Point with the Mulan comparison is that other than having the same basic premise and characters, they're entirely different things in tone, execution, etc. I'd take it a step further and say that the live action adaptation is completely soulless and joyless. I'm relying on people who've played the game and are watching the show, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
As for your video example, I'm the wrong person to ask. Because yes, I see what you're saying that the same conversation had, let's say, a faster tempo. But I don't think that takes away from the emotional impact. If anything, I'd say the natural physical acting you get from Ramsay and Pascal elevated the emotional impact. But I say I'm the wrong person to ask because I didn't spend the last ten years loving the game as I never played it. That also includes not playing the missions and hearing any in-action dialogue or anything like that so I didn't get the benefit of having all those character moments drive that cutscene with the game's rendition/depiction of the characters. To me, the show's version feels more impactful because my only frame of reference is the growth and development of the Pascal/Ramsay portrayals.
To put it a different way, The Witcher has come in three different mediums. Sapkowski's original novels and short stories, the video games, and the Netflix show. So that's three different ways that the character Geralt of Rivia has been depicted. I have a single frame of reference to go off of: The Witcher 3's Geralt of Rivia. I never read Sapkowski's works and I haven't set time aside to play The Witcher 1 and 2. But I did watch the Netflix show. Geralt is my favorite video game character of all time based on the Witcher 3 and its DLC stories. Henry Cavill did an admirable job embodying Geralt in a series meant to adapt the novels and short stories. But he doesn't really come close to the dry wit and the hard and righteous rogue you get in the Witcher 3. Would I have preferred Cavill's Geralt to the game if I had watched the show before playing the game? Maybe, maybe not. I'll never know. But you had ten years to adore the original game's depiction of Joel and Ellie. So from my perspective, I'm seeing that there is an inherent bias towards what you initially loved that was probably never going to be overcome no matter how the show was cut or how Ramsay and Pascal played these roles. But that's just a guess. I don't know what's going on in your head.
All I can say is for those of us that are experiencing this story and these characters for the first time, for the most part, we're loving what we're getting. So talk of how things weren't adapted one for one, or certain memorable lines/conversations weren't delivered exactly like in the games it's hard not to have a reaction of "so f***ing what?"
