When it comes to comparing any two multimedia franchises,Dragon AgeandStar Warsare not likely the first to come to mind. Sure, countingKnights of the Old Republic, the two have had games made by BioWare (withDAstill very much being aBioWare game, even thoughKOTOR Remakeisn’t), but as one is a medieval fantasy story and the other is the definition of Sci-Fi, there’s not readily a lot of major comparisons to be made.
The Jedi do not consume the blood of the Sith to fight them asWardens do for Darkspawn. There is nothing like the concept of The Force inDragon Ageas magic there differs vastly, and so on. Yet, in terms of story structure,Dragon Ageand theStar Warssequel trilogy actually share a lot of commonalities.
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Dragon Age: Origins vs. The Force Awakens
WhenThe Force Awakenswas first released, many quickly noticed how similar it was toA New Hope. Kylo Ren is essentially a new Vader, at least in terms of being related to the Dark Side and both working for someone more powerful. The Starkiller Base was essentially abigger Death Star, a mentor’s death (Ben Kenobi/Han Solo) is witnessed by the helpless protagonist (Luke/Rey), there’s a droid with important information on a desert planet, X-wings fly through a trench to attack a massive weapon, and so on. In short,The Force Awakenscan be summarized as a new take on certain structural elements.
The same goes forDragon Age: Origins. There was noDragon Agegame before it, but there was plenty of games inspired byDungeons and Dragonssystems likeBaldur’s Gate.Dragon Age: Originsinterjected new elements and new takes, but structurally, it wasn’t necessarily new in and of itself. BothDragon Age: OriginsandThe Force Awakensused the old to start something new.
Dragon Age 2 vs. The Last Jedi
Dragon Age 2is contentious, with ardent supporters and serious detractors. It went in an entirely different direction than its previous game, becoming more action-focused and, at times, as if it didn’t deal with the events of the first game as many expected a sequel would. If that sounds familiar, it’s becauseThe Last Jedihas proven to be contentious with many who love it and who hate it. It went in an entirely different creative direction than the previous film, not dealing with those events as many thought it would.
Dragon Age: Inquisition vs. The Rise of Skywalker
The third entry in each franchise tried to bring it back in line from the previous installment, and some would argue that it went much further. At times,Dragon Age: Inquisitionfeels like an MMOwithout the multiplayer element, and while it brings a lot back that madeOriginsgreat, it doubled-down in areas that didn’t seem absolutely necessary.The Rise of Skywalker, meanwhile, tries to come back fromThe Last Jedi, line it back up with elements from the first movie like the Knights of Ren, and ends up going overboard to drive home similar elements compared to the first entry.
Of course, while the structures may be similar, the content is vastly different. Still, it says something about storytelling when certain elements can be found in entirely different genres, and that makes bothDragon AgeandStar Warsall the more interesting.
