God of War (2005 video game)

God of War is a video game for the Playstation 2 console by SCE Santa Monica Studio. It follows Kratos, a Spartan warrior who pledged himself to Ares over ten years ago, until the god tricked him into killing his wife and daughter. Now he is out to avenge his family by killing Ares at the behest of Athena, who promises that his past will be forgiven if he is successful.

Kratos

 * The Gods of Olympus have abandoned me. Now there is no hope...
 * Ares! Destroy my enemies, and my life is yours!
 * By the gods, what have I become?
 * [to Harpy] Wretched beast! I know who it is you serve. Return to your master! Tell the God of War I am his no longer. Tell him he is not safe while I walk the Earth! I will find Pandora's Box - and I will use it to see him tremble and fall before me.
 * Ares, you will die for what you did that night!

Dialogue

 * Kratos: [opening lines] The gods of Olympus have abandoned me. Now there is no hope...
 * Narrator: And Kratos cast himself from the highest mountain in all of Greece. After ten years of suffering, ten years of endless nightmares, it would finally come to an end. Death would be his escape from madness. But it had not always been this way. Kratos had once been a champion of the gods...


 * Kratos: [Strides out of his ship] Ten years, Athena! I have faithfully served the gods for ten years! When will you relieve me of these nightmares?
 * Athena: We request one final task for you, Kratos. Your greatest challenge awaits in Athens; where even now, my brother, Ares, lays siege as we speak. Athens is on the verge of destruction. It is the will of Ares that my great city fall. Zeus has forbidden the gods from waging war on each other. That is why it must be you, Kratos. Only a mortal trained by a god has a chance at defeating Ares.
 * Kratos: And if I am able to do this... to kill a god... then the visions... they will end?
 * Athena: Complete this final task, and the past that consumes you will be forgiven. Have faith, Kratos; the gods do not forget those who come to their aid.
 * Narrator: Leaving the rotting carcass of the Hydra behind, Kratos set sail once more. His greatest challenge, and freedom from his growing madness lay before him, in the ancient city, of Athens.


 * Narrator: Kratos had traversed the Desert of Lost Souls, bested the deadly traps of Pandora's Temple and escaped Hades itself. There was only one task left.
 * Ares: [looking up to the sky, holding Pandora's Box from a chain] Zeus!! Do you see now what your son can do?! You cast your favor on Athena, but her city lies in ruins before me! And now, even Pandora's Box is mine! Would you have me use it against Olympus itself?! [turns and surprisingly notices Kratos] Kratos? Returned even from the Underworld. [back to the sky] Is this the best you can do, Father?! You send a broken mortal to defeat me?! The God of War?! [while speaking, Kratos uses Zeus' Fury to disconnect Pandora's Box from the chain]
 * Narrator: After thousands of years, Pandora's Box was finally opened. The power of the gods unleashed. [Kratos grows to equally match Ares in strength]
 * Ares: You are still just a mortal - every bit as weak as the day you begged me to save your life!
 * Kratos: I am not the same man you found that day. The monster you created has returned... to kill you.
 * Ares: You have no idea what a true monster is, Kratos! [creates six blade-like protrusions in his back] Your final lesson is at hand!


 * Ares: I have taught you ways to kill a mortal, Kratos, flesh that burns, bones that break, but to break a man's spirit is to truly destroy him. Do you recognize this place, Spartan, the location of your greatest failure? Perhaps there is a chance you can undo the deeds of the past.
 * Narrator: The nightmares that haunted Kratos for the past 10 years had now taken form and substance. His past stood before him.
 * Lysandra [Kratos's wife]: Kratos! What's happening?! Where are we?!
 * Kratos: By the gods, can this be real?
 * Calliope: Daddy!
 * Kratos: Ares! There's nothing you can put in my way to stop me. I will save my family!


 * Narrator: Kratos had done the impossible, he has saved his family.
 * Lysandra: Kratos... please take us home!
 * Kratos: Do you see, God of War?! You took them once! But you'll never have them again!
 * Ares: You cannot save them, Kratos. You gave them up in your quest for ultimate power. There is a price to pay for everything you gain.
 * Kratos: Not that price. I didn't want them to die...
 * [The Blades of Chaos are ripped from Kratos' arms]
 * Ares: No price is too high for what I offered you! And you rejected me... A GOD! Now you have no power... no magic! All that is left for you... is DEATH! [kills Kratos's wife and daughter with the blades]
 * Kratos: No...! Not-- Not again...
 * Ares: You should have joined me, Kratos! You should have been stronger!
 * Kratos: [sees the bridge sword] By the gods...
 * Narrator: The battle was not over. The gods, it seemed, had a final gift for Kratos.
 * Kratos: [removes the bridge sword] I still have allies on Olympus, Ares. Now you will see how strong I am.


 * Ares: Remember, Kratos... it was I who saved you... in your time of greatest need.
 * Kratos: I haven't forgotten, Ares. I remember how you saved me.
 * Ares: That night... I was trying to make you a great warrior!
 * Kratos: You succeeded.
 * [Kratos impales Ares through the chest, Ares lets out a bellowing scream and falls into the water, dead]
 * Narrator: Kratos had done the impossible - a mortal defeating a god. Ares was no more. The city had been saved, and would thrive again. The same could not be said for Kratos. For as he sought to rebuild his soul with the help of the gods, the truth was revealed to him.


 * Kratos: Athena, rid me of the memories that haunt me still.
 * Athena: You haven done well, Kratos. Though we mourn the death of our brother, the gods are indebted to you. We promised your sins would be forgiven, and so they are. But we never promised to take away your nightmares. No man, no god could ever forget the terrible deeds you have done.
 * Narrator: In the end, knowing the visions of his past would never leave him, Kratos made his way to the bluffs overlooking the Aegean Sea.


 * Kratos: The gods of Olympus have abandoned me. Now there is no hope... [steps off the edge]
 * Narrator: And Kratos cast himself from the highest mountain in all of Greece. After ten years of suffering, ten years of endless nightmares, it would finally come to an end. Death would be his escape from madness. The fate of Kratos was not it seemed. The gods had other plans. Born aloft like a feather, Kratos found himself risen from the sea and placed on solid earth.
 * Athena: You will not die this day, Kratos. The gods cannot allow one who has performed such service to perish by his own hand. Ares' tactics were brutal; his path of destruction had to be stopped. But now there is an empty throne on Olympus, and a new God of War is needed. Take these stairs, Kratos. They lead to your ultimate reward.
 * Narrator: And from that point forward, throughout the rest of time, whenever men rode forth to battle, for good cause or for evil, they did so under the watchful eye of the man who had defeated a god. They were driven forward by Kratos, the mortal who had become the new... God of War.