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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2019 15:37:28 GMT -5
I'm playing as blind as I can but some things have been unavoidably spoiled like Yurt. I've still gotten surprised a few times though. Storm King especially was one of those, "this is awesome," moments. I'm kind of glad that they trended towards more combat-oriented boss encounters later on but the DeS way of doing things makes it unique and special among its offspring. The music is great over all, which isn't surprising. It does a good job of setting the mood they want you to be in during the moments when it starts playing. Speaking of Patches and Yurt, spoilers from the future: Xeo knows I'm not a big DS2 fan but my favorite Yurt clone was probably Creighton. I like how he was basically pitted against the Patches clone, Pate. You're left wondering who's telling the truth the entire game, who the bad guy really is. Of course, if you follow the quest through to its conclusion no matter who's side you choose it turns out the answer is they're BOTH assholes who deserved each other. That was a neat little questline. I like most of the characters in DS2 even though the world itself and the story focus doesn't really do much for me. The Emerald Herald is my least favorite level up lady but that's probably the fault of her storyline being almost completely cut in development.
I also like that Creighton's helmet is a medieval Jason mask. That's sick.
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Post by Ex on Apr 7, 2019 20:40:10 GMT -5
Damn you lucked on the Fool's Idol then haha. I got lucky on that one too, thankfully. Found and killed that dude before the boss fight, I just knew he was lying.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2019 0:38:38 GMT -5
Ended up finishing the game tonight after all. 5-2 was exactly what I expected and as annoying as I expected but it wasn't too bad because it wasn't my first poison swamp rodeo. The most difficult part was seeing because it was so ridiculously dark. Also not being able to roll while those club guys are coming at you is not a fun time. The final area boss kills herself at least so there's that.
I absolutely loved the rest of the castle. The Penetrator was an exciting fight (that I'm sure the Dark Souls 2 designers were in love with). I was sad I had to fight my dude-bro at the end. It may be one of my favorite Souls areas ever because it just feels like a real place and the dragons keep returning to harass you. The False King fight may have only taken me one shot but it was thrilling having that duel on top of the enormous castle I'd been scaling. The Old One then returned to its nap after dispatching the grossness that was left of the real king.
I went online to see if I missed any optional areas and found out about Old King Doran. Apparently for some reason Ostrava wasn't there to give me the key at the end of the game even though I'm sure I rescued him the final time. Maybe I just walked past him like an idiot. Anyway I just went and murdered him in 1-1 and took the key then went and claimed Demonbrandt.
I tried to beat Doran as well but holy hell this guy is tank. It probably wasn't ideal that I'm in NG+ now either. I was fighting him in human form so I could have the extra health and this is where Demon's Souls had its last laugh as my tendency got so bad that it summoned a red phantom knight next to the red-eyed knight. So it's about there that I called it for now, Doran wins, lol. I'll get him next go around, hopefully in the remaster we're all dreaming of.
Overall I had a better time than I was expecting (and I was expecting to love it or I wouldn't have bought a PS3). I don't think it quite unseats my favorites (Bloodborne and Dark Souls 1) but it's obviously the most innovative and experimental with it being the first and From Software having literally nothing to lose after writing off the project. The experience was up there with the first Dark Souls like I had hoped and it put a whole ton of things into their proper context.
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Post by Ex on Apr 8, 2019 0:53:12 GMT -5
I tried to beat Doran as well but holy hell this guy is tank. I did beat that bastard, but it was not on a NG+! I am kinda surprised at how fast you got through Demon's Souls. When I beat this game, it took me 45 hours! Now, to add some caveats; it was (and remains) my first "Souls" game, I used no guides/walkthroughs, and refused to look up any protips on forums or from other gamers. I wasn't aware of the dumb things I was doing, or why they were dumb. (Like fat rolling.) Taking Demon's Souls on totally blind was something else man. I do think it's interesting how well your experience with the rest of the franchise managed to be retro-compatible. I'm very glad you finished and enjoyed Demon's Souls. I personally I think this game is absolutely worth buying a PS3 for.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2019 1:21:55 GMT -5
I think my unhealthy love of the first Dark Souls is probably what helped the most. DeS and DS1 are by far the most similar mechanically. There are some important differences but it's familiar territory and since I was going with a simple "get lots of strength and a huge sword" build there wasn't really much to worry about. I knew to focus my build on endurance and strength and just sort of glass cannon-ed through the game. I don't really want to take a guess at where I think it falls difficulty wise compared to its offspring because like I said before, the first one you play being the hardest seems to still be the case. I suppose I would say the areas are on-par or maybe slightly more difficult due to lacking the respite of bonfires (though this is somewhat cancelled out by being able to easily hoard healing items) and the bosses are the easiest of them all. That last bit isn't a criticism though since the end result is they're all unique and memorable. The issue with the later games is they move away from the boss being an experience and towards the bosses all being combat challenges, which is fine and there are many incredible ones but they're often samey in their execution. Coincidentally, I fat rolled through the majority of DS1 my first time.
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Post by Xeogred on Apr 8, 2019 9:52:41 GMT -5
That last bit isn't a criticism though since the end result is they're all unique and memorable. Exactly! And what did you think of False King Allant? Still one of my top favorite boss fights in the whole saga. I always love the humanoid bosses.
Probably the guiltiest most "am I the villain?" moment ever in these too...
Glad you liked Boletarian Palace a lot. It was neat that it was longer than the rest of the levels once you can tackle 1-3 and 1-4. By far one of the best and biggest castle sections in them all. (the frozen castle in DS2's DLC reminded me of it a bit).
I love how awesomely surreal the ending gets with the Old One. That monstrosity, both endings (finish the blow or walk away I believe), the Maiden in Black being a demon herself, the Nexus... none of the sequels have things quite like this stuff. IIRC, the VO for the Maiden in Black is the doll in Bloodborne, but I think she changed up the accent heh.
It's amusing to see all the theories about how X ending from Demon's or Dark Souls 1 is the beginning of Demon's or vice versa. I don't think it's anything to take too seriously, but it's very cool to imagine they're perhaps in the same world in some capacity. Overall I think Dark Souls 1 feels a bit more gritty and well, darker in a way. Yet I think Demon's has a more otherworldy atmosphere all around almost more comparable to like Silent Hill or something. Can't put it into words, I just love Demon's Souls vibes like no other.
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Now, maybe this is more convincing for @tsumuri to get that PS3...
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2019 11:11:25 GMT -5
Like I said, False King Allant was really exciting. His weird semi-homing dash made him feel like kind of a proto-Ornstein. There were some other familiar voices (Garl Vinland = Eygon of Carim which was funny and fitting). I think where the atmosphere differs is Demon's Souls is a world that's succumbing to eldritch madness and needs to be saved (or destroyed further depending on your inclinations). It's at the precipice of disaster and you're a supernatural force interfering with it for better or worse. This is something it shares with Bloodborne though that takes the gothic horror approach instead of dark fantasy.
Dark Souls in contrast is a world that's already well and truly fucked and you feel like a battle archaeologist trying to piece together what happened to a once great society and wonder if it's worth prolonging. Ultimately I think I still like the world of DS1 the most, but I like that Demon's Souls is its own thing. Also I'm sorry Astraea but I walked through a lot of plague infested poop to get here, I'm leaving with a demon soul.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2019 14:31:20 GMT -5
Now, maybe this is more convincing for @tsumuri to get that PS3... I don't need more convincing. In fact, I've been duly rummaging through the trash, hoping to pull an anayo. People look at me strange though. Yeah, guess emulation is more likely...
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Post by Ex on May 11, 2019 2:11:25 GMT -5
Apparently emulation of Demon's Souls is possible... rpcs3.net/quickstartComputer used: i7-6700k @ 4.3 ghz, with TSX.
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2019 12:22:45 GMT -5
Demon's Souls has been successfully emulated for at least a year now, my PC just wasn't beefy enough to give me an acceptable framerate and $60 for a PS3 was more worth it to me than waiting for my next upgrade.
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