Well, it’s done. With God of War III Kratos’ god slaying adventures are presumably at an end and what an end it was. Well, actually some might argue the conclusion felt a bit rushed, and clumsy even if solid. It might interest such critics to know that the ending that was, was not the only ending considered. As it happens, several of the folks involved in the series’ development had different idea about where the story should have gone.
SPOILER ALERT
In the official ending Kratos succeeds in killing Zeus and upon doing so discovers that one of the reasons he has been so successful in his quest is that he has carried the power of hope, taken from Pandora’s Box back in God of War, within him the entire time. Then, rather than giving the power to Athena he kills himself and releases it into the world. A bit hokey, but perhaps not so bad as what others might have had it.
In an interview with GamePro, director Stig Asmussen revealed that franchise creator David Jaffe had different ideas, “What David Jaffe talked about doing was — and I’m not sure how it would happen — basically, you destroy Greek mythology and then Norse mythology is right around the corner,” Asmussen said. “That’s the next thing that Kratos would go after. It becomes clear at the end that he’s going to become this harbinger of death across different mythologies in the world and maybe carry the series on from there.” Asmussen also commented on former director Cory Barlog’s take on the series’ end. “He pretty much becomes the Grim Reaper at the end of the game and his blades become sickles,” said Asmussen. “They’re both incredibly good ideas, but you need a director to be passionate about the story and understand it intimately. If I had used Dave’s or Cory’s idea, I wouldn’t have been as passionate about it.”
Hmm, whatever you think about the official ending those ideas strike as a bit lame. Jaffe’s idea could have worked, but kind of would have painted Kratos as even more of a jerk than he already was. Honestly, how would that work? Would Kratos kill Zeus, get bored and then just arbitrarily start fighting with Odin? Granted, the reasoning behind his feud with Zeus may not have been the most solid, but it was still believable.
Barlog’s idea is a bit lame as well. He becomes Death? Wasn’t Hades the godly form of death? Considering the franchise’s roots, albeit loose, in Greek mythology that development would have a rung a bit flat. Plus with Dante’s Inferno out, another scythe wielding anti-hero would have just been fodder for mockery. Thank goodness Stig didn’t go that route, because even with a slightly clumsy execution the selected ending still worked and brought real closure to the franchise.
