Arthur Morgan from RDR2 is the best protoganist of this gen so far ( mark spoilers)

[Toriko]

Going into Red Dead I was expecting to be disappointed by Arthur Morgan. I loved everything about John Marston in RDR 1. His portrayal of a rogue with a heart of gold, his sarcasm.. everything.

Fast forward to today after completing the game, not only is Arthur Morgan better than John Marston as a character in every way, in my opinion he is one of the best written protoganists ever. He has a wonderful character arc that does justuce to what this series is about. He is complex, always wrestling with themes of loyalty and justice. Very similar to the character of Karna in the Indian epic Mahabharat in a lot of ways who also wrestles with the question of loyalty and gratitude above all else.

He is also phenomenally acted. Very understated. You might not think of him much in the beginning of the game but he just gets better and better. Honestly atleast for this gen he is easily the best written protagonist.

For those who have played the game.. This scene alone cements him as one of the greats.

Spoiler

[/MEDIA]

That part when he says

Spoiler

I am afraid

got me.

Does era agree?

 

[Markitron]

For me it's Senua from Hellblade. What she goes through is so intense and well done, it felt like it was happening to me as well.

 

[TheInfinityGauntlet]

Hard agree, although it took some time to get over being Not John (and the accent felt a little overdone at first, not sure if he toned it down or I just got used to it)

 

[Deleted member 1726]

He's definitely the main protagonist with the most weight this gen.

 

[CannonFodder52]

Arthur seems great so far, but Majima and Mae Borowski on the other hand...

Still gotta finish RDR2 though

 

[i-hate-u]

Testament to SSM's tech, he conveys so much just through his facial expressions.

 

[wondermagenta]

 

[Prine]

Yes. He's brilliantly written, and feels as if he's got his own compass that he follows, you can feel his scepticism on many things in his eyes, i mean when have you ever felt that in a game? im only on Chapter 3, but i simply love seeing him engage with people around him, often smirking at his quips and wit. Im quite fond of him, i must admit. His liberal humanist views in a setting as brutal as the wild west only adds to that, despite being a bandit haha.

 

[K' Dash]

I have not finished the game yet, but so far I liked Marston a lot more.

 

[ckareset]

Peter Parker was pretty good. Not sure if he counts.

But yeah he's the only R* protatgonist worth anything. Marston is good, but mainly cause the rest of the characters are so dry. One thing I worry about with Arthur is that people are missing a lot of details by not seeing all the conversations and journal entries and stuff like that. I skipped the journals on my playthrough and read them after. And I have to ask, what on earth was Greg Miller playing lol

 

[Much]

On par with Geralt of Rivia probably, for me anyway.

 

[Deleted member 9971]

LENNYYYYYYYYY

 

[Rodjer]

On par with Geralt imho

 

[Azzanadra]

He's good, but so far in this gen I prefer Geralt and nu-Kratos.

What I don't like about Arthur is how he foolishly follows Dutch, everything else in the game seems to indicate he's a lot smarter than that.

 

[MegaSackman]

I'm going with Kratos but as an original character, Arthur is pretty good (so far, I'm at CH4).

 

[Toriko]

LENNYYYYYYYYY

Click to shrink...

Lol that part was so good

 

[Xyer]

I think he's the most generic, boring protagonist I've played in a long time. He's just.....there. Dude sounds like every random dude trying to put on a country accent around here. He has no personality traits except a constant hate for John Marston. He seems like he doesn't give a fuck most of the time.

I've only played up to chapter 3 since I had the camp bug, restarted and haven't touched it in like a week so yeah.

 

[SecondNature]

I agree, I love him.

He makes Geralt look like a dry wall.

I love his southerm accent, the way he always sounds annoyed/whiney when he doesnt want to do something, and then his hard ass quips when he needs to be serious. He also nails the southern humour with his one liners. He manages to come off as both endearing and badass, goofy and serious.

I love saying "hi mistah" to everyone in town too. There are moments where he seems completely vulnerable. Like how he apologizes for smelling bad when you make him bathe lol.

I found GTAV's cast to be unlikeable. GTA characters are always cool, but never have depth. Arthur constantly feels like he treats and behaves differently depending on what kind of personality he is surrounded with. His relationships that develop with the cast always feel so human and ordinary.

And his beard is amazing.

 

[Linus815]

Arthur is an incredible character. Possibly my favorite protagonist of all time. Honestly, I thought I'd be missing playing as John constantly, especially with him being in the camp constantly. I did not, not a for a second.

 

[DevilMayGuy]

I miss "you little beauty" too much to put him above Marston

But for real his character is top notch.

 

[ckareset]

I think he's the most generic, boring protagonist I've played in a long time. He's just.....there. Dude sounds like every random dude trying to put on a country accent around here. He has no personality traits except a constant hate for John Marston. He seems like he doesn't give a fuck most of the time.

I've only played up to chapter 3 since I had the camp bug, restarted and haven't touched it in like a week so yeah.

Click to shrink...

The camp bug was not worth restarting over. Only resetera would suggest that

Also...spoilers.

 

[Orb]

If this is true, his story must really pick up in the later hours, because from what I played he seemed like a total blank slate.

 

[SnatcherHunter]

My man Crush

 

[Aurongel]

Hearing that makes me very eager to get around to playing RDR2. I always thought Rockstar had it in them to write a good protagonist after RDR1 but they never wanted to because of their over-attachment to their low effort style of "satire". And yes, I am putting that word in sneer quotes.

 

[Lotus]

He's no Kat.

 

[Heckler456]

Absolutely. Favorite this gen, if not ever.

 

[Toriko]

I agree, I love him.

He makes Geralt look like a dry wall.

I love his southerm accent, the way he always sounds annoyed/whiney when he doesnt want to do something, and then his hard ass quips when he needs to be serious. He also nails the southern humour with his one liners. He manages to come off as both endearing and badass, funny and serious.

I love saying "hi mistah" to everyone in town too.

And his beard is amazing.

Click to shrink...

Yeah. IMO Geralt is not in the same league.

 

[Xyer]

The camp bug was not worth restarting over. Only resetera would suggest that

Also...spoilers.

Click to shrink...

I probably shouldn't have since I was trucking along. Now I'll probably never touch it again. I've moved onto other games that are actually fun to play like Diablo 3 Switch. Lol.

 

[zuf]

If this is true, his story must really pick up in the later hours, because from what I played he seemed like a total blank slate.

Click to shrink...

It does. People need to get past Chapter 2/start of Chapter 3. All of the good shit happens from the end of Chapter 3 onward.

As for being the best, probably personal preference. Morgan's arc is a bit too melodramatic for me. I prefer Kratos, more subtle, less showy.

 

[Kass]

He's a great character for sure, I don't think this sort of thing needs to have a "the best" or "the most",so that thread title is bugging me.
Plus it's not like this gen lacks great characters with compelling arcs, so many out there. Majima is a great one, Senua as well (not familiar with Mae Borowski).

But I guess people love rankings and hyperboles.

 

[Lifejumper]

Might be a controversial opinion.

But I don't think R* should attempt satire ever again.

Arthur is proof of that.

 

[SecondNature]

Yes. His liberal humanist views in a setting as brutal as the wild west only adds to that, despite being a bandit haha.

Click to shrink...

Haha thats what gets me too. I imagine its necessary to make him likeable. Cant necessarily have the lead be pro racism. I assume most in those times were not so empathetic, but I guess I can buy that an outlaw has his own "family" of outcasts so he sticks up for them.

 

[VaanXSnake]

He's amazing, I like every second I've played with him, best R* character after Trevor.

 

[Toriko]

If this is true, his story must really pick up in the later hours, because from what I played he seemed like a total blank slate.

Click to shrink...

It really does. I was in the exact same boat as you.

 

[VX1]

Yeah,i agree.
It's really hard to care about video game character and they managed to do that very well.

 

[Lackless]

The camp bug was not worth restarting over. Only resetera would suggest that

Also...spoilers.

Click to shrink...

And resetera is the only place I've seen that bug be blown up honestly. It's really not a big deal. Yeah it's dumb but ERA keeps acting like it's game ending and the details of the bug keep being stretched beyond what it really is.

 

[George Romero]

Amazing character, agree 100%

 

[snausages]

I agree, the protagonist I most thought of while playing was the Nameless One in Torment. Partly cause of the journal and also they both have a kind of elusive past not spoonfed to you

 

[Deleted member 17207]

Meh, I'm on chapter 3 and I'm still not over thinking John was a better protagonist. Arthur is like the ultimate "have no opinion make no decision but complain about everything and everyone" guy that annoys the fuck out of me in real life.

John was a simple man you could understand from the get-go, and he was immediately likeable and badass. Plus his voice was a lot more signature and memorable. He felt more like a character if that makes sense. Arthur feels more like an avatar.

 

[ckareset]

Yes. He's brilliantly written, and feels as if he's got his own compass that he follows, you can feel his scepticism on many things in his eyes, i mean when have you ever felt that in a game? im only on Chapter 3, but i simply love seeing him engage with people around him, often smirking at his quips and wit. Im quite fond of him, i must admit. His liberal humanist views in a setting as brutal as the wild west only adds to that, despite being a bandit haha.

Click to shrink...

I kinda felt like his goodness was forced in that way lol. Like they just had to make him good.

They could have made people like Sadie, Charles, and Lenny change his views on but they didnt want to have him bad outside of killing random people

 

[thebishop]

Chloe and Nadine* are the best protagonists of the gen so far.

*Nadine being new this gen should take it.

 

[snausages]

And resetera is the only place I've seen that bug be blown up honestly. It's really not a big deal. Yeah it's dumb but ERA keeps acting like it's game ending and the details of the bug keep being stretched beyond what it really is.

Click to shrink...

Not game ending but I would have liked to know more about Sadie Adler and how she dealt with her shit before chapter 3.

 

[George Romero]

Lol that part was so good

Click to shrink...

ahahaha best part

 

[Liquid_]

You can immediately tell in this thread who has only ever seen three westerns in his/her life judging by the answers.

I mean, Jesus Christ people, I can pull out of the hat at least a dozen of protagonists better than Arthur, just from these last two years.

 

[Linus815]

You can immediately tell in this thread who has only ever seen three westerns in his/her life judging by the answers.

I mean, Jesus Christ people, I can pull out of the hat at least a dozen of protagonists better than Arthur, just from these last two years.

Click to shrink...

Wow jesus christ, it's almost like it's just opinions.

 

[Mullet2000]

You can immediately tell in this thread who has only ever seen three westerns in his/her life judging by the answers.

I mean, Jesus Christ people, I can pull out of the hat at least a dozen of protagonists better than Arthur, just from these last two years.

Click to shrink...

Please do.

 

[Deleted member 17207]

You can immediately see in this thread who has only seen three westerns in his/her life judging by the answers.

I mean, Jesus Christ people, I can pull out of the hat at least a dozen of protagonists better than Arthur, just from these last two years.

Click to shrink...

What does that really have to do with anything though?

Clint/Blondie/Joe/The Man with No Name is easily my favourite western protagonist, but dude barely says anything at all, I'd never say he was a stellar protagonist, but he's easily my favourite. He's badass and an awesome character without saying much at all.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of the people saying they love Arthur here (John was far better IMO) - I just find this a weird point to make.

 

[Betty]

Yes, he's one of the best written, best acted and best handled protagonists ever.

 

[ckareset]

You can immediately tell in this thread who has only ever seen three westerns in his/her life judging by the answers.

I mean, Jesus Christ people, I can pull out of the hat at least a dozen of protagonists better than Arthur, just from these last two years.

Click to shrink...

What on earth do westerns have to do with anything?

 

[Kapten]

Meh, I'm on chapter 3 and I'm still not over thinking John was a better protagonist. Arthur is like the ultimate "have no opinion make no decision but complain about everything and everyone" guy that annoys the fuck out of me in real life.

John was a simple man you could understand from the get-go, and he was immediately likeable and badass. Plus his voice was a lot more signature and memorable. He felt more like a character if that makes sense. Arthur feels more like an avatar.

Click to shrink...

Keep playing. I had the same feel at first, and thought Marston was the best character Rockstar created.

By the time I was done I could say that Arthur is easily in my Top 5 protagonists of all time. Easily beating out John.

His arc, specially if played Honourably, is amazing.