My favourite it's imoen I think the bond with you is just so good and I big partion of the game is just you saving her I can't turn a blind eye on my little sis
Viconia has a nice backstory, Edwin is the most hilarious because he is evil, intelligent, arrogant and unlucky. I played with Imoen, Jaheira, Minsc, Viconia and Edwin (the old chars from BG1).
I used to play Baldur's Gate at a friend's house when I was a kid. My family was dirt poor so I was really grateful that he would let me come over and play Baldur's Gate, Torment and Warcraft on his old computers. I miss him. RIP friend.
Ah I stoll (sort of) fondly remember how in the German version of the game they played the wrong message and told you that you don't have enough gold instead of the gathering of the party message. ^^ Confused the hell out of me when it happened the first time. "What the hell? Why do I need gold to travel to the next area?"
Absolutely love the Baldur's Gate series. #2 being my favorite because of all the character development. But #1 has a special kind of feel to it. As the franchise progresses it becomes more chaotic and wild in it's scenarios, which is to be expected of D&D when you get to such high levels, but BG1 was never over the top, no travelling to otherwordly dimensions, having to fight hordes of magical demons. (until Siege of Dragonspear) It's mostly just you and your followers just exploring the wilderness, and trying to solve the mystery of the iron crisis. very down to earth.
With respect to the original games, Siege was tacked on by Beamdog who I don't think had the chops to pull what they were trying. Which is sad because I respected the attempt.
@@ryanjones_rheios They had a lot of great ideas, but had very little experience with game balance or understanding the sort of "tiers" of level progression required with leveling up beyond BG1's level 7. Having to rest a jillion times in one dungeon to cast a jillion Greater Restorations due to the endless mobs of level-draining enemies (including during half the rests) just got old fast.
"The Lord of Murder shall perish. But in his doom he shall spawn a score of mortal progeny. Chaos will be sown from their passing." So sayeth the wise Alaundo.
I remember this a vividly as if it was yesterday. And I played the games for the 1st time back when I was a kid and they just released, brand new. The greatest part is that line making a comeback in BG2's opening screen.
There are very good reasons to play this game, no matter how old it gets. The characters are extremely well written, the story is not only compelling but truly nails the from dirt to literal godhood cliché as no other game ever has, and lastly, the atmosphere is simply splendid, especially the music which is as good as any I've ever listened to in any video game, 20 years later.
"You should have not have come to this place!" Also honorable mentioning is Demigorgon. Imagine my shock when I used Time Stop and realizing that Demigorgon had the Star Platinum ability of moving in the stillness as well. It was like one shotting my own team.
I was there Gandalf, 2000 years ago. I played BG2 LAN mode when i was 14 with my friends. At that time LAN cables where coaxial ones and not the current square LAN cables we all know today. We never went past the 1st act playing together as we were too busy creating our characters and doing goofy stuff in the first city. Now we have fiber internet which is literally 2000 times faster than the internet we had at that time. But playing online doesn't have the same taste as doing it ghetto style with your friends like we did before!
Just looked up some of these voice actors for Balder's Gate 1 and holy crap, like a third of them were in almost every cartoon TV show I watched as a Kid or played as a video game.
When bg3 was first announced in 2019, i picked up bg1 and eventually 2. I have clocked in over 700 hours in them jointly and they quickly became my top 5 games of all times. Larian has big shoes to fill
Just going to throw this out there, in case you missed it, but Planescape: Torment is another fantastic game in a similar style. It's still one of the only games I've played to this day that rewards non-combat options for xp. You get xp for solving fights with diplomacy, gain xp for recovering lost memories (you're an immortal amnesiac), and even get more xp for memories if you have a high wis stat, etc, so even if you're a fighter it's worth it not to dump stat your mind!
@@kedolan4992Another rpg series that rewards out of combat xp and is currently sitting at my favorite rpg series of all time is geneforge. The story is great and it has multiple endings for each game. It’s made by a small studio who have been making rpgs for decades called spider software. Geneforge had its first game remastered recently and I also enjoy it quite a lot, although If you play the remastered first game instead of the original then it will be a bit confusing going backwards in gameplay style and artstyle for geneforge 2.
@@kedolan4992 you need high stats to trigger all memories. i fkn missed 2 in the begining when grabing a pickpocets hand and another one :( still sad about it
IMO Irenicus is overrated. His motives aren't particularly interesting or unique and there are other menacing villains. People remember him because of the voice acting. I like Sarevok much more. He's connected to the main character has a backstory and motives that make sense. Of course Irenicus is better presented as some of the most important backstory and characterization of Sarevok comes from notes. But that's more of a problem in BG1 in general and isn't the only important story detail that is delivered via a letter or a note.
Just finished throne of Baal last night and god dam playing through both games and their expansions, and seige even though it has its problems, really feels like a grand adventure
My biggest worry about BG3 was that they'd take all the worst ideas from the ascended fan mod that is Siege of Dragonspear, and make them into a big budget mess. But by all accounts, this looks to be the greatest sequel we ever could've hoped for!
Don Karnage voiced Minsc (Don Karnage from Tail Spin, the talented actor Jim Cummings), one of my favorite voice actors and voiced one of the best characters in Baulders Gate 1 & 2.
The lore in the series are very solid. But the things I liked best of the Baldurs Gate series was the feeling of semi open world freedom. So many secrets and quest with good reason for them to exist. I thing the writing in general are what made Baldurs Gate so memorable. Also great intereactions between characters was top tier. I can't rate what NPC I prefered best, but I think I have to end with: 1. Jan Jansen (For his oversharing hillarious turnips tales), 2. Minsc (for his stupidity) 3. Viconia (For the incredible difficult interesting romance/story) Or Edwin (for the narsisistic lols)
listening to the ending conclusion from the BG2 still gives me chill nowadays. This is truely the mark of GREAT games. I ended up as a GOD of pure GOOD, that was soooo satisfying and shared a life with Aerie, this was really something special.
IIRC, up until AD&D Waterdeep was the biggest city in Toril, full-point. Dunno about how things changed with WotC. Also, I think he meant region as in "area we could see in the game map".
@@gypruzzcaccamo6586 its still the biggest on the sword coast, and idk if he meant playable region or not. He also says the world of faerun, which also set me off.
@@matthewacree571 That's another reason I think he was just talking about the game itself. I don't think he really knows anything about the Forgotten Realms, or what even is that. Kinda like movies-only LotR fans don't really know anything about the rest of Arda, or even that there is something else in that world.
LIAR! boo miniaturized himself and came from the deepest recesses of space to warn of the impending reaper threat, but the only person who speaks hamster is minsc who isn't......normal......
I don't know how many will share my opinion but, I liked to watch old animation much more where we can see Sarevoc kills the Bhaalspawn at the top of Iron Throne Headquarters, it's dated, it's stiff, it's too old, yet I somewhow prefer to watch that old animation more than these ...still images. Maybe I'm just too nostalgic, I do like the updated game though, playing Baldur's Gate 1-2 again just before 3 was about to hit the store was so much fun.
kinda puts in perspective the whole debate about Larian ruining players expectations of other indie studios ; they are somewhat following Bioware's footsteps - I don't think many will compare BG3 to indie or even AA games
I played BG1 + BG2 + all expansions 20 years ago, and after watching this, I only remembered the beginning and end of BG1 and most of the companion Characters from BG1. I do remember enjoying these games thoroughly. Thank you for the recap. Someday I plan to play through BG3 (after I finish Divinity Original Sin 2 and Pillars of Eternity 2).
@@Hitoshuratdn I have been playing and enjoying Pathfinder for the last week. Thank you for your great recommendation. The game reminds me a lot of the old dice-roll based CRPGs like BG/BG2. All the best mate.
@@Hitoshuratdn Yes I read about the sequel. I'll pick that up after its had some time to mature after release. I always play games after a few months of release so all bugs have been ironed out. But thank you for introducing me to this franchise.
Baldur's gate 1 & 2, icewind dale 1&2 also first Neverwinter's nights and all its expansions. Plus planescape torment holds a spot in my heart. Have great hope for BG3.
I beat it with only a 2 player party. A Druid shape-shifting Werewolf and a multi-class companion who was mage-thief-cleric. The hardest battle by far for me was the Lich. Final battle with Sarevok only took 2 tries. I LOVED the Werewolf. So much fun and good memories. I tried the Lich battle about 40 times before learning i needed a +4/+5 weapon.
Against the Lich, you needed a +5 weapon of sorts (though some spells summoned weapons that would work too), and also Spell Immunity against Imprisonment. Once you have that, it's pretty easy. I think Demogorgan in Watcher's Keep is the toughest fight overall. If that's still not hard enough for you, there's even an unofficial patch by a developer of Throne of Bhaal that makes it (and a number of other boss fights) even harder.
i did exactly same thing. Shifter druid with draw upon holy might and rings of gaax regen, boots of haste... etc and Imoen. Imoen took care of the lich.
I can't believe you forgot about Coran in the Cloak Wood forest. He is another character besides Minsc and Boo who is likely to return in Baldur's Gate 3, not just because he is an elf, but because it has been confirmed in D&D lore that Coran becomes a nobleman in the city 100 years after Baldur's Gate 1 and 2.
any characters returning from the BG2 and TOB is dumb idea, these guys would be basically demigods ... with one of the actual gods as a close friend xD
@@Asghaad That last part wouldn't be true because canonically Gorion's Ward decided to remain mortal. If he/she decided to become a god, the pantheon of gods known in the Forgotten Realms would be forever changed. Plus, after the Murder in Baldur's Gate tabletop adventure game which takes place a decade before Descent Into Avernus and Baldur's Gate 3, Bhaal is not dead anymore, he's back thanks to two Bhaalspawn that still had Bhaal's essence in their bodies lived 100 years after ToB and killed each other.
@@LightStreak567 well thats a load of BS called retconning and is a sign of ATROCIOUS writing contradicting already established lore for nothing but convenience ... next you will tell me that Myrkul is back too despite being devoured/layd to rest in NwN2: MotB ...
@@Asghaad Yeah, about that... Myrkul does get resurrected 100 years after Mask of The Betrayer after a cataclysmic event called The Sundering. So in the 5th Edition era of the Forgotten Realms, ALL of the Dead Three, Bane, Bhaal and Myrkul come back from the dead. You remember Viekang, the cowardly Bhaalspawn who randomly teleports every time he gets terrified, right? He is one of the two Bhaalspawn that survived the events of ToB, living 100 years and caused the revival of Bhaal, so I wouldn't call that retconning, no one thought the survival of a minor character like him would become so significant.
@@LightStreak567 someone please explain to me how ERASED soul can come back to life ... he wasnt just dead, his soul was consumed by the extension of the Wall that erases souls from existence completely.
13:50 - actually, Irenicuss did not drain the power of Bhaal, but the demigod-soul, leaving Bhaal's power/taint behind. After that point, the taint was rising, spasaming and gushing out of the protagonist in the form of the Slayer.
Oof, hearing the soundtrack made me get shivers. I need to play bg2 again, such a fantastic story. I was in my teens when I last played it, surely a lot of the story flew right over my head back then.
original was on 6 disks you had to change out every other time you changed zones, still have originals disks in a box somewhere, crazy how much i remember form a game i played 20+ years ago, true classics
I cant imagine how excited the original players must've been seeing familiar faces when playing BG3, sadly I was born in the early 2000s so I wasn't able to fully experience them when they came out, but there's always time to pick them up
Good video. To be fair, I didn't really need it. I've played BG1&2 off & on for decades now! Heck, it's even installed on my computer now & been playing it a little during lockdown. LOVE IT!
Same. I think they are just the best games ever made. Still waiting for something at that level. I loved Pathfinder and Pillars but BG is still best. :D
Love how a 21 minute video is like 0.2% of the content of the game(s) in super short format. Man I hope they got Jim Cummings to do some voices for the game.
Watching this pending the upcoming release of BG 3 and this brings back so many memories. Played this back when it released and this just reminds me of a lot of joy of playing classic games back in the day. Really hope Minsc and Boo are back given the reveal from the comic.
I just found this and thank you very much! I've played a good chunk of 1, but haven't completed it, and never played 2. Just the other day finished Act 1 in BG3, really loving it, and I'm happy to see more ties to the original game than just Jaheira and Minsc.
Good recap, but you skipped over Irenicus's motivation. He and Bohdi were elves experimenting on the Tree of Life and were exiled from the elven city and stripped of their elven immortality. So they sought to regain that immortality. That's actually why Bohdi is a vampire, it was her first attempt. Irenicus's plan was to steal your Bhaal essence and become immortal that way. Once he succeeded and gained power, he returned to the tree and kept up his experiments,
Fun Fact: Kids Next Door Episode 9 of season 4 (Operation: K.N.O.T.) uses the voice actor of Minsc, Jim Cummings, to play Vin Moosk an overt and hilarious parody of Minsc. Aside from Minsc, my favorite companion was the Sentient Sword.
I played all of the BG games multiple times and even attempted to mod it(Because Haer'Dalis is bae). It was my 1st ever RPG and got me into gaming and still my favorite. Least favorite part was the return to Candelkeep and fighting the dopplegangers. So very hyped for the new game!
This brings back memories :). First played BG (when it was originally released) and hadnt have a clue how to play RPGs, except Diablo. I was going in like that, experiencing only Diablo. So without the help of internet or anything and not understanding properly english, i started to play as a Thief. No rolling stats, although the option was there, but i wasnt aware of any of that, i thought as in Diablo, u just go with what u have, so i went, luckily except strength i was actaully not that bad, oh and constitution was like 9 and strength too :), so yeah, was a weak thief and not really durable either. But ididint know, so i went on, battles later easy, first for me hard, like very, but as i went on, with quests, the main story etc. i was hooked. Btw. HP rolls on lvl up, i just let them be whatever, so i ended up having like 40hp lvl 9 thief (if u max. it, u can have like 72 hp, if i did do the math right, with items, a bit more, but strictly constitution wise and max hp every lvl up, u end up with 72). So yeah, not the best thief, anyway, to cut it short, i finished off Sarevok even with this weak as party, cause with other characters i did the same, no max hp when lvl ing up, so the strongest was like khalid with 80hp or so, yeah, max shoudve been like 90+ so it wasnt that bad, but the others were, like Dynaheir with 30 hp or something, i mean seriously underpowered party and still did get that Sarevok sob, i admit with some wands and all, but it worked :). After that when i told my friend who introduced me into this world of RPGs, he was like WTF, showed me that i can roll, showed me that i can max lvl up, with reloading. I was eager to go and make another character and another and so on. I was hooked like never ever. When i learned that u can take over u characters to the second game, i was hooked even more. Experimenting and making a Cleric taht will have 25 strength and with a +5 Hammer (u need to assembly it first, but even the basic hammer is +3 so all in all not bad, but after making it whole, it is one of the best weapons of BG2, in my opinion)
To new generations... please play these games, the best games ever made, huge, with tons of INTERESTING well written quests. Companions that will leave you if they don't like you, kill each other even. These games are being played and quoted after 20 years for a reason. :D
I doubt new generations will like it. I tried replaying it and beside nostalgia it was a disaster. Those games really didn't age well. They look bad, sound bad, even relatively to their age. The messy combat and poor pathfinding is also a disaster gameplay wise. The new generations should go for the polished games - Pillars of Eternity, Pathfinder, Divinity, Baldur's Gate 3, Tyranny... So on.
@@kotlinsama1515 Exactly. To enjoy the 'meat' of the game, which is exploration and reading side quests and lore, one has to look past way too many gameplay flaws.
Nope. The older Infinity engine games really did not age well and I don't recommend playing them. Just watch recap videos for the story. There are plenty of modern CRPG games that are way better, like Disco Elysium, Wrath of the Righteous, and BG3.
My friend used to come over to my house when he was a kid. He was really poor so I let him play games. He kept turning up at 4am though demanding 'a dance with the necromancer' I had to fake my own death to get him to stop breaking in.
This is a very good video, recap put nicely together. Man good portion of my gaming years as a kid was spent on BG especially BG II, now as a married man with kids I dont have the time or the focus to go through it again, I might try to go through BG II before I get the chance to play the third part, the thing is its not about the free time to play its about the focused time to play cause if you skip through and dont read the dialogues that is not it, certanly one of the best if not the best RPGs that I’ve ever played…..
Hey! I just realized they got the same exact voice actor who narrated the Baldur's Gate 2 to do the narration for Siege of Dragonspear, 15 years later. That is pretty amazing!
Come on! I noticed the KOVERAS/SAREVOK thing and was like 10 years old haha Such good memories, thanks for the video, I needed a recap as I did not remember almost anything lol
Bane bhaal and myrkul are the 3 main evils of baldurs gate for those that don't know. Everything is tied to one or all of them one way or another. They were all mortals at one time who listed for power. I know a lot of newer gamers never played these games but in a nutshell that's the plot line. Dark age of Camelot never winter nights baldurs gate the older diablo games were the classics us older heads grew up playing as kids. They were such great games
Thank you very much for the breakdown! I tried getting into these games but couldn't keep on through to the end. I love these games, but never seem to have the time to play them all the way. Gonna change that with BG3!!
After beating BG3, it really seems like nothing that happens in that game is connected to the events of BG1-2 aside from the appearances of returning characters.
Baldurs Gate 1 & 2. Easily in my top 5 games. Can't say I'm super hyped for Baldurs Gate 3 tho, from what I've seen it's just too different. I'll try it ofcourse, but I'm pessimistic.
Thing is, Baldur's Gate "3" is not actually a sequel or anything, so players don't even need to know or care about Bhaalspawn saga. Nevertheless, the recap of the game, gives me a nice journey down the memory lane. I feel like I should replay this legendary game
finally finished BG1, came here to just learn what happens in BG2 so i don't have to play it to know what happened. because BG1 was so delightfully lacking any form of explanation how to deal with anything and where to go so it was basically a bunch of mazes that i essentially brute forced myself to the end to beat last boss at lvl 6 which took me some game manipulation to only face the boss and not his minions and gave him a thrashing sacrificing khalid, jaheira and minsc in the process. BG1 was nice storywise, but mechanically how to play that game when it came to basically anything was a total disaster. most bosses were higher level and would do things that you can't do anything about (seemingly) because really you have no idea how to so you cheese your way through it as best as you can. so many cheesy moments where the game cheeses you, so the only fair way you can play is to cheese it back. my suggestion, be a mage, have imoen find traps 110, put cheetah boots on imoen until the end where you take the boots for yourself. why you want to be a mage or have one, identify spell and there's a ton of broken spells in this game that you will want because if you're not using them, the enemy will surely use them. for example sleep, basically kills any low level encounter, magic missile to deal with enemy mages spellcasts and mirror images. don't know how to make spell immune mages and characters not spell immune though, i thought dispel magic would do that but apparently not. good luck.
Playing Dragon Age Origins so many times, and I never once thought about how getting to the city at the end of the game and being framed was almost exactly what happened in BG1 lol
This made me realize that even though I must have played hundreds of hours for both game. I don't thinks I have ever went further than 3/4 of the game or even cared about the main story. I would just wander around, do side stories & explore which would often make me progress as a result.
Well this cleared up some things, just finished 3 but haven’t played any others. Some optional boss fights make more sense if you know these plot lines
Best companion in Baldur's Gate?
(Apart from Minsc because obvs he number 1)
Viconia
BG1 - Ajantis BG2 - Viconia
My favourite it's imoen I think the bond with you is just so good and I big partion of the game is just you saving her I can't turn a blind eye on my little sis
Jan Jansen is hilarious. Edwin too but also the best mage
Viconia has a nice backstory, Edwin is the most hilarious because he is evil, intelligent, arrogant and unlucky.
I played with Imoen, Jaheira, Minsc, Viconia and Edwin (the old chars from BG1).
I used to play Baldur's Gate at a friend's house when I was a kid. My family was dirt poor so I was really grateful that he would let me come over and play Baldur's Gate, Torment and Warcraft on his old computers. I miss him. RIP friend.
Sounds like he was a true bro.
Well that escalated unexpectedly....
@@DrMateen36 You can say that again, I was enjoying the fond memories he was sharing then he HITs me with an uppercut. KO'd...
@@reneviera4884 lolz
Had a similar experience except for the ending. Gaming crossed a lot of boundaries.
All I can hear is "you must gather you party before venturing forth"
"Speed boost abuse" for your melee? ;P
Ah I stoll (sort of) fondly remember how in the German version of the game they played the wrong message and told you that you don't have enough gold instead of the gathering of the party message. ^^
Confused the hell out of me when it happened the first time. "What the hell? Why do I need gold to travel to the next area?"
I loved the way the narrator said forth
@@hellothere4023 I mostly hear "Go for the eyes Boo, GO FOR THE EYYYEEEES!!!"
Shoddily made. An' shoddily maintained. But good killin' grounds nevertheless.
All of this. And still the main plot is like 15% of the entire games.
Played Baldurs gate 2 so many times, different classes, different choices. It's where my love for the Sorcerer and Barbarian classes began!
Absolutely love the Baldur's Gate series. #2 being my favorite because of all the character development. But #1 has a special kind of feel to it. As the franchise progresses it becomes more chaotic and wild in it's scenarios, which is to be expected of D&D when you get to such high levels, but BG1 was never over the top, no travelling to otherwordly dimensions, having to fight hordes of magical demons. (until Siege of Dragonspear) It's mostly just you and your followers just exploring the wilderness, and trying to solve the mystery of the iron crisis. very down to earth.
Did you like Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance? Because I played it on my PS2 at the time, which was years ago.
With respect to the original games, Siege was tacked on by Beamdog who I don't think had the chops to pull what they were trying. Which is sad because I respected the attempt.
@@ryanjones_rheios They had a lot of great ideas, but had very little experience with game balance or understanding the sort of "tiers" of level progression required with leveling up beyond BG1's level 7. Having to rest a jillion times in one dungeon to cast a jillion Greater Restorations due to the endless mobs of level-draining enemies (including during half the rests) just got old fast.
"The Lord of Murder shall perish. But in his doom he shall spawn a score of mortal progeny. Chaos will be sown from their passing." So sayeth the wise Alaundo.
I remember this a vividly as if it was yesterday. And I played the games for the 1st time back when I was a kid and they just released, brand new.
The greatest part is that line making a comeback in BG2's opening screen.
I used to walk behind my sis chanting this, she always got annoyed. Lol!
@@osiris1309 legend
There are very good reasons to play this game, no matter how old it gets.
The characters are extremely well written, the story is not only compelling but truly nails the from dirt to literal godhood cliché as no other game ever has, and lastly, the atmosphere is simply splendid, especially the music which is as good as any I've ever listened to in any video game, 20 years later.
pathfinder wrath of the Righteous has something similar in one of its ending, is pretty good
Also, there's Minsc
lol the writing was good for its time but doesn't hold a candle to modern RPGs.
What are those modern rpgs that have such a good writing?@@CountBifford
nostalgia’s crazy 😂
"You should have not have come to this place!"
Also honorable mentioning is Demigorgon. Imagine my shock when I used Time Stop and realizing that Demigorgon had the Star Platinum ability of moving in the stillness as well. It was like one shotting my own team.
It's Demogorgon, not Demigorgon.
@@theninjaguy2 It's Leviosa, not Leviosah-
@@theninjaguy2 that's from stranger things
@@roggonval which is based off the actual Demogorgon from DnD and therefore BG2. All of the stranger things monsters were named after DnD monsters.
Is... Is that a JoJo's reference??!?
I was there Gandalf, 2000 years ago. I played BG2 LAN mode when i was 14 with my friends. At that time LAN cables where coaxial ones and not the current square LAN cables we all know today. We never went past the 1st act playing together as we were too busy creating our characters and doing goofy stuff in the first city. Now we have fiber internet which is literally 2000 times faster than the internet we had at that time. But playing online doesn't have the same taste as doing it ghetto style with your friends like we did before!
Just looked up some of these voice actors for Balder's Gate 1 and holy crap, like a third of them were in almost every cartoon TV show I watched as a Kid or played as a video game.
You can basically have a party made entirely of characters from A Goofy Movie, lol
@@SomeUA-camTraveler😂
When bg3 was first announced in 2019, i picked up bg1 and eventually 2. I have clocked in over 700 hours in them jointly and they quickly became my top 5 games of all times. Larian has big shoes to fill
Just going to throw this out there, in case you missed it, but Planescape: Torment is another fantastic game in a similar style. It's still one of the only games I've played to this day that rewards non-combat options for xp. You get xp for solving fights with diplomacy, gain xp for recovering lost memories (you're an immortal amnesiac), and even get more xp for memories if you have a high wis stat, etc, so even if you're a fighter it's worth it not to dump stat your mind!
@@kedolan4992 currently playing it
@@kedolan4992Another rpg series that rewards out of combat xp and is currently sitting at my favorite rpg series of all time is geneforge. The story is great and it has multiple endings for each game. It’s made by a small studio who have been making rpgs for decades called spider software. Geneforge had its first game remastered recently and I also enjoy it quite a lot, although If you play the remastered first game instead of the original then it will be a bit confusing going backwards in gameplay style and artstyle for geneforge 2.
@@kedolan4992 you need high stats to trigger all memories. i fkn missed 2 in the begining when grabing a pickpocets hand and another one :( still sad about it
Looks like Larian has big feet
*Miniature GIANT space hamster.
Also, Jon Irenicus was neither human nor elf. He had his elfhood revoked, if memory serves.
Came here to say exactly that about Boo.
Jon Irenicus was the best villain I have ever fought against, I hate him as much as I liked him.
IMO Irenicus is overrated. His motives aren't particularly interesting or unique and there are other menacing villains. People remember him because of the voice acting.
I like Sarevok much more. He's connected to the main character has a backstory and motives that make sense. Of course Irenicus is better presented as some of the most important backstory and characterization of Sarevok comes from notes. But that's more of a problem in BG1 in general and isn't the only important story detail that is delivered via a letter or a note.
His elfhood wasn’t revoked, just his immortality.
actually, he was still immortal, the elves took his soul but left him as an immortal elf
that's the reason he wants your soul, regardless of race
Just finished throne of Baal last night and god dam playing through both games and their expansions, and seige even though it has its problems, really feels like a grand adventure
Hope you got the golden underwear and created the massive golem!
My biggest worry about BG3 was that they'd take all the worst ideas from the ascended fan mod that is Siege of Dragonspear, and make them into a big budget mess. But by all accounts, this looks to be the greatest sequel we ever could've hoped for!
Don Karnage voiced Minsc (Don Karnage from Tail Spin, the talented actor Jim Cummings), one of my favorite voice actors and voiced one of the best characters in Baulders Gate 1 & 2.
The lore in the series are very solid. But the things I liked best of the Baldurs Gate series was the feeling of semi open world freedom. So many secrets and quest with good reason for them to exist. I thing the writing in general are what made Baldurs Gate so memorable. Also great intereactions between characters was top tier. I can't rate what NPC I prefered best, but I think I have to end with: 1. Jan Jansen (For his oversharing hillarious turnips tales), 2. Minsc (for his stupidity) 3. Viconia (For the incredible difficult interesting romance/story) Or Edwin (for the narsisistic lols)
listening to the ending conclusion from the BG2 still gives me chill nowadays. This is truely the mark of GREAT games. I ended up as a GOD of pure GOOD, that was soooo satisfying and shared a life with Aerie, this was really something special.
I love aerie!!
for some reason the only thing I can remember from bg is: "get me out of this HELL hole" repeated over and over and over and over
LOL Right!? That made me laugh so HARD, cause I remember wanting to break the speakers ROFL
Lmao haunted by the Nashkel mines forever
Absolutely!
Everyone who read that, read it in the voice of the game. and also. THAR SERVE THE FLAMING FIST!!
You must gather your party before venturing forth
Baldur's gate series is still the best game ever for me.
0:32 Actually Waterdeep is the biggest city in the Sword Coast.
IIRC, up until AD&D Waterdeep was the biggest city in Toril, full-point. Dunno about how things changed with WotC.
Also, I think he meant region as in "area we could see in the game map".
@@gypruzzcaccamo6586 its still the biggest on the sword coast, and idk if he meant playable region or not. He also says the world of faerun, which also set me off.
@@matthewacree571 That's another reason I think he was just talking about the game itself. I don't think he really knows anything about the Forgotten Realms, or what even is that. Kinda like movies-only LotR fans don't really know anything about the rest of Arda, or even that there is something else in that world.
In Baldur's Gate 3, you find out that boo is the Mastermind behind everything since BG1.
No its Braccus Rex
@@kissaninja9700 Brrrrrrrrrrrraccus Rrrrrrrrrrex
@@kissaninja9700 HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHHA
LIAR! boo miniaturized himself and came from the deepest recesses of space to warn of the impending reaper threat, but the only person who speaks hamster is minsc who isn't......normal......
Good thing I managed to get rid of him in baldurs gate two. With the help of a black dragon in an elvin city ;).
I don't know how many will share my opinion but, I liked to watch old animation much more where we can see Sarevoc kills the Bhaalspawn at the top of Iron Throne Headquarters, it's dated, it's stiff, it's too old, yet I somewhow prefer to watch that old animation more than these ...still images. Maybe I'm just too nostalgic, I do like the updated game though, playing Baldur's Gate 1-2 again just before 3 was about to hit the store was so much fun.
Man... knowing it was the begginings of Bioware, it blows my mind what the studio have become. Crazy.
kinda puts in perspective the whole debate about Larian ruining players expectations of other indie studios ; they are somewhat following Bioware's footsteps - I don't think many will compare BG3 to indie or even AA games
I played BG1 + BG2 + all expansions 20 years ago, and after watching this, I only remembered the beginning and end of BG1 and most of the companion Characters from BG1. I do remember enjoying these games thoroughly. Thank you for the recap. Someday I plan to play through BG3 (after I finish Divinity Original Sin 2 and Pillars of Eternity 2).
I would also recommend Pathfinder Kingmaker
@@Hitoshuratdn I'll check it out. Cheers.
@@Hitoshuratdn I have been playing and enjoying Pathfinder for the last week. Thank you for your great recommendation. The game reminds me a lot of the old dice-roll based CRPGs like BG/BG2. All the best mate.
@@L0rd_0f_War haha that's fantastic. The sequel is in the works called Pathfinder Wraith of the Righteous. I have high hopes for the studios.
@@Hitoshuratdn Yes I read about the sequel. I'll pick that up after its had some time to mature after release. I always play games after a few months of release so all bugs have been ironed out. But thank you for introducing me to this franchise.
This.... this game evokes so many memories, spent a good chunk of my teenage years on it. I miss my youth.
Baldur's gate 1 & 2, icewind dale 1&2 also first Neverwinter's nights and all its expansions. Plus planescape torment holds a spot in my heart. Have great hope for BG3.
too bad its divinity original sin 3
@Harvey Dustin I love that game still have the orginal cd version.
@@TrevorJones1 RPG is turn based, RPG must be Divinity. Famously, the only RPG to ever use Dungeons & Dragons mechanics.
I'm 29 and I can barely remember Baldur's Gate but I'll never forget my first beholder.
AH SURV THE FLAYMING FIYST
BG2 is still easily one of my favourite games ever :-)
I beat it with only a 2 player party. A Druid shape-shifting Werewolf and a multi-class companion who was mage-thief-cleric. The hardest battle by far for me was the Lich. Final battle with Sarevok only took 2 tries. I LOVED the Werewolf. So much fun and good memories. I tried the Lich battle about 40 times before learning i needed a +4/+5 weapon.
I don't think I ever beat the Lich battle..
@@Eyes0penNoFear there are only a few weapons in the entire game that can even damage him.
Against the Lich, you needed a +5 weapon of sorts (though some spells summoned weapons that would work too), and also Spell Immunity against Imprisonment. Once you have that, it's pretty easy.
I think Demogorgan in Watcher's Keep is the toughest fight overall. If that's still not hard enough for you, there's even an unofficial patch by a developer of Throne of Bhaal that makes it (and a number of other boss fights) even harder.
i did exactly same thing. Shifter druid with draw upon holy might and rings of gaax regen, boots of haste... etc and Imoen. Imoen took care of the lich.
I can't believe you forgot about Coran in the Cloak Wood forest. He is another character besides Minsc and Boo who is likely to return in Baldur's Gate 3, not just because he is an elf, but because it has been confirmed in D&D lore that Coran becomes a nobleman in the city 100 years after Baldur's Gate 1 and 2.
any characters returning from the BG2 and TOB is dumb idea, these guys would be basically demigods ... with one of the actual gods as a close friend xD
@@Asghaad That last part wouldn't be true because canonically Gorion's Ward decided to remain mortal. If he/she decided to become a god, the pantheon of gods known in the Forgotten Realms would be forever changed. Plus, after the Murder in Baldur's Gate tabletop adventure game which takes place a decade before Descent Into Avernus and Baldur's Gate 3, Bhaal is not dead anymore, he's back thanks to two Bhaalspawn that still had Bhaal's essence in their bodies lived 100 years after ToB and killed each other.
@@LightStreak567 well thats a load of BS called retconning and is a sign of ATROCIOUS writing contradicting already established lore for nothing but convenience ...
next you will tell me that Myrkul is back too despite being devoured/layd to rest in NwN2: MotB ...
@@Asghaad Yeah, about that... Myrkul does get resurrected 100 years after Mask of The Betrayer after a cataclysmic event called The Sundering. So in the 5th Edition era of the Forgotten Realms, ALL of the Dead Three, Bane, Bhaal and Myrkul come back from the dead.
You remember Viekang, the cowardly Bhaalspawn who randomly teleports every time he gets terrified, right? He is one of the two Bhaalspawn that survived the events of ToB, living 100 years and caused the revival of Bhaal, so I wouldn't call that retconning, no one thought the survival of a minor character like him would become so significant.
@@LightStreak567 someone please explain to me how ERASED soul can come back to life ... he wasnt just dead, his soul was consumed by the extension of the Wall that erases souls from existence completely.
13:50 - actually, Irenicuss did not drain the power of Bhaal, but the demigod-soul, leaving Bhaal's power/taint behind. After that point, the taint was rising, spasaming and gushing out of the protagonist in the form of the Slayer.
Indeed, also author forgot to mention, that WotC rewritten BG, and changed the story and its ending.
Oof, hearing the soundtrack made me get shivers. I need to play bg2 again, such a fantastic story. I was in my teens when I last played it, surely a lot of the story flew right over my head back then.
original was on 6 disks you had to change out every other time you changed zones, still have originals disks in a box somewhere, crazy how much i remember form a game i played 20+ years ago, true classics
One thing about the original discs. If they are in good condition they still work in modern machines. You can`t say that about most games of that era.
I cant imagine how excited the original players must've been seeing familiar faces when playing BG3, sadly I was born in the early 2000s so I wasn't able to fully experience them when they came out, but there's always time to pick them up
Netflix will eventually turn this into a series, starring Henry Cavill
I’d watch it
Let's hoppe whit better writing as well ;P
Magus Maximus Than what?
@@JB-xl2jc Gott I guess
@@JB-xl2jc than, let's say those adaptation books that say they're canon
Good video. To be fair, I didn't really need it.
I've played BG1&2 off & on for decades now! Heck, it's even installed on my computer now & been playing it a little during lockdown.
LOVE IT!
Same. I think they are just the best games ever made. Still waiting for something at that level. I loved Pathfinder and Pillars but BG is still best. :D
Love how a 21 minute video is like 0.2% of the content of the game(s) in super short format. Man I hope they got Jim Cummings to do some voices for the game.
Live by the sword - live a good loooong time! ⚔
A den of stiiin-king evil. Cover your nose Boo! We will leave no crevice untouched! *Boo's high pitched scream*
GO FOR THE EYES BOO!!!
Check our Boo's Revenge and you'll see'em truly unleashed
Kicking butt for goodness sake!
Given what we know about Baldur's Gate 3 I'll be very disappointed if there isn't a full-sized giant space hamster somewhere in it.
You're as smart as Boo sometimes.
Watching this pending the upcoming release of BG 3 and this brings back so many memories. Played this back when it released and this just reminds me of a lot of joy of playing classic games back in the day. Really hope Minsc and Boo are back given the reveal from the comic.
I just found this and thank you very much! I've played a good chunk of 1, but haven't completed it, and never played 2. Just the other day finished Act 1 in BG3, really loving it, and I'm happy to see more ties to the original game than just Jaheira and Minsc.
Ah, the child of Bhaal has awoken!
It is time for more... experiments...
The pain will only be passing, you should survive the process...
this sentence 💕 nostalgia
@@cecilebousselat8192 i don’t remember that line from irenicus...
@@nang9484 its from the cut scenes haha
Good recap, but you skipped over Irenicus's motivation. He and Bohdi were elves experimenting on the Tree of Life and were exiled from the elven city and stripped of their elven immortality. So they sought to regain that immortality. That's actually why Bohdi is a vampire, it was her first attempt. Irenicus's plan was to steal your Bhaal essence and become immortal that way. Once he succeeded and gained power, he returned to the tree and kept up his experiments,
Big fan of baldur's gate 2, i play coop with my schoolmate back in elementary school.
Fun Fact: Kids Next Door Episode 9 of season 4 (Operation: K.N.O.T.) uses the voice actor of Minsc, Jim Cummings, to play Vin Moosk an overt and hilarious parody of Minsc. Aside from Minsc, my favorite companion was the Sentient Sword.
BG2 still might be the greatest RPG I've ever played.
I played all of the BG games multiple times and even attempted to mod it(Because Haer'Dalis is bae). It was my 1st ever RPG and got me into gaming and still my favorite. Least favorite part was the return to Candelkeep and fighting the dopplegangers. So very hyped for the new game!
This brings back memories :). First played BG (when it was originally released) and hadnt have a clue how to play RPGs, except Diablo. I was going in like that, experiencing only Diablo.
So without the help of internet or anything and not understanding properly english, i started to play as a Thief.
No rolling stats, although the option was there, but i wasnt aware of any of that, i thought as in Diablo, u just go with what u have, so i went, luckily except strength i was actaully not that bad, oh and constitution was like 9 and strength too :), so yeah, was a weak thief and not really durable either.
But ididint know, so i went on, battles later easy, first for me hard, like very, but as i went on, with quests, the main story etc. i was hooked. Btw. HP rolls on lvl up, i just let them be whatever, so i ended up having like 40hp lvl 9 thief (if u max. it, u can have like 72 hp, if i did do the math right, with items, a bit more, but strictly constitution wise and max hp every lvl up, u end up with 72).
So yeah, not the best thief, anyway, to cut it short, i finished off Sarevok even with this weak as party, cause with other characters i did the same, no max hp when lvl ing up, so the strongest was like khalid with 80hp or so, yeah, max shoudve been like 90+ so it wasnt that bad, but the others were, like Dynaheir with 30 hp or something, i mean seriously underpowered party and still did get that Sarevok sob, i admit with some wands and all, but it worked :). After that when i told my friend who introduced me into this world of RPGs, he was like WTF, showed me that i can roll, showed me that i can max lvl up, with reloading. I was eager to go and make another character and another and so on. I was hooked like never ever.
When i learned that u can take over u characters to the second game, i was hooked even more. Experimenting and making a Cleric taht will have 25 strength and with a +5 Hammer (u need to assembly it first, but even the basic hammer is +3 so all in all not bad, but after making it whole, it is one of the best weapons of BG2, in my opinion)
I don't know how many hundreds of hours I put into Baldur's Gate and Tales of the Sword Coast. Still have those discs.
There should be just around 20 minutes until Baldur's Gate 3 comes out on PC. This seems like the most fitting way to wait it out.
Honorable mention to watchers keep, not part of the story, but epic dungeon crawl nonetheless, I have good memories from that one as well
To new generations... please play these games, the best games ever made, huge, with tons of INTERESTING well written quests. Companions that will leave you if they don't like you, kill each other even. These games are being played and quoted after 20 years for a reason. :D
I played them on my iPad (I played Baldurs Gate when it first came out wins ago).
I doubt new generations will like it. I tried replaying it and beside nostalgia it was a disaster. Those games really didn't age well.
They look bad, sound bad, even relatively to their age. The messy combat and poor pathfinding is also a disaster gameplay wise.
The new generations should go for the polished games - Pillars of Eternity, Pathfinder, Divinity, Baldur's Gate 3, Tyranny... So on.
i have tried but can't, it goes so slow and i tire after nashkeel. Two times i have tried.
@@kotlinsama1515 Exactly. To enjoy the 'meat' of the game, which is exploration and reading side quests and lore, one has to look past way too many gameplay flaws.
Nope. The older Infinity engine games really did not age well and I don't recommend playing them. Just watch recap videos for the story.
There are plenty of modern CRPG games that are way better, like Disco Elysium, Wrath of the Righteous, and BG3.
It's "Koveras". Not Korevas, That would not be Sarevok backwards.
interestingly when they displayed the 2 names on screen they were both spelled wrong lol
My friend used to come over to my house when he was a kid. He was really poor so I let him play games. He kept turning up at 4am though demanding 'a dance with the necromancer' I had to fake my own death to get him to stop breaking in.
BRO
Didn't happen.
Boy howdy am I glad you chose to include the music in the background, brings me right back.
This is a very good video, recap put nicely together. Man good portion of my gaming years as a kid was spent on BG especially BG II, now as a married man with kids I dont have the time or the focus to go through it again, I might try to go through BG II before I get the chance to play the third part, the thing is its not about the free time to play its about the focused time to play cause if you skip through and dont read the dialogues that is not it, certanly one of the best if not the best RPGs that I’ve ever played…..
This has been a perfect recap. Wonderfully done. Thanks so much!
Hey! I just realized they got the same exact voice actor who narrated the Baldur's Gate 2 to do the narration for Siege of Dragonspear, 15 years later. That is pretty amazing!
His voice acting wasn’t as good as it was when he was younger in bg2 but still amazing
Weird to think that while all this was happening, Astarion was eating rats in a dingy tomb somewhere.
"Cespenar is GOOD servant. Oh, YES !"
And I loved the soundtrack to Siege of Dragonspear. (And it's Hephernaan - not @ 8:25 HERphernaan.)
"Baldur's gate is the largest and most populated city on the sword coast"
*looks at waterdeep....*
Where's my boy Korgan? Not even a passing mention? The crit with his axe was so satisfying. Plus, he and the gnome are hilarious
You forgot the Dark Souls part after you get Imoen and wolves murder your party 10 times.
Come on! I noticed the KOVERAS/SAREVOK thing and was like 10 years old haha
Such good memories, thanks for the video, I needed a recap as I did not remember almost anything lol
Bane bhaal and myrkul are the 3 main evils of baldurs gate for those that don't know. Everything is tied to one or all of them one way or another. They were all mortals at one time who listed for power. I know a lot of newer gamers never played these games but in a nutshell that's the plot line. Dark age of Camelot never winter nights baldurs gate the older diablo games were the classics us older heads grew up playing as kids. They were such great games
"I serve the flaming fist" you knew you were getting up to no good when hearing this hahaha
Thank you very much for the breakdown! I tried getting into these games but couldn't keep on through to the end. I love these games, but never seem to have the time to play them all the way. Gonna change that with BG3!!
Easily one of the best epics I've ever played.
Whole series is amazing but Throne of Bhaal with watchers keep is the perfect pinnacle to the entire game. Epic battles with equal even today
Can't believe its been 25 years...wow...EQ came out a year later and changed gaming for me forever.
“I serve the Flaming Fist.” I’d say that made me nostalgic but I still play BG1 and BG2. I’m so excited!
Correction: the first experience of the "virtual lands of the Forgotten Realms" was SSI's "Pool of Radiance" in 1988
I just don't have time to play through BG I and II, thanks for this!
Miss out on the greatest RPG games ever made then
After beating BG3, it really seems like nothing that happens in that game is connected to the events of BG1-2 aside from the appearances of returning characters.
No spoilers but...
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Have you played as the Dark Urge?
Oh 2 years later and way into BG3, Thank you so much!
This makes the story in BG3 even better seeing names that I know now from playing without playing thesr
2:28 Hondo Ohnaka IS THAT you??? MY fav pirate buddy from starwars!
Baldurs Gate 1 & 2. Easily in my top 5 games. Can't say I'm super hyped for Baldurs Gate 3 tho, from what I've seen it's just too different. I'll try it ofcourse, but I'm pessimistic.
I know it won't happen, but my dream would be a remake of the old Baldur's Gate Story in the way of Baldur's Gate 3. :)
I grew up and largely learned to read through this game.
Awesome ❤
Auto generated subtitles: Imoen, Emilyn, Emoen, Imuin, Emuin, Emuen, Imuen.... nice xD
It continues.. Imogen, Immunes
This brought back soooo many memories, thanks Dude!
So, Bhaal has always been the main antagonist of baldurs gate
no
"With machinations of godhood" is the kind of phrase you can only pull off with a charming British accent.
I love that putting a name backwards is so simple, but almost always overlooked.
I played baldurs gate 1 and 2 that’s exactly why I’m not exited about baldurs gate 3
Edwin as a companion made me laugh countless of time.
Don't you mean Edwina? >;)
"We get to return to Avernus in BG3" Mfw our "return" to Avernus is the tutorial and the other option is to fight a devil in his mansion but thats it
Thing is, Baldur's Gate "3" is not actually a sequel or anything, so players don't even need to know or care about Bhaalspawn saga.
Nevertheless, the recap of the game, gives me a nice journey down the memory lane. I feel like I should replay this legendary game
sadly true :( even the combat is changed :(
I love that they've added Sarevok to bg3
All I have to say is: "Go for the eyes Boo, go for the eyes!!!"
.....how did you manage to keep that hamster from the eyes of our captors?
Jon Irenicus is an elf, who lost his soul in penance and couldn't die naturally.
finally finished BG1, came here to just learn what happens in BG2 so i don't have to play it to know what happened.
because BG1 was so delightfully lacking any form of explanation how to deal with anything and where to go so it was basically a bunch of mazes that i essentially brute forced myself to the end to beat last boss at lvl 6 which took me some game manipulation to only face the boss and not his minions and gave him a thrashing sacrificing khalid, jaheira and minsc in the process.
BG1 was nice storywise, but mechanically how to play that game when it came to basically anything was a total disaster.
most bosses were higher level and would do things that you can't do anything about (seemingly) because really you have no idea how to so you cheese your way through it as best as you can.
so many cheesy moments where the game cheeses you, so the only fair way you can play is to cheese it back.
my suggestion, be a mage, have imoen find traps 110, put cheetah boots on imoen until the end where you take the boots for yourself.
why you want to be a mage or have one, identify spell and there's a ton of broken spells in this game that you will want because if you're not using them, the enemy will surely use them.
for example sleep, basically kills any low level encounter, magic missile to deal with enemy mages spellcasts and mirror images.
don't know how to make spell immune mages and characters not spell immune though, i thought dispel magic would do that but apparently not.
good luck.
Playing Dragon Age Origins so many times, and I never once thought about how getting to the city at the end of the game and being framed was almost exactly what happened in BG1 lol
Dude, you now make me want to buy Baldur’s Gate 2. Never really cared about it, but hearing the plot like this makes me want to play through it
In my humble opinion as a game writer it is the best game you can play.
I played back then, and Im playing it now before release
This made me realize that even though I must have played hundreds of hours for both game. I don't thinks I have ever went further than 3/4 of the game or even cared about the main story. I would just wander around, do side stories & explore which would often make me progress as a result.
Well this cleared up some things, just finished 3 but haven’t played any others. Some optional boss fights make more sense if you know these plot lines
Incredible recap.
Thank you!