Red Dead Redemption fans agree Arthur Morgan is a better protagonist than John Marston

If it came down to it, which character would you say is the better protagonist? Arthur Morgan or John Marston? This is one question fans are deliberating on a recent Reddit thread.

Red Dead Redemption and its sequel are two of the best video game experiences of all time. Telling the stories of gunslingers John Marston and Arthur Morgan respectively, Rockstar’s action-adventure titles are a master of storytelling. However, which of the men is actually the better protagonist? One fan took to Reddit to find out.

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“Who do you think is the better protagonist?” asked WrongPatient on the r/reddeadredemption subreddit. What followed is a debate spanning 296 comments at the time of writing as fans share their thoughts.

Fans of Red Dead Redemption’s John Marston showed up for the OG gunslinger saying, “Give me John, first game is an all-time favourite for me,” and, “John hands down. The story is essentially his redemption arc overall, Arthur was there to act as a pseudo mentor to John establishing his persona from RD1. The entire story is John's story at the end of the day.” One user even claimed John was the reason they played Red Dead Redemption 2 at all: “John still. He was my favourite back in 2010 and the main reason I played Red Dead 2 because everyone knew you’d play as him at some point.”

However, it is pretty clear that Red Dead Redemption 2’s Arthur Morgan is leading the votes. “Arthur meanwhile is an incredibly written and sympathetic character. He has actual redemption, and changes greatly from beginning to end,” said one user, claiming that John did not get a redemption in the first game. Another user was originally dreading playing as Arthur in the sequel: “Dude, I played RDR1 and dreaded the fact that Arthur Morgan was the main character. I couldn't believe it. Fast forward to the end of the game, and I hated being John! I wanted Arthur back! If that's not a testament to Roger Clark's performance, and the writing then I don't know what is.”

Whether you love John or Arthur more, the fact this debate is still ongoing is testament to the Red Dead Redemption franchise as a whole.