Troy Baker Addresses Fans' Concerns Over Last of Us Part II, Almost Didn't Audition for Joel

The announcement of Last of Us Part II has fans worried, but Troy Baker is positive that he and the crew at Naughty Dog have "got this".

[mafiahajeri]

What concerns? That's the real question.

[bluefox755]

As a huge fan of TLoU, I was concerned, and still am, that Joel's role will take a back seat to Ellie's, that his role in the sequel will be much smaller and more minor than his role in the original.

@generic I disagree, it was both of their story, a shared adventure, he had about the same amount of his story told as Ellie's to be honest. Aside from the beginning, the whole game was those 2. Factor in the DLC, and the game told a pretty equal amount of story for both. I thought the characters were at their best when adventuring together, it created an interesting dynamic. It was less interesting when Ellie was alone. This is of course just my opinion, I'll still buy and play it, but not a fan of the direction it's taking.

@Articuno76 I disagree. After what Ellie and Joel went through together, the fact that one of them would disappear from the sequel seems absurd. I'm not sure why you think the original ending would imply otherwise. Regardless though, in my own opinion, I think Joel was such an excellent character that the game would suffer from his loss, or even diminished role in the game. Once again though, that's just me.

[generic-user-name]

His story was told in the first game, his role should be smaller and I believe it will be too.

[Articuno76]

"As a huge fan of TLoU, I was concerned, and still am, that Joel's role will take a back seat to Ellie's, that his role in the sequel will be much smaller and more minor than his role in the original."

I see that as less of a concern and more of a necessity. Truth be told, I don't feel Joel should even be in this game at all as The Last of Us was a game about the end of their relationship. So either Ellie needs to go, or Joel does OR (the third possibility) is that they both stay, but are paired up with different characters (and the game is about those relationships).

It strikes me as more respectful of the original ending if Joel just wasn't in it at all and we were left to draw our own assumptions on what had happened to him.

I'm not really concerned about the quality of the game and story-telling within it though. This is Naughty Dog after all. I'm just concerned about how it fits in with the original game (and right now the answer is 'poorly'). That won't stop it being an excellent game in its own right, but it does detract something from the power of the ending of the first game when a developer makes moves that seemingly contradict (or even retcon) it.

[ChronoJoe]

@Articuno76

Not sure how you interpreted the end of the first game as the end of the relationship between Joel and Ellie, that clearly wasn't the case.

[DashArrivals]

OMG, just let Naughty Dog do their thing please. NOBODY cares what you want.

[rainslacker]

TLOU story was primarily about Joel and his journey back to humanity. Ellie was more a catalyst to that end. While she was a fully developed character, her place in the story and her actual character development was nowhere near as deep as Joel's was.

I feel Joel himself has pretty much covered in the original game, as we came to care about him early, and empathize with him. We know he did some dodgy stuff in that 20 year gap between the prologue and Chapter 1, and that he had lost a lot of his humanity and didn't care about much. We saw him overcome that through him coming to care about Ellie, and it all came full circle.

We really only saw a bit of growth from Ellie, and most of it was her simply finding a father figure and someone to trust. The Left Behind DLC did expand on her character, but I feel her character has a lot more exploration, particularly since people change from a teenager to a young adult like you will see here.

I do hope Joel has a significant part though. I love both characters, but if not, then his place in the story is likely not going to expand his character much, and likely will serve to help Ellies character grow in some way like we saw in Joel in the first game.

[ChronoJoe]

Personally my concern is that it will tell a story I didn't want. I enjoyed the first game and liked the ambiguous ending. Like the ending of movies like Drive, sometimes it's nice not to know explictely how the lives of the heroes pans out. It affords the viewer the agency to make their own guesses and assumptions, and a direct sequel takes that away.

TLOU has the potential to be a big universe but it's focus on just two characters is a very narrow. That's just my opinion though, I don't think the game will be bad or anything like that, I'm sure ND will do a good job.

I'm actually super excited for multiplayer too. That's probably the biggest part of the game for me.

[UltraNova]

Even though I find what you said interesting I m thinking do we really need another Walking Dead in our hands? A Post apocalyptic drama about various characters interactions and social issues with a splash of gore here and there?

Personally I dont.

I loved Joel's and Ellie's adventure and I would like to see them find a way to put an end to the pandemic, given Ellie's...assets with out introducing a ton of supporting characters that would inevitably interfere with the two protagonists isolated interaction.

That said, its ND behind this so trust we must have in them.

[ChronoJoe]

I don't necessarily want a large cast of characters but I would like it to focus on another character or pair of characters personally. I don't want to see a game that focuses on the interactions of a larger group of characters, just different ones to Joel and Ellie.

That said, like I say, i don't mind this. I don't think ND will do a bad job, I just liked to imagine the ending for Joel and Ellie more than I would enjoy having it told to me. While TLOU had a relatively sinister ending, it was also quite hopeful, and my worry is that ND will continue their tale until it ultimately has to end in an inevitable tragedy.

[Articuno76]

@bluefox755
@ChronoJoe

I'm not saying that they would separate immediately but that their relationship is compromised and on the way to its inevitable end. Why do you think the game ends on the lie. Why does that lie even matter? The answer is because it is that exact moment that is what the game is about (The Last moment/End of Joel and Ellie's relationship).

And it's not just Joel and Ellie. TLOU is a series of vignettes about character pairs that have the ends of their relationships come to an end OR have the last moments of those relationships retroactively examined (in the case of Bill).

And let me ask you another question. Given the most important, grand moment in the game was the curtain coming down on the discord sown by the lie. What would make you think that relationship isn't somehow irrevocably compromised or tainted in some way? Why even end on the lie if there's not any significance behind it and they are just going to go on like normal?

So there it is. I interpreted the ending that way by the trends in the story-telling that appear to be creating a theme across its characters stories. When I hear Ellie say 'Okay' at the very end it sounds to me like 'Okay... (I don't believe you)'. And can you imagine what that simmering mistrust would congeal into? Certainly not a blossoming relationship between the two.

[dumahim]

That the first game was good as it was and didn't need a sequel. It would be better left alone. Even if they did do a sequel, use different characters.

[Moe-Gunz]

People are concerned? ND track record speaks for itself.

[generic-user-name]

Concern-trolling.

[UCForce]

Yeah, I agree. The community want this.

[AnubisG]

Who was concerned about what?

[kneon]

Well people are concerned that Naughty Dog are going to make other developers look mediocre, again.

[Dirtnapstor]

Lol good one. And you have a valid point. There's a lot of great games out there, but TLOU overshadows.

[Meltic]

I'm with you with this one. Naught Dog and CDPR is the best devs out there, cant compare at all. The other devs is jelly

[Livecustoms]

No one should be worried. Naughty Dog always continue to live up to expectations I dont know how but they do. However people need to have realistic expectations, TLOU will be extremely hard to top, but if its anywhere near as good i'll be happy !

[gbsrnctaln]

"Concerns" lol

I was one that was on the fence about a sequel. Surely I wanted more of The Last of Us, but didnt know how Id feel about continuing Joel and Ellies story. That trailer removed ANY trepidation. This game is going to be amazing.

[TheGamingArt]

Who in the world is concerned over a sequel. The majority want a sequel!

[Silly gameAr]

I think a lot of that concern is just something this site made up.

[TheGamingArt]

Clearly -_-

[Derceto]

The amount some people allow fictional entertainment to influence their lives is downright comical................ and disturbing.

[UCForce]

Defination of gaming is everything, not just fun. It can be everything. It can be a cruse and blessing.

[Antifan]

Yeah, people need to lighten up.

[Chumdiddy]

The concern is about equal to what Uncharted 4 wound up being: a great game but somehow not "great" like 2&3. It obviously had all the tech in the world and a solid story but it felt a bit "odd" to many I spoke to.

I loved it but even I'd say it didn't come anywhere close to 2 for me and was kind of on par with 3. A VERY good game but a bit forced. Enemy targeting and stealth were features I heard many complain or at least feel iffy about.

TLoU was the game of last gen, IMO. A sequel can absolutely fail to live up to the hype a game like that will generate. It can fail because they make a bad game technically (unlikely) or because they take it in a bad direction.

Anything can ruin something great but that can't keep you from trying to make it better.

[Rich1631]

No way man. Uncharted 4 is the best of the Uncharted games. 2 gets so much love because the leap in quality from 1 to 2 was MASSIVE and that combined with nostalgia.

[ChickenOfTheCaveMan]

I really enjoyed the game but they went all Disney with the main characters. It would have made it a better story with let's say Sully dying. I don't think will have that issue with TLoU, and I still think Joel is offed by a Fireflies raid within the first 10 minutes.

[joab777]

I get that it had a great ending. Maybe it would have appeased people to know that we were returning to the world but with different characters. Maybe Ellie wasn't the only person with this rare condition etc.

But it is tough in today's day and age to create something with this much adoration, characters that are adored by fans, and simply not return to their story.

I know many people thought the ending boxed them in, but I eventually came to see it as the beginning to something more. Now Ellie has a gift that is very valuable to her. And while they have chosen to forgoe helping humanity in one manner, there is much more she can do ALIVE!

I am guessing that if they chose to do this, it's gonna be a trilogy that revolves around Ellie. This will be her coming of age story, and Joel will either be a casualty at the end or beginning of the third. We will get a game in which she no longer has him.

Would also love to see a mechanic that allows you to play as either character at any time, often splitting up so replay value is high.

[Rhezin]

People that are concerned need to go to their safe space, and stay there. No one cares about you.

[Morgue]

These comments, geez...... " The Lol At You "

The game swirling with rumors to be announced, gets announced along with a video. Then " boom " everyone starts either complaining, assuming or flat out just being asses. It's like some people can't even be grateful that there will be a follow up to this game and I guarantee that when the game does get released. People will come on here and still complain because this or that didn't happen, why Joel this or Ellie that. It's never ending on this site.

Edit.

And to the fanboys who think they know everything and feel entitled. Please point that fan in another direction.

[BlakHavoc]

My only concern is the year long vaca Straley is taking. Much deserved though, his last two projects were critically acclaimed.

[DCadence]

I may be a minority voice on this, but I was happy that we are getting a part two as opposed to new characters in the same universe. My excitement is coupled by the fact that Naughty Dog has never let me down. Even if it is not as good as the original, you know it will be a standout game. My only fear is how long we will have to wait to play this.

[ASBO-5]

Dude seriously the only concern we have is the possibility of dying of an epic nerdgasem

[ziggurcat]

Who the hell is having concerns over this game?

[formanbradley]

Can you please stop being in every game? Your butt-buddy Nolan North, too. Thanks for making Ocelot in MGSV the most boring and monotonous version of him in the entire series.

[jznrpg]

No concerns from me, it's their game and they can take it any direction they want and I will be happy to play it

[guyjean]

The worrying fanboys don't need to play part 2 then. Everyone who still has doubts about ND doesn't deserve playing it anyways.

On another note, will there ever be an option for readers to block crappy news sites?