Aoe2: Joan of Arc Campaign Comparison "An Unlikely Messiah" - Original vs Definitive Edition 

As a French myself, the new narrator and the other voice lines sound a lot more like a native French speaking english. I like that. I can still see the charm of the original one, though. I wonder if they changed the French VA tho, it was really awesome, even for the other campaigns (Saladin and Genghis Khan come to mind).

I want to hear "La Hire wishes to kill something" with the new voice...

I will ever miss the IAOOooo when an unit dies.

I like that they changed British to English to fit the timeline accurately.

Them archers can fire at the wolf now. 10/10 best definitive edition ever

Another glorious loss for France

I came here for 'Mmmm... Venison." I was not disappointed.

There is something about the voice acting of the old one that puts it on top. it had more feelings or something.

Some voices are a bit worse but I really enjoy the young de Metz, it shows that not all soldiers were 40+, but there were even boys fighting back then like some of the swordsmen sounding like they have more or less 20 years. I got used to the original, but to be honest these were never the voiceover masterpieces and sound either super heroic or just blant compared to the new ones. I like that at least the main characters got some good rework unlike the first crossbowmen who are just "meh" in comparison. But to each their own.

DE Joan looks so cute omg

Thanks for the re-upload :) The cinematic is significantly better with music, though I found it a little 'generic' when compared with the original. The voice acting in the remastered cinematic also doesn't quite have the range of the original. Basically I'm just realising how good the original was here xd

Frankly, I prefer the classic voice lines better. New ones are a lot Frenchier and more authentic however 😁😁😁

Some 20 years ago I played this campaign with German voices, and the lines still stuck in my head to this day. They have done such an extraordinary job with the old voices.

The original cinematic and voice acting was classic and nothing can replace that.

I didn't realize they were redoing the voices too. I'm looking forward to voices for the campaigns that only had text. But if they touched La Hire... I will burn Utica to the ground.

4:00 Yeah...Remade in 2019 and you are still NOT archers, Crossbowmen XD Otherwise, really excited to play the Definitive Edition =D

Mixed feelings about the new narration. On one hand, it's more a accurate French accent but, it's doesn't convey as much emotion and weight. Some of the new voice acting in the scenario itself is particularly weak though. Definitely prefer the original.

I really want to like the new voice acting for the cinematics, I wouldn't say it's bad, but I just like the original one a lot more. The music for the new version doesn't help either. In the original version the music contributed a lot to the atmosphere of each scene, giving them a unique feel. Now the music just sounds kinda generic to me. I hope there will be a way to change the voice acting and music from the cinematics back to the original ones :c

I'm ready to Cry again and play furiously in the last mission. Again.

The New Version just sounds like plain Script Reading. A guy just reading a page of writing given to him, not someone actually telling you what they're experiencing. ..and the music and atmospheric sounds are also off. Why couldn't they just keep the old sound files and change the pictures?

It was more accurate to say "English" rather than "British" as "British" was not a term or really even a national concept during the time in which Joan of Arc lived. A united Britain didn't really emerge as a nation until several hundred years later.

Ehh. The old voice actor was much better. His inflection, the conviction. You believe him. Probably a better director too. They shoulda just kept it. We just wanted the better visuals and better quality of life gameplay.

finally ,no more magic Dire Wolf that can dodge every single arrow lol

There was no need to replace the original voices, intros and music. It was so iconic and the nostalgia it brought is still a big part of AoE2's appeal, and it seems like DE killed so much of it for no reason.

Wait! You may have need of a few new voice overs on the road ahead

I played aoe2 when i was just a kid and i'm so nostalgic about all the old sounds and effects, even if the DE edition is far better and more realistic when i hear the OG sounds emotions comes in

I don't like radical unecessary changes. Why change the voice actors of the old campaigns? When the old ones were perfectly fine, if not better in many cases? Why change the main menu background completely instead of just innovating what we had (like Conquerors and Forgotten Empires did after AoK2). Why change the well known and nostalgic music instead of just adding new pieces?

cant wait till "an army of rams? how quaint!"

"Mmmm........ Venision." Godman it! I missed that in my playthrough! Awesome comparison video!

This shall remain my most favorite campaigns from AOE. I was merely 12 years old at that time, when I first experienced AOE 2.

I really dislike the new soundtrack, mostly because of the lack of intensity. Everything sounds like it's WAY too much in the background, you forget the music is there fast. Also , when optional i think the post process effects are out of control to a point it's just better to turn them off. VA are okay, even better than the original, , but i think the narrator is in a hurry to tell the story as fast as possible, completely destroying any atmosphere the original went for during the narrations.

Hey! The new voice actor is the same actor who voiced Napoleon in Napoleon total war and Louen Leoncour in total war warhammer.

The art for the old ones looks more like a renaissance sketch. the new art while still good looks too cartoonish.

It's really interesting seeing the side by side comparison and the DE with the fog makes a kind of different feel, thanks for this

"you french don't know when to give up!" this is true in more ways than one

Its no contest. While the HD edition has an undeniable retro and nostalgic charm the DE is far superior. I can understna dwhy an old player might prefer the original but in all honesty if you are a new player (and this game deserves a new audience) or you have played the original a million times before than the DE is very much needed and a breath of fresh air. Hopefully DE will keep the game relevant for another decade at least. Good move making the DE.

Amazing, great work sir, just what I was looking for. Can’t wait to play again x

Pros: -Better cinematic with high resolution art -Better dialogue interface -Better voice acting with modern microphone -Ranged units know how to shoot wolves lol -Its actually cold compare to that weird thing in original where they mentioned snowfall in cinematic but it looks temperate in scenario Cons: -Meh music at cinematics

The original voice acting sounded like the work of enthusiasts. The new voice acting sounds like someone showed up for their job. It all sounds too muffled and far-away.

I was afraid at first that they butcher my beloved AoE2 but after playing the Beta I am certainly relieved. The Definitive Edition IS the best way to play it!

6:26 Look at him kiting like a NERD

As appreciative as I am for the new graphics and improved gameplay, it is a shame they didn't keep the original audio. Much more subtle and professional than the 100% intensity Hollywood panting of the new edition and it added so much character to the campaigns. I'm sure there is a whole generation of players that know the Age of Kings script by heart. And you know what comes to mind (although certainly an overstatement considering the general improvement): "No Joan of Arc. A rich world made empty and poor!"

I like the orginal more 😂😂

The Original VA sounds much more natural, but the new version sounds more dramatic.

The old drawings are far better than the cartoony new ones

I don't know how "de Metz" managed to have a thicker french accent and yet speak a better English than the original I love the new voice over

I like the Old one...so much passion in it😁

The original was better hands down.

The new voice actor sounds like he wants to whisper you a secret, but he's also uncomfortably constipated.

Riordan did a good job with the narration, but they didn’t have to do my boy Jean de Metz like that.

4:07 wait you need some chairs in your way

Damn the nostalgia hits so hard :(… I really miss the good old „Age of Kings“ times!

*sigh* I will most likely get the DE, to play the new factions if nothing else. Pity they couldn't add those to the HD as well. Still, I think there is something off visually with the new version. A lot of the work is really impressive, the terrain and the buildings in particular. I do think there is something off with the units, they look fuzzy and indistinct. And this mist was downright painful to watch.

Brings me back, one of the first games I've ever played on PC

I haven't seen nobody comment on this, but rather than the voice acting, which I wouldn't say is awful, what I miss the most is the artwork in the cutscenes: the thick dark style both resembled IMO the ink used by monks in Medieval times to write, and enhanced the graveness of the story. I loved those drawings because they felt unique and I think fitted perfectly with the Joan of Arc storyline (a country with a new hope in a maid in the middle of a long war). Other campaigns involve stories of conquests, ambition, religion... The War of the Hundred years was a long kind of civil war which in its aftermath helped retake (or enhance) the identity of France as a nation. Sorry for the long post.

the new voices are not bad they are good, just the old voice actors are better

Did they changed the Spanish dub too? Or was it removed?

i think my favorite part of this mission is from Burgundy when the one persons yelling at the top of his lungs *"You French don't know when to give UP!"* the character voices just ooze voice actor commitment; I love it when people give it their all and in the end it was worth it.

The real question is what is the population cap now?

Is it me or the original exaggerated voices feel better!

It looks nice and all but I don't want to pay only for a graphic upgrade, nothing was added to the game...

The original storyteller sounds like a bard telling the story to broad audience in an inn. The new storyteller sounds like a soldier that was there, went through hell and decided to tell us what he experienced. Both are awesome tho

They finally corrected British to English!

The old narrator is the best

I love the new voice acting. Napoleon bonaparte for the win! Wait, no, the french general from medieval total war. Wait, Why is King Louen of Bretonnia talking? X) In all cases, love it!

You probably already know this, but there's a hole in the treeline in the original campaign. You can skip the War Galley and the last group of highwaymen entirely in the Original AoE2 :)

Have they also remastered "crusaders are attacking our trade routes". That really annoyed me.

Imagine if they had done a Viet accent in Le Loi. That would have been hilarious.

The new narrator sounds like Napoleon from Napoleon total war

new one seems to bright and faded, old one looks more HDR

why do they change the font? The font in original intro looks way better.

The new narration is provided by Stephane Cornicard en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/St%C3%A9phane_Cornicard Who I've heard in many of the games listed in his entry. So I have a soft spot for his performance.

Whoah, I heard that voice recently... Does he voice Riordan in Dragon Age: Origins?

I like the original narration and illustrations better but like the new the dialogue VA better, all in all they did a good job with this DE release

You forgot the lines when heroes died :p

Unpopular opinion, I actually like the old voices better. Sounds less ‘acted’.

They actually got a French person on the definitive lol not this fake french american accent. My french as Iz veri pliz honhon. C'que j'ai galéré gamine avec cette mission bordel

old graphics are still more realistic xd

*I wonder why the DE version didn't go all the way French with "Jeanne d'Arc".*

Really not digging the Times New Roman(?) font.

8:24 sounds like a bad french student...

Now each hero has Hero Glow! Just like Wc3

The spanish dub of HD was the best imo, though it didnt make a french accent

Me being a kid again in definitive edition.

My problem with the new narrator is that it sounds/feels so overacted to me :/ The other one might have a to over the top/cliche french accent, but the way he talks, his voice, seems much more natural to me. Less "grim" and "rugged".

these are the graphics if you dont download the updated textures in the dlc it even warns you that when you start my game looks nothing like this.

fun fact: the word "massiah" "משיח" in hebrew is only male. there is no female version (because a king is male) EDIT: thanks for the heart, I didn't think you would read comments on a 8 month old video

I like the actors of AOE 2 more!

Original Voices are Legendary

I personally think that the new VA, from what I’ve heard is really good. It sounds like they have more VAs so we don’t hear the same voices over and over. The original does have it’s charm. I mean, four of the five VAs of the original were in Deus Ex and you know how bad with accents this game could get.

Burgandian soldier screaming fire sounds so weak, metz also didn't seem convincing to me.

The old background art was more realistic than the new one.. Voice both are good

Now we wait for AOE 3 definitive edition next year. Hopefully.

The new cinematics are terrible no idea why they changed it. Nothing will ever top the original AOE2 cinematics.

I swear to God the new French narrator is the narrator from Napoleon Total War.

the second narrator is Louen Leoncoeur king of Bretonnia!

I really hope they haven't change narrator's voice in the Italian version, that dude was perfect.

Omg i remember playing this campaign when i was in 3rd grade :) and now this

There were many games with similar cartoonish graphics back then but what made aoe stand out was it never had useless things like fogs shing unrealistic things. Now the have added these things..

All i hear is Louen Leonncoeur from Total War Warhammer. So Joan is Repanse de Lyonesse.