Why John Marston is Rockstar's Best Protagonist

Arthur is great, but John is on another level, especially on gunslinging. Also his development from a gang member to rancher to gunslinger to rancher again, all of his development has no holes in the plot. His development interlinks into every event he’s gone through.

Bro is the definition of a perfect protagonist! I love Arthur as well but John is in a league of his own. Amazing video you really did the character justice

People thinking Arthur is a more well developed character dont know ANYTHING about writing, Arthur's entire purpose is John's development

A lot of people who play RDR2 for the first time are usually people who haven't touched the first game I've noticed. I think it plays a huge factor in why there is a lean for Arthur over John, and why John gets so much slack. I love Arthur very much and he is an incredibly impactful character, but John will always be on top.

It's so cool to see someone who is newer to franchise as I am and experience it from a similar perspective

I love Arthur but you really miss the tragedy of both characters (and more) if you don't play both red dead redemptions. However to view Arthur's story you need 1 game to view johns you need two and that's what holds John up in a sense. To me john is my preferred character but to many they may have never played 1 or its been so long, recency bias can still change the majorities opinion. I remember not wanting to hit the final mission on rdr just as much as rdr2, and I know I wasn't alone there.

John can’t fight who he is, he can’t “fight nature” as Dutch would put it. John could never outrun his past, and it kept catching up and soon, it caught him. So John gets brutally murdered while saving his family. John’s death was quick, and cruel. But Arthur, is doing the opposite, Arthur is fighting who he is before he dies, and eventually does get his redemption. His death was slow, and cinematic. But I think it’s the fact john is led to believe he got his redemption that makes it all the better.

I feel like johns character is just a bit more complex than arthurs but maybe thats just me.

I'm glad to see more people coming around. I remember being the only one praising john after rdr2 but now that's Arthur has become a legend in his own right people can see the two as individuals in their own right.

i'd say arthur is a better character while john is a better protagonist

John Marston and Niko Bellic are rockstars best characters

John Marston isn't just my favorite game protagonist. He's my favorite western protagonist of all time

I replayed red dead 1 and 2 and I’m telling you with a straight face John was just a better protagonist, and there is a lot of difference between John and Arthur. But if I could use one example of the difference between the two, I would use how they died to really showcase the difference. Arthur’s death but slow, sad, but cinematic. Johns was cruel, quick, and gritty. Not to mention, the fight music in rdr2 sucked dick, red dead 1s soundtrack stands the test in time

Arthur is a good character, but hes also very skin deep despite what people think. he is an extremely safe, very classic depiction of a good guy. John is so beyond the complexity of most characters, with so much development, values AND flaws, a refreshingly unique morality and mannerisms. and for everyone who jumps to the immersion of rdr2 as grounding for arthur, well john and i both run the same, we dress similar, i have a scar from a big dog and he a wolf, and shit neither of us can swim. hes immersive too, and trust me, especially in rdr2, looking at a very slim river that's just barely too deep to walk across, and knwing im going to have to ride my horse or ven walk around, is EXTREMELY personal to me. John is easily the best character in any western for me.

i think john is much more of an effective protagonist for portraying a specific narrative whilst Arthur is more relatable and human because you have more dynamic freedom with him, you YOURSELF are more or less Arthur because you choose what kind of person he is and john is more so constructed with the intention of being badass and enduring, which, i like more. But if we are looking through an objective lens, it's really hard to put John or any other video game protagonist or even video game character up against Joel Miller as a contender, especially in the context of depth, goals, and relatability. Joel is a VERY human protagonist who makes questionable decisions that impact the world, His environment, and most importantly his story. Joel has a wavery and unpredictable set of moral standards, and acts on instinct as a means to survive, all this mixed with Joels internal battle on coming to terms with his daughters death and troy bakers voice acting makes for an unquestionably great and ruthless character, i honestly believe that Joel is up there with some of the best fictional characters Alongside Walt, bojack, Arthur, and even potentially Anakin

John Marston is my favorite rockstar protagonist. I’ve played RDR 2 through 3 times now. RDR 1 I’ve played through 4 times. There is some nostalgia there for the mechanics and gameplay and how John moves, but I feel like his first appearance is the best out of any of the other characters to this day. Rdr 1 has its own things going for it being that you are by yourself with no camp. You really get Clint Eastwood/ man with no name vibes. You have Mexico to go along with that which really makes you feel like you’re in a spaghetti western. And John Marston’s characterization fits that to a tee. John Marston is the closest character out of even most tv shows and movies, let alone games, to give me man with no name vibes without looking anything like him. And idk if it’s because RDR 2 is a lot longer and has more ground to cover, but sometimes I find the dialogue to be just good at times. Whereas I feel like RDR 1 never slips up. Both RDR 1 and GTA 4 I feel like were dark comedy gold mines. Things you felt bad for laughing at. The stereotypes. The parodies. The outlandish characters and the the crazy things they would do/say (Seth, Irish, SETH, De Santa). But if it didn’t have me laughing, it was always heartfelt conversations between John and Bonnie. John and Nigel always being at each others throats as well as Ross. The dialogue in the first game to me never stops being artistic/poetic levels of quality. Sentences and phrases that make you think sometimes. Like the ones where just you say “damn” after its said. The fact that John’s end comes at a time where he was with his family and thought he was free vs Arthur’s descent into succumbing to TB. But the TB is what helped Arthur be Ana amazing character himself, seeking redemption knowing that the end was coming. Arthur is an amazing character. But from the dialogue, the man with no name thing going on, the look, the spaghetti western feel, and a little nostalgia and John Marston is still my favorite Rockstar protagonist

John is a badass

Great video this vid needs more likes

What bothers me is that John Marston was nerfed in rdr2 and his original characteristics were given to Arthur. Those who said Arthur is the best protagonist is because they didn't play rdr1 first and saw by first hand that John had a lot of Arthur since the beginning.

i totally agree with this. i became way more attached to john than arthur. i started playing rdr2 a month ago and i am on epilogue and will get rdr1 and red dead revolver. oh and also javiers story is very sad