When it comes to comparing any two multimedia franchises, Dragon Age and Star Wars are not likely the first to come to mind. Sure, counting Knights of the Old Republic, the two have had games made by BioWare (with DA still very much being a BioWare game, even though KOTOR Remake isn't), but as one is a medieval fantasy story and the other is the definition of Sci-Fi, there’s not readily a lot of major comparisons to be made.
The Jedi do not consume the blood of the Sith to fight them as Wardens do for Darkspawn. There is nothing like the concept of The Force in Dragon Age as magic there differs vastly, and so on. Yet, in terms of story structure, Dragon Age and the Star Wars sequel trilogy actually share a lot of commonalities.
Dragon Age: Origins vs. The Force Awakens
When The Force Awakens was first released, many quickly noticed how similar it was to A New Hope. Kylo Ren is essentially a new Vader, at least in terms of being related to the Dark Side and both working for someone more powerful. The Starkiller Base was essentially a bigger Death Star, a mentor’s death (Ben Kenobi/Han Solo) is witnessed by the helpless protagonist (Luke/Rey), there’s a droid with important information on a desert planet, X-wings fly through a trench to attack a massive weapon, and so on. In short, The Force Awakens can be summarized as a new take on certain structural elements.
The same goes for Dragon Age: Origins. There was no Dragon Age game before it, but there was plenty of games inspired by Dungeons and Dragons systems like Baldur’s Gate. Dragon Age: Origins interjected new elements and new takes, but structurally, it wasn’t necessarily new in and of itself. Both Dragon Age: Origins and The Force Awakens used the old to start something new.
Dragon Age 2 vs. The Last Jedi
Dragon Age 2 is contentious, with ardent supporters and serious detractors. It went in an entirely different direction than its previous game, becoming more action-focused and, at times, as if it didn’t deal with the events of the first game as many expected a sequel would. If that sounds familiar, it’s because The Last Jedi has proven to be contentious with many who love it and who hate it. It went in an entirely different creative direction than the previous film, not dealing with those events as many thought it would.
Dragon Age: Inquisition vs. The Rise of Skywalker
The third entry in each franchise tried to bring it back in line from the previous installment, and some would argue that it went much further. At times, Dragon Age: Inquisition feels like an MMO without the multiplayer element, and while it brings a lot back that made Origins great, it doubled-down in areas that didn’t seem absolutely necessary. The Rise of Skywalker, meanwhile, tries to come back from The Last Jedi, line it back up with elements from the first movie like the Knights of Ren, and ends up going overboard to drive home similar elements compared to the first entry.
Of course, while the structures may be similar, the content is vastly different. Still, it says something about storytelling when certain elements can be found in entirely different genres, and that makes both Dragon Age and Star Wars all the more interesting.
Dragon Age 4 is in development.