Since God of War was first released on the PS2, Kratos has become an iconic figure in action gaming, offering a more adult, violent alternative to the Prince of Persias and Tomb Raiders of the world – with no-holds-barred brutality, rage and gripping action in his epic battles fighting whatever and whoever stands in his way. Next month sees the release of God of War III – Kratos’ first outing on the current generation. With God of War II stretching the PS2 to it’s true potential, the new title should see the scale of his adventures being taken to a whole new level of spectacularity.
However, if you haven’t played the old games, there’s a fair amount of plot to catch up on – with the two PS2 titles, and the PSP title as well. Of course, I would probably suggest to you that it would be worth getting hold of them and playing them all – but it’s likely that some people simply won’t have the time, money or simply would rather just have a bit of a sum-up or review (if they’ve played it before).
Therefore, I decided to write this article to do exactly that – to sum up and cover the God of War story so far, covering all the important points you’ll need to know before you pick up the fourth installment in the dark series.
Obviously this will be riddled with SPOILERS, so read onward at your own risk…
CHAPTER 1: BEFORE THE GAMES
Well, these parts are covered during the course of the three current games, but for the sake of clarity I’ll cover them first.
In ancient times, the Titans ruled the earth – huge creatures that controlled the elements and dominated the land. One such Titan was Cronos. Prophecy foretold that he would one day be overthrown by his own son – and when he bore children with the titaness Rhea, he devoured them all in order to avoid his fate. However, overcome by motherly love, Rhea tricked Cronos – saving their child Zeus and feeding Cronos a rock wrapped in a blanket as a decoy. Zeus was raised by the Titan Gaia, and once reaching manhood – returned to Cronos. He freed his siblings from Cronos’ stomach, including his brothers Hades and Poseidon, and forced Cronos to forever hold Pandora’s temple upon his back as punishment. He then proceeded to imprison and punish each and every other Titan, and thus began the reign of the gods.
Around a decade before the start of the series, Kratos was once a proud captain within the Spartan army. His brutal but effective tactics gained him respect very quickly, gaining a small army under his command. Despite warnings from his wife, Kratos continued on his warpath, eventually leading him to a fateful battle; overconfident, Kratos waged war against a huge army of barbarians and vastly underestimated them – leading to the fall of his army, the Barbarian King towering above the defeated Spartan, poised to land the final blow.
However, Kratos’ pride was too much, and no price would be too high for him – he called upon Ares, the God of War, and pledged his life and soul to him in order to win the battle. Accepting the opportunity, Ares turned upon the barbarians, destroying them without mercy. Granted great power, the hell-forged Blades of Chaos burned into his very flesh, Kratos beheaded the Barbarian King and emerged victorious. However, he was doomed to spend his life in servitude to the God of War. He served Ares for years, growing armies ever larger, slaughtering in the name of Ares without mercy. He was willing to pay any price for victory – all, but one. whilst razing a village to the ground, Kratos’ blind violence had him tricked into slaughtering his own wife and child, not realising who his victims were until it was too late. Ares hoped to sever Kratos’ ties to the mortal world and turn him into the perfect killer – but to Kratos, this was too much pain to bear. The ashes of his wife and child bound to his very skin, the “Ghost of Sparta” was born, and Kratos was haunted by dreams of his actions from that day forth.
CHAPTER 2: CHAINS OF OLYMPUS
Kratos continued to work in service of the gods, his battles attempting to appease the gods, whilst keeping his mind as far from his haunted past, Kratos had just fought off an army of invading Persians and the mighty Basilisk when an ominous event occured – the Sun sinking from the sky casting a dark shadow over the world. Athena warned Kratos that this was the actions of a titan – Atlas – who had captured the sun god Helios and the sun along with him, the darkness allowing Morpheus, god of dreams, to sink the world into a dark mist and send the gods into slumber. Sent on a new mission, Kratos set out to recover Helios from his captor, and stop the titan’s dark plans. As he set off, Kratos was haunted by a haunting melody which felt somehow familiar. He continues to Helios’ temple, and is urged by the sun god’s sister, Eos, to continue upon his quest, granted artifacts to help him along his way. Awakening Helios’ flying steeds, Kratos allows them to lead them toward their master.
Heading down into Hades, their power is lost and Kratos finds himself hurled into the depths of the underworld. Charon, the ferryman of the Styx, tells Kratos that he recognises similarities between Kratos and himself, both in servitude of the gods. However, Charon denies Kratos passage, and defeats him – throwing his unconcious body down into the depths of the Styx. Ever resiliant, Kratos battles his way out of the styx once more, witnessing the broken chains that had once bound Atlas, questioning who would release such evil upon the world.
Returning to Charon, he exacts his revenge and seizes the ferry, riding it to the light of Helios that illuminates the furthest regions of the underworld. However, he is haunted by the eerie melody once before, and then recognises it as the music of his own daughter, Calliope, playing a flute that Kratos himself had given her in life. Following her, chasing an opportunity for forgiveness and happiness, he is lead to the temple of Persephone - where he meets the goddess herself, the unwilling wife of Hades who had been tricked into joining him in the underworld. She tells Kratos that Calliope had gone to the fields of Elysium, a sort of ‘heaven’, where he could join her by relinquishing his power into the Forsaken Tree to gain entry.
His greatest wishes to be re-united with his family, Kratos feeds his power into the tree; and enters Elysium as a mortal to join Calliope. However, Persephone enters and reveals her true aspirations – she had tricked Kratos into rendering himself harmless in order to allow her to exact her revenge upon Zeus who had failed to raise any objection to Hades’ actions in abducting her. She had unleashed Atlas, and planned to destroy the world – and Olympus with it – by using the power of the Sun to destroy the pillar that supported the world. Realising his mistake, Kratos made one of the hardest decisions of his life and left Calliope, retrieving his powers to stop Persephone. He defeated the goddess, but her demise brought the pillar crashing down. However, Kratos took immediate action and chained Atlas to the base of the world, forcing him to hold the world on his shoulders for the rest of eternity, a greater punishment than even Zeus had subjected him to. He leaves Kratos with the ominous words that he would one day come to regret his actions upon this day.
Leaving the underworld, his mission complete, Kratos ends up unconcious on the cliffs overlooking the Aegean Sea. Athena and Helios stand by him, and remove the powerful artifacts he had acquired during his journey (the Sun Shield and the Gauntlet of Zeus), leaving him to awaken alone, Athena stating that Kratos shall live.
CHAPTER 3: GOD OF WAR
Ever haunted by the nightmares of his past deeds, Kratos heads to Athens on a new mission – defeating the mighty Hydra that attacks his ship along the way, in a favour to Poseidon, God of the Sea. His sleep once again ruined by his horrific memories, Kratos pleads to Athena to finally repay him for his deeds and stop his nightmares. Athena promises him that soon, the gods will forgive him, so long as he carries out his next task. Ares, the god of war, had turned upon his fellow gods and was causing terrible destruction to the world, at that time rampaging through Athena’s city of Athens. By Zeus’ decree, the gods were unable to directly battle each other, so Athena believed the only way to defeat Ares would be to sent a mortal trained by the gods themselves to do the deed.
Kratos fought his way through Athens, which was under assault by Ares himself. He soon met the city’s Oracle, who told Kratos of Pandora’s Box, a powerful relic held within Pandora’s temple, that could grant him the power to defeat a god. Kratos travelled to the Desert of Lost Souls, where Cronos was doomed to wander eternally chained to the temple. He fought his way up to the temple, and through various trials set out for challengers who would attempt to lay claim to the box. Eventually perservering, Kratos found the box, but at that moment, Ares knew that Kratos had succeeded – and killed him before he had an opportunity to unleash its power.
However, not even death would stop Kratos. Fighting his way out of Hades, he returned to the world, where Ares had claimed Pandora’s Box for himself, and had declared victory upon the gods. Kratos caught him off-guard, and broke open the box – it’s power making Kratos grow to the size of a god. On a more equal footing, the two did battle – Ares proceeding to try and break Kratos’ spirit by sending him to a strange reality where he had to protect his family from clones of himself that were sent to kill them. Victorious, Ares seized control of Kratos’ blades, stripping them from him and killing his family before him for a second time. Returning to reality, a broken Kratos is given new hope as he finds the Blade of the Gods within his grasp – which had previously served as a giant bridge when he had been the size of a mortal. He took the blade, and after a final battle, killed Ares once and for all.
His mission complete, Kratos returned to Athena. The goddess offered the forgiveness of the gods as they had promised – yet informed Kratos that they could never relieve him of his memories; they would be his to bear for the rest of his existence. Believing he had lost all hope, Kratos attempted to commit suicide by hurling himself into the Aegean sea. However, the gods had other plans – and saved him from the fall, rising him back to the cliffside where Athena awaited him.
She informed Kratos that with Ares dead, a new throne was open on Olympus – and offered him the role of the new God of War. He took up the role, and gained many followers, his brutality and combat skills knowing no equal. Athena granted him new weapons as a replacement to the one’s Ares had given him: The Blades of Athena.
CHAPTER 4: GOD OF WAR II
As the new God of War, Kratos was brutal – his new role feeling less like power, rather just another method of the gods leaving him in servitude under their watchful eye. Frustrated and angry, Kratos waged violent war against all, his armies merciless, attacking the cities of the other gods in an effort to conquer Greece. Athena warned him that Olympus would not tolerate his actions much longer, yet he angrily continued, the city of Helios his next target.
The gods could not stand idly by, however – and used their power to reduce Kratos back to the size of a mortal, bringing life to a colossal statue of Helios to defend the city from his assault. Still maintaining his godly powers, and believing the betrayal to be that of Athena alone, Kratos fought his way through the city, and is sent the Blade of Olympus from Zeus – apparently able to gain great power if Kratos is to drain his power into the blade itself. Foolishly he does so – using the blade’s great power to destroy the Colossus from within. Victorious, Kratos emerges, only to be wounded by the falling ruins of the statue. The sword flung from his hand, Kratos tried to retrieve it, but Zeus emerged and took the blade himself. Rebellious to the end, and unwilling to bow to Olympus, Kratos fought a losing battle before Zeus finally impaled Kratos on the blade, killing him for ‘the good of Olympus’ – before decimating the Spartan army with a godly slash.
Taken by the hands of Hades, Kratos is saved by the Titan Gaia, who had been watching over him for years. She proposed an alliance, the Titans wanting revenge against Zeus for his punishment, every Titan having been condemned for the actions of a sole individual – Zeus’ father, Cronos. Seeing an opportunity for another chance and a shot at vengeance, Kratos agreed; leaving Hades for the third time.
Kratos rode Pegasus, a gift from Gaia, and intended to head straight to Olympus to take down Zeus. However, Gaia knew better, and instructed Kratos that he would have to beseech the Sisters of Fate; in order to go back and change the events before his death at the hands of Zeus. Along the way, Pegasus was trapped by the Titan Typhon, and Kratos lacked the strength to release his grip from the horse. Kratos encountered Prometheus – an ex-Titan bound in human form by Zeus, his punishment to be eternally pecked to death by a giant bird, chained in torment for eternity. He pleaded for Kratos to end his suffering - but Kratos lacked the means to do so. Venturing back to Typhon, he ripped Typhon’s Bow from the eye of the Titan, and returned to Prometheus where he used the power to cast the ex-Titan into the Flame of Olympus, which ended him once and for all. In return, Prometheus’ ashes were bound to Kratos, granting him some of the Titan’s strength – allowing him to free Pegasus and continue his journey.
He soon arrived at the temple of the sisters, and on his journey encountered various figures. He first encountered Theseus, who fought for the gods to stop Kratos – but was defeated in a dramatic battle, beaten to a pulp, his key stolen and granting Kratos passage. Cronos talked to Kratos by means of a magica hologram, giving him a gift of magical power to aid him. Upon progressing deeper into the greener areas of the sisters’ land, Kratos found himself assaulted by a familiar enemy – the Barbarian King, the first victim of Kratos’ Blades of Chaos, returned from Hades to exact revenge upon Kratos. His vengeance went unsatisfied, however, Kratos beating him to death with his own hammer, and claiming it for himself.
Jason was also in the sisters’ territory, but is devoured by Cerberus. Kratos fought the beast to the death and retrieved Jason’s Golden Fleece, a valuable item of protection. Kratos next met Eurayle, a gorgon who seeked vengeance for Medusa (whom Kratos killed previously), but ended up suffering the same fate – her head ripped off, and kept to be used as a weapon that could turn enemies to stone. He continued, his next victim Perseus – on a personal quest to save the fate of his beloved, and believing Kratos to be a challenge sent to him by the gods. Next came Icarus – who claimed he would use his wings to reach the sisters; Kratos however had other ideas, lauching into Icarus and engaging in airborne combat. He ripped the wings from Icarus’ back, but they had fallen a long way – Icarus fell into the depths of Hades, and Kratos used the wings to save himself at the last moment.
He found himself face to face with Atlus – still bound and angry at Kratos for having chained him there years ago. He attempted to crush Kratos in vengeance – before Kratos convinced Atlus that he has left the service of the gods, and seeked to destroy Zeus. Atlus granted Kratos a gift of his remaining magical power, and allowed Kratos passage back to the Temple of the Fates, where Kratos continued his quest to reach the sisters.
Enagaged in a battle in the darkness against an unseen opponent, Kratos finds himself accidentally killing one of the last remaining Spartans, who warns Kratos that Zeus had destroyed Sparta – and had come to seek the sisters himself to change the fate of his city and people. Enraged and full of loss, Kratos is attacked by the Kraken but refused to fight – screaming out to the gods to challenge them, and was almost killed as the Kraken constricted him, awaiting his own demise. Gaia intervened, however, warning Kratos that losing will leave him in an eternity of torment – promising him that he will have the opportunity to kill Zeus.
Slaying the Kraken, and fighting his way to the sisters, Kratos finally met Lakhesis. However, she told Kratos that the sisters would not help him – and Kratos proceeded to attack her. A gruelling battle ensued, interrupted by the second sister Atropos who attempted to stop Kratos by sucking him into a mirror to the past, where she could destroy the blade that Kratos would use to kill Ares – leaving him vulnerable and unable to win the fight against the God of War in the first place. She failed however, and Kratos murdered both of the sisters before heading to the remaining sister - Clotho, in the chamber of the Loom of Fate - finally driving a blade through her head.
Free to manipulate the loom of fate for himself, Kratos used it’s power to create a portal back to the time where Zeus drove the Blade of Olympus through his chest. Taking back the blade and using it against Zeus, a long battle took place with Zeus seemingly winning – Kratos laying down his blade as a gesture of surrender. Zeus took the opportunity to try and finish Kratos, attacking him from behind with the Blade of Olympus, but Kratos reacted quickly; grasping the blade, pinning Zeus down with the Blades of Athena, and driving the sword through Zeus’ chest.
Athena interrupted, though, saving Zeus and giving him an opportunity to run. Kratos drove the sword at a fleeing Zeus – but Athena took the blow, saving him. When questioned of her actions, Athena tells Kratos that she fights to save Olympus. In her dying words, she reveals that Kratos is actually Zeus’ son (and therefore her brother), and Zeus aimed to kill Kratos to end a cycle whereby the son would always overthrow the father, as he had done to his own father, Cronos. When Kratos told Athena he seeks only Zeus, not to topple Olympus itself, she claimed that Zeus is Olympus, and that to kill Zeus would be to oppose Olympus itself. Full of rage, Kratos declared war upon the Gods, with the words “If all on Olympus will deny me my vengeance, then all on Olympus will die!”
Travelling back to the Loom of Fate, he used it to travel back to the Great War between the Gods and the Titans, where Gaia stood amidst a losing battle. She claimed that she had been expecting him, but the Titans were not strong enough to win the war. With the power of the loom in his hands, Kratos shouts to Gaia: “All on Olympus tremble at my name! Zeus is weak, Ares and Athena are dead, and I wield the blade. We can win the Great War, but not in this time! Together, we can destroy the petty gods and we will see Olympus crumble before us! Come with me Gaia, return to my time…Victory awaits!”
In the present, Zeus and his followers – Hades, Poseidon, Hermes, Apollo and Helios are meeting on Olympus – with Zeus urging them to unite against Kratos, rallying them as a single force. Olympus began to shake, and Zeus looked down over the balcony to see the Titans brought to the present day by Kratos, climing up toward Olympus itself. Kratos shouted up to his father from the back of Gaia:
“Zeus! Your son has returned! I bring the destruction of Olympus!”
And that is where the series currently ends… to be continued in God of War III.
It’s truly an epic tale, and I can’t wait to see what happens next. I hope this has been informative to anyone who wanted a summary, or recap, of the series so far!
-Leon
