I recently committed to playing 23 games that the Giant Bomb community would suggest to me. Among the suggestions imparted lies Dragon Age II. Now, as the title to this thread makes clear, I've never played Dragon Age: Origins Given that I thought there was a plot disconnect between that game and its prequel, I didn't give much

I recently committed to playing 23 games determined by members of the Giant Bomb community. Among the suggestions imparted lies Dragon Age II. Now, as the title to this thread makes clear, I've never played Dragon Age: Origins. There was a user in that thread that suggested I should play DA:O before its sequel. I was wondering what the general opinion is.

• Is it really one of those things that's practically a requirement?
• Is there a plot disconnect between the two games, or is it a continuous storyline akin to the one in the Mass Effect games?
• I've read plenty throughout the internet about how a lot of people prefer the first game over the second one, and it's an almost unanimous opinion. Does this mean that if I play the second one first I'll have a better time with it?

Bottom line: will I enjoy DA2 less if I don't play the prequel first?

You'd probably enjoy it more if you played it before Origins yes. Play DA2, then play Origins. It should help in showing you how vastly superior Origins is... or not. I know there are people who actually prefer DA2.

@Yummylee said:

You'd probably enjoy it more if you played it before Origins yes. Play DA2, then play Origins. It should help in showing you how vastly superior Origins is... or not. I know there are people who actually prefer DA2.

So there is no plot continuity from the first game to the second then?

@Snail said:

@Yummylee said:

You'd probably enjoy it more if you played it before Origins yes. Play DA2, then play Origins. It should help in showing you how vastly superior Origins is... or not. I know there are people who actually prefer DA2.

So there is no plot continuity from the first game to the second then?

Oh, sorry I admittedly glossed over some of your OP =X But no, not really. In fact DA2's first act is set an entire year after Origin's story and there's very little connection besides some references here and there.

Yes, but only because Origins is a better game and it will help you understand why DAII is as derided as it is, additional enjoyment or no. You're totally fine from a plot perspective though, since Dragon Age II barely has anything to do with the first game besides being set in the same world and having a few cameos near the end.

I'd say you would enjoy it less if you do play the first game. There is a plot disconnect, kind of. Still in the same universe, but it's all new characters except for two characters (which they made one of them an emo bitch, when in the last game, he was a funny guy). The only improvement in DA2 is combat, but the areas are so repetitive.

@Yummylee said:

You'd probably enjoy it more if you played it before Origins yes. Play DA2, then play Origins. It should help in showing you how vastly superior Origins is... or not. I know there are people who actually prefer DA2.

I just played them both in succession and honestly I find I prefer DA2 (not that I think that DA2 is a super fantastic game mind you, just better than Origins)

and OP, sure! I mean it's not gonna hurt, it's a good game and it does help fill in some of the weirder stuff of the setting that DA2 kinda glosses over a little bit (I'd recommend playing a mage in DA:O myself, it makes the most sense)

There is little plot continuity between the two. They are set in the same world but in different countries with a (mostly) new set of characters. There are references to Origins in 2 but its not required to play Origins first.

I'm someone who enjoyed Dragon Age 2 quite a bit despite its flaws but overall I think Origins is probably a better game even if 2 did things better than origins.

@Yummylee said:

You'd probably enjoy it more if you played it before Origins yes. Play DA2, then play Origins. It should help in showing you how vastly superior Origins is... or not. I know there are people who actually prefer DA2.

I just played them both in succession and honestly I find I prefer DA2 (not that I think that DA2 is a super fantastic game mind you, just better than Origins)

and OP, sure! I mean it's not gonna hurt, it's a good game and it does help fill in some of the weirder stuff of the setting that DA2 kinda glosses over a little bit (I'd recommend playing a mage in DA:O myself, it makes the most sense)

I recommend playing Dragon Age: Origins and then putting Dragon Age II in the garbage disposal. Let down of the decade for me.

The stories aren't really connected but Origins spends a lot more time explaining how the world of Dragon Age works, so you'll have a much better understanding of the ins and outs of the world in Dragon Age 2 if you play Origins first.

You should play DA:O and then throw DA2 away.

@MariachiMacabre said:

@Animasta

@Yummylee said:

You'd probably enjoy it more if you played it before Origins yes. Play DA2, then play Origins. It should help in showing you how vastly superior Origins is... or not. I know there are people who actually prefer DA2.

I just played them both in succession and honestly I find I prefer DA2 (not that I think that DA2 is a super fantastic game mind you, just better than Origins)

and OP, sure! I mean it's not gonna hurt, it's a good game and it does help fill in some of the weirder stuff of the setting that DA2 kinda glosses over a little bit (I'd recommend playing a mage in DA:O myself, it makes the most sense)

Graphically, 2 beats Origins but story-wise 2 is boring as shit and Origins is awesome. But I play those games for the story above all else.

I do too, oddly enough! I just like DA2's story better and this is probably not a debate we should have in a topic with someone who has never played the games

@MariachiMacabre said:

@Animasta

@Yummylee said:

You'd probably enjoy it more if you played it before Origins yes. Play DA2, then play Origins. It should help in showing you how vastly superior Origins is... or not. I know there are people who actually prefer DA2.

I just played them both in succession and honestly I find I prefer DA2 (not that I think that DA2 is a super fantastic game mind you, just better than Origins)

and OP, sure! I mean it's not gonna hurt, it's a good game and it does help fill in some of the weirder stuff of the setting that DA2 kinda glosses over a little bit (I'd recommend playing a mage in DA:O myself, it makes the most sense)

Graphically, 2 beats Origins but story-wise 2 is boring as shit and Origins is awesome. But I play those games for the story above all else.

I do too, oddly enough! I just like DA2's story better and this is probably not a debate we should have in a topic with someone who has never played the games

Dragon Age: Origins is the better all the way, way more interesting and they did a great job of capturing the feel of classic PC RPG.

@MariachiMacabre said:

@Animasta

@MariachiMacabre said:

@Animasta

@Yummylee said:

You'd probably enjoy it more if you played it before Origins yes. Play DA2, then play Origins. It should help in showing you how vastly superior Origins is... or not. I know there are people who actually prefer DA2.

I just played them both in succession and honestly I find I prefer DA2 (not that I think that DA2 is a super fantastic game mind you, just better than Origins)

and OP, sure! I mean it's not gonna hurt, it's a good game and it does help fill in some of the weirder stuff of the setting that DA2 kinda glosses over a little bit (I'd recommend playing a mage in DA:O myself, it makes the most sense)

Graphically, 2 beats Origins but story-wise 2 is boring as shit and Origins is awesome. But I play those games for the story above all else.

I do too, oddly enough! I just like DA2's story better and this is probably not a debate we should have in a topic with someone who has never played the games

Hey remember when Wrex flies a ship straight into Kirkwall and kills everyone? That was a good twist in the middle chapter.

my favorite part was when it was revealed that alistair was Revan

that was crazy right

Depends on your taste of games but if you love DA:O, you will most likely hate DA2. I think most people will agree DA:O is the better overall game and while DA2 is a fine game, it took the franchise in a direction that I didn't want it to go in. That is why it is such a disappointment to a lot of people.

Play Origins and then throw Dragon Age 2 in the fucking trash.

@ajamafalous said:

You should play DA:O and then throw DA2 away.

@Crypt135 said:

@ajamafalous said:

You should play DA:O and then throw DA2 away.

You should play both games and form your own opinions about both!

seriously you guys people are capable of getting entertainment out of mediocre games

There's very little connection between the two from a narrative standpoint, so no, playing Origins isn't necessary. But you should play Origins anyway. 'Cause it's pretty good.

Dragon Age 2 hate is something I will never understand. I enjoyed them both pretty equally. The complaints I always see against Dragon Age 2, while I understand and agree with some of them, are not things that make the game anywhere close to horrible for me.

That being said, you should definitely play Origins, but story/plot wise it doesn't really matter in what order you play them. As others said, you will miss out on some referential stuff, but nothing major.

@MariachiMacabre said:

@Animasta

@MariachiMacabre said:

@Animasta

@Yummylee said:

You'd probably enjoy it more if you played it before Origins yes. Play DA2, then play Origins. It should help in showing you how vastly superior Origins is... or not. I know there are people who actually prefer DA2.

I just played them both in succession and honestly I find I prefer DA2 (not that I think that DA2 is a super fantastic game mind you, just better than Origins)

and OP, sure! I mean it's not gonna hurt, it's a good game and it does help fill in some of the weirder stuff of the setting that DA2 kinda glosses over a little bit (I'd recommend playing a mage in DA:O myself, it makes the most sense)

Graphically, 2 beats Origins but story-wise 2 is boring as shit and Origins is awesome. But I play those games for the story above all else.

I do too, oddly enough! I just like DA2's story better and this is probably not a debate we should have in a topic with someone who has never played the games

Hey remember when Wrex flies a ship straight into Kirkwall and kills everyone? That was a good twist in the middle chapter.

my favorite part was when it was revealed that alistair was Revan

that was crazy right

@Animasta said:

You should play both games and form your own opinions about both!

seriously you guys people are capable of getting entertainment out of mediocre games

Best advice in the thread right here.

I'd recommend you play Origins first. A lot of people, including myself, consider it the superior game, both mechanically and story-wise. Origins is also a much more rewarding time sink. In my opinion, playing it first does make 2 more enjoyable, if only because the times it does have callbacks to Origins, you'll be properly excited about it. Also there may or may not be events towards the end of DA2 that tie it back to the original game.

Also play origins first because, if you then decide you don't want to play both of them, you played the better game at least.

You should play Dragon Age: Origins and then probably not even bothering playing Dragon Age 2.

I would just not play DA2 altogether. What a literal waste of money that game was.

Do not wa

Sorry, let me try that again.

Do not waste your time with Dragon Age II.

You shouldn't play DA2... at all! No one should. Ever. Never ever.

Never

Just like everyone else already said, you pretty much have to play the first game, it's what made that franchise special. Anyway, it's your decision and if you decide to play Origins (first), which you really should consider, play the PC version if you can... it's just my opinion, but I think the controls are really clunky with a controller. When you play the PC version you can also put it on casual difficulty (or maybe even normal, but it gets crazy hard) and play everything in real-time without ever pausing the game for a more "actiony" experience.

@ajamafalous said:

You should play DA:O and then throw DA2 away.

@Milkman said:

Play Origins and then throw Dragon Age 2 in the fucking trash.

I would recommend playing Dragon Age: Origins, then to NOT play Dragon Age 2.

DA2 is a terrible, terrible game IMO.

Edit: I should add though, that if you are playing DA2 then do not play DAO first. There is a "continuation" from the first game, but nothing matters in DA2 really so if your doing this because of some list or whatever, just play DA2 and try and go through it as fast as possible. Just don't do any side stuff, put it on easy and just get it out of the way.

Then.. at some later stage when you wanna play the real Dragon Age and have plenty of time to spare.. then pop Dragon Age: Origins into whatever system and enjoy it.

Also, play Dragon Age: Origins on Hard. If you play it on Normal it'll be too easy for most players. I really liked Origins.

It's not necessary, but play both. Origins is a very good game - flawed, but the flaws are less obvious and stand-out than DA2's.

@Funkydupe said:

Also, play Dragon Age: Origins on Hard. If you play it on Normal it'll be too easy for most players. I really liked Origins.

Nothing is hard about Origins if you have a mage. I enjoyed Origins a lot, but that game's wizards are fucking overpowered. Arcane Warrior + Blood Mage is a good way to break your game.

One of the things I liked about DA2 was them fixing the balance of mages, which would fix the combat system if not for the spawning enemies.

As has been stated, Play DA:O, and then play it's dlc/expansion. Also, game can totally be broken, which makes for some fun second play through action.

DA:O is one of the best games in the last decade.

DA2 not only shits on its legacy, but heralded the end of Bioware as a company.

@Crypt135 said:

@ajamafalous said:

You should play DA:O and then throw DA2 away.

This. DA2 was a hunk of shit.

For the pittance you can get DA2 for these days, it's worth it. However, Origins is a better game and if the choice was between the two, I'd take Origins in a heartbeat.

To be fair, I'll say I like the combat in DA2 better, and I think it handled leveling/abilities better too. But I thought the best thing about Origins was the scope of the story, an epic scope that is completely missing from DA2. The characters are much better, though I think since Hawke has a voice, s/he's a more compelling protagonist than the Warden.

Origins is better and if you want an RPG that harkens back to the CRPGs of the late 90's, then play Origins. There are a few instances where the impact of your choices in Origins are shown in DA2, but it's never significant (some characters show up who might otherwise be dead, or people hail a different person as king, that sort of thing).

Play Origins and then don't play 2. It's not a terrible game, but it doesn't live up to the standards set by 1.

I'd echo everyone else's statements in saying play DA:O and forget about DA2, but if you really want to play DA2, don't play the original. You'll enjoy DA2 less, because you'll see how good the game it came from was.

You shouldn't play DA2

Play DA:O on a PC. The difficulty difference between teh consoel version and PC version is night and day. The encounter design early on in DA:O is great but the doesn't keep up throughout the game and isn't really on the console side at all. Its close to IWD in setting up enemies through chapter 1.

Play Origins.

@Snail: I can't pick any of the options. I have enjoyed both games independently of each other. Many who hate DA2 hate it because of how it differs from DA:O. Taken on its own merit, DA2 still has problems (the horrible location re-using being the most obvious) offers a lot of interesting stuff. You don't need to play DA:O, the story is not really connected. Importing a save, however, brings the world state over from DA:O and the decisions you've made. I found that it enriched the story quite a bit. But again, you don't need to. Depending on how you would like DA:O, you may or may not like DA2 less, that is really impossible to predict. You will find flaws but it really hinges on your approach to the game if come out of it raging like a maniac or just looking at what's there. That partially sounds like option D but I wouldn't necessarily go as far to say that it is recommended. Maybe it's more interesting if you play them the other way around. DA2 first and then DA:O?

You should play Origins, period.

Play Origins, never play II.

Play them both but play Origins first.

You can't form your own opinion without playing both games.

Having said that, Origins is the superior title.