Baldur's Gate: EE - Is it still the best RPG of all time?

[@csabatuboly9735]

"side quests are not worth doing" and "I'm level 1 at Nashkel Mines" might be connected.

[@Barde_Jaune]

My thought exactly.

[@jplayer073]

I'm sad that I never really comprehended the game back then. I tried it a few times and eventually gave up when I was a kid. I think I missed out on what could've been a life-long interest. While I do like it now, it just isn't the same as discovering something when you're young.

[@atulyabharadwaj2279]

I'm indian and here dnd culture is non existent and even gaming is often limited to fps and platformers. However is still chanced upon icewind dale and decided to get it on pc very young, and tried it. Loved the atmosphere and was entranced by the possibilities rpg's offer but ultimately gave up because too complex. Don't worry kids are dumb you can still enjoy it now.

[@MeatSnax]

I literally scrolled down to comment this exact thing. Me and my dad were both really into Diablo and D&D, so when he brought home Baldur's Gate we were super excited, but then I think we decided it was "too boring" at the same time and gave up on it. Later on we'd play Fallout 2 together, I guess the setting was interesting enough that it carried us through the more complex RPG stuff, if only we'd gone back to BG afterwards.

[@resrer]

For me, it was Neverwinter Nights. I was more obsessed with creating a character than actually progressing the story with complex game mechanics. Never got past the first chapter.

[@copsuicide]

@@resrer you're not missing anything, NWN was one of the most generic adventure games bioware put out even when they were considered good.

[@etaxalo]

@@resrer i know that feeling, i just went around the starter town for hours and hours

[@TheHuscarls]

Finally, someone who said that about arrows and how deadly they actually are. I've been tired of how bows and arrows are portrayed in a lot of media as being relatively weak as someone who practices traditional Archery. Thanks Strat!

[@DrakeEB]

Bows,crossbows and slings in BG1 was literally death from above! Loved it.

[@kopicat2429]

Problem with archery in how it's usually portrayed is that it's either weak and useless or it's the literal god weapon. The weapon to rule the world. There's little to no middle ground. Even among fans and haters, and people who knows nothing.

[@osets2117]

Games like souls style games make bows and crossbows very underpowered. Skyrim, of all games, really show how powerful bows are

[@adammusia9527]

I wanted to say the same thing as someone who practices traditional archery in Kingdom Come Deliverance!

[@adammusia9527]

@@osets2117 Skyrim makes them powerful, but also veeery unrealistic. The only newer game that has its bows right is Kingdom Come, imo

[@nickjones1537]

I have beaten BG1 no less than 20 times, and I had no idea Charm could be used outside of combat.

[@StratEdgyProductions]

I'm reminded of a story I read about charm in an old pamphlet my dad had for dnd. It tells you about charm through a story about a guy that wanders into a harpies cave and gets charmed and kept as a slave until he is used as food. Coolest way to die in a game ever.

[@ip5676]

@@StratEdgyProductions damn, I wouldn't even be mad

[@jugro7639]

My favourite use for Charm is on Algernon. The dude in Feldepost's Inn in Beregost who has "Algernon's Cloak" which gives you +2 Charisma. Charm him and send him over to Tranzig's room (after you have finished the Nashkel Mines). Tranzig will kill him, you get no reputation loss and you get his cloak (which is kinda helpfull in the beginning to get some discount at the stores).

[@tictacterminator]

id prefer to be charmed and used for reproduction but to each his own lol

[@davidfasthands474]

@@tictacterminator charmed for FOOD. Pretty sure harpies are the small half bird women. You would NOT want to be charmed into mating with those lmfao

[@JavierSanchez-mo2ef]

I like the walk towards the friendly arms inn tho. Being a lone rogue, bard or wizard going through that trail is so frigging scary. You are just a kid that has never left candlekeep basically. And everything can one shot you. Good times :)

[@azarisLP]

The secondary reason for melee weapons breaking all the time in BG1 is that it "encourages" the player to use ranged weapons instead (which are much better in the early game anyway). It's pretty clever game design.

[@MeatSnax]

I empathize with the whole "self indulgent hobby" thing, I'm so jealous of people who had friends growing up that had very similar interests. I had my gaming friends but they were all on console, and I had my music friends but none of them ever wanted to get good enough that we could actually sit down and have a real band. I do think my tastes are more fringe and unique because of it though, I definitely got into some weird games and music because I didn't have to get on Counter Strike every night, or practice Red Hot Chili Peppers songs for the battle of the bands.

[@icepic21]

I appreciate the respectful way you placed a positive spin on your retrospective. Saying that your interests were more focused, specific even, without calling better quality in comparison to others. We all have our interests that bring us joy, so long as we find them to be a positive experience that's all that matters. "To each, their own", as they say. But, I understand that it makes it hard when others don't share the same interest, to that degree at least, especially those within our immediate circles. But as you can see, there are those who can enjoy those "self-indulgent hobbies", they are out there amidst the billions of us mortals that live on this Terra Firma!

[@misterkefir]

Same, brother.. exactly the same.

[@brainworm205]

Right in the same boat with you, both on games and music. I play tabletop RPGs alone almost out of necessity. And I'm listening to 1980s Korean pop folk ballads while doing it. I made the right decisions.

[@Homiloko2]

As someone who just got into the Pathfinder games, it's amazing to see how much stuff is taken from this game. I had no idea they were so similar.

[@abortedlord]

Can't speak for 2, but the original Pathfinder is just D&D 3.5 edition continued. It's literally the same game with ongoing development but divorced from the plot & world of The Forgotten Realms/Wizards of The Coast properties. With a LOT of expansion... just, limitless expansion of the same system. It gets PRETTY damn crunchy with the math past a certain point though and I don't really favor the system for most people just getting into tabletop because too many of the people who are into it get way deep into having all the supplements and going crazy with options. It's more mind numbing than my last sentence for newbies. Still, great game though; basically directly compatible with all published D&D 3.5 "stuff" with almost no work "converting" anything.

[@Homiloko2]

@@abortedlord Oh yeah, I'm familiar with the tabletop games. I was referring to the computer games (the two Pathfinder games from Owlcat). Everything is similar - the character building, equipment, trapfinding, combat, spells, and even the UI. I had no idea these new games traced all the way back to the original Baldurs Gate, and barely anything changed. Basically just a different adventure with a new coat of paint.

[@virn333]

@@abortedlord my only issue with running pathfinder content and 3.5 content is the balancing. Magic in 3.5 is way way way too OP but everything in pathfinder shits on 90% of the classes from 3.5. I'm the GM of my group and I think making sure every party member can at least contribute to fights/dialogue/puzzles is a necessity. If you have a 3.5 fighter in your party and a pathfinder fighter in your party, the 3.5 player is gonna feel like a side character. And that's not even getting into the 50+ spells from 3.5 that just have to be straight up banned if you're running pathfinder content.

[@davidburnett5049]

@@virn333 'magic strong' is the main problem with 3.5. Imo the pathfinder devs went out of their way to pump up martial classes.

[@ryder98307]

BG1 and BG2 are basically what made CRPGs what they are today

[@adamaccountname]

With mods it's definitely a lot better in modern day. People are making apps with built in modlists to auto deck out your game. I like to spice up the game by getting more kits. Currently playing a ranger/mage

[@maomaeramnon3870]

There’s sadly so many mods with zero regards to balance, tons of typos and weird special snowflake stuff or no regards to setting etc. haven’t found a good content mod yet, other than some of the item upgrades/inclusions from SoD (particularly like the teleportation spear). Chosen of Cyric encounter seems fine too

[@adamaccountname]

@@maomaeramnon3870 I've enjoyed a few of the really simple additions like ascalons quest pack, unfinished business and kit mods. Anytime a modder introduces new items they tend to break balance. I make my own edits to the rules alongside things like scales of balance to give it some variety

[@toprak3479]

I enjoy no reload runs on the original BG1 without mods (and without EE kits and subraces) to a bloated BGEE + mods run. The value of even a single wand charge skyrockets when your options are limited and death is permanent. Edit: NPC Project mod is awesome though.

[@GangsterFrankensteinComputer]

This was the first game I ever played where I could make my own character. Me and one of my friends loved it, especially when we discovered we could play with two of our own made characters on my PC and pause the game and choose what we wanted our little men to do. Some great little stories in the game, though the second game took many, many hours of my teenage life.

[@craigstege6376]

I will be honest. I kill Neera outright. That stupid ambush quest she drags you into is fury inucing. "Thanks for saving me. Can I join your party?" "Sure. Come over here with us. *Murder. Loot scroll or gem bag whatever she has. Boot corpse from party.* Thanks Dad!" As for burglary in this game? 19 strength half-orc fighter thief. The best burglary tool is your bare fist, the game does not treat unarmed combat as murderous armed assault. I've gone into homes and punched every man woman and child into unconsciousness then punched their drawers and storage trunks open to take their stuff. When they're unconscious they don't witness crime.

[@nadrind]

A victimless crime in all cases.

[@garrick3727]

First time I played BGEE I already had a mod installed to remove all new content. Never seen the new NPCs and after watching this video I am glad I used it.

[@bully_hunter_4206]

"Im not that kind of thief."

[@rafaelcastor2089]

I was open to having Neera around. Then i did her quest and she turned out to be a bitch. Then i played BG 2 and she turned to be a MAJOR bitch. The thayan wizards can have her for all i care.

[@Acesahn]

What did he mean when he mentioned modern politics and sensibilities? I don't remember Neera being politically charged, just a chaotic troublemaker.

[@7zness]

Pro tip for anyone starting a BG:1 playthrough. Get access to the protection from petrification spell. Find the map cell to the east with the basilisks and gnome mage, apply and then kill the basilisks and mage for a ton of early xp.

[@bifflechips-t5r]

Even better, in the middle left side of that map is the ghoul Korax who will befriend you for like 10 real time minutes. Being undead, it's immune to the basilisk gaze. Scout with him out ahead with all your friends with ranged weapons, and you can get easy exp and jump up as far as 3 or 4 from lvl 1.

[@7zness]

@@bifflechips-t5r That too, I just feel too bad for Korax 😭

[@adammusia9527]

That's only half the fun, when you rest in these areas you can spawn more and more basillisks and get even more EXP. I also remember a cave, somewhere on the coast, where you could rest and spam very nice EXP fat golems to kill

[@funram]

@@adammusia9527 Sadly, the Enhanced Edition removed the respawn of these golems. In the original version, my go-to was "obtain a magic weapon and then go to the xp cap thanks to the infinite 2000xp golem cave". A bit broken I'll admit.

[@adammusia9527]

@funram maybe it was in one of the patches, because I could swear that when I played EE on release, I did some golem resting (or maybe it's just my '99 memory resurfacing, I hear that old people often remember the past better than anything in the present). I'm pretty sure that resting in the Mutamin's Garden (or travelling back and forth in this general area) still respawns basilisks, which are much juicier EXP-wise, also wyverns n Cloakwood respawn nicely. If they fixed all that with one of the patches, I'm gonna be sad

[@donaldbarton7597]

During the candlekeep tutorial you can go in the house with the practice battles, take all the equipment from the characters inside, save, and load that save as a new game. Then you get to keep all that free equipment to start the game.

[@bjack1547]

Just played through this game for the first time ever in 2022. Definitely lives up to its legendary reputation. The hard early lesson is equip your whole party with bows and slings.

[@copsuicide]

melee in BG1 is a mug's game, all you'll do as a melee character in low level AD&D is eat shit and die

[@arkgaharandan5881]

i always thought it was boring when i saw it back then and its boring now that i played it.

[@FSVR54]

bad taste@@arkgaharandan5881

[@utisti4976]

I miss the era of time where RPGs were actual, honest to God RPGs. Actual choice and consequence. Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 hearken back to that era of time I desperately crave for.

[@fashowallday4073]

WOTR

[@Valkod23]

Underrail, Age of Decadence, Colony Ship: A Post-Earth Role Playing Game, there's three great CRPGs to give a shot at. In fact, Underrail plus it's expansion pack, Expedition is $19.98 on Steam and GoG.

[@GangsterFrankensteinComputer]

Well we got Disco Elysium. Um though I think they fired the main writers and artists lol.

[@utisti4976]

@@GangsterFrankensteinComputer They did. :(

[@bartoszjedlinski6808]

@@GangsterFrankensteinComputer but wasent this game finished?

[@Bonified369]

HOLY SHIT I JUST REALIZED...Minsk's hamster's squeak made it into Mass Effect when you interact with the hamster in your cabin.

[@mnemonija]

Minsc' Hamster was a multidimensional being, very powerful. Anything else strange going on with the space hamster? He could be the same one.

[@StratEdgyProductions]

@@mnemonija What... The... Fuck... You people blew my fucking mind.

[@mnemonija]

@@StratEdgyProductions its true, you need to ask for a unique adventure wish with Minsk in the party and the truth about Boo is revealed through the unfolding story. I mean if Minsk’s word wasn’t enough for you…

[@chegayvara1136]

The game actually gives you non cheesy ways to beat high level forced fights. It rewards exploration and you can find numerous potions and magical items in the two "empty" areas before you get to the friendly arm inn. Use your potions when you get them.

[@SpoonyBard88]

Yeah, this is one genre where your consumable items are not disposable junk. They create huge effects and the game expects you to take advantage of the ones you find and wants you to buy more. Also greatly rewards spell buffs to similar effect. It's not the player's fault necessarily considering most RPGs since 1990 have been opposed to that philosophy and just encourage using the most damaging attacks over and over no matter what to win.

[@petergunn3614]

I found the one magic item in the original version that really made the game too easy was the wand of monster summoning. You could flood a room with gnolls and hobgoblins and just cast spells and volley arrows never having to engage. The put limits on it in BG2 and the EE versions to fix it. I think they also changed the spell improved invisibility too because it was too powerful.

[@adammusia9527]

I wanted to add something else: new characters aren't bad, but they stick out due to having quests and much more voiced dialogues and banter, it's weird to play party that's half mute and half chatty, however if you play full Beamdog party, you'll actually have some fun and won't see them as so out of place. I've done such a playthrough, and it was very fun, much better than a mixed party, and I'm an OG l33t 90s fan, I very much recommend doing that sometime. Also, well, in BG2 we have much more dialogue voiced and lots of companion quests, so Beamdog NPCs won't stick out there as well

[@bifflechips-t5r]

Yup. I don't think I can play without the NPC Project after having played BG2 for years to make all those NPCs come alive.

[@dog_with_hat]

Jim Cummings has done so much voice acting in video games, always a treat to hear him.

[@mud5377]

Man, Strat. I REALLY appreciate your emphasis on actually ROLE-PLAYING the games you review, your character voices are a nice touch at times as well! For real though, I've seen I don't know how many RPG game videos and reviews that don't seem to get into the roleplay themselves, which in turn impacts their review because they aren't fully engaging with the systems like you HAVE TO DO with DnD and other Pen and Paper tabletops of ye olden times. Watching your videos reminded me to stop trying so hard to beat the game and actually remember to use my imagination a little bit and PLAY THE GAME. So thank you for that, buddy ol pal, it's much appreciated and a breast of fresh air!

[@j.sargenthill9773]

mount and blade:warband had a simplified but similar companion mechanic. all of the companions have backstories, but they were little more than text blocks. but there were usually two potential companions who had similar skills but, due to their in game lore, wouldn't get along, and one of them would eventually leave. you could overcome this sometimes with a charisma check, but it added an element of role play in that you could tailor your party to those who fit the type of character you were playing, since your decisions would either improve or reduce your relation with certain characters

[@bay3438]

Do baldurs gate 2 next. I absolutely love both baldurs gate games

[@starhalv2427]

I have a pretty hard time deciding which one is better. Overall I think Baldur's Gate 2 is better, but Enhanced Edition content is more intrusive and annoying.

[@Arcelux]

A new video? At this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the world, localized entirely within my timezone?! May i see it?!

[@pendantblade6361]

Never apologise for long videos, guy! This is excellent pre-bedtime stuff!

[@funram]

In the original game, the cloak of Algernon has a infinite number of charms to be used on each and every creature (contrary to the cham spell, which only works on humanoids) as long as it isn't magic or breath resistant. When I was a kid, I did a "charm everything" run, where in each map, I charmed every creature I encountered. It was indeed very fun and I got to read many alternative dialogues that way.

[@commandershepard9920]

Baldur's Gate is one of those games that is so good, as soon as I see a video on it, I just want to go back and play it again.

[@grantstratton2239]

Me too. I've played this game dozens of times and there are still race and class combinations I haven't tried, and quests I've never completed.

[@cfox4548]

This was the second in the series I played while waiting for throne of Bhaal. Irenicus's dungeon was such a good intro to the series, but 1 had to happen so 2 could really shine.

[@clash5j]

Never played the EE's. However, the original BG and BG2 are some of the best RPG's ever. So many things to do, particularly in BG2, outside of the main quests

[@Makoto_Vinci]

My experience with BGEE: walking into a room full of basilisks without any way to counter or stealthy pass them, had to sacrifice all my companions to pass my protagonist through them and then gave up one the game with my character completely alone

[@alffralf5319]

Just started playing through BG now. Getting real drunk so I don't remember any spoilers. If anyone needs any convincing to play this, if you get caught stealing in the tutorial town you can call the guard a bald virgin before he kills you.

[@toasterdudel1977]

Played it and the second one all the way through first time in 2020. It rules, played 400 hours per game. Shit is dope

[@adamaccountname]

You may want sword coast strategems for more interesting fights in another playthrough. I use a mod to bring back the classic movies, they were just so well done the new ones struggle to capture how well they worked for setting up the story. Eg the final movie was much better in the original

[@01What10]

I totally agree. The Enhanced Edition cutscenes disappointed me. I was hoping they would sharpen the original FMV's. But they replaced them with a comic book style approach. It took the impact from them.

[@adamaccountname]

@@01What10 there's been upscales done which has been good. They may as well have left the nostalgia there for its charm

[@adamaccountname]

@@01What10 Someone has uploaded an AI upboost online drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rUWNZ04eSvm7Tkh37UMIj2ZogZJt0XX6

[@DementedDemons]

wow i have never thought of hobbies as a way to be social as opposed to self indulgent...damn

[@DoctorSargeMD]

Still haven't beaten Baldur's Gate 2, but Ive beaten Bg1 EE like 7 times with my cousin. I loved the multiplayer additon and even though it wasn't perfect, It enhanced my enjoyment of the game 10 fold.

[@brunovega6479]

hey I know people praise your voice and narrative critique storytelling. but I'm noticing your spicy fun editin, so just wanted to let you know that its not going unnoticed.

[@crzyces1693]

I found this game around 18 when I was looking for new DnD video games. I'd played the Gold Box series as a kid, and low and behold, SSI was making a new PoR! There was also an ad for a game called Galdur's Gate coming out first, from a team of 13 or 14 people named Bioware. I bought it and expected very little. Then I was hooked. I didn't get bored, and must've spent 150 hours on my first playthrough. Oh, to get the command line you had to edit the .ini file in the original btw. I believe it was just setting a value to = 1. Or 0, I forget now. You mentioned being able to do a lot in the game, especially for it's time, but one thing you didn't mention was the Basilisks. Those things had me carrying party members back to cities so many bloody times it was ruining the game. Then I remembered a scene from "Clash of the Titans" where Pericles (or Theseus, I forget which) used the silver shield to reflect the Medusa's gaze back at her. So I equipped everyone in my party with a mirror, and what do you know, the gazes were reflected back and the buggers turned into statues. Yep, they thought the encounter through well enough to have the gaze reflect off the mirrors, assuming you weren't looking because you were smart enough to use mirrors in one of your hands, and "Gaze Reflected" would actually show as the result of an action, then the Basilisk's save, and whelp, it certainly made that encounter much, much easier. Flesh to Stone was also a 4rth level Cleric spell as well, so unless you were level 4 and had a scroll or were level 7 and had it memorized, you were trekking back to a temple if you didn't have that option available. Or loading a save. I heard in the new version it's a level 1 or 2 spell which is crazy cheesy, but whatever. I guess expecting people to think through the encounter is too much? I remember Bioware being *INCREDIBLY* cool back then as well. They used my old message board nickname as a character in _"Throne of Bhaal,"_ along with a bunch of other regular posters like "Gromnir", "Hrothgar Firehammer", Detry Greyhiam and a few others. Heh, I got to be an annoying yet unkillable imp. Go figure. We begged for horses so badly because of the damn wooded areas you mentioned, where there were few areas of interest, MMO style fetch quests and just that slow drag of levels 1-3. They didn't give us horses (or pointy hats), but they did invite us to GenCon in 2001 where they were showing off Neverwinter Nights, so that was cool. Lol, I thought Milwaukee was like _"Happy Days,"_ but I'll be darned it was a real city of just over 1m people. I ended up meeting a booth girl, moving her back to the East Coast, but that's a story for another day... Back to BG1. I remember finding that level 1 ring of wizardry in my 2nd playthrough. Oh my word did that extra level 1 spell help immensely. It was also on 1 pixel which could barely be seen if you went over it on a 14" CRT. 1 bloody pixel. Under a tree! Ugh. There were so many Easter Eggs in that game it is ridiculous. You also left out bumping into Drizzt. You could fight him, and if you won get his armor and 2 scimitars along with his Boots of Speed. Only one scimitar was labled btw. I believe it was Twinkle, and Icingdeath was listed as a +3 Frostbrand/Sword of Frost. Or, you could pickpocket him and get Twinkle in which case he isn't hostile to you in BG 2. I suppose that's enough rambling from me. Great vid and keep them coming!

[@Emanon...]

I've spent the summer playing _all_ of BG I and II (essentially every possible quest + a lot of great mods). The age definitely shows, but the gameplay and story still holds up. Very excited for BG III!

[@leftypistolero5983]

I was a Baldur's Gate, then Fallout, baby. God, I miss those days so hard. I basically start a new Baldur's Gate (1) playthrough every other Fall - and a new Fallout playthrough every other Spring.

[@middle_pickup]

I remember playing Baldur's Gate for the first time at my local library. They had some older PC games installed for people to come in and play when I was in high school. I think I was one of like 3 people who took advantage of that. I really liked it, but obviously never finished it. I might have to go back for a full run.

[@deinonychusben]

Baldur’s Gate will hold up in 3022.

[@grantstratton2239]

I still play this game relentlessly, but as a nod to issues of slow leveling and pointless sidequests you brought up in your review, I mostly play the game as a solo character, complete the fastest / easiest talking (no combat required) quests, then then grab the greenstone amulet and kill sirens or potions of mirrored eyes and kill the basilisks for huge xp that's relatively safe. Then I'm usually high enough level to solo / speedrun the rest of the main quest, with occasional diversions for tomes and the best gear. I hit max level by the end of the game and usually the only tricky part is the boss battles (especially the end boss), but when you are soloing you can usually afford enough potions to cheese those fights too. I don't know that I've even played a lot of the fetch side quests. And I think I've probably forgotten about all of them that aren't directly in my regular route and/or don't relate to what gear I want for the endgame. One of these days I really should play for a set of characters I haven't played with before to learn their stories and see how they interact with other characters, but honestly, most days it just feels like an xp drain and padding out the runtime.

[@Wedneswere]

in elf years, this game came out practically today. it's one of my favorites. I love it so much I would actually marry it. and I have.

[@itswindle1580]

1:08:55 the teleporting spider bit kills me every time 😂

[@Balry]

that jar in the asshole picture reference brought back some horrible memories...

[@civ-fanboy2137]

I think the guys that are voting for Sarevok are his Doppelganger friends

[@garrick3727]

[18:00] It could be intentional since old school D&D somewhat expected players to use their own intelligence rather than roleplaying your character at its INT score. Death came so easy at level 1 that players tried to give themselves every possible advantage in a fight. Every character had a ranged weapon as soon as they could get one, and flaming lantern oil was a staple - so much so that later editions had rules for it. (Yes I know what edition of D&D Baldur's Gate is based on, I'm just calling anything before 3rd old school.)

[@scp2539]

one of the things ive always found funny is people talking about time limits on quests before the companions f off to someplace else is that you can complete around 75% of the game and beat the final boss before triggering those limits so its not a real big concern to do them unless you really want to. in the case of minsc i have never done his companion side quest, i tried it and died then i left and forgot about it. first time i played the game it felt slow, but after that i knew where to go for loot and companions so that sped things up a lot. the game never really felt long and enhanced feels like its easier to level up so still doesnt feel like a long game. probably spent 28h as my longest run just walking around trying to get 100% map explored and do everything. theres so many ways to cheese the fighting in BG 1-2. nice video ^,^

[@DrakeEB]

With mods, like EET, and especially Sword Coast Stratagems for the Ai, it's still epic 20+ years later.

[@PaceFightersplace]

Idk i kinda expected you to go apeshit unchill with some kind of physics based Theory with that backgroundmusic round about min 15.

[@JavierSanchez-mo2ef]

im so used to play this game with mods that add tones of dialogue to the companion npcs. Arent the emerald enclave the tree huggers not the harpers?

[@zacharia1446]

“Every extra dollar keeps me off the stripper pole” aye aye, capm!

[@JaisonJFranklin]

Sad to see these Ankheg husks being left behind. I buy that whole armor shop in Berengost selling those shells over there.

[@kinagrill]

The farmer's kid quest is actually a VERY good and quite basic quest design to use for newbie players after a few 'yay heroes and quests and money and things!' and let them know that, yes they might be 'important fated people' or whatnot, but they are only a small group of people and they cannot be everywhere and in time to help... some times it's too late and all they can do is bring back the body of a child and let the father bury the remains with some peace of mind that at least his son could get a good burial and he'd KNOW that his son isn't out there and lost in some scary place anymore. His son is at peace... even if that's little comfort for the overall loss of a child. I had a similar quest done for a group I DM'd for back, oh, what, 10 years ago now I think? It was of course 3.5e back then I used and the players were a bit miffed initially with the result of the quest, but after a while as we RP'd past it all and the little village of people saying thanks for at least giving some closure to the mayor whose wife had been lost for a day or two in the nearby woods. They hadn't expected her to still be alive, but they hoped, alas for naught, that she was just hiding somewhere in a cave or some such and would thusly be found. Alas not. However using this kind of poor-feeling end-result for quests TOO often can have a negative effect as well of ruining the enjoyment for players that they are 'always too late', especially if it's with an overarching villain that just keeps always escaping and going 'next time gadget!' at them - cuz that crap's just frustrating (I recommend using a minion of the Big Bad or like a Captain of it's forces or a 3rd-party force the Big Bad had influenced into causing trouble).

[@woollama]

When you said that traps are treated like claymores, thanks to the setting of the game, I was just watching for two minutes straight before realising you didn't mean the two handed sword and it was not a joke about some obscure D&D rule with zweihanders

[@Witch-KingofTsamra]

I would really like a Wrath of The Righteous update review or whatever you would prefer.

[@DarthHellion2]

I have tried to get into this game at least 3 times. I had no idea that the reason I was having a hard time was because of the new content. I'll have to give it another try

[@t2av159]

Bg1= use bows, Bg2: be a sorcerer

[@vadersfistofdoom2148]

If you see statues run.

[@izathae]

I want a Wrath of the Righteous video! I love Wrath of the Righteous. Such a good game. I love the different mythic paths and stories.

[@JoshSweetvale]

41:41 In the Golden Sun duology for GBA, you could mind-read people. Also had stuff like plot points and sequel hints.

[@ArvelDreth]

As someone who saw the enhanced edition ending first, I got the exact same impression from both wndings. That there were tons more children of Bhaal out there. You see the other statues to the left and right snd the camera pans down to show all the other reliefs in the wall where more statues are. I'm not sure what you were missing.

[@kanetombs1275]

I'm just starting this video but I remember opening that three-part sleeve with all the CDs in it and just feeling stress 😅, I might have been 14 at the time. But then I got about an hour into the game and everything clicked, and I could not put that game down no matter how many times it brutalized me. Or how difficult it was wrestling with my own adhd. I absolutely love the enhanced edition for this entire series, I even bought an extra copy for my phone. I'm about halfway through it now and I'm having a lot of fun and I like the ability to zoom in and out. I wonder how he's going to talk about one of my most beloved games...

[@Redamthe5th]

Its a big freaking city and its incredible! Too bad you dont encounter it till the last stretch of the game... im sure devs have learned from this though for future titles!

[@kanetombs1275]

I love Boulder's gate 1 and 2 and icewind Dale, I'm currently doing a playthrough with my wife in which we read all the character dialogue out to each other with voices. Great time, often very funny. The added content should have just been a DLC tick box. I would have checked it but I understand needing to preserve the original history of the game.

[@stevenclark1662]

Came here from your blood omen video, I had just started playing BO and really enjoyed. I Love BG as well, but only ever played BG 2, number 1 is on my list! Anyway, you have a new subscriber

[@dustinlawson5882]

unless it's a bug that will crash the game or lock you out remaster devs need to leave games as PURE to the original as possible and just update the visuals! period!

[@LethinGabbins]

You're opening comments are exactly how I felt about this game

[@rotisserieprotocol3582]

I don't really care for this game, I'm just here to listen to you talk

[@diddymelone2265]

as a kid the original version of this game was just beyond me, I couldnt make it past the first few screens without dying and the (german) voice acting was so weird ... it still is super weird btw. later, when I found neverwinter nights and loved it, I came back to baldurs gate and yet again found it was much less accessible than nwn and I dropped it again after the friendly arm inn. and finally in 2018, I bought the EE and fell in love, its a great game, great series and I now understand why it is such a milestone and why so many people love it so much.

[@johnnybensonitis7853]

Just started the vid, and I now realize I caught a lucky break since I went to a school where I was able to befriend a few fellas who actually knew and were into similar video games as myself. That was back in middle school and our small crew talked about RPG's a fuck-ton because it was fun just having discussion as we hadn't been able to do so up to then.

[@goblinrat6119]

BG1 and 2 were my childhood. Unironically, they made me, in many ways, all the ways that matter. Without hyperbole, I can trace basically all central parts of my life now back to one fateful day, in the year 2002. I got BG2 randomly, one Tuesday, when I was about... 11 years old from my sister's friend, whose mother worked in a bookstore and for some reason received a copy from work. Nobody else they knew played computer games, so I got it. It would not be an overstatement to say that it was an entirely formative experience. I learned about fantasy as a genre mostly through BG2 (of course I knew what fantasy literature was, and I had read like The Hobbit and such, but, as a real thing to get interested in). And D&D. I was not a native English speaker, but I had a notably strong proficiency in English by that point already, and got roughly about 65% of what was going on in the game, the first time through. And of course, playing it helped me get a lot better, too. I got BG1 some time later, as a birthday present. And together, these games basically informed my whole childhood. These games were just absolutely amazing new things, to me. Unprecedented. I had played some JRPGs on my Playstation before, but CRPGs were just... such a different beast. Something about them, the worlds they teased, all that, was just absolutely enthralling to me. I started looking up information on the game system (back during the good old days of the dial-up internet), and looking for D&D novels at the local library (Drizzt was the shit) and began envisioning my own fantasy worlds and all that. All that good stuff a nerdy kid will do after they inhale some of the crack that is D&D. I came from a... rather unhappy place, and I have memories of being in early grade school and thinking I actually had no reason to live at all. Not one. But after I got these games, after I got into them, after I started playing them essentially just over and over (I think I played through BG2 8 times during one summer, and I've played through them both so much I can recite most of the dialogue from memory), and immersing in all the things they represented... then when I thought about that again, I realized that I wanted to play more Baldur's Gate. And maybe that was a stupid reason, but it was a hell of a lot more than no reason at all. Later on, I met my wife through a roleplay group. Known her since I was 15 years old, got together when I was 24, and now I'm 33 and still with her. I love roleplaying games, both on paper and as video games, and fantasy as a genre has always been my thing. I am now a writer and a tabletop game designer. These were all things that Baldur's Gate gatewayed me into. Maybe I would have found many eventually anyway, but for me, it was that 4 disc copy of BG2, that ultimately led into all the things I am today, including being alive at all. I still have that 4 disc copy of BG2, and my 5 disc copy of BG1 (and the expansions to both, stuffed into the same cases). Totally banged to hell and unreadable by now. I will never throw those away.

[@peppep1704]

As someone who's sank 100 - 200 into it and beaten it, I'd give BG1 an objective 6/10. And it only scores that high because of its unique charm in areas like portraits and voice acting. BG2 would get a 7/10 and Planescape: Torment would get like an 7.5/10. They get those scores because the writing in them is so high-quality and captivating. Oldschool CRPGs are amazing, but they are also plagued by technical issues and odd game design choices.

[@robertbryant8243]

The map areas of Cloakwood are manageable. The random encounters between the map areas are bs.

[@Sigh95]

“It was a way for me to play DnD without having friends to play DnD.” Yeah, relatable. “It’s not like I didn’t have friends…” Oh. Nevermind.

[@amintadjer784]

Goddamn 18yo strat-edgy was a fucking chad

[@waltlock8805]

To anyone watching this later - the Balur's Gate Trilogy mod is absolutely awesome. It's been made MUCH easier to install, as well.

[@Tridd666]

"Potion Seller, I require your strongest potions" BG: yeah ok

[@ukdnbmarsh]

Dungeon Master on the Atari 512 STE was my first foray into the new age of RPG style games, yes of course i loved BG , BG2 and other classics along the way such as Elder Scrolls 1 , Morrowind, Skyrim, Divinity Original Sin 2, Planetscape etc etc , these days i have around 5k hours in Path Of Exile and still loving that

[@kosm518]

I just noticed the little Sheldon icon for your character. I thought the clips of him where just a joke but you’re actually playing as him like get the fuck out of here why are you so funny like come now. I’m not sure if I missed something at the start but it caught me by surprise mid video and I love it

[@Adjusting1]

I played it first time in 2021 when I was 21 and finished this game again in 2022. Baldurs Gate is so good even today. Although I didn't really like Siege of Dragonspear.

[@mygaffer]

Have you played Battle Brothers? Not a role-playing game but you do level up your characters and roam the land and complete tasks.

[@abcdefghi3146]

love your thumbnails + you´re f*ckin funny, keep it up man!

[@EmperorOfLols]

"Everyone wants a slap a fresh coat of paint" Historical Revisionism is a HELL of a drug.

[@PedroFerreira-ne3jv]

Please make a wotr video! With the launch of the new edition of the game and their plan to make a new dlc in the next years it can be real fun to see the state of the game now. Specially because to me it’s the best high fantasy crpg(maybe after bg2)

[@lillyclarity9699]

wrath of the righteous review pls. i finished two playthroughs of it this year and I'd like to hear your opinions on it. I'm really not even sure how i feel, it's rather complex... Oh, I'll vote on the poll, but for what it's worth, I'd prefer a single longer video for the New Vegas DLC. They're all connected and have a straight continuity of plot with The Courier's personal story, you'd tell the story best if it was all together, in my opinion. Can't wait to die laughing at Old World Blues dialogue again lmao

[@Kekkakek]

As someone who first saw BG2 before BG1 when his cousin played it in LAN with his friends when i was a little shit... i just can't get over BG1 'oldness' now that i could play it myself. Mostly because BG2 has imo a pretty solid start compared to the first one. But i appreciate every long ass video that comes about those games! :D

[@AnAverageGoblin]

You're in luck, apparently someone remade BG1 in the sequel's engine

[@grantstratton2239]

Those boots of the Cheetah are great for backstab, run away, hide again, rinse and repeat for victory. (Yes, it's also very cheesy, except that stealth as you pointed out is unreliable without a lot of levels, gear, and/or setup) Actually they improved the AI for the Enhanced Edition so that after you backstab someone and hide, NPCs run around like chickens with their heads cut off so it's harder to repeatedly backstab them.

[@ScottishBasset]

Would you consider covering Dragon Age: Origins?

[@futurewario9591]

24:44 To be fair Zorn did travel alone & doesn't have any friends before you.

[@kristienwhitney-johns5863]

He was part of a full party who betrayed him

[@mazmarwood4359]

love your videos dude, just felt a need to say something real quick about Patreon here. so in recent news it's came to light that Patreon has not only had an issue with parents/elders exploiting minors both sexually and just in general for money on their site, but it's ALSO came to light that Patreon has been directly telling their (now former) Security team to straight up ignore any reports or complaints about such acts unless law enforcement are involved or any legal action *is* being taken. Patreon sacked their entire Security team very recently and the former employees have spoken about this malpractice on various sites in which people report their experiences working at companies and list pros/cons to it. i know ultimately this doesnt affect you, your bottom line or anything but i felt the need to try and make as many Patreon creators aware of this as possible in case they are the type of people who would choose to boycott a system/company for this kind of thing. this isnt me demanding you to boycott, or even an expectation of you to do so (or anyone else for that matter) just wanted to spread this information out there so more people are aware of it. but anyway, love your content, love this video, have a good day!

[@TheDrunkMunk]

I started playing this recently on my pos laptop while moving house and being without my PC for two weeks. I hated it at first, would play it for an hour then close it, but something kept bagging me to come back. After a few back and forths I got completely and enthusiastically into it. I play it in German, and the voice acting is INSANELY good.

[@emkalina]

funny thing, Polish localisation was made by a beginner studio (not exactly little studio now :wink:) that somehow managed to hire top theater and film stars of that time to do the dub. it's iconic

[@justas538]

Some sound issues around 3:40

[@hmill70]

So the space hamster in mass effect that makes that squeak sound is a Easter egg wonderful 😂

[@skdoubleog8692]

After about half a dozen failed attempts, this video has me motivated to pass the iron mine 😂

[@WeOnlyEatSoup]

Same!!! Got this on my switch in July...those kobolds are going down FINALLY

[@Samm815]

A similar thing happened to me with Warlockracy.

[@the_inquisitive_inquisitor]

3:45 holy audio popping

[@RedDed228]

Did I just hear an "Arrow in the knee" joke in 2022?

[@drcox012]

Have never gotten farther than the actual city of BG. Might try and play this again. It was a lot of fun from what I can remember. I particularly enjoy the nobles and the "away from me, beggar!".

[@MyKeyMoonShine]

In defense of beamdog, while what they added wasn't great it was great to have a fully evil party in BG2 as an option finally, including an evil theif. Not so great how her quest in TOB is. 😵‍💫

[@rhettknott9989]

I have been playing Baldur's Gate for almost 20 years and today is the first time i have heard of the Evermemory Ring. So many tedious magic playthroughs. So much early level struggle. For nothing! I could have enjoyed this game so much more. I feel like a fool, especially cause you know im gonna start a new playthrough tomorrow lolololololololololololol

[@PvtHopscotch]

I'll donate to your patreon (been meaning to anyway but ADHD is what it is) but I don't want the stripper pole off the table completely. Who knows, maybe you'll find pay day in being one of THOSE streamers. Now, I'll go get break this $20 for some ones, you start filling the kiddy pool. Thanks for another awesome video man.

[@edwinfrerichs8674]

...manners tutorial guide? I must have missed him. The dozen or so times I've done that area.

[@SuperTyrannical1]

We all know Boo is the real brains of the operation... That's why he's featured in the Mass Effect series. 😉