The greathelm doesnt even go with the mausoleum knight armor so when he’s talking about it being a mishmash of historical references that is because gamespot did indeed mishmash a armors together
Yeah was gonna say. The main mishmash was the hussar wings on the more late medieval/early Renaissance armour. And that's due to their religious convictions. Shame he didn't comment on the jousting shield on the chest of the armour. Players are really divided on that aesthetically.
I really like this expert’s commentary, but I wish the armor sets that were chosen were either correctly matched item sets or simply only footage of the armor on NPC characters. I would have liked to hear his reaction to the sets of the various soldiers, each with their own color schemes to represent their lord, and how the design of the armor progresses with the soldier’s rank and role-it’s something that I think the designers of Elden Ring did quite well
It's so dissapointing that they almost never tell him wether an armor is a full set from the game or just some random pieces they decided to put on. They did the same thing in the dragon's dogma episode. The great helm is not supposed to be part of the mausoleum knight set, or any other late plate armor set. The pieces of armor it goes the best with would be the tree or eye surcoats and the chain leggings. What's the point of him talking about what the designer might be thinking, if the armor they're showing wasn't chosen to go together by the designer, but by some rando at gamespot?
I'm pretty sure Gamespot is a sister company to IGN, so I've never been surprised when Gamespot will fumble the ball on game/tv and movie coverage. Remember, Gamespot did NOT like Fallout when it first released in April of this year. Then changed their tune the following days because of the haters lol but i feel yaa. This interview could've been actually good if the interviewer compiled better footage, rather than saving it for last
Right? I didn't put it together when I was playing Elden Ring, but hearing Dr. Capwell mention Gotts, the Berserk connection jumped right out at me. That has to be intentional on Miyazaki's part.
It is implied in the lore that the set is adorned with snakes because they are viewed as the opposite of the Erdtree. The Gladiators themselves are actually champions of the Erdtree, it is implied they wore the snakes due to the fact the attendees of the arenas found pleasure in the snakes being battered and disfigured. It was not so they would lose.
@@Beelzebubbly_ Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think they were precisely from the primordial erdtree - which the current followers of the erdtree see as heretical. Kind of like how Crucible Knights are all scattered around, and disliked by others, as well as demi-humans and other beings from the primordial phase of the erdtree.
I really like that he actually appreciates the creative attempt on the depictions, and not just dumps on it because of historical inaccuracies. Not seen too often on RUclips when some "experts" react to stuff like this.
Nuance and respect are the hallmarks of a true master. An "expert" criticises that which they perceive wrong, a master respects that which is different.
they ARE experts...you dont need the quotations. and they are pointing out the things From didnt take into consideration because they dont understand the medium. you just are apt to give a pass to everything they do because "VISION! ITS VISIONARY; SO THEREFORE I DONT HAVE TO EXPLAIN OR HAVE ANY CONSISTANCY TO REAL LIFE! YOUR ARGUMENT IS INVALID!"
one of the things the armor in fromsoft games does a great job of doing is telling you which enemies are MOST important or hardest, through the usage of overly decorative plates and such. The lowly fodder enemies are all barely armored or just scraps of fabric and leather, than you go up to harder hitting guys who have some well made, but plainer armor, than when you get to bosses and minibosses, they're all hugely ornately armored with gilding and etching and tassels and ribbons. Going back to DS1 going through undead burg, fighting through undead peasantry with simple weapons and barely any armor, than you turn a corner and see a Black Knight with a towering helmet, full plate in this matte black sheen with subtle embellishments, and you're immediately shown that this enemy is going to be much harder than everything else youve fought.
@Gorgondantess that's a story telling choice. Morgott didn't feel worthy of donning golden armor, he felt he was primitive because the effects of the crucible were seen as devolution. Instead, Morgott wears animal fur, which he relates more to. This choice is just as important as the gilded armor of Maliketh. However, the first comment is still correct. What makes Morgott so striking is that he BREAKS THE PATTERN of hard bosses having decorated armor. In order for this to be felt, you must be used to the armored bosses.
@@HeavyweapopIt actually doubles down on the sentiment. The encounter order is Nobles to Soldiers to Knights to then see that the first proper boss of the game is somewhat unarmored, It tells you it only gets harder from here.
@@Gorgondantess He does have an extremely distinct appearance though, which still works with the point being made. He might not be armoured hugely, but he is very clearly his own appearance, and not at all someone who blends into the masses of soldiers around him.
I think the issue is that decorated warriors in real life rarely used decorated armor in combat, some sort of palace guards will wear it while standing guard but the expectation was never full combat really. The tree sentinels are decorated warriors that also seem to fight often and readily as any soldier would, kinda outside what they might actually do in a real life context. I don't think there's anything wrong with that since Elden Ring is not real life but I figured that's why he pointed out the decorative nature of the armor. I figure the lands between have easier manufacturing processes for crazy armor like this than old Europeans did anyways so maybe the decorative armor isn't actually that impractical.
@@gordonfreeman5179 The thing is, the Tree Sentinels use dragonparts in their armor for a purpose: fight dragons. That was their original idea, using the parts of their enemies to cause fear and protection against the lightning that the dragons use. So, yes, it does have a decorative nature (causing fear) but the major use was for the protection it provided against heir enemy at the time.
@@gordonfreeman5179many knights and men at arms had beautifully decorated war armors. They just weren’t to that degree. For example, many of the Greenwich armors, which were blued and gilded, were garnitures meant for both war and the tournament.
they're basically nobodies scattered throughout the lands as guards idk what you're talking about. If you like it because it's pretty and don't mind because it's just a game then just say that.
The fact that this expert easily separates historical expectation from visual art piece and admiration is amazing. He has great taste and explains the relationship between historical accuracy and art so eloquently. 10/10
Really should've shown him sets like the Carian Knight Set, the regular Knight Set, Vyke's set, the Scaled Armor set, and just so many other armor sets.
@@dream8870I suspect he would have had a few things to say about the helmets though. As Frog helms were typically only used in jousting and not worn in real combat. As they had excellent frontal protection, but literally made it impossible for the wearer to turn their head. With the in game version also being morphed in a way the means a human head can’t possibly fit inside it. Although I suppose it could also be that the people at Gamespot didn’t know this and left the them out because they thought the sets were too normal.
@@adriandiaz053 Maybe like "some" of the armors, it will have ties to historical references, otherwise hearing his opinion on more outlandish/specific armor sets is something I am personally interested in, I.e: the Bloodhound Knight set is worn on the opposite side of the wearers body cause of how he fights on the ground like an animal and hearing its plausability or lack therof.
For the devs defense at 6:43, that helm is not a part of the mausoleum knight set (who are headless therefore no helm), but added by whoever recorded this game footage.
I really wish they would provide item descriptions for the armor pieces. Just from the first few reactions of the video, he sees the gladiator set but doesn’t know it’s for gladiators or the meaning behind the serpents. He also sees the mausoleum knight armor, but for some reason they decided to add a greathelm since the mausoleum knight armor doesn’t have a helmet. I think adding item descriptions would give a lot more context to what’s actually going on instead of just showing images with no background or explaination.
He's really coming around to reviewing video game armor. He feels much more comfortable in his discussion in this video. Can't wait to see more videos with him.
I really liked his point on the tree sentinel because what he's saying is totally correct, *and,* that's the point of the Golden Order- they are these ridiculously ornate, overly-decorated figures because the Golden Order itself is exactly that
I love Vagabond set for the visual story it tells about its wearer. One glove is gone, visor is broken and stuck in place, supported by a piece of rope, gambeson is covered in dirt and decolorized, if you remove the cape you can see a sack with some essentials probably and a set of hatchet and different cutlery. In my head it evokes imagery of a hedge knight roaming the country side, never staying long in hubs of civilization Basically, yeah, a vagabond 😅
isnt wearing armor like that all the time impractical though? i thought knights only wear armor when theyre going into combat and then they all have servants that would actually be able to put the armor on the knight or else it would be impossible to get in and out of it by yourself
What I love about Capwell commenting on games, TV, and/or film is that he fully takes into account the intent of the armour and not just its practical reality.
I love how this guy isn't just judging whether things are 'accurate' or not but thinking about the intention of the game designers, could listen to him talk about history and video games all day
@@1IGGthe author had never heard of the real life figure before he made berserk. He said this in an interview. Though it is cool how art can imitate life
I feel like this guy has really nailed how to do these. He knows how to zoom in on whatever is most interesting to talk about, which is sometimes a direct evaluation of the historical accuracy but is often not.
I wonder how much context the experts get. I think his comments re: Tree Sentinel are completely valid, but in context it makes sense. We see historic examples of extremely intricate engraved/detailed armour, usually for royalty, even if it’s not intended for direct combat. Gold and gold alloys are more plentiful in the Lands Between, and the Tree Sentinels are high ranking servants of the Golden Order, answering to (what were) living, tangible gods. Their equipment isn’t meant to be mass produced compared to the soldiery, it’s meant to be symbolic while retaining functionality. So IRL, absolutely insane level of detail that wouldn’t be worth pursuing outside of one-off masterpieces. In-universe, completely justifiable given the context.
I was expecting this video to just be a guy destroying the fantastic elements of the armor sets. This guy is a genius, he's got a lot of respect for all fantastic forms of media. That sense of suspension of disbelief from such a knowledgeable specialist is really fun and refreshing.
Asymmetrical armor was not a really big thing on the medieval battlefield (maybe apart from some scavenged armor) but very much a thing in Roman gladiatorial combat. The armor of the Retiarius and the Murmillo were just the thing Toby mentioned: those asymmetrical shoulder and arm pieces worn on a strap across the chest.
Yes but when you consider "battlefield" or "war" armors... asymmetries are not really a thing. Brings out the attention to the fact that asymmetry is often use for spectacle?
When i saw this video in recommended i immediately knew you are not going to show him the banished knight set even in part 2 because that armor is the best and one of the most accurate armor in the game, thanks for robbing us from great content again
I find it a bit funny that fromsoft is apparently more familiar with Japanese style armor than european armor Despite them making 5 European fantasy style games and only 1 japanese fantasy game in the 15 years before elden ring.
@@bobjoneswof Yeah, they have plenty of experience making video game armour in a european fantasy setting, but for japanese armour they can easy go and look at real historical pieces in a museum. Not a lot of medieval european armour in japanese museums.
Tbf, Dark Souls is more dark fantasy than any attempt at medieval history, although dark fantasy heavily relies on the latter for it's tropes and props. Sekiro is also within dark fantasy, but the visual identity of the game is more pronounced and the Japanese devs are obviously more familiar with the ins and outs of the historical armors of their country.
This guy’s commentary is so good. he’s not only giving awesome information about the armor, but he understands and respects the vision and intent of the designers I really love that he keeps it out of the realm of criticism and moreso talks about what he thinks and likes about each set of armor
And you expect to catch them off guard, but here, turns out being trolls is just part of Human Existence and we've been doing since we could wear clothes :P
*Tobias is always a great guest on these commentary videos, love how he compliments game design for 'coolness' as well as realism, and how he references other historical cultural influences than just military stuff. The story of Gottfried Von Berlichingen was cool too, what a badass*
I love how he constantly reiterated that he's more interested in where the artists took inspirations then whether its realistic and therefore "good" incredibly respectful
Really interesting. I'm super happy to hear him say it's important to view it as a work of art more than a reflection of reality. A lot of these experts react type videos get too caught up in saying "no, that's wrong, and that's wrong".
You guys always fail when presenting this stuff to the specialists. It's rather frustrating. Mismatched armor sets, and then the only time you chime in to provide context, it's with the joke addition...
3:54 Plenty of armor in the game matches this description, but the armor being looked at here is only used by, I think, five knights in the entire world.
This guy's insights are so refreshing. So easily a expert can look down at these things from above and come off as obnoxious. Not so with Tobias. Really well explained and really nicely formatted to the intended audience.
I love this guy. He's not overly critical, bashing the designers, he's offering great observations and offering up ideas to help break designers from the mold of filmmaking. I think he's a great guest keep it up 👍
Dr. Capwell is always a joy to listen to. I would like to see him look at the armor of Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord. I think it did a good job making it visually look like a prequel to the original M&B and resisted the temptation to use plate, making it feel like the era it was aiming for.
i think they should explain to these people the contexts behind these armors. he points out that the level of elaborate detail on the tree sentinel is almost unheard of, but with the added context that its a powerful holy warrior and one of the strongest opponents in the game at the point you meet it, then it comes with some understanding
The Kaiden armor is one of my go-to. Love the realistic look and the fur on the shoulders. Though I usually use the Great Helm with it or no helm at all.
I think what I dislike about these videos is that the sets are presented without context, and thus the reasons why they are the way they are, the fantasy reasons, get rolled over in favour of saying "well this isn't realistic." This is like cinemasins for videogames.
Then it's probably best not to put a helmet the guy will instantly recognize as being out of place. The winged hussars are not a particularly obscure cavalry symbol, even I was peeved with the greathelm choice
It would be cool to have experts like Mr.Capwell that know stuff like these to incorporate their ideas in these designs and see what we can get with regards to even cooler armour sets and weaponry.
I really like listening to professionals who are enthusiastic about their expertise. Some really cool and insightful comments from Capwell, thanks for sharing the interview!
He is legitimately so nice. He’s like a super smart dad who’s like “this is why this isn’t *exactly* historically accurate or practical but I recognize where the artist is coming from and where they might have gotten their influence.” All the experts who’ve reacted to From games have been lovely but this one is my favorite.
If anyone's veritably obsessed with ultra in-depth Medieval arms & armor and historical units I strongly recommend Schwerpunkt's relative series. The guy is a Ph.D. in Medieval warfare and he's covering that insane level of regional detail every militar aspect of the era.
Theres so much interesting armor in this game with historical influences you could have shown and you picked some of the most generic. Most not even showing him the proper sets, but mixed sets…. And showing him let me solo hers “armor” was not funny imo.
What a great expert. Very passionate, very learned, but also so very fair. Judging the game for what it is, for what it needs as a game, as visual media.
I love that this expert condiders the fantasy setting. The statement about the visual design and a size of actual practicality role in it is great. Would like to see more analysises like that.
Fun fact: Gottfried von Berlichingen was a direct inspiration for Miura Kentaro in creating Gutz in the series Berserk. Berserk in turn is a famous inspiration for Miyazaki in the souls games and Elden Ring, making it hard to determine if the inspiration for the prosthetics is taken straight from Gottfried, or if it is via Berserk. My guess is the latter, as prosthetics in souls games often come with a built-in weapon, which is very Berserk.
It would be nice if Tobias was given some context why the armors look the way they do (i.e. the crucible knights being ancient beings blessed by a god tree, the gladiators meant to lose in combat) because he has amazing insight on the design choices of the devs too!
This is definitely one of the better Expert Reacts, that they're able to take the entire context into consideration (that it is a game, and designers prefer what's cool to what's accurate)
I adore this mans analysis, so thoughtful and thorough, and considerate of the games intention and design, as best he can with the information he has and doing it well. Amazing
9:30 Medium length flared skirts are popular because they change the silhouette & you can animate legs without much clipping. Skirts have more visual impact than leg plates because you can have long range of movement without having to tweak things to look like they weigh a lot. Also, cloth physics isnt as demanding on PCs as it used to be.
I wish we got more comprehensive looks at various armour sets, maybe if the historians had a picture list of the sets and see what stuck out to them before recording. I often feel like many sets end up being overlooked or misrepresented. Some accompanying lore and/or context (and double checking) would also be welcome.
Theres only one case of asymetrical armor that I know of and that is early british plate carriers with the Body Armor MK2 vest and the ECBA having plates only directly over the heart on the front and back instead of a full large plate. Other than that, theres none that I know off either but I doubt the asymetrical armor trope came from that.
He's so gentle about "these don't simulate reality, they're remixes that don't know the history and what innovations came during which periods" (which make sense because it's not earth, so whichever.) But that kinda just shows the guy is really happy to indulge people's armor fantasies So I guess +2 impressed with Elden ring and +5 impressed with this guy. He said as gently as possible "They are confused but they got spirit" really seems to embody "say something positive if you're going to say anything at all"
The overdecorated Erdtree sentinel in the Kaiden set can be thought of as the ceremonial praetorian guard to a living deity. The armor is likely actually made of gold in lore.
This expert is awesome and I want to see him more but you guys need to give some sort of brief so he knows what's going on, I get you can't anticipate every assumption he'll make but just like: npc or armour set, npc name or armour name, weapon included or not, possibly armour description or npc background, etc. I want to hear his thoughts and opinions on relevant information.
Ah yes, I have a HUD display inside my jar helmet to see my surroundings
I just assumed it was a thing of sentient viscera acting as Ratatouille.
The true power of the warrior jars. Advanced targeting computers
So that’s why Malenia can’t touch you
an ancient and hallowed tradition
a Heads Up Display Display? smh my head...
Did they really make him to react to Let me solo her's outfit 💀
How could we not?
You can see him suffer to come up with an explanation... Soo many other cool armor pieces they couldve shown... smh
They have brain rot
@@Tr4wnet It's a longstanding tradition of Gamespot to make their experts mentally suffer at least once
Fun fact that's actually the spirit ash Jarwight's outfit.
LMSH was NOT the first.
The greathelm doesnt even go with the mausoleum knight armor so when he’s talking about it being a mishmash of historical references that is because gamespot did indeed mishmash a armors together
Yeah was gonna say. The main mishmash was the hussar wings on the more late medieval/early Renaissance armour. And that's due to their religious convictions.
Shame he didn't comment on the jousting shield on the chest of the armour. Players are really divided on that aesthetically.
They should have used a surcoat
They also put the wrong pants on the leather set
The greathelm is a standalone piece isn’t it? I think a merchant sells it with the hero set. Unsure if there’s an accepted set it’s meant to go with.
@@deifiedtitanIt is a standalone piece, but most people lump it in with either of the surcoats, even though it doesn't belong to them.
I really like this expert’s commentary, but I wish the armor sets that were chosen were either correctly matched item sets or simply only footage of the armor on NPC characters. I would have liked to hear his reaction to the sets of the various soldiers, each with their own color schemes to represent their lord, and how the design of the armor progresses with the soldier’s rank and role-it’s something that I think the designers of Elden Ring did quite well
This sounds way more interesting for an expert to comment on.
Yes, there are great armors like the lion's mane knight or Leyndell knight, House Hoslow armor, outlaw knight armor, etc.
Yes, it looks like the person showing him these didn't play the game 🤔
It's so dissapointing that they almost never tell him wether an armor is a full set from the game or just some random pieces they decided to put on. They did the same thing in the dragon's dogma episode. The great helm is not supposed to be part of the mausoleum knight set, or any other late plate armor set. The pieces of armor it goes the best with would be the tree or eye surcoats and the chain leggings.
What's the point of him talking about what the designer might be thinking, if the armor they're showing wasn't chosen to go together by the designer, but by some rando at gamespot?
I'm pretty sure Gamespot is a sister company to IGN, so I've never been surprised when Gamespot will fumble the ball on game/tv and movie coverage. Remember, Gamespot did NOT like Fallout when it first released in April of this year. Then changed their tune the following days because of the haters lol but i feel yaa. This interview could've been actually good if the interviewer compiled better footage, rather than saving it for last
classic game "journalism" moment
@@Austrveg ok kid 😂
@@fartbrotherY2K my guy your name is literally fartbrother😭
@@Austrveg cry about it kid 😆😆😆😆
actually hilarious that melania made him bring up iron hand gotts, one of the big influences for berserk.
Miyazaki really doesn't miss.
Right? I didn't put it together when I was playing Elden Ring, but hearing Dr. Capwell mention Gotts, the Berserk connection jumped right out at me. That has to be intentional on Miyazaki's part.
He does not miss as long as he doesn't focus on the helmets.
It’s in fact not an influence for Berserk, Miura in an interview said that he didn’t khow and surprised because of the similarities
Götz was never conformed to be an inspiration
@@ahihi7706there's no way he wasn't influenced given almost all soul games have berserk references
On the Gladiator set, the description says that the crowd was always against them. They're mostly unarmored because they were meant to lose.
It's also a way to present them as savages, uncultured and inferior.
Yeah, it would have been nice if they gave him a copy of the in-game item descriptions that go with each set for context.
It is implied in the lore that the set is adorned with snakes because they are viewed as the opposite of the Erdtree. The Gladiators themselves are actually champions of the Erdtree, it is implied they wore the snakes due to the fact the attendees of the arenas found pleasure in the snakes being battered and disfigured. It was not so they would lose.
@@Beelzebubbly_ Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think they were precisely from the primordial erdtree - which the current followers of the erdtree see as heretical. Kind of like how Crucible Knights are all scattered around, and disliked by others, as well as demi-humans and other beings from the primordial phase of the erdtree.
I really like that he actually appreciates the creative attempt on the depictions, and not just dumps on it because of historical inaccuracies.
Not seen too often on RUclips when some "experts" react to stuff like this.
Nuance and respect are the hallmarks of a true master. An "expert" criticises that which they perceive wrong, a master respects that which is different.
they ARE experts...you dont need the quotations. and they are pointing out the things From didnt take into consideration because they dont understand the medium. you just are apt to give a pass to everything they do because "VISION! ITS VISIONARY; SO THEREFORE I DONT HAVE TO EXPLAIN OR HAVE ANY CONSISTANCY TO REAL LIFE! YOUR ARGUMENT IS INVALID!"
@@pluemasbeautifully said
this guy dumps on them a lot more than what I've seen from others
one of the things the armor in fromsoft games does a great job of doing is telling you which enemies are MOST important or hardest, through the usage of overly decorative plates and such. The lowly fodder enemies are all barely armored or just scraps of fabric and leather, than you go up to harder hitting guys who have some well made, but plainer armor, than when you get to bosses and minibosses, they're all hugely ornately armored with gilding and etching and tassels and ribbons. Going back to DS1 going through undead burg, fighting through undead peasantry with simple weapons and barely any armor, than you turn a corner and see a Black Knight with a towering helmet, full plate in this matte black sheen with subtle embellishments, and you're immediately shown that this enemy is going to be much harder than everything else youve fought.
That’s a great point until you get worked by fury dog.
Yeah man Margit/Morgott is well known for his ornate armor
@Gorgondantess that's a story telling choice. Morgott didn't feel worthy of donning golden armor, he felt he was primitive because the effects of the crucible were seen as devolution.
Instead, Morgott wears animal fur, which he relates more to. This choice is just as important as the gilded armor of Maliketh.
However, the first comment is still correct. What makes Morgott so striking is that he BREAKS THE PATTERN of hard bosses having decorated armor. In order for this to be felt, you must be used to the armored bosses.
@@HeavyweapopIt actually doubles down on the sentiment. The encounter order is Nobles to Soldiers to Knights to then see that the first proper boss of the game is somewhat unarmored, It tells you it only gets harder from here.
@@Gorgondantess He does have an extremely distinct appearance though, which still works with the point being made.
He might not be armoured hugely, but he is very clearly his own appearance, and not at all someone who blends into the masses of soldiers around him.
I get where he's coming from regarding decoration, but Tree Sentinels weren't just random nobody soldiers--they deserved that gilding.
I think the issue is that decorated warriors in real life rarely used decorated armor in combat, some sort of palace guards will wear it while standing guard but the expectation was never full combat really. The tree sentinels are decorated warriors that also seem to fight often and readily as any soldier would, kinda outside what they might actually do in a real life context. I don't think there's anything wrong with that since Elden Ring is not real life but I figured that's why he pointed out the decorative nature of the armor. I figure the lands between have easier manufacturing processes for crazy armor like this than old Europeans did anyways so maybe the decorative armor isn't actually that impractical.
@@gordonfreeman5179 The thing is, the Tree Sentinels use dragonparts in their armor for a purpose: fight dragons. That was their original idea, using the parts of their enemies to cause fear and protection against the lightning that the dragons use. So, yes, it does have a decorative nature (causing fear) but the major use was for the protection it provided against heir enemy at the time.
@@gordonfreeman5179many knights and men at arms had beautifully decorated war armors. They just weren’t to that degree. For example, many of the Greenwich armors, which were blued and gilded, were garnitures meant for both war and the tournament.
they're basically nobodies scattered throughout the lands as guards idk what you're talking about. If you like it because it's pretty and don't mind because it's just a game then just say that.
@@gordonfreeman5179 The problem is that degree of ornamentation can catch weapons instead of deflecting them. It defeats the purpose.
The fact that this expert easily separates historical expectation from visual art piece and admiration is amazing. He has great taste and explains the relationship between historical accuracy and art so eloquently. 10/10
Really should've shown him sets like the Carian Knight Set, the regular Knight Set, Vyke's set, the Scaled Armor set, and just so many other armor sets.
For sure, would love to see him look at Night's Cavalry as well.
regular knight set is probably one the most accurate real life armor examples, that and maybe the banished knight armor
@@dream8870I suspect he would have had a few things to say about the helmets though. As Frog helms were typically only used in jousting and not worn in real combat. As they had excellent frontal protection, but literally made it impossible for the wearer to turn their head. With the in game version also being morphed in a way the means a human head can’t possibly fit inside it. Although I suppose it could also be that the people at Gamespot didn’t know this and left the them out because they thought the sets were too normal.
@@zaleost they're talking about the regular knight set (the one you buy at the roundtable hold), not the lordsworn knight set.
@@stax6092 night cavalry is very badly designed compared to the rest of the game sets, as if it has some different artist
Man there were so many interesting sets they could have shown him, hopefully we’ll get a part 2, I wanna see his take on the Bloodhound Knight armor
I find that to be a common theme with the expert reacts videos.
Well how many full plate armor sets can they show him before he starts saying the same thing about it being fantasy and not totally realistic
@@adriandiaz053 Maybe like "some" of the armors, it will have ties to historical references, otherwise hearing his opinion on more outlandish/specific armor sets is something I am personally interested in, I.e: the Bloodhound Knight set is worn on the opposite side of the wearers body cause of how he fights on the ground like an animal and hearing its plausability or lack therof.
Fr i'd love to see about what he thinks of D's twinned armour set which is my personal favourite set at the moment (well at least most of it)
For the devs defense at 6:43, that helm is not a part of the mausoleum knight set (who are headless therefore no helm), but added by whoever recorded this game footage.
I really wish they would provide item descriptions for the armor pieces. Just from the first few reactions of the video, he sees the gladiator set but doesn’t know it’s for gladiators or the meaning behind the serpents. He also sees the mausoleum knight armor, but for some reason they decided to add a greathelm since the mausoleum knight armor doesn’t have a helmet.
I think adding item descriptions would give a lot more context to what’s actually going on instead of just showing images with no background or explaination.
Can we just acknowledge how he hailed exactly where the designers are from by looking at ARMOR
He's really coming around to reviewing video game armor. He feels much more comfortable in his discussion in this video. Can't wait to see more videos with him.
Always a good day when we get more Tobias Capwell or Jonathan Ferguson content.
I really liked his point on the tree sentinel because what he's saying is totally correct, *and,* that's the point of the Golden Order- they are these ridiculously ornate, overly-decorated figures because the Golden Order itself is exactly that
I love Vagabond set for the visual story it tells about its wearer.
One glove is gone, visor is broken and stuck in place, supported by a piece of rope, gambeson is covered in dirt and decolorized, if you remove the cape you can see a sack with some essentials probably and a set of hatchet and different cutlery.
In my head it evokes imagery of a hedge knight roaming the country side, never staying long in hubs of civilization
Basically, yeah, a vagabond 😅
isnt wearing armor like that all the time impractical though? i thought knights only wear armor when theyre going into combat and then they all have servants that would actually be able to put the armor on the knight or else it would be impossible to get in and out of it by yourself
@@terrycruise-zd5tw That is very much true. But what if your armor is pretty much the only thing you possess?
If I lived in The Lands Between I would make sure to not take off my armor unless absolutely necessary 😂 @@terrycruise-zd5tw
@@terrycruise-zd5tw well I feel like wearing your armor is the best way to transport it if there's nobody but yourself
Amazing that he could tell Fromsoft is Japanese. But it also makes me want him to see the classic Knight set, that seems very accurate to real life.
Why didn't you show the gentleman the banished armor set?
beautiful piece of equipment that im sure he would enjoy and the closest i believe to accurate european armor.
we gotta get that codpiece commentary
Its cod piece time
What I love about Capwell commenting on games, TV, and/or film is that he fully takes into account the intent of the armour and not just its practical reality.
I love how this guy isn't just judging whether things are 'accurate' or not but thinking about the intention of the game designers, could listen to him talk about history and video games all day
What an amazing guest. Really enjoyable episode.
He's very will spoken
@@raider_reaper_4194 the irony of your typo is very funny to me
Did a bot write this comment?
What the heck my dudes, show the man some realistic looking armor like the banished knight set or something like that
14:28 the wrong leggings for that set, understandable because they share similar names.
that Götz guy must be the namesake for Guts, neat
He is a known inspiration for Berserk.
So Guts's real name is Gottfried haha. Berserk always had a 15th-16th century German aesthetic to me.
@@1IGGthe author had never heard of the real life figure before he made berserk. He said this in an interview. Though it is cool how art can imitate life
I feel like this guy has really nailed how to do these. He knows how to zoom in on whatever is most interesting to talk about, which is sometimes a direct evaluation of the historical accuracy but is often not.
I wonder how much context the experts get. I think his comments re: Tree Sentinel are completely valid, but in context it makes sense. We see historic examples of extremely intricate engraved/detailed armour, usually for royalty, even if it’s not intended for direct combat. Gold and gold alloys are more plentiful in the Lands Between, and the Tree Sentinels are high ranking servants of the Golden Order, answering to (what were) living, tangible gods. Their equipment isn’t meant to be mass produced compared to the soldiery, it’s meant to be symbolic while retaining functionality.
So IRL, absolutely insane level of detail that wouldn’t be worth pursuing outside of one-off masterpieces. In-universe, completely justifiable given the context.
The Erdtree Sentinel is decorated for good reason. It is reasonable to assume he served a ceremonial as well as combat role
I was expecting this video to just be a guy destroying the fantastic elements of the armor sets. This guy is a genius, he's got a lot of respect for all fantastic forms of media. That sense of suspension of disbelief from such a knowledgeable specialist is really fun and refreshing.
I wish they had shown him the Banished Knight set. It's one of my favorites.
This dude is awesome and his perspective on these armor sets is amazing! Bring him back for more!!!
Asymmetrical armor was not a really big thing on the medieval battlefield (maybe apart from some scavenged armor) but very much a thing in Roman gladiatorial combat. The armor of the Retiarius and the Murmillo were just the thing Toby mentioned: those asymmetrical shoulder and arm pieces worn on a strap across the chest.
Yes but when you consider "battlefield" or "war" armors... asymmetries are not really a thing. Brings out the attention to the fact that asymmetry is often use for spectacle?
@@ForestRaptor Roman legionaries also wore manica (a type of lamellar armor) on their sword arm. Not all of them, but some of them did.
The hype with the sword belt
Malenia's helmet is kinda interesting, behind that visor are viking-ish rims of armor around the eye sockets
the tree sentinel are more like religious icon, than anything
When i saw this video in recommended i immediately knew you are not going to show him the banished knight set even in part 2 because that armor is the best and one of the most accurate armor in the game, thanks for robbing us from great content again
I find it a bit funny that fromsoft is apparently more familiar with Japanese style armor than european armor
Despite them making 5 European fantasy style games and only 1 japanese fantasy game in the 15 years before elden ring.
Well they are a Japanese based studio, so they would see more Japanese history and armour in their country.
@@bobjoneswof Yeah, they have plenty of experience making video game armour in a european fantasy setting, but for japanese armour they can easy go and look at real historical pieces in a museum. Not a lot of medieval european armour in japanese museums.
@@Candlemancer Yeah it's like the default for them.
Tbf, Dark Souls is more dark fantasy than any attempt at medieval history, although dark fantasy heavily relies on the latter for it's tropes and props. Sekiro is also within dark fantasy, but the visual identity of the game is more pronounced and the Japanese devs are obviously more familiar with the ins and outs of the historical armors of their country.
Fromsoft is a Japanese company so it makes sense that they’re more familiar with their own culture’s armor/weaponry than Europe’s
I really enjoy listening to this guy, please do more!!! I've watched everything I can find with him talking about armor.
i truly like this guy; he brings all the knowledge of a scholar along with the enthusiasm of an artiste.
This guy’s commentary is so good. he’s not only giving awesome information about the armor, but he understands and respects the vision and intent of the designers
I really love that he keeps it out of the realm of criticism and moreso talks about what he thinks and likes about each set of armor
You should have shown him the banished knight armour
His idea that its a living, interactable work of art really hit home.
"Armour Will absorb the identity of the wearer" this man is a poet talking, it shows how much he likes the topic
I'm so happy that you made him look at Let Me Solo Her. Trolling experts has got to be such fun.
And you expect to catch them off guard, but here, turns out being trolls is just part of Human Existence and we've been doing since we could wear clothes :P
*Tobias is always a great guest on these commentary videos, love how he compliments game design for 'coolness' as well as realism, and how he references other historical cultural influences than just military stuff. The story of Gottfried Von Berlichingen was cool too, what a badass*
I love how he constantly reiterated that he's more interested in where the artists took inspirations then whether its realistic and therefore "good" incredibly respectful
Really interesting. I'm super happy to hear him say it's important to view it as a work of art more than a reflection of reality. A lot of these experts react type videos get too caught up in saying "no, that's wrong, and that's wrong".
You guys always fail when presenting this stuff to the specialists. It's rather frustrating. Mismatched armor sets, and then the only time you chime in to provide context, it's with the joke addition...
3:54 Plenty of armor in the game matches this description, but the armor being looked at here is only used by, I think, five knights in the entire world.
This guy's insights are so refreshing. So easily a expert can look down at these things from above and come off as obnoxious. Not so with Tobias. Really well explained and really nicely formatted to the intended audience.
Would love to see more, like with the Bloodhound armor, Cleanrot Soldier, and Briar set !
Always a joy to see Dr. Capwell. Would love to have y'all show him more Elden Ring armor, since there's plenty to show.
I love this guy. He's not overly critical, bashing the designers, he's offering great observations and offering up ideas to help break designers from the mold of filmmaking. I think he's a great guest keep it up 👍
Dr. Capwell is always a joy to listen to. I would like to see him look at the armor of Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord. I think it did a good job making it visually look like a prequel to the original M&B and resisted the temptation to use plate, making it feel like the era it was aiming for.
The title should be "Historian & Armor Expert Reacts to Fashion Souls." I do love it though, this is great.
5:55 that quote goes so hard, hes completely right about that
I really loved this video I’d love to see him review some more Elden ring armors.
i think they should explain to these people the contexts behind these armors. he points out that the level of elaborate detail on the tree sentinel is almost unheard of, but with the added context that its a powerful holy warrior and one of the strongest opponents in the game at the point you meet it, then it comes with some understanding
The Kaiden armor is one of my go-to. Love the realistic look and the fur on the shoulders. Though I usually use the Great Helm with it or no helm at all.
the real life guts is the coolest thing i've learned about on one these, its amazing that there is a historical precedent for prothesis in war.
I think what I dislike about these videos is that the sets are presented without context, and thus the reasons why they are the way they are, the fantasy reasons, get rolled over in favour of saying "well this isn't realistic."
This is like cinemasins for videogames.
The Mausoleum knight Armor doesn't have a helmet since the mausoleum knights are headless ghosts.
Then it's probably best not to put a helmet the guy will instantly recognize as being out of place. The winged hussars are not a particularly obscure cavalry symbol, even I was peeved with the greathelm choice
It would be cool to have experts like Mr.Capwell that know stuff like these to incorporate their ideas in these designs and see what we can get with regards to even cooler armour sets and weaponry.
Really enjoyed his commentary. His understanding of video games and the work put into them was great. Would love to watch another one of these.
His point about the sculptural form was very insightful
I really like listening to professionals who are enthusiastic about their expertise. Some really cool and insightful comments from Capwell, thanks for sharing the interview!
He is legitimately so nice. He’s like a super smart dad who’s like “this is why this isn’t *exactly* historically accurate or practical but I recognize where the artist is coming from and where they might have gotten their influence.” All the experts who’ve reacted to From games have been lovely but this one is my favorite.
Very nice of Mr.Sark to do this, didnt know he knew so much about armor!
If anyone's veritably obsessed with ultra in-depth Medieval arms & armor and historical units I strongly recommend Schwerpunkt's relative series. The guy is a Ph.D. in Medieval warfare and he's covering that insane level of regional detail every militar aspect of the era.
Theres so much interesting armor in this game with historical influences you could have shown and you picked some of the most generic. Most not even showing him the proper sets, but mixed sets…. And showing him let me solo hers “armor” was not funny imo.
What a great expert. Very passionate, very learned, but also so very fair. Judging the game for what it is, for what it needs as a game, as visual media.
I know we are far away from the first of april, but giving him the armor of Bloodbowl could be fun
Bloodbowl? WH40k bloodbowl ?
@@ForestRaptor Yes it has great armor and funny armor
I love that this expert condiders the fantasy setting. The statement about the visual design and a size of actual practicality role in it is great. Would like to see more analysises like that.
What an incredibly smart guy. I could listen to him talk about the subject of the video that I would normally find mundane, for hours on end
Toby has always been I think the most reasonable expert when it comes to this sort of thing. He understands that it's for fun and fantasy.
I did not know about the real life GUTS till right now. He sounds like a badass.
Always thrilled to see Gottfried of the Iron Hand come up in discussions.
Love Tobi! Always a treat to see him 🎉
Fun fact: Gottfried von Berlichingen was a direct inspiration for Miura Kentaro in creating Gutz in the series Berserk. Berserk in turn is a famous inspiration for Miyazaki in the souls games and Elden Ring, making it hard to determine if the inspiration for the prosthetics is taken straight from Gottfried, or if it is via Berserk. My guess is the latter, as prosthetics in souls games often come with a built-in weapon, which is very Berserk.
It would be nice if Tobias was given some context why the armors look the way they do (i.e. the crucible knights being ancient beings blessed by a god tree, the gladiators meant to lose in combat) because he has amazing insight on the design choices of the devs too!
This is definitely one of the better Expert Reacts, that they're able to take the entire context into consideration (that it is a game, and designers prefer what's cool to what's accurate)
I adore this mans analysis, so thoughtful and thorough, and considerate of the games intention and design, as best he can with the information he has and doing it well. Amazing
9:30 Medium length flared skirts are popular because they change the silhouette & you can animate legs without much clipping.
Skirts have more visual impact than leg plates because you can have long range of movement without having to tweak things to look like they weigh a lot. Also, cloth physics isnt as demanding on PCs as it used to be.
I wish we got more comprehensive looks at various armour sets, maybe if the historians had a picture list of the sets and see what stuck out to them before recording.
I often feel like many sets end up being overlooked or misrepresented. Some accompanying lore and/or context (and double checking) would also be welcome.
I really like these series that you do with experts. Such an interesting way to look at games.
Armor sets in RPG's are my favorite things to look at about any Rpg that exist. I absolutely love the different creations people come up with.
I'd wish we could hear his thoughts on Hoslow family armor set.
Out of all the experts who react to things on RUclips, this guys is the best. It's not even a contest.
Theres only one case of asymetrical armor that I know of and that is early british plate carriers with the Body Armor MK2 vest and the ECBA having plates only directly over the heart on the front and back instead of a full large plate.
Other than that, theres none that I know off either but I doubt the asymetrical armor trope came from that.
Definitely need a part 2. Be sure to include the banished knight armor sets
I’d be curious to hear him talk about Pax Dei
He's so gentle about "these don't simulate reality, they're remixes that don't know the history and what innovations came during which periods" (which make sense because it's not earth, so whichever.) But that kinda just shows the guy is really happy to indulge people's armor fantasies
So I guess +2 impressed with Elden ring and +5 impressed with this guy. He said as gently as possible "They are confused but they got spirit" really seems to embody "say something positive if you're going to say anything at all"
The overdecorated Erdtree sentinel in the Kaiden set can be thought of as the ceremonial praetorian guard to a living deity. The armor is likely actually made of gold in lore.
Someone already mentioned the Greathelm doesn’t belong on the Mausoleum Set, but Gamespot put the wrong pants on the leather set too 🤦🏻♂️
I hope one day to be this knowledgeable about a specific topic
This expert is awesome and I want to see him more but you guys need to give some sort of brief so he knows what's going on, I get you can't anticipate every assumption he'll make but just like: npc or armour set, npc name or armour name, weapon included or not, possibly armour description or npc background, etc.
I want to hear his thoughts and opinions on relevant information.
I wish he would have commented on in the Prisoner helm.