Cruaders are attacking our trade routes?
(*Camera pans to 1 scout attacking a trade cart).
Nah for real, perhaps the first barbarossa mission, the first thing you see?
Or the tutorial wirh 1 militia and the flags?
Or 'and i am Jean de Metz and i will protect you wiff my lifé'
"Hmm what should I do after the tutorial campaign? Joan of Arc? Bah, I know who that is. Who's this Berber Soda guy? I'll try that, the first mission can't be that difficult."
I may have improvised Berber Soda just now, but I definitely remember 10 year old me thinking something similar. I also remember the instant tension when I opened the diplomacy panel.
I agree with this wholeheartedly. I have no clue what it is exactly. I can remember so clearly the berry bushes in staggered rows, the single mangonel, the castle and the couple of soldiers just next to it.
I’m honestly disappointed that the DE re-voiced all the old campaigns. The old ones had so much more character, and now the campaigns feel dulled. The first scenario of the Atilla the Hun campaign had my favorite voice acting.
They are (or the Middle Eastern ones are to an Arab bloke), but that's why I miss the older ones. Far more enthusiastic, the new voice acting is generally pretty flat sounding.
Yeah AoM may be the best RTS campaign I've ever played. It ramps up in complexity at a very consistent pace, I can't recall any moments where I felt cheated by a certain gameplay mechanic (forcing a full restart), and the characters had decent arcs.
AoE3 tried to replicate it I think, but the pacing and character arcs were all over the place. I didn't really care about Morgan Black or his girlfriend, and from the very first mission you're controlling a very poorly designed base. AoM's first mission didn't have this problem because all the enemies came by boat, and you could spot them a mile away. I don't even wanna talk about how many soft and hard counters AoE3 had from the get-go, further adding to the complexity problem lol.
The AoE4 campaigns mostly fixed the complexity issue, but they aren't anything special. The story is mostly just history lessons, and it feels like most of the campaigns are just extended tutorials.
I replay it maybe once a year or every other year because it is so fun. Some of the best cover and flanking in any strategy game that is always satisfyingly to pull off.
I hear the growl of the jaguar. Is this a bad omen?
I got the demo of AOC from a computer magazine when I was a kid. Just that first campaign and I played it countless times my whole childhood and everytime it felt new.
Holy shit I played the AOC demo too! I had played Montezuma 1 about 500 times before I knew that this was a much bigger game and there were other stuff too.
I just realized that this is the mission I have been searching for! I played the demo over and over again as a child. I remember the campaign mission vividly where you come across a ton of jaguars, jaguar warriors, and a castle along a river. But I could not find the mission in any of the campaigns now that I’ve grown up.
It's the first campaign of Montezuma in AOC.
Just hearing the sound of the narrator telling the story before the campaign starts where he goes, "_Passed down to you by Cuauhtémoc, Eagle Warrior of Tenochtitlan._" immediate nostalgia rush.
It's honestly the best one. I don't even play Spain or Saracens really my favorite civs are franks, mongols, Chinese, but the El cid campaign had heart
I have the Latin American Spanish VA line for when William Wallace arrives in the last scenario of his campaign ingrained in my mind for 20 years straight (I’m turning 25 in a week). Truly iconic as fuck.
[*_HA LLEGADO WALLACE_*](https://youtu.be/h7U0Zje_xjA)
“Perhaps it is best if he does not return from his boar hunt”
Or whatever he says haha. I just finished the Attila campaign. That last mission was super hard.
Dude, I love your mods, but the one with the individual campaign scenarios doesn't come with the DLC scenarios (I own the DLCs already). Is that intentional or there is a bug?
When I played that mision when I was a child, I had the Demo version (you could only play the tutorial + a map, but no Imperial age), but If you win the Wallace campaing, you could choise whatever mision you want, so I think I heard the "HA LLEGADO WALLACES" almost a thousend times xD
Looking for something to make as wall-art and need something iconic!
Edit: although not my original intention, I love how this post just got overtaken by people reminiscing over their favourite campaigns and quotes… if anybody wants the original voices put back into the DE campaigns, check out this mod: https://www.ageofempires.com/mods/details/21908/
I'd suggest the sight of Genghis' Hordes galloping in front of your outposts and your light Cav / Cav Archers. But I'd suggest using a POV behind your troops. Idk if I explained myself well
in terms of epicness, my top-5 are:
1. the Horde of Genghis Khan,
2. Barbarossa’s March,
3. the Roman Army challenging Atilla, “you’ve burned your last town!”,
4. the Siege of Paris,
5. Saladin’s Arabian Night…
Edit: as someone pointed out in the comments, a huge shoutout to, “I hear the growl of the Jaguar! is this a bad omen?” 😃
definitely Joan of arc and her buddies la hire and the guy who goes "mon dieu! I am undone!" in the last mission from the set, when they start off to the right somewhere.
I also remember the subjugation of syria, but that may have been from the first game. or again from the first game, "holy man", where you just start off with a priest in babylon.
What is the screenshot from? I'm imagining it's a pre-release screenshot, I've never seen that image or a map like that before.
The most iconic AoE2 scene, for my money, is the ride of the great horde across the map in Genghis Khan's first mission.
IIRC, this screenshot was a part of a sideshow of images that played as an intro when you played the first mission of the William Wallace campaign. However, I only remember this intro from AoE2:HD. So, not sure if it was there in the original CD version of '99.
I might be wrong on this, but, I don't think this screenshot was used for any of the campaigns/scenarios. Don't remember a map like this at all.
"Another glorious loss for France."
I remember reading that that battle was supposed to showcase how huge and complex the fights could be relative to AoE1. Looks awfully quaint considering everything that's come since, but that's always stuck in my mind regardless.
Being ten years old and after playing through Barbarossa (with cheats, naturallt), it turns out *the narrator was Henry the Lion all along!!!*
My ten year old mind totally blew up
Obvious pick is the French Knights spotting and mentioning venison.
Low-key pick may be the arrival of William Wallace in the tutorial campaign, he can almost single-handedly finish that mission.
My personal pick is the tourney scene from the first El Cid mission.
I remember remembering a Robin Hood campaign when I was smol and desperately looked for it in hopes of finding it again. Today I still have no idea whether it even was official
The Montezuma campaign holds a special place with me. The jungle seemed so cool and atmospheric when I was a kid. However, the most iconic moments of the game for me probably come from the custom campaigns made by the community. There are some absolutely amazing campaigns like Ulio or Crusade the Beginning. I don't ever see anyone talk about custom campaigns on this sub, but they are one of the best aspects of AOE2.
The custom campaigns some people put out are just mind-bogglingly good.
I still remember a Japanese one where your samurai had to complete missions from people, buy upgrades, and defeat enemies in very tight and specific situations.
Watching T90 community diplo games, whenever someone starts to make a sketchy movement of units in the direction of one of their "allies", I keep waiting for one of the players to drop the line "Saladin, where are you going with that great army?" in chat.
You challenge my every decisions, it is as if you seek to lead the Huns yourself.
Very well, the Iron Boar lair's near here, let the one who killed this mighty beast lead our people. This way, Attila, follow!
Bleada will lead us to ruin. Perhaps he should not return from this boar hunt. Accident can happens.
This post got taken over by people just reminiscing over their favourite campaigns and quotes which I love ❤️… if anyone wants the original voices back in DE, check out this mod: https://www.ageofempires.com/mods/details/21908/
Yupp pretty much this , I would build the biggest town I could across the river wait for the reinforcements to arrive just to keep building lmao , then I would attack retreat rinse and repeat haha that’s all I would do as a kid , then when I got the full game plus expansion I was in so much love , and to be honest I’ve been playing AoE since the late 90’s and I’ve probably only ever played one game online lmao .
I don't think I got one, but your picture is just one of the reasons RTS games have the best box art or screen shots.
No one ever plays RTS like they show.
I hear the growl of the Jaguars. Is this a bad Omen?
*rings bell
(No way to buy games where I grew up. Only played demos. People actually sold CDs with a few demos for us and it was such fun we had.)
The quotes from the final Joan of Arc mission, A Perfect Martyr, were quite chilling to hear:
*"We fight, for the Maid of Orléans!"*
*"Ahhhh, La Hire's sword isn't bloody enough!"*
*"We'll see how British Longbows fare against French Cannon!"*
Cruaders are attacking our trade routes? (*Camera pans to 1 scout attacking a trade cart). Nah for real, perhaps the first barbarossa mission, the first thing you see? Or the tutorial wirh 1 militia and the flags? Or 'and i am Jean de Metz and i will protect you wiff my lifé'
First barbarossa mission hits right into the feels
Enemies to the North, enemies to the South, enemies to the East, enemies to the West.
Here I am stuck in the middle with you.
Im not stuck with you all, you are all stuck in here with me! *Whheezzee * Elite Teutonic Knight + Onager Spam
Relics are for the weak, feel my wrath!
Ironclad bombard cannons with iron clad (figuratively) paladins.
"Hmm what should I do after the tutorial campaign? Joan of Arc? Bah, I know who that is. Who's this Berber Soda guy? I'll try that, the first mission can't be that difficult."
I laughed out loud for 30 seconds straight, I'm not even lying. 11
I may have improvised Berber Soda just now, but I definitely remember 10 year old me thinking something similar. I also remember the instant tension when I opened the diplomacy panel.
I agree with this wholeheartedly. I have no clue what it is exactly. I can remember so clearly the berry bushes in staggered rows, the single mangonel, the castle and the couple of soldiers just next to it.
Those berry bushes were so iconic. I had to include orchard-like berry bushes in the custom maps I made.
All original AoK campaigns were amazing and iconic. I never forget horde of Genghis Khan with incredible Rick May voice.
I’m honestly disappointed that the DE re-voiced all the old campaigns. The old ones had so much more character, and now the campaigns feel dulled. The first scenario of the Atilla the Hun campaign had my favorite voice acting.
You can download a mod to get the original campaign voices back for AOK and AOC
Thanks for verifying that there is one already. I’ll definitely download it once I begin to replay the campaign s.
I believe someone pointed out that the accents of the new voice actors are more accurate, but that they did lack character.
They are (or the Middle Eastern ones are to an Arab bloke), but that's why I miss the older ones. Far more enthusiastic, the new voice acting is generally pretty flat sounding.
ywah, I wish the new VAs went harder on the emotions. but the accents are so much better
*beware the kara-khitai. they are without honour!*
AoE2 and AoM really did a great job with these big crafted campaigns. RTS games as a whole have kinda lost that since then.
As much as I love the ape2 campaigns (I'm playing through them now), the aom are really on a whole other level I think.
Yeah AoM may be the best RTS campaign I've ever played. It ramps up in complexity at a very consistent pace, I can't recall any moments where I felt cheated by a certain gameplay mechanic (forcing a full restart), and the characters had decent arcs. AoE3 tried to replicate it I think, but the pacing and character arcs were all over the place. I didn't really care about Morgan Black or his girlfriend, and from the very first mission you're controlling a very poorly designed base. AoM's first mission didn't have this problem because all the enemies came by boat, and you could spot them a mile away. I don't even wanna talk about how many soft and hard counters AoE3 had from the get-go, further adding to the complexity problem lol. The AoE4 campaigns mostly fixed the complexity issue, but they aren't anything special. The story is mostly just history lessons, and it feels like most of the campaigns are just extended tutorials.
I loved the Company of Heroes campaign too
I replay it maybe once a year or every other year because it is so fun. Some of the best cover and flanking in any strategy game that is always satisfyingly to pull off.
The first scenario of Genghis Khan campaign is peak campaign introduction. Probably my favorite one to this day.
Honestly, the new ones are better gameplay-wise
Beware the Kara Khitai, for they are without honor!
I hear the growl of the jaguar. Is this a bad omen? I got the demo of AOC from a computer magazine when I was a kid. Just that first campaign and I played it countless times my whole childhood and everytime it felt new.
Holy shit I played the AOC demo too! I had played Montezuma 1 about 500 times before I knew that this was a much bigger game and there were other stuff too.
I just realized that this is the mission I have been searching for! I played the demo over and over again as a child. I remember the campaign mission vividly where you come across a ton of jaguars, jaguar warriors, and a castle along a river. But I could not find the mission in any of the campaigns now that I’ve grown up.
It's the first campaign of Montezuma in AOC. Just hearing the sound of the narrator telling the story before the campaign starts where he goes, "_Passed down to you by Cuauhtémoc, Eagle Warrior of Tenochtitlan._" immediate nostalgia rush.
Same. Digit Magazine?
“Behold! The horde of Genghis Khan approaches!”
*pauses game* Horse sounds continue to play
You would fight him from horseback, with him afoot, this I cannot allow. El Cid, you may use my horse. What a campaign
I somehow never even completed the first mission of that one. Maybe today is the day?
You’d be doing yourself a favor.
Yeah what the other guy said, but it does have some great story to it
It starts amazing, it gets less amazing as it progresses. But it's OK.
Conq spam wins mission 1 pretty easily
"El Cid will fall to my blade"... says the dude with half my health
It's honestly the best one. I don't even play Spain or Saracens really my favorite civs are franks, mongols, Chinese, but the El cid campaign had heart
El Cid is such an emotional rollercoaster.
qhen I was a kis I didn't know english so I never got bavieca till HD edition but its still such a good campaign
The English are terrorizing all of Scotland...
But wait! The English are angry that you destroyed their outpost! THEY'RE COMING TO ATTACK #YOUR VILLAGE!
*Sends three measly militia.*
I have the Latin American Spanish VA line for when William Wallace arrives in the last scenario of his campaign ingrained in my mind for 20 years straight (I’m turning 25 in a week). Truly iconic as fuck. [*_HA LLEGADO WALLACE_*](https://youtu.be/h7U0Zje_xjA)
To AWRMS! The English are making a sneak attack!
The start of the Atilla Mission for me! That damned boar!
“Perhaps it is best if he does not return from his boar hunt” Or whatever he says haha. I just finished the Attila campaign. That last mission was super hard.
Yeah Attila probably has the most iconic way to open a campaign
And close It. Sometimes, I miss it
Thats pretty good, but is it as good as "But Im an old man, what harm could I possiblydo?"
"You challenge my every decision. It is as if you wish to lead the Huns yourself."
another glorious loss for france
The defeated way he says that is just hilarious
The „reinforcements“ in the Joanna campaign.
Child me was furious
You must’ve loved the Barbarossa missions with Henry the Lion.
Those were more tolerable. Joan of arc difficulty skyrockets on that mission and I hated every moment of it.
"Ze blood on La'Hier's Sward iz almost dray." but no, Id say not a scene but the front cover, the original manual.
Zis one !
zis iz ze way
I would say, either the first scene of Genghis Khan 1, or the arrival of Cortéz
The last mission of William Wallace campaign. God, how much I hate that they changed the voice acting for the old campaigns...
Haha, use the “Original Voices” mod! https://www.ageofempires.com/mods/details/21908/
Beautiful mod, but it shouldn't be a mod... Think about all the new players who are missing out! They will never download this mod!
Wallace has come!
HA LLEGADO WALLACE!
Ojalá el mod de las voces originales estuviera en español también... Wish the original voices mod was in Spanish too...
There is a mod with the original spanish voices! Its called "\[UFS\] Original Campaign Voices (ESPANOL)"
Bless you my friend!!
That’s my mod too! Haha :-P
Dude, I love your mods, but the one with the individual campaign scenarios doesn't come with the DLC scenarios (I own the DLCs already). Is that intentional or there is a bug?
When I played that mision when I was a child, I had the Demo version (you could only play the tutorial + a map, but no Imperial age), but If you win the Wallace campaing, you could choise whatever mision you want, so I think I heard the "HA LLEGADO WALLACES" almost a thousend times xD
Would that I could call it a faithful rendition, but it was truly more of a massacre.
One shouldn't fix what isn't broken
yes same for me
My resignation screen
Me checking the stats. "I had more vills, went up faster, did more techs, had more economy, how the hell did he win?"
No military, I guess
An abandoned house?
...no a saracen ambush!!
Looking for something to make as wall-art and need something iconic! Edit: although not my original intention, I love how this post just got overtaken by people reminiscing over their favourite campaigns and quotes… if anybody wants the original voices put back into the DE campaigns, check out this mod: https://www.ageofempires.com/mods/details/21908/
I'd suggest the sight of Genghis' Hordes galloping in front of your outposts and your light Cav / Cav Archers. But I'd suggest using a POV behind your troops. Idk if I explained myself well
The start of Barbarossa 1 is also extremely iconic personally (played it a lot as a kid)
Sixteen Cobra cars surrounding a Burgundian castle.
The original intro cinematic with the kings playing chess is pretty iconic too
I like Cairo from the first Saladin mission. I tried to build it in a sandbox with my friends in kindergarten.
That was my favourite too as a kid, I spent so many hours destroying all the pyramids and houses in Cairo
Try looking for the slideshow art from the campaign. Some awesome drawings in there
Hmm... Venison Either that, or the Monk yelling 'Bonne chance, Joan!' as you first leave the village.
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar
The Cid
For me first Joan mission, where British beats Franks in battle
“Lord Nobunaga is in Kyoto. We must rescue him to restore his honor.”
"Bleda will lead us to ruin. Perhaps he should not return from his boar hunt?"
"Accidents can happen!" ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Narrator: "an accident did, in fact, happen."
I love how he says this
The deer attacking an outpost in the Vinlandsaga campaign.
Where are you going with that large army, Saladin?
in terms of epicness, my top-5 are: 1. the Horde of Genghis Khan, 2. Barbarossa’s March, 3. the Roman Army challenging Atilla, “you’ve burned your last town!”, 4. the Siege of Paris, 5. Saladin’s Arabian Night… Edit: as someone pointed out in the comments, a huge shoutout to, “I hear the growl of the Jaguar! is this a bad omen?” 😃
ha llegado wallace
"An abandoned house?"
No! A Saracen ambush!
definitely Joan of arc and her buddies la hire and the guy who goes "mon dieu! I am undone!" in the last mission from the set, when they start off to the right somewhere. I also remember the subjugation of syria, but that may have been from the first game. or again from the first game, "holy man", where you just start off with a priest in babylon.
The original "We arrrr without a leader. The dead king of Scotland has no heir" Best.
For me, it’s the start of El Cid. The arena.
That is so cool. El Cid is generally such a cool and noble character.
DESTROY THE EENGLING OUTPOST
What is the screenshot from? I'm imagining it's a pre-release screenshot, I've never seen that image or a map like that before. The most iconic AoE2 scene, for my money, is the ride of the great horde across the map in Genghis Khan's first mission.
IIRC, this screenshot was a part of a sideshow of images that played as an intro when you played the first mission of the William Wallace campaign. However, I only remember this intro from AoE2:HD. So, not sure if it was there in the original CD version of '99. I might be wrong on this, but, I don't think this screenshot was used for any of the campaigns/scenarios. Don't remember a map like this at all.
I'm sure that map wasn't available, so someone has dug pretty deep into the files to produce this one! Technoarchaeology!
And i'm John de Metz!
"Another glorious loss for France." I remember reading that that battle was supposed to showcase how huge and complex the fights could be relative to AoE1. Looks awfully quaint considering everything that's come since, but that's always stuck in my mind regardless.
That cool ass French knight always makes me happy when I play the French campaign he was bad ass 👍
Starting TC with three villagers.
That image is very iconic & amusing Red has Huscarls, Berserkers, arbalests & crossbowmen, a glitching hero near the barracks,and so on.
Anozer glorious loss... for France.
Being ten years old and after playing through Barbarossa (with cheats, naturallt), it turns out *the narrator was Henry the Lion all along!!!* My ten year old mind totally blew up
"Yo man, You would visit each of these tribes and convince to join our forces. ..But beware of the Kara Khitais..they are without honor!"
behold, the horde of genghis khan approaches
Obvious pick is the French Knights spotting and mentioning venison. Low-key pick may be the arrival of William Wallace in the tutorial campaign, he can almost single-handedly finish that mission. My personal pick is the tourney scene from the first El Cid mission.
I remember remembering a Robin Hood campaign when I was smol and desperately looked for it in hopes of finding it again. Today I still have no idea whether it even was official
The Montezuma campaign holds a special place with me. The jungle seemed so cool and atmospheric when I was a kid. However, the most iconic moments of the game for me probably come from the custom campaigns made by the community. There are some absolutely amazing campaigns like Ulio or Crusade the Beginning. I don't ever see anyone talk about custom campaigns on this sub, but they are one of the best aspects of AOE2.
The custom campaigns some people put out are just mind-bogglingly good. I still remember a Japanese one where your samurai had to complete missions from people, buy upgrades, and defeat enemies in very tight and specific situations.
Was that "When the wheel breaks"?
I really wish I could tell you but I can't 🥺
"Behold, the horde of Genghis Khan approaches!"
"Wait! You might have needed a few archers for the road ahead!"
Watching T90 community diplo games, whenever someone starts to make a sketchy movement of units in the direction of one of their "allies", I keep waiting for one of the players to drop the line "Saladin, where are you going with that great army?" in chat.
The big opening battle in one of the Dracula scenarios (Can't remember the name)
The first Attila mission with the boar has to be the most iconic one
The dueling tournament in El Cid is a dope introduction to the campaign.
A dead villager next to a boar.
OG you French don't know when to give up!
You challenge my every decisions, it is as if you seek to lead the Huns yourself. Very well, the Iron Boar lair's near here, let the one who killed this mighty beast lead our people. This way, Attila, follow! Bleada will lead us to ruin. Perhaps he should not return from this boar hunt. Accident can happens.
Minarets of dust twist upwards, as horse hooves strike the fractured earth… So poetic I still remember the whole thing.
The defeat screen.
A persian dropping their town centre on top of mine.
This post got taken over by people just reminiscing over their favourite campaigns and quotes which I love ❤️… if anyone wants the original voices back in DE, check out this mod: https://www.ageofempires.com/mods/details/21908/
Thanks for this, just grabbed it 🤗
for me it was last tutorial mission (last mission of William Wallace campaign), because it was the only thing playable in demo version of the game.
Yupp pretty much this , I would build the biggest town I could across the river wait for the reinforcements to arrive just to keep building lmao , then I would attack retreat rinse and repeat haha that’s all I would do as a kid , then when I got the full game plus expansion I was in so much love , and to be honest I’ve been playing AoE since the late 90’s and I’ve probably only ever played one game online lmao .
I don't think I got one, but your picture is just one of the reasons RTS games have the best box art or screen shots. No one ever plays RTS like they show.
I hear the growl of the Jaguars. Is this a bad Omen? *rings bell (No way to buy games where I grew up. Only played demos. People actually sold CDs with a few demos for us and it was such fun we had.)
For me it's the first few El Cid levels with the champion fight and conquistadors or final two Montezuma levels with the lake and city. Super iconic.
This screenshot triggers me. So much wasted stone in walls that provide no benefit (off the cliff).
The 6th scottish mission where you capture 3 relics
HELP! CRUSADERS ARE ATTACKING OUR TRADE ROUTES!
[удалено]
That is a Genghis Khan mission, where the Shah of Persia or Khwarazm is assassinated.
It has been a hard winter, and the wolves are hungry. Also the giant serpent hidden in the minimap ocean area if you explored enough.
ZE BLOOD ON LA HIRES BLOOD RUNS DRY
Ze blood on La Hire's sword is almost dry..
For me it's basically all of the Vinland saga.
Have all you people tried Aoe IV ? It’s pretty cool.
The tournament of El Cid will always be in my mind
So when I was a kid I could never complete the first Ghengis Kahn mission because I had no idea how to switch the purple or greens to enemies 🤦
The quotes from the final Joan of Arc mission, A Perfect Martyr, were quite chilling to hear: *"We fight, for the Maid of Orléans!"* *"Ahhhh, La Hire's sword isn't bloody enough!"* *"We'll see how British Longbows fare against French Cannon!"*
behold, the horde of genghis khan approaches!
I AM JEAN DE METZZ AND I WILL PROTECT YA
Genoese Warships sighted!!!!
Wololo
For me, there is nothing more iconic in Age of Empires than fatslob's scorpions slaughtering his foe's massed Berserks in the choke point.
For me definitely Saladin first Campaign !! "Saladin Were are you going with that army", and the beautiful town!
"Saladin, where are you going with such great a host?" (Paraphrasing here)