God of War is a top-rated gaming franchise developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. This series explicitly draws inspiration from Greek and Norse mythology. It also features several scenes and settings based on Roman mythology.
Taking inspiration from Greek mythology, the developers created the gaming series with a primary character named Kratos, a Spartan warrior who signifies the formidable force of ancient Greece. Kratos embodies discipline, honor, and power.
Here is the entire series:-
The game starts with Kratos, a Spartan warrior influenced by Ares, the Greek God of war, to kill his family. Task God by Athena, the goddess of wisdom and strength, Kratos starts his continuous search across ancient Greece to take revenge from Ares.
Ares had made him commit unbelievable sins in the past, including the murder of his daughter and wife. While on the quest, he confronts guilt and anguish over his past actions. Ultimately, Kratos defeats Ares and ascends the throne at Mount Olympus as God of War.
However, the series is primarily based on Greek mythology aspects of Roman Mythology can also be seen in the game such as in the architecture and aesthetics and the themes of power struggle, consequences of one’s actions are both prevalent in the Greek and Roman mythology as shown through the journey of Kratos.
The second series of God of War is about how Kratos, now the God of War, seeks revenge from Zeus. Kratos seeks revenge from Zeus as he has betrayed and stripped him of his powers. On his journey, he gets to tackle characters like Athena, Hermes, and Poseidon, equivalent to Minerva, Mercury, and Neptune, respectively, in Roman mythology, each representing unique challenges.
The developers needed to make the game more interesting by establishing a relationship between the player and the character. Hence, they launched this series as a prequel to the original series “God of War,” showing what happened before Kratos became the God. People would connect more if they knew God had occurred in the past.
The story is about uncovering the truth about the abduction of the sun god Helio. Kratos, known as the Ghost of Sparta, is tasked by Athena to find Helio and bring back light to the dark world. He encounters powerful enemies like Persian forces, Powerful Titans, and creatures like Basilisk on his journey.
God of War III, launched in 2010, is the sequel to the 2007 God of War series. The story continues as Kratos seeks revenge on Zeus, the King of the gods of Kingpus, who betrayed him. To seek his revenge, he leads a powerful army of Titans.
On his way to Mount Olympus, he encounters various gods and monsters from Greek Mythology. Characters like Hercules, the Roman equivalent of the Greek God Heracles, Poseidon, the God of the Sea, and Hades, the God of the Gods, give him tough competition in God’s way. He also discovers shocking truths about his past and his connection with Olympus.
The players experience the shocking narrative of Kratos’s past life. Kratos seeks to discover the hidden truths about his origin. While on his journey, he also learns about his forgotten brother, Deimos, whom the God of Death captured. To comfort his sins of the past, he decides to rescue his brother. Along the way, he encounters powerful monsters and battles his enemies, including Thanatos, the God of Death.
In this series, the game narrates the story of how Kratos became the Ghost of Sparta. The game starts with Kratos being imprisoned by the Furies, three sisters assigned to punish those who break their vows to the gods. Kratos fights for his freedom from the Furies and the bond of Ares, who made him do horrible and sinful tasks in his past. On his journey, he uncovers the truth behind his imprisonment and connection with Ares.
This game series is set around Norse Mythology. Kratos, the protagonist, leaves his past and starts to reside in Midgaurd. The story revolves around him and his son Atreus’s journey to fulfill his wife’s death wish of her ashes being scattered from the highest point in the nine realms. On their journey, they encounter various Norse creatures. Kratos faces hardships, battling them all while keeping his past a secret from his son.
The game continues with the story of Kratos and his son Atreus in Norse Mythology. This series explores the role of fate, destiny, and the consequences of one’s actions. The players will get to tackle the mystical creatures of Norse Mythology.
There could be several reasons for not choosing Roman Mythology for this game. These reasons could be –
David Jaffe, the director of the God of War series, was inspired by the Japanese Mythological game Onimusha. Who said, “Originally, I had been playing Onimusha, and I said, ‘Well, what if we did pretty much a similar game but instead of ancient Japanese mythology, what if we did it with Greek mythology?”
According to Cory Barlog (Creative Director at SMS), “Five years is the total time since I got back. I think it’s just two months shy of five years when you consider the release date.”
Charlie Wen, one of the members of the developer team, says, “A vision of Kratos came to me that needed to get out of my head and onto paper (or napkin) – he had wide double blades attached to his forearms by chains that he would fling around.”
Kratos’s tattoo was initially planned to be blue. However, the developers ended up going for a red tattoo, as the blue one was seen as ‘less violent’. Also, Kratos’s white skin, explained in the game as the ashes of his dead family, resulted from the director Jaffe liking a black-and-white illustration.
In his work for the God of War franchise, Andy Park says his favorite design was Poseidon.’ He also shouted to Max Ancar for making the design come alive.
Andy Park- “I remember getting the prompt of a water-based behemoth that the Poseidon god would transform into and thinking what a fun challenge to tackle. Poseidon was my favorite design I got to do during my long run on the God of War franchise.”
The God of War series has impacted popular culture, creating a craze for action-adventure games by introducing innovative gameplay mechanics. It has set the bar for creative gaming and storytelling in the industry.
God of War series, with each Installment, has increased the technology by introducing better gaming visuals, cinematics, and a dynamic environment. This series has increased competition in the industry in terms of visual experience, gaming technology, and narrative structure.
The series’ epic storytelling and visualizing concept influenced the creation of fan communities, commercial products, and even the introduction and adaptability of literature and visual media like comics and films.
It has also created and improved players’ knowledge about the ancient mythologies of the world in the most straightforward manner. It has also taught players about fate, destiny, and the consequences of one’s actions.
The introduction of God of War into the gaming industry created creative chaos among the developers to sustain their existence. This led to many similar games with different story narratives; some even set games around Roman Mythology and Roman History. A few of these games are listed below:
This game is set around Greek and Roman Mythology. Players take the role of Spartan warriors and defend Greece from the Roman army’s attack. The game gives the player an experience of both Greek and Roman culture.
Titan Quest was released in 2006, a year after the launch of God of War. The story was not primarily based on Roman mythology but on Ancient Greece, Egypt, and Asia. The players encountered mythological creatures from Greek, Roman, and Egyptian myths.
Caesar IV is the fourth series of the game Caesar, which was originally launched in 1992. The game is not mythological but reflects the political and administrative essence of ancient Rome.
Total War: Rome II was launched in 2013. The first game of the Total War series was “Shogun: Total War,” which was set in feudal Japan. The Rome series includes historical elements of Rome, Roman Mythology, and religion.
This series also provides players with the experience of Ancient Rome and the characters and elements of Roman mythology.
This game revolves around Roman history rather than Roman mythology. But has a realistic characterization of Roman history, culture, and warfare.
Released in 2015, this game takes inspiration from the decline of the ancient Roman Empire and gives the player hands-on experience in Roman-style politics.
The game was launched in 2019; the story revolves around the rise of the Roman Empire. The game provides stunning inclusion of Roman landscapes and a real-time battling experiene,, drawing the player’s attention.
The God of War series developers introduce new characters and better quality in each series, but they do not need to stick to only one or two mythologies for the future series. The developers must introduce new and creative story narratives inspired by any other mythology in the world, introducing the players to various options.
The makers may also include different mythologies in one game, giving the audience a chance to select their own mythology for the series. Doing this may be time-consuming and a little difficult, too, but it will give the makers an extra edge in the industry. The two-end playing experiences of the users can improve their place in the gaming industry.
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