MeinMMO demon Cortyn took a look at Arcane and is deeply moved – but also angry. Because Riot “just does” what other companies fail to do.
I never really could do anything with League of Legends. I completely missed the entry into the MOBA. Years later, when I wanted to give the game a chance, the champion “Vi” had just been released. After a friend and I were insulted multiple times in our first 3 games and were wished all sorts of accidents or presented very specific plans for our mothers’ evening arrangements, I never touched the game again – but started the launcher a few more times to listen to Vi’s cool soundtrack.
Sure, you somehow caught a glimpse of the various characters in LoL. The videos for the LoL World Championship, the songs from K/DA , and also the Jinx trailer. But that was it in terms of touchpoints.
When it was announced that a series about League of Legends would be on Netflix, I was skeptical. Series and films about video games have a bad reputation, even though Witcher managed to break that for me. Nevertheless, LoL always seemed colorful and outlandish to me. The characters all seemed so wildly mixed at first glance that they could never exist in the same world.
But I gave the series “Arcane” a chance because I am generally open to new things.
And what can I say? The series completely swept me away, even though it was only the first 3 episodes.
Nothing seemed rushed. The series takes its time to introduce the characters, allows enough room for world building, without breaking the mystique and getting lost in unnecessary details.
Added to that is the entire style of animation, which in this extent and level of detail is simply from another planet. Other developers might manage to create a teaser or trailer in this quality – but never an entire series.
But the most important point for me: Every single character acts logically comprehensible.
In almost all other series (or even the story of games), there comes a point sooner or later where I have to roll my eyes. A moment where a character suddenly falls out of line and does something unconsidered or simply stupid to maneuver the story into a certain corner.
Arcane did not have that. I liked every character unconditionally and found all motives completely understandable.
- The enforcer Greyson, who – slightly corrupt – makes a deal with the slums to prevent war.
- Violet, who wants to prove herself and create a better world for Powder, but cannot really weigh risks and benefits well.
- Powder, who lives in the shadow of her sister and keeps failing but does not give up.
- Mel Medarda, who seeks the “next big thing” in the boredom of her limitless wealth to advance the city and simply experience some excitement.
- Jayce, who strives to harness this power after a miraculous rescue by a magician.
I could continue the list forever. Every single character acts comprehensibly, authentically and – measured against what the series shows us – completely logically.
I cheered for the characters, empathized with them, and by the end of episode 3, I was somewhere between incredulous and thrilled, with tears in my eyes. Not only because the plot became increasingly oppressive and dramatic towards the end, but also because I knew: A piece of video game history is being written right now. This is a film adaptation at a level that simply has not existed before.
Add to that, of course, the masterful release strategy. Instead of releasing one episode each week, Arcane drops 3 episodes at a time that each tell an entire act. This is much more satisfying than ending each week on a cliffhanger.
The “around it” is also grand. There are music videos with original scenes, and the entire soundtrack is now available. You can guess what has been playing on repeat for me for days.
Why can ‘my Blizzard’ not?
I continued to think about the series for a long time afterward. About the characters, the plot, the structure, and the fact that one could understand all of this perfectly well without ever having played or seen LoL (properly).
But then the question inevitably came up: Why can’t others do that?
My first thought was: Why can League of Legends do what Warcraft cannot? Why is Riot able to create an absolutely fantastic series based on a game that doesn’t even need a story in its premise? How can a company that essentially created a “Our champions run in 3 lanes against your champions” game whip up such well thought-out and good story for a series, while my long-time favorite company hasn’t even managed to tell a story in the game in recent years that a newcomer can follow at least in part?
Anyone who does not consult all the sources in the Warcraft universe – books, cinematics, comics – has no chance of understanding the world in any way.
Even when comparing Arcane with the Warcraft movie, Blizzard’s implementation simply comes off poorly.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked the Warcraft movie for what it wanted to be.
But in direct comparison to Arcane, it was simply a bad joke.
For years I have been waiting for Blizzard to create something comparable for Warcraft, Diablo or Overwatch . A series where there is enough time to focus on details, fall in love with individual characters, and also tell a coherent, grand story.
Arcane is probably the best thing I have seen on Netflix so far. I am damn glad that I saw the first act and am looking forward to the rest of the episodes. I want to know what happens next, want to learn more about the characters and the world.
Why did League of Legends “just” whip up one of the best series, while World of Warcraft only managed to create an “okay” movie that didn’t really satisfy anyone?
I hope more big game developers will take the step to create a high-quality series. Because Arcane almost made me want to actually play League of Legends again to get to know all the characters. The interest in the universe has been awakened. The potential to gain new players with such series is huge – let alone what such a series can generate in terms of revenue.
I want more of that. Especially from Arcane. But maybe others will take a cue from how to create really strong video game series that will stay in memory for years.
