I love this entire series of same game-different platform comparison videos. The HP games I knew were different, but I never knew there were so many different sorts of LOTR games across all the platforms.
Just a quick question, would you consider reviewing the spin-off games for Harry Potter as well? I'm talking about the LEGO games in particular (which have multiple ports across platfroms), the mobile games, the Kinect game, there's quite a few. Would be really interesting to hear your take on them!
I remember the GBA version very fondly. Hands down one of the best GBA games I have ever played! Now that you mentioned how the same developer made the first 3 Harry Potter games for it as well, I get why I enjoyed them all so much.
I spent hours in the GBA titles of Two Towers and Return of the King. They weren’t terrible but not fantastic either. The Gandalf campaign was amazing because of his exclusive chapter. The loss of XP on each death was a massive blow.
Small correction: The Two Towers was never released for PC. In fact, I played and LOVED this game on PS2, and I was sad when my PS2 died, and even more sad when I found out that there wasn't a PC version. Thankfully, you have PS2 emulators, like PCSX2. They aren't perfect, but that's the only alternative.
Yeah, I wish there was a PC version. BUT it would be amazing if there was a mod for ROTK or a remaster/remake with both games together, full coop and all characters for all the levels. Seems so simple, yet so improbable.
I`m surprised you didn't mentioned Diablo when talking about the GBA version of The Two Towers. Cause that game is straight up inspired by Diablo. Down from the loot, skill tree and camera angle, to the red and blue orb for life and mana. Heads up, same goes for the GBA version of Return of the King. They dropped the red and blue orb (an iconic Diablo-like element) but the game is still very much inspired by Diablo.
When I found out the GBA LOTR TTT and TROTK were Diablo inspired it led me to getting into Diablo 4 big time. I always wanted to play something like it, and now I am having a blast with two friends as we go through Diablo 4 together.
I grew up with the Two Towers GBA game and it's probably my most run through RPG as a child that wasn't Pokemon, the other contender being the GBC Sorcerer's Stone game, especially since both of them were set up with a bit of a NG+ aspect that let you just play the game over again with your levels and items.
When I first came across your channel I was so hopeful that you'd do a video on The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. I remember the GBA game being the best thing that has ever happened to me as a child. It's so amazing and detailed. I never got the opportunity to play the PS2 version though but I'd really like to.
My brothers and I played the flagship Two Towers game to DEATH. I loved upgrading to those super OP purple arrows on Legolas and just mowing through enemies with them
I was lucky enough to enjoy the Original Xbox and GBA version. Loved playing both games. I do remember some type of armor or weapon that nobody else could use and I believe it was intended for Gimli. Most likely cut due to time, but they started working on his weapons, and one of them survived the cutting room floor. I remember doing everything I can to see if Gimli would be unlocked. Leveling up all the characters to high level, looking up info online, and exploring every nook and cranny for some type of secret. Still a fun game for it's time that I put a ton of hours into.
As a kid I could never gat past defending the gate at Helm's Deep. Did eventually do it 10 years later, but for the longest time neither me nor my friends could clear the gate level. Never got very far into the GBA version, but I always liked the idea of being able to play as Eowyn and the fact that she had her own campaign, rather than being forced into the fellowship somehow.
My favorite character was Legolas in the GBA version. Frodo and Eowyn's paths were difficult in my opinion, especially since Eowyn had to fight Uruk-hai so early on. I'd get destroyed. I remember wanting to play as Gimli so badly. Seeing him running around as a companion was so cool. Apparently, you could play as him if you had another person to GBA link with but I had no such person :(
You know, I always thought that soldier in the second Rohan level was just a generic guy, but now I wonder if he was supposed to be Theoden and they couldn't get Bernard Hill or permission to use his likeness.
I really love this series. Comparing all the versions of a game is so interesting. I love someone uncovering and re-evaluating Griptonite's great work too - out of all of these, if I go to emulate a Two Towers game, I'm going to go for that one! Wish I gave it a chance back in the day, honestly. Though... yeah, it's a shame there weren't more versions of Two Towers to look at here. There may not have been a Vivendi game this time, but there was _going to be._ I remember quite looking forward to "Lord of the Rings: Treason at Isengard" (though I don't remember why exactly they changed the name, besides the devs _not_ wanting people to confuse it with EA's Two Towers game... which sounds honorable, but also, like, _I'm pretty sure that's exactly what the_ publisher _Vivendi wanted consumers to do,_ lol). Link: th-cam.com/video/dFtgaZyFrNY/w-d-xo.html To this day, I personally think it looks better than EA's game. It's chunkier and more stylized, sure, but EA's stuff doesn't exactly look very realistic anymore now, so those LOTR games haven't aged super well visually. But I'm not even talking about presentation, really - I was never happy with the limited scope of the Two Towers. I wanted an action-adventure or an action-RPG, not a beat 'em up. I mean I bought it like everybody else, but it just felt so _flimsy,_ y'know? Devil May Cry was out by then; you hit a button in that game and *you hit an enemy.* You hit a button in Two Towers and you... play a sword swinging animation. Just sort of clip through and flail into enemy models until they die while animations struggle to link up or collide with each other in any impactful way. Treason of Isengard looked more solid and ambitious; the combat a bit more like Gauntlet Seven Sorrows or something, and clearly packing more varied gameplay styles. I'm bummed that Surreal Software never got to finish it - their other games that generation were pretty good (they also did Drakan: The Ancient's Gate on PS2, and the Suffering games on PS2 and Xbox. Treason of Isengard actually reminds me a lot, visually, of Drakan). I feel like there were rumors at the time that there were demo discs from Playstation Magazine or Xbox Magazine that actually had a playable demo included, but all I ever saw were trailers and behind-the-scenes stuff. Oh well. What could've been, huh? At the very least, could've made your video longer, lol. Excellent work though, seriously. Love seeing these vids and recommendations and adding games to my "To Play" list (and Favorites section on my emulator consoles).
Thanks for doing this series Flandrew! I played this game for the first time a few years ago in Dolphin, as I only had a PC growing up and there was no PC version. My favorite character in this one was Aragorn, he had decent power both at range and in melee. Sorry Gimli, if you didn't take a calendar year to swing and weren't less than useless at range, maybe you could be my main. I did actually have the RotK game growing up and this series has inspired me to replay it so it can be fresh in my mind by the time you get to that video. So far I've completed the canon campaign as well as fully leveled Frodo and Aragorn. Looking forward to that video!
I remember completing this game on PS2, replaying the Moria, Amon Hen and Rohan levels time and time again, but honestly I've completely blanked on 90% of the footage shown. Not even forgotten but jogging a memory, literally nothing. It's making me question my own nostalgia! Also please say you're going to review the Hobbit game!
Just realized I wasn't subscribed to you even though I love all of your videos! You are one of the most underrated channels on YT and deserve millions of subs!
Have you ever played games for and from the Matrix franchise? I'd love to watch a video of you doing comparisons and in-depth analysis of these games. Great work as always. Thanks.
Gimli is playable on the GBA version, he is just locked to 2 player, so he is hard to level up and super slow. The GBA game is by far my favorite, you can make Legolas use the speed force by adding to his foot speed skill, they balanced it in return of the king, so he is not as fun to play as.
The GBA version of Two Towers is on my top 10 of the best games I’ve played in my entire life. It was my first GBA game. I grow up with my little brother playing it a lot and I still play it nowadays. I love your videos. Btw you can unlock Gimli in the multiplayer mode.
Interestingly enough, Vivendi were developing a Two Towers game (called Treason of Isengard) that like their Fellowship game was based on the book and not the movie. The game would have let you play as Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Treebeard and Gollum (with others presumably planned) and followed the plot of the book. The game was planned for release in 2003 but was ultimately cancelled as Vivendi felt the game wasn’t meeting their expectations, ultimately choosing to focus on the RTS game War of the Ring and their action platformer based on The Hobbit instead.
I remember being disappointed when I found out about the Treason of Isengard being cancelled because I like the vivendi Fellowship game because it git me interested in Lord of the Rings.
In the GBA games, you can actually play as Gimli. You need to beat the campaign with two characters, then go into multi-player mode to unlock Gimli. This is hinted at, as you can very rarely find Axes or other gear that can't be equipped by any other character.
Still annoyed they never made a pc version for this game - yet they had part 1 and part 3. I have rly fond memories of the GBA game however. I remember it having multiplayer aswell. Fond time ramishing through the story with Legolas and Gandalf
Dang I put hundreds of hours into GBA game as a kid and the thing I remember most to this day is the loot system. I was really hoping you'd touch on that more! That loot system with all the special weapons and armor (mythic? legendary? can't remember the ranks) that would only appear after completing the game multiple times were addicting to grind out and felt very Diablo-like. Now practically every game has a loot system like that, but at the time it felt pretty novel. Seemed ahead of it's time, especially for a portable game. - Also you could play as Gimli in multiplayer! And the multiplayer was very meaty, basically full campaign co-op and your upgrades and gear can carry over between your single player and multiplayer campaigns. I was lucky enough to have a friend up the street who also had a cartridge, and we played a TON of multiplayer, just hunting rare loot.
I only ever had the xbox version of this game but the deeping wall mission where you defend the door had me stuck for YEARS. I only ever beat the game once years later when I was finally able to get to the final level by some fluke chance.
That's kinda crazy, you're saying there was a ton of footage from a movie released in December 2002 in the videogame released 2 months prior? I don't think studios would be that ballsy even today. I mean heck, just the plot spoilers, granted it's an old book series, but still. Playing through the movie 2 months before the movie??
And damn... the GBA game came out a month before Two Towers, but actually had Gandalf's fight with the Balrog and Gandalf the White from Return of the King... holy shit! That's pretty awesome. lol.
Discovered your channel due to the harry potter 1 game video, loving this series. There are many movie tie-in games that deserve so much love but can't be legally bought anywhere🙁 Currently playing this using dolphin emulator, enjoying it so far. Return of the king though, that was epic. A relative of mine gave me the PC version of the ROTK game. I WILL FOREVER BE THANKFUL TO HER BECAUSE IT INTRODUCED ME TO THE WHOLE FRANCHISE. Middle earth and harry potter are my childhood. I hope u cover the Lego games too :)
I loved the Twin Towers game growing up, I got it with my PS2 for Christmas one year, my parents didn't know it needed a memory card (neither did I), so I would have to leave the game on. I never got very far in it, but maybe because of that Gimli was by far my favorite character (Because of the troll, no way were my stubby fingers agile enough to last long in that fight.)
the gamecube game is what i grew up with, and yes i did absolutely abuse the auto aim mechanic to make it through the last 2 levels, god i felt good after beating them, and yes i really did love the next one in the series because of the coop
I remember the GBA version of The two towers as a game with infinite replayibility, as you just went through ng+ every time you finished it. I remember it beeing blatantly hard after some ngs, and the only way to beat it was to abuse a bug i found with Legolas. You had an attack that you could charge up to deal extra damage, but you werent able to move or smt, and i found a way of charging it up, and then abuse a bug so you could move with the attack fully charged, and i constantly ran from enemies and just tried to deal dmg with the charge attack. memories 🥰
I was actually considering making these types of videos, because it felt like no one was gonna, glad to see somebody finally do this. I'm hoping that you cover the simpsons game next: while the DS version is a 2D platformer. Theres a ton of differances between the PS2/Wii version and the PS3/360 version. For example: in the PS2 version theres a whole level leading up to a boss fight, in the next gen version: it's just a bossfight. Very strange stuff
I wonder if you're thinking of looking at the Third Age game - if only for how off-the-wall the plot of the PS2 one is and how different it is to the Gameboy one.
That second part of the Helm's Deep Trilogy (the one where you protect the door), was one of the dumbest levels I've ever played in a video game. For some reason I remember if you lose you get a cut scene of the orcs breaking through the door. However, if you win, you get a DIFFERENT cut scene of the orcs breaking down the door. I could be wrong, considering I haven't played this game for 20 years, but that is how I remember it.
I remember thinking Gandalf, Frodo and Boromir being in the mines of moria fighting along side me thinking they were secret characters.... such a tease.
Omg. I managed to beat that last level during my first attempt with Aragorn on PS2 but could never do it again with the other characters. Learning about that thing with the archers has me tempted to dig it out again after so many years.
An interesting detail. The LOTR GBA game has Gimli as a player character, but only in the multiplayer part of the game. Thats why you could find axes as obtainable weapons with the other characters. Why they decide to block him out of SP is a mystery, but i guest it was because the campaing would be basically similar to Aragons and Legolas.
My friend got a Ps2 for Christmas I believe it was and the two games he got were Two Towers and Shinobi. Thing is, he never got a memory card either so I have vivid memories of just playing the first couple levels of both Shinobi and Two Towers over and over because we couldn't save anything. Then I bought Two Towers (and later RotK) for Gamecube and having a blast still.
Might I recommend Pirates of the Caribbean games when you've finished LOTR? It was one of the big franchises from the 2000s with many home and portable versions, and it'd slot into the rest of your content perfectly!
This game and Gauntlet: Dark Legacy on the GameCube cemented my love for the slow and heavy-hitting style of characters. Been a warhammer wielder and a paladin whenever possible ever since. So yeah, I'm a Gimli fan, and I'm proud―though I definitely 100%ed this game with all the characters. Overall this might have been my favorite game on the Xbox
Wasn’t sure if the Third Age was going to get any special mention with certain levels of course you don’t play as the main cast of characters apart from certain levels/ parts
I remember the GBA game. One of the earliest games I would grind, I would choose Aragorn, and make my way to the glittering caves, where I would grind hours and hours for weapons and armor. There were a few special drops that I would try to collect.
This is the first of your videos where I've actually played multiple versions. I played a lot of the GBA game as my brother owned it originally then I pretty much had possession of all of his games once he grew older. I would ultimately lose it without ever playing as Frodo, I think. I don't really remember my progress from back then. As for the second one, I rented the Gamecube version and I definitely remember clearly the route heading to the Mines of Moria and getting stuck on the octopus. And then never playing it again.
The Helm's Deep level always made me wonder why we never got something like a Lord of the Ring Musou. Like, I get WHY adaptation wise, but you can't deny how badass it would be to cut through a thousand orcs with Gandalf.
While not a movie tie-in, The Third Age covers the same events of the movies. If I remember it right, the game even uses movies scenes... And Gandalf - really, Gandalf - narrates it. And, in Two Towers, Legolas is just broken. Aragorn had some nasty combos, but Legolas bow was like a sniper rifle with autoaim during the endgame.
I actually remember liking the GBA version of the game more, mostly because it reminded me of Diablo II. The console version is a decent level-based linear affair, but having something that resembled my favourite MMO at the time that was also portable? It was a dream come true. I played the heck out of this game, and its sequel. I did find it odd that Gimli wasn't playable in this game though. I legit found an axe once though, even though no playable character could use it.
I've only played PS2 version of Two Towers and loved it. The only issue was co-op and thankfully, they fixed in the next game which is for me still is one of the best games I've ever played.
Actually played both EA games here, Legolas' final bow upgrades are more than a bit busted in the home console game. Some of my biggest jump scares come from smashing a box and finding four of those sodding birds inside on the GBA version.
Something you didn’t touch on was how technically impressive the PS2 game was in particular - we had never seen that many enemies on screen at once on that console, especially with the graphics being as good as they were at the time. As a teen I was obsessed with LotR (still am), and having such a compelling showing in the tie-in games was more than I could’ve hoped for. You’d have to go back to Rogue Leader on the GameCube for a better movie franchise game, otherwise this was as good as it got
This guy knows his viewers, and is pumping out consistently brilliant TH-cam videos, all the while staying true to what people liked about him in the beginning.
Great video (as always), but you could have mentioned about cancelled Vivendi sequel "The Treason of Isengard". There are some clips from this unreleased game on TH-cam. Just a little trivia ;)
Apparently my memories of being given both the Twin Towers and return of your kin of the gamecube were untrue o,O. Never finished either but played Kin more
I have great memories of the gba version. A very decent port. The gba for fellowship of the ring, while ir began promising, it had good potential but saddly, it didn't quite get there. Vivendi games originally had intentions of releasing 2 more Lord of the Rings games but ultimately didn't. Thankfully EA games got the licence
Hi! I figured I should write a comment for once. I really enjoy your videos, thanks for making them. You put a lot of work into them and I appreciate a lot of your jokes! As a kid I only played the PS2 version and yeah I remember being super bad lol. Anyway I can't wait to see your next video. Thank you from France!
I’ve never played that GBA game, but it feels familiar purely due to its style. When I was at high school many years ago, the breakfast club somehow had a GBA. It didn’t have anything good with it (from my memory, only the Finding Nemo game), but that also felt GBA as all heck. Weird to have nostalgia for a style rather than a specific game.
I remember playing the gba one and this was before the extended cut, and Aragorn mentions he's a dúnedain and that blew my mind cuz my young self never read the books and was like why is this not in the film?
Flandrew returning every sunday evening to eliminate the stress for the upcoming work week with a weekly portion of Nostalgia gaming, love it!
Nothing like a bit of sucking up.
Ikr its like the sunday cartoons in the 90s :)
I couldn’t agree more
Robert if you had a party in a phone box it wouldn't achieve 50% capacity
”BUUUUT”
I love this entire series of same game-different platform comparison videos.
The HP games I knew were different, but I never knew there were so many different sorts of LOTR games across all the platforms.
Your work ethic is bananas man. Ive never seen anyone crank out so much quality content in such a small amount of time.
Just a quick question, would you consider reviewing the spin-off games for Harry Potter as well? I'm talking about the LEGO games in particular (which have multiple ports across platfroms), the mobile games, the Kinect game, there's quite a few. Would be really interesting to hear your take on them!
Yes, definitely
@@Flandrew don't forget the other lord of the rings games too
Man, this man will have things to do until the end of time with the amount of nostalgia games
Was just gonna ask that but glad he’s going to.
Quidditch World Cup comes to mind
I remember the GBA version very fondly. Hands down one of the best GBA games I have ever played!
Now that you mentioned how the same developer made the first 3 Harry Potter games for it as well, I get why I enjoyed them all so much.
I spent hours in the GBA titles of Two Towers and Return of the King. They weren’t terrible but not fantastic either. The Gandalf campaign was amazing because of his exclusive chapter. The loss of XP on each death was a massive blow.
I loved it soo much, cuz it felt like Diablo on the go
Actually, i thought they were really good, especially ROTK.
@@et34t34fdf my god ROTK is a step up from two towers and in my opinion it is a worthwhile game for the gba
werent fantastic? Lol, they WERE fantastic!
Small correction: The Two Towers was never released for PC. In fact, I played and LOVED this game on PS2, and I was sad when my PS2 died, and even more sad when I found out that there wasn't a PC version. Thankfully, you have PS2 emulators, like PCSX2. They aren't perfect, but that's the only alternative.
Came here to say this. 😊
Yeah, I wish there was a PC version. BUT it would be amazing if there was a mod for ROTK or a remaster/remake with both games together, full coop and all characters for all the levels. Seems so simple, yet so improbable.
But return to king had pc port?
@@morkgin2459 Yes. With coop and all
There _was_ a PC port planned, but EA cancelled it for some reason. I remember being super bummed about that lol
5:12 Archers on the wall... The same thing happened to me, I used to ignore all the messages and never progressed the levels lol
I`m surprised you didn't mentioned Diablo when talking about the GBA version of The Two Towers. Cause that game is straight up inspired by Diablo. Down from the loot, skill tree and camera angle, to the red and blue orb for life and mana.
Heads up, same goes for the GBA version of Return of the King. They dropped the red and blue orb (an iconic Diablo-like element) but the game is still very much inspired by Diablo.
When I found out the GBA LOTR TTT and TROTK were Diablo inspired it led me to getting into Diablo 4 big time. I always wanted to play something like it, and now I am having a blast with two friends as we go through Diablo 4 together.
This is flat out my favorite series on youtube right now. What a great channel niche you've found.
I grew up with the Two Towers GBA game and it's probably my most run through RPG as a child that wasn't Pokemon, the other contender being the GBC Sorcerer's Stone game, especially since both of them were set up with a bit of a NG+ aspect that let you just play the game over again with your levels and items.
I remember playing the PS2 version with a mate of mine and it spawned numerous jokes. It also spawned many rewatches of The Two Towers.
When I first came across your channel I was so hopeful that you'd do a video on The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. I remember the GBA game being the best thing that has ever happened to me as a child. It's so amazing and detailed. I never got the opportunity to play the PS2 version though but I'd really like to.
If you loved the GBA TLOTR TTT and TROTK you will love Diablo 3 and 4, I know I do.
My brothers and I played the flagship Two Towers game to DEATH. I loved upgrading to those super OP purple arrows on Legolas and just mowing through enemies with them
can you beat Fangorn with Legolas, tho?
Fun fact - that's not actually a Generic Rohan Soldier, it's meant to be King Theoden
but he's basically a generic rohan soldier in gameplay purposes
I was lucky enough to enjoy the Original Xbox and GBA version. Loved playing both games. I do remember some type of armor or weapon that nobody else could use and I believe it was intended for Gimli. Most likely cut due to time, but they started working on his weapons, and one of them survived the cutting room floor. I remember doing everything I can to see if Gimli would be unlocked. Leveling up all the characters to high level, looking up info online, and exploring every nook and cranny for some type of secret. Still a fun game for it's time that I put a ton of hours into.
As a kid I could never gat past defending the gate at Helm's Deep. Did eventually do it 10 years later, but for the longest time neither me nor my friends could clear the gate level. Never got very far into the GBA version, but I always liked the idea of being able to play as Eowyn and the fact that she had her own campaign, rather than being forced into the fellowship somehow.
This has got to be one of the coolest ideas to compare various versions of the same games!
My favorite character was Legolas in the GBA version. Frodo and Eowyn's paths were difficult in my opinion, especially since Eowyn had to fight Uruk-hai so early on. I'd get destroyed. I remember wanting to play as Gimli so badly. Seeing him running around as a companion was so cool. Apparently, you could play as him if you had another person to GBA link with but I had no such person :(
You know, I always thought that soldier in the second Rohan level was just a generic guy, but now I wonder if he was supposed to be Theoden and they couldn't get Bernard Hill or permission to use his likeness.
I really love this series. Comparing all the versions of a game is so interesting. I love someone uncovering and re-evaluating Griptonite's great work too - out of all of these, if I go to emulate a Two Towers game, I'm going to go for that one! Wish I gave it a chance back in the day, honestly. Though... yeah, it's a shame there weren't more versions of Two Towers to look at here.
There may not have been a Vivendi game this time, but there was _going to be._ I remember quite looking forward to "Lord of the Rings: Treason at Isengard" (though I don't remember why exactly they changed the name, besides the devs _not_ wanting people to confuse it with EA's Two Towers game... which sounds honorable, but also, like, _I'm pretty sure that's exactly what the_ publisher _Vivendi wanted consumers to do,_ lol). Link: th-cam.com/video/dFtgaZyFrNY/w-d-xo.html
To this day, I personally think it looks better than EA's game. It's chunkier and more stylized, sure, but EA's stuff doesn't exactly look very realistic anymore now, so those LOTR games haven't aged super well visually. But I'm not even talking about presentation, really - I was never happy with the limited scope of the Two Towers. I wanted an action-adventure or an action-RPG, not a beat 'em up. I mean I bought it like everybody else, but it just felt so _flimsy,_ y'know? Devil May Cry was out by then; you hit a button in that game and *you hit an enemy.* You hit a button in Two Towers and you... play a sword swinging animation. Just sort of clip through and flail into enemy models until they die while animations struggle to link up or collide with each other in any impactful way.
Treason of Isengard looked more solid and ambitious; the combat a bit more like Gauntlet Seven Sorrows or something, and clearly packing more varied gameplay styles. I'm bummed that Surreal Software never got to finish it - their other games that generation were pretty good (they also did Drakan: The Ancient's Gate on PS2, and the Suffering games on PS2 and Xbox. Treason of Isengard actually reminds me a lot, visually, of Drakan). I feel like there were rumors at the time that there were demo discs from Playstation Magazine or Xbox Magazine that actually had a playable demo included, but all I ever saw were trailers and behind-the-scenes stuff.
Oh well. What could've been, huh? At the very least, could've made your video longer, lol. Excellent work though, seriously. Love seeing these vids and recommendations and adding games to my "To Play" list (and Favorites section on my emulator consoles).
Eowyn's GBA description literally says: "strong, independant, and beautiful woman."
All bosses:
Two towers:
3:59 sharku
4:40 catapult(final boss)
Gba:
9:00 balrog
9:17 nazgul
Elijah Wood saying "Help, They're everywhere" is forever etched into my soul
Struggling to get through my Monday and the man himself Flandrew comes through with the goods
I loved the Gameboy advance version a lot, I remember grinding on gandalf to get several staffs of different colors and see which looks cooler.
Thanks for doing this series Flandrew! I played this game for the first time a few years ago in Dolphin, as I only had a PC growing up and there was no PC version. My favorite character in this one was Aragorn, he had decent power both at range and in melee. Sorry Gimli, if you didn't take a calendar year to swing and weren't less than useless at range, maybe you could be my main.
I did actually have the RotK game growing up and this series has inspired me to replay it so it can be fresh in my mind by the time you get to that video. So far I've completed the canon campaign as well as fully leveled Frodo and Aragorn. Looking forward to that video!
Flandrew you are quickly becoming my favorite channel right now.
I was really hoping for another “You are Frodo.” in the sequel to the text adventure game.
I remember completing this game on PS2, replaying the Moria, Amon Hen and Rohan levels time and time again, but honestly I've completely blanked on 90% of the footage shown. Not even forgotten but jogging a memory, literally nothing. It's making me question my own nostalgia! Also please say you're going to review the Hobbit game!
Just realized I wasn't subscribed to you even though I love all of your videos! You are one of the most underrated channels on YT and deserve millions of subs!
That last Helms Deep level was absolute carnage and chaos.
Ive been waiting for this!!! The gba games were so epic. Thank you bringing light to them!
From Harry Potter to LOTR, every upload had me in tears, hahaha. Keep up the good work.
That drawing you have at the end with the gameboy in the streetlight brought back so many memories
Have you ever played games for and from the Matrix franchise? I'd love to watch a video of you doing comparisons and in-depth analysis of these games. Great work as always. Thanks.
I think you mean the Orcs drop POE-TAY-TOES (boil em, mash em, stick em in stew)
I love how cozy your videos are.
Gimli is playable on the GBA version, he is just locked to 2 player, so he is hard to level up and super slow. The GBA game is by far my favorite, you can make Legolas use the speed force by adding to his foot speed skill, they balanced it in return of the king, so he is not as fun to play as.
I loved the old DOS games when I was growing up. There were a few cryptic puzzles, but it had that old Interplay magic.
The GBA version of Two Towers is on my top 10 of the best games I’ve played in my entire life. It was my first GBA game. I grow up with my little brother playing it a lot and I still play it nowadays. I love your videos.
Btw you can unlock Gimli in the multiplayer mode.
I came here to stan the gba version. Amazing handheld Diablo knock off.
I'm always waiting for these videos. These are good content! Thanks for these Flandrew
Interestingly enough, Vivendi were developing a Two Towers game (called Treason of Isengard) that like their Fellowship game was based on the book and not the movie. The game would have let you play as Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Treebeard and Gollum (with others presumably planned) and followed the plot of the book. The game was planned for release in 2003 but was ultimately cancelled as Vivendi felt the game wasn’t meeting their expectations, ultimately choosing to focus on the RTS game War of the Ring and their action platformer based on The Hobbit instead.
I remember being disappointed when I found out about the Treason of Isengard being cancelled because I like the vivendi Fellowship game because it git me interested in Lord of the Rings.
In the GBA games, you can actually play as Gimli. You need to beat the campaign with two characters, then go into multi-player mode to unlock Gimli. This is hinted at, as you can very rarely find Axes or other gear that can't be equipped by any other character.
Still annoyed they never made a pc version for this game - yet they had part 1 and part 3.
I have rly fond memories of the GBA game however. I remember it having multiplayer aswell. Fond time ramishing through the story with Legolas and Gandalf
Dang I put hundreds of hours into GBA game as a kid and the thing I remember most to this day is the loot system. I was really hoping you'd touch on that more! That loot system with all the special weapons and armor (mythic? legendary? can't remember the ranks) that would only appear after completing the game multiple times were addicting to grind out and felt very Diablo-like. Now practically every game has a loot system like that, but at the time it felt pretty novel. Seemed ahead of it's time, especially for a portable game. - Also you could play as Gimli in multiplayer! And the multiplayer was very meaty, basically full campaign co-op and your upgrades and gear can carry over between your single player and multiplayer campaigns. I was lucky enough to have a friend up the street who also had a cartridge, and we played a TON of multiplayer, just hunting rare loot.
Yesss dude the loot system was so good, kept me invested for 1000 hours. Also the skill tree was so well implemented.
I only ever had the xbox version of this game but the deeping wall mission where you defend the door had me stuck for YEARS. I only ever beat the game once years later when I was finally able to get to the final level by some fluke chance.
That's kinda crazy, you're saying there was a ton of footage from a movie released in December 2002 in the videogame released 2 months prior?
I don't think studios would be that ballsy even today. I mean heck, just the plot spoilers, granted it's an old book series, but still. Playing through the movie 2 months before the movie??
And damn... the GBA game came out a month before Two Towers, but actually had Gandalf's fight with the Balrog and Gandalf the White from Return of the King... holy shit! That's pretty awesome. lol.
Oh man, I'm so fucking ready for the next episode. It will truly be a Return of a King.
Discovered your channel due to the harry potter 1 game video, loving this series. There are many movie tie-in games that deserve so much love but can't be legally bought anywhere🙁
Currently playing this using dolphin emulator, enjoying it so far. Return of the king though, that was epic. A relative of mine gave me the PC version of the ROTK game.
I WILL FOREVER BE THANKFUL TO HER BECAUSE IT INTRODUCED ME TO THE WHOLE FRANCHISE. Middle earth and harry potter are my childhood.
I hope u cover the Lego games too :)
It wouldn't fit this format necessarily but it would be interesting to compare multiple versions of The Hobbit (eg. Vivendi Hobbit, LEGO Hobbit, etc.)
As someone who played through all of this and Return Of The King as Gimli, I am that die hard Gimli fan.
Well, well, well, if it isn't my favorite 00's media tie-in shovelware historian.
I’m gonna put that on my CV
@@Flandrew Only if you put me as a reference, my guy.
I loved the Twin Towers game growing up, I got it with my PS2 for Christmas one year, my parents didn't know it needed a memory card (neither did I), so I would have to leave the game on. I never got very far in it, but maybe because of that Gimli was by far my favorite character (Because of the troll, no way were my stubby fingers agile enough to last long in that fight.)
the gamecube game is what i grew up with, and yes i did absolutely abuse the auto aim mechanic to make it through the last 2 levels, god i felt good after beating them, and yes i really did love the next one in the series because of the coop
Multiple ports to rule them all.
That java game is totally something Sophie on Gamesville would have recomended.. If anyone remembers that.
Mate, that’s a deep cut
I remember the GBA version of The two towers as a game with infinite replayibility, as you just went through ng+ every time you finished it. I remember it beeing blatantly hard after some ngs, and the only way to beat it was to abuse a bug i found with Legolas. You had an attack that you could charge up to deal extra damage, but you werent able to move or smt, and i found a way of charging it up, and then abuse a bug so you could move with the attack fully charged, and i constantly ran from enemies and just tried to deal dmg with the charge attack.
memories 🥰
Which attack?
Next week, Sauron's wrath will be terrible, his retribution swift.
Used to play Two Towers / Return of the King on ps2 with my friend Danny for hours and hours... he was always Legolas. RIP my friend.
Gryptonite really did raise an entire generation with their GBA games didn't they. The GBA Sims games, LOTR, and Prisoner of Azkaban.
I was actually considering making these types of videos, because it felt like no one was gonna, glad to see somebody finally do this. I'm hoping that you cover the simpsons game next: while the DS version is a 2D platformer. Theres a ton of differances between the PS2/Wii version and the PS3/360 version. For example: in the PS2 version theres a whole level leading up to a boss fight, in the next gen version: it's just a bossfight. Very strange stuff
I wonder if you're thinking of looking at the Third Age game - if only for how off-the-wall the plot of the PS2 one is and how different it is to the Gameboy one.
I’ve had a few requests for it, so I’ll most likely do a separate video about it… eventually
That second part of the Helm's Deep Trilogy (the one where you protect the door), was one of the dumbest levels I've ever played in a video game. For some reason I remember if you lose you get a cut scene of the orcs breaking through the door. However, if you win, you get a DIFFERENT cut scene of the orcs breaking down the door. I could be wrong, considering I haven't played this game for 20 years, but that is how I remember it.
You are correct. Few things are certain in life: death, taxes and orcs breaking through the door
I love the kazoo rendition of the beginning of Snake Eater lmao
What A Thrill
I remember thinking Gandalf, Frodo and Boromir being in the mines of moria fighting along side me thinking they were secret characters.... such a tease.
Rohan people are like Derrick Zoolander , they aren’t Ambyturners , lmao
Omg. I managed to beat that last level during my first attempt with Aragorn on PS2 but could never do it again with the other characters. Learning about that thing with the archers has me tempted to dig it out again after so many years.
An interesting detail. The LOTR GBA game has Gimli as a player character, but only in the multiplayer part of the game. Thats why you could find axes as obtainable weapons with the other characters. Why they decide to block him out of SP is a mystery, but i guest it was because the campaing would be basically similar to Aragons and Legolas.
My friend got a Ps2 for Christmas I believe it was and the two games he got were Two Towers and Shinobi.
Thing is, he never got a memory card either so I have vivid memories of just playing the first couple levels of both Shinobi and Two Towers over and over because we couldn't save anything.
Then I bought Two Towers (and later RotK) for Gamecube and having a blast still.
Might I recommend Pirates of the Caribbean games when you've finished LOTR? It was one of the big franchises from the 2000s with many home and portable versions, and it'd slot into the rest of your content perfectly!
Man I love these videos, keep up the good work! And thank you!
I remember the lort strategy game the most. It was the game that got me into strategy games in general
What stands out about the retro text adventure game is that it seems to be the only one that covers Frodo and Sam's side of the Two Towers plot.
This game and Gauntlet: Dark Legacy on the GameCube cemented my love for the slow and heavy-hitting style of characters. Been a warhammer wielder and a paladin whenever possible ever since. So yeah, I'm a Gimli fan, and I'm proud―though I definitely 100%ed this game with all the characters. Overall this might have been my favorite game on the Xbox
Wasn’t sure if the Third Age was going to get any special mention with certain levels of course you don’t play as the main cast of characters apart from certain levels/ parts
I remember the GBA game. One of the earliest games I would grind, I would choose Aragorn, and make my way to the glittering caves, where I would grind hours and hours for weapons and armor. There were a few special drops that I would try to collect.
This is the first of your videos where I've actually played multiple versions. I played a lot of the GBA game as my brother owned it originally then I pretty much had possession of all of his games once he grew older. I would ultimately lose it without ever playing as Frodo, I think. I don't really remember my progress from back then.
As for the second one, I rented the Gamecube version and I definitely remember clearly the route heading to the Mines of Moria and getting stuck on the octopus. And then never playing it again.
The Helm's Deep level always made me wonder why we never got something like a Lord of the Ring Musou.
Like, I get WHY adaptation wise, but you can't deny how badass it would be to cut through a thousand orcs with Gandalf.
Fast become a channel I rewatch on the regular. Keep up the great work!
While not a movie tie-in, The Third Age covers the same events of the movies. If I remember it right, the game even uses movies scenes... And Gandalf - really, Gandalf - narrates it.
And, in Two Towers, Legolas is just broken. Aragorn had some nasty combos, but Legolas bow was like a sniper rifle with autoaim during the endgame.
I remember trying out The Two Towers at a PlayStation event in London, loving it and played it nonstop until ROTK came out.
I actually remember liking the GBA version of the game more, mostly because it reminded me of Diablo II. The console version is a decent level-based linear affair, but having something that resembled my favourite MMO at the time that was also portable? It was a dream come true. I played the heck out of this game, and its sequel. I did find it odd that Gimli wasn't playable in this game though. I legit found an axe once though, even though no playable character could use it.
I've only played PS2 version of Two Towers and loved it. The only issue was co-op and thankfully, they fixed in the next game which is for me still is one of the best games I've ever played.
Actually played both EA games here, Legolas' final bow upgrades are more than a bit busted in the home console game. Some of my biggest jump scares come from smashing a box and finding four of those sodding birds inside on the GBA version.
Something you didn’t touch on was how technically impressive the PS2 game was in particular - we had never seen that many enemies on screen at once on that console, especially with the graphics being as good as they were at the time. As a teen I was obsessed with LotR (still am), and having such a compelling showing in the tie-in games was more than I could’ve hoped for. You’d have to go back to Rogue Leader on the GameCube for a better movie franchise game, otherwise this was as good as it got
That PS2 Two Towers was absolutely my go-to when not playing ROTK. Aragorn was my main usually.
This guy knows his viewers, and is pumping out consistently brilliant TH-cam videos, all the while staying true to what people liked about him in the beginning.
I have very similar memories of playing the GBA version on road trips.
Great video (as always), but you could have mentioned about cancelled Vivendi sequel "The Treason of Isengard". There are some clips from this unreleased game on TH-cam. Just a little trivia ;)
@user-rd4pn9qp8z That user is a spy!!!
I vividly remember playing Two Towers on the GBA and really enjoying it.
Apparently my memories of being given both the Twin Towers and return of your kin of the gamecube were untrue o,O. Never finished either but played Kin more
I have great memories of the gba version. A very decent port.
The gba for fellowship of the ring, while ir began promising, it had good potential but saddly, it didn't quite get there.
Vivendi games originally had intentions of releasing 2 more Lord of the Rings games but ultimately didn't.
Thankfully EA games got the licence
Hi! I figured I should write a comment for once. I really enjoy your videos, thanks for making them. You put a lot of work into them and I appreciate a lot of your jokes! As a kid I only played the PS2 version and yeah I remember being super bad lol.
Anyway I can't wait to see your next video. Thank you from France!
I’ve never played that GBA game, but it feels familiar purely due to its style. When I was at high school many years ago, the breakfast club somehow had a GBA. It didn’t have anything good with it (from my memory, only the Finding Nemo game), but that also felt GBA as all heck. Weird to have nostalgia for a style rather than a specific game.
I played the Gamecube version as a kid. Unfortunately I never got past the catapult part of the Helms Deep 2 level.
Die-hard Gimli fan here!
5:10 ha, I wasn't the only one who didn't listen to the guy shout "Archers on the wall!"
I remember playing the gba one and this was before the extended cut, and Aragorn mentions he's a dúnedain and that blew my mind cuz my young self never read the books and was like why is this not in the film?