Baldur's Gate 2 is the absolute masterpiece of all RPGs. The level of complexity, scope and attention to detail was ahead of its time. The amount of characters, items with each own artwork and story, dungeons, the variety of locations, the companions with their unique lengthy side questions, each class with their own stronghold. It is just unbelievable. No wonder, they still try to copy it to this day and you can even see its influence in many games, including Witcher 3.
Like he mentioned in the video, often your "first" is the one you like the most. And BG2 was my first (though I dabbled in Gold box games on C64 back in the day, but those I don't remember at all). S tier for me. And unlike nearly everyone else, I just couldn't get into DOS2, but I will say I'll give it another shot. My last shot I gave it, I ran into a combat that I had no ability to beat, and it's hard to know what order I'm supposed to do things in for my level. My list S tier: BG2, Mask of the Betrayer A: BG2 Throne of Bhaal, Baldur's Gate, Heart of Winter, ICD2, IWD, NWN2 Meh (okay he doesn't use the standard tier list, so I guess this would be C grade): Siege of Dragonspear, DOS2, and I put Storm of Zehir here, but I actually haven't played it, but based on what I see, that's probably what I'd give it. Honorable mentions he did not cover. NWN original game- Meh, 1st expansion- Good, 2nd expansion- good. DOS 1 - between meh and good (I did actually finish this one). Planescape Torment: I give it between good and S tier. I know many think it's the greatest, but the combat is weak, and some of the atmosphere I don't care for.
Man, you're the most humble RU-vidr gamer that I ever follow/know/watch. I'm glad to be here.The type of guy that I would like to share a beer/wine and rambling about crpgs/jrpgs and life. Cheers.
Thanks. This community is A-MA--ZING. If my internet connection weren't crap, I would love to do an online meetup to to talk about games and stuff. It would be, you crack open your beers at your place and I crack open one at mine. I don't lose hope of sorting it out eventually! in the meantime cheers to you, my friend!
To anyone that read comments. Is because of the Channel it is. I have watched only a handful, and all of them has been exceptionally well made. So, as I was scrolling "my" next feed, I saw "Baldur's Gate 2, Icewind Dale 2" and though, no thanks, no gonna play those games ever again, and not nostalgic enough to spend time watching. But when I saw the channel, I had to. And the intro of the author's realization of being knowledgeable doesn't mean you should be an asshole. Personally I love nothing more than taking and have debates, arguments etc, and that is rather impossible if being are being assholes. You learn nothing and you teach nothing from that, and hearing the owner of this channel grow to understand that, is just wonderful. There is hope yet for humanity :) Anyway, these videos are the best.
Wow. I wasn't expecting to read anything like this in the comment section. And thanks a lot for taking the time to write this comment. Hopefully you'll continue to watch these videos (and give BG2 at least a revisit XD.)
Enjoyed the road to BG3 and hope you keep putting out more videos (reviews/opinions on BG3 and the new Pathfinder game would be awesome). The CRPG genre is definitely enjoying its resurgence, and I couldn't be happier.
Thanks man. I hope you're not enamored with Pathfinder... or that you can forgive if I don't turn out to be crazy about it (haven't played Wrath of the Righteous yes... but I have SERIOS issues with Kingmaker) but I'll keep that in mind!
In my case, I have been so amazed by Baldur's Gate, that I start modding it, even learned how to edit the Infinity Engine, and I've made it playable with my entire party customized by me, not with the trick to do a multiplayer game in single player, no, I've edited the location in which I find all of my party members, making BG the best RPG ever for me. Then happened BG2 technically better, but... it banished a bit that sensation of exploration in level 1, fearing about everything. I love low level adventures and for that BG was better thatn BG2 for me. Then it became Baldur's Gate Trilogy mod, in which you can play all of them in the BG2 improved engine, so BG1 was the begining of the best of the best.
Baldur's Gate 2 is objectively better, but my heart stands with Mask of the Betrayer, it's story and it's characters are probably the closest thing we have to Planscape Torment.
Wow that blows my mind. I reeaaaallly liked DOS 2. It's my favorite game of all time. It's the game that brought me to the CRPG gendra. And you're putting it in the Good tier! Wow! Can't wait to try those games in your Great tier!
Would've been on the great tier had it not been for the idiotic buy-sell mechanics or stuff like not being able to get a purging wand anywhere in the second act or the density of puzzles in the final act. Like I said in the review, it's got the best combat I've seen in CRPGs and lots of other great stuff, but also a lot of irritating things.
@@YeOldEntertainment Totally agree with you on those problems. For me, the big bummer was the convoluted plot though. Even if I enjoyed combat reeeeally much, I felt that some parts of the game were a bit long because the story wasn't driving me enough. What I mean is that I kept playing for combat more than the plot.
I only disagree with NWN2: MotB being "better" than BG2. BG2 marked an Era in a way unfortunately NWN2 didn't, regardless of the expansions. When you look at the game alone, yeah, I'll give you that. When you analyze THE MYTH ! THE LEGEND ! BG2 stands tall, loud and proud ! I'd just swap BG2 and MotB. Aside from that, you nailed it ! It has been a really entertaining journey to watch you revisit those games. I thought you were going to put NWN2 at "the Meh", but I'm happy to see that, regardless of It's flaws, it reached you in some level as It did to me. It is a well deserved "bottom-the Good". I still have a collection of so many memorable moments in this game, dialogues and scenarios that occasionally come back to my mind and bring me joy. MotB, as already said by everyone, is a masterpiece. Great video and tier list. Congrats on the achievement, you've played (almost of) them all !
Thanks for leaving a comment. Well that list was limited to the ones that I covered on the road to Baldur's Gate series of videos. But there will be a review on Torment soon.
Keep these great videos coming! I don’t know why but I still play NWN all these years later, mostly because of the free player-created modules. Again great videos and look forward towards each release, CRPGs are still great and I’m also patiently waiting for BG3 to release from early access.
Well my top tier list would be like this, based entirely on the feelings I felt during gameplay, so no critical thinking here: =THE GREAT= Icewind Dale (expansion included): The game introduced me to what at the time I coined as MRP (Multitasking Role Play) because every action, dialog and effort was executed based on the discussions, confrontations and morality of my party members. Aka, during walks or stops I roleplayed in my head pages of... er, roleplay wich in turn forged the path of my characters. Baldur's Gate 2: Fantastic experience within the vanilla game, but INSANE EPIC with the mods and patches that fixes some bad desitions and implementations from Bioware, however the mod Imoen Romance adds and fixes so many great things (lore friendly) that it is packed with the game every time I play. Neverwinter Nights (expansions and modules included): What the game lacks in comparison with Baldur's Gate 2, it adds with it's modules (the reason for what it was created), while the original campaign is ok-ish, the second is better-ish and the final one is a lost oportunity-sh, they are frameworks to show you how the engine works. So, with modules like Hex Coda or A Dance with Rogues, this thing escalates to Epic levels, but since those are user created content it gets a third position in the greatness. Icewind Dale 2: Simply put, a very nice game with so many graphical glitches and unstability due to the lack of a proper OpenGL render, regardless it added so much more story/dialogs wise compared to ID 1 that it reaches the greatness, however since my party got teased so many times into joining the "bad guys" just to find out that this path ended up cut in the final release of the game, broke my MRP in so many levels that it puts the game at the bottom of the greatness. =THE GOOD= Neverwinter Nights 2 (mask of the betrayer included): Simply the main campaign is filled with banther, roleplay, surprises and challenges, also the character creation allowed me to create a tiefling char AND, in game I found out a gal of the same race-ish that not only matched my character but also ended up been the most enjoyable companion I've ever found in D&D based games. For real, after reaching Neverwinter I ditched everyone else and went into the challenges only with her, and the game SUPPORTS this. Hell she even was nice enough to give me an enchanted dagger as a present in a true demostration of respect between rogues. As for the expansion, boy it was masterclass, just the chit chat with Mirkul is the stuff of extasis, HOWEVER, the "possessed mechanic" was a pain in the ass, in such level that I not only had to stop my fluent roleplaying to take care of the damn thing but also it dropped me into points of no return in wich I was so handicapped (with no spirits at sight) that my character ended up doomed more times than her enemies. Also... the cut content was way worse here, but some patches can fix SOME of this. Long story short, I love this game but is so bugged and has so much unfinished or cut content (in your face) that I cannot consider this a great software product, but instead a good one (mostly because of Neeshka, the first and only companion I could call a true friend). =THE MEH= Throne of Bhaal: Short, rar compressed, rushed and in some cases lackluster. Bioware did the best they could with the time and warfunds they had (Black Isle was having a huge coin shortage due to Interplays free fall into bankrupcy), but the end result is a game to short, with a great final battle and some very interesting quests and location. However overall the expansion falls short in many areas even compared to Icewind Dale's Hearth of Winter. On a more sad note, despite the fact that the Imoen Romance mod adds a shit-ton of interactions, posibilities and stakes to the party (alongside lore friendly... er, lore), it isn't enough to save this expansion, so it ends in the mehness category, although, extra points for properly ending the story of the Baldur's Gate saga. And... uh, that's it folks, thanks to anyone who reached this line of text, I appreciate your kindness.
I wonder where is pathfinder kingmaker & wrath of righteous, dragon edge 1-3, witcher, skyrym, etc Also i cant bear icewindale graphic, any solution? What kind of time needed to finish at least main campaign for these games?
Thanks for leaving a comment. This is a wrap-up video for a series I made I called "Our Roads to Baldur's Gate III". None of these games you mention were part of it, they aren't D&D and I didn't consider them to be "games-I-have-to-play" before diving into Baldur's Gate III. I'm not saying any of them are good or bad, just not relevant to the list. As for the time needed to complete the main campaign for each of these games, it goes from 30ish hours (Icewind Dale for example) to 80ish hours (Baldur's Gate II). And as for the Graphics in Icewind Dale... What's wrong with them? The resolution? Are you playing the enhanced edition?
@@YeOldEntertainment i dont recall, but rather pixelated as long as i remember so i only tried like 15-30minutes and moved on. Will u put up those games in addition to this tier list (without regard to dnd or bg3, just general 'game award 2000-2021' )
BG2 deserved. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. game. Unfortunately, I suck, really suck at combat. I love the game(s)s but suck at combat. Need to put it on easy to keep going on. But in turn-based(divinity 2) and pure action skills (aka Dark souls) I'm totally skilled. Really top tier. It's funny like the playability woks around with each one.
I largely agree with the list but personally disagree that NWN2 MoftB is better than BG2. I especially agree with placing Storm of Zehir in the "The Meh" category because the story was too weak, but the idea of a D&D game that is like Fallen Enchantress I would love to play.
Neverwinter Nights is my favourite game of all time. It was my first RPG of its like, so follows what you where saying about our firsts. I was highly disappointed by how awful NWN2 was in comparison. I'm not mad at its absence, but I do hiiiiiighly recommend it.
Thank you for the comment. I think the Red Prince is the exception rather... And even he isn't in the same league as the best companions in Arcanum (although he might be better than some). His personal journey is one that he undergoes more or less the same way regardless of what you do. He can grow to like you or hate you, but that entirely depends on how much you adhere to his alignment in your decisions. It's not like he starts to see things your way and his personal takes or mission changes accordingly (as it happens with a few companions in Arcanum).
Ye Old: I urge you, play Neverwinter 1. I never played 2, but seeing your taste in games (I have a very similiar taste, I agree with almost everything you said), Neverwinter 1 seems much better than 2 IMO. Give it a try.
Lol divinity original sin 2 is definitely better than baldur's gate 1, better characters, better companions with actual good side stories and quests, some better gameplay elements, better story better side characters i can go on and on. It's stiĺl a good game im at the last part. Really curious about baldur's gate 2 tho. DoS2 is one if the best games ever
Yup you nailed the BG1 part, yes. But the reason why Divinity Original Sin II is not higher up in the list is not because it does things insufficiently well, so to speak. It's because the things that it does wrong... it does spectacularly wrong. The distribution and design of puzzles, the trade, reward earning and crafting mechanics, etc. And then some things that BG2 just did better: myriad of branching paths filled with impactful decisions, leaner story that's more "adventury", etc.
i think it's fine you skipped nwn 1 and dos 1. as both games have the same issues. they are kinda boring but their sequels [ or expansions in nwn's case] were overall better.
@@YeOldEntertainment Pretty sure it's in the gog complete pack if you ever want to check it out. It's fun little expansion pack made by the same devs who had created darkness over daggerford premium pack to nwn1.
I really like BG1 before Baldur's Gate city. Like low level adventure, like all dungeons, I even like most wildreness areas, but best was the style of dialoges (older grammar, accents), quotes (like "Ouch, I mean moooo.") and soundtrack. And did not like BG city that much.
I would love to. But my Temple of Elemental Evil, even with the Circle of Nine Mod pack installed... is buggie as hell... I can't imagine how that's going to go if I add recording to the mix. But I can try to fit it in the agenda. I still have Torment and Arcanum ahead of me.
@@YeOldEntertainment right, off course those are much more important and better games overall, but I do have a soft spot for Temple of Elemental Evil. Same as for NWN 2 :)
@@YeOldEntertainment I am playing it right now and its pretty stable but not optimised well,be ready and good luck with it.Thanks for video-) By the way did you play Dark Sun Shattered Lands? I would like to see a vid too about it too.
I played IW2 just last year. I hadn't before because back in the day I played the original IW and I wasn't impressed at all. This year I played Icewind Dale's expansion and Icewind Dale II and... I wish I had done it sooner.
Lore-wise, anyone not familiar with D&D 5 edition, is screwed. I could follow the lore until 4 edition, but the fifth went full DC/Marvel with D&D continuity. Lore-wise the 5th edition is a mess, so a lot of people will be very lost.
