Practically anyone, even if they haven’t played any of the God of War (GOW) games, would know about Kratos. He is the main protagonist of the very successful GOW franchise, seen hacking and slashing his way through ancient Greece mostly fueled by revenge and hate for the Gods and the occasional desire to save the world from oblivion.
God of War Chains of Olympus: Chronologically the first in the series of the GOW games but released after God of War II. It tells of the story of Kratos, a former captain in the Spartan army, who through a series of unfortunate events, now serves the Gods of Olympus. The story is steeped in various hues of revenge, repentance and sacrifice. These themes are dominant in all the GOW games, some being more prominent than others. Chains of Olympus documents the untold story of Kratos’ time as the servant of the Gods and the sacrifice he makes to save the world from the evil Queen Persephone’s plan of destruction.
God of War: The first game to come out and chronologically the second game in the series. This game first introduced us to Kratos, the “sympathetic anti-hero”, and gave us an insight into the mythological world of ancient Greece. The game starts with Kratos trying to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff, with the games story being told in a series of his-life-is-flashing-before-his-eyes, flashbacks. Again this sheds light on how hopeless Kratos thinks everything that he has done is. He has served the Gods for 10 years and even killed the God of War Ares in an epic battle on the behest of the goddess Athena. Yet the Gods cannot give him what he wants and veil the promise to rid him of his nightmares by double speak. They have promised him forgiveness that Kratos assumes would mean his nightmares would end only to be told no one can make him forget, and that even if they could, they (the Gods) weren’t willing to help him. This is seen throughout the series, as the Gods keep going back on their word and saying things that actually imply one thing but mean something totally different. In the end Kratos is saved by Athena who says the other Gods want Kratos to take Ares’ place as the God of War.
God of War II: The second installment and chronologically the third game in the series. The game opens once again with Kratos’ betrayal, this time by Zeus, the King of the Gods. Again someone helps him exact revenge. This time it is Gaia, or the Mother of the Earth. And she needs him to change his “fate”. This leads to epic battles with a number of famous characters from Greek mythology, and eventually culminates with a battle royal with the three fates. Having changed his fate using the Loom that the sisters possessed, Kratos returns to the moment before Zeus’ betrayal and manages to turn the tables almost killing Zeus. Nothing goes as planned as Athena tries and stops him and ends up sacrificing herself for Zeus. She also reveals that Zeus is Kratos’ father. This doesn’t seem to faze Kratos as he is consumed with rage, and his thirst for revenge needs to be quenched. He uses the Loom and gets all the Titans back to the present. With the Titans on his side, he and Gaia lead the charge on Mount Olympus.
God of War III: This is the fourth game in the series and last chronologically. The game picks off where the last one left, as Gaia, the Titans and Kratos are about to lay siege to Mount Olympus. In the initial assault Poseidon is killed and when the time comes for them to face Zeus, they face catastrophe, as Zeus’ lightening bolt strikes. Gaia and Kratos fall off Olympus and Kratos falls off Gaia, as she is too preoccupied with the war with the Gods to save him. Kratos falls into the river Styx and loses most of his power and the Blades of Olympus. In the underworld he meets Athena’s ghost who guides him through the rest of the game. On the way he kills the lesser Gods and other servants of the Gods (these deaths release various natural calamities on mankind), finally retrieving the Blades of Olympus. After this he is tasked with getting Pandora’s Box which still contains the power to kill a God. This leads to numerous battles finally ending with the death of both Zeus and Gaia. The game ends with Kratos killing himself, after being told by Athena that he has taken her power from the Box, the power being Hope. Kratos feels it is better if mankind has this power and he impales himself on the Blades of Olympus.
Throughout the series revenge, anger and sacrifice play great roles in the development of Kratos’ character. His character evolves from being a ruthless Spartan Captain, to being a ruthless God, to finally sacrificing his life for the greater good of mankind. In between all of this Kratos has made a number of decisions that would not brand him a hero. This normally included taking innocent lives, and that would only further his cause. But there was always an underlying reason for what he had done, he needed to gain absolution for his sins. The weight of his sins is literally carried around with him. This is represented by his pale skin color which is the ash of his wife and daughter’s burnt bodies stuck to his skin by a curse. Kratos is also fed up by the Gods playing around with his life and never giving him what they promised. In the end, he decides whatever the consequences man would be better off without the Gods (seen as he doesn’t hesitate to kill any of them even though this may result in natural calamities). He even sacrifices his own life so that mankind may have the gift of hope against Athena’s advice mocking the Gods even after his death.
- – Tejasvi Tandon