This applies to both Redemption games, and is pretty self explanatory. What do yous think is the prettiest spot that you like to hang around and just soak in?
I'll start off. Other than Saint Denis at night, I'd say my favorite spot is this view of the Dakota River and Cumberland Forest just by Chez Porter. If you get the the right spot and time of day, it is spectacular.
For me it is West Elizabeth, specifically Great Plains. It is just boring and only has a little bit to offer.
So, it’s common knowledge that the Red Dead video games take place in the American west (and Mexico), but the presidents leading said countries are far more vaguely put. Let’s start with Red Dead Redemption 2.
Red Dead Redemption 2 takes place from 1898 at the earliest to 1907. If we observe the historical American presidents during this timeline, you would find William McKinley and his vice Theodore Roosevelt leading the nation during this period. McKinley was inaugurated in 1897 and re-elected in 1901, however, he was assassinated. His vice president Theodore Roosevelt took office and served for two terms up until 1908. So, seems easy enough. McKinley and Roosevelt were the presidents during RDR2.
However, the main issue we run into is that they weren’t. It has been confirmed that there were two presidents in the span of RDR2’s timeline: Alfred MacAlister (who was president in 1899) and Thaddeus Waxman (president in 1907).
What we know about MacAlister is that he’s very similar to McKinley, leading the nation through the Spanish American War in 1898. In real life, McKinley’s future vice Theodore Roosevelt, helped assist the American troops in the war, gaining them Puerto Rico and the Philippines. In Red Dead, MacAlister’s vice Thaddeus Waxman led a massive victory in Guarma.
One other striking similarity is that some few years after Red Dead Redemption 2’s main storyline, MacAlister was assassinated, and Thaddeus Waxman succeeded him. McKinley was killed in 1901, so it’s not outlandish to assume MacAlister was too.
Thaddeus Waxman is likely a replacement for Theodore Roosevelt in this world. Not only did he lead the U.S. forces in the Spanish American War, but he served during the 1900’s decade as did Roosevelt. Since Waxman was president in 1907, he served two terms. As the wiki page for him states, he was a much better president than MacAlister.
One striking issue comes within Red Dead Redemption 1. Newspapers mention Theodore Roosevelt and William McKinley is on the $10 bill. This opens plot holes and the notion that these two figures may still exist in the Red Dead world. Or, more likely than not, RDR2 retconned the two figures. Despite this, there are two other mentioned presidents in Red Dead 2: President Hardin and President Fisher.
Not much is known about either of these two presidents except that they served sometime before MacAlister. The two presidents’ portraits are featured in the Valentine Savings Bank, suggesting they are somewhat recent. Hardin is also featured on the $10 bill with McKinley replacing him in the events of RDR1. President Hardin resembles real life president Benjamin Harrison quite majorly. Harrison served from 1889-1893, with Grover Cleveland serving the 4 years before and after him.
As for President Fisher, he does not resemble Grover Cleveland at all and more closely resembles Martin van Buren, a Dutch president who served in the very early 19th century. However, I find it unlikely that a rather insignificant president from the 1830’s will find himself on a cigarette card with recent presidents. So, it’s likely that President Fisher is the replacement for President Cleveland.
In Red Dead Redemption 1, there is no mention of current presidents. In real life, President William H. Taft (1908-1912) would serve during this time, and Woodrow Wilson would serve during the epilogue in 1914. Other famous figures such as Abraham Lincoln and George Washington have been mentioned as well.
So, wrapping up, here is the likely list of known presidents in the Red Dead Redemption world.
George Washington: 1789-1797
Abraham Lincoln: 1860-1865
President Fisher: 1884-1888
President Hardin: 1888-1892
President Fisher (once more): 1892-1896
President MacAlister: 1896-1901
President Waxman: 1901-1908
I just realized that a lot of Red Dead 2 reminds me of Uncharted, which isn’t a bad thing by any means, but they have quite a few things in common.
•Arthur/John both have an accessible journal like Nathan Drake which you can flip through.
•They sketch things and locations they come across, though the RDR journal is more focused on writing the character’s thoughts and recapping the story.
•The melee system in both is pretty similar and has an emphasis on brawling and counters.
•You come across and explore lot of abandoned places, though that’s a given in any open world game.
•Guarma seems like a location right out of Drake’s Fortune and A Thief’s End.
•The Strange Statue puzzle is another thing that would fit right in Uncharted.
Like I said, that isn’t a bad thing at all and probably wasn’t intentional, in fact, I love exploration elements in games and it gives me hope that more exploration elements are in GTA 6 or any upcoming game that R* has upcoming.
Anybody else find it weird that within Red Dead’s universe with states that are parodying real states that some actual locations exist? They mention Nevada, Illinois, Ohio and New York several times throughout the games. But not only that, the states that inspired the made up states also exist. Like how New Austin is mainly supposed to be Texas and yet they mention that Texas exists in this universe. Like, where would Texas be on the map? Same goes for GTA. San Andreas and Liberty City are supposed to he California and New York but they mention those states within the games too.
