God of war has been and continues to be an absolutely
epic video game saga. The first title, upon release for the PS2, made huge strides in
what was possible in terms of combining aspects of story, environment, puzzle challenges and
tons of the brutal gore that the series is known for. Today, we’re going to be looking
at a few odds and ends regarding the mammoth franchise. A few things that you fans may
have never noticed or cared to venture off and research to find out. So let’s dive
into 10 things you probably didn’t know about the God of War Franchise.
Kratos' Ghostly Complexion
Just by looking at his pallid complexion, you might think Kratos is in desperate need
of some mai thais on a beach in the sun somewhere. However, he’s been dubbed “The Ghost of
Sparta” for another, darker reason. His ghoulishly white skin is actually the result
of the angered Gods permanently branding the ashes of his dead wife and child on his skin,
serving as a constant reminder of an already harsh pain.
This was the punishment Kratos received when he was duped into unknowingly pillaging his
hometown, and murdered his family in the process. Seems like a pretty harsh punishment considering
he was tricked into doing this by his old master, but the Gods are harsh, and even being
the victim of trickery is a punishable offense.
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The Notorious "Human Sacrifice" Scene
There was a scene in God of War 1 that, while it was included in the game for North American
audiences, was deemed just too horrific for European and Japanese players.
The scene is unquestionably brutal. The Gods require a human sacrifice from Kratos in order
to proceed through the level. Not only that, but the “sacrifice” falls upon a helpless,
desperate soldier who’s locked in a cage. Upon greeting Kratos the soldier, he becomes
filled with hope that a fellow warrior will save him from his grim fate of starving to
death alone in a cage. He asks Kratos to save him so that they may return to Athens, and
then things turn very dark for this poor fellow.
Kratos responds only with “The Gods demand sacrifice”. The soldier’s hope for release
is crushed and his desperation intensifies. The player is then made to kick the cage up
a ramp while fighting enemies towards an apparatus spouting fire. As Kratos and the soldier get
closer and closer to this apparatus the player can hear begging and pleading, but ultimately,
the cage gets kicked into the searing flames and the soldier is burned alive. In the European
and Japanese versions, the wickedness of this scene is blunted by exchanging the pleading
soldier with a furious undead guy, taking the sting out for players but ultimately defeating
the purpose of a quote “human sacrifice.”
The Original Look of Kratos
Kratos designer Charlie Wen didn’t have much to go off of when he originally began
designing our beloved anti-hero. The story hadn’t yet been developed and the game as
a whole was in very early stages of development. The initial direction series creator David
Jaffe delivered to Wen was a character who was quote “Brutal, antisocial, violent,
pissed off and F-you. Come into work, get angry and see what happens.” This is the
Kratos that we know and love today and although the concept for his personality might not
have changed much from the original idea, his physical appearance transformed drastically.
Many design ideas came to the table and included everything from Kratos wearing heavy armor
and helmets to having long flowing hair. After all of the designs were out, the team began
stripping away all that armor and other elements that were not entirely necessary until they
felt they had the essence of a raw and brutal barbarian. The Kratos who is indeed the embodiment
of David Jaffe’s original guidance to Mr Wen.
Calling Kratos
Did you know you can call Kratos and David Jaffe? Well, kind of. At the end of the first
God of War, there’s a very interesting easter egg contained within two statues that appear
to be scenery. However, if the player attacks and destroys those statues a code is revealed—a
ten-digit code. Turns it’s a phone number, and if you go ahead and call it, you’ll
hear a pre-recorded conversation between Kratos and David Jaffe.
Kratos congratulates the player for their accomplishment in finishing the game and then
proceeds to interact with Mr Jaffe for about 2 minutes. Spoiler alert, things don’t end
well for David. The easter egg is an example of what we call trans-media because it takes
place outside of the game and over a phone line in real life. This makes it one of the
most unique easter eggs in video game history. Here’s the phone number for the lazy. Yes,
it still works today. Give Kratos a ring! 1-888-447-5594.
Kratos' Tattoos
One of the most notable things about Kratos is the spiraling red tattoo wrapped around
his body. One would almost assume that the color red was an intentional symbol for all
the bloodshed Kratos is responsible for throughout his journey. But that’s not the case, In
the original concept art, right up until a few days before launch the tattoo color was
set as blue instead of red, the team was happy with this choice and ready to launch the game.
However, a few days beforehand, David Jaffe realized the tattoo design bore an uncanny
resemblance to that of the Barbarian class from Diablo II, which is also draped in a
swirling blue tattoo. Rather than changing the design of the tattoo
to be less like that of the Barbarian from Diablo, they simply changed the color of the
tattoo from blue to red, which, again, we can all probably agree is a pretty suitable
color for an enraged, bloodthirsty demi-god.
ESRB Wasn't Paying Attention
The Electronic Standards Rating Board are the guys and girls who determine the ratings
for games. They make the little icon you that you see on the back of the case stayting which
audiences the game is intended for. While no one is arguing that God of War isn’t
worthy of the M for Mature rating, which depicts that there’s violence, nudity and strong
language throughout the game, the rating is not entirely accurate—as there’s no foul
language. We can only assume that the ESRB got lazy here and slapped the generic M rating
on the game because it met 2 out of the 3 criteria, but didn’t bother editing the
rating stamp to reflect the lack of foul language. In fact, the only F-bombs you’ll find in
the game are the ones spoken by David Jaffe in the extras footage when he’s explaining
how Kratos’ personality came to be. So yes, we can agree Kratos is a…you know… just
a little bit of a jerk for mercilessly slaughtering thousands of folks, but at least he doesn’t
curse while in the midst of his murderous rampages.
The Voice of Hades
Here’s a fun little fact you might not have known about. While it’s not mind-blowing,
it is kind of fun. But first a question. What does Hades, God of the underworld have in
common with Mr Krab from Spongebob Squarepants? The answer? Clancy Brown III. Yep, the same
guy who does Mr. Krabs voice in Spongebob does the voice of Hades too. Mr Browns voice
has also been heard in other notable shows and games such as Rick and Morty, the new
Ninja Turtles Series, Mass Effect: Andromeda, WarCraft the Beginning, the Venture Bros,
Family Guy and a ton of other big-name productions. This guy really keeps busy.
Kratos Comes from the Greek word "Cratus"
Many people believe the origins of Kratos come from purely fictional beginnings, from
the imaginations of the team who created and developed the original game. However that’s
not entirely true, Kratos takes inspiration from the Greek God Cratus; AKA the Greek god
of force, strength, and power. So I guess he does come from a purely fictional beginning,
but not the one most people may initially think. There are a few differences between
Kratos and Cratus, first and foremost Cratus isn't a demi-god like Kratos but rather a
fully fledged, real deal god born from the Titans. If you want to see Cratus in action
we recommend checking out a play titled “Prometheus Bound”, where Cratus helps lead the Titan
Prometheus to an eternity of being chained to a rock for stealing the power of the flame
and giving it to humans. Regular jail time just doesn’t cut it for crimes that big.
Kratos has Family
It’s safe to say that Kratos doesn’t have a loving family life, having killed his Father
Zeus, Mother Callisto and his very own wife and child. Many people assume that Kratos
is without a family. But if you haven't checked out the spin-off God of War titles, God of
War Ascension and God of War: Ghost of Sparta you may not be aware that he does indeed have
a younger brother, Demios who’s also based off Greek Mythology. He too is a complete
badass warrior. In the Ghost of Sparta, Kratos has to go look for Deimos, after he was kidnapped
by Ares. Kratos was present for the kidnapping and even tried stopping it from happening
but failed. Ares struck him down after an unsuccessful lunge which resulted in the scar
across Kratos' right eye. Deimos was then taken to the "Domain of Death" where he was
tortured by Thanatos for years. Eventually, Kratos saved Deimos, and while the brother
is pissed for him not having saved him during the initial kidnapping, they eventually reconcile
their differences.
Kratos’s Tattoos Have a Mind of Their Own
In the original God of War Kratos's tattoo spans through the center of his chest and
on to the left side. In God of War 2 the tattoo follows the same layout but slightly shifts
down the left side of his chest more. In the 3rd God of War the tattoo doesn’t cross
over his chest but rather gets closer to his solar plexus. While this may not be the most
fascinating fact, it’s still kind of a fun detail to notice if you ever decide to go
back and play the original trilogy. Kratos's tattoo doesn't just look cool, there's meaning
behind it. Originally, Zeus, Kratos's father heard a prophecy that a warrior with a large
birthmark would be his undoing. To counter the prophecy Zeus sent Athena and Ares into
town to seek out Zeus's marked death bringer. Turns out Deimos, Kratos's younger bro had
a sprawling birthmark, making him the prime suspect in the prophecy. Ares and Athena then
kidnapped Deimos to bring him to the underworld so that the prophecy couldn’t come true.
However, Kratos, still a teenager, tried stopping Ares and Athena but failed. He lunged at them
as that sat with his younger brother atop their horse but was quickly struck down by
Ares. Ares's powerful strike left a pretty hefty scar on Kratos' face and upon his failed
attempt to rescue Deimos, Kratos tattooed himself with a replica tat of his brothers
birthmark both serving as a tribute to his brother and a reminder to never be so weak
again. However, it turns out that Ares snagged the wrong bro and the mark left on Kratos
was actually the mark prophesied about regarding Zeus' downfall, which we now know come true
in God of War III when Kratos took his old man down.
Kratos would go ahead and hit that subscribe button and notification bell so why don’t
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