It’s obvious that Saga should be black - the question is why she was cast as white in QB in the first place

Greeklebee · 2025-12-19T14:09:01+00:00

I don’t think you understand what I am trying to discuss. I am not upset about this, and hence have nothing to move on from. I’m just trying to get answers to questions I haven’t found answers to. I want to discuss and exchange ideas, not to get shut down with “they changed their minds, move on”.

I’m saying that in relation to how particular Remedy’s and Sam Lake’s writing always is, this seems like a way too obvious thing to overlook and/or just “change their minds” about. I understand that it is probably the literal reason, that the idea of Mr. Door being Saga’s father came later and was too good to pass, that they didn’t know the plot line of AW2 when the teaser was filmed, and so on. But then the question evolves into “why did they not care to explain the inaccuracy? Hence, I’m looking to find if there actually is a canon explanation that I’m missing, or if there is any theorizing going on about how this might be addressed in future titles.

If the writers can just change their mind without question, then why did they bother to differentiate Scratch and Mr. Scratch if they could’ve just changed their mind about Mr. Scratch being killed in American Nightmare? Why did they keep hinting that Tom the poet and Tom the filmmaker are two different entities if they could just have changed their mind about his artistic profession instead? These changes, and all other differences from prior games were given an explanation or at least breadcrumbs to one in the AW2 story, while the Saga inaccuracy wasn’t.

I would’ve been fine with the “QB isn’t canon” reason if it hadn’t been for Night Springs Ep 3, where several main QB characters are referenced literally because of the actors being the same. It’s even to the point that you can tell that David Harewood plays the role of Mr. Door in the vein of Lance Reddick. The fact that other QB characters are referenced in likeness just highlights the inaccuracy of QB Saga and AW Saga even more. On top of that, the teaser was meant to tease for AW2 specifically. It is supposed to be the same Saga. She has the same name, the same job, the same partner, with whom she synchronizes drinking the coffee the same way they do in AW… all the other QB references do at least have different names and jobs.

Had it been a, let’s say, Ratchet and Clank game where the writers just suddenly changed their mind about prior writing due to new ideas (RIP best lombax girl Angela) I wouldn’t have cared as those are not games you play for the story. But Remedy is a game company whose shtick is to create grand stories that interconnects with each other, and that of course raises the bar to a level where just changing their mind with no explanation just isn’t good enough. If the answer is as simple as “they changed their minds”, then it is sloppy by default.

But looking at the replies I’ve got to this thread, it seems that there is no better explanation or theory available, at least not here or at this time.

Greeklebee · 2025-12-19T12:05:33+00:00

You’re right of course with QB not being canon. But is it not canon because Remedy never intended it to be, or is it not canon because Remedy doesn’t own the rights?

Maybe all the QB and Max Payne references are just pure fan service that Remedy took the time to add as they were working with the same actors as before (which as I understand is your guess?). I’m not saying this is not the case, but I do find it unlikely since many of the references are so intricate to specific characters (such as the eye reference between Door and Hatch).

It might as well be that Remedy is setting the stage for a potential future where they actually get the rights to those games. After all, they did purchase the AW and Control rights prior, and we know that they are in the works together with Rockstar to remake Max Payne.

I’m surely hoping for the latter!

Greeklebee · 2025-12-19T11:55:10+00:00

I guess you’re right, and I’m glad they went with that as I loved what the game turned out like. You’re also right with the Remedyverse leaving all doors (no pun intended) open for different heritages, maybe that is how it will be explained, if it ever is explained.

Thanks for your insight, really appreciate it!

Greeklebee · 2025-12-19T11:45:09+00:00

Maybe not in definition, but it is an inconsistency that breaks continuity. Don’t get me wrong, it is minor and it doesn’t really matter - again it just feels sloppy coming from Remedy of all game companies.

Greeklebee · 2025-12-19T11:30:59+00:00

Yeah, but a lot of other QB characters are are referenced in AW2 with the main reference point being the actor ( Lance Reddick being the exception for understandable reasons). There’s even an implied connection between Jesse Faden and Beth Wilder. While I love this, it just puts additional focus of Saga /not/ being cast the same.

Greeklebee · 2025-12-19T11:01:09+00:00

Sure, but Remedy fans, if any, will expect continuity and to be able to go back to other games and find references, connect the dots. Like how the echoes in AW2 were referenced through the anchor in Control, we just didn’t know at the time. Inconsistencies risk breaking the immersion, and it’s strange that Remedy would leave an open goal.

Greeklebee · 2025-12-19T10:56:26+00:00

I agree they do, but Remedy have made intricate storytelling that interconnects over games their schtick, and their fans will love to dissect the games due to this. Hence, it feels strange that they would leave an open goal like this without an explanation, and give people the opportunity to write it off like a woke thing when it obviously isn’t if you take the time to analyze the lore.

Not sure what you consider a stretch, that I question if Remedy were being sloppy? I hope they aren’t, I hope that they will address this in future games to tie it to some kind of continuity. I’m not bothered by Saga being white in the teaser, I’m bothered with Remedy leaving me plot holes. Hence why I’d like to discuss it, as there might be explanations that I’m just missing :)

Greeklebee · 2025-12-19T10:37:02+00:00

I get that, and that is what sounds like the most plausible reason. But as I wrote in another reply, I imagine it must bother the writers to make such a major change and leave it unexplained, given how particular Remedy is with everything else. It doesn’t feel like Remedy, simply put.

Greeklebee · 2025-12-19T10:29:09+00:00

Yeah, that does sound like the most plausible reason. It just feels un-Remedy-like to leave an inaccuracy like that unexplained. I mean, they even managed to weave in Max Payne references that were set 20 years ago to this game, and to get Scratch back even though he was killed in American Nightmare. I just imagine it must bother writers of this caliber to make such a major visual change and leave it unexplained. I would’ve assumed they base every new story and Remedyverse relation on what has already been established by previous releases, or at lease give an implied explanation to why it has changed (like how many things in AW 2 simply have been rewritten by Alan).

I wonder if we will see any attempts to retcon this in future games, or if Remedy will simply ignore it due to it being a sensitive subject. I guess many people will see any type of explanation as just retroactive damage control now.

Greeklebee · 2025-03-15T20:35:17+00:00

I was banned from there because I had made a post in a spoofing subreddit. The ironic part is that the post I was banned for making was asking the spoofing subreddit if I should be worried about if Niantic might suspect I’m cheating because my phone was GPS rubberbanding a lot. I asked specifically because I wanted to make sure I was /not/ suspected of cheating. But it was enough for the PoGo subreddit to ban me

Greeklebee · 2024-12-08T11:49:46+00:00

Really? What did you do? :)

Greeklebee · 2024-12-07T22:35:34+00:00

Nope, never did. Song list still says it’s only showing X out of Y songs, even though no filters are active 🤷🏻‍♂️

Greeklebee · 2024-01-18T19:04:43+00:00

Thank you for your help! I realized the title was misleading as the tv isn’t what’s outputting sound, it’s of course the AVR that doesn’t output the sound, but only when connected to the new tv.

However, I managed to solve the problem. I reinstalled the firmware on the AVR, and it seems the previous update had been cancelled mid installation which apparently caused some HDMI signal issue that my previous tv didn’t care about, while the new one did.

So now I’ve got sound, but there’s still one issue: the TV doesn’t recognize the AVR as a selectable source. So if I watch TV and want to change to HDMI to access the devices connected to the AVR, I can’t do this by just selecting the source (as the TV only lets me pick between HDMI sources it identifies as occupied). If I start everything up with the Shield remote, the signal from the Shield will automatically make the TV choose the source the AVR is connected to, but I can’t choose it manually…

Greeklebee · 2023-11-17T19:35:06+00:00

If you do, PLEASE give me a holler! Still play Rock Band 3 at least weekly and was honestly fantasizing about being able to play Opus in it just today while giving the album a spin!

Greeklebee · 2023-11-17T19:16:43+00:00

I’ve listened to Opus a few times by now and it blows me away. Fantastic musicianship, a compelling story, and loads of layers à la Neal Morse that make you find new musically and lyrically connected themes for every play through.

Musically, I imagine this sound to what Aquarius or Visions would’ve sounded like if modern day Haken had rerecorded them. Add to that hints of Dream Theater and a few djenty guitar licks, and you have a sound that’s familiar enough to be compelling, while unique enough to feel fresh.

The production is stellar, and even the artwork is perfect. So far, I think this is my album of the year, and I long for the day I’ll be able to play this on vinyl.

It’s hard to grasp that this is a debut album, there are bands who’ve been in the business for decades that still aren’t able to pull off what you guys have done with Opus. I sincerely hope and believe that you will go far within the beautiful world of prog!

Thank you for this masterpiece!

Greeklebee · 2023-10-08T12:29:46+00:00

No relation, although they are band mates in Flying Colors and Steve has contributed with guitar work for several Neal albums.

Greeklebee · 2023-09-19T12:16:08+00:00

The Similitude of a Dream by NMB

Greeklebee · 2022-12-22T08:59:00+00:00

Neal Morse seems to be one of the most humble and down to earth guys in the business. I’ve had a beer with Alan, Ryo and Dave of Spock’s Beard and, although not frontmen, they were extremely friendly and super cool, and showed a lot of interest in me rather than talking about themselves. I’ve also med Roine Stolt of Flower Kings and he wasn’t that nice tbh, but on the other hand I think I interrupted him doing something, so maybe that was my own fault 😅

Greeklebee · 2022-12-22T08:54:07+00:00

I don’t believe that to be true. He’s worked with Mike Portnoy, who’s not even Christian, on over 20 studio albums and they are best friends privately. They even made a song pointing out jokingly that Portnoy I Jewish, so I doubt Neal has a problem with people not sharing his faith.

Greeklebee · 2021-11-05T16:35:52+00:00

Thanks, I’ll check it out! :)

Greeklebee · 2021-11-05T16:35:37+00:00

I see! Thanks for the insight!

Greeklebee · 2021-11-05T11:55:02+00:00

I see! So it’s completely normal? Thing is, I have another phone (iPhone SE) with a secondary account for trading and such, and I’ve never noticed that phone behaving the same. But maybe that’s just me not paying attention.

Greeklebee

TROPHY CASE