For anyone complaining about the AI art: First of all, stop talking to me. Second of all, I couldn't care less. Spare me the virtue signaling. Do you want me to use traditional art? Give me the money to hire an artist. Until then, stop yapping your mouths. I will use whatever tools I have at my disposal to make whatever videos I want to make.
I just assumed you didn't have proper concept art to fill specific gaps. Most long-form discussions don't use custom artwork anyways so I didn't figure it made much difference.
The Origins' companion line-up was like a bunch of feral kittens - a little bitey, a little messy but you know deep down they just need some affection and milk to be won over to you and your goals. DA2's motley crew was like feral raccoons - probably shouldn't be handled without extreme care, pose a real danger to each other and you but once you have them to your side, there'll be no one more loyal to you. Inquisition's band (save 1) were a pack of bred doodles - loveable and a little empty-headed, they pose some harm if not handled properly but it won't take nearly as much effort to win them over. Veilgaurd's companions were like stuffed animals.
Inquisition's companions are a bunch of trained dogs. They are capable of danger and violence but they are already trained, by someome else. The game's about managing to shift that training to follow you instead of previous masters/trainers.
thats really an interesting way to look at lmao. but i think DA2's companions are more like a pack of Dogs. Only ones who will definitely bite are Fenris, Carver and maybe Isabella depending if shes not in the mood and you dont play with her or you touch her toy. Anders on otherhand is more like a tame street dog with rabis.
Zevran is my absolute fave companion in all DA games. Failguard can only dream of writing such characters. Thank you for fleshing out why these characters for and by the "modern" audience fall so short.
Didn't finish watching yet, but just wanted to comment... Zevran: Depressed guy raised to be an Antivan Crow since childhood who wanted to die after finding out he was manipulated into murdering the woman he loved, but miraculously survived(If we allowed him), hiding his regrets behind humor, and flirtiness. Anders(Although honestly I don't like how they changed him for DA2 and preferred how he was in Awakening...): A mage who wanted freedom for the mages in Southern Thedas, allowing a spirit to join with him which in turn ended up turning into a demon. Knows he is an abomination, and sometimes loses control of the demon inside(Which might cause people to die if Hawke doesn't intervene) but feels he has to do radical things(And effectively becomes a terrorist no matter what we do...) in order to cause change for the better. Lucanis: An Antivan Crow assassin who likes coffee. And has a demon inside I guess, but that demon is laughably cartoonish, and pretty much harmless(Times when he loses control of Spite are treated as little more than jokes). Also a good cook. Did I mention he likes coffee yet? Coffee Coffee Coffee Coffee Coffee Coffee Cooking Coffee Coffee Coffee Coffee Coffee Coffee Coffee Coffee Coffee
@@kayne8222 Yeah, Spite is just childish and cartoony... more vengeful than spiteful if anything considering he wants revenge on the woman mage who joined him and Lucanis together, and then revenge on obvious Crow traitor from Lucanis' storyline that I could see coming from the very first scene I seen him in(Which Spite seems to forget about after we defeat him as the traitor is spared no matter what it seems).
Also, the Crows were this unscrupulous cold hearted guild of assassins that killed their own if they failed a single mission, yet in Dreadwolf (i refuse to call this game the V word) somehow they are this honorable Italian Mafia with principles and stuff, yeah .. right!
Really hoping that Fenris is part of your comparison for Neve. Seeing as he would have actually had a reason to be part of the Shadow Dragons, and his interactions with Dorian would have been amazing to see.
Ah Lucanis. The man who was supposed to be a risky mage killer with a demon inside him and we instead got a schizo care bear obsessed with coffee. A Coffee Demon instead of the Demon of Vyrantium.
The modern gaming industry feels like a Donnie Darko time loop-every cycle, you hope for something meaningful, but all you get is remakes, microtransactions, and the haunting sense that the golden age was just a dream you can’t wake up from.
You know what will be interesting? He got into the influence of the Demon of Spite, kills his grandmother, and regain consciousness discovering her dead and his hands covered in blood. In his mind, the demon planted a false narrative, and he believes that version. Not until Rook comes into his life, that he started to pick up the pieces and finally, when he discovered the truth about his grandmother and also all the people that had partnered with him died because of him, it broke him. And his life depends on his relationship with Rook, and how well Rook manages to help Lucanis gain strength from the influence of the demon in him. Whether Rook will succeed in helping him conquer the demon for good, or forced to end Lucanis' life because he is too far gone.
Lucanis was written by the same person that wrote Varric. I wonder how much Mary Kirby had to water down the character and how did BioWare changed him after she was fired. To be a bit silly: Anders and Justice just followed Nathaniel's suggestion 😅 Nathaniel: What if you found a living body to possess? Justice: Even if I knew how, I would not possess the living. Such is an act for demons. Nathaniel: What if the person were willing? Justice: Why would a mortal ever allow such a thing? Nathaniel: For life. For love. Perhaps together, you can do what they cannot do alone. If you gave instead of taking, I would consider you no demon. Justice: It is...something to consider. Thank you, Nathaniel.
Ah yes, tell me more of coffee. Lucanis is not really possessed. He has an imaginary friend that he talks to. Also coffee. It would have been really cool if having Lucanis around was a genuine risk to the team. Maybe at some point you could be given a choice where you would have to kill him or free him from the demon depending on how you interacted with him throughout the game.
Funny enough, there's a moment where the writers try to plant the "perhaps Lucanis is hallucinating" ideas only to immediately confirm that he is 100% possessed.
They tried to do a little "if he falls asleep, it will be bad" but when they actually did it, he just tried to... Leave? And was completely unthreatening. Also, him needing coffee should be bittersweet, especially if he liked it before, because he should appreciate how it helps him stay awake (it also would hit a lot harder if it was something more intense than just coffee, with actual risks) but also hates that he must rely on it or else be a danger.
Warhammer 40K has Idira as one of your companions. Who's a Unsanctioned Psyker with unstable powers. She has various different fates that can happen to her based on your choices like handing her over to the Inquisition or allowing her to be possessed and turn into a mutated monster.
Agreed 100%, Anders' life was severely impacted by Justice, Lucanis is just possessed zero sugar diet lite diluted af version. Pretty wings aesthetic! Isn't that much cooler than having to seriously engage with the real darkness of a person when you see them being affected by it every day like with Anders or Fenris. Sigh.
The Crows (and the Grey Wardens) suffer the most from the watering down all the factions got into becoming “epic egalitarian rebels.” Like even the “training of orphans” part of the Crows gets sanitized. If you talk to Heir in the Crow’s base in Veilguard she’ll essentially explain that she and the Crows are effectively adopting street children who arent going to make it on their own so and teaching them how to survive which is just… no words. Lucanis ends up suffering from this too as his Italian mob family drama would’ve worked and been really funny and engaging if it had literally any of the grit or fucking fangs that crime family stories are supposed to have! He’s meant to be the “edgy” party member and for this game that means he hangs out in the pantry and “broods” (he never really broods ever either but the other characters say he does). He even has the same god awful imposter syndrome self doubt pls help my feelings rook im a smol bean breakdown that every other idiot character in this game has!
@@M99jj "Adopting street children who aren't going to make it on their own and teaching them how to survive" carries the same energy as those textbooks that say "black people were brought to America to help with chores."
The main problem I have with Lucanis is that he is not acting like a professional assassin even he keeps stating that he is. A professional assassin that knows that people are after him, that someone wants him dead won't as an example go to drink coffee in his favorite place and order the coffee himself. In fact he wouldn't drink any coffee since its a drink that is easy to poison. He wouldn't eat anything that he has not made himself with ingredient he knows could not be poisoned. He wouldn't give you information you don't need to know and he wouldn't be so open about having been possess by a demon.
I love your series on the characters of Dragon Age. The love you have for the series is shown thru the videos going into the lore and characters we have come to know over 15 years. PLEASE do Sten, Iron Bull and Tash. Hell, even the Arishok from DA 2. The qunari were at the top the list for my favorite parts of Dragon Age. I remember playing thru DA Origins and trying to get more than a 2 word answer from the intriguing mountain of a character that was Sten. To play thru the entirety of the game, to make the choice that saw my character die, and it be revealed that Sten did get back to his homeland, and was asked if he met anyone of a lesser race worthy of being in the qun. and to have Sten say "only one" Well after all my 100 plus hours of adventures with him and the rest, it created an ending for me personally that will never be forgotten. I can't wait for Nuhre to show us her take on the qunari.
Lucanis was so disappointing. A year of imprisonment, going through torture and more, and he's still chatty and quippy and happy and caring... I didn't know Tevinter-run prisons were so pleasant, to have turned out such a nice man ! His character is so illogical it's actually laughable... who learns to become a good cook when they're behind bars?? It's literally mind numbing.
@@SeventhheavenDK Even that had potential to be good! It's a very Gaara from Naruto -esque aspect of sleeping being dangerous, but it's so underwhelming. The Crows were trashed, the agony and dangers of having a spirit/demon inside him was nothing, etc. All the meat was there - why didn't they cook it? It would've been a delicious meal
@@thesecondromuluan8216 not as bad as fenris, as fenris was a slave for a long time, and isn't possessed by a demon. but certainly similarities that can coexist across both scenarios
This is why I adore Alistair. He’s not a static character, he has a personality, both negative and positive traits. This is why he will forever be my husbando.
Another great video, and i think you hit the mark uet again. Lucanis was made safe and we get told about his past and present events, rather than playing it out and seeing his character arc grow. It is super weird that at the end of Lucanis' story, he keeps his demon and just accepts his life as an abomination. Could have been a great character if they stuck with possession that was defined by earlier titles. Would love to see a man struggling to find himself again only to be met with spite in every step.
I did not like the way Anders evolved in DA2's gameplay, and by that i only mean the way they handled the friendship/enmity points and the triggers for romance and rejection. But yeah Anders was interesting, and his heel turn and what he did with the Chantry was a massive surprise. It's so sad how none of that matters in Veilguard. It's one thing to have a bad game in a franchise and series, it's another to completely ignore a whole legacy.
Video games should, majority of the time, "show-not-tell", i.e. guide me through it, don't tell me, make me work for it. Veilguard totally misses that which is why everything feels flat, unimaginative and down right insulting to people's intelligence
What I like in this channel is that this is more than just "Veilguard trash." But rather you show how the latest game falls flat compared to their own previous works.
Man, can you imagine if there was ever a moment a la Justice in the DLC where Spite takes over and you have to either calm him down or fight him?? This moment was already there! When Lucans snaps at Illario and Lucanis' VA gives the MOST emotion I've heard in the game. If that'd been a moment of snap decision making (do you fight Spite and risk hurting Lucanis? Do you trust him to stop and risk hurting Illario?) MAN. There was so much potential!
I find these vids funny. Its like your possessed by the HR demon. Its a big contrast to your live streams where you curse in almost all your sentence. Keep up the good content!
Lucanis couldve been such a gem of a character. Overall im less mad and more sad that the writing has fallen to such shit. Still mad as shit of course but the pain of seeing characters and lore butchered is overwhelming lol
Characters in Veilguard despite how much time we spend with them feel like sidekicks, characters in the previous games felt like a family, especially in Origins. Great analysis, I'm interested to see what comes next.
It is often overlooked that Anders isn’t just a mage or a willing abomination, he is also a Grey Warden. He entered the force and gave himself a future death sentence to escape the Circle and the Chantry and an immediate death sentence. What a bargain! Knowing that his time is limited even if he manages to evade the Templars forever has to impact him, maybe giving him a greater sense of urgency as the Blight eats away at him. He was always a dead man walking and no amount of therapy could have helped him. Honestly, he reminds me of “when the villain kinda be making sense.” I stand by Anders, in that the Chantry had to go. Shame about the methods. On Lucanis, the “scary inner demon is stronger when I sleep” was done so much better in Naruto.
I really can't believe that Mary Kirby, who wrote Loghain, Sten, Merrill, Varric, Vivienne, and lots of Qunari and Chantry stuff would write Lucanis in such a superficial way. I dread that one day we'll find out just what went on behind the scenes at Bioware and just how much of the original writing was scrapped or changed...
Everytime there was room for something "deeper" to explore with Lucanis, the game backed up immediately, as if they couldn't handle complexe writing. For example: when Spite took over and tried to leave the Lighthouse = no consequences, the second time it happens = same thing, was it that hard to make the stakes about him meaningful and rewarding when it mattered? It's also hard to believe in this character when he's out there enjoying life as if nothing had happened, which could have been ok if this was all a surface thing to later opening up more the same way Zevran did, you know basic stuff in a Mass Effect/Dragon Age game. But it's one of Veilguard's flaws: it cannot "paint" those characters with different shades because they don't have the right "tools". It doesn't give a chance to the player to dive into those characters' psychology at all, those 2 conversations with Zevran and Anders in the video are longer than any interactions in Veilguard, or even just more interesting. Lucanis should have been uncanny, dark, ambiguous, unpredictable and developed into a greater version that the old Bioware would have nailed. He shouldn't have been this friendly assassin from the start, there should have been a constant question of "who the fuck is he?". You talked about Lucanis' reaction to his grandma's death, but even the reactions of Teia and Vigo were more believable. The cafe scene in Treviso barely scratches the surface, and it's probably the best interaction to have with Lucanis. Problem is how dissociated he seems about the situation, it feels rewarding eventhough it happens quite early in the game... going to shop for everyone in the group? We just rescued him. He's a good metaphor of the game to me.
Another problem with Veilguard's characters is considering you're literally sitting in the end of the world and these people are adults, most of their issues should have already been resolved, and you're on a timer, this isn't Mass Effect 2. Especially Emmerich. He's like what, 60? And then With Lucanis, his issues are actually brand new, but he seems to have mostly resolved him, with only his cousin being his issue. Hell, in Veilguard, we find him he's already busting out on his own. He didn't seem to have needed rescue. At the very least Jack required Shepard to be released from cyrostasis before she started busting out of the prison. Your thoughts mirror my own on Zevran and Anders. Lucanis could have been cool, but in doing that, he would need a less...friendly personality. Which we can't have in dragon age anymore, oh no. Anders was interesting because as an abomination, he DID change, as did Justice with him, becoming Vengeance. The fact he's never heard from during the Mage/Templar war i think was a fucking crime. I know a lot of people would have just killed him in DA2. I did not.
Lucanis is so bad he managed to do impossible and made me say Anders had better writing. Like there was a time when Anders was by far the most controversial companion in Dragon Age and I still hate him however, Anders at least did struggle with Justice becoming Vengeance. I like his rivalry path because near the end he comes to terms that he's become an abomination and no longer has as much control over his actions as he thought and it's almost a mercy kill to stab him near the end of Dragon Age 2. As bad as Anders going on and on about the mages plight was he at least had conflict. Lucanis is such a dull boring character along with all the Antivan Crows. He is am assassin with no morally grey in him and Strife is so cartoonish i can't take Lucanis seriously. Why is an assassin guild so toothless its about as bad as a thieves guild that don't steal...oh wait... Regardless Lucanis like so much of the Veil Guard cast tries so hard to not make anybody hate them that they circled round to being the most hated cast. Everytime i see Lucanis i just think I'd rather have Zevran, much like everytime i see Bellara I'd much rather have Merrill, and really everyone in Veil Guard. Just God this game is such a letdown that keeps getting worse the more you think on it.
Another banger, thank you. This videos feed my love for dark characters. On paper Lucanis would of been a character I fall for. "ON PAPER" But his execution makes me hate him the most. I love the dark horse types, I gravitate to them more then any other type of character. However nothing enrages me more then a fake dark horse. I was a goth in my teen years, and let me tell you. Goths hate people who pretend to be goths. It's that person that wears a rock shirt without knowing the name of the band on the shirt. The person who wears gothic clothing to a prom because the want to stand out. The wannbe cool and edgy without having a drop of cool about them. And thus why Veilguard is superficial. When a writer is afraid to let their characters be bad people... No, when a person can only look at a person as good or bad and not process how they got there and the good still within? That right there is a fundamental flaw in not only understanding but the ability to writer characters different from yourself. I always consider the follow a good exercise in writing "Create a character that embodies every trait you can hate about a person, while also being able to understand and enjoy writing that character." It's a good exercise and very hard if not impossible to do for those who think in a black and white manner.
Ultimately the problem with Lucanis is that the demons, the assassins, all of that are secondary traits of the character at best. What defines him first is his love for his family, and his love for... coffee. Like every other character in Veilguard, there's is a sort of "kink" that defines them too much. Coffee, plants, magical artifacts, baby griffin, necromancy with a fancy skeletton, etc. There is no core to those characters, only a superficial addition. Anders had his cat during Awakening, and it worked. Bull had the Chargers, and it worked. Cassandra had romance novels, and it worked. Now just imagine if 90% of the dialogues of Cassandra were about how she loves romantic novels.
I saw someone comment on another video that Lucanis' story and romance originally was much darker and edgier. Not sure where they got that from, or if there is any proof to back that up. But I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.
On paper, you would think he was supposed to be very dark and edgy, and his love of coffee was meant to show an aspect of his humanity (like Anders love of cats).
Lucanis is wasted potential. They claim hes a dark character but he dont feel like it judging the writing. He feels more like a Disney-fied version of a assassin that dont cross lines at all. It dont make sense for him to be kind and caring if he had a dark past where people screwed him over.
The Veilgard backstories should have been shown instead if paragrphed. We ended up with a Rook mage, stupid and ignorant of magic and ignorant of his factions history. It also amazes me how vile the Crows were in DA 1, 2, & 3 and how Veilguard made them a novalty gang as if they were in West Side Story.
That is definitely what they have lost in Dragon Age Veilguard, complexity in characters and it is really noticeable when you replay the originals. You remember why you fell in love with the series and each playthrough is a joy to go through. Until you get to the latest… I won’t suffer it thankfully.
OOoh this was awesome!! Two of my favourite characters of any RPG, and one of the most disappointing of any RPG. I freaking adore Anders and Zevran. I feel proud as hells of both of them for very different reasons, every time I play through the games. Zevran because he manages to maintain his "humanity" and be the 'better man' after the mountain of pain and shite he's been through. Anders because I can fully understand the sheer exhaustion of growing up in a destructive cult when you KNOW you don't belong there, and wear the scars from the consequences of that knowledge. OK fair warning, I CANNOT talk about Anders without ranting in ways that make a lot of people unreasonably angry with me... rant incoming. Anyone wanting to "correct" me, save it, I've heard it all and I don't agree. I'm still angry about Anders' retconning in DA:2. I was SO excited to see this wild, free, angry man again... but this was the very first instance of BIoWare gaslighting their customers and saying "it's how it always was, you're wrong". "Justice" was supposed to willingly partner with Velana, and Anders was supposed to be hiding out as normal. I have to REALLY stamp down my disbelief to make myself swallow the idea that Anders of Awakening would EVER let himself be skin-ridden by a spirit like "Justice. He was far, FAR too proud and fiercely independent. For a start, my HOF would NEVER have treated him like that. It pisses me off that they made the HOF an utter asshole to Anders. She would have left the Wardens with him and helped him escape, not abandoned him or perpetuated his trauma!! She would have outright murdered anyone who threatened him or his cat. She was NOT a polite or subtle individual lol. That said, even with the retconning of his character, I was ALSO pissed that Hawke never had the chance to actually HELP him with his plans! I always play an anti-chantry Mage. Why could my Hawke not help him?! Ugh such a waste. If he'd had help his actions may have actually SAVED a lot of the circle mages instead of getting them killed. Even back then, BIoWare had started to drift from the "by whatever means necessary" style of role play. It's a crying shame. I accepted it (grudgingly) back then because of the EA bullying and time crunch, but the writing was already being written on the wall. It's heartbreaking 😞 When it's all said and done, the fact that I (and so many others) can FEEL so strongly about Anders, shows that - at least to start - he was written with enough depth that we gave a shit about him! With Lukanis, I couldn't care less. The one character in Veilguard I SHOULD have loved, and he seems... mildly annoying... That's it. Just mildly annoying lol. I didn't even care enough about ANY of the companions to buy the game. I've spend HOURS watching gameplay vids to see if there was anything in the game that would give me the slightest inclination to play, but... nothing. I don't care about the Veilguard companions at all, other than to skip videos with some of them in because they are TOO annoying. Even Oghren didn't manage that lol 🤷
Lucanis could've been such an amazing and complex character. I felt as though most of his problems and his trauma was overlooked by everyone, in favour of making him softie. We should have been able to explore his trauma and how that affected him on a deep level, both mentally and emotionally. We should have been able to see how it affected him, such as nightmares or avoiding physical contact. Earning his trust would have felt more worth it and we should have been able to watch him slowly open up to us, allowing him to become that good man he was. We could have become the first person he truly trusts since escaping his imprisonment and someone to have his back. We should have been able to witness how far Spite's influence went and his struggle to stay in control. We're never really told how much energy it mentally takes to keep a demon at bay. The times we do see how dangerous Spite can be, it's quickly pushed to the side and barely mentioned again by anyone. A follow up conversation after Spite tried to leave could've given us more insight to how Spite behaves and how exhausting it is to keep control. Spite feels like a cartoon villain who just there for you to laugh at and not a powerful demon who could harm those Lucanis cares about To me, Lucanis' potential was thrown out of the window in favour for playing it safe.
Lucanis aka “The Coffee Man” is truly a wasted character and honestly I forgot he was possessed I only remember whenever spite speaks which is at random times. Also as a Latino his super forced accent really bothers me lmao! Good video nuhre!
A very well done analysis! The other character I was unintentionally comparing Lucanis to is Astarion from BG3. And I was baffled by Lucanis's interaction with Zara. I was expecting at least a fraction of Astarion's confrontation with Cazador, but what we got is so lame, jeez.
I've played through Inquisition for the first time in '24, and while it's nowhere near origins, the characters are very well presented, I've had the option to make fun out of Iron Bulls gang, and Krem in particular, laughed through Bulls training of Krem cutscene, and ***spoilers*** sacrificed the whole mercenary brigade, to remind Bull his oath and what it means to be a qunari. And this act felt like a decision, not just an option on a soulless "dialogue" wheel. Refreshing to see in-depth takes on the characters.
I didn't much care for Zevran in Origins. It's been a long time since I played it, but I think I'll start it up soon and give Zevran another chance. I was too busy making moon eyes over Alistair. Thank you for the depth you went to covering these characters. I'm learning a lot about the lore I either didn't know or forgot.
This is a really look back. I can't play origins or 2 because I no longer have my 360 but have the games still lol. Nuhre thank you for this video. I hear passion in your voice going over this. It's what alot of games suffer a lack of. Bioware falls into that unfortunately. I been playing mass effect 1-3. I'm like wtf. Sensitive snowflakes ruined these great franchises
Hi! Ive been enjoying your videos for quite some time, sharing similiar thoughts and silently cheering for every milestone of yours but since I dont see any discussions about it here I just wanted to ask about your stance on AI? Its very present in your recent videos and I wonder what is your thought process.
I use it as a tool to put my visions about what the game or, in this case, characters, could've been into a visual medial. If I was in a position financially where I could hire and work closely with an artist, I would. But I am not. There is still a vision for my videos that I want to deliver, and AI helps me achieve that.
Veilguard characters lack any kind of conflict - not with each other and not internalized. At least nothing that goes beyond an exposition dump ("Look, I am tragic, I am an assasin...") or a kindergarten-level one-time dialog where Rook comes in and solves everything by telling them to play nice. And this lack of conflict makes the companions hollow. Basically a checkbox. There is a peculiar scene near the endgame in Veilguard where a banter can be activated between Lucanis and Solas of all people, where Solas offers Lucanis to separate him from Spite safely. Knowing how Anders struggled to control Vengeance, one would think that the proposal would give Lucanis pause. But not in Veilguard. The entire thing is brushed off with a bad joke from Lucanis. Which just shows off how little the writers understood of how horrible possession can get the in the world of Dragon Age. Edit: this is a great video, and the "coffee" thing in DAV is peak cringe.
I like that saying "finding the right notes without finding the melody". That was a perfect description of the character development and dialogue of this game. I think Darvin, Lucanis, and Taash had a lot of storytelling potential that was wasted.
I stand by my view that Anders' personality retcon is just as bad as Morrigan, Isabela and Solas' is in Veilguard. They used EXACTLY the same talking points back then to explain his changes, including him becoming bi, as they do to handwave everything in Veilguard. These people has been destroying games for that long.
I love all companions from Origins. They are all my friends and close people, even though they are fictional characters :) and Zevran is an absolute diamond among them. The current scenarists will never write a character that you will love with all his problems and flaws, just for being who he is. These people don't understand how it works at all. And I am double offended that such a potential as Lucanis had was simply put under the knife :(
I really like Anders in both games. A traumatized man who hides his pain behind jokes and snarkiness (Awakening) and then in 2 he actually tries to do something in one of the most oppressive cities for mages until his desperation gets the better of him.. I build that man like a healing tank who in that Legacy DLC one hit KO'd Fenris. Had to pause because I had tears from laughing. Fenris forgot what Anders was and he paid dearly for it
Two lore videos back, you were sort of belittling yourself as a writer because you write fanfiction. I'm sorry (not really sorry) to tell you, but you are absolutely a writer. This analysis was so good, just like the previous two. This was just as enjoyable as reading or listening to a good story. As much as I liked the DA companions from the previous games (mainly Origins and DA2) for their excellent writing and fleshed out personalities before, hearing these in-depth insights about them in these videos makes me appreciate them as the compelling characters that they are even more. Your deep dives just emphasize one of the biggest problems with Veilguard: the companions are (for the most part) like empty present-wrapped boxes- pretty packaging with little to no substance inside. Even the major support cast suffers from this, like Isabella, whose character has been massacred, hollowed out and made into a vessel for virtue-signalling that is laughably lacking in self-awareness. You put it very well in describing them as archetypal cookie-cutter personalities. There is nothing particularly deep, meaningful or unique about them. Lucanis, who comes with the most potential for all the things that made us DA fans like or at least appreciate the past companions, is indeed the worst offender. That points to another possible problem, not directly with Veilguard but with the newer people who came to work on it in place of the senior Biowere staff who left or were let go: there is a clear impression that some of them are low effort, small minded and lazy; they had things to work with, yet they dropped the ball and left those barely explored and mostly undeveloped. Final side note: excellent title for the video, particularly in relation to Zevran and Anders. "Heart, Spirit, Shadow"- each of these words can be applied to either of them with unique and specific to them meanings as an explored element of their characters (maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it's an extra that I derived from this video).
The title was on purpose, yes. Thank you so much for your kind words. As a writer, I have always been my biggest critic. I'm getting better at dealing with that. These videos help me explore a side of my writing I haven't touched on before. I am glad you enjoyed them. I have fun making them
@@nuhre A person being a critic of themselves isn't a bad thing, in my opinion. It's a good balancing trait for confidence. That, in my opinion, is what motivates people to grow and improve. Imagine what Veilguard could look like if the people who took over the project in the later development cycles were more critical of their work and writing. 10 years in the making and this is the best they could do? I don't think so. But quality work like yours deserves a good word :) Definitely enjoying your videos. Looking forward to seeing what you make make going forward.
Appreciate you covering and comparing the characters and content throughout the game. It's excellently done. I wish we got so much better out of the Veilguard companions, it would have made that BS Illuminati secret ending a bit less painful.
Could you make the next video about Sten, Iron Bull and Taash? Especially since Taash, while claiming to follow the Qun, her entire way of life and powers are the antithesis of what the Qun preach. Also how the Qun has changed from Origins to Veilguard. That would be interesting.
I like Lucanis (it's all the accent, he reminds me of Zevran, can't help it), but..i still feel like ALL veilguard companions are rough drafts, even Vivienne was written better. Major disappointment.
TLDR; Origins is the most important game in the series for continuity and Veilguard is a cheap attempt at retconning everything with thinly veiled fan service. I added a version of how I thought the game should have generally gone for a smash hit. Origins is what made the possibility for the rest to exist. It set the precedent, the history, the timeline, the beauty of a dark world that needed saving. Veilguard is an attempt at sidelining and rewriting the original. Veilguard will be forgotten, Origins will remain. Exactly like Lord of the Rings and the Rings of Power. People forget that not everything new is innovation. Many things today are a step back in terms of quality and appeal. Veilguard should have been an instant hit. Bringing old choices to a close, the hero of fereldan back into the fold, potentially hawk from the fade (if you left him) , obviously the inquisitor, and rook. It should have been rook becoming a hero while finding and gathering the heroes of old that have been captured or missing by the old gods and venatori intervention. All the companions could have stayed (with better nuanced writing) to grow and reveal themselves along the way. The game could have ended with the HoF either dying / sacrificing themselves, hawk returning with Varric (he didn’t need to die) or hawk and Varric die, the inquisitor lives or sacrifices themselves / decides to take solas place in the fade if they absorbed Mythals soul, and rook could have been the catalyst to help each one reach their choices and ultimately be the one to make the final blow to the old gods / dragons. This is one way they could have made the game and at the same time prepare the story for a fresh beginning. Instead they had no idea what to do with the game and had to put out whatever they had and polish a turd after ten years of misguided development.
I think this lack of depth in writing is not just due to incompetence on the writers (which is notable), but also in service to the action combat. The boxy corridors and arenas, the lack of deep dialogue options, the simpleness of companion in both mechanics and characterization, the lack of any mystery in storytelling, all facilitates more combat. Why choose a dialogue heavy peaceful solution to a complex dilemma? Why even have a complex dilemma in your "quests"? Don't you just want to bash more heads in with your fancy combos and detonators? Why drag your self down with boring companion dialogues when you can spout off one-liners when showing off your damage numbers on this boss? These are probably the internal dialogue writers have when designing this game.
Bioware could've realized their non-binary shit in Lucanis (or Harding). He could've been more lore-friendly with it, than Traash. However, the developers of Veilguard have no talent to create immersivity
After going back and playing origins after the playing veilguard it just makes me more mad... Veilguard should have been dragon age equivalent to end game with solas being our Thanos majors choices from the last 3 games all coming together for a grand finale but nope...
I love Zevran a lot. Such an interesting character that (in his own way) confesses his love for Warden and shows he cares. Thank you for mentioning him.💖
I haven't played Veilguard so I was really hoping you'd describe the major story beats of this character but instead you focused almost completely on Anders and Zevran. Great characters but how can I put them against Lucantis if I barely know anything about him? From what I understand, each companion has something like 4 or 5 story missions in Veilguard, I wanted to understand what we learn about Lucantis, his mannerisms, does he do anything extreme, how much emotions does he display, what is this character's supposed resolution in this game? Alas, I'm left wanting, still great video I really appreciate this character specific breakdowns.
Because there's no that much to know about him. He's basically a mafia heir who likes coffee and cooking, and his relationship with Spite is one more akin to dealing with an annoying roommate than dealing with an actual demon. He had a lot of potential, but there's no depth to him. Even his romance is the most boring out of all of them.
@@nuhre Yeah I understand. It's hard to talk about a character when he's so boringly written. Too bad I had high hopes for Lucantis, he seemed the most interesting to me on the surface.
Another great video but I REALLY have to stop watching these the day you upload them😭 I can only watch these at night which is when I am done with work but these always give me that nostalgic feeling of playing DAO for the first time and all those emotions that only old DA games could invoke🥲 that I end up feeling nostalgic of my childhood for the rest of the night and trying to resist replaying dao all over again🥲THIS is what we wanted from DATV. THIS is what they took from us😭Love your videos, as always 🥰
@@Tarionsstan How about you give Nuhre all the money so she can commission artist. You can also make a bunch of art and give it to her for free, so you don't have to suffer from staring at AI art. Until you do these things, shut up. This video is a character analysis and not a video about art.
@@Brandon-ph8dv when have art on preview start be an important thing? like 99 % youtubers don't have art, you can`t make screen from game and wrote some text ? you are poor delusional thing
@@Tarionsstan How are you a better person than her, especially in the context of leaving not one but two rude comments in her video's comment section? First you tell her what to do, and then you patronize her in response to her response. That doesn't make you a better person, it makes you rude and out of line. A little constructive suggestion: you can listen to this and similar videos without actually watching, if AI art bothers you so much, and derive as much value from them, as what is said in the video is the main substance of it. The visuals are examples of the subjects discussed and a focal aid for viewers to clarify what or who she is speaking about, but are not strictly necessary.
For anyone complaining about the AI art:
First of all, stop talking to me.
Second of all, I couldn't care less.
Spare me the virtue signaling. Do you want me to use traditional art? Give me the money to hire an artist. Until then, stop yapping your mouths. I will use whatever tools I have at my disposal to make whatever videos I want to make.
"Nooooooooo... you have to spend $600 to commission four hours of work from a starving artist! You are a horrible person, please give me money..."
Paying an artist for commission for like any pictures is expensive to begin with. I don't blame you for AI usage.
Oh ffs. They look great. You still crafted them, you just didn't use traditional materials. They're beautiful. Can't we just enjoy nice things 😒
Not complaining, I actually want them for wallpapers lol
I just assumed you didn't have proper concept art to fill specific gaps. Most long-form discussions don't use custom artwork anyways so I didn't figure it made much difference.
The Origins' companion line-up was like a bunch of feral kittens - a little bitey, a little messy but you know deep down they just need some affection and milk to be won over to you and your goals.
DA2's motley crew was like feral raccoons - probably shouldn't be handled without extreme care, pose a real danger to each other and you but once you have them to your side, there'll be no one more loyal to you.
Inquisition's band (save 1) were a pack of bred doodles - loveable and a little empty-headed, they pose some harm if not handled properly but it won't take nearly as much effort to win them over.
Veilgaurd's companions were like stuffed animals.
Inquisition's companions are a bunch of trained dogs.
They are capable of danger and violence but they are already trained, by someome else. The game's about managing to shift that training to follow you instead of previous masters/trainers.
thats really an interesting way to look at lmao. but i think DA2's companions are more like a pack of Dogs. Only ones who will definitely bite are Fenris, Carver and maybe Isabella depending if shes not in the mood and you dont play with her or you touch her toy. Anders on otherhand is more like a tame street dog with rabis.
Zevran is my absolute fave companion in all DA games. Failguard can only dream of writing such characters. Thank you for fleshing out why these characters for and by the "modern" audience fall so short.
Didn't finish watching yet, but just wanted to comment...
Zevran: Depressed guy raised to be an Antivan Crow since childhood who wanted to die after finding out he was manipulated into murdering the woman he loved, but miraculously survived(If we allowed him), hiding his regrets behind humor, and flirtiness.
Anders(Although honestly I don't like how they changed him for DA2 and preferred how he was in Awakening...): A mage who wanted freedom for the mages in Southern Thedas, allowing a spirit to join with him which in turn ended up turning into a demon. Knows he is an abomination, and sometimes loses control of the demon inside(Which might cause people to die if Hawke doesn't intervene) but feels he has to do radical things(And effectively becomes a terrorist no matter what we do...) in order to cause change for the better.
Lucanis: An Antivan Crow assassin who likes coffee. And has a demon inside I guess, but that demon is laughably cartoonish, and pretty much harmless(Times when he loses control of Spite are treated as little more than jokes). Also a good cook. Did I mention he likes coffee yet? Coffee Coffee Coffee Coffee Coffee Coffee Cooking Coffee Coffee Coffee Coffee Coffee Coffee Coffee Coffee Coffee
Yea and I don't think I can't recall the SPITE demon ever saying anything spiteful, well said
@@kayne8222 Yeah, Spite is just childish and cartoony... more vengeful than spiteful if anything considering he wants revenge on the woman mage who joined him and Lucanis together, and then revenge on obvious Crow traitor from Lucanis' storyline that I could see coming from the very first scene I seen him in(Which Spite seems to forget about after we defeat him as the traitor is spared no matter what it seems).
Also, the Crows were this unscrupulous cold hearted guild of assassins that killed their own if they failed a single mission, yet in Dreadwolf (i refuse to call this game the V word) somehow they are this honorable Italian Mafia with principles and stuff, yeah .. right!
Really hoping that Fenris is part of your comparison for Neve. Seeing as he would have actually had a reason to be part of the Shadow Dragons, and his interactions with Dorian would have been amazing to see.
Omg WHY DIDN'T THEY DO THAT!!!! I WANTED FENRIS 😭
even shale should been there too did she become dwarf or stay as golem and all you hear her complain about the bird and do holy war on them
Ah Lucanis. The man who was supposed to be a risky mage killer with a demon inside him and we instead got a schizo care bear obsessed with coffee.
A Coffee Demon instead of the Demon of Vyrantium.
The modern gaming industry feels like a Donnie Darko time loop-every cycle, you hope for something meaningful, but all you get is remakes, microtransactions, and the haunting sense that the golden age was just a dream you can’t wake up from.
same with the movie industry...
You don't love people because they are flawless, you love them with their flaws included, same with characters.
You know what will be interesting? He got into the influence of the Demon of Spite, kills his grandmother, and regain consciousness discovering her dead and his hands covered in blood. In his mind, the demon planted a false narrative, and he believes that version. Not until Rook comes into his life, that he started to pick up the pieces and finally, when he discovered the truth about his grandmother and also all the people that had partnered with him died because of him, it broke him. And his life depends on his relationship with Rook, and how well Rook manages to help Lucanis gain strength from the influence of the demon in him. Whether Rook will succeed in helping him conquer the demon for good, or forced to end Lucanis' life because he is too far gone.
Lucanis was written by the same person that wrote Varric. I wonder how much Mary Kirby had to water down the character and how did BioWare changed him after she was fired.
To be a bit silly: Anders and Justice just followed Nathaniel's suggestion 😅
Nathaniel: What if you found a living body to possess?
Justice: Even if I knew how, I would not possess the living. Such is an act for demons.
Nathaniel: What if the person were willing?
Justice: Why would a mortal ever allow such a thing?
Nathaniel: For life. For love. Perhaps together, you can do what they cannot do alone. If you gave instead of taking, I would consider you no demon.
Justice: It is...something to consider. Thank you, Nathaniel.
Considering Varric isn't a redhead anymore, I guess they changed a LOT about Lucanis.
Probably enough water to hydrate the Sahara
Mary Kirby was defending Failguard not so long ago, along with Weekes.
So it's kind of safe to assume that Lucanis was all hers.
@@SeventhheavenDK It's legit funny how hard she defended Veilguard only to get fired.
@SeventhheavenDK Whyyyyyy?? Didn't they kick the pair of them to the curb??? Why are they defending this shill?? I don't understand 😩
Ah yes, tell me more of coffee. Lucanis is not really possessed. He has an imaginary friend that he talks to. Also coffee. It would have been really cool if having Lucanis around was a genuine risk to the team. Maybe at some point you could be given a choice where you would have to kill him or free him from the demon depending on how you interacted with him throughout the game.
Funny enough, there's a moment where the writers try to plant the "perhaps Lucanis is hallucinating" ideas only to immediately confirm that he is 100% possessed.
They tried to do a little "if he falls asleep, it will be bad" but when they actually did it, he just tried to... Leave? And was completely unthreatening.
Also, him needing coffee should be bittersweet, especially if he liked it before, because he should appreciate how it helps him stay awake (it also would hit a lot harder if it was something more intense than just coffee, with actual risks) but also hates that he must rely on it or else be a danger.
Warhammer 40K has Idira as one of your companions. Who's a Unsanctioned Psyker with unstable powers. She has various different fates that can happen to her based on your choices like handing her over to the Inquisition or allowing her to be possessed and turn into a mutated monster.
Agreed 100%, Anders' life was severely impacted by Justice, Lucanis is just possessed zero sugar diet lite diluted af version. Pretty wings aesthetic! Isn't that much cooler than having to seriously engage with the real darkness of a person when you see them being affected by it every day like with Anders or Fenris. Sigh.
The Crows (and the Grey Wardens) suffer the most from the watering down all the factions got into becoming “epic egalitarian rebels.” Like even the “training of orphans” part of the Crows gets sanitized. If you talk to Heir in the Crow’s base in Veilguard she’ll essentially explain that she and the Crows are effectively adopting street children who arent going to make it on their own so and teaching them how to survive which is just… no words. Lucanis ends up suffering from this too as his Italian mob family drama would’ve worked and been really funny and engaging if it had literally any of the grit or fucking fangs that crime family stories are supposed to have! He’s meant to be the “edgy” party member and for this game that means he hangs out in the pantry and “broods” (he never really broods ever either but the other characters say he does). He even has the same god awful imposter syndrome self doubt pls help my feelings rook im a smol bean breakdown that every other idiot character in this game has!
@@M99jj "Adopting street children who aren't going to make it on their own and teaching them how to survive" carries the same energy as those textbooks that say "black people were brought to America to help with chores."
The main problem I have with Lucanis is that he is not acting like a professional assassin even he keeps stating that he is. A professional assassin that knows that people are after him, that someone wants him dead won't as an example go to drink coffee in his favorite place and order the coffee himself. In fact he wouldn't drink any coffee since its a drink that is easy to poison. He wouldn't eat anything that he has not made himself with ingredient he knows could not be poisoned. He wouldn't give you information you don't need to know and he wouldn't be so open about having been possess by a demon.
What do you think he is? An Antivan Crow?
Anders is one of the few characters that I legitimately hate. That's a sign of good writing.
I love your series on the characters of Dragon Age. The love you have for the series is shown thru the videos going into the lore and characters we have come to know over 15 years. PLEASE do Sten, Iron Bull and Tash. Hell, even the Arishok from DA 2. The qunari were at the top the list for my favorite parts of Dragon Age. I remember playing thru DA Origins and trying to get more than a 2 word answer from the intriguing mountain of a character that was Sten. To play thru the entirety of the game, to make the choice that saw my character die, and it be revealed that Sten did get back to his homeland, and was asked if he met anyone of a lesser race worthy of being in the qun. and to have Sten say "only one"
Well after all my 100 plus hours of adventures with him and the rest, it created an ending for me personally that will never be forgotten. I can't wait for Nuhre to show us her take on the qunari.
Lucanis was so disappointing. A year of imprisonment, going through torture and more, and he's still chatty and quippy and happy and caring... I didn't know Tevinter-run prisons were so pleasant, to have turned out such a nice man ! His character is so illogical it's actually laughable... who learns to become a good cook when they're behind bars?? It's literally mind numbing.
You'd at least REASONABLY think he'd end up about as bad as Fenris.
He only cares about coffee.
@@SeventhheavenDK Even that had potential to be good! It's a very Gaara from Naruto -esque aspect of sleeping being dangerous, but it's so underwhelming.
The Crows were trashed, the agony and dangers of having a spirit/demon inside him was nothing, etc. All the meat was there - why didn't they cook it? It would've been a delicious meal
@@thesecondromuluan8216 not as bad as fenris, as fenris was a slave for a long time, and isn't possessed by a demon. but certainly similarities that can coexist across both scenarios
This is why I adore Alistair. He’s not a static character, he has a personality, both negative and positive traits. This is why he will forever be my husbando.
He is the classic archetype of prince charming.
@@roiking2740 He's not really, which is why I like him all the more, Lol.
Another great video, and i think you hit the mark uet again. Lucanis was made safe and we get told about his past and present events, rather than playing it out and seeing his character arc grow. It is super weird that at the end of Lucanis' story, he keeps his demon and just accepts his life as an abomination. Could have been a great character if they stuck with possession that was defined by earlier titles. Would love to see a man struggling to find himself again only to be met with spite in every step.
I think so too
The writers for Lucanis could've taken a que from Divinity Original Sin 2 and been inspired by Lohse
I did not like the way Anders evolved in DA2's gameplay, and by that i only mean the way they handled the friendship/enmity points and the triggers for romance and rejection. But yeah Anders was interesting, and his heel turn and what he did with the Chantry was a massive surprise. It's so sad how none of that matters in Veilguard. It's one thing to have a bad game in a franchise and series, it's another to completely ignore a whole legacy.
oh they didn't ignore it, they spat on it, shat on it and threw it out the airlock
Video games should, majority of the time, "show-not-tell", i.e. guide me through it, don't tell me, make me work for it. Veilguard totally misses that which is why everything feels flat, unimaginative and down right insulting to people's intelligence
What I like in this channel is that this is more than just "Veilguard trash." But rather you show how the latest game falls flat compared to their own previous works.
Man, can you imagine if there was ever a moment a la Justice in the DLC where Spite takes over and you have to either calm him down or fight him??
This moment was already there! When Lucans snaps at Illario and Lucanis' VA gives the MOST emotion I've heard in the game. If that'd been a moment of snap decision making (do you fight Spite and risk hurting Lucanis? Do you trust him to stop and risk hurting Illario?) MAN. There was so much potential!
I find these vids funny. Its like your possessed by the HR demon. Its a big contrast to your live streams where you curse in almost all your sentence.
Keep up the good content!
I lost my dad 30 years ago, but I still remember the deep depression I fell into, I could have played Lucanis much better
Lucanis couldve been such a gem of a character. Overall im less mad and more sad that the writing has fallen to such shit. Still mad as shit of course but the pain of seeing characters and lore butchered is overwhelming lol
Yeah, I went through the 5 stages of grief with veilguard. 😅😂
This clearly shows that We really love Dragon Age, but it hurts to see it go down.😥😥
When you look at Veilguard's characters and see a one dimensional caricature instead of a person, remember that they are reflections of the writers.
Characters in Veilguard despite how much time we spend with them feel like sidekicks, characters in the previous games felt like a family, especially in Origins. Great analysis, I'm interested to see what comes next.
The inital trailer for the game is accurate. They want the game to be an action comedy, not a dark fantasy.
It is often overlooked that Anders isn’t just a mage or a willing abomination, he is also a Grey Warden. He entered the force and gave himself a future death sentence to escape the Circle and the Chantry and an immediate death sentence. What a bargain! Knowing that his time is limited even if he manages to evade the Templars forever has to impact him, maybe giving him a greater sense of urgency as the Blight eats away at him. He was always a dead man walking and no amount of therapy could have helped him.
Honestly, he reminds me of “when the villain kinda be making sense.” I stand by Anders, in that the Chantry had to go. Shame about the methods.
On Lucanis, the “scary inner demon is stronger when I sleep” was done so much better in Naruto.
Or Project ARMS with Ryo and the Jabberwock AI inside his right arm.
I really can't believe that Mary Kirby, who wrote Loghain, Sten, Merrill, Varric, Vivienne, and lots of Qunari and Chantry stuff would write Lucanis in such a superficial way. I dread that one day we'll find out just what went on behind the scenes at Bioware and just how much of the original writing was scrapped or changed...
They fired her. Why would they respect her original writing? I'm sure they've reshaped Lucanis in their image.
Everytime there was room for something "deeper" to explore with Lucanis, the game backed up immediately, as if they couldn't handle complexe writing. For example: when Spite took over and tried to leave the Lighthouse = no consequences, the second time it happens = same thing, was it that hard to make the stakes about him meaningful and rewarding when it mattered?
It's also hard to believe in this character when he's out there enjoying life as if nothing had happened, which could have been ok if this was all a surface thing to later opening up more the same way Zevran did, you know basic stuff in a Mass Effect/Dragon Age game. But it's one of Veilguard's flaws: it cannot "paint" those characters with different shades because they don't have the right "tools". It doesn't give a chance to the player to dive into those characters' psychology at all, those 2 conversations with Zevran and Anders in the video are longer than any interactions in Veilguard, or even just more interesting.
Lucanis should have been uncanny, dark, ambiguous, unpredictable and developed into a greater version that the old Bioware would have nailed. He shouldn't have been this friendly assassin from the start, there should have been a constant question of "who the fuck is he?". You talked about Lucanis' reaction to his grandma's death, but even the reactions of Teia and Vigo were more believable. The cafe scene in Treviso barely scratches the surface, and it's probably the best interaction to have with Lucanis. Problem is how dissociated he seems about the situation, it feels rewarding eventhough it happens quite early in the game... going to shop for everyone in the group? We just rescued him.
He's a good metaphor of the game to me.
Another problem with Veilguard's characters is considering you're literally sitting in the end of the world and these people are adults, most of their issues should have already been resolved, and you're on a timer, this isn't Mass Effect 2. Especially Emmerich. He's like what, 60? And then With Lucanis, his issues are actually brand new, but he seems to have mostly resolved him, with only his cousin being his issue. Hell, in Veilguard, we find him he's already busting out on his own. He didn't seem to have needed rescue. At the very least Jack required Shepard to be released from cyrostasis before she started busting out of the prison.
Your thoughts mirror my own on Zevran and Anders. Lucanis could have been cool, but in doing that, he would need a less...friendly personality. Which we can't have in dragon age anymore, oh no.
Anders was interesting because as an abomination, he DID change, as did Justice with him, becoming Vengeance. The fact he's never heard from during the Mage/Templar war i think was a fucking crime. I know a lot of people would have just killed him in DA2. I did not.
Lucanis is so bad he managed to do impossible and made me say Anders had better writing.
Like there was a time when Anders was by far the most controversial companion in Dragon Age and I still hate him however, Anders at least did struggle with Justice becoming Vengeance.
I like his rivalry path because near the end he comes to terms that he's become an abomination and no longer has as much control over his actions as he thought and it's almost a mercy kill to stab him near the end of Dragon Age 2.
As bad as Anders going on and on about the mages plight was he at least had conflict.
Lucanis is such a dull boring character along with all the Antivan Crows. He is am assassin with no morally grey in him and Strife is so cartoonish i can't take Lucanis seriously.
Why is an assassin guild so toothless its about as bad as a thieves guild that don't steal...oh wait...
Regardless Lucanis like so much of the Veil Guard cast tries so hard to not make anybody hate them that they circled round to being the most hated cast.
Everytime i see Lucanis i just think I'd rather have Zevran, much like everytime i see Bellara I'd much rather have Merrill, and really everyone in Veil Guard.
Just God this game is such a letdown that keeps getting worse the more you think on it.
Another banger, thank you. This videos feed my love for dark characters. On paper Lucanis would of been a character I fall for. "ON PAPER" But his execution makes me hate him the most. I love the dark horse types, I gravitate to them more then any other type of character. However nothing enrages me more then a fake dark horse. I was a goth in my teen years, and let me tell you. Goths hate people who pretend to be goths. It's that person that wears a rock shirt without knowing the name of the band on the shirt. The person who wears gothic clothing to a prom because the want to stand out. The wannbe cool and edgy without having a drop of cool about them.
And thus why Veilguard is superficial. When a writer is afraid to let their characters be bad people... No, when a person can only look at a person as good or bad and not process how they got there and the good still within? That right there is a fundamental flaw in not only understanding but the ability to writer characters different from yourself. I always consider the follow a good exercise in writing "Create a character that embodies every trait you can hate about a person, while also being able to understand and enjoy writing that character." It's a good exercise and very hard if not impossible to do for those who think in a black and white manner.
Ultimately the problem with Lucanis is that the demons, the assassins, all of that are secondary traits of the character at best. What defines him first is his love for his family, and his love for... coffee.
Like every other character in Veilguard, there's is a sort of "kink" that defines them too much. Coffee, plants, magical artifacts, baby griffin, necromancy with a fancy skeletton, etc. There is no core to those characters, only a superficial addition.
Anders had his cat during Awakening, and it worked. Bull had the Chargers, and it worked. Cassandra had romance novels, and it worked. Now just imagine if 90% of the dialogues of Cassandra were about how she loves romantic novels.
I saw someone comment on another video that Lucanis' story and romance originally was much darker and edgier. Not sure where they got that from, or if there is any proof to back that up. But I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.
On paper, you would think he was supposed to be very dark and edgy, and his love of coffee was meant to show an aspect of his humanity (like Anders love of cats).
Lucanis is wasted potential. They claim hes a dark character but he dont feel like it judging the writing. He feels more like a Disney-fied version of a assassin that dont cross lines at all. It dont make sense for him to be kind and caring if he had a dark past where people screwed him over.
Best analytical content I’ve heard so far.
Thank you for the hard work and keep it up ♥️
Thank you! Will do!
The Veilgard backstories should have been shown instead if paragrphed. We ended up with a Rook mage, stupid and ignorant of magic and ignorant of his factions history. It also amazes me how vile the Crows were in DA 1, 2, & 3 and how Veilguard made them a novalty gang as if they were in West Side Story.
Yeah, Veilguard totally ruined the Crows for me.
I expected this kind of videos from another certain channel. I'm glad you decided to take up the mantle, so to speak.
That is definitely what they have lost in Dragon Age Veilguard, complexity in characters and it is really noticeable when you replay the originals. You remember why you fell in love with the series and each playthrough is a joy to go through. Until you get to the latest… I won’t suffer it thankfully.
im literally so early. love the analytic content nuhre!!
OOoh this was awesome!! Two of my favourite characters of any RPG, and one of the most disappointing of any RPG. I freaking adore Anders and Zevran. I feel proud as hells of both of them for very different reasons, every time I play through the games. Zevran because he manages to maintain his "humanity" and be the 'better man' after the mountain of pain and shite he's been through. Anders because I can fully understand the sheer exhaustion of growing up in a destructive cult when you KNOW you don't belong there, and wear the scars from the consequences of that knowledge.
OK fair warning, I CANNOT talk about Anders without ranting in ways that make a lot of people unreasonably angry with me... rant incoming. Anyone wanting to "correct" me, save it, I've heard it all and I don't agree.
I'm still angry about Anders' retconning in DA:2. I was SO excited to see this wild, free, angry man again... but this was the very first instance of BIoWare gaslighting their customers and saying "it's how it always was, you're wrong". "Justice" was supposed to willingly partner with Velana, and Anders was supposed to be hiding out as normal. I have to REALLY stamp down my disbelief to make myself swallow the idea that Anders of Awakening would EVER let himself be skin-ridden by a spirit like "Justice. He was far, FAR too proud and fiercely independent. For a start, my HOF would NEVER have treated him like that. It pisses me off that they made the HOF an utter asshole to Anders. She would have left the Wardens with him and helped him escape, not abandoned him or perpetuated his trauma!! She would have outright murdered anyone who threatened him or his cat. She was NOT a polite or subtle individual lol.
That said, even with the retconning of his character, I was ALSO pissed that Hawke never had the chance to actually HELP him with his plans! I always play an anti-chantry Mage. Why could my Hawke not help him?! Ugh such a waste. If he'd had help his actions may have actually SAVED a lot of the circle mages instead of getting them killed. Even back then, BIoWare had started to drift from the "by whatever means necessary" style of role play. It's a crying shame. I accepted it (grudgingly) back then because of the EA bullying and time crunch, but the writing was already being written on the wall. It's heartbreaking 😞
When it's all said and done, the fact that I (and so many others) can FEEL so strongly about Anders, shows that - at least to start - he was written with enough depth that we gave a shit about him! With Lukanis, I couldn't care less. The one character in Veilguard I SHOULD have loved, and he seems... mildly annoying... That's it. Just mildly annoying lol.
I didn't even care enough about ANY of the companions to buy the game. I've spend HOURS watching gameplay vids to see if there was anything in the game that would give me the slightest inclination to play, but... nothing. I don't care about the Veilguard companions at all, other than to skip videos with some of them in because they are TOO annoying. Even Oghren didn't manage that lol 🤷
The artistic interpretations used in this video of these characters are beautiful. I need a mod using these!
the whole game is so frustrating, because the potential is ALL THERE, but it's never fulfilled T^T
Lucanis could've been such an amazing and complex character. I felt as though most of his problems and his trauma was overlooked by everyone, in favour of making him softie. We should have been able to explore his trauma and how that affected him on a deep level, both mentally and emotionally. We should have been able to see how it affected him, such as nightmares or avoiding physical contact. Earning his trust would have felt more worth it and we should have been able to watch him slowly open up to us, allowing him to become that good man he was. We could have become the first person he truly trusts since escaping his imprisonment and someone to have his back.
We should have been able to witness how far Spite's influence went and his struggle to stay in control. We're never really told how much energy it mentally takes to keep a demon at bay. The times we do see how dangerous Spite can be, it's quickly pushed to the side and barely mentioned again by anyone. A follow up conversation after Spite tried to leave could've given us more insight to how Spite behaves and how exhausting it is to keep control. Spite feels like a cartoon villain who just there for you to laugh at and not a powerful demon who could harm those Lucanis cares about
To me, Lucanis' potential was thrown out of the window in favour for playing it safe.
i think Lucanis' backstory is closest to Fenris.
Lucanis aka “The Coffee Man” is truly a wasted character and honestly I forgot he was possessed I only remember whenever spite speaks which is at random times. Also as a Latino his super forced accent really bothers me lmao! Good video nuhre!
Wow 12 seconds gotta be the earliest I ever was to a video.
Congratulations Ara you finally got me to replay the series AGAIN 🤣🤣🤣
That writing really was peak🔥
I'm glad!
A very well done analysis! The other character I was unintentionally comparing Lucanis to is Astarion from BG3.
And I was baffled by Lucanis's interaction with Zara. I was expecting at least a fraction of Astarion's confrontation with Cazador, but what we got is so lame, jeez.
I've played through Inquisition for the first time in '24, and while it's nowhere near origins, the characters are very well presented, I've had the option to make fun out of Iron Bulls gang, and Krem in particular, laughed through Bulls training of Krem cutscene, and
***spoilers***
sacrificed the whole mercenary brigade, to remind Bull his oath and what it means to be a qunari. And this act felt like a decision, not just an option on a soulless "dialogue" wheel.
Refreshing to see in-depth takes on the characters.
I didn't much care for Zevran in Origins. It's been a long time since I played it, but I think I'll start it up soon and give Zevran another chance. I was too busy making moon eyes over Alistair.
Thank you for the depth you went to covering these characters. I'm learning a lot about the lore I either didn't know or forgot.
This is a really look back. I can't play origins or 2 because I no longer have my 360 but have the games still lol. Nuhre thank you for this video. I hear passion in your voice going over this. It's what alot of games suffer a lack of. Bioware falls into that unfortunately. I been playing mass effect 1-3. I'm like wtf. Sensitive snowflakes ruined these great franchises
Hi! Ive been enjoying your videos for quite some time, sharing similiar thoughts and silently cheering for every milestone of yours but since I dont see any discussions about it here I just wanted to ask about your stance on AI? Its very present in your recent videos and I wonder what is your thought process.
I use it as a tool to put my visions about what the game or, in this case, characters, could've been into a visual medial. If I was in a position financially where I could hire and work closely with an artist, I would. But I am not. There is still a vision for my videos that I want to deliver, and AI helps me achieve that.
I am loving you video comparing the different characters in the series.
Veilguard characters lack any kind of conflict - not with each other and not internalized. At least nothing that goes beyond an exposition dump ("Look, I am tragic, I am an assasin...") or a kindergarten-level one-time dialog where Rook comes in and solves everything by telling them to play nice.
And this lack of conflict makes the companions hollow. Basically a checkbox.
There is a peculiar scene near the endgame in Veilguard where a banter can be activated between Lucanis and Solas of all people, where Solas offers Lucanis to separate him from Spite safely. Knowing how Anders struggled to control Vengeance, one would think that the proposal would give Lucanis pause. But not in Veilguard. The entire thing is brushed off with a bad joke from Lucanis. Which just shows off how little the writers understood of how horrible possession can get the in the world of Dragon Age.
Edit: this is a great video, and the "coffee" thing in DAV is peak cringe.
I like that saying "finding the right notes without finding the melody". That was a perfect description of the character development and dialogue of this game. I think Darvin, Lucanis, and Taash had a lot of storytelling potential that was wasted.
Another excellent analysis. Thank you very much!
My pleasure!
I stand by my view that Anders' personality retcon is just as bad as Morrigan, Isabela and Solas' is in Veilguard. They used EXACTLY the same talking points back then to explain his changes, including him becoming bi, as they do to handwave everything in Veilguard.
These people has been destroying games for that long.
I love all companions from Origins. They are all my friends and close people, even though they are fictional characters :) and Zevran is an absolute diamond among them. The current scenarists will never write a character that you will love with all his problems and flaws, just for being who he is. These people don't understand how it works at all. And I am double offended that such a potential as Lucanis had was simply put under the knife :(
Has Nuhre streamed/played Baldur's Gate? Any of them. Not just 3. Would love to see her be the Dork Urge.
I really like Anders in both games. A traumatized man who hides his pain behind jokes and snarkiness (Awakening) and then in 2 he actually tries to do something in one of the most oppressive cities for mages until his desperation gets the better of him..
I build that man like a healing tank who in that Legacy DLC one hit KO'd Fenris. Had to pause because I had tears from laughing. Fenris forgot what Anders was and he paid dearly for it
Two lore videos back, you were sort of belittling yourself as a writer because you write fanfiction. I'm sorry (not really sorry) to tell you, but you are absolutely a writer. This analysis was so good, just like the previous two. This was just as enjoyable as reading or listening to a good story. As much as I liked the DA companions from the previous games (mainly Origins and DA2) for their excellent writing and fleshed out personalities before, hearing these in-depth insights about them in these videos makes me appreciate them as the compelling characters that they are even more.
Your deep dives just emphasize one of the biggest problems with Veilguard: the companions are (for the most part) like empty present-wrapped boxes- pretty packaging with little to no substance inside. Even the major support cast suffers from this, like Isabella, whose character has been massacred, hollowed out and made into a vessel for virtue-signalling that is laughably lacking in self-awareness. You put it very well in describing them as archetypal cookie-cutter personalities. There is nothing particularly deep, meaningful or unique about them. Lucanis, who comes with the most potential for all the things that made us DA fans like or at least appreciate the past companions, is indeed the worst offender. That points to another possible problem, not directly with Veilguard but with the newer people who came to work on it in place of the senior Biowere staff who left or were let go: there is a clear impression that some of them are low effort, small minded and lazy; they had things to work with, yet they dropped the ball and left those barely explored and mostly undeveloped.
Final side note: excellent title for the video, particularly in relation to Zevran and Anders. "Heart, Spirit, Shadow"- each of these words can be applied to either of them with unique and specific to them meanings as an explored element of their characters (maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it's an extra that I derived from this video).
The title was on purpose, yes. Thank you so much for your kind words. As a writer, I have always been my biggest critic. I'm getting better at dealing with that. These videos help me explore a side of my writing I haven't touched on before. I am glad you enjoyed them. I have fun making them
@@nuhre A person being a critic of themselves isn't a bad thing, in my opinion. It's a good balancing trait for confidence. That, in my opinion, is what motivates people to grow and improve. Imagine what Veilguard could look like if the people who took over the project in the later development cycles were more critical of their work and writing. 10 years in the making and this is the best they could do? I don't think so. But quality work like yours deserves a good word :)
Definitely enjoying your videos. Looking forward to seeing what you make make going forward.
Ahh, i love your videos!! So glad i found you.
Glad you like them!
Great work, that was really insightful
Glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent video. I've seen some short videos of you discussing this game. That lead me here and you got a sub from me.
Welcome aboard!
Appreciate you covering and comparing the characters and content throughout the game. It's excellently done.
I wish we got so much better out of the Veilguard companions, it would have made that BS Illuminati secret ending a bit less painful.
Could you make the next video about Sten, Iron Bull and Taash? Especially since Taash, while claiming to follow the Qun, her entire way of life and powers are the antithesis of what the Qun preach. Also how the Qun has changed from Origins to Veilguard. That would be interesting.
I will!
I like Lucanis (it's all the accent, he reminds me of Zevran, can't help it), but..i still feel like ALL veilguard companions are rough drafts, even Vivienne was written better. Major disappointment.
Another W for dragon agecels
The book counter part of Lucanis is more interesting then DaTv's Lucanis.
TLDR; Origins is the most important game in the series for continuity and Veilguard is a cheap attempt at retconning everything with thinly veiled fan service. I added a version of how I thought the game should have generally gone for a smash hit.
Origins is what made the possibility for the rest to exist. It set the precedent, the history, the timeline, the beauty of a dark world that needed saving. Veilguard is an attempt at sidelining and rewriting the original. Veilguard will be forgotten, Origins will remain. Exactly like Lord of the Rings and the Rings of Power. People forget that not everything new is innovation. Many things today are a step back in terms of quality and appeal. Veilguard should have been an instant hit. Bringing old choices to a close, the hero of fereldan back into the fold, potentially hawk from the fade (if you left him) , obviously the inquisitor, and rook. It should have been rook becoming a hero while finding and gathering the heroes of old that have been captured or missing by the old gods and venatori intervention. All the companions could have stayed (with better nuanced writing) to grow and reveal themselves along the way. The game could have ended with the HoF either dying / sacrificing themselves, hawk returning with Varric (he didn’t need to die) or hawk and Varric die, the inquisitor lives or sacrifices themselves / decides to take solas place in the fade if they absorbed Mythals soul, and rook could have been the catalyst to help each one reach their choices and ultimately be the one to make the final blow to the old gods / dragons. This is one way they could have made the game and at the same time prepare the story for a fresh beginning. Instead they had no idea what to do with the game and had to put out whatever they had and polish a turd after ten years of misguided development.
That Anders is making me feel some kind of way. I'm disgusted with myself.
The flesh is weak, sister
I think this lack of depth in writing is not just due to incompetence on the writers (which is notable), but also in service to the action combat.
The boxy corridors and arenas, the lack of deep dialogue options, the simpleness of companion in both mechanics and characterization, the lack of any mystery in storytelling, all facilitates more combat.
Why choose a dialogue heavy peaceful solution to a complex dilemma? Why even have a complex dilemma in your "quests"? Don't you just want to bash more heads in with your fancy combos and detonators? Why drag your self down with boring companion dialogues when you can spout off one-liners when showing off your damage numbers on this boss? These are probably the internal dialogue writers have when designing this game.
Bioware could've realized their non-binary shit in Lucanis (or Harding). He could've been more lore-friendly with it, than Traash. However, the developers of Veilguard have no talent to create immersivity
After going back and playing origins after the playing veilguard it just makes me more mad... Veilguard should have been dragon age equivalent to end game with solas being our Thanos majors choices from the last 3 games all coming together for a grand finale but nope...
I thought Anders was disliked by most players.
I have loved him since Awakening
@@nuhre I loved him also and I always thought I'm in minority XD.
That scene with Morrigan and Leliana talking is not in the game. What mod is that?
It's from a channel called @Makilita. They do their own cutscenes from the companion banter.
I love Zevran a lot. Such an interesting character that (in his own way) confesses his love for Warden and shows he cares. Thank you for mentioning him.💖
Why are you making up characters what even is a Zevran?
❤❤
Dont compare this failguard of a game to a game like DAO or Origins to make it clear
I haven't played Veilguard so I was really hoping you'd describe the major story beats of this character but instead you focused almost completely on Anders and Zevran. Great characters but how can I put them against Lucantis if I barely know anything about him? From what I understand, each companion has something like 4 or 5 story missions in Veilguard, I wanted to understand what we learn about Lucantis, his mannerisms, does he do anything extreme, how much emotions does he display, what is this character's supposed resolution in this game? Alas, I'm left wanting, still great video I really appreciate this character specific breakdowns.
Because there's no that much to know about him. He's basically a mafia heir who likes coffee and cooking, and his relationship with Spite is one more akin to dealing with an annoying roommate than dealing with an actual demon. He had a lot of potential, but there's no depth to him. Even his romance is the most boring out of all of them.
@@nuhre Yeah I understand. It's hard to talk about a character when he's so boringly written. Too bad I had high hopes for Lucantis, he seemed the most interesting to me on the surface.
I killed Zevran
Another great video but I REALLY have to stop watching these the day you upload them😭 I can only watch these at night which is when I am done with work but these always give me that nostalgic feeling of playing DAO for the first time and all those emotions that only old DA games could invoke🥲 that I end up feeling nostalgic of my childhood for the rest of the night and trying to resist replaying dao all over again🥲THIS is what we wanted from DATV. THIS is what they took from us😭Love your videos, as always 🥰
Using AI it's such a awful thing , stop doing it , look bad and doesn't have sense
What about... no?
@@nuhre okay, sure , it feels good actually, to be better person than you
@@Tarionsstan How about you give Nuhre all the money so she can commission artist. You can also make a bunch of art and give it to her for free, so you don't have to suffer from staring at AI art. Until you do these things, shut up. This video is a character analysis and not a video about art.
@@Brandon-ph8dv when have art on preview start be an important thing? like 99 % youtubers don't have art, you can`t make screen from game and wrote some text ? you are poor delusional thing
@@Tarionsstan How are you a better person than her, especially in the context of leaving not one but two rude comments in her video's comment section? First you tell her what to do, and then you patronize her in response to her response. That doesn't make you a better person, it makes you rude and out of line.
A little constructive suggestion: you can listen to this and similar videos without actually watching, if AI art bothers you so much, and derive as much value from them, as what is said in the video is the main substance of it. The visuals are examples of the subjects discussed and a focal aid for viewers to clarify what or who she is speaking about, but are not strictly necessary.