Be honest guys, who else thinks the old cutscenes are far more authentic and fitting ? The drawings, the narration, the musical interplay. It's all superior compared to the Definitive Edition.
The old cutscenes had more personality, which is why I went on to use the Original Campaigns mod on the Definitive Edition. It is not only a celebration of Ensemble Studios influence, but while DE campaign cutscenes are fanTASTIC, they only really feel that way with the new content such as Prithviraj, Kotyan Khan, Jadwiga, Rajendra, etc. where there were no "definitive" versions of the cutscenes. The post Conquerors campaign cutscenes somehow manage to feel just as good as the originals, but the remade cutscenes for AoK/AoC campaigns are certainly not "definitive" by any means.
+Richierua "He leaned so close I could feel his breath. Sometimes ... I miss it." I agree. The Huns, together with the Goths and the Vandals, were the scourge of Europe. It is impressive to discover that in the end we were talking with one of them.
"Sometimes I miss it" is phenomenal and all but I think the subtle tense change froM " The Huns" to " WE" is just as masterful. At that point Armand so into it he probably made that switch, from "them" to "us" subconsciously. I think that in of itself is terrifying but of course "Sometimes I miss it" just really ties it all in.
That was a chilling ending. The campaign built up Attila as a terrifying monster of a man. At first sounded like the priest was an innocent victim dragged into Attila's service, until we got that disturbing smile on his face.
Yes, St Leo or Pope Leo I do save the Rome and whole Western Roman Empire. Some said Attila was feared went he heard that Alarick was dead after he sacked Rome
Ah I missed this narration. ‘Sometimes… I miss it.’ It never hits the same without this voice and that ghoulish face. It was the first time that a voice made me shiver. It hits the horror of what he is saying so perfectly.
This is how I learned of Atilla the Hun and his exploits and I even did a presentation and won second place in a historical presentation competition. I have fond memories of this game. Sometimes...I miss it.
The full quote from before the Battle of the Cata-whatever fields: "Huns, here you stand after victories over other nations and after conquering the world... for what is war to you but a way of life? What is more satisfying for a brave man than to seek revenge with his own hand? Nature imposes on us this heavy duty: to glut our souls with vengeance. Let us attack the enemy keenly, for those who press on with the battle are always bolder. Let the wounded claim in recompense the death of his opponent; let those who are unharmed, glory in the slaughter of the enemy. I shall throw the first spear at the foe. If any man can stand unmoved while Attila fights, then he must already be dead." The cinematic words it weirdly and kinda misconstrues what Attila was trying to say.
The sent of a burning town center The sound of the maledeathsound.mp3 The way the Janesaries could destroy walls and buildings as well as units. Sometimes... I miss it.
I still think that the voice actor in the definitive edition did a good job, but he wasn't able to capture the pure, raw emotion of the original speaker. Plus, they got rid of that "crazy face" art at the very end, the latter of which contributed SO much to that closing line. It's a shame, really.
I must say, the cutscenes were beautiful, but the Romans were portrayed as being anachronistic in terms of their weapons and armor. In the last centuries of the Roman Empire, the army’s weapons and armor changed entirely. The sword used was no longer the famed Gladius, but the spatha, which was a longer version of the Gladius used for cavalry. The pilum was replaced with a spear, while the shield became the clipeus, and the armor was either Lorica hamata or Lorica squamata. Lorica segmentata was in disuse. Lorica musculata was still used by officers, though. The helmets were also either the ridge helmet or the spangenhelm. I get that they wanted to indicate the Romans in the cutscenes, though. Definitive Edition really improved on this by revamping the Legionary and Centurion designs to be more historically accurate of the 4th and 5th centuries.
oh by the way can we get a round of applause for the fucking voice acting this game had? 16:36 like HOLY SHIT the VA really kills it here, creepy asf 11/10
Those words have stuck with me. through all times, all my hardships, every singular struggle in my life, I always remembered: “I was there, at the battle of the Catalaunian fields”
Anybody know what was the name of the mace+short sword hybrid depicted alongside the Glaudius in 10:29? Don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it being depicted anywhere else beside these cutscenes.
The cutscenes in the newest expansions really feel lacking compared to these ones. Not saying this out of nostalgia, they feel too much like exposition and less like the events told as a story. And they do miss the music, which helps the narration-
Yea, the only good cutscenes I think were from Yodit. Portuguese cutscenes were ok but the voice of that guy was kind of annoying. I don't remember the Berber campaign much. In Forgotten we only have text, no voice. Super lame they didn't released a fanmade expansion like that. And in Rajas well, the voices were extremely annoying except for the Le Loi campaign that was the same guy from Yodit. And in the gameplay aspect, African Kingdoms >> Rajas >>>>> Forgotten. And although AK was still fun, The Conquerors are still my favorite ones.
The old cutscenes did a really good job at romanticizing their faction while also subtly criticizing them. The new cutscenes just glorify their faction.
@@rec9264 Most of the later ones were also put together on smaller budgets than AoE2 and Conqs, I'm fairly certain. While voice acting is a crucial part of what makes AoE2 a phenomenal game, it's also _expensive._
@@zeniththecat3121 The newest ones are good. Edward Longshank's, The Grand Dukes and The Hautevilles. A pity they changed the original narration in the older ones.
I've just come back from Afghanistan, and Father Amund basically puts its all together at the end of the video, albeit my description is a rather 21st century spin. "The scent of burning rubbish, the sound of CH47 helicopters, the way everyone would help and prepare before incoming casualties, the way we would work with each other alongside different nations... sometimes.... I miss it".
The narration had great influence in me as child 😅. Since then I have seen other men who are hedonists and seek luxuries as despised weak men, not worthy to be followed, unlike Attila.
Hey, would anyone know how to fix this problem? For my HD version, the cutscenes for each mission don't have the fade-in/out effect, they just suddenly appear and disappear.
I think the head on a pike is most likely of Theodoric the Goth or some of his high ranking officers, because of how evasive Father Armans is yet he makes sure to mention that it's of Visigoth origin, also given his status as Atilla advisor wouldn't be a stretch to assume that he kept the Atilla trophy after his demise.
@@TheDoReMiFaSolLaTiDo Father Armand leans in so close the narrator can feel his breath. And Father Armand says he sometimes misses the feeling of slaughter and conquest. The Visigoth skull is a reminder of his days riding with Attila.
The last 30 seconds not having music so that it builds up into the chilling ending is a sad reminder that even video games from the Late 90s/early 2000s had better writing than most TV shows of today
Be honest guys, who else thinks the old cutscenes are far more authentic and fitting ?
The drawings, the narration, the musical interplay. It's all superior compared to the Definitive Edition.
the drawings of the new game are more acurrate for example in armour but the narration and music is better in the og
Why can't we mix the best of both
The old cutscenes had more personality, which is why I went on to use the Original Campaigns mod on the Definitive Edition. It is not only a celebration of Ensemble Studios influence, but while DE campaign cutscenes are fanTASTIC, they only really feel that way with the new content such as Prithviraj, Kotyan Khan, Jadwiga, Rajendra, etc. where there were no "definitive" versions of the cutscenes. The post Conquerors campaign cutscenes somehow manage to feel just as good as the originals, but the remade cutscenes for AoK/AoC campaigns are certainly not "definitive" by any means.
Beyond superior. The DE cutscenes are amateur-tier compared to the original. I wish you could disable them for the original campaigns.
"Sometimes....I miss it"- I think one of the 4 most chilling words in my video game experience.
+Richierua So do I.... When I first heard this words and scenes.... oh, trembled
+Richierua "He leaned so close I could feel his breath. Sometimes ... I miss it."
I agree. The Huns, together with the Goths and the Vandals, were the scourge of Europe. It is impressive to discover that in the end we were talking with one of them.
YES! still get goosebumps every time!
I wish Aetius continued his service to the Rome against the Huns.
He was murdered by the emperor himself.
"Sometimes.. i miss it."
Holy shit.
It sends chills down your spine
just sends chills.
"Sometimes I miss it" is phenomenal and all but I think the subtle tense change froM " The Huns" to " WE" is just as masterful. At that point Armand so into it he probably made that switch, from "them" to "us" subconsciously. I think that in of itself is terrifying but of course "Sometimes I miss it" just really ties it all in.
That was a chilling ending. The campaign built up Attila as a terrifying monster of a man. At first sounded like the priest was an innocent victim dragged into Attila's service, until we got that disturbing smile on his face.
these cutscenes were a great part of the game, truly beautiful, and the ones for the hun campaign really stood out.
Agreed, many of them are beautifully written
The Hun campaign and Montezuma is easily the best. It's somber, savage, hopeless.
It’s so good
Ya. Intriguing times in history
15:05 "No one knows what Saint Leo said to the Hunnic king"
I know. He said "We have to end the AoE2 Hun campaign here, thanks for playing".
Yes, St Leo or Pope Leo I do save the Rome and whole Western Roman Empire. Some said Attila was feared went he heard that Alarick was dead after he sacked Rome
Ah I missed this narration.
‘Sometimes… I miss it.’
It never hits the same without this voice and that ghoulish face.
It was the first time that a voice made me shiver.
It hits the horror of what he is saying so perfectly.
Same!!! I came to see this again after finishing it for the umpteenth time in DE. This voice acting and that final face are unparalleled
Another plot twist: Father Armand's Hunnic Trophy is Theodoric the Goth's head.
Really?!
Would be cool.
This is how I learned of Atilla the Hun and his exploits and I even did a presentation and won second place in a historical presentation competition. I have fond memories of this game. Sometimes...I miss it.
The full quote from before the Battle of the Cata-whatever fields:
"Huns, here you stand after victories over other nations and after conquering the world... for what is war to you but a way of life? What is more satisfying for a brave man than to seek revenge with his own hand? Nature imposes on us this heavy duty: to glut our souls with vengeance. Let us attack the enemy keenly, for those who press on with the battle are always bolder. Let the wounded claim in recompense the death of his opponent; let those who are unharmed, glory in the slaughter of the enemy. I shall throw the first spear at the foe. If any man can stand unmoved while Attila fights, then he must already be dead."
The cinematic words it weirdly and kinda misconstrues what Attila was trying to say.
+Based Pharaoh Oh!! full explainations!! My thanks to you :-)
In short: The battle isn't over till I say it's over.
Catalaunian xd
I miss this voice. The definitive edition does not do it justice.
The nostalgia of this game is strong, "sometimes I miss AoE2".
Not me. Definitive Edition is where it's at.
Age of Empires 2 will never die.
I don't because I still have the whole franchise installed on my computer.
The sent of a burning town center
The sound of the maledeathsound.mp3
The way the Janesaries could destroy walls and buildings as well as units.
Sometimes...
I miss it.
I watched ending of Definite Edition. It was horrible. This version is much better. A masterpiece
I still think that the voice actor in the definitive edition did a good job, but he wasn't able to capture the pure, raw emotion of the original speaker. Plus, they got rid of that "crazy face" art at the very end, the latter of which contributed SO much to that closing line. It's a shame, really.
They butchered Barbarossa ones as well
@@Călin-Mihuț and khan
@@IschmarVI yeah, no. He was simply reading text.
@@gronndar True, don't know if they could have reach the standard rick may did but still it was sloppy as hell
watching this now, because the new cutscenes sound like a child is reading a book for the first time.
The majority of the new cutscenes and their narrators in the "Definitive edition" are inferior to the classical versions like this one
Shame they updated it for DE. Still, the original voice acting and illustrations are tops.
Such a creepy ending.
Plot twist: Father Armand is actually Atilla.
+fads90 eeeh??? No way! keke
+Basement Dweller No. He was a Hun.
+fads90 or bleda the hun
Hun nomadic turn to Christian conversation about their LORD BUFF JESUS!!
Attila died and Bleda died as well. >_>
09:44 I always thought this was a pretty epic moment.
I must say, the cutscenes were beautiful, but the Romans were portrayed as being anachronistic in terms of their weapons and armor. In the last centuries of the Roman Empire, the army’s weapons and armor changed entirely. The sword used was no longer the famed Gladius, but the spatha, which was a longer version of the Gladius used for cavalry. The pilum was replaced with a spear, while the shield became the clipeus, and the armor was either Lorica hamata or Lorica squamata. Lorica segmentata was in disuse. Lorica musculata was still used by officers, though. The helmets were also either the ridge helmet or the spangenhelm. I get that they wanted to indicate the Romans in the cutscenes, though. Definitive Edition really improved on this by revamping the Legionary and Centurion designs to be more historically accurate of the 4th and 5th centuries.
Shadow of a war...
As the same time they changed the voice over.
And the impact of the last 4 words is so pitifully weak in comparison.
oh by the way can we get a round of applause for the fucking voice acting this game had?
16:36
like HOLY SHIT the VA really kills it here, creepy asf 11/10
"It is said the ghost of those killed continued to fight for several days"
Those words have stuck with me. through all times, all my hardships, every singular struggle in my life, I always remembered:
“I was there, at the battle of the Catalaunian fields”
BTW what kind of sound is that in the background music at 1:05, 1:42, 13:29 and 13:45 and many parts of the video, its sounds creepy.
it's like a whisper or something
So good. The way the music hits at 3:30 is masterfully edited. Sends shivers down my spine!
Anybody know what was the name of the mace+short sword hybrid depicted alongside the Glaudius in 10:29? Don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it being depicted anywhere else beside these cutscenes.
The iron boar lair is here. Let the one who slays this mighty beast lead our people!
This way Atilla. Follow.
Father Armand was a hunnic tarkan trying to repent for his sins but sometimes..he misses it!
The cutscenes in the newest expansions really feel lacking compared to these ones.
Not saying this out of nostalgia, they feel too much like exposition and less like the events told as a story. And they do miss the music, which helps the narration-
Yea, the only good cutscenes I think were from Yodit. Portuguese cutscenes were ok but the voice of that guy was kind of annoying. I don't remember the Berber campaign much.
In Forgotten we only have text, no voice. Super lame they didn't released a fanmade expansion like that.
And in Rajas well, the voices were extremely annoying except for the Le Loi campaign that was the same guy from Yodit.
And in the gameplay aspect, African Kingdoms >> Rajas >>>>> Forgotten. And although AK was still fun, The Conquerors are still my favorite ones.
The old cutscenes did a really good job at romanticizing their faction while also subtly criticizing them. The new cutscenes just glorify their faction.
8:15 *RECORD SCRATCH PAUSE*
"You What, Mate? Half of my Empire?"
"Are you for real?"
"We can share it. I have Co-Ruler experience ;)"
I have no idea what this accent is but it still feels better than the updated one
The biggest plot twist in gaming history
did u guys ever notice at the beginning, the old priest said he fought alongside the romans, but at the end he said he was with the huns .
+lifes40123 Right!! Maybe captured in Catalunian Fields...?
When he said "alongside", it was left ambiguous.
Dominic Sosa In Korean Ver, he said "I fought in Aetius and Theodoric the Goths' camp." It means Aetius and Theodoric are not enemy of Father Armand.
Suhyun Peter Choi
You can fight alongside your enemy. They're on the same field. But that's what the writers intended. Ambiguity.
Dominic Sosa Alright. I got it. Thx :-)
I know very well the lines in the 1st slide because I used to keep restarting the 1st mission until I got the maximum amount of Bleda's army
This and Barbarossa's campaigns cutscenes are true master pieces
That last line gave me goosebumps every time. Perfect ending.
I love DE, but they did Father Armand dirty especially in the ending cutsecne :(
The story had me stiff on my seat, such good story telling, came here because the definitive edition doesn't have a creepy old man face at the end
The stories in AOE2 age of kings and the conquerors are so well written, far better than those in the newest aoe2 expansion.
The new ones are lazy and stupid
Yeah! the oldest 2 ones have the best writing and ambiance sound. the later ones cannot compete.
@@rec9264 Most of the later ones were also put together on smaller budgets than AoE2 and Conqs, I'm fairly certain. While voice acting is a crucial part of what makes AoE2 a phenomenal game, it's also _expensive._
@@zeniththecat3121 The newest ones are good. Edward Longshank's, The Grand Dukes and The Hautevilles. A pity they changed the original narration in the older ones.
Gajah Mada campaign was underrated.
Very good narration!
I've just come back from Afghanistan, and Father Amund basically puts its all together at the end of the video, albeit my description is a rather 21st century spin. "The scent of burning rubbish, the sound of CH47 helicopters, the way everyone would help and prepare before incoming casualties, the way we would work with each other alongside different nations... sometimes.... I miss it".
One of the best reminiscence of my childhood gaming. the best e-book experience of that time. and this ever-haunting ending.
The ending is great and all, but the part where Atilla talks to Pope Leo always gives me chills
I can recite these from memory... even after all these years!
Isn't this the same guy who voiced Sander Cohen in Bioshock that does the narration?
Also the voice actor of Soldier from TF2 voiced the narrator in Mongolian campaign
I bought the definitive edition... And they replaced this awesome narration with an awful one. WTF were they thinking!?
Is there a mod to replace this
@@dontspikemydrink9382 Two years later there is
Attila got catfished
Atilla be like “tf I came for hot broad not fat old pope”
14:20
Sometimes......I miss it !
The narration had great influence in me as child 😅. Since then I have seen other men who are hedonists and seek luxuries as despised weak men, not worthy to be followed, unlike Attila.
Don't believe in this game It's impossible for Atilla to wear a crown that has nothing to do with the culture of the Huns
Father Armand is Hunnic confirmed at the last of the story
It is "The battle between Hun and Roman", not "The battle between Ron and Human".
Wat
Wat
Вот эта оригинальная музыка в брифингах кампаний очень хорошая
Олег Булат babushka.
Hey, would anyone know how to fix this problem? For my HD version, the cutscenes for each mission don't have the fade-in/out effect, they just suddenly appear and disappear.
Is this read by Oberyn Martell? 😅😅
Came here after finishing the DE version. I had the old VA from a mod, but not the old art 🥺 Especially that scare at the end! Classic
I think the head on a pike is most likely of Theodoric the Goth or some of his high ranking officers, because of how evasive Father Armans is yet he makes sure to mention that it's of Visigoth origin, also given his status as Atilla advisor wouldn't be a stretch to assume that he kept the Atilla trophy after his demise.
So he can feel that Visigoth solider's breath, and he misses it?
Lol no.
@@rustkarl explain plz
@@TheDoReMiFaSolLaTiDo
Father Armand leans in so close the narrator can feel his breath.
And Father Armand says he sometimes misses the feeling of slaughter and conquest.
The Visigoth skull is a reminder of his days riding with Attila.
Raiders mean to take what was theirs and always theirs. Lol.
16:36
Wow, thanks for this video!! Simply love this game
Honoria is that one girl who tries to be based
Goosebumps on my arms
Great sorrow?
Yeah sure
16:36 Yes.
Wait, didn’t he say in the beginning he was fighting against Attila? How come in the end he was fighting with Attila?
he joins attilla 12:26
Honoria was well known as a loose woman and she was trying to escape a marriage to a boring man
Man.....so Huns were Fearest Raiders. Cool
The Turks 👏
There was no one named Armand in those times lol
Oh, gosh
World Eater oh no, dat means da gayme succs. 😱😱😱
He's a Franks and Armand is Frankish name. Modern French use the name Armaund now
Exactly! That's way too medieval and modern French. The names of the French then would be Childeric or something like that.
PERFECT MASTERPIECE. AOE2 CUTSCENES AND GAMEPLAY. 10/10.
Dat Plot twist
The last 30 seconds not having music so that it builds up into the chilling ending is a sad reminder that even video games from the Late 90s/early 2000s had better writing than most TV shows of today