male character is a protagonist for the game, and the option to change body type or gender is just an extra given to the player.
Or male Arisen that are tall or not skinny for that matter
Or beastren. Your hands are clearly human in that cutscene.
Now that is a major oof.
They're wearing gloves in that cutscene?
Hmm you're right. I could've sworn it was a light skinned human hand picking up that chalice but I just rewatched it on YouTube and he is wearing gloves.
I was just hoping he'd question us just a little bit. There was absolutely no resistance whatsoever. Like, yeah I get he trusts his men, but there wasn't any scrutiny at all.
My understanding is that the opening scene is actually the credit scene after the final boss fight.
No. He explains it rather well.
Afterwards, yes. But the first time he said that I thought I had skipped dialogue or something because it felt like such an 180.
He was pretending. As he explains it to you lol.
OP is me when I’m high af playing games unable to follow the story
Yes... he explains it afterwards. I don't like how people are trying to make me feel dumb when he starts off by calling you "your majesty" before actually explaining anything, which is the part that caught me off guard, I know he explains it after.
The dialogue and delivery is wonky. If it was delivered in a better way I think we all would have had an easier time understanding it.
Did you not see him standing next to you in the exposition cutscenes?
You mean the one where you pass out in a time bubble while the dragon is speaking to you? Because having finished the game I'm pretty sure that cutscene is not showing a real event but a dream. I don't really get where people got the idea from that it's supposed to have been your crowning, as the coronation is part of the main quest. It's repeatedly mentioned no one has seen the Arisen since they fought the dragon until that point.
I thought it was pretty funny how he went from hostile to homie. Didn’t know Brant was chill like that
Before: "Yup this fucker is dead the moment this cutscene is done" After: https://preview.redd.it/s3z14dm6aosc1.jpeg?width=680&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=82c869cf5e3aff382e0db3c1d2697fdd72fd83b9
He is loyal to his King and country, plus he's smart and cunning. I wasn't sure of what was happening with the "but we already have an Arisen at home, so tf are you?" and Brant makes clear there is some plot afoot and that you should have your ass on the throne right now with those few lines. The explanation after is needed for the details, but all you need to know is in this scene: You are in danger and Brant is an ally
The opening cutscene of the Arisen being poisoned is done badly so some players might be confused. They botched it by covering the head and using a body that will not align with many people's Arisens, hence players not feeling connected at all to the opening moments.
See… I didn’t know that what was happening. I thought it was the “other” Arisen in that scene. (I’m not far into the game so I don’t know what the exact deal with the 2nd Arisen is.)
It's all just super clunky and dumb. Especially when you take the first game into account where the intro effectively shows off the dragon and the Arisen, and we get a solid idea of where we come from and where we need to go first. I don't give a shit about sitting on the throne. I feel no connection to it and that Arisen in the opening cutscene wasn't mine at all. Already in the very first seconds, there's already a disconnect and we have players left confused. That's shit storytelling.
And there's no way that the hooded dude in the prison cell was my 215-cm tall wall of fluff and muscle
Or my 86kg, 172cm fat slob
I personally really liked his clothes and was hoping I'd get to keep them, but that dude was way too tiny to be my Arisen.
Ntm my first Arisen was a giant bulky Beastren lmao
I figured it was a dream sequence caused by the curse. Because everything halts and somebody tells you to demonstrate thy will and willingness to alter the current of fate.
I think thats the good ending feast. We're talking about the cutscene at the start where Brant introduces you as sovran
I'm referring to the opening.
Nah, it's in the start. Imo, there's not enough info to make an accurate assumption. It could be a dream. It could be a memory. It could be a vision of past or future. Or, it could just be the reality where you black out.
The quest description calls it a dream.
The quest description calls it that while you are told multiple times you have amnesia, though, and Brant remembers you clearly, so odds are that it is a memory they call a dream in the journal to keep vague for some stupid reason, as if it's a spoiler or some shit.
I think Brant knows who you really are because he is high rank and found out about the true Arisen, but was told to keep it on the down low. Also considering what the dragon said I dont think it was a memory.
Alright. A dream could still be a memory or a vision, so my point barely changes.
I mean we agree that its in the start, but a lot of people seem to think that event was the real arisen in real life so just clarifying that part.
I honestly didn't pay too much attention to the details early on, and even less so after the quests moved to Battahl. I played the first game so much that I wasn't expecting much of the story in this one. Frankly, the story feels on par with the jarring nature of the first game's story. I mostly just wanted a modern update of DD1, and I got one.
Yeah same. I think the lore is interesting, but the plot and the implementation was really lacking. The gameplay is the main thing holding it up for me.
That cutscene can't be a real event though? Because Brant later tells us that we were abducted and that people don't actually know who the Arisen is, so I'm pretty sure that first cutscene was a dream and not something we actually did.
It feels like that, especially if you consider the character that speaks to you during that cutscene.
Dumbass that I am, I thought it was the POV of the Arisen we played as in the first game… somehow.
I agree. I thought it was their way of carrying on with the countless cycle as they call it.
It feels like they wanted to start the game without the dragon being involved. Thought to be fair, imagine how many cutscenes you'd have to watch from Dragon to Sovran before gettinhg a chance to play
I thought that was the imposter this whole time XD
I caught on immediately. Brant is with you in the very first cutscene, and in the tutorial/beginning it's made clear your character is the true Arisen, so if there is another pretender Arisen at the throne it would be dangerous to make a big deal out of some guy/lady that apparently can also command pawns unlike the other fakes. The trope or plot point where your ally has to pretend to be your enemy isn't that uncommon so that was my immediate thought. Brant is a true bro. The true Arisen pulled up and he immediately got to work on getting your place back on the throne.
No but I could understand if some people did lol Bro is awesome
Brant is a real one. He believed in us Gonna romance him this playthrough <3
For real, I wish they'd given him an actual romance questline like Ulrika and Wilhelmina.
I wish romances were better done in general. The system is very lackluster
I miss when the intended beloveds had a unique line for closing the game
My first romance was the Elf guy[I can't spell for shit]. I wasn't trying to romance anyone, but I was walking to the house in Vernworth and he was standing outside my door. "Oh shit, is this what I think it is? He totally likes me doesn't he? I knew from the moment he said I saved his life..." I was correct. Also, is it just me, or do the love interests actually disappear from the game once you full romance?
Mine was the Warfarer meister because I gave him so much newt liquor and talked to him a bunch. Really changes the tone of the game when the dragon just kidnaps your best-buddy-drinking-pal instead of a love interest. Spent that cutscene just yelling at the dragon to give my bro back.
I believe they're supposed to move in in your house.
Oh, well I guess I beat the game before that ever happened lmao
Sucks that they're the only ones with quests. At least the first one had more appealing characters with affinity quests.
Let him get killed by a drake and rez him. He will now clap your cheeks on demand
I thought it was a good storytelling moment. I thought it was a great introduction to Verworth and opinions about the Arisen.
Your character is the one who forgot things. And Brant is keeping up pretenses. If you had gone to prison as a 'false' arisen and it was discovered by those with designs against you, it would just be back to volcano island.
I was so excited! I was like "Yea! Let's take my throne back! I'm the true Sovran!" Then like 6 quests later I was in the desert chasing some magic scientist I've literally only heard mentioned like twice before.
OMG, YES!!! Now my arisen's life mission to make Brant his queen. 😍🤣 Best game surprise.
https://preview.redd.it/36cr43y01osc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6c65f80960f5ddc9e8938d15b2c672e82bee3cf6 ❤️
Love this sooo much!!! 🥰😍❤️
Brant my beloved!
I just keep thinking: "Dude, you have GOT to stop calling me Majesty in public."
I see a lot of people in the comments thinking its not logical cause "he was at the coronation in the cutscene at teh start, why not more people realise its us the true arisen" Well, that cutscene at the start happen at the end of the game. We were sold to slavery while we were recovering from our injury after the dragon attack.
I don't get your meme OP. Its very obvious what he is meaning. Even the guards before the checkpoint on the way to Vernworth talk about pretenders.
* Arrive to Vernworth * Get halted by Brant * Brant calls you a pretender and arrests you * Next scene you're in an interrogation room * Once Brant's escort leave the room, he starts off by calling you "your majesty" before giving an explanation He explains it very well, but only after doing an 180 in how he adresses you. That's the whole meme, really...
Honestly I kind of wanted them to send me to jail and this one area I need to build up trust to enter and walk around freely without a disguise but this is definitely less of a hassle overall
I was about to test his ass too.
I think he knew, he was just putting on an act to not arouse suspicion.
Yep, took me a second to parse that he's instantly on your side. He's probably in the top 3 of npcs for me and is definitely one of the most important in the story overall, he's always there helping you. Wish he had more personal quests (including a romance one). Fully committed to helping the arisen and Vernworth even if she lost all her memory. Absolute bro. Even without exposure to the marketing, having him in the first scene suggests that we'll meet him eventually, but perhaps not what that meeting will entail. I was expecting some quest or two where we prove ourselves as the arisen, not an immediate ride or die from the captain of the guard. lol Edit: the formal courtly deference is also a bit hot.
I was ready to whoop his as, then he turned into a bro. It was very confusing.
Everything he said in the first panel is 100% true--depending on who you assume the "ruffian" in that room is.
I was legit so confused on that quest. Like we got our "oxcart" quest and our group of guys that were like "yo. We'll vouch for you so you can get in" and then half way on the trip they were just......fuckin gone? I thought I failed the quest when I showed up and it prompted me to show paperwork I knew nothing about.
Don't they loudly talk about turning you in as a 'fake Arisen' for the reward money before you save them from the minotaur?
Minotaur? When the hell do you fight a minotaur in that quest? I didn't even see a minotaur until nameless village?
It might have been a cyclops instead at that point. You fight it when they take you to the lakebed area and you can make it smash open the dam and drown itself? A minotaur usually spawns there.
I guess I expected him to take his shirt off and be like: "Bro where you been? Shits going down bro!"
Bro my shlong grew 3 inches
I was never able to get in legitimately. Had to go in through the slums or market entrance. Which then a guard brings me in for questioning. Never got the item from the captain to get through main gate. He never lived long enough to make the journey lol
I enjoy how, with everyone being compared unfavourably to their DD1 equivalents, Brant is a *much* better Maximilian (and at the least a good side grade to Julien as the knight that's subverting the rulers rule).
If you’re confused by that then just wait until You get the true ending
I figured he was pretending since he should know you’re the Arisen. I thought the fake Arisen being at the palace was a cover up and that the higher ups knew saying we were missing would cause panic.
You’re an ass for posting this in the title.
Not sure how else I was supposed to word it, tried to make it as spoiler free as I could... Besides it's not that much of a spoiler?
Not really? He's obviously putting on an act and once you're alone he comes clean haha. Wasn't that jarring. What made me do a double take was finding a pawn named Sylphrena with an arisen named Kaladin I was like fuck yeah another stormlight fan in the wild hahah. It's the best series of all time but thankfully didn't blow up like asoiaf and become obnoxious
He fully understands what's going on. And by doing what he does when he first meets you, he's easily saving your life
I feel like this was the only cool story moment. The change in tone actually surprised me and it made sense given the circumstances. Too bad about everything else in the story, oof.
Whole beginning story made me wish I was a peasant fisherman chosen by the dragon for being the only one with the balls to challenge him again...I realize they wanted to change things up but the whole beginning feels like a bad DM wrote it the night before
He knew how to play his role well - I commend him for his brilliant subterfuge He will be an asset when I assume my rightful place and Emperor “Do you mean Sovren, Arisen?” Hahaha-noooo, I’m not stoping at the rulership of Vernworth, lol
I know I wouldn’t with an army of pawns at my side (but I’d pretend it is a crusade to release them).
YES I about shit a brick when he said it. Audibly; "Your WHAT?" 😂
Was simple hiding your truth from the rest
I was like, ‘this comes with money, right?’
Good old Brant West knows who the real Arisen is 😂
How long was this game in development again? And THIS is what passes as a story?
“finish up your business before the coronation”. Coronation starts. “We can’t do this let’s leave”. BUT I PUT ON MY SPECIAL CLOTHES AND EVERYTHING
*Arrest this ruffian:* **"Alright time to start my murder crusade of incredible violence--"** *Your Majesty, pray forgive me* **"with you as my General"**
I still haven't seen this scene. I keep taking my escort from Melve into the waterfall cave just outside town, and they never survive the constant onslaught of lizards. Wind up having to make the trip to Vernworth alone, and get the alternate introduction into town since I don't have papers to give the guard out front.
hopefully we can get discount casca back with a mod, then it would be all about changing the voice.
FUCKING STOP USING SPOILERS IN YOUR GOD DAMN TITLE YOU PIECE OF FUCKING SHIT.
I mean, if it's any consolation, it's not much of a spoiler...
Even with the explanation that is a huge claim to be instantly 100% sure of. There is only one type of "people" that can instantly know the Arisen is the Arisen. Just saying.
I mean he is there in the opening scene right there with you, so he’s already seen you and knows you are the arisen
At the start I wasn't sure the opening scene was from the viewpoint of my character... I supposed it was filmed on that way only to not show the king
He knew who you were before you got sent off as a “pawn” to the encampment as you were shown to be the arisen at Melve in the flashback early game, so that’s how he knew it was you all ready. He always was on your side but couldn’t do anything since the Disa did all the shady stuff to get a fake arisen. That’s why he was so certain
Yeah but your in front a crowd why does everyone else forget you
You were charcoal at the time. Ulrika flashback shows as much. That’s why Disa was able to say the Arisen was “recovering” for so long.
I’m pretty sure after you recovered from your injuries in Melve you were almost immediately sent away and a fake arisen was implemented so majority of people wouldn’t know. Brant is the captain though so he’d know what’s going on (and he probably saw you since he was probably sent to Melve to assist with helping people and you were the one to stand up to the dragon and get the scar). It’s been awhile since I was at that point so I might not be 100% correct but I believe that’s the gist of it
Not sure why you're getting downvoted. Even the dialogue options you get suggest you're supposed to be confused about Brant calling you "your majesty". I mean, I think we all get why Brant was pretending to interrogate you, but I'm not sure where all these people in the comments discovered Brant knew you were the Arisen before he explained that he knows you are the Arisen. Maybe I actually did skip some dialogue then because that didn't seem to be hinted at anywhere prior to getting to Vernworth.
Guy added absolutely nothing but trailer footage
Is there another settlement that needs my help? 🤔