History FranchiseOriginalSin / BioWare

* One area that ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' received criticism for was its StoryBranchFavoritism in regards to races, where an Elf player character had the most involvement in the story, as well as romance options in the game. ''Origins'' always had this problem too, as a Human Warden Cousland background had the most diverse set of options for them in terms of the endings, outcomes, and romanceable partners. However, ''Origins'' had the player origin mechanic to make this less impactful, allowing each race and/or class combo to have their own unique storyline. For example, a Dwarf would have a lot of involvement in the Orzamar plotline than they would as an Elf or Human due to having two different background options (commoner or noble), while an Elf Warden would have unique lines and reactions depending on what background they came from such as the City Elf versus being a Dalish Elf. By contrast, ''Inquisition'' has no mechanic like this except for war table missions, meaning that an Elf Inquisitor gets more focus in the story than any other race, while Dwarves and Qunari have practically no personal involvement, and even a Human Inquisitor gradually gets pushed to the side in favor of Elf lore.

* ''Inquisition'' is frequently criticized for its large volume of fetch quests, but ''Origins'' has plenty of those too. It's possible that they're more criticized in ''Inquisition'' because of that game's large open zones making quest objectives less straightforward and the controversial [[ScrappyMechanic "Power" mechanic]] requiring players to complete set amounts of side content to progress with the story.

* As [[http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Bioware#Mass_Effect pointed out]] on 1d4chan, the first two ''Franchise/MassEffect'' games, while still extremely good, had quite a few omens of the problems that arose in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3''; powers being made redundant, story-vital characters and events being left to DLC, a drop in character development, EA [[ExecutiveMeddling butting in where they don't belong]], and a decrease in making vital choices. All of these things were present over the first two games but were either barely noticeable or well controlled. The third game was merely the point where these issues ''really'' started impacting the quality of the game.

* In a way similar to ''Mass Effect'', [[https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Bioware#Dragon_Age 1d4chan also point out that this applies to]] ''Franchise/DragonAge'', as well, only to a much sharper degree; every [[BrokenBase base breaking]] aspect of the second game was present in ''[[VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins Origins]]''. There was pointless DLC, divisive or unlikable characters, and the first expansion pack ''[[VideoGame/DragonAgeOriginsAwakening Awakening]]'' was visibly rushed and had loads of {{Game Breaking Bug}}s. Thing is, it was all kept in check there, and plenty of work was put into ''Origins'' to ensure it came out good. ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' was every problem with ''Origins'' made blatant due to EA forcing Bioware to [[ChristmasRushed bum-rush the game]] out the door. As good as Bioware is, a game of the same quality level of ''Dragon Age: Origins'' being completed in '''less than a year''' just ''wasn't'' going to happen.

* Some players complain that goofy encounters such as that of Chincilla or Bondari toggle atmosphere from the game, making everything look silly. But such features were much more prominent in the first game, the sequels were even darker. The fact is that early on the saga was less epic and more about wandering in the wilderness doing bizarre encounters, so blatant jokes and easter eggs were less prominents.

* Romances are a staple of later Bioware games such as Mass Effect or Dragon Age: many players like them, but others totally despise them and think that the companystarted to turn its following games into dating sims more than role-playing games. However, those were already introduced in Baldur's Gate II, the only Bioware RPG without any of that was just the first Baldur's Gate from 1998 (and even then, again WordOfGod stated that this was because of lack of time to implement and refinish complex banters and character dialogues).

* In Baldur's Gate II we have the introduction of romances, which are a staple of later Bioware games: many players like them, but others totally despise them and think that the company started to turn its games into dating sims more than role-playing games, despite their only RPG without any of that being just the first Baldur's Gate from 1998 (and even then, again WordOfGod stated that this was because of lack of time to implement and refinish complex banters and character dialogues).

* Another complaint for ''Throne of Bhaal'' is that the plot feels streamlined if not railroaded, with not much agency upon its developments. This is a misunderstanding as the real issue is that actually you do not have much areas to explore besides those tied to your main quest, not even dedicated sidequest areas (except for the Watcher's Keep), unlike ''Shadows of Amn'' where right from the second chapter you can accept several interesting sidequests that bring you in cool places far away. But the main quest of SoA too was railroaded and lacked agency: you pass through a dungeon that many players [[ThatOneLevel started to consider boring]] and see one of your companions [[DamselInDistress being forcibly taken from you]], you are forced to [[FollowThePlottedLine follow Gaelan Bayle in his home and accept his offer]], you still gather money, you join one of the two rival factions ([[GameplayAndStorySegregation even if that would be in conflict with your character class]]), you battle the other, you chase the BigBad through the same places (most of which offer no possibility of going somewhere else), then the final confrontation. The only point where your choices really matter are right before chapter 3, depending on which faction you join for that part of the story, and partially at the end of chapter 4 if you want to skip an optional challenge that [[PermanentlyMissableContent there is no gain in skipping]]. All of this was not particularly noticed because the quests were great, the enemies interesting, the gameplay ultimately fun. ToB on the other hand was less inspired, and the same schema started to show its limits.

* ''Throne of Bhaal'' feels rushed, and it WAS rushed according to WordOfGod. But the same developers often recalled how both Bg1 and above all SoA were rushed, with the latter being so patched up at the last moment that nobody at Bioware expected the success it had, and would later say how many things they would have done differently with more time and resources available.