God of War 1 General Discussion

It is easily the hardest part in the series in my opinion. If you have the Rage upgrade you just have to spam magic as much as you can. But even then they can get a few hits in. Square Square Triangle works well to keep them locked down. Try to conserve magic and super-meter when needed. They give you a lot of refills as I recall.

Got it, I think I'll do it tonight.

I'm doing a god mode/very hard run, I'm enjoying it so far. I'm using launchers and grabs more efficiently, almost no magic, no rage and no qte finishers for more orbs.

So I assume you beat the Clones? Good job!

Very Hard is extremely fun once you get the game's mechanics down. I remember doing a NUR and immediately doing a PAIN run afterwards since the core combat is just so addictive, really a type of game you can constantly get better at. Note that SOME QTE finishers give more orbs, I think against the giants for instance. Doing petrification kills gives the most I think if you shatter them, the "shatter" bonus is huge. Freezing flying enemies is a great way to get this, as they'll fall to their death immediately.

Yeah, I beat them, thanks!
Nice info about red orbs, I'll petrify more enemies from now on.
By the way, I've read some David Jaffe's interviews and that guy seems very different from what I had imagined. Even this tweet is very weird coming from a director that created such a good action game:
https://twitter.com/davidscottjaffe/status/1103887485711527936

I don't get it. Let me get this straight.

>Loved the demo, but too hard and not fun.
Wut?

>Lost in DMC adventure.
Play an adventure game then FFS.

>No desire to master anything.
What's the point then? DMC exploration isn't that good.

>Is worried about easy mode being a 'baby's toy'.
Why? He just said he doesn't care for mechanics and wants to explore, but now being too easy is an issue?

This guy is all over the place. Has to be a joke post.

This is a good time to remind everyone that the director might not play such a big roll in the individual elements you enjoy in your favorite action games. It is really the concept artists, gameplay designers, etc. that bring it to life.
I forgot the name of the head combat guy from GOW but he played a huge part from what I have read. Jaffe might have just came up with Kratos and nothing more, we really don't know.

Sent from Topic'it App

Jaffe is a pretty big troll, but you also have to take into account that God of War is nearly 14 years ago at this point. A lot can change in a person's opinion in 14 years. The game itself comes with interviews included in bonus material, which are worth the watch.

Jaffe was more responsible for the overal vision. The appeal, and what niche the game should fill. Detailed mechanics are more up to the overal development team themselves.

Taken from a glorious article writen by an absolute genius:

A Game-Director is the man with the idea that guides the team, often through the game’s leads – Lead Designer, Lead Artist, Lead Programmer etc. – to make the game he envisions. He directs the team through the title’s development while keeping an eye on the budget and schedule, while also managing the team and their wishes. In short: he focuses on the big picture.


The Game-Designer creates the core features of said big picture. Directed by their Lead Game Designer they work from the decided upon concept to create characters, graphics, gameplay mechanics and more.

The person Hedfone is talking about is Derek Daniels (don't be a moron like me think its Daniel Dereks, that's nsfw apparently. Learn something new every day). Guy is mostly responsible for the combat mechanics in GoW1 and laying down the fundamentals.

Ok but even so his post is all over the place.

What does he want?

No learning, and not hard, but not easy enough to be baby mode?

He already said he only cares for the 'DMC adventure'. What is this? Exploration? Story? If so, then why so worried about baby toy mode?

There's a big difference to what a man makes, and what he likes to play though. Kamiya loved GoW2018 and I doubt most even play their titles on the hardest setting. God of War 1 was made as a power fantasy that mash your way through. Just so happens to have a fantastic system and a higher difficulty that bites back.

Hedfone is right, the director is not a one man army, still I was surprised reading some Jaffe's opinions. Birdman and I had a similar reaction.

@Raeng Haha I remember that genius.

I watched him livestream a few times, he's a really interesting individual, pretty big pottymouth too. Even calling some trolls out to talk shit to him live haha! Guy was at the center of some sort of political attack at one point as I recall, not sure. The basic internet-drama, he said a thing, people didn't like said thing, it escalated.

Does he still make games?

There's a big difference to what a man makes
Sure but even then his post is a mess.

If you just want 'DMC adventure' why is being too easy baby mode an issue when you just said you don't care for difficulty or learning how to play?

Stuck at the clones on God Mode difficulty. I hate them, how did they pass the testing ?

They really showcase the bizarre nutjobbery of early PS2 titles. They just require a very specific tactic to beat. Personally the "translator" fight in GoWII is worse, that stuff was the hell-scape of nightmares honestly. Never again.

I loved the Translator on GoW2, one of my favorite parts of a pretty disappointing game for me.
Though I only played on hard, so maybe that is why haha.

Got the platinum too. Challenges were way easier than I thought. The speedrun with Ares' armor and on easy difficult was very funny. I didn't know you could skip a lot of fights. Maybe I'll do some challenge runs in the future but I'd like to play its sequel now.

The costumes were really fun and I miss their unique charm. Cog of War and War Chef etc were all really fun, can you imagine current day Kratos be playable in a business suit wielding two suitcases? And for free? Different times.

I'd say try the other titles! GoWII is fantastic, as is the third part. The story is fun too, people tend to forget it really was the 'gaming epic' of its generation in terms of story as well. When three came out people were really looking forward to the conclusion of the tale.

I remember reading about the Spud Of War costume!

Been playing this since I did my NUR in GoW2, I’ve always loved this game a lot but I feel 2 really refined a lot of things. I probably should have played this first, but oh well. I can definitely beat VH in the next week or two.

Decided to boot up the game again, and hit the part with the Cerberus and the dogs that turn into Cerberus. The Atlas challenge, I think it was called?

And Holy Jesus fucking Christ, I forgot how hard that part was. Any tips? I try to launch the dogs, and the slam them into the ground with the grabs.

You can watch my PAIN run on that fight here:




It is not easy. The best idea is to kill the little dogs first to make sure they don't grow into breeders themselves. Once they are dead focus on the leading dog with a grab infinite. You really have to be at the top of your game here. Whatever you do do NOT OH them (ground-to-air grab), instead do a regular grab and angle it to hit other dogs for collision damage.

I beat it.

Used the age old tactic of grabbing the dogs, and throwing them at eachother to distribute damage as evenly as possible, with a few spells mixed in (Because I'm not very good at this game). Then, I just beat the big ones with standard attacks.

And I did not know that you could actually grab loop those guys. I'll keep that in mind on my next playthrough.

Royboy: H-hey...who is that handsome man doing run evaluation in the comments?

Firm: Thought you were working on GoWIII. What has you returning to GoW1?

Not really sure. I was just suddenly in the mood for God of War 1.

I have a very bad tendency to be distracted by other things... Applies to both games, and unfortunately, real life.

Noted. What is the run? Vanilla VH? VH NUR+? VH PAIN?

I'm playing GoW 1 again as a "background game" (the "foreground game" is still DMC 5 atm), it's been a long time since I finished it. Now I'm playing it on Hard, maybe I'll try and beat it on God Mode as well if I feel like it.

I'm not very far (just beat Medusa) and I haven't died yet (Medusa almost got me tho, she's super fast). I'm having fun, the combat design is very tight and satisfying, and the Hydra is still as impressive as ever. I didn't remember that standard grabs have i-frames, I thought only executions did. This is quite useful.

I've got a question: does dodging have i-frames, too? I'm sure that it does in 3 and Ascension, but I don't know about 1 and 2.

Dodging has i.frames in the middle of the animation in all games, though it is mostly handy do avoid unblockable shockwaves imo - the game is more about blocking which is far more powerful. In GoW1 you can also i.frame on command by swapping to the Blade of Artemis, the animation is fully i.framed which is fantastic fun.

If you ever want to get going and have a ton of fun, and a healthy challenge, do a No Upgrade Run on God Mode before you call it quits. It really shows the game in a new light imo, highly enjoyable! Glad to see you having fun with the title!

Thank you for the information. I know that blocking is the main defensive option in this series, but there are some unblockable attack (cyclops being an example).

I heard about NUR runs (and PAIN too, but I don't see myself ever doing that one) and I find them quite interesting. However, it was not my intention to get super deep into the game now, I just picked it up for fun and nostalgia and I will probably play the other ones as well. I have yet to play Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta, and I plan to do that, too. If I had to choose one GoW game to master and do crazy challenge runs, that would probably be 3.

That being said, I might also do a NUR run in the other games one day. I could begin by watching the one on your YT channel. :D

GoW III is one of the most fun games in the series to get good at since it has so many other fun tools like the airdodge and dash. It is a lot of fun to play the games this way but paired with PAIN it can take a lot of time away. As a result I've never touched the PSP games yet. I'm hoping the PS5 will run PS3 games somehow because I really hate using my PS3 at the moment.

Note that GoWIII also doesn't have a lot of 'oh god why' moments. GoW1 has quite a few really hard fights as well as the nigh impossible Clones, while GoWII has the translator fight that sends people in to suicidal rage. GoWIII only has the broken scorpion fight, but that's it really. Rest is just a lot of fun and great fights.

On my first Hard playthrough I found the cerberus breeder with the satyrs way harder than the scorpion. Zeus is harder, too.

However, I agree about GoW 3 being really tons of fun, it's my favorite entry in the franchise.

Wow, the desert part was far smaller and less confusing than I remembered it being. It took me ages the first time years ago, and I really don't know why hahaha. DS 3 has this same concept with Farron's keep, but that one can actually be pretty confusing (and it's also the worst area in the game imo because it slows your movement down).

However, I got the blade of Artemis and I must say, I'm not really a fan. Like, I appreciate it as a second weapon to mix things up since it is very different from the blades of chaos, it looks cool too, but from a mechanical standpoint I think that the blades are much more fun and versatile. The fact that they have grabs and parry in particular makes me use them pretty much always. Do the players who are into challenge runs use the blade of Artemis?

It is really great for keeping enemies juggled and in stun loops, here is a video with some tech.

Finished GoW 1. Very solid game, the combat is deeper than most players think but you all know that. Still, I don't like the sections that involve traps or stuff like that, and I don't remember them being so frustrating in later games so the devs probably noticed, too. I don't really feel like replaying this one right now (might do God Mode in the future tho), so I'll probably jump into GoW 2, which for some reason I remember even less.

GoW2 is much improved imo, definitely worth a play on Titan if you have the time.

God of War 1 was really trying to spice the gameplay up, but as a result there are a lot of ‘oh god not this part again’ pieces. God of War 2 and 3 have these a lot less, so no worries there.

Regarding the Artemis Blade, it is mostly great if you use its other moves like the R1(? I think it was that button). Its regular attacks are so-so. But it is great for keeping foes in a juggle state as shown before.

The GamingbritShow is going to do a 6 part retrospective on a series, I pray to god it isn't this one. I don't think I could handle that.

It could be DMC? Including the reboot there's 6 titles in that (counting 3/3SE and 4/4SE together).

I really need to play through the classic GoW games. I have the first HD collection on PS3, but haven't got round to playing it yet.

He's already done all DMC games though, I doubt he'll cover them in that much detail again though it wouldn't surprise me honestly.

“Not enough combos”
“Grabs aren’t flashy enough”
“Where’s the taunt”
“There’s barely aerial combat”
“Kratos is unlikable”

I can see it now...

The one criticism that he'll have that everyone else here will agree with is the unskippable cutscenes.

I'll still watch it, since I'm still interested in hearing his take (You know, maybe his opinion has changed, and maybe hell will freeze over).

That unskippable cutscene stuff I can relate too. Too many times have I seen Kratos walk up to Ares...

Infirmary: >unskippable cutscenes
For the first time they are viewed...in a given playthrough (which is a bridge too far *forcing them the first playthrough is a lot as is even if you can pull an AKheon popping the disc out and putting it back in to bypass this*).  And non-CGI cases can't be skipped at all, which pains me as much as the tutorials.

NOTE: These things aside, you didn't respond to my previous message.  Also, Wulf found a cheat for GoW1/GoWII unlocking (most) everything at the main menu (with that same code in-game to get nearly all of the stuff at the start and at MAX).  Sadly, purely a PS2 thing (without hacks).

Omega: >background/foreground
Not huge on this approach.

>vanilla H
Less things get adjusted between settings in GoW1 than the others, but it does nerf Power % to a greater extent (too bad our base values are higher than usual *and we have better tools with higher growth*).  Means around Power % are plentiful, as well.  Should be a cakewalk, really.  Of course, there is much to learn before being truly comfortable and capable.  Merely 'not dying' is a low benchmark (as it would be in DMC *which browbeats people for not going after ranks that are irrelevant to game completion*).

>Medusa almost got you
I imagine you were attacking too wildly and her quick evade and counter defense mechanism was tagging you a lot (less so the other melee attacks, I'd wager *not like she even has a potent stare or other petrification variant to speak of*).  Pity she didn't have any unique qualities (like wall crawling and wall hax *as in the cutscene*).

Pretty much just an inferior generic Gorgon with slight adjustments (like an HP total that is x100 *not that it matters as you are meant to use the grab state that comes up sooner than for the others*, more HP orb drop chance, no MP orbs off OS kill *the MG trial already refills via another system* and she doesn't function the same in response to our grabs *neither OH nor air OS will bounce her after each use unlike the others, so easy locks are not a thing...but more advanced players still have a ways to lock her down*).

>i-frame cases
Quite a lot of those you would find (even exceptions that negate i-frames).  A lot more things can be blocked than you would think, too.  Have to experiment.  If you want more tips, I can help (as with your talk of vanilla VH playthrough).

>there are some unblockables
And some things that merely seem unblockable...

>don't see yourself doing that one
You might be surprised how doable it is (especially in GoW1 with less to be stripped away and the game better built around the basics *not so much balanced around upgraded and progression unlocked options with resource spending to get by save for one major exception at the very end that is made optional owed to the absurd spike making it a supreme outlier*).

>just casual runs for now
Noted.  Light aid is at the ready when you are.

>blind CoO and GoS
What of GoW:A?  For Nu-GoW, refer to Roy (as SBK is not here).

>would pick GoWIII
You say that now.  Still, if that is where you wish to start (and how you get the ball rolling), I'm not picky.

>could begin by peeking at Ranger's notes
You might get a glimpse of ol' Oz's goodies behind the curtain, too (as I often evaluate such works in the comments).

>HCB was harder
Yeah, that opinion is going to change drastically as the truth gets revealed to you.  When you know HCB, it is a chump's battle for sure.  Not an issue.  Skorpius (in higher runs) has too many problems that start to stick out and there are too few ways to neatly address them overall.  It is just very badly designed and executed.  Something for you to see for yourself down the road.

>Zeus
I'm guessing somebody didn't know he could just air grab the shit out of him (Hell, in S2 you don't even have to attack *just block in his face until Gaia shows up*).  His fight only becomes a problem in S3P2 (clones) if you lack a good way to prevent clones (learning how to deal with him otherwise has a bit more to it *definitely don't want to keep provoking an onslaught of them to deal with*).  This is a knowledge issue.

>smaller and less confusing
Yeah, it isn't very big and has very little to it.  Sadly there isn't more to it (hidden chests in the sand, breakables for orbs, sandstorm DoT with traveling safe zones, maybe have the shockwaves of Minotaur Elites clear things up, allow some FF, disable the RO protection (invisible walls), perhaps not make the sirens 'heavy' types (only go so far as what was done with Medusa if only a bit further in preventing a full-on lock with cued quick launches), don't have their HP in statue form be so absurd (needing an exploit to get around it), etc.

>slowed movement
What are you?  Casual?  I'm still waiting for Miyazaki to bring bogs (swamps ain't shit) back with a vengeance.  I feel even more wickedness can be visited upon players there.  Much more potential remains.

>pretty confusing
A bit lacking in landmarks as it is in this desert, but the latter is pretty small to make-up for it (and with rapid movement, you clear it in short order).  Limited visibility isn't anywhere near as obnoxious as in TotG or...

Horse Fuck Valley:

I could stand to see some parts of the storm getting worse (limiting visibility and perhaps pushing lightly in a direction simulating wind) at times (perhaps slowly adding in the DoT referred to before *even for the minotaurs, but not the sirens*) and perhaps even brought on by that otherwise laughable attack Desert Sirens use to flash the screen (just a long start-up, easily interrupted, huge AoE quick stun without damage otherwise).

NOTE: I wish Frigid Outskirts had been better designed.  Like the 'idea', but the execution was pretty atrocious in a lot of pretty critical ways (couldn't even be bothered with putting things worth getting in an optional zone).  It isn't like fun fights await there (just a griefing zone for those engaging in online).

>Artemis
Your appraisal isn't entirely wrong.  As the foremost authority, I'd say it is about even for the worst of all sub-weapons in the series (objectively speaking).  It does, however, have bugs to help its case dramatically (and in even a basic NUR, the Blades become more limited *some combat scenarios will instead favor Artemis*).  Depends how much you want to learn now (as opposed to later).

>do vets use it
As my video shows, they do.

>all know that
Some better than others.  The admin was taught reasonably well (still has much to learn as he likes to bounce around between games perhaps moreso even than yourself).  His articles lightly go over some of the charms from his time learning the series (though less so his history with yours truly *and building up that Toxic RES stat as can be necessary in dealing with me*).

>don't care for traps and stuff
Expected for a newcomer.  It takes time to properly get used to that (more than the casual experience with combat, for sure).  Just trashes the uninitiated.  Rather than tell people to suck it up and git gud, they capitulated (as GoW does tend to aim for mainstream appeal).  More is the pity.  As you gain familiarity, these things will also be mastered.

>remember GoWII even less
Amusing.  I expect you'll be a bit 'down' on SoD (unless you're a whore for purplizing as was the gent's only fondness for it early on).  Or maybe you're a NG fan who is a fellow LunarSTAN (virgins and CHADs keep walking).  There is a fair bit to learn about that one, but suffice (for now) to say it is a set-up weapon with particular strengths that won't shine on casual runs like what you're currently engaged in.

Roy: >Sword Summon
To clarify, only the animation for calling upon the weapon has i-frames.  Sword Sheathe (putting it away) does not have i-frames.  When the time comes, this too can be taught in greater detail.

>try VH NUR (or higher) at least
>to get a better grasp of the basics and appreciate combat
Sound advice.

>fun tools
Somewhat lacking in fun scenarios to work them within, regrettably.

>still haven't done the side entries
I forget, did you even play GoW:A?

>hoping PS5 will convenience you
Don't hold your breath.

>GoW1 has a lot of spikes
I strongly disagree.  It is just the Clones.  The rest only appear challenging to those lacking in knowledge (putting more tax on their ability) and possibly holding to honor codes (adding rules not part of the run to their already loaded plate).

>GoWII has
The tranny (far less of a problem with some exploits and the right upgrades applied into strategy *even without upgrades, some set-ups are quite effective...just that PAIN+ Wave 3 is no joke thanks to the overly limited design I disagree with as with the handling of the Clones*), but also (to a lesser extent) the Loom's Path (ER).  Some minor hiccup's along the way, but those are the big bumps (not bosses *though newcomers tend to get their asses clapped by Theseus thanks to Stage 2 Phase 2 littering the field with hazard patterns only directly harming the player, keeping the boss out of reach to most options, pelting us with distractions and piling on mobs meant to be used to fill meter to finish the fight*).

>GoWIII has
The Monster Truck shouldn't stick out like a sore thumb until VH challenge runs.  HCB can be a problem until people properly learn to handle it (and the inferior *as compared to their glorious past* Satyrs).  If you're really new, the platforming garbage with Icarus Vents is bad enough (as would be dealing with Hades for the poor saps in GoW1 *better jumping than DMC for getting around, but asking more of you in general*).

>not these parts again
You already know, boy-o.

>R1
The thrust that extends into enders, yes.  Mostly about good dps when applying that one, but good dps isn't always the focus (sometimes you just want to RO).  Other times you might just be looking to cause (knockback) collisions.  Or perhaps slip an unblockable (or break AI).

>GamingBrit
Thought someone told me a know-nothing went over GoW again recently.  Haven't had time to dunk on these fools lately.

>walk up to Ares
Which time?

Headphone: >keep them juggled and looped
Well, it is alright to those ends, sure.  BoC is no slouch, either.  The former does have an infinite string, but it isn't like everything just gets locked forever by it (few things do *only very low level enemies let you keep at that*).  The video is more about three techniques.  One is NOT a bug (just knockback on airborne foes meaning they have more distance to travel from a higher point *thus potentially ringing out when not bugging into a bounce that continues to send the away for even greater distance though not doing anything about invisible walls*).

The other two are based on an incorrect value assignment according to Derek.  A 'super launch' that tacks on momentum that shouldn't be there (generally sending things away in tandem with the 'up, up' part).  This is what gives them potential for sending foes over cliffs (even with some visible/invisible walls *and false ceilings*).  Unintended RO can be quite potent as with the Hades Bridge A example (11 Hades Satyrs).  That is faster than using MAX upgrade options and can be done with lvl1 Artemis on VH just fine.

Divi: >much improved
Mostly so.

>can see 'various' now
Quite probable.  Roy, Birdman and others have seen this horrorshow play out time and again.

Greg: >need to get around to it
All things with time, eh?

I've started playing this game on emulation. I think it aged really well (unlike DMC1). I'm having a great time, playing on Hard, trying not to use any magic.

I've been looking for information a few times, and the best bits I've found were GMG's comments under Raeng's NUR videos. Thanks to those comments I've started using OH, air OS and the homeruns a lot. I'm interested in doing a PAIN run, at some time (after having tested a few other classics).

The camera system seems perfect to me. This game definitely is among the good stuff.

I'm a bit sad we'll probably have to wait a long time before the orignal trilogy is released on PC (they'll release GoW 2018 before, and only then they will make up their mind I believe...)

DMC1 would be a different discussion, I think it might be a bit more archaic at times but it still has a lot of detail to it that's (severly) lacking in its later entries. Give it another shot if you haven't.

But yeah God of War is fantastic, absolutely. It really needs a teacher since a lot of the more interesting mechanics are a bit obscure or hard to realize what their worth is. I'd personally highly recommend a NUR first, since it gives you a bit more to play with and still allows magic-usage which can have interesting uses to explore. Magic in and of itself has a really nice home in the series, especially in GoW2, where all the magic is just fantastic and super powerful. Great for efficiency based runs where you want to feel like a murder machine.

Note that most consider GoW2 the best, though GoW3 has a lot of great stuff too. That said I have a soft spot for the original. Can you imagine playing that game in 2005?

> PC release
GoW2018 will get one for sure, but I'm very afraid the original trilogy will remain forgotten as that 'terrible game that birthed the glorious 2018 reboot' - a nice piece of revisionistic gaming history.

Tyr: >emulation
PS2 or PS3? Can make a difference.

>starting on Hard
Probably should take it easy with default (Normal) until you know the controls, where to go, what to do, etc. You can start learning combat and MAX options in vanilla VH.

>not using magic much
Not advised. Clone War will violate you. It is a nice tool to speed some things up and you should enjoy it while you can. Very useful for vanilla VH (even NUR). Petrification as a system is underappreciated. This ain't DMC where it'll rank you poorly for spending the resource (like a consumable).

>my comments under Roy's NUR+ venture
I'm all over the place. Still, if we speak directly, that is better still (vastly so). If you can record (and upload), that is best. Won't have to fret over explaining what you did (saving us both some trouble).

>interested in PAIN
Just don't skip steps. When VH unlocks, do not skip to VH PAIN. Do vanilla, CotG, VH NUR+ and then the noted. If you skip to PAIN, you will not have a chance to learn all of the basics (least of all Artemis getting to shine).

Roy: >need a teacher
To properly appreciate it in a hurry (somewhat difficult to find all the resources *as they fade away*) when so easy on lower settings to be sure.

>GoWII considered best
For combat focused types, yes.

>GoWIII
For spectacle (casuals).

>GoW1
For glitchers/speedrunners.

>that terrible game
GoW:A? Speaking of which, when are you coming back to get your ass kicked right off your hips by VH PAIN+ ToA W1? I still haven't been able to get a proper taker even after I bested it and explained the way to go about it. Everyone keeps going dark on me after briefly fucking with it.

ToA W1?

Trial of Archimedes Wave 1 (Hooded Gorgons and Siren Sibyls).

When I return to GoW it will probably be the original trilogy, I have zero ambition to return to GoW:A.

>I'm afraid and disgusted
You should be.

>original trilogy
Not going to take a gander at the off-brand titles (CoO and GoS)? Don't you want to dabble in the wonders of Keres Wraiths and Geryon? Persephone S2 in VH PAIN+? NBR+ NUR+ Charon? No matter. You still have a lot of basics with the main entries to taste test even before more specifics stuff (like Artemis focus).