He will not loose much by going with BG2 first. I did.
Yes, it will spoil one of the most important plot points of BG1. But he'll manage, story isn't exactly the greatest strength of the first game (immersing yourself in the story is mostly optional break in just going around every location and killing stuff possibly doing sidequests on the way), and seeing how popular EE is, it's hard to argue that knowing how it ends really dimnishes the enjoyment to be had.
Yes, he will not feel connected to the characters he could have met in the first game. On the other hand - first game didn't obsess about NPCs too much. They were a plenty, mostly silent (party banters were marginal compared to BG2) and defined by their roles in the party and not their personalities. And rightly so as BG1 was deadly which meant that some of them didn't really make it. It could even be considered immersion breaking, if you had Quale die in BG1, imported your save and found out he is doing mostly fine. Also, having played BG2 first I was taken aback to see how dull in comparison interactions with him were in BG1.
And BG2 forgives more. You can allow yourself to be suboptimal and get thorugh a lot of the game. Sure, he might not slay Firkraag, and certainly won't beat second Irenicus encounter without knowing his stuff, but he will be allowed to learn as he goes with his actions making the key difference. BG1 without rock-solid tactics depends too much on lucky rolls.
I don't know, BG1 is so much worse than BG2, i played bg1 first back in the day, lost interest quickly.. Bg2? I played it through several times. The last time i cleared BG1 (And the only time), I told myself it would be my last.
If its the lack of party interaction in BG1 that stops people from playing it first then I highly recommend the BG1NPC Project mod. In my opinion its a fantastic mod that really fleshes out the characters alot more and the interactions with the various NPCs is vast.
You know what? Let's pretend the 2 games are 100+ hours of pleasure. Do you want to deprive yourself of a half of it? Do you want to deliberately skip half a glass of the best wine available?
It's like a date with a beautiful amazing girl without the first kiss.
Play it from the start! Try it from the very first dialog!
Comments
Yes, it will spoil one of the most important plot points of BG1. But he'll manage, story isn't exactly the greatest strength of the first game (immersing yourself in the story is mostly optional break in just going around every location and killing stuff possibly doing sidequests on the way), and seeing how popular EE is, it's hard to argue that knowing how it ends really dimnishes the enjoyment to be had.
Yes, he will not feel connected to the characters he could have met in the first game. On the other hand - first game didn't obsess about NPCs too much. They were a plenty, mostly silent (party banters were marginal compared to BG2) and defined by their roles in the party and not their personalities. And rightly so as BG1 was deadly which meant that some of them didn't really make it. It could even be considered immersion breaking, if you had Quale die in BG1, imported your save and found out he is doing mostly fine. Also, having played BG2 first I was taken aback to see how dull in comparison interactions with him were in BG1.
And BG2 forgives more. You can allow yourself to be suboptimal and get thorugh a lot of the game. Sure, he might not slay Firkraag, and certainly won't beat second Irenicus encounter without knowing his stuff, but he will be allowed to learn as he goes with his actions making the key difference. BG1 without rock-solid tactics depends too much on lucky rolls.
Not just because of the story, but because it's an easier introduction to the game mechanics if he's never played it before.
It's like a date with a beautiful amazing girl without the first kiss.
Play it from the start! Try it from the very first dialog!