With so many games under his belt, it's easy to pick out some very prominent recurring themes Miyazaki likes to indulge in, but it's interesting to see what may be a bit of Tanimura's personality at play. Tanimura was also involved in Dark Souls III, including the Ringed City DLC, so I might owe the return of my outfit to him too.
So in Elden Ring I ran into a way for The Beast Clergyman\Mackalith to damage himself in the boss fight. When fighting him, he was in the center of the arena and triggered his ground shatter into rain of rocks move, and I hit him going in to phase 2. Skip cutscenes and when Black Blade appeared, he nearly died. The assumption is when phase 2 began and the model was swapped, the attack hit box from Clergyman overlapped with Blackblade dealing damage.
I didn't even thought about the connection between the ds2 giants and elden ring ones but the moment you said the elden ring plot, i just realised it. Its true that ds2 was as a weird mess, a mix of some good and bad ideas that, paired with being really ugly (it has some really good views, like amana, or DLCs, but its really ugly in general), ended as a mediocre game, saying this as a fan of course. The more i play ds2, the more i dislike it, it is what it is. BUT, as said before, it had some really good ideas. Bonfire Ascetic for example weren't reused in future games but they're a really cool idea. Same with powerstance, luckyly coming back with Elden Ring. Elden Ring is over, its been an awesome journey, starting already with Demon Souls, and ending here with Elden Ring. But between souls series, we have games like Sekiro, that shows that From can do a LOT more that just refine the formula. I just hope to see them set aside souls and keep developing and creating more games. Idk if its a mech game, a more narrative story or what, i just can't wait to see what they are capable of.
@@ComradeOgilvy369 Its too bad the pc servers are down for Dark Souls then, because the trilogy had better pvp in all 3 entries. Elden Ring is the most shallow of the 4. 5 if you count Bloodborne but I don't think anyone advocates for its pvp.
Something else to keep in mind is that the pyromancer giants in DS2 vomit their fireballs onto their hands before flinging them, just like the Fire Giant's second mouth in Elden Ring.
It's pretty clear, the dividing line where Tanimura directed and where Miyazaki directed, and if anything, Tanimura's work makes the game far worse than it could have been otherwise. Him being potentially linked to the Fire Giant just makes it funnier, since it's a huge, camera-eating monstrosity that cannot be kept on screen to be readable, and which fights by flailing around and spamming exploding projectiles at you. So basically, a very Dark Souls II boss.
@@mamayareborn Your ignorance is writ upon your sleeve with something like this. Camera issues have plagued these games ever since the beginning with tower knight in DeS. Capra demon's boss room is infamous for camera failure. Yhorm in DS3 and Midir in the ringed city don't fare better in the camera department. Please, I beg of you, if you don't know what you're talking about, keep your rotten breath sealed behind your lips, thanks!
@@mamayareborn actually want to know where this dividing line is. is that just from experience playing the game or was that actually mentioned by any of the directors?
So many parts of Elden Ring feel like From finally being able to deliver on the enormous ambition behind Dark Souls 2, and I'm glad Tanimura is still there to help make it happen and is getting the recognition he deserves
Honestly, the thing I'm happiest that they brought back from Dark Souls 2 was the power stancing. I always loved the dual wield warrior type characters, and being free to use any 2 weapons of the same type really makes me happy. I don't need to wait for a dual great word, or search for dual scimitars or a special katana weapon. I can just use any 2 of the same type of weapon, which is perfect because some enemies are weak to fire, others to magic, some to lightning, etc.
DSII was truly something special, to me DSII is to Dark Souls, what Majora's Mask was to The Legend of Zelda back then, it was a totally different aesthetic and flow, but it was a memorable one.
@@arobotwithepilepsie6053 with the drawback that you cant powerstance the wakizashi with another dagger. they just changed the underlying code for the wakizashi to register it as a katana for powerstancing. its lazy but effective. its pretty funny that you get powerstance katana moveset if you use dual wakizashi.
while I'm happy I don't need to look for dual katanas I do greatly miss oni-uba's jump slash hope we get something like that in DLC, dual weapons aren't completely absent from the game after all
I love my Moonveil and Cold Uchigatana combo. Physical, Magic, Blood, and Frost combined guarantees I always have at least one damage type an enemy is not highly resistant to. Also, DAT DAMAGE from the Blood + Frost buildups _chef's kiss_ Helped alot with Malenia. The Dex + Int build needed for that combo also meant I had the ability to fall back on Sorceries if needed/desired.
I loved that it actually served as a decent hub - leading to many of the early game areas. It's what made DS1 Firelink seem so appealing. Sadly it's something I feel is lost on later games - with DS3 and ER especially having their "hubs" as separate areas you can only reach via teleport. DS2 had problems but Majula was definitely not one of them.
I will always love Dark Souls 2 to my own death. It was the best videogame experience I've ever had in dark times I wish no one had. Dark Souls 2, you're my bestest friend.
In my opinion Dark Souls 2 is simultaneously one of the best but also most flawed games I've ever played. It's one of my favorites of all time and I think it did some things the best in the entire series...but we all know it's flaws fairly well. I would say if I had to rank the Souls games (including Demon's Souls and Elden Ring) I've played it would rank in the top 2-3. I understand the criticism people level at the game but I love it all the same. A rough top to bottom list of my favorites would probably look like: 1. Elden Ring 2. Dark Souls 1 3. Dark Souls 2 4. Dark Souls 3 5. Demon's Souls Also just because I rate a game low on the list doesn't mean I dislike it. Demon's Souls is my least favorite but I still love the game and while I rank Dark Souls 3 as my least favorite Dark Souls game there were a lot of things I loved about it and it's still an amazing game. Notably Dark Souls 3 gets massive negative points from me for introducing the absorption approach to defense and the removal of upgradable armor making durability via just wearing and upgrading good armor non-viable which means making a true tank build is far more tedious than ever before especially since Elden Ring adopted a similar system.
for me dark souls 1 is my favourite bcs it just felt so raw and full, because its my first time too. but dark souls 2 will always have a special place in my heart because they implemented dual weapon powerstancing for the first time
I am a simple bearer of the curse: I hear Majula's theme, I start crying. SOTFS is clunky, uneven, janky, but with a perfect atmosphere and very, very strong characters and dialogue and beautiful. I really hope it gets a remaster/upgrade sometime soon.
It is clunky and janky but it could also be very fun in ways that the others in the set just…never captured again. I dunno why. Maybe Because of the pscingD
Something about the atmosphere. But I think the sound track is easily the most powerful part of the game. If I played DS2 without the music, it wouldn't pluck my heart strings and nostalgia nearly as much.
It’s less clunky and janky than ds1 but nobody wants to acknowledge this. Even the rolling is clunkier in ds1 Edit: it’s not just the gameplay that’s worse in ds1. Even the story and characters were better in ds2, hell ds2 had probably the most in-depth and well written story and characters in the souls series. Not even considering dark souls 3 bc it was basically a 1 to 1 copy of dark souls 1.
It's worth noting that the nature of what Vendrick stole from the giants which drove them to such anger is actually strongly hinted at in Aldia's workshop: Vendrick took many captives for he and his brother to experiment on in their attempts to understand the nature of the soul and achieve immortality, with the golems being a product of their work. This is almost certainly why simply being near giant souls causes harm to Vendrick, either they react to changes he had made to his own body after studying and possibly imbuing himself with the strength of giants, or simply causing him grief over the unthinkable crimes he had committed against them to the point where it diminishes his willingness to persist, even as a hollow.
It is also entirely possible, even hinted at, that the giants resentment towards Vendrick is emboldened in death, weakening Vendrick, lowering his defenses, enough that we can harm him. Those giants may have lost the war, their kind may have been imprisoned and have their very being experimented on, but if you play the game in a certain way, their wrath and hatred finally bear fruition, and bring death to Vendrick; well, whatever's left of him anyway
Always glad to see Tanimura getting bigger and bigger roles, with Fromsoft’s full support behind him. It would’ve been easy to fire him after DS2’s backlash, before anyone even found out that he basically saved the entire game. I’m really hoping they give him the reigns over his own game some time soon. I’d say he’s about earned it. He’s always seemed really ambitious and creative. Would be really cool to see what he would do if given complete creative control separate from Miyazaki.
I shit on Ds2 all day every day, but firing Tanimura for it would've been ridiculous. Even if you put aside the whole 'troubled developement' thing, Ds2 has so many amazing ideas in it, enough to balance out all the issues the game has.
Same. Tanimura showed his talent and ideas greatly in the DLC, a shame he wasn’t named director in the early stages of DS2’s development (Shibuya was the director, and I guess he’s, partially, the one to blame for the game’s troubled development). If they ever give him the green light, I’d like to see what kind of game he’ll make.
They've been on a steady pace of hiring for basically a decade now, and I suppose DS3/Sekiro/ER's overlapping dev times could be a second team slowly mitosis-ing off to do their own thing eventually.
The Fire Giant's narrative also heavily parallels the Chinese god Xingtian, who was the loser of a duel to become the supreme deity against Di. When he lost, he was decapitated and his head was buried, but his body underwent a regenerative metamorphosis. His face emerging in his torso, and performing a war dance with his axe & shield. Xingtian represents an inextinguishable spirit to resist no matter how insurmountable the hardship they are faced against. However, it is those same burning ambitions that consume their hearts and prevents them from ever being able to see beyond the horrors of their past caused by what they oppose. Their very existence becomes so wholly defined by the thing that they resist that it becomes impossible for them to ever be free from it, further reinforcing their indomitable spirit. They're a self-fueled fire, which matches all the themes in _Elden Ring_ for why the Giant's Flame is inextinguishable and why the Erdtree needs to burn in order to restore balance and allow that pain to be relieved.
That’s fascinating. Kinda reminds me of how soldiers sometimes come back from war not really knowing how to reintegrate into society. Like those ex marines who end up becoming mass shooters in like the 60s or whatever
@@schnoz2372 That's actually a _HUGE_ part of Japanese storytelling that really started back around 600 years ago with the Asura style of Noh Theater. That was about stories that depicted solely the emotional struggle of samurai involved in the civil war. If they stopped fighting then they would betray the reason they began fighting, but if they continued they would be the ones disrupting the new peace that had come about and become the same thing they stood against. So they were stuck in a battlefield that no longer existed, unable to escape and unable to achieve victory, trapped in their suffering for eternity mirroring the fate and suffering of the Asuras in Hinduism/Buddhism. That's a central theme of the Radahn Festival, because it is allowing him to die honorably in combat on a battlefield for a war that has long passed, and the Scarlet Rot means he can't ever recover and return to society and this is the only option to give him a fitting end, so that hos madness doesn't taint his legacy. Radahn holds off the Scarlet Rot because his Great Rune is burning like his red hair - a legacy of the heritage of both his father Radagon and the Fire Giants. Add to that how post-WWII Japan suffered under the American Occupation where the anti-war and anti-Imperialist groups remained persecuted because of being associated with pro-Communism, leading to a total reversal of American policy, and the Aum Shinrikyo terror attacks in the mid-90s and there is an acute focus on the nuance of the origin and experience of repression and emotional suffering. It's why Japanese storytelling over the last 100 years probably has the most detailed and nuanced perspectives on PTSD of any medium. It's been steadily evolving its visual and thematic depictions of that into frameworks of classic Western Fantasy based in Tragedy, which is why games like _Elden Ring_ have such a wide and clear expression of those ideas, even though there are so many minor nuances that are totally culturally obscure to most of the Western audiences.
I'm also inclined to believe that the giant-inhabited mountains are FS making good on what they promised us all the way back in Demon's Souls. I spent a lot of my first playthrough of ER just marveling at how the blood of FromSoft's past games still runs so deep in their newer projects
@@justkosmo6806 glad to see we’re beyond engaging in this. Elden ring was such a success these last dregs of whiners are far more pitiable than enraging. Like I genuinely feel bad for them if they couldn’t get over this hangup long enough to enjoy this masterpiece.
@@altoroark4233 Similar, I just find DS2 to have this weird, almost surreal feel to it, like it's a bad dream. Anyway, Demon's is my favorite Souls game by a long shot. Shame the PS3 version will never see a port on anything else (Switch would be nice).
I really liked the atmosphere of DS2 as well. It had this old school fantasy dungeon and dragons vibe that felt like a nice throwback to a genre that's otherwise heavily overused and abused imo
I always noticed dark souls 2 was much more colorful and (ironically) brighter than other Soulsborne games. It creates the mood of a more hopeful world where becoming the next monarch might still hold meaning. DS2 is more about finding your own meaning to live than deciding the fate of a ruined world.
I love the fact that at the shots following 0:36 you show Godfrey with his unbroken axe - as this is before he lost his grace & the axe was broken. It's a subtle detail but it really shows how much attention to detail you put into these videos. How did you get the full model of Godfrey with the unbroken axe? Is it just the golden Godfrey spirit from Royal Capital without the golden tint?
Yes, Godfrey's shade is the same model as Godfrey, just with a SpEffect that turns him gold. There are model mask flags for hiding Serosh, his cape, the broken or unbroken axe halves, etc. It's all pretty much readily available.
I’m a FromSoft baby, only discovering the joy of all these games this year after hopping on the ER bandwagon. I embarked on a journey to play all of the “Souls” (including Bloodborne and Sekiro), and I was dreading DS2 due to its reputation… But I gotta say… I loved it! It felt like a great chaser after DS1. Great music, same great combat, *very* strong in the “vibes” department… I love how many of the prominent settings are coastal… I played the Scholars of the First Sin edition, so maybe a lot had been fixed by then? In any case, I found it to be a totally worthy entry and I’m glad I committed myself to playing them all. I won’t be skipping it when I do my inevitable revisit of the whole series, and I’m glad From is acknowledging it with these little parallels (if that was indeed the intent).
In 2015, Dark Souls II was my introduction to this magnificent saga of an eternal champion. I started with vanilla on Xbox 360 and I have to say it was hard as hell but also so much fun. I have played and beat every game in the FromSoft series since Demon's Souls 2009 and the only one I have beaten more than DSIi is Dark Souls. It will always be fond to my heart even with all of it's flaws. BTW the developmental hell this game went through which included completely changing engines is in my opinion so much better than it has any right to be. Snatching a nice semi large victory from the jaws of defeat!
Scholar definitely made some things more interesting and the DLC added a lot of great content. The reason why it's reputation is/was so bad was mainly due to it coming out after the amazing interconnected world of DS1 (Minus that last half which so many diehards never want to mention). I played DS1 and then Demon's Souls before II came out. I bought it day one for the 360 and was one of those taken aback at how different and off some of it felt. However, It's grown on me immensely over the years to the point where I cannot tell if it my least favorite or favorite of the serious (I've beaten it more than I have 1). And knowing the history the game had no right being as good as it was. Even if it ends up in the future settling in my least favorite spot, I would still rather play it than 90% of the games out there.
It's honestly pretty interesting playing the original after SOTFS, though you may want to wait a bit before doing it if you do, or risk burnout. I found things I liked more than Scholar, and things that were worse, overall still a great experience!
@@rosariocrimson Interesting… might have to give it a go, if I can find it! I suppose it’s still on Steam, but… how’s it play on PC? I tried playing both ER and Sekiro on PC, and while they were prettier, I ended up doing my real playthroughs on console because they were most stable. Stuttering on both of those PC versions was pretty bad for me… didn’t even bother trying to play any Dark Souls games on PC.
@@rutterer9684 It ran smoothly enough for me on a crappy old laptop I was given for school. Though DS2, maybe Scholar specifically, there'll be weird graphic issues until you turn off motion blur, though I've never met anyone who likes motion blur anyway.
As a heavy DS2 fan I'm very happy that Tanimura got the co-director part on Elden Ring. Hopefully he gets more chances to show his ideas and style of development off.
@@FKyoutubeSERIOUSLY Welcome to the team brother. DS2 took a risk, and it paid off. Aside from DS1 starting the whole train, which makes it iconic just for this fact, DS2 is truly the most iconic of all tree.
A cool theory I heard is that the Fell God is the reason all the trolls in Elden Ring have their torsos carved out. Maybe its a way to prevent the Fell God from manifesting
Throughout my time with Elden Ring, I saw little bits of Dark Souls II here or there. The chains you showed, the fact that poison clings to your feet a little longer than you'd like. The fact that being wet and rain changes how much damage fire and lightning do. The puzzle sword and the nox curved sword/hammer being similar. Stonesword Keys and Pharros Lockstones are pretty similar. The singing ancients in Sofria are reminiscent of the milfanito in the Shrine of Amana. There's a lot more, I'm sure. It was nice to see. Dark Souls II gets a lot of hate, some of it justified, but I always felt like there was a really good game with a lot of really great ideas in there somewhere.
@@drgraphix2912 you have a unique taste for games. It was so bad I didn't even try to complete it. The tutorial area of ds3 is better than anything in ds2 imo 🤣
On my first playthrough of Elden Ring, I really got the impression that this is the game they were TRYING to make when they made Dark Souls II. That game fell short in a lot of places, and maybe took it too far in others. Elden Ring seems like a rebalancing of those ideas after FromSoft was able to learn from the time they spent developing BB, DS3, and Sekiro. And honestly, the main piece that was missing was Breath of the Wild. I think that with the influence from that game, they were able to perfect what DS2 couldn't do. There's a lot that I still prefer about DS2, but Elden Ring is definitely the more polished, cohesive experience.
If I'm not mistaken, and I might be wrong, Dark Souls 2 was supposedly meant to be an Open World game, but the scope was too big for the amount of resources they had, and so they scrambled into making a more confined game in a very short amount of time. It's no joke some people are calling Elden Ring "Dark Souls II 2", although t most people don't realize how eerily true that statement is and think it's only something used to insult ER.
@@samuelcampbell1730 Non-mediocre Open World games didn't exist before botw that's for sure. Also ER's stated inspiration was literally BoTW and if you can't see it on the game then I don't really know what to tell ya.
@@RosuVT it's sort of amazing to realize just how much influence Xenoblade 1 had on console jrpg type open world design (which i mention since that staff worked on BotW), considering it almost didn't make it to the US for some weird reason. BotW got to benefit from a crew that had already tried it once, and a different framework that wasn't attached to a linear story structure.
The story of Dark Souls 2 is super neat, it takes awhile to unfold. But the way the story is told to the player makes it still feel like your adventure, even though you are uncovering someone else's tale. Tracking back through places in the late game with more context of what had happened is a really cool experience. I like when the big statue head smashed me in the giant's memory :)
OK. So what compels your character to start the "adventure" to begin with? What possesses your character to arrive in Madjula and, almost entirely unprompted, agrees to go murder everything in sight?
@@mamayareborn Well its kinds told to you from the beginning your an undead like anyone else that's trying to find a cure to the undead curse so the won't go mad.
My favorite part of Dark Souls 2's story is realizing just how carefully Vendrick hid all the necessary keys to the Throne of Want. Literally pulling his own Soul out of his body so that even if defeated, it still couldn't be easily obtained. Hiding keys behind keys within a memory is actually dope and of course making the Ancient Dragon guard the item that makes it possible to even get into memories was just pure genius in my opinion. And then littering the path with his most trusted guard like the Mirror Knight and Velstadt. And then the DLCs were all great in my opinion and I love how they each still had some connection to Drangleic for one reason or another.
@@mamayareborn I love this question because it means you've forgotten what your actual objective in the game was. It's mentioned in the intro scene as it explicitly states you're searching for Drangleic for a cure to the curse. At this point you should already be assuming that means Linking the Fire in the first game didn't do shit against the Undead Curse and you should be hoping to uncover some grand secret in this game. But what happens instead? You're tasked with meeting King Vendrick but how do you get to him? By obtaining the Great Souls from the Lost Sinner, The Iron King, The Rotten, and from Duke Telsdora guarded by his pet spider. And what happens when you do all this? Where is your focus at this point of the game? Meeting Vendrick but why are you meeting Vendrick? At this point you've forgotten and have been told to seek the Throne of Want so many times that has become your objective, you're literally gaslit into doing it. Not your character, YOU THE PLAYER! And the reason why this was so cool to me is because Hollowing in 2 had a huge theme and symbolism with forgetfulness. Lucatiel explains throughout her journey and questline how Hollowing stole her brother's mind and she fears losing her own. She starts asking you if you know who she is and why she's even in the place she's currently at, signs of Hollowing, until she completely loses it just before finding her brother. Every NPC that is a Hollow suffers from it too, where they start acting strangely compared to when you first met them as they show signs of forgetting why they're doing what they're doing like the Merchant in Majula. Because he became rich and satisfied his one desire, he has no more reason to keep his humanity to stay motivated to prevent Hollowing, and at the end of his last dialogue option he's asking where his home even is, again showing the signs of forgetfulness. That is YOU as well, you have become Hollow as you've forgotten your original goal and purpose which is why Aldia fights you after Nassandra. He's trying to get you to realize the Throne *isn't* what you want nor what you were searching for but still let you pursue it because someone had to stop and kill Nassandra. When he appears to ramble off his gibberish it's to get you realize that the First Flame is a lie and you need to reject it. Ultimately what you've done in Dark Souls 2 is either become entrapped to be the next monarch chasing that lie of a cure or you realize what a huge waste of time you've just committed with only a few answers but way more questions and if you did the DLCs a stupid crown that doesn't cure you but merely halt the Hollowing process completely as long as you continue to wear it, which means it isn't for everyone.
Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Nothing but respect for Tanimura. I could not believe the amount of stress DS2 was for him to make, and I hope he gets more recognition for his work in Elden Ring.
easily one of the strangest tragedies of the franchise's history. Tanimura rescued Dark Souls II from being totally unplayable, and elevated it to one of the best games in their library, and he gets endlessly paraded around by DaS1 fanboys as if he ruined the series. especially considering how phoned in the entire last half of Dark Souls 1 is, it's not just insufferable, but kinda condescending to my eye, at least. DSII is many times more ambitious and grand than Dark Souls 1, and it's many times more playable as well. im thoroughly convinced that all the fondness for Dark Souls 1 comes almost entirely from nostalgia, but that's just my opinion. whatever the case, i still think Tanimura is a hero of FROMsoft, and deserves at least as much respect as Miyazaki for his formative impact on the genre.
@@HadalStreetlights Elden Ring is afflicted with a lot of the godawful design choices from DS2, specially the insufferable last 1/3 of the game, so it's not like criticism isn't warranted. The community may have been too harsh on blaming Tanimura entirely for the mess that was DS2, but considering that when he came back for Elden Ring so did a lot of the same issues DS2 had, then it's clear a lot of the problems were not due to error but by design. I also disagree with your assesment of DS1. People had no issues pointing out DS1's flaws at all. It was called the *flawed* masterpiece for a reason. DS2 was too maligned, I agree. But, as someone who loved it more than DS1 and DS3, replaying it now I realize the criticism I dismissed was much more on-point than I originally gave it credit for. It pains me to say it, but it is indeed the weakest Souls game.
@@publiusventidiusbassus1232 i havent found the last 3rd of ER insufferable. i just also found the first third of dark souls insufferable. dark souls is, to me, the worst of FROM's masterpieces. it's still a good game, but imo it's simply eclipsed by its surrounding family. basically Dark Souls is Godrick. the runt of the litter. i could talk mad shit about Dark Souls as i was one of those who was pitched it, liked the opening cutscene and the combat, but hated the rest of the experience. wandering around aimlessly making no progress and having no clue where to go, i found Quelaag first and from there entered the Demon Ruins. having been told this was a nonlinear game, i expected my exploration to be rewarded. instead i found a contrived sealed door and was forced to walk all the way back through the entire section, all the way up through blighttown and back to the very beginning of the game. that was my first bounce off Dark Souls. i wouldnt fall in love till DS3, and Sekiro is my "Best FROMsoft" titleholder. i really dont understand people's gripe with the last third of ER either. i dont think ive ever had it laid out directly, everybody just kinda vaguely goes "last part bad" without getting into it. if it's just the difficulty i just find it amusing. if it's the attacks seeming cheap, i disagree and must insist you didnt learn enough. if it's "boring bosses" i cant even begin to fathom. and those are just the complaints i remember. literally the only part of ER i dont like is Ordina because i get lost af and go hollow.
If ever Elden Ring modding reaches the point where we can add entirely new level geometry, I want to someday put Majula on the west coast of the Weeping Peninsula. That entire area seems like a callback to Majula and Dark Soul 2, and I can think of nothing more fitting than to see it brought into a modern game that tried to perfect so many of its fumbled attempts.
Dark souls 2 and Elfen ring are my favorite games in the series just due to their settings alone. I love the variety in the worlds, and how green and bright forests can lead to dark wastelands. They just look so nice and are fun to explore, it’s cool to learn that they shared directors/co director
Ds2 released right after I got into the series, and I played that game the most to date. It holds a special place in my gamer soul,I spent countless hours playing through NG+ on vanilla and then SoTFS even more. I am still blown away by the negative feedback the game received,I was consumed by the PvP and amount of gear to choose from and the amazing changes in NG+ was such a cool edition that made it worth continuing playthroughs on a single character. All of the quality of life changes to the system were helpful,the resepct and bonfire ascetic were amazing,not mention the coolest secret weapons and areas and challenges. I spent a lot of time planning and running my no death no bonfire NG+ run to snag those invisible rings. The NPCs had great quests and storylines all throughout the game,it kept things interesting and lively. Don't even get me started on the DLC,champion of all DLC in Dark souls history! For any faults the game may of had,it just had 10x more successes in my opinion. I am so happy to see a lot of similarities in Elden Ring,two absolutely GOATED games.
imho dlc areas in DS2 can stand shoulder to shoulder with legacy dungeons in Elden Ring ( except the "horsefuck valley" but we have that in Elden Ring in consecrated showfields as well, at least valley was shorter ), even better than some... If they make Shulva, Iron Keep, Eleum Loyce...as dlc for Elden Ring, just with new story adjusted and some things different i would'nt have anything against it.
I was consumed by HATING the PVP because the God awful netcode made it impossible to see where people were. That problem hasn't improved much in the years since.
2 was my first souls and i played it probably more than any other game id ever played at that point in my life. i have nothing but respect for it and what it taught me. all this time passed and i see new players who started with 3 or ER criticize it and i just have to laugh. all the criticisms people can make about it are justified but simply overshadowed by the sum of its parts, the same way any of fromsofts titles are. hell i think elden ring shits the bed harder in some sections than 2 ever did. i still play 2 doing covenant of champion challenge runs. its like my perfect video game
Ngl, the amount of amazing game design and direction features DS2 has for me is just put off by how the animations flow in that game. If any game deserves a complete remake, I feel like DS2 is very high on the contender list. Other than being the most highly rated Souls game on Playstation (iirc, and using Metacritic stats), it had so many absolutely great ideas that just fell short on the execution side ever so slightly. It will never be my favourite Souls game (truth be told, it's the last of the list for me personally), but that is purely due to technical issues and the general gameplay feeling, rather than the ideas being bad. On that note, I guess that technically the whole Sword-Key idea was also an idea taken from Dark Souls 2 (if we just look at the souls series for possible inspirations here), with the Fragrant Branches of Yore. Both those items serve very similar purposes in gameplay. Also the fact that a lot of things came back from DS2 to Elden Ring to me signals that Fromsoft have not written off Dark Souls 2 as a failure to their core fanbase, but more of a "great ideas, poor execution" thing. I fucking love Elden Ring so much as a capstone to the Fromsoftware-Souls-Saga.
There are like three different things that would individually be dealbreakers to a lot of people (adaptability, Soul Memory, some of the level design) Adaptability made by first playthrough effectively incompletable and Soul Memory effectively removed the multiplayer. 2 is cool and all, but I'd rather just play FromSoft games that didn't do things like that.
Im glad you noticed this! I literally said to my friends a while ago that: "You know, as I was using the giant Iron Chain as a bridge to get to the fiery tower after using my powerstanced/ dual wielded weapons and OP poison(rot) to defeat the last of the weird faced giants who ripped his own limb off to get an edge over me, if occurred to me that this really is Dark Souls 2 2"
yeah, honestly, as one of my friends put it.. DS2's greatest failing... is that it didn't FEEL like playing DS1. that's what people disliked most. the world was.. different but not in a bad way, the actual mechanics were fine... It was the fact people couldn't rely on muscle memory from DS1.
@@marhawkman303 let’s not get too carried away, it’s experimental failings held back it’s otherwise masterpiece world building. The actual gameplay mechanics went south of an intended improvement
@@jamesjohnson9388 Im so glad someone mentioned the world building. God, ds2's world and lore was so fucking interesting, with aldia, the kings, the wasteland of drangleic. So fucking good
@@thecaptain8402 definitely agree, to me, I hadn’t seen scopes that interesting until Elden ring all over again…it just frustrates me how unsatisfying it feels to play DS2 to grind through to actually see every section of the game it has. I beat everything solo, so I could have an unadulterated perspective…and I can still say I think the gameplay was at its worst, but weirdly combined with some of the most unique aspects, like enemies actually having a respawn limit and can be permanently cleared out, trying out adaptability points, etc. The second you get to the black gulch though, there’s not a worse sin in gaming than to make someone play through that 😂
@@thecaptain8402 the fact that torches would force spiders away from you all the way down the hellish decent to Freya, for instance. Just one section of a dozen that feels like some of the best dark souls tension coupled with a simple mechanic that either makes it the easiest or worst nightmare fuel section you can do. Speaks volumes to the way the world was built.
You've shown us quite a few of these cases where they reuse old assets from previous developments. It makes me kind of happy that it must be a really nice feeling for the developers, animators, artists, etc. that worked on certain characters, designs and movesets, who may have initially been disappointed to see their work go unused, to finally see it applied.
I have so many fond memories of Dark Souls 2, loved that game to death (and still do) so when I played Elden Ring it really put a smile on my face when I saw all these similarities strewn across the game. I was not surprised when I saw Tanimuras director credit. Very happy Miyazaki embraced him as his co-director. Incredibly talented game director.
If there's one game I'd kill for a remake of, it's Dark Souls 2. Getting the original vision of the game with all the stuff that ended up being cut or scrapped would be absolutely amazing, I genuinely think it could be one of the best FromSoft games.
What was missing from the release version of DS2 actually? I know it was released too quickly but I don't remember what was their original intent with this game
Y'all look into the cut content of DS2. It was originally planned to be a much more grand project than it turned out to be. Shit involving time travel and probably twice as many areas.
I wonder what folklore there is about giants in Japan. Giants are present in every souls game and most of the time seem to be getting shafted in one way or another. Enslaved in dark souls 1, experimented on in dark souls 2, hated by everyone in dark souls 3, suffered a calamity in demons souls, and fought to near extinction in elden ring. bloodborne they had it better as servants of the blood church and the closest thing in sekiro is perhaps the ogres- who are enslaved.
I don't know much about japanese mythology, let alone giants that come from it. But there's one i very vaguely know, which is about a giant skeleton that ate the dead. Gashadakuro. It reminded me of Wolnir the high lord. I'd say that for the giants, the inspiration in the dark souls trilogy, and elden ring, seems to mostly stem from the Greek story of the gods battling the titans, and over throwing them. Dark souls as a whole, is a fun little mash of Japanese, Greek, Slavic, and old English and Germanic & Norse mythology
@@littlesneets8026 Agreed. I'd say the Fire Giants specifically are mostly Norse (lots of parallels with the golden gods who rule a tree-themed paradise and wage violent wars of conquest against their foes), with not a ton of Japanese flavor to them. There's more original Souls flavor (being cyclopes, especially) than anything particularly Japanese, at least from what I'm aware of.
@@GrimSavant I'm just learning about it, but Wagner's Ring Cycle operas start with a story about Norse gods, antagonistic giants, and a ring with the power to influence reality itself so I'm guessing that's part of the influence
There are a few stories about giants in Japan such as the black skinned giants who created Lake Biwa and sculpted the mountains but most giant stories which inspire Fromsoft come from European myths mainly Celtic, Greek & Norse, not Japanese
The giants being slain, alongside dragons is a common theme in the western world and simbolize the passing from a chaotic world in which time isnt defined and nature and his mysteries are still real to a time dominated by mankind, Gods, or both, and in which time become defined. Is a recurring theme in ancient tales, the only difference is always that Miyazaki actually condemns the modern views and hold the gods and the greater will responsible for the corruption of the world
Honestly i love dark souls 2. It was my first souls game and it's lore and world are what drove me to fall in love the games, especially the ivory king in the dlc. Seeing all the influences 2 has had on elden ring has made me so incredibly happy. I get why people don't like it but it will always hold a special place in my heart.
Ey, me too! I made DS2 my first souls game because of how much the LPer I was following at the time hated it in comparison to DS1, and I wanted to see it be given a fair shake, so I did it myself!
@@tomorbataar5922 Eh, we'd say a good 70% of the criticisms Dark Souls 2 gets are fair. It isn't nearly as egregiously mind-numbing to play as some make it out to be, though.
Dark Souls 2 has a very special feeling art style to me too, I feel like I'm stepping into a fairy tale, like asops fables or something, it's very dreamy and unique. I love that game.
DS2 was my first Souls game when I picked up the Scholar edition three years ago. It's still my favorite, and I love seeing the details that FS reworks and brings forward from their history. It baffles me why 2 gets automatically sorted into the Worst pile by an overwhelming part of the community, especially considering how many new and amazing things it brought to the table. The foremost being that Majula background music! Everyone says the "pling pling plong" sound from Gwyn is the most recognizable sound in Souls, but for me it's Majula's lilting, eerie but calming melody.
Its tied for my personal favorite with 1, they did so much cool stuff and the atmosphere is great. It has flaws but i like the concept a lot more than ds3
I unironically have always loved DS2 more than 1 and 3, so this made me happy to see, and very nice touch with the Majula music. You can't go wrong with Majula.
All of this has happened before, all of it will happen again. This is why I love the lore-hunting in Fromsoft games, there are always such resonances in the themes the games evoke. Like the Elden Ring itself, a ring, a loop, maybe a time loop, maybe a gameplay loop. Marika shatters it, shatters the lands, then expects us to forge it back together with smaller, dedicated gameplay loops and story loops and environment loops. How will we forge our own loop with the pieces we have? That is our new Elden Ring, our new gameplay reality created by our own struggle.
Zullie, you reminded me of how much I absolutely adore the Majula theme. Personally, I love Dark Souls 2 and consider it my favorite of the series. Thank you so much for all you do!
Theory: The gaping hole in the trolls' chests is space after removal of the face of the one-eyed god; they had it just the same as the Fire Giants before they rebelled. They couldn't very well betray the Giants' Flame and serve Golden Order if every was to carry avatar of their god in their abdomen, so it was removed from their bodies, replaced by slabs to provide whatever arcane function was needed for them to live.
Its a tombstone in their chest, similar to the one Renala uses in her weird rebirth magic with the students. Meybe renala had a part to play in enslaving the giants, meybe they were made to be 'reborn' as Trolls by her magic. That said, giant tombstones are all over the land in bizzare places, like horizontal across cliffs... so idk what thats all about.
No other souls game gives me a vibe like DS2. It really grew on me as I played it, and having no nostalgia syndrome from DS1 really helped me appreciate the game so much more. It gives me such a sense of a bigger world with the variety of landscapes it provides. The soundtrack is beautiful, and Majula's theme is the most soothing music I have heard in a videogame (Dark Souls of all the games has it lol). I also find DS2 combat to be far superior to DS1, it feels more fluid. Considering what could have happened, DS2 came out a miracle, and will always be one of my favourite games.
I was overjoyed playing ER when I've started noticing the touch of Tanimura. DS2 is my favourite to this day and this redemption arc for the ideas first conceived in DS2 are beyond exctatic to me.
DS2 still had one of the best sense of adventure in the series, the differing locations and such really made the game great, the only issue is the slippery feeling of movement in the game, like something was just off a bit about the combat.
@@BasedWukong Falconers have only one functional version, which was only present during original DS2 NG+ sequence, Scholar of the first sin did re-purpose them for some reason and used unfinished, janky units for several locations. SOTFS was not made by the original team and rather skeleton crew organized by Bandai Namco, who did many weird, unnecessary changes to the game, one of which was inclusion of cut content units and increased numbers of monsters in multiple locations.
Going straight from DS1 to DS2 is jarring. The movement and combat in that game are unlike any other in the series. I got used to it pretty quickly but it certainly doesn't feel as responsive as the other games.
@@adradox Yeah, dont gwt me wrong, i love all souls games, but whenever someone mentions ds2 the janky falconers are the first thing that pops into my head lmao On a side note, DS2 has by far the coolest dragon form
Thanks for the gentle reminder that the Majula theme is still one of the best hub OST's and pieces of music in general. Great video as always too, keep up the amazing work.
I love DS2. The Majula music gives me such nostalgia for when my son was a newborn, and I'd play with him nestled in my lap. Thank you for making these comparisons, and giving DS2 a little love.
The Subterranean Shunning Grounds have so much inspiration from the Gutter's cut content it's crazy. Elden Ring feels so much like if DS2 was completed!
Dark Souls 2 is a beautiful, bewildering, broken masterpiece. It was my first souls game, and it may not be super good, but it's Special. And it makes me happy to see a lot of what made it special echo into Elden Ring. Bizarre and unique enemies, insane and comedic weapons, The Giant, goofy puzzles, armour that carries special properties It's all so charming and strange and wierd, in a way that makes me love it
DS2 has always been my favorite, even before the SotFS update. I'm glad that people's perception on how bad it was is slowly changing towards a more positive outlook over time, I've noticed a lot of DS2 elements in ER and i'm happy FS acknowledged the game by finally fusing some of it's best mechanics and lore alongside DS1 and 3's into their new game. Well deserved imo
I love the connecting themes between all these games. Another fun one is the themes of Miquella and Melania that strongly parallel the themes of Sekiro and Kuro. You have an immortal eternally youthful child with powerful blood that wishes to cure the rot effecting the land and his katana wielding sword master that will do anything to achieve victory. Melania’s waterfowl dance she learned from the swordsman is incredibly similar to the flowing passage Sekiro learns from dancing blue warrior texts. They both have prosthetic arms and spread rot as they continue their quest to serve as the blade of a child they swore to protect. Despite Miquella and Kuro hating their cursed blood, others attempt to use the blood to their own desires. Thats just a simple comparison. Even though many disagree, I would even say there’s evidence that the land of reeds is where Sekiro takes place, but nobody wants to read a novel in the comments section
Definitely a game held back by the hardware of the time. If it had been allowed to be developed to what was envisioned it would have been one of the best games ever made, period.
Yeah, it's a huge, deep, RPG with tons of character customization, amazing upgrade system, great combat, great bosses, tons of cryptic lore to dig into, tons of suspenseful gameplay that the player can feel instead of mindlessly swing around in. I just felt like some of the environments were boxy. But that doesn't dismiss the ENTIRE amazing game.
DS2 giants are some of my favorite enemies in the entire souls series its great to see them getting a bit of extra love and fromsoft revisiting some of their themes.
Thank you Zullie, always, for your awesome videos. It's really interesting and fun to see the lore behind these games but not only that your video incorporates what could've been and such.
The story behind Dark Souls 2's development is pretty wild. Tanimura and his team more or less had to build the game out of toothpicks, bubblegum and a scattering of random assets in half the time they needed. The end result certainly feels like it, but I'm very impressed they managed to do what they did. Hats off to those hard working programmers
DS2 is the most memorable of them all to me, it might not have had the best bosses, locations, enemies, etc but the dlcs were nothing short of amazing, its plot? Easily my favourite out of all of From Soft, being able to go into the past and then making that connection that your actions in the past are what contributed to the present you are now in was and still is mind blowing to me. Best pvp in the series and weapon stancing was incredibly fun and kept things fresh
In that case I suggest you play The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (Gameboy Color). The gameplay is basically around that and it's a criminally underrated game IMO.
I love the Majula theme.Many years ago DS2 was the first soulsgame i played and while playing it i was always tense und nervous,but whenever i warped back to Majula and heard the music,i knew that i was safe haha
I've seen it somewhere that Elden Ring is Dark Souls 2 Part 2 and honestly I'm all for it. I love DS2 for what it tried. It's the weakest of the trilogy but damn if it didn't try something different with its atmosphere and gameplay. Along with the fact DS2 was apparently meant to be similarly open world, it's almost like Elden Ring was the DS2 we were supposed to get.
Yeah i think the same... i think the thing that complicated and in some ways ruined Dark Souls 2 for what it could had been, is that it had to be "Dark Souls" game. If they made it as a new stand alone game ( like Elden Ring ) it would be much greater game because they would have more freedom to experiment and wouldnt be in danger to alienate some parts of Dark Souls fanbase. Maybe in some parallel timeline we got Elden Ring 2 in february 2022 and Elden Ring was a major critically acclaimed sucsess many years ago. Dark Souls 2 or 3 didnt ever came out...instead we got Bloodborne on all platforms. Although Bloodborne 2 is playstation exclusive, but it may be available on PC soon. FromSoftware is a big studio ever since release of Elden Ring many years ago, and it has also other great games under its belt like Sekiro and Sekiro 2, new Armord Core games, and there is talk that Demons Souls 2 is in the works alongside Elden Ring 2 dlc... Still fans wish they make a sequel to their old Dark Souls game which captivated so many... XD
The atmosphere in some places in Dark Souls 2 is still the best they've done IMO. I think Shrine of Amana, Dragon Aerie, Heide's Tower of Flame, Drangleic Castle, and all of the DLC have some really nice atmosphere.
Truth be told, Dark Souls II is probably my favorite of the three to replay in NG plus, especially the dlc’s. There’s a peculiar charm to it that will always hold a special place in my heart.
It’s somehow comfortable. I have no idea why, there are so many things that frustrate me about it and I’ll always feel some level of disappointment, but… they still really managed to cobble together a *good game* in spite of the development woes.
you know what I would like to see: A re-imagined Dark Souls II Scholar of the First Sin with enough time to flesh out all those unfinished ideas The Doors of Pharros, The Gutter, The War with the Giants, Drangleic Castle, Brightstone Cove, all of those, both in their beta form but also in their form that made it into the game have so much potential and it pains me that now all that is left is some backdrop on relatively small sized transition areas same goes for the Iron Keep and the Earthen Peak, if given the time to properly weave it all together then DSII could be truly a masterful game in terms of content and artistic direction, I am sure of it there is already a good foundation and the Quest of the old Crowns was an excellent addition to form a more tight frame for the narrative, now it only needs to be strung together a bit more firmly Dark Souls II feels like Fromsoftwares Majora´s Mask in every way, maybe that´s why I have grown to like it so much
I loved how Dark Souls 2 felt like it leaned heavily into the aspect of you being a random nobody. You truly weren't destined for anything. It made the game feel more personal, Elden Ring carries that for me too. I'll always consider Dark Souls 2 my favorite in the series, the Last Giant is what really cemented that for me. Glad he's getting some recognition
since DS1 i have always advocated that the difficulties of the game was because you WERE a nobody. you're not some great hero, you're not a god, you're undead. worthless, meant to rot. literally the whole game you're told what you seek is literally impossible. thats why i love the games, and love why they're hard. it really gives you that sense of determination rising above everything you were told you never would
@@cybercrusader2999 It felt like Dark Souls 2 captured this best though. The others have you chosen for a purpose or have a prophecy backing you - be you a Chosen Undead, an Ashen One, or a Graceless Tarnished. Yet in Dark Souls 2, you're really nobody. All of your past is gone, you aren't meant to do anything great, there's nothing at least supposedly backing you. All the games have you seemingly start as a nameless no one but Dark Souls 2 really made me feel like I was nobody and at any moment I could slip into hollowing
@@TaosoftheVoid I like what you are saying, and I agree, but in DS1 any undead that escapes the asylum was the "Chosen Undead". You are definitely still a nobody in DS1.
@@TaosoftheVoid I agree, in DS2 you play as The Bearer of the Curse, a title which can be applied to all undead before turning hollow. A lot of the themes in DS2 surround the nature of the undead curse and the darksign, Aldia and Vendrick dedicated their lives to breaking it and/or studying the first sin committed by Gwyn. Its not until Nashandra/Aldia's intervention that the game is about anything but you breaking the curse for yourself (and the Emerald Herald ig but its kinda unclear). Nashandra is the one who wants you to seek the Throne of Want, which is ultimately part of her plan, and Aldia somehow knows that the Bearer will have to make a choice and he questions the Bearer as which choice is the right one ("no matter how beautiful, a lie will always be a lie" etc). DS2 definitely has a personal tone to it imo, you're just a random undead who wants to break their curse like hundreds if not thousands of undead to come before you, who then accidentally found themselves in a moral debate club whether to seek the Throne of Want or not and whether to side with light or dark.
@@ted4979 I feel like being manipulated by Nashandra and having Aldia talk to you are fitting still with it. They both treat you like what you are: a nobody who happened to get farther than any before them. You aren't exceptional beyond what you accomplish, even then these things weren't destined to be defeated, you just so happened to be around at the right time and place to finish what others no doubt tried to. You are no one special and your deeds aren't something ordained long before your time. You're just another bearer of the curse who is trying to cling on to whatever is left of their life, doing anything possible with your borrowed time.
Ds2 is my first souls game. It awakens something in me, that pain and suffering is not the end of a curiosity for a conquest, is just the start of the real adventure.
I honestly really liked DS2. Granted, it had lots of troubles and there were a good many featurs that did more harm than good. Yet the game is still mighty enjoyable to play and I really respect the courage the director had to deviate this much from the success formula of Demon Souls and Dark Souls 1.
Before elden ring came around i think that ds2 held the crown for most epic journey in the series. A lot of people hate on the weird, inconsistent geometry of ds2, like the elevator to sky lava, but I think its intentional. Its supposed to simulate traveling a whole continent, or in the case of the dlcs, multiple continents. In order to do that you either need a huge game like elden ring, or you need to "summarize" the journey between interesting zones like they do in ds2. Another good example of this is the transition from the shaded woods to drangelic castle. Obviously the castle isn't right through a tunnel and instead is miles away, but they had to simulate the distance by an environment transition. Given all that it would make sense to bring tanimura on for elden ring, given that he essentially tried to make it before they were technically capable enough.
I love ds2, but I really don’t understand the fans that can’t see the drastic difference in design philosophy (or lack thereof due to constraints) between ds1 and ds2. From level design to enemy encounters. It’s just such a stark contrast imo. I wish I could see it the way you guys do, but I’ll just have to settle with “love it, but probably last in the souls series to me.”
@@maninblack3410 You can't play DS2 the same way as DS1. Crowd control is a different skill and you need to adapt (no pun intended) and if you just want more DS1 you can always play DS3
@@irmatheshepherd2325 the forest of the giants is another underrated level. It has a lot of secrets and things to find, maybe its color palette is not that appealing, but the layout is great and both bosses are a nice introduction to the game.
I’m glad to see elements of DS2 return to the fore in Elden Ring. While I struggle to play it again after playing DS1, DS3, and Elden Ring, DS2 holds a special place in my heart because it’s where I started with the franchise. It has some beautiful elements that really captured my attention in terms of lore and explored themes.
And the idea of a giant in a Northern Snowy Mountainous region with a mouth in its abdomen going all the way back to Demon's Souls. I love how From revisits and reimagines ideas from even decades past. I bet it's a joy to the designers of DS2 to get to revisit and polish some of those original concepts for Elden Ring, and I doubt it's the last time we'll see From do this.
As shown by my pfp, Dark Souls 2 is my favorite Dark Souls. I genuinely believe it has the best and darkest storyline of the series. The Faraam armor is also incredible and I use it in both 2 and 3. It was the first Dark Souls I ever played and even though I can admit to its visual and technical issues, I still love the game and I'm glad some elements resurfaced in Elden Ring
honestly, ds2 is my favorite one of the franchise. The art and sound design the dual stance. Not to mention that i could listen to the majula song for hours, its just so beautiful and calming.
With so many games under his belt, it's easy to pick out some very prominent recurring themes Miyazaki likes to indulge in, but it's interesting to see what may be a bit of Tanimura's personality at play. Tanimura was also involved in Dark Souls III, including the Ringed City DLC, so I might owe the return of my outfit to him too.
Everyone who dislikes Darksouls 2 is just salty they weren't the bearer of the Curse and couldn't get SnuSnu'd by the 'Emerald Herald'.
Elden Ring is great for PvP but I decided about a month ago I don't give a rats ass for it's mostly recycled plot elements
So in Elden Ring I ran into a way for The Beast Clergyman\Mackalith to damage himself in the boss fight. When fighting him, he was in the center of the arena and triggered his ground shatter into rain of rocks move, and I hit him going in to phase 2. Skip cutscenes and when Black Blade appeared, he nearly died. The assumption is when phase 2 began and the model was swapped, the attack hit box from Clergyman overlapped with Blackblade dealing damage.
I didn't even thought about the connection between the ds2 giants and elden ring ones but the moment you said the elden ring plot, i just realised it. Its true that ds2 was as a weird mess, a mix of some good and bad ideas that, paired with being really ugly (it has some really good views, like amana, or DLCs, but its really ugly in general), ended as a mediocre game, saying this as a fan of course. The more i play ds2, the more i dislike it, it is what it is. BUT, as said before, it had some really good ideas. Bonfire Ascetic for example weren't reused in future games but they're a really cool idea. Same with powerstance, luckyly coming back with Elden Ring.
Elden Ring is over, its been an awesome journey, starting already with Demon Souls, and ending here with Elden Ring. But between souls series, we have games like Sekiro, that shows that From can do a LOT more that just refine the formula. I just hope to see them set aside souls and keep developing and creating more games. Idk if its a mech game, a more narrative story or what, i just can't wait to see what they are capable of.
@@ComradeOgilvy369 Its too bad the pc servers are down for Dark Souls then, because the trilogy had better pvp in all 3 entries. Elden Ring is the most shallow of the 4. 5 if you count Bloodborne but I don't think anyone advocates for its pvp.
FromSoftware try not to commit genocide against giants and dragons challenge (impossible)
Racism against big creatura
@@crymstall916 aint noone talking about ur mum
Waiting for the day we get to see what a real race of giants looks like to Miyazaki and his team
@@Maelys_P tru
@NkTheSkinnyFatBoi I haven't played bloodbore yet but I remember there is giant called lost or last giant
Something else to keep in mind is that the pyromancer giants in DS2 vomit their fireballs onto their hands before flinging them, just like the Fire Giant's second mouth in Elden Ring.
by the sun I never noticed despite hundreds of hours in ds2 and over 100 in elden ring
Holy Shit it's Fume Knight! I loved the pieces of writing that you always you left under TB Skyens Ds2 vids!
And those giants are like the giants in king’s field IV who spit a poison loogie into their hands and throw it at you
Was just about to comment this!
@@freakyzoid3565 Oh, hi, thanks!
its actually pretty heartwarming to see the guy who saved a game from complete disaster be able to help make a great game even better.
How did he save it? I want to know the story
@@arturravenbite1693 if DS2 is somehow completely cancelled and DS3 becomes DS2 instead then there's no Zullie the witch!
It's pretty clear, the dividing line where Tanimura directed and where Miyazaki directed, and if anything, Tanimura's work makes the game far worse than it could have been otherwise. Him being potentially linked to the Fire Giant just makes it funnier, since it's a huge, camera-eating monstrosity that cannot be kept on screen to be readable, and which fights by flailing around and spamming exploding projectiles at you. So basically, a very Dark Souls II boss.
@@mamayareborn Your ignorance is writ upon your sleeve with something like this. Camera issues have plagued these games ever since the beginning with tower knight in DeS. Capra demon's boss room is infamous for camera failure. Yhorm in DS3 and Midir in the ringed city don't fare better in the camera department. Please, I beg of you, if you don't know what you're talking about, keep your rotten breath sealed behind your lips, thanks!
@@mamayareborn actually want to know where this dividing line is. is that just from experience playing the game or was that actually mentioned by any of the directors?
So many parts of Elden Ring feel like From finally being able to deliver on the enormous ambition behind Dark Souls 2, and I'm glad Tanimura is still there to help make it happen and is getting the recognition he deserves
For what it's worth, Tanimura has been with FromSoft for like, 20ish years. He's been around since Armored Core 2.
Honestly, the thing I'm happiest that they brought back from Dark Souls 2 was the power stancing. I always loved the dual wield warrior type characters, and being free to use any 2 weapons of the same type really makes me happy. I don't need to wait for a dual great word, or search for dual scimitars or a special katana weapon. I can just use any 2 of the same type of weapon, which is perfect because some enemies are weak to fire, others to magic, some to lightning, etc.
You can even use wakizashi and any katana despite the former being a dagger
DSII was truly something special, to me DSII is to Dark Souls, what Majora's Mask was to The Legend of Zelda back then, it was a totally different aesthetic and flow, but it was a memorable one.
@@arobotwithepilepsie6053 with the drawback that you cant powerstance the wakizashi with another dagger. they just changed the underlying code for the wakizashi to register it as a katana for powerstancing. its lazy but effective. its pretty funny that you get powerstance katana moveset if you use dual wakizashi.
while I'm happy I don't need to look for dual katanas I do greatly miss oni-uba's jump slash
hope we get something like that in DLC, dual weapons aren't completely absent from the game after all
I love my Moonveil and Cold Uchigatana combo. Physical, Magic, Blood, and Frost combined guarantees I always have at least one damage type an enemy is not highly resistant to. Also, DAT DAMAGE from the Blood + Frost buildups _chef's kiss_ Helped alot with Malenia. The Dex + Int build needed for that combo also meant I had the ability to fall back on Sorceries if needed/desired.
The majula theme hits so hard Im having a nostalgia attack
Same, instantly hit with the first notes
Same, my first Souls game
@@k1ngnes Mine too. God I was bad at it. :D
BEAR SEEK SEEK LEST
@@wrcz LOL
man, I love that Majula theme. I still love DS2's hub/base area the most. something about it really did feel like a home
It was the houses and warm glow of the forever sunset.
Not to mention waifu sitting by the bonfire, swinging her legs. It was home, indeed.
Yeah totally agree with it
I still remember that sunset
I loved that it actually served as a decent hub - leading to many of the early game areas. It's what made DS1 Firelink seem so appealing. Sadly it's something I feel is lost on later games - with DS3 and ER especially having their "hubs" as separate areas you can only reach via teleport.
DS2 had problems but Majula was definitely not one of them.
“I’ll be around…if you make it back…”
I will always love Dark Souls 2 to my own death. It was the best videogame experience I've ever had in dark times I wish no one had. Dark Souls 2, you're my bestest friend.
same
I agree, ds2 is my favorite out of the trilogy
In my opinion Dark Souls 2 is simultaneously one of the best but also most flawed games I've ever played. It's one of my favorites of all time and I think it did some things the best in the entire series...but we all know it's flaws fairly well. I would say if I had to rank the Souls games (including Demon's Souls and Elden Ring) I've played it would rank in the top 2-3. I understand the criticism people level at the game but I love it all the same.
A rough top to bottom list of my favorites would probably look like:
1. Elden Ring
2. Dark Souls 1
3. Dark Souls 2
4. Dark Souls 3
5. Demon's Souls
Also just because I rate a game low on the list doesn't mean I dislike it. Demon's Souls is my least favorite but I still love the game and while I rank Dark Souls 3 as my least favorite Dark Souls game there were a lot of things I loved about it and it's still an amazing game. Notably Dark Souls 3 gets massive negative points from me for introducing the absorption approach to defense and the removal of upgradable armor making durability via just wearing and upgrading good armor non-viable which means making a true tank build is far more tedious than ever before especially since Elden Ring adopted a similar system.
for me dark souls 1 is my favourite bcs it just felt so raw and full, because its my first time too. but dark souls 2 will always have a special place in my heart because they implemented dual weapon powerstancing for the first time
DS2 >>> DS3
I am a simple bearer of the curse: I hear Majula's theme, I start crying. SOTFS is clunky, uneven, janky, but with a perfect atmosphere and very, very strong characters and dialogue and beautiful. I really hope it gets a remaster/upgrade sometime soon.
Honestly wouldn’t trade it for anything
Personally, i'm more partial to the original release of Dark Souls 2 on ps3 with the DLC
It is clunky and janky but it could also be very fun in ways that the others in the set just…never captured again. I dunno why. Maybe Because of the pscingD
Something about the atmosphere. But I think the sound track is easily the most powerful part of the game. If I played DS2 without the music, it wouldn't pluck my heart strings and nostalgia nearly as much.
It’s less clunky and janky than ds1 but nobody wants to acknowledge this. Even the rolling is clunkier in ds1
Edit: it’s not just the gameplay that’s worse in ds1. Even the story and characters were better in ds2, hell ds2 had probably the most in-depth and well written story and characters in the souls series. Not even considering dark souls 3 bc it was basically a 1 to 1 copy of dark souls 1.
It's worth noting that the nature of what Vendrick stole from the giants which drove them to such anger is actually strongly hinted at in Aldia's workshop: Vendrick took many captives for he and his brother to experiment on in their attempts to understand the nature of the soul and achieve immortality, with the golems being a product of their work. This is almost certainly why simply being near giant souls causes harm to Vendrick, either they react to changes he had made to his own body after studying and possibly imbuing himself with the strength of giants, or simply causing him grief over the unthinkable crimes he had committed against them to the point where it diminishes his willingness to persist, even as a hollow.
It is also entirely possible, even hinted at, that the giants resentment towards Vendrick is emboldened in death, weakening Vendrick, lowering his defenses, enough that we can harm him.
Those giants may have lost the war, their kind may have been imprisoned and have their very being experimented on, but if you play the game in a certain way, their wrath and hatred finally bear fruition, and bring death to Vendrick; well, whatever's left of him anyway
@@nothingness217 They didn't really lose the war, drangleic was brought to ruin by them.
I thought it was the Throne which was stolen from the giants. It looks like a giant's seat, which then had a smaller human-sized seat carved into it.
@@jonalen4217 i like this theory
@@SleepyOcto The giants went nearly extinct thanks to the war, drangleic may be in ruins but at least it's still standing.
Man the majula's ost is so good. So eerie.
Eerie but comforting
Elden rings field music reminds me of it for sure.
_" Bearer of the Curse. Seek. Seek. Lest... "_
Hunter’s Dream may be my favorite hub for nostalgia as my first ‘Souls’ game, but Majula’s theme still remains my absolute favorite
The atmosphere of DS2 is probably the best in the series imo.
Always glad to see Tanimura getting bigger and bigger roles, with Fromsoft’s full support behind him. It would’ve been easy to fire him after DS2’s backlash, before anyone even found out that he basically saved the entire game.
I’m really hoping they give him the reigns over his own game some time soon. I’d say he’s about earned it. He’s always seemed really ambitious and creative. Would be really cool to see what he would do if given complete creative control separate from Miyazaki.
A lot less poison swamps, that much I’ll tell you
I shit on Ds2 all day every day, but firing Tanimura for it would've been ridiculous. Even if you put aside the whole 'troubled developement' thing, Ds2 has so many amazing ideas in it, enough to balance out all the issues the game has.
Same. Tanimura showed his talent and ideas greatly in the DLC, a shame he wasn’t named director in the early stages of DS2’s development (Shibuya was the director, and I guess he’s, partially, the one to blame for the game’s troubled development).
If they ever give him the green light, I’d like to see what kind of game he’ll make.
They've been on a steady pace of hiring for basically a decade now, and I suppose DS3/Sekiro/ER's overlapping dev times could be a second team slowly mitosis-ing off to do their own thing eventually.
I wouldn’t be surprised if internally it was looked on as much more favorable if the project was salvaged to that intense of a degree.
The Fire Giant's narrative also heavily parallels the Chinese god Xingtian, who was the loser of a duel to become the supreme deity against Di. When he lost, he was decapitated and his head was buried, but his body underwent a regenerative metamorphosis. His face emerging in his torso, and performing a war dance with his axe & shield.
Xingtian represents an inextinguishable spirit to resist no matter how insurmountable the hardship they are faced against. However, it is those same burning ambitions that consume their hearts and prevents them from ever being able to see beyond the horrors of their past caused by what they oppose.
Their very existence becomes so wholly defined by the thing that they resist that it becomes impossible for them to ever be free from it, further reinforcing their indomitable spirit. They're a self-fueled fire, which matches all the themes in _Elden Ring_ for why the Giant's Flame is inextinguishable and why the Erdtree needs to burn in order to restore balance and allow that pain to be relieved.
That’s fascinating. Kinda reminds me of how soldiers sometimes come back from war not really knowing how to reintegrate into society. Like those ex marines who end up becoming mass shooters in like the 60s or whatever
@@schnoz2372 That's actually a _HUGE_ part of Japanese storytelling that really started back around 600 years ago with the Asura style of Noh Theater. That was about stories that depicted solely the emotional struggle of samurai involved in the civil war. If they stopped fighting then they would betray the reason they began fighting, but if they continued they would be the ones disrupting the new peace that had come about and become the same thing they stood against. So they were stuck in a battlefield that no longer existed, unable to escape and unable to achieve victory, trapped in their suffering for eternity mirroring the fate and suffering of the Asuras in Hinduism/Buddhism.
That's a central theme of the Radahn Festival, because it is allowing him to die honorably in combat on a battlefield for a war that has long passed, and the Scarlet Rot means he can't ever recover and return to society and this is the only option to give him a fitting end, so that hos madness doesn't taint his legacy. Radahn holds off the Scarlet Rot because his Great Rune is burning like his red hair - a legacy of the heritage of both his father Radagon and the Fire Giants.
Add to that how post-WWII Japan suffered under the American Occupation where the anti-war and anti-Imperialist groups remained persecuted because of being associated with pro-Communism, leading to a total reversal of American policy, and the Aum Shinrikyo terror attacks in the mid-90s and there is an acute focus on the nuance of the origin and experience of repression and emotional suffering.
It's why Japanese storytelling over the last 100 years probably has the most detailed and nuanced perspectives on PTSD of any medium. It's been steadily evolving its visual and thematic depictions of that into frameworks of classic Western Fantasy based in Tragedy, which is why games like _Elden Ring_ have such a wide and clear expression of those ideas, even though there are so many minor nuances that are totally culturally obscure to most of the Western audiences.
@@PierceArner fantastic analysis! learned as much from this comment as I did from the video.
@@gw4yn Thanks! Always glad when I can put this rather extensive bit of obscure knowledge to good use, haha.
Goated comment section
Majula's theme is still my favorite track between all games. DS2 is a gem.
only casuals still hate ds2
@@ricsouza5011 Only basement dwellers unironically say casuals.
@Meezith as a basement dweller, you might be right
A life gem if you will
I'm also inclined to believe that the giant-inhabited mountains are FS making good on what they promised us all the way back in Demon's Souls. I spent a lot of my first playthrough of ER just marveling at how the blood of FromSoft's past games still runs so deep in their newer projects
Would you say that Elden Ring is… born from the blood? Made men by the blood? Perhaps, undone by the blood?
@@holdthephonexylophone fear the old blood
@Moon Man Low effort bait. Please do better next time
Demon's Souls deserves better.
@@justkosmo6806 glad to see we’re beyond engaging in this. Elden ring was such a success these last dregs of whiners are far more pitiable than enraging. Like I genuinely feel bad for them if they couldn’t get over this hangup long enough to enjoy this masterpiece.
I find Dark Souls 2 to be the most mesmerising one in the series, by having this almost dream-like vibe. I loved the atmosphere.
Demon's Souls on PS3 tops that IMO
@@altoroark4233 Similar, I just find DS2 to have this weird, almost surreal feel to it, like it's a bad dream. Anyway, Demon's is my favorite Souls game by a long shot. Shame the PS3 version will never see a port on anything else (Switch would be nice).
@@patrykzukowski7471 Luckily emulators exist ;)
I really liked the atmosphere of DS2 as well. It had this old school fantasy dungeon and dragons vibe that felt like a nice throwback to a genre that's otherwise heavily overused and abused imo
I always noticed dark souls 2 was much more colorful and (ironically) brighter than other Soulsborne games. It creates the mood of a more hopeful world where becoming the next monarch might still hold meaning. DS2 is more about finding your own meaning to live than deciding the fate of a ruined world.
I love the fact that at the shots following 0:36 you show Godfrey with his unbroken axe - as this is before he lost his grace & the axe was broken. It's a subtle detail but it really shows how much attention to detail you put into these videos.
How did you get the full model of Godfrey with the unbroken axe? Is it just the golden Godfrey spirit from Royal Capital without the golden tint?
Yes, Godfrey's shade is the same model as Godfrey, just with a SpEffect that turns him gold. There are model mask flags for hiding Serosh, his cape, the broken or unbroken axe halves, etc. It's all pretty much readily available.
Good eye, fellow Tanished!
@@ZullietheWitch omg that's so sick, you're so sick
I’m a FromSoft baby, only discovering the joy of all these games this year after hopping on the ER bandwagon. I embarked on a journey to play all of the “Souls” (including Bloodborne and Sekiro), and I was dreading DS2 due to its reputation…
But I gotta say… I loved it! It felt like a great chaser after DS1. Great music, same great combat, *very* strong in the “vibes” department… I love how many of the prominent settings are coastal… I played the Scholars of the First Sin edition, so maybe a lot had been fixed by then?
In any case, I found it to be a totally worthy entry and I’m glad I committed myself to playing them all. I won’t be skipping it when I do my inevitable revisit of the whole series, and I’m glad From is acknowledging it with these little parallels (if that was indeed the intent).
In 2015, Dark Souls II was my introduction to this magnificent saga of an eternal champion. I started with vanilla on Xbox 360 and I have to say it was hard as hell but also so much fun. I have played and beat every game in the FromSoft series since Demon's Souls 2009 and the only one I have beaten more than DSIi is Dark Souls. It will always be fond to my heart even with all of it's flaws. BTW the developmental hell this game went through which included completely changing engines is in my opinion so much better than it has any right to be. Snatching a nice semi large victory from the jaws of defeat!
Scholar definitely made some things more interesting and the DLC added a lot of great content. The reason why it's reputation is/was so bad was mainly due to it coming out after the amazing interconnected world of DS1 (Minus that last half which so many diehards never want to mention). I played DS1 and then Demon's Souls before II came out. I bought it day one for the 360 and was one of those taken aback at how different and off some of it felt. However, It's grown on me immensely over the years to the point where I cannot tell if it my least favorite or favorite of the serious (I've beaten it more than I have 1). And knowing the history the game had no right being as good as it was. Even if it ends up in the future settling in my least favorite spot, I would still rather play it than 90% of the games out there.
It's honestly pretty interesting playing the original after SOTFS, though you may want to wait a bit before doing it if you do, or risk burnout. I found things I liked more than Scholar, and things that were worse, overall still a great experience!
@@rosariocrimson Interesting… might have to give it a go, if I can find it! I suppose it’s still on Steam, but… how’s it play on PC? I tried playing both ER and Sekiro on PC, and while they were prettier, I ended up doing my real playthroughs on console because they were most stable. Stuttering on both of those PC versions was pretty bad for me… didn’t even bother trying to play any Dark Souls games on PC.
@@rutterer9684 It ran smoothly enough for me on a crappy old laptop I was given for school. Though DS2, maybe Scholar specifically, there'll be weird graphic issues until you turn off motion blur, though I've never met anyone who likes motion blur anyway.
As a heavy DS2 fan I'm very happy that Tanimura got the co-director part on Elden Ring. Hopefully he gets more chances to show his ideas and style of development off.
3:17 My eyes watered when I realized the much-maligned Tanimura co-directed ER. Truly an anime redemption arc
For real. Miyazaki is cool, but he didn't make DS2. And that's my favorite out of the 3 games.
@@FKyoutubeSERIOUSLY Utter blasphemy. Repent to Queen Marika. Or Lord Gywn. Or the Great Ones.
@@FKyoutubeSERIOUSLY based
@@FKyoutubeSERIOUSLY Welcome to the team brother.
DS2 took a risk, and it paid off. Aside from DS1 starting the whole train, which makes it iconic just for this fact, DS2 is truly the most iconic of all tree.
@@SunlightGwyn souls fans trying not to hate on the best game in the franchise challenge (impossible).
A cool theory I heard is that the Fell God is the reason all the trolls in Elden Ring have their torsos carved out. Maybe its a way to prevent the Fell God from manifesting
Oh damn, that's a really cool thought.
Seems less a theory and more like how it was written, after a certain point.
I imagine that's what the sacred tablet thing in their chest is for
@@OllyDee123 I asssume those tablets also keep them alive in place of its organs that were removed
pretty sure the cavity is there because the fell god stopped inhibiting them after they sided with the golden order and humans
Throughout my time with Elden Ring, I saw little bits of Dark Souls II here or there. The chains you showed, the fact that poison clings to your feet a little longer than you'd like. The fact that being wet and rain changes how much damage fire and lightning do. The puzzle sword and the nox curved sword/hammer being similar. Stonesword Keys and Pharros Lockstones are pretty similar. The singing ancients in Sofria are reminiscent of the milfanito in the Shrine of Amana. There's a lot more, I'm sure. It was nice to see. Dark Souls II gets a lot of hate, some of it justified, but I always felt like there was a really good game with a lot of really great ideas in there somewhere.
So many similarities !!
Great game? Must be nostalgia talking.
@@alejandroblue4675 not always, I played it last year after beating ds, ds1, ds3, and sekiro and I found it to be my favorite in the souls series
@@drgraphix2912 you have a unique taste for games. It was so bad I didn't even try to complete it. The tutorial area of ds3 is better than anything in ds2 imo 🤣
@@alejandroblue4675 my taste in games is pretty normal, I just like ds2. Though imo sekiro is the best game from soft has produced period
On my first playthrough of Elden Ring, I really got the impression that this is the game they were TRYING to make when they made Dark Souls II. That game fell short in a lot of places, and maybe took it too far in others. Elden Ring seems like a rebalancing of those ideas after FromSoft was able to learn from the time they spent developing BB, DS3, and Sekiro. And honestly, the main piece that was missing was Breath of the Wild. I think that with the influence from that game, they were able to perfect what DS2 couldn't do. There's a lot that I still prefer about DS2, but Elden Ring is definitely the more polished, cohesive experience.
open world games didn't exist before Breath of the Wild apparently
@@samuelcampbell1730 Miyazaki said his biggest inspiration for elden ring being open world is breath of the wild.
If I'm not mistaken, and I might be wrong, Dark Souls 2 was supposedly meant to be an Open World game, but the scope was too big for the amount of resources they had, and so they scrambled into making a more confined game in a very short amount of time.
It's no joke some people are calling Elden Ring "Dark Souls II 2", although t most people don't realize how eerily true that statement is and think it's only something used to insult ER.
@@samuelcampbell1730 Non-mediocre Open World games didn't exist before botw that's for sure. Also ER's stated inspiration was literally BoTW and if you can't see it on the game then I don't really know what to tell ya.
@@RosuVT it's sort of amazing to realize just how much influence Xenoblade 1 had on console jrpg type open world design (which i mention since that staff worked on BotW), considering it almost didn't make it to the US for some weird reason.
BotW got to benefit from a crew that had already tried it once, and a different framework that wasn't attached to a linear story structure.
The story of Dark Souls 2 is super neat, it takes awhile to unfold. But the way the story is told to the player makes it still feel like your adventure, even though you are uncovering someone else's tale. Tracking back through places in the late game with more context of what had happened is a really cool experience.
I like when the big statue head smashed me in the giant's memory :)
OK. So what compels your character to start the "adventure" to begin with? What possesses your character to arrive in Madjula and, almost entirely unprompted, agrees to go murder everything in sight?
@@mamayareborn Well its kinds told to you from the beginning your an undead like anyone else that's trying to find a cure to the undead curse so the won't go mad.
@@mamayareborn The literal opening trailer tells you that.
My favorite part of Dark Souls 2's story is realizing just how carefully Vendrick hid all the necessary keys to the Throne of Want. Literally pulling his own Soul out of his body so that even if defeated, it still couldn't be easily obtained. Hiding keys behind keys within a memory is actually dope and of course making the Ancient Dragon guard the item that makes it possible to even get into memories was just pure genius in my opinion. And then littering the path with his most trusted guard like the Mirror Knight and Velstadt. And then the DLCs were all great in my opinion and I love how they each still had some connection to Drangleic for one reason or another.
@@mamayareborn I love this question because it means you've forgotten what your actual objective in the game was. It's mentioned in the intro scene as it explicitly states you're searching for Drangleic for a cure to the curse. At this point you should already be assuming that means Linking the Fire in the first game didn't do shit against the Undead Curse and you should be hoping to uncover some grand secret in this game. But what happens instead? You're tasked with meeting King Vendrick but how do you get to him? By obtaining the Great Souls from the Lost Sinner, The Iron King, The Rotten, and from Duke Telsdora guarded by his pet spider. And what happens when you do all this? Where is your focus at this point of the game? Meeting Vendrick but why are you meeting Vendrick? At this point you've forgotten and have been told to seek the Throne of Want so many times that has become your objective, you're literally gaslit into doing it. Not your character, YOU THE PLAYER!
And the reason why this was so cool to me is because Hollowing in 2 had a huge theme and symbolism with forgetfulness. Lucatiel explains throughout her journey and questline how Hollowing stole her brother's mind and she fears losing her own. She starts asking you if you know who she is and why she's even in the place she's currently at, signs of Hollowing, until she completely loses it just before finding her brother. Every NPC that is a Hollow suffers from it too, where they start acting strangely compared to when you first met them as they show signs of forgetting why they're doing what they're doing like the Merchant in Majula. Because he became rich and satisfied his one desire, he has no more reason to keep his humanity to stay motivated to prevent Hollowing, and at the end of his last dialogue option he's asking where his home even is, again showing the signs of forgetfulness.
That is YOU as well, you have become Hollow as you've forgotten your original goal and purpose which is why Aldia fights you after Nassandra. He's trying to get you to realize the Throne *isn't* what you want nor what you were searching for but still let you pursue it because someone had to stop and kill Nassandra. When he appears to ramble off his gibberish it's to get you realize that the First Flame is a lie and you need to reject it. Ultimately what you've done in Dark Souls 2 is either become entrapped to be the next monarch chasing that lie of a cure or you realize what a huge waste of time you've just committed with only a few answers but way more questions and if you did the DLCs a stupid crown that doesn't cure you but merely halt the Hollowing process completely as long as you continue to wear it, which means it isn't for everyone.
Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Nothing but respect for Tanimura. I could not believe the amount of stress DS2 was for him to make, and I hope he gets more recognition for his work in Elden Ring.
The Majula theme is magic
I feel like tanimura deserves so much more respect than the dark souls community gives him. Thank you for this video!
easily one of the strangest tragedies of the franchise's history. Tanimura rescued Dark Souls II from being totally unplayable, and elevated it to one of the best games in their library, and he gets endlessly paraded around by DaS1 fanboys as if he ruined the series. especially considering how phoned in the entire last half of Dark Souls 1 is, it's not just insufferable, but kinda condescending to my eye, at least.
DSII is many times more ambitious and grand than Dark Souls 1, and it's many times more playable as well. im thoroughly convinced that all the fondness for Dark Souls 1 comes almost entirely from nostalgia, but that's just my opinion.
whatever the case, i still think Tanimura is a hero of FROMsoft, and deserves at least as much respect as Miyazaki for his formative impact on the genre.
@@HadalStreetlights Elden Ring is afflicted with a lot of the godawful design choices from DS2, specially the insufferable last 1/3 of the game, so it's not like criticism isn't warranted. The community may have been too harsh on blaming Tanimura entirely for the mess that was DS2, but considering that when he came back for Elden Ring so did a lot of the same issues DS2 had, then it's clear a lot of the problems were not due to error but by design.
I also disagree with your assesment of DS1. People had no issues pointing out DS1's flaws at all. It was called the *flawed* masterpiece for a reason. DS2 was too maligned, I agree. But, as someone who loved it more than DS1 and DS3, replaying it now I realize the criticism I dismissed was much more on-point than I originally gave it credit for. It pains me to say it, but it is indeed the weakest Souls game.
@@HadalStreetlights no
@@publiusventidiusbassus1232 trash take but ok
@@publiusventidiusbassus1232 i havent found the last 3rd of ER insufferable. i just also found the first third of dark souls insufferable. dark souls is, to me, the worst of FROM's masterpieces. it's still a good game, but imo it's simply eclipsed by its surrounding family.
basically Dark Souls is Godrick. the runt of the litter.
i could talk mad shit about Dark Souls as i was one of those who was pitched it, liked the opening cutscene and the combat, but hated the rest of the experience. wandering around aimlessly making no progress and having no clue where to go, i found Quelaag first and from there entered the Demon Ruins. having been told this was a nonlinear game, i expected my exploration to be rewarded. instead i found a contrived sealed door and was forced to walk all the way back through the entire section, all the way up through blighttown and back to the very beginning of the game. that was my first bounce off Dark Souls.
i wouldnt fall in love till DS3, and Sekiro is my "Best FROMsoft" titleholder.
i really dont understand people's gripe with the last third of ER either. i dont think ive ever had it laid out directly, everybody just kinda vaguely goes "last part bad" without getting into it.
if it's just the difficulty i just find it amusing.
if it's the attacks seeming cheap, i disagree and must insist you didnt learn enough.
if it's "boring bosses" i cant even begin to fathom.
and those are just the complaints i remember.
literally the only part of ER i dont like is Ordina because i get lost af and go hollow.
If ever Elden Ring modding reaches the point where we can add entirely new level geometry, I want to someday put Majula on the west coast of the Weeping Peninsula. That entire area seems like a callback to Majula and Dark Soul 2, and I can think of nothing more fitting than to see it brought into a modern game that tried to perfect so many of its fumbled attempts.
I could cry tears of joy.
I’m sure the Altus plateaus grass would work
Dark souls 2 and Elfen ring are my favorite games in the series just due to their settings alone. I love the variety in the worlds, and how green and bright forests can lead to dark wastelands. They just look so nice and are fun to explore, it’s cool to learn that they shared directors/co director
Ds2 released right after I got into the series, and I played that game the most to date. It holds a special place in my gamer soul,I spent countless hours playing through NG+ on vanilla and then SoTFS even more. I am still blown away by the negative feedback the game received,I was consumed by the PvP and amount of gear to choose from and the amazing changes in NG+ was such a cool edition that made it worth continuing playthroughs on a single character. All of the quality of life changes to the system were helpful,the resepct and bonfire ascetic were amazing,not mention the coolest secret weapons and areas and challenges. I spent a lot of time planning and running my no death no bonfire NG+ run to snag those invisible rings. The NPCs had great quests and storylines all throughout the game,it kept things interesting and lively. Don't even get me started on the DLC,champion of all DLC in Dark souls history! For any faults the game may of had,it just had 10x more successes in my opinion. I am so happy to see a lot of similarities in Elden Ring,two absolutely GOATED games.
imho dlc areas in DS2 can stand shoulder to shoulder with legacy dungeons in Elden Ring ( except the "horsefuck valley" but we have that in Elden Ring in consecrated showfields as well, at least valley was shorter ), even better than some...
If they make Shulva, Iron Keep, Eleum Loyce...as dlc for Elden Ring, just with new story adjusted and some things different i would'nt have anything against it.
I was consumed by HATING the PVP because the God awful netcode made it impossible to see where people were.
That problem hasn't improved much in the years since.
2 was my first souls and i played it probably more than any other game id ever played at that point in my life. i have nothing but respect for it and what it taught me. all this time passed and i see new players who started with 3 or ER criticize it and i just have to laugh.
all the criticisms people can make about it are justified but simply overshadowed by the sum of its parts, the same way any of fromsofts titles are. hell i think elden ring shits the bed harder in some sections than 2 ever did. i still play 2 doing covenant of champion challenge runs. its like my perfect video game
Ngl, the amount of amazing game design and direction features DS2 has for me is just put off by how the animations flow in that game.
If any game deserves a complete remake, I feel like DS2 is very high on the contender list. Other than being the most highly rated Souls game on Playstation (iirc, and using Metacritic stats), it had so many absolutely great ideas that just fell short on the execution side ever so slightly.
It will never be my favourite Souls game (truth be told, it's the last of the list for me personally), but that is purely due to technical issues and the general gameplay feeling, rather than the ideas being bad.
On that note, I guess that technically the whole Sword-Key idea was also an idea taken from Dark Souls 2 (if we just look at the souls series for possible inspirations here), with the Fragrant Branches of Yore. Both those items serve very similar purposes in gameplay.
Also the fact that a lot of things came back from DS2 to Elden Ring to me signals that Fromsoft have not written off Dark Souls 2 as a failure to their core fanbase, but more of a "great ideas, poor execution" thing. I fucking love Elden Ring so much as a capstone to the Fromsoftware-Souls-Saga.
There are like three different things that would individually be dealbreakers to a lot of people (adaptability, Soul Memory, some of the level design)
Adaptability made by first playthrough effectively incompletable and Soul Memory effectively removed the multiplayer.
2 is cool and all, but I'd rather just play FromSoft games that didn't do things like that.
Im glad you noticed this! I literally said to my friends a while ago that: "You know, as I was using the giant Iron Chain as a bridge to get to the fiery tower after using my powerstanced/ dual wielded weapons and OP poison(rot) to defeat the last of the weird faced giants who ripped his own limb off to get an edge over me, if occurred to me that this really is Dark Souls 2 2"
yeah, honestly, as one of my friends put it.. DS2's greatest failing... is that it didn't FEEL like playing DS1. that's what people disliked most. the world was.. different but not in a bad way, the actual mechanics were fine... It was the fact people couldn't rely on muscle memory from DS1.
@@marhawkman303 let’s not get too carried away, it’s experimental failings held back it’s otherwise masterpiece world building. The actual gameplay mechanics went south of an intended improvement
@@jamesjohnson9388 Im so glad someone mentioned the world building. God, ds2's world and lore was so fucking interesting, with aldia, the kings, the wasteland of drangleic. So fucking good
@@thecaptain8402 definitely agree, to me, I hadn’t seen scopes that interesting until Elden ring all over again…it just frustrates me how unsatisfying it feels to play DS2 to grind through to actually see every section of the game it has. I beat everything solo, so I could have an unadulterated perspective…and I can still say I think the gameplay was at its worst, but weirdly combined with some of the most unique aspects, like enemies actually having a respawn limit and can be permanently cleared out, trying out adaptability points, etc. The second you get to the black gulch though, there’s not a worse sin in gaming than to make someone play through that 😂
@@thecaptain8402 the fact that torches would force spiders away from you all the way down the hellish decent to Freya, for instance. Just one section of a dozen that feels like some of the best dark souls tension coupled with a simple mechanic that either makes it the easiest or worst nightmare fuel section you can do. Speaks volumes to the way the world was built.
You've shown us quite a few of these cases where they reuse old assets from previous developments. It makes me kind of happy that it must be a really nice feeling for the developers, animators, artists, etc. that worked on certain characters, designs and movesets, who may have initially been disappointed to see their work go unused, to finally see it applied.
I have so many fond memories of Dark Souls 2, loved that game to death (and still do) so when I played Elden Ring it really put a smile on my face when I saw all these similarities strewn across the game. I was not surprised when I saw Tanimuras director credit. Very happy Miyazaki embraced him as his co-director. Incredibly talented game director.
If there's one game I'd kill for a remake of, it's Dark Souls 2. Getting the original vision of the game with all the stuff that ended up being cut or scrapped would be absolutely amazing, I genuinely think it could be one of the best FromSoft games.
What was missing from the release version of DS2 actually? I know it was released too quickly but I don't remember what was their original intent with this game
They technically remade it in the form of Scholar of the First Sin. Some may argue that they simply finished it though.
Y'all look into the cut content of DS2. It was originally planned to be a much more grand project than it turned out to be.
Shit involving time travel and probably twice as many areas.
I think what Zullie is implying is that Elden Ring is that remake that you're talking about.
I just want to invade people in No Man's Wharf again. T.T
I wonder what folklore there is about giants in Japan. Giants are present in every souls game and most of the time seem to be getting shafted in one way or another. Enslaved in dark souls 1, experimented on in dark souls 2, hated by everyone in dark souls 3, suffered a calamity in demons souls, and fought to near extinction in elden ring. bloodborne they had it better as servants of the blood church and the closest thing in sekiro is perhaps the ogres- who are enslaved.
I don't know much about japanese mythology, let alone giants that come from it.
But there's one i very vaguely know, which is about a giant skeleton that ate the dead. Gashadakuro.
It reminded me of Wolnir the high lord.
I'd say that for the giants, the inspiration in the dark souls trilogy, and elden ring, seems to mostly stem from the Greek story of the gods battling the titans, and over throwing them.
Dark souls as a whole, is a fun little mash of Japanese, Greek, Slavic, and old English and Germanic & Norse mythology
@@littlesneets8026 Agreed. I'd say the Fire Giants specifically are mostly Norse (lots of parallels with the golden gods who rule a tree-themed paradise and wage violent wars of conquest against their foes), with not a ton of Japanese flavor to them. There's more original Souls flavor (being cyclopes, especially) than anything particularly Japanese, at least from what I'm aware of.
@@GrimSavant I'm just learning about it, but Wagner's Ring Cycle operas start with a story about Norse gods, antagonistic giants, and a ring with the power to influence reality itself so I'm guessing that's part of the influence
There are a few stories about giants in Japan such as the black skinned giants who created Lake Biwa and sculpted the mountains but most giant stories which inspire Fromsoft come from European myths mainly Celtic, Greek & Norse, not Japanese
The giants being slain, alongside dragons is a common theme in the western world and simbolize the passing from a chaotic world in which time isnt defined and nature and his mysteries are still real to a time dominated by mankind, Gods, or both, and in which time become defined. Is a recurring theme in ancient tales, the only difference is always that Miyazaki actually condemns the modern views and hold the gods and the greater will responsible for the corruption of the world
I always felt that the Majula ost was supposed to be comforting, but melancholic. Ironic that it invokes a feeling of nostalgia.
I'm a DS2 fan, and it make me happy to see these elements brought back !
I love how much more adult Darksouls 2 seemed. It seemed like they were willing to make it much more... well darker in its theming.
DS2 seemed more personal as well. You're not fighting to save the world this time, you're just struggling to save yourself.
The majula theme is my absolute favorite piece of dark souls music, as well as ds2 being my favorite of the trilogy despite its flaws.
Honestly i love dark souls 2. It was my first souls game and it's lore and world are what drove me to fall in love the games, especially the ivory king in the dlc. Seeing all the influences 2 has had on elden ring has made me so incredibly happy. I get why people don't like it but it will always hold a special place in my heart.
Ey, me too! I made DS2 my first souls game because of how much the LPer I was following at the time hated it in comparison to DS1, and I wanted to see it be given a fair shake, so I did it myself!
It was my first as well and still is my favorite.
Yeah, DS2 has an unfair bad rep. It captures *something* the others don't.
@@tomorbataar5922 Eh, we'd say a good 70% of the criticisms Dark Souls 2 gets are fair. It isn't nearly as egregiously mind-numbing to play as some make it out to be, though.
Dark Souls 2 has a very special feeling art style to me too, I feel like I'm stepping into a fairy tale, like asops fables or something, it's very dreamy and unique. I love that game.
DS2 was my first Souls game when I picked up the Scholar edition three years ago. It's still my favorite, and I love seeing the details that FS reworks and brings forward from their history. It baffles me why 2 gets automatically sorted into the Worst pile by an overwhelming part of the community, especially considering how many new and amazing things it brought to the table. The foremost being that Majula background music! Everyone says the "pling pling plong" sound from Gwyn is the most recognizable sound in Souls, but for me it's Majula's lilting, eerie but calming melody.
Same ❤️ and it actually had one of the best mechanics of the Souls series: ascetics
Majula music GOD
Its tied for my personal favorite with 1, they did so much cool stuff and the atmosphere is great. It has flaws but i like the concept a lot more than ds3
I hated what Scholar did to enemy placement. Turned well thought out maps into a hot mess.
Nostalgia makes people say crazy thing. It's definitely a garbage game.
I unironically have always loved DS2 more than 1 and 3, so this made me happy to see, and very nice touch with the Majula music. You can't go wrong with Majula.
Bruh
same. DS2 is the GOAT of DS games.
@@crazzypumpkin8256 cope bRuHhHh
@@madridforever933 Ask me how I know you ate glue as a child
@@georgecostanza712 You're a generic costanza account. real original. opinion rejected.
Glad you mentioned that, I loved Dark Souls 2. Its pvp still till now in my opinion one of the best in the series without a doubt.
the best, period. from soft really really cared about pvp and weapon selection / spell selection / combat freedom in that game, more than any other.
Goddamn I love Dark Souls 2 so much, this video makes me want to replay it again
Ah yes, the Destroyer of Challenge Runs
All of this has happened before, all of it will happen again. This is why I love the lore-hunting in Fromsoft games, there are always such resonances in the themes the games evoke. Like the Elden Ring itself, a ring, a loop, maybe a time loop, maybe a gameplay loop. Marika shatters it, shatters the lands, then expects us to forge it back together with smaller, dedicated gameplay loops and story loops and environment loops. How will we forge our own loop with the pieces we have? That is our new Elden Ring, our new gameplay reality created by our own struggle.
Zullie, you reminded me of how much I absolutely adore the Majula theme. Personally, I love Dark Souls 2 and consider it my favorite of the series.
Thank you so much for all you do!
This ds2 melody is probably my favorite music of all
Theory: The gaping hole in the trolls' chests is space after removal of the face of the one-eyed god; they had it just the same as the Fire Giants before they rebelled. They couldn't very well betray the Giants' Flame and serve Golden Order if every was to carry avatar of their god in their abdomen, so it was removed from their bodies, replaced by slabs to provide whatever arcane function was needed for them to live.
Its a tombstone in their chest, similar to the one Renala uses in her weird rebirth magic with the students.
Meybe renala had a part to play in enslaving the giants, meybe they were made to be 'reborn' as Trolls by her magic.
That said, giant tombstones are all over the land in bizzare places, like horizontal across cliffs... so idk what thats all about.
I fucking love Dark Souls 2
Dark souls 2 will forever have a special place in my heart, no matter what haters say
Glover was a cool game when I was 5. Glover is garbage and ds2 is garbage.
@Poe Soul it's an opinion. An opinion supported by the vast majority of the community. Look at this clown offended by an opposing opinion.
No other souls game gives me a vibe like DS2. It really grew on me as I played it, and having no nostalgia syndrome from DS1 really helped me appreciate the game so much more. It gives me such a sense of a bigger world with the variety of landscapes it provides. The soundtrack is beautiful, and Majula's theme is the most soothing music I have heard in a videogame (Dark Souls of all the games has it lol). I also find DS2 combat to be far superior to DS1, it feels more fluid. Considering what could have happened, DS2 came out a miracle, and will always be one of my favourite games.
I was overjoyed playing ER when I've started noticing the touch of Tanimura. DS2 is my favourite to this day and this redemption arc for the ideas first conceived in DS2 are beyond exctatic to me.
As a huge fan of ds2 this video with majula's theme made me genuinely cry :')
DS2 still had one of the best sense of adventure in the series, the differing locations and such really made the game great, the only issue is the slippery feeling of movement in the game, like something was just off a bit about the combat.
Those feckin' hawk knights with their sideways leg running lmao
It took me time to get used to DS2 when I first started it, but when I went back to DS1 after I found I preferred DS2. To me it felt smoother somehow.
@@BasedWukong Falconers have only one functional version, which was only present during original DS2 NG+ sequence, Scholar of the first sin did re-purpose them for some reason and used unfinished, janky units for several locations. SOTFS was not made by the original team and rather skeleton crew organized by Bandai Namco, who did many weird, unnecessary changes to the game, one of which was inclusion of cut content units and increased numbers of monsters in multiple locations.
Going straight from DS1 to DS2 is jarring. The movement and combat in that game are unlike any other in the series. I got used to it pretty quickly but it certainly doesn't feel as responsive as the other games.
@@adradox Yeah, dont gwt me wrong, i love all souls games, but whenever someone mentions ds2 the janky falconers are the first thing that pops into my head lmao
On a side note, DS2 has by far the coolest dragon form
Elden Ring really is Dark Souls II 2
Thanks for the gentle reminder that the Majula theme is still one of the best hub OST's and pieces of music in general. Great video as always too, keep up the amazing work.
I love DS2. The Majula music gives me such nostalgia for when my son was a newborn, and I'd play with him nestled in my lap. Thank you for making these comparisons, and giving DS2 a little love.
The Subterranean Shunning Grounds have so much inspiration from the Gutter's cut content it's crazy. Elden Ring feels so much like if DS2 was completed!
DkS2 is my favorite! Best atmosphere from From
Elden Ring is Dark Souls 2 2 confirmed
Dark Souls 2 V2
Majula theme always makes me feel so nostalgic
Such a great observations/discovery, DSII was my first souls game so I have a special place for it in my heart and love seeing stuff like this!!
Majula.
So Nostalgic.
Dark Souls 2 is a beautiful, bewildering, broken masterpiece. It was my first souls game, and it may not be super good, but it's Special. And it makes me happy to see a lot of what made it special echo into Elden Ring.
Bizarre and unique enemies, insane and comedic weapons, The Giant, goofy puzzles, armour that carries special properties
It's all so charming and strange and wierd, in a way that makes me love it
DS2 has always been my favorite, even before the SotFS update. I'm glad that people's perception on how bad it was is slowly changing towards a more positive outlook over time, I've noticed a lot of DS2 elements in ER and i'm happy FS acknowledged the game by finally fusing some of it's best mechanics and lore alongside DS1 and 3's into their new game. Well deserved imo
I’ve always thought and said it had the best atmosphere of all the souls games I’ve played, though do note I have not played BB, Sekiro or DeS.
Majula music got me feeling some kinda way …
I'm really happy that the director for Dark Souls 2 co-directed Elden Ring with Miyazaki.
I love the connecting themes between all these games. Another fun one is the themes of Miquella and Melania that strongly parallel the themes of Sekiro and Kuro. You have an immortal eternally youthful child with powerful blood that wishes to cure the rot effecting the land and his katana wielding sword master that will do anything to achieve victory. Melania’s waterfowl dance she learned from the swordsman is incredibly similar to the flowing passage Sekiro learns from dancing blue warrior texts. They both have prosthetic arms and spread rot as they continue their quest to serve as the blade of a child they swore to protect. Despite Miquella and Kuro hating their cursed blood, others attempt to use the blood to their own desires. Thats just a simple comparison. Even though many disagree, I would even say there’s evidence that the land of reeds is where Sekiro takes place, but nobody wants to read a novel in the comments section
ooh yeah I like these parallels, very cool
I love dark souls 2!
I said it once and i'll say it again: Dark Souls 2 is a great game even with it's flaws
Definitely a game held back by the hardware of the time. If it had been allowed to be developed to what was envisioned it would have been one of the best games ever made, period.
it's not great if you compare it to the other souls games, but if you compare it to games in general it's pretty good in comparison.
It's a great souls game, people really need to stop using that "GooD gAmE BAd SoUlZ" bullshit argument
Yeah, it's a huge, deep, RPG with tons of character customization, amazing upgrade system, great combat, great bosses, tons of cryptic lore to dig into, tons of suspenseful gameplay that the player can feel instead of mindlessly swing around in. I just felt like some of the environments were boxy. But that doesn't dismiss the ENTIRE amazing game.
I consider 2 to be the worst souls game but it's still a damn fine game.
DS2 giants are some of my favorite enemies in the entire souls series its great to see them getting a bit of extra love and fromsoft revisiting some of their themes.
Thank you Zullie, always, for your awesome videos. It's really interesting and fun to see the lore behind these games but not only that your video incorporates what could've been and such.
You should do a video about all the similarities between the two games
bingus my beloved
The story behind Dark Souls 2's development is pretty wild. Tanimura and his team more or less had to build the game out of toothpicks, bubblegum and a scattering of random assets in half the time they needed. The end result certainly feels like it, but I'm very impressed they managed to do what they did. Hats off to those hard working programmers
DS2 is the most memorable of them all to me, it might not have had the best bosses, locations, enemies, etc but the dlcs were nothing short of amazing, its plot? Easily my favourite out of all of From Soft, being able to go into the past and then making that connection that your actions in the past are what contributed to the present you are now in was and still is mind blowing to me.
Best pvp in the series and weapon stancing was incredibly fun and kept things fresh
🧢
In that case I suggest you play The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (Gameboy Color). The gameplay is basically around that and it's a criminally underrated game IMO.
I love the Majula theme.Many years ago DS2 was the first soulsgame i played and while playing it i was always tense und nervous,but whenever i warped back to Majula and heard the music,i knew that i was safe haha
Really like the parallels you've drawn here - DSII could always do with some more love. It was my first From game so it will always be special to me.
I've seen it somewhere that Elden Ring is Dark Souls 2 Part 2 and honestly I'm all for it. I love DS2 for what it tried. It's the weakest of the trilogy but damn if it didn't try something different with its atmosphere and gameplay. Along with the fact DS2 was apparently meant to be similarly open world, it's almost like Elden Ring was the DS2 we were supposed to get.
Yeah i think the same... i think the thing that complicated and in some ways ruined Dark Souls 2 for what it could had been, is that it had to be "Dark Souls" game. If they made it as a new stand alone game ( like Elden Ring ) it would be much greater game because they would have more freedom to experiment and wouldnt be in danger to alienate some parts of Dark Souls fanbase.
Maybe in some parallel timeline we got Elden Ring 2 in february 2022 and Elden Ring was a major critically acclaimed sucsess many years ago.
Dark Souls 2 or 3 didnt ever came out...instead we got Bloodborne on all platforms. Although Bloodborne 2 is playstation exclusive, but it may be available on PC soon.
FromSoftware is a big studio ever since release of Elden Ring many years ago, and it has also other great games under its belt like Sekiro and Sekiro 2, new Armord Core games, and there is talk that Demons Souls 2 is in the works alongside Elden Ring 2 dlc...
Still fans wish they make a sequel to their old Dark Souls game which captivated so many... XD
The atmosphere in some places in Dark Souls 2 is still the best they've done IMO. I think Shrine of Amana, Dragon Aerie, Heide's Tower of Flame, Drangleic Castle, and all of the DLC have some really nice atmosphere.
Truth be told, Dark Souls II is probably my favorite of the three to replay in NG plus, especially the dlc’s.
There’s a peculiar charm to it that will always hold a special place in my heart.
It’s somehow comfortable. I have no idea why, there are so many things that frustrate me about it and I’ll always feel some level of disappointment, but… they still really managed to cobble together a *good game* in spite of the development woes.
you know what I would like to see:
A re-imagined Dark Souls II Scholar of the First Sin
with enough time to flesh out all those unfinished ideas
The Doors of Pharros, The Gutter, The War with the Giants, Drangleic Castle, Brightstone Cove, all of those, both in their beta form but also in their form that made it into the game have so much potential and it pains me that now all that is left is some backdrop on relatively small sized transition areas
same goes for the Iron Keep and the Earthen Peak, if given the time to properly weave it all together then DSII could be truly a masterful game in terms of content and artistic direction, I am sure of it
there is already a good foundation and the Quest of the old Crowns was an excellent addition to form a more tight frame for the narrative, now it only needs to be strung together a bit more firmly
Dark Souls II feels like Fromsoftwares Majora´s Mask in every way, maybe that´s why I have grown to like it so much
ahhh i can feel the gentle breeze and warm sun of Majula just from this song
I need that shot of Godfrey approaching the Fire Giant as a wallpaper. Keep up the great work Zullie!
I loved how Dark Souls 2 felt like it leaned heavily into the aspect of you being a random nobody. You truly weren't destined for anything. It made the game feel more personal, Elden Ring carries that for me too.
I'll always consider Dark Souls 2 my favorite in the series, the Last Giant is what really cemented that for me. Glad he's getting some recognition
since DS1 i have always advocated that the difficulties of the game was because you WERE a nobody. you're not some great hero, you're not a god, you're undead. worthless, meant to rot. literally the whole game you're told what you seek is literally impossible. thats why i love the games, and love why they're hard. it really gives you that sense of determination rising above everything you were told you never would
@@cybercrusader2999 It felt like Dark Souls 2 captured this best though. The others have you chosen for a purpose or have a prophecy backing you - be you a Chosen Undead, an Ashen One, or a Graceless Tarnished. Yet in Dark Souls 2, you're really nobody. All of your past is gone, you aren't meant to do anything great, there's nothing at least supposedly backing you.
All the games have you seemingly start as a nameless no one but Dark Souls 2 really made me feel like I was nobody and at any moment I could slip into hollowing
@@TaosoftheVoid I like what you are saying, and I agree, but in DS1 any undead that escapes the asylum was the "Chosen Undead". You are definitely still a nobody in DS1.
@@TaosoftheVoid I agree, in DS2 you play as The Bearer of the Curse, a title which can be applied to all undead before turning hollow. A lot of the themes in DS2 surround the nature of the undead curse and the darksign, Aldia and Vendrick dedicated their lives to breaking it and/or studying the first sin committed by Gwyn. Its not until Nashandra/Aldia's intervention that the game is about anything but you breaking the curse for yourself (and the Emerald Herald ig but its kinda unclear). Nashandra is the one who wants you to seek the Throne of Want, which is ultimately part of her plan, and Aldia somehow knows that the Bearer will have to make a choice and he questions the Bearer as which choice is the right one ("no matter how beautiful, a lie will always be a lie" etc).
DS2 definitely has a personal tone to it imo, you're just a random undead who wants to break their curse like hundreds if not thousands of undead to come before you, who then accidentally found themselves in a moral debate club whether to seek the Throne of Want or not and whether to side with light or dark.
@@ted4979 I feel like being manipulated by Nashandra and having Aldia talk to you are fitting still with it. They both treat you like what you are: a nobody who happened to get farther than any before them. You aren't exceptional beyond what you accomplish, even then these things weren't destined to be defeated, you just so happened to be around at the right time and place to finish what others no doubt tried to.
You are no one special and your deeds aren't something ordained long before your time. You're just another bearer of the curse who is trying to cling on to whatever is left of their life, doing anything possible with your borrowed time.
I love Dark Souls 2, despite it's flaws.
Dark Souls 2 was and still is a great game. It gave us many innovations that linger in the games today.
Ah majula how I miss thee
Ds2 is my first souls game. It awakens something in me, that pain and suffering is not the end of a curiosity for a conquest, is just the start of the real adventure.
I honestly really liked DS2. Granted, it had lots of troubles and there were a good many featurs that did more harm than good. Yet the game is still mighty enjoyable to play and I really respect the courage the director had to deviate this much from the success formula of Demon Souls and Dark Souls 1.
Before elden ring came around i think that ds2 held the crown for most epic journey in the series. A lot of people hate on the weird, inconsistent geometry of ds2, like the elevator to sky lava, but I think its intentional. Its supposed to simulate traveling a whole continent, or in the case of the dlcs, multiple continents. In order to do that you either need a huge game like elden ring, or you need to "summarize" the journey between interesting zones like they do in ds2. Another good example of this is the transition from the shaded woods to drangelic castle. Obviously the castle isn't right through a tunnel and instead is miles away, but they had to simulate the distance by an environment transition.
Given all that it would make sense to bring tanimura on for elden ring, given that he essentially tried to make it before they were technically capable enough.
I never really understood DS2 hate, i loved that game when it came out. It meant more dark souls to play.
I love ds2, but I really don’t understand the fans that can’t see the drastic difference in design philosophy (or lack thereof due to constraints) between ds1 and ds2. From level design to enemy encounters. It’s just such a stark contrast imo. I wish I could see it the way you guys do, but I’ll just have to settle with “love it, but probably last in the souls series to me.”
@@akumakurosawa you forgot ds2 = best pvp
@@akumakurosawa DS2 Best PvP, Best Fashion and Best DLC
@@maninblack3410 You can't play DS2 the same way as DS1. Crowd control is a different skill and you need to adapt (no pun intended) and if you just want more DS1 you can always play DS3
@@irmatheshepherd2325 the forest of the giants is another underrated level. It has a lot of secrets and things to find, maybe its color palette is not that appealing, but the layout is great and both bosses are a nice introduction to the game.
I’m glad to see elements of DS2 return to the fore in Elden Ring. While I struggle to play it again after playing DS1, DS3, and Elden Ring, DS2 holds a special place in my heart because it’s where I started with the franchise.
It has some beautiful elements that really captured my attention in terms of lore and explored themes.
And the idea of a giant in a Northern Snowy Mountainous region with a mouth in its abdomen going all the way back to Demon's Souls. I love how From revisits and reimagines ideas from even decades past. I bet it's a joy to the designers of DS2 to get to revisit and polish some of those original concepts for Elden Ring, and I doubt it's the last time we'll see From do this.
Fire Giant is probably one of the most cinematic fights From has made. Up there with Nameless King, Gale, and Placidusax IMO
Rykard phase two definitely wowed me visually with how the arena changes
@@WowCreativeUsername oh yeah definitely! That fight feels biblical
@@dewkiddo2328 TOGETHAAA
As shown by my pfp, Dark Souls 2 is my favorite Dark Souls. I genuinely believe it has the best and darkest storyline of the series. The Faraam armor is also incredible and I use it in both 2 and 3. It was the first Dark Souls I ever played and even though I can admit to its visual and technical issues, I still love the game and I'm glad some elements resurfaced in Elden Ring
honestly, ds2 is my favorite one of the franchise. The art and sound design the dual stance. Not to mention that i could listen to the majula song for hours, its just so beautiful and calming.
I always felt like the Lands Between also was a call back to Things Betwixt of DSII. Thank you for a video highlighting Tanimura!
Majula's theme.. What a melancholic throwback
It's quite funny that the "forbidden lands" area of Elden Ring leads to some lovely tributes to the series' most underrated entry and definite pariah.