Featured Image Credit: Rockstar Games
Topics: Red Dead Redemption 2, Red Dead Redemption
Despite releasing back in 2018, Red Dead Redemption 2 still stands alone as one of the most impressively realised narratives in video game history. Set as a prequel to the first game, it follows Arthur Morgan and the Van Der Linde gang as they attempt to navigate an ailing wild west setting and find somewhere they can call home.
Along the way, players encounter hundreds of memorable characters, locations and secrets that make the world feel alive and relatively limitless. That depth has seen players explore every corner of its beautiful world in search of everything it has to offer, including direct connections to the beloved first game.
While there are plenty of those to enjoy, what we wouldn't expect to find is too many references to Red Dead Redemption 2 in the first game, particularly given the eight year gap between their releases. That's where the Red Dead's original protagonist and major character from the second game, John Marston, comes into play.
During a conversation while riding a cart through the arid landscape in Red Dead Redemption 1, Bonnie MacFarlane complains that she has never left the town she was born in, wishing she had been more brave. Marston responds by stating that "If you ask me, it usually takes more strength to stay than to run, Miss MacFarlane."
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While this could sound like an offhanded comment to comfort Bonnie, particularly if you haven't yet played Red Dead Redemption 2, it's actually a reference to the heroic actions of Arthur Morgan at the end of the game.
Knowing that his impending death from TB is close, Arthur stays to fight off the approaching enemies to allow John Marston to escape. This climactic and emotional moment sets the stage for all that happens in the first game, and it's clear it had a major effect on John.
The fact that the original Red Dead Redemption is still contributing to the conversation is impressive in the first place, but seeing it tie-in so well to the follow-up is pretty remarkable given the foresight the developers would have needed.