Every Dragon Age Game Ranked From Cheesiest To Coolest

The Dragon Age franchise has some of the most complex and well-written characters in any RPG video game, but some of the installments in the series are certainly more nuanced than others. In fact, you could say that some of the earlier installments actually come off as a bit cheesy with clunky graphics and trope-filled moments. And, with Dragon Age 4 on the horizon, many old and new fans alike are getting into the story again by going back through the old days.

Fans of Dragon Age love the memorable villains, such as the Arishok, and the fascinating written cutscenes between companions, but some of these moments stand out as being much cooler than others. There’s one game that manages to be a cut above the rest for having the most epic moments and a severe lack of corny ones.

5 Heroes Of Dragon Age

Heroes of Dragon Age is a different kind of game than the rest. To start with, it’s a mobile game that’s entirely separate in gameplay and approach from the rest of the franchise. Because it’s on mobile, it just doesn’t have the same complexity or breadth as the other games, and it also doesn’t have the same quality of graphics as everything has to be pared down to be played on phones.

The concept is a squad-based strategy game, and while it does bring in a few aspects of the original story, it doesn’t have the complexity of awesome elements, like expansive world-building, that makes the franchise so great in the first place.

4 Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening/Dragon Age: The Exiled Prince

Dragon Age: Awakening was the first major DLC released for the franchise, and it could be added onto Dragon Age: Origins. And, The Exiled Prince was the most notable DLC for Drago Age II as it included the addition of a new companion in Sebastian Vael. While fans enjoyed getting more storylines to play, the new companions, such as Nathaniel, just weren’t as memorable as the original options. These weren’t a bad addition to the existing story, but they also weren’t as well-conceived as they could have been, so it was something of a disappointment.

The reason these add-ons are cheesier than some of the other games is that they are older and look like it. The graphics simply aren’t going to hold up to newer games on modern consoles. Plus, the dialogue seems a bit forced compared to more complex characters and storylines of the later games. They just weren’t complete games and it hurts somewhat.

3 Dragon Age: Origins

Dragon Age: Origins is an extremely successful game, and as the first Dragon Age entry, it was the one that started it all. However, it’s filled with some cheesy moments. The romantic relationship options tend to be less nuanced and a bit more hilarious than in later installments, and the sexy cutscenes just looked awkward. Even though many of the companions were well-loved by fans, they could be less complex than later companions. Zevran was the seductive elf assassin and Allistair was the typical knight-like character. Then, there was Morrigan, the sexy enchantress who couldn’t be trusted.

These characters were interesting, but they seemed to rely on tropes of the fantasy genre. Plus, the older graphics can seem a bit outdated now. However, despite this, killing the archdemon and being introduced to the Grey Wardens was still quite cool.

2 Dragon Age II

Dragon Age II took many of the factors that fans loved about the first game but made everything a little sleeker and a bit more complex. The combat system was fast and easy to use, and this led to some cool fight sequences, albeit rather bloody ones. The characters also felt more complex with fascinating backstories and personalities being given to companions such as Fenris and Varric.

The cut scenes looked less ridiculous and even those notorious sexy sequences were less cringe-worthy. The game is still a bit old at this point, as it was made in 2011 so there are visual elements that can feel a bit clunky. However, all in all, it holds up well when replaying.

1 Dragon Age: Inquisition

As the newest installment, at least until Dragon Age 4 is released, Dragon Age: Inquisition has the sleekest and smoothest visuals of all of the games. There are many regions to explore with distinct characteristics, such as the red rock deserts of the Forbidden Oasis. This meant players could travel all around The Hinterlands and beyond.

It was a more open-world than previous games, and this made fans feel like they were true adventuring heroes. While the companions of Dragon Age II might have been slightly more memorable than the companions in Inquisition, the rich world-building and updated graphics of Inquisition can’t be beaten. Fans are just anxious to see what Dragon Age 4 has in store and how it will compare across the board to everything that’s been released before it.

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