Anyone else really dig these adorable fan arts
of baby Melinone and Zag?
Oh, yeah, if you want to have people actually like the Greek gods you need to clean up their act a lot unless you're limiting the story to like Artemis, Athena and Hermes or something. Maybe Hades if you can get people to overcome their whole death god bias.
Using Hades also depends very heavily on the specific version of the myth of Persephone’s relationship with Hades you use. It’s his only major sticking point (unlike most of the others who have several) but it’s a doozy.
The version used in the game (being consensual on Persephone’s part, and the whole mess actually being Zeus’ idea) actually is loosely based on an existing version of the myth, which is something I didn’t know until after playing it and reading up further on the subject.
"The difference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to make sense." - Tom Clancy, paraphrasing Mark Twain.
Yeah, that one can be a bit of a sticking point. In context of Greekiness at the time it's really more akin to an arranged marriage than what we would consider a kidnapping today buuuut we don't really like arranged marriages either. And in the few stories I know about them they do seem to be happy together.
Oh, bother.
I've always found it a bit odd to consider Hades a death god, since he's not in charge of the actual dying itself. He's not the grim reaper analogue. That would be either Thanatos or Hermes. Hades is the god of the afterlife.
Edited by M84 on May 7th 2023 at 11:14:20 PM
Disgusted, but not surprised
Ever Evolving, Ever Adapting
Dionysus is an interesting case because even what we know of him he may be closer to a chtonic than the rest of the Pantheon. Same with Persephone, there's even evidence that suggest she predates Hades.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
That's arguably where the problem comes from. If Hades was the figure who guides people to the afterlife, he probably wouldn't have the same Everyone Hates Hades stigma he does. Then people could link him to St. Peter or whatever.
The issue is that Christianity doesn't really have an equivalent to a positive afterlife that isn't Heaven, just Hell, or an alternative concept of a boss for the afterlife who isn't capital G God, just the Devil.
So under a Christian lens Hades becomes a devil analogue, even though he obviously isn't one. Ruling the afterlife is what makes people have a problem with him.
Edited by KnownUnknown on May 7th 2023 at 9:12:34 AM
"The difference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to make sense." - Tom Clancy, paraphrasing Mark Twain.
Oh, bother.
Though funnily enough Hades is also in charge of the Heaven equivalent too, the Elysian Fields. He handles the Bad afterlife, the Mediocre afterlife, and the Awesome afterlife.
Disgusted, but not surprised
Yeah, but the Christian perspective doesn't see the Elysian Fields as the Heaven equivalent. It sees Olympus as the Heaven equivalent, because that's the idyllic place on high where the gods live.
It's why you get weird stuff like Disney's Hercules merging the two ideas by having every single person go to a horrible hell-like cesspool when they die, maintaining the idea that Olympus is "heaven" and Hades' realm is "hell" while also keeping Hades' "hell" as the only afterlife.
Edited by KnownUnknown on May 7th 2023 at 9:28:34 AM
"The difference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to make sense." - Tom Clancy, paraphrasing Mark Twain.
Oh, bother.
Though amusingly enough there's an even higher "afterlife" of sorts than Olympus. A rare few get made into constellations. This isn't something that people can earn normally — it requires a god liking you enough to memorialize you in space forever.
Disgusted, but not surprised
The Power of Toons and Anime
I think this game is the first time that I have seen a depiction of Hermes actually incorporate the psychopomp aspect of his character.
To be fair, the Greeks didn't really like Hades or Persephone much either.
That is true! They were scared of saying their names in fear of attracting their attention. Persephone was called Dread Persephone and the Iron Queen, and Hades was called the god most loathsome to mankind for being so inflexible.
Hadestown does too.
Edited by lalalei2001 on May 8th 2023 at 8:39:40 AM
The Protomen enhanced my life.
On August 2nd, 2023, AngeL1C completed a 64-heat run, unseeded and unmodded. The speedrunning moderation team has verified this run.
This was thought to be near-impossible just 10 days ago! Congrats to her! <3
Edited by lalalei2001 on Aug 5th 2023 at 10:28:15 AM
The Protomen enhanced my life.
Absolutely amazing.
Well done to her.
This is fine.
Damn, how anyone manages that I do not know, I still struggle with... way, way lower numbers than that. Also a very thorough disclaimer from the mod team there, but fair enough I suppose.
Also, she has a great avatar :3
Edited by HalfFaust on Aug 6th 2023 at 10:07:00 AM
The Power of Toons and Anime
Holy shit! That is an absolutely insane display of both luck and mad skill.
I think Heat 6 is the highest I have beaten so far, I really need to get back to playing this.
Lucas the Dreamer
I hope Hades 2 adds more areas. It would be amazing if, say, each location tier had 2 or 3 areas that were randomized on each run. As fun as Hades is, the path of each run being the same and only having four areas is a little disappointing. The game definitely takes a quality over quantity approach but I would love Hades 2 to be much bigger.
Why waste time when you can see the last sunset last?
Finally going back to Hades so I can get the final final final ending before Hades 2 comes out.
Forgot why I just kind of let my play lapse despite loving the game - this overwhelming feeling of "I've already beaten this thing, the only reason I can't just progress to the end is that the Ambrosia system is silly."
It's frustrating being on max relationship with all the gods, but being unable to progress despite having dozens of ambrosia saved up because I have to wait for a random piece of dialogue to randomly trigger.
"The difference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to make sense." - Tom Clancy, paraphrasing Mark Twain.
Saint of Asakuraism
I almost can't believe it, but I actually got into the technical test! They've changed a lot of stuff while still keeping the core combat. I can't wait for more.
Dost Thou Desire the Power ... Glove? It's so bad.
I saw the devs livestream some of the first area, and it looks awesome! It seems like Mel is the exact opposite of Zag, in that she's a soft-spoken, awkward, Dutiful Daughter who idealizes the family she never knew and puts her duty above everything, despite self-doubts. And you get to see her meet her obvious love interest Moros for the first time, while both of Zag's were childhood friends. (Jury's out on the second one, though assuming that she'll get both a male and female option like her brother).
Also, when demoing new abilities, the devs kept on saying things like "this knockback makes it tricky for Mel to use" or "Mel tends to stay far away, so this ability works great with her moveset" so I'm assuming that they're not even trying to hide that Zag'll be back for a Guys Smash, Girls Shoot dynamic.
Edited by IniuriaTalis on Apr 17th 2024 at 1:50:53 AM
Yeah, characterization is definitely the part with the most liberties taken compared to the original myths, though that is something that is pretty much the case with most works based on Greek mythology these day, since it is kinda hard to create particulary likable characters otherwise.
Though the wrathful and petty nature of most of the Olympians is still very much there to some degree, in both the Trial of the Gods and various stories heard throughout the game. Which makes them still feel more authentic then stories who try to turn them into perfect paragons of good.