Arthur Morgan or John Marston? It's a question that we've been asking ourselves ever since we finished Red Dead Redemption 2. Obviously the recently released sequel is going to be much more fresh in most people's minds -- including our own -- but we can't ignore how much we liked playing as John Marston in the original Red Dead Redemption. As such, we're here to ask you, our lovely Push Square community, which lead character is better: Arthur Morgan, or John Marston?
We dare say that Arthur's got a bit more depth to him, but that's only because Red Dead Redemption 2 has much more depth to it in general. There are way more lines of dialogue, cutscenes, and character interactions in the sequel when compared to the first game, but perhaps you have nothing but fond memories of good old John. Either way, we need to know, so get voting in our poll, and then tell us why in the comments section below.
Who's the better lead character? (178 votes)
- Arthur Morgan
- John Marston
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Comments 56
Arthur the more I play and see of John in two the more I dislike him.
in this game when you compare arthur to john i would say that arthur is the more likable character regardless of being the main lead. especially since john is kind of a punk towards abigail and jack (as far as i am into the game atleast)
however when you put john's personality from the first game up to arthur's the line begins to blurr a bit since john is more mature in the events of the first game,but even then i still like arthur more.
Starting to like Arthur a lot more tbh
Give us some time! I’m only on Chapter 2... .
John Marston for me.
Not really liking arthur at all find him a bit boring compared to all the other gang members
@SnazzyMonkey87
more serious yes, boring i don't know.
he can have fun with the other members at times,also it's best to do the camp interactions with the other members,his personality begins to show in those side conversations (showed as a small questionmark on the hud when in camp) you can sometimes do,explaining why he seems more dull compared to the others.
if anything arthur is more grown up,and rational compared to the rest,which is good for his character,those journal entries also sometimes show his struggles with his personality etc.
John Marston for me. Maybe I'll feel differently after 8 years, but Marsten has lived with me longer as a character (in my mind). They are both good characters though, in my opinion.
Looks like the same guy in different clothes.
I haven't really liked what I've heard of the RDR2 protag so far, so I'm going with John. Also really liked the tragedy in his story.
John Marston by a mile. Arthur is the weakest part of Red Dead Redemption 2 for me.
Im not enjoying auther very much. John was a tragic hero.
What about Red Harlow
Arthur is a proper legend. Loved him by the end.
I'm only at the start of chapter 3 but I do like Mr Morgan. If you play him as a good guy, he's quite a likable fella. That said, John Marston was a fantastic character. A troubled soul on the road to redemption.
I have to go with John Marston at the moment. Marston was a trying to make things right, having left the gang - or really the gang left him to die after he was shot. I know he was coerced into becoming the bounty hunter he was in the previous game by kidnapping his family but that also defined his character.
At the moment, I feel Arthur is less defined or more a blank canvas in a lot of ways. That may help from a gaming perspective as we get to impart our own character into him - whether we want Arthur to be honourable or not, how he is perceived by the gang and NPC's. As a lead character in a 'story', I think that Marston wins but as a lead in a game, it probably works out more in Arthurs favour. By the end of the game, I am sure that Arthur will be regarded as the better lead because we as gamers will have developed his character and put more of ourself into him.
@get2sammyb soapbox post is an example of putting himself into Arthur, making sure he is well kempt and defining his version of Arthur where as someone else may well have Arthur as 'grizzly Adams' lookalike (showing my age) and a very different reputation and experience from the reactions of the NPC's. This is because Arthur is more of a blank canvas in that regard so by the end of it, you create your own 'lead' which may well be better because its more personal to you and your playthrough.
I really like Morgan even more than Marston. Love his personality and his deep voice and drawl. I just...know he's probably gonna die given he isn't in RDR1, and that makes me sad.
I don't think I've played enough of RDR2 yet to make a call, but I'm liking Arthur so far.
@johncalmc I just wanted to say I very much appreciate your new avatar.
@Neolit Maybe, but what would that mean for post game? You'd continue on as Marston? I want to keep playing as Morgan...
Thing is, R* just loves to make the old people look hopelessly useless in new games. Johnny Klebitz and the entire Lost were pathetic in the war against just one man Trevor. Packie Macreary was just a small-time hood in GTAV. Rosenberg was more of a clown in San Andreas than in Vice City. So it's not surprising people aren't really feeling sorry for John or liking him in this. To think of all the tears folk shed for John in that RDR1 ending... sigh... poor John.
Not really fair since most people haven't finished the story.
What I can say is my Arthur is more bad ass and more realistic, more believable in every way.
@Neolit I'm probably just gonna go ahead and spoil it for myself and figure out if/when it happens so I can make a separate save and just continue playing as him.
@JJ2 Yeah, Arthur is super badass. I loved the first Kieran mission where you hunt down some O'Driscolls at that cabin, and Arthur is shouting "COLM O'DRISCOOOOOOOL!" in a taunting manner during the fight.
Just finished Chapter 6, but its John for me. Although i liked Arthur more than i did towards the end
I voted for Arthur, I liked John in the first RDR but the fact you can chose how you want Arthur to react to others is great, currently in the my first play through and I’m playing as mr nice guy but after I’m done with the story, I’ll start a new save file and be a right nasty b****** 😈
Marston for me but I'm only on Chapter 2 and could change my mind by the end. Doubt it though...
I can't say for sure as I'm only on chapter 4 at the moment.John behaves pretty much as I expected him to in RDR2. Jack was very bitter in RDR1 and it becomes more and more clear why he is like this once you see how John acts in RDR2.
Arthur seems to be more involved with the gang itself than John, as John apparently has a history of running out on them. The more you play the game, the more you learn the extent of this.
Marston's story was great, although I was never that keen on him, I don't know why. Not until the end at least, and then I thought he was a hero.
It's too early for me to say for sure, but I will say that Arthur has won me over quicker than John did.
I didn't like RDRedemption even though I love the sequel. I found the first to be incredibly dull but the slow pace is one of the reasons I've fallen in love with the new one. Maybe my dislike of John influenced my enjoyment of the first whereas I'm finding Arthur to be a really likeable lead. I don't even like John in this.
For now I'd say John because of his overall story being more fleshed out than Arthur but I'm only on chapter 3 so that could change. Arthur does feel more like a blank canvas where as the original was definitely John's story and I'll never forget the ending of that game.
Arthur because i like them
Wow 76 votes and it's 50/50
@BAMozzy "As a lead character in a 'story', I think that Marston wins but as a lead in a game, it probably works out more in Arthurs favour" Great point and I agree!
Where's Red Harlow? Why would I care about these whiny nerds who don't even have scorpions burned into their palms?
I voted for my boy John because what about loyalty? But...I was very against this new protagonist until I played the game! He is a douche to everyone and I love him
Cant really give an experienced answer as im still on chapter 2 but from what i see you cant really compare the main characters as thry are very different people. Mebe remaster the first one in next gen to give john a better chance
I'm a massive rdr fan and was really angry to find out Marston wasn't main character. But R* made a brilliant choice, Arthur is more relatable and a much more interesting character than John.
If only John took swimming lessons.
Can’t vote yet, it doesn’t seem right until I finished the story and I’m still in chapter 2.
Slightly unrelated, has anyone else thought that seeing as Rockstar has already remade most of the map for the first game that they could do a remake of the whole game with a little bit more work. People could play the whole saga in chronological order. I would definitely buy it.
I made an account just to answer this question. What can I say? Wow! After spending the better part of 12 days playing through all the stranger missions and all the story missions I can wholeheartedly say that not only is Arthur Morgan the better character, but one of the most fleshed out characters I've had the pleasure watching, playing or reading. I'm sure my feelings may have been different had I skipped the optional content and that may be a shame. You see so much more to Arthur in those side missions that may not necessarily be fleshed out enough during main missions. Nevertheless, Arthur is an amazing character that endures real growth during the duration of the main story. At first I hated the character for being a no-nonsense and no questions asked personality. It really did feel like I was playing as some boring NPC character without much depth. I think this was the intention, because during the duration of the game I began to not only like Arthur, but love him. I put my controller down many times to share a laugh or a moment of silence. The character's growth really is that progressive. Arthur was a pleasure to play as and this experience will live in my memory for some time to come.
However, that is not to say that John Marsden is any less of a character than he was in the original. Far from it. His character also experiences massive growth. It's just that he doesn't have the content or the depth to match up to Arthur and that's only due to the limitations RDR was developed under. Rockstar has had 8 years to fully flesh Arthur (as well as the rest of the characters) and it shows. Wonderful characters. Wonderful game. Wonderful experience.
@Quintumply Smashed it.
I love Arthur. All of his internal struggles, and his rusty voice and grandpa attitude. And the trio to the saloon with Lenny. Best moment ever! 😅
I love that Arthur doesn't take $#!+ from anyone & is respected by his fellow gang mates.
@SnazzyMonkey87 Arthur aka handsome boring?
@TotalHitman Wow, great comment. Thanks for registering!
john wayne marston
I have to say Arthur...though Mr. Marston is still and will always be as great.
I'm playing the epilogue right now and I'm still reeling from Mr. Morgan's redemption. It almost feels like he was a real person to me so I'm really having mixed feeling about the ending.
If Marston had the dialog he is by far the better character. Morgan doesn't have the back story that Marston has and not nearly as colorful.
@SnazzyMonkey87 you're pretty stupid huh?
Arthur is soooo much better and his voice is more cool/badasss
Finished the game and arthur is a wonderful character by the end but john has a special place in my heart
I love marston....but arthur morgan is def my new favorite.
The fact acting. The story. The interactions. The journal. The "holy crap" character arc and story arc. That ending.
"I gave you all I had." Arthur for sure.
Voted John but Paul is Alive and is amazing too
Reading some of the first comments posted here, by people who hadn't even finished the game yet or gotten past the second or third chapter at best, is depressing. Way to take part in the discussion without having the full picture.
With that said, I love John Marston ALMOST as much, but Arthur does end up leaving a deeper impact, though as mentioned, this is mostly because RDR2 is just overall narratively a better game.
Also, I hate that RDR2 is a prequel, and thus RDR1 goes by without anybody acknowledging Arthur ever existing. It leaves me with kind of a self-righteous but disgusted feeling at the same time, as Arthur's whole legacy was tarnished in this way. The way he's set up in this story, it's an outrage that this was a prequel that - because of being a prequel - ends up being snuffed from RDR1's story so unfairly.
Also, John Marston's story was tragic, no doubt, but it was really to be expected, in some way, as it was a story of failed redemption in a world that has no place for people like him anymore (and this was how it was always framed). Though we kind of knew where RDR2's story would lead, the way Arthur was screwed over by the people he'd spent his life with...just sucks.
@Fraught As per community rules
Do not use profanity; Use of unsavoury language including profanity and swearing is not acceptable, please remember that this website has users of all ages.
So lets watch the language please
Thanks for understanding
other than how i just like arthur more, he can SWIM. but john can’t and it annoys the hell out of me, so i have a bias against him. and again i just like arthur way more as a person and a character.
I think it's a little lame to say who's the best between Arthur and John, because one without the other he wouldn't have known it would have evolved. No John no arthur and no arthur no John.
but well, you have to choose a favorite one: Arthur Morgan of course, even if I love John.
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