Hey all! Couple quick additions onto the video! If more pop up, I'll keep editing as I do. First - Kabuki is not a style of martial arts, it's a style of Japanese Theatre that depicts historical events, primarily through moral conflicts of the heart. Second - austin0_bandit05 made a great comment about incorrectly attributing design intent. For example, poise is a solution for Capra Demon, but does that mean that the intention of the Capra Demon was to encourage poise? And, off of that, does it even matter what the intent was if it fails to communicate that to a complete player base? I don't have a direct answer - personally, I like to error on the side of the designers having something in mind for everything in the game. Capra Demon, Bed of Chaos, Seath the Scaleless - they weren't conceptualized as bad bosses, or bosses that fail. There was some intent there - and analyzing why a bad boss is as bad as it is, at the end of the day, will require assumptions. If Capra Demon isn't a poise check, it's a lazy band-aid to fix a too easy battle. If it is a poise check, it comes too out of nowhere and doesn't do anything to lead you towards that solution. Just wanted to bring that up. Third - Long-Arm Centipede Giraffe's name is not Kirin; it's written in Katakana (Effectively writing in syllables, usually to pronounce foreign words/names) and can be pronounced as Jirafu. It's a little closer and makes where they got Giraffe a little clearer, but it makes me curious what other names are in Katakana versus the other japanese syllabury (syllaburies? I'm not a linguist). I'll see you with Part 1 of the Elden Ring video soon! Don't worry, I'm not doing the whole thing in one video - I don't hate myself THAT much.
A weird phenomenon of the community is that because Miyazaki and From have been so elevated in their minds that there is a tendency to see explanations or design intent where there are none. And unconciously use them to explain away any apparent bad design. Miyazaki and co can do no wrong. The Capra Demon example how the dogs are a poise check. I doubt they are but even if they are they fail at communicating this to the player and even if they did its still just a bad gank boss
The fact that the dogs respawn in that area and it's so small that Capra cannot perform any attack without clipping a wall definitely indicates it was a mistake. A lazy, last minute thing, you are absolutely right in us checking ourselves and not forcing depth where none exists.
@@hombojimbo What does that prove except that it had a troubled development cycle? DS1 has a garbage 2nd half and it was directed by Miyazaki. Bed of Chaos was developed and approved under him
This is actually exactly why I find Lies of P so fascinating, it really doesnt seem content to just lay in the shadow of the boss design tropes that Miyazaki & Co have established. It almost adresses every single gripe I have with the way animations are handled especially.
The idea that these games are meant to gatekeep those who are "not good enough" is maddeningly common in the community, so anyone who recognizes that the opposite is true immediately earns my respect. And a subscription, in this case.
Technically you aren't forced into a dual choice after beating Aldia. When you sit on the throne of want you are either extending the age of fire or bringing the age of dark. You don't get to see which one it is, because the point is that you choose to partake in the cycle. Walking away from the throne is the third choice, breaking away from the cycle
One thing you missed about the Fume Knight. If you enter his boss fight wearing Velstadt's helmet, he'll skip straight to phase 2. Long ago, the Fume Knight, Raime, was the left hand of Vendrick while Velstadt was the right hand. Raime learned the truth about Nashandra and tried to tell Vendrick, who didn’t believe him and had him exiled after he lost a duel with Velstadt. Entering the boss fight with the helmet of his old friend turned enemy enrages him so much he jumps straight to the second phase of the fight at full health.
I appreciate you mentioning the lore of the Capra Demon fight here, even if only briefly. It's important for every Souls game, but especially as you go into Elden Ring, this type of thing becomes really important when dealing with the many repeat / normal-enemy-as-boss bosses. In a game where maybe less than 10% of the bosses are truly unique, it's this sort of thing that really makes each of the 165 bosses actually meaningful, IMO. That sense of purpose is essential to the gameplay of a fight because it's what keeps you coming back and trying again.
3:09 As mentioned in the video already, the lore doesn't really excuse shitty design. It's even worse in Elden Ring though. Astel is such a cool and unique boss and fits perfectly for the end of Ranni's questline and capping of exploring Nokron and Nokstella with the night/space theme is amazing. But then you just find a random Astel in a cave that's basically the exact same fight (maybe it has 1 or 2 varied moves i don't remember) Imagine finding Cave Astel first, When you find Naturalborn Astel later it would feel cheap. I know Astel and the Fallingstar beasts have some lore about life cycles and all that shit, but it doesn't excuse the fact that you literally just fight the same enemy 10 times. Not saying this is always a bad thing. I like the Dragon fights and think that is a reasonable instance of repeat fights (although more work could have been done to make them each more unique imo). Bosses like Godrick/Godefroy and the Astels just feel like lazy copy n paste filler.
@@jeff3221 Not everyone has to care about like, the 7th repeated Crucible Knight or Magma Wyrm. I can certainly imagine it gets tiring for some people, but that's why the game is designed to let you ride on past if you want. I think they're neat, though.
Something I do really appreciate that's easily glossed over is that despite the re-use of bosses in Sekiro and especially Elden Ring, From always attempts to add some kind of different element to the bosses they reuse. An example that easily comes to mind for me is the Drunkard from Sekiro. Juzou is surrounded by his gang of bandits. Tokujiro has a little gang of monkeys, at least one of them with a gun, and is situated in a level with more varied terrain height so you can actually deathblow him from above. Shigekichi is fire-themed and has tearable armor that requires the Loaded Spear. Yes, it's essentially the same boss, but they at least try to do something different with it every time you meet it- be that giving the fight added mobs to make it more of a tactical challenge, changing the environment, the element, adding a new weakness or resistance. They could just plant the same boss everywhere and change the name (lol, Godefroy) but they typically do try to give each pasted boss some of its own flair. I like that.
I’m surprised no one mentioned for Dark Souls 3; High Lord Wolnir DOES have a second phase. You mentioned him drawing the sword, yes, but it also allows him to spawn skeletons into the battle. His second phase begins when the first bracelet is broken, and it’s indicated by a new music track playing (which is fire, by the way). The mistake is fair because Wolnir gets stunned pretty hard from the bracelets breaking so a good player can usually break the bracelets before he can actually do any of his cool stuff. Poor Wolnir, so much wasted potential.
I am *so* excited for you maybe doing a Lies of P video. I think the while Lies of P difficulty wise may end up being the hardest game overall for most players due to the intensely sekiro-esque technical demands it makes of the player, I honestly think over-all it might be the most well tuned, finely balanced Soulsbourne game we've gotten. I spent the entire game waiting for "that part" and it just didnt ever happen really? No boss felt ill-concieved, janky, otherwise annoying. No attack felt like it wasnt at least in the realm of *possibility* that you could properly parse it on your first ever try and actually beat it on a first attempt through skill rather than luck. I genuinely adore it, and I think it raises the bar across the entire genre for the standards we should expect from Soulsbourne bosses and how they are animated, designed and most importantly how intent is properly telegraphed to an attentive player, only punishing the player panicking. It really put a lot of my gripes with Elden Ring into perspective and helped me better understand what rubbed me the wrong way with a great many bosses in there. Lies of P is an absolute game-changer for me and I think that it would be remiss to not use it as a benchmark to properly assess the next From Software effort. So many mechanics, quality of life enhancement and tweaks that I would love to see FromSoft lovingly borrow or steal. I just kinda couldnt believe that it was as good as it was, especially after so many non-FromSoft Soulsbourne games are always "Good, but...." Love your analysis videos, if you get around to Lies of P I will be absolutely glued to that video from beginning to end!
I've been working my way through it - took a bit of a break for Hades 2, then Elden Ring's DLC. After I get through that, I'll be playing my way through Lies of P - though some other analysis videos will likely come first. And even just a few major bosses in (just beat Fuego, so barely scratched the surface), the bosses have felt so beautifully precise so far! I've yet to run into anything tilting, and though it's challenging, nothing feels invincible! That said, I've heard that the late game really steps it up - so I expect the game's just really getting started with me.
@@TheAkasharose Oh believe me, you're in for a delight, the end of Chapter IV (chapters at the top of the fast travel list!) was when I had my "oh... this is gonna just keep getting better isnt it" moment and the Chapter VI onwards was when it truly came into its own for me and I completely fell in love with it. I think you're gonna have a blast with it based on everything youve put in your S tier so far I think ^^
I bought Lies of P today after reading your comment. I wanted to play it when it came out but I never got around to it and totally forgot it existed lol
Sir Alonne's memory is also a co-op area, there are two summonig rooms in the entrance to the Iron King DLC (for Alonne and Blue Smelter) These rooms are right in front of the door you need the DLC key for, and were for people who didn't buy the DLC (which would give you the key) to be able to put their summon sign down into the entrance of the co-op area. Blue Smelter definitely "feels" more optional than Alonne since you don't get anything for beating it, while Alonne gives Smelter Wedges, but you don't actually have to fight either to get the Crown and complete the DLC, you only need to beat Fume Knight. Also please for the love of your sanity, don't do all the elden ring bosses in one video
Sir Alonne's a strange one for a Co-Op arena. Though I'm not the biggest Alonne fan, the most satisfying part about his moveset is the laser focus he keeps on the player - it's strange to me they'd encourage Co-Op for that. I didn't know you could co-op if you didn't have the DLC, though. That's actually really neat. And don't worry - I'll be doing three parts for Elden Ring (Potentially four once the DLC comes out). First part is the Early Game Areas (Limgrave, Weeping Penninsula, and Liurnia), Second part is Mid Game (Underground, Caelid, Mt. Gelmir, Altus Plateau), and the Third Part is the Endgame (The Capital, Mountaintop, Faram Azula). Even then, they're still going to be some really long videos.
Another point for Smelter. Before Scholar of the first sin ruined the zone it was actually one of the best in the game. Scholar at least doubled the number of Alonne Knights, and threw them in areas where it didn't make sense. I would hazard to guess that the overwhelming majority of problems you have with non-boss sections of DS2 are purely a scholar issue. Enemy placement in the original DS2 was based on level design. Placement in Scholar was based on playing into the git gud prepare to die memes and ambushing people who already knew the OG placements. It's an official version of one of those shitty remix mods that come out shortly after a souls game.
schollar actually made things easier for the most part, you have to play the games your self instead of going by some video that likely has a bias for ds1
Dunno if this was ever mentioned, but the Moon Presence might have an actual name! Going from a very rare piece of dialogue from the Doll, she prays for the Good Hunter’s safety to “Flora of the moon, of the dream”. This potentially ads to the already present feminine coding of the Moon Presence, what with moon cycles and their association with menstruation, and the fact that she essentially makes you her “surrogate” child in the bad ending.
21:01 As I recently learned, this is also true of Ebrietias. She’s also a Kin, not a true Great One. While the rematch against her, is still stupid, she’s not like the other Great Ones necessarily. Edit: Actually let me clarify this. Certain enemies in Bloodborne are known as Kin. They happen to take more damage from thrust attacks and bleed a certain blood type different to great ones. Both of these ring true of Ebrietas whereas it doesn’t for the Amygdala, Moon Presence and Orphan of Kos. Granted Ebrietas is not given much clarification about her origins in the lore, but it seems she’s not a true great one either.
23:00 something I want to mention is that we actually do fight Laurence before we see him in the nightmare. He’s the Bloodletting beast. If you notice, his skull doesn’t match the Cleric Beast but matches the Bloodletting beast perfectly. He’s also the biggest beast and usually, the stronger a person’s will and the longer they resist beasthood, they’ll turn into a bigger beast. And Laurence definitely held his beasthood off for a while as we find him right before fighting Queen Yharnam, meaning he was crawling through chalice dungeons for a while in order to find Mergo.
Another thing about the late game seven spears rematch in Sekiro that wasn't mentioned, the arena has an incapacitated enemy around the corner where you enter, which you can deathblow to activate a ninjitsu before you alert the seven spears. You can puppeteer him or use him to set off blood smoke so you can stealth kill the weaker enemy, so the fight is a 1v1 against seven spears
I really like gaping dragon's head weak spot. In my first playthrough i instantly picked up on that and since my health was too low anyway i basically did it with an RTSR setup all by myself not knowing it was a real strategy to just get it's benefits and... not take damage
You’ve never seen that moon presence combo? Maybe that’s why I like the fight so much more than others. My first win came when he used that combo at like 1/8 and I just had to rush it. I always assumed it was a scripted moment and didn’t understand why everyone thought the fight was way too calm.
I'm actually not sure which annoys me more: People who have never seriously played a Souls game, but still talk about how they are just misery and punishment, because memes, or the "hardcore fans" who dismiss any and all criticism because Miyazaki can do no wrong, the cheese strategies were totally intended, and you wouldn't have a problem with this or that if you were good at the game. Both seem to always be convinced that they are right, and you can't really argue with them either way.
I'm not so sure about that part about 1-4 in Demon's Souls. 1-3 is definitely locked until you kill an Archdemon, but 1-4 isn't blocked at all. I beat the game on PS3 yesterday and there was nothing stopping me from killing the False King as my third Archdemon. Maybe it's because I'm playing the unpatched version, I have no clue if they changed it later or not.
i do think you should try Armored Core. you've gushed about how much you love Sekiro and honestly AC6 is a LOT more like Sekiro than any other SoulsLike
The first time I was on the asylum demon balcony I just stood there not knowing what to do. He jumped up and hit me. I did the same thing with the Taurus demon and he did the same. For the Taurus demon I was wondering what I should do after plunging onto him. Eventually I just climbed the ladder again and repeated the plunge.
If you ever get around to playing the older armored core games; I highly recommend getting a joystick Rom Hack of the earlier games. Even in the second generation the joysticks are not used, and it is very hard to get used to. Anyhow I recommend starting with either armored core 6 or 4 answer. These games stand out in the series imo
I feel like the decision to make a fire themed refight with the cletix beast - as a callback to the similar repeats of the asylum daemon in dark souls, came before and independently to the decision to make that fight be lawrence. I don't object to the fight itself, it's interesting enough, but as lawrence, given his lore importance, it's a let down, and far less interesting than the previous fan assumption that the headless bloodletting beast in the chalices is lawrence, which is still my preferred interpretation.
OH NO. My comment that was cited here was actually incorrect. I did go back into Sekiro, and double check Long Arm Centipede Giraffe because the name had been BOTHERING me. I fact checked myself, and honestly just got more mad lmao. It would be LESS weird if his name was 麒麟 (Kirin). But nope, I double checked and his name is in katakana, which is a bit odd since its usually used for foreign loan words or foreign names. His name is written as 長手の百足 (Centipede of the Long Hand) then ジラフ which is in katakana and transliterates into English as Jirafu. The phonetic reading of Giraffe as a loan word, as opposed to the 'local' word that can also be used for giraffe. Sadly, without kanji, any estimations of what *else* could have been intended with Jirafu would just be overanalysis that leads to nowhere. Another odd example of this occurring is with Emma who's name is written エマ (Ema). So. From Soft was just being kind of silly?
Always hated running aldritch with my friend on co op. If he opened with the great magic spear attack it would be perfectly timed to hit me right as i entered the fog gate and would just insta kill co op in general if it hit.
The 1-4 thing is false the commenter is wrong you never needed to fight the other archdemons first just the one to enter 1-3. I have the ps3 version and you can definitely enter 1-4 early.
Oh boy I hope he doesn't end his bosses analysis series with a whimper by complaining about Elden Ring's boss designs like Joseph Anderson, VG Matthew & a couple other RUclipsr "critiques" where most of their complaints are either factually incorrect, or just outright hilarious, I hope you understand the bosses well, because I think they're the best in the series by far when optimized, they prioritize heavily on players' positional awareness, complex combo branchings, delayed attacks that can be punished and/or can be used to replenish stamina, directional rolling, not just having to get the timing right like it was with the overwhelming majority of DS3 & BB bosses, and they force cautious aggression, bosses in ER attack so often that you have to study them at a much deeper level than you would with DS3 & BB bosses, yes ER bosses are harder & require much more nuance than before, they no longer have anywhere near as many "safe punishes" as previous Souls titles (there are many still), and there's nothing wrong with that, they only increased their difficulties, I feel it's mostly similar to Sekiro in someway, just because From Software adds a bit more complexity to bosses doesn't mean they're unfair, just because you have to learn/work harder in order to extract more punish windows doesn't mean they have less, are there some few questionable or bad attacks in Elden Ring bosses? Yes there are, like in any Souls game, so it's only fair to assume that it will get critiqued on those & not the overall boss design approach, that would only be unfair to the bosses mechanics and would mean that you lack good enough understanding of how they operate...And that's it as far as I'm concerned. Love your videos!
Elden Ring boss design is definitely a different beast - a lot of the more 'filler' bosses follow more classical boss design, but major bosses are built a lot more around players needing to create their own openings. I think some boss archetypes work extraordinarily with the change, I think a couple struggle a bit more. I'm glad I've gotten to play the game twice, because Elden Ring is definitely a game that it takes you a while to start to see the games in some of the movesets - especially in the late game with battles like Mohg, that can seem violently hectic on a first run and incredibly precise on later runs. I can understand a preference between the two design philosophies, and there are definitely a couple Elden Ring bosses that I'm ready to sharpen a spear for, but Elden Ring boss design more intentioned than first glance would suggest. Glad you're enjoying the series!
People angling for higher grades for bosses because you missed a lore description or little detail somewhere are being very silly IMO. If you missed something, 99% of players probably did too. And if a boss's presentation without extra lore pieces didn't make an impact on you, then that's a perfectly normal thing to grade it on. (Related: I'm biased because I really didn't like Orphan, and think it in no way deserves an S, hahaha.)
Dark Souls 2 has awful areas no matter what version of the game you're playing, it will always baffle me how many people think 2's reputation is attributed solely to Scholar when I was there, and saw how many people despised and made the exact same arguments people make today as to why DS 2 is lacking. The only thing Scholar and original 2 change is which areas are truly terrible. I say this as someone who doesn't even dislike 2, it's at the bottom of my souls list but it is still a souls game, I like and enjoy it, but the way people react to genuine criticism of the game will always irk me.
Man, watching the Gael fight and other older bosses after playing Shadow of the Erdtree all day has made me realize what a shitshow the current bosses are. Rellana is just so stupid compared to Gael. 15 spinny aoe with 30yd radii in a row with 1 second before another 15, all while sliding around the floor mid animation so they are always right in your fucking face. Just zero skill or strategy involved, either you can face tank the hits and get lucky rng with AI or healing, or you get 100-0'd. Elden ring is easily tied with ds2 for most gimmicky and shit souls game imo. DS1 and 3 are just light-years ahead.
Hey all! Couple quick additions onto the video! If more pop up, I'll keep editing as I do.
First - Kabuki is not a style of martial arts, it's a style of Japanese Theatre that depicts historical events, primarily through moral conflicts of the heart.
Second - austin0_bandit05 made a great comment about incorrectly attributing design intent. For example, poise is a solution for Capra Demon, but does that mean that the intention of the Capra Demon was to encourage poise? And, off of that, does it even matter what the intent was if it fails to communicate that to a complete player base? I don't have a direct answer - personally, I like to error on the side of the designers having something in mind for everything in the game. Capra Demon, Bed of Chaos, Seath the Scaleless - they weren't conceptualized as bad bosses, or bosses that fail. There was some intent there - and analyzing why a bad boss is as bad as it is, at the end of the day, will require assumptions. If Capra Demon isn't a poise check, it's a lazy band-aid to fix a too easy battle. If it is a poise check, it comes too out of nowhere and doesn't do anything to lead you towards that solution. Just wanted to bring that up.
Third - Long-Arm Centipede Giraffe's name is not Kirin; it's written in Katakana (Effectively writing in syllables, usually to pronounce foreign words/names) and can be pronounced as Jirafu. It's a little closer and makes where they got Giraffe a little clearer, but it makes me curious what other names are in Katakana versus the other japanese syllabury (syllaburies? I'm not a linguist).
I'll see you with Part 1 of the Elden Ring video soon! Don't worry, I'm not doing the whole thing in one video - I don't hate myself THAT much.
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@@rigorm136 remains my hero as I figure out how to RUclips.
A weird phenomenon of the community is that because Miyazaki and From have been so elevated in their minds that there is a tendency to see explanations or design intent where there are none. And unconciously use them to explain away any apparent bad design. Miyazaki and co can do no wrong. The Capra Demon example how the dogs are a poise check. I doubt they are but even if they are they fail at communicating this to the player and even if they did its still just a bad gank boss
The fact that the dogs respawn in that area and it's so small that Capra cannot perform any attack without clipping a wall definitely indicates it was a mistake. A lazy, last minute thing, you are absolutely right in us checking ourselves and not forcing depth where none exists.
If only DS2 was directed by Miyazaki, then it would be a perfect game, you don't even need to change anything 😔
@@hombojimbo What does that prove except that it had a troubled development cycle? DS1 has a garbage 2nd half and it was directed by Miyazaki. Bed of Chaos was developed and approved under him
This is actually exactly why I find Lies of P so fascinating, it really doesnt seem content to just lay in the shadow of the boss design tropes that Miyazaki & Co have established. It almost adresses every single gripe I have with the way animations are handled especially.
@@austin0_bandit05skill issue
The idea that these games are meant to gatekeep those who are "not good enough" is maddeningly common in the community, so anyone who recognizes that the opposite is true immediately earns my respect. And a subscription, in this case.
Technically you aren't forced into a dual choice after beating Aldia.
When you sit on the throne of want you are either extending the age of fire or bringing the age of dark. You don't get to see which one it is, because the point is that you choose to partake in the cycle. Walking away from the throne is the third choice, breaking away from the cycle
One thing you missed about the Fume Knight. If you enter his boss fight wearing Velstadt's helmet, he'll skip straight to phase 2.
Long ago, the Fume Knight, Raime, was the left hand of Vendrick while Velstadt was the right hand. Raime learned the truth about Nashandra and tried to tell Vendrick, who didn’t believe him and had him exiled after he lost a duel with Velstadt.
Entering the boss fight with the helmet of his old friend turned enemy enrages him so much he jumps straight to the second phase of the fight at full health.
I appreciate you mentioning the lore of the Capra Demon fight here, even if only briefly. It's important for every Souls game, but especially as you go into Elden Ring, this type of thing becomes really important when dealing with the many repeat / normal-enemy-as-boss bosses. In a game where maybe less than 10% of the bosses are truly unique, it's this sort of thing that really makes each of the 165 bosses actually meaningful, IMO. That sense of purpose is essential to the gameplay of a fight because it's what keeps you coming back and trying again.
3:09 As mentioned in the video already, the lore doesn't really excuse shitty design.
It's even worse in Elden Ring though. Astel is such a cool and unique boss and fits perfectly for the end of Ranni's questline and capping of exploring Nokron and Nokstella with the night/space theme is amazing.
But then you just find a random Astel in a cave that's basically the exact same fight (maybe it has 1 or 2 varied moves i don't remember)
Imagine finding Cave Astel first, When you find Naturalborn Astel later it would feel cheap.
I know Astel and the Fallingstar beasts have some lore about life cycles and all that shit, but it doesn't excuse the fact that you literally just fight the same enemy 10 times.
Not saying this is always a bad thing. I like the Dragon fights and think that is a reasonable instance of repeat fights (although more work could have been done to make them each more unique imo). Bosses like Godrick/Godefroy and the Astels just feel like lazy copy n paste filler.
Lore doesn't make me give af about regular enemies being given a boss health bar
@@jeff3221 Not everyone has to care about like, the 7th repeated Crucible Knight or Magma Wyrm. I can certainly imagine it gets tiring for some people, but that's why the game is designed to let you ride on past if you want.
I think they're neat, though.
Something I do really appreciate that's easily glossed over is that despite the re-use of bosses in Sekiro and especially Elden Ring, From always attempts to add some kind of different element to the bosses they reuse. An example that easily comes to mind for me is the Drunkard from Sekiro. Juzou is surrounded by his gang of bandits. Tokujiro has a little gang of monkeys, at least one of them with a gun, and is situated in a level with more varied terrain height so you can actually deathblow him from above. Shigekichi is fire-themed and has tearable armor that requires the Loaded Spear. Yes, it's essentially the same boss, but they at least try to do something different with it every time you meet it- be that giving the fight added mobs to make it more of a tactical challenge, changing the environment, the element, adding a new weakness or resistance. They could just plant the same boss everywhere and change the name (lol, Godefroy) but they typically do try to give each pasted boss some of its own flair. I like that.
The Iron Golem soundtrack also sounds like it says “HIT FOOT”….
I’m surprised no one mentioned for Dark Souls 3; High Lord Wolnir DOES have a second phase. You mentioned him drawing the sword, yes, but it also allows him to spawn skeletons into the battle. His second phase begins when the first bracelet is broken, and it’s indicated by a new music track playing (which is fire, by the way). The mistake is fair because Wolnir gets stunned pretty hard from the bracelets breaking so a good player can usually break the bracelets before he can actually do any of his cool stuff.
Poor Wolnir, so much wasted potential.
An analysis of the analysis? Oh you~!
More material about my favorite games to listen to while I draw, yes please!
I am *so* excited for you maybe doing a Lies of P video. I think the while Lies of P difficulty wise may end up being the hardest game overall for most players due to the intensely sekiro-esque technical demands it makes of the player, I honestly think over-all it might be the most well tuned, finely balanced Soulsbourne game we've gotten. I spent the entire game waiting for "that part" and it just didnt ever happen really? No boss felt ill-concieved, janky, otherwise annoying. No attack felt like it wasnt at least in the realm of *possibility* that you could properly parse it on your first ever try and actually beat it on a first attempt through skill rather than luck. I genuinely adore it, and I think it raises the bar across the entire genre for the standards we should expect from Soulsbourne bosses and how they are animated, designed and most importantly how intent is properly telegraphed to an attentive player, only punishing the player panicking. It really put a lot of my gripes with Elden Ring into perspective and helped me better understand what rubbed me the wrong way with a great many bosses in there.
Lies of P is an absolute game-changer for me and I think that it would be remiss to not use it as a benchmark to properly assess the next From Software effort. So many mechanics, quality of life enhancement and tweaks that I would love to see FromSoft lovingly borrow or steal. I just kinda couldnt believe that it was as good as it was, especially after so many non-FromSoft Soulsbourne games are always "Good, but...."
Love your analysis videos, if you get around to Lies of P I will be absolutely glued to that video from beginning to end!
I've been working my way through it - took a bit of a break for Hades 2, then Elden Ring's DLC. After I get through that, I'll be playing my way through Lies of P - though some other analysis videos will likely come first.
And even just a few major bosses in (just beat Fuego, so barely scratched the surface), the bosses have felt so beautifully precise so far! I've yet to run into anything tilting, and though it's challenging, nothing feels invincible!
That said, I've heard that the late game really steps it up - so I expect the game's just really getting started with me.
@@TheAkasharose Oh believe me, you're in for a delight, the end of Chapter IV (chapters at the top of the fast travel list!) was when I had my "oh... this is gonna just keep getting better isnt it" moment and the Chapter VI onwards was when it truly came into its own for me and I completely fell in love with it.
I think you're gonna have a blast with it based on everything youve put in your S tier so far I think ^^
I bought Lies of P today after reading your comment. I wanted to play it when it came out but I never got around to it and totally forgot it existed lol
That’s your opinion
Sir Alonne's memory is also a co-op area, there are two summonig rooms in the entrance to the Iron King DLC (for Alonne and Blue Smelter) These rooms are right in front of the door you need the DLC key for, and were for people who didn't buy the DLC (which would give you the key) to be able to put their summon sign down into the entrance of the co-op area.
Blue Smelter definitely "feels" more optional than Alonne since you don't get anything for beating it, while Alonne gives Smelter Wedges, but you don't actually have to fight either to get the Crown and complete the DLC, you only need to beat Fume Knight.
Also please for the love of your sanity, don't do all the elden ring bosses in one video
Sir Alonne's a strange one for a Co-Op arena. Though I'm not the biggest Alonne fan, the most satisfying part about his moveset is the laser focus he keeps on the player - it's strange to me they'd encourage Co-Op for that. I didn't know you could co-op if you didn't have the DLC, though. That's actually really neat.
And don't worry - I'll be doing three parts for Elden Ring (Potentially four once the DLC comes out). First part is the Early Game Areas (Limgrave, Weeping Penninsula, and Liurnia), Second part is Mid Game (Underground, Caelid, Mt. Gelmir, Altus Plateau), and the Third Part is the Endgame (The Capital, Mountaintop, Faram Azula). Even then, they're still going to be some really long videos.
Another point for Smelter. Before Scholar of the first sin ruined the zone it was actually one of the best in the game. Scholar at least doubled the number of Alonne Knights, and threw them in areas where it didn't make sense.
I would hazard to guess that the overwhelming majority of problems you have with non-boss sections of DS2 are purely a scholar issue. Enemy placement in the original DS2 was based on level design. Placement in Scholar was based on playing into the git gud prepare to die memes and ambushing people who already knew the OG placements. It's an official version of one of those shitty remix mods that come out shortly after a souls game.
schollar actually made things easier for the most part, you have to play the games your self instead of going by some video that likely has a bias for ds1
it literally didnt add any enemies, just moved them around
Someone should just link domo3000 videos whenever people are talking about sotfs
That is such a fantastic way to describe Dark Souls 2 honestly, I completely agree. It’s a great game, but it’s held back by it’s own namesake.
Quick correction, but Demon of Hatred is inspired by kabuki theatre, not a martial art
Keep up the amazing work have loved your videos
Thanks for using our comments it’s very helpful! ❤️
They were all really helpful comments! I learned a lot making this video.
Dunno if this was ever mentioned, but the Moon Presence might have an actual name!
Going from a very rare piece of dialogue from the Doll, she prays for the Good Hunter’s safety to “Flora of the moon, of the dream”. This potentially ads to the already present feminine coding of the Moon Presence, what with moon cycles and their association with menstruation, and the fact that she essentially makes you her “surrogate” child in the bad ending.
21:01 As I recently learned, this is also true of Ebrietias. She’s also a Kin, not a true Great One. While the rematch against her, is still stupid, she’s not like the other Great Ones necessarily.
Edit: Actually let me clarify this. Certain enemies in Bloodborne are known as Kin. They happen to take more damage from thrust attacks and bleed a certain blood type different to great ones. Both of these ring true of Ebrietas whereas it doesn’t for the Amygdala, Moon Presence and Orphan of Kos. Granted Ebrietas is not given much clarification about her origins in the lore, but it seems she’s not a true great one either.
23:00 something I want to mention is that we actually do fight Laurence before we see him in the nightmare. He’s the Bloodletting beast. If you notice, his skull doesn’t match the Cleric Beast but matches the Bloodletting beast perfectly. He’s also the biggest beast and usually, the stronger a person’s will and the longer they resist beasthood, they’ll turn into a bigger beast. And Laurence definitely held his beasthood off for a while as we find him right before fighting Queen Yharnam, meaning he was crawling through chalice dungeons for a while in order to find Mergo.
Another thing about the late game seven spears rematch in Sekiro that wasn't mentioned, the arena has an incapacitated enemy around the corner where you enter, which you can deathblow to activate a ninjitsu before you alert the seven spears. You can puppeteer him or use him to set off blood smoke so you can stealth kill the weaker enemy, so the fight is a 1v1 against seven spears
Is the ER video going to include the DLC, or is it coming out before then?
I'll be doing the ER video in three parts, then probably make a final part of this series going over the DLC!
I really like gaping dragon's head weak spot. In my first playthrough i instantly picked up on that and since my health was too low anyway i basically did it with an RTSR setup all by myself not knowing it was a real strategy to just get it's benefits and... not take damage
Feels weird showing up in another's video like this lol.
Twice! Even weirder!
Hey, they were helpful comments!
You’ve never seen that moon presence combo? Maybe that’s why I like the fight so much more than others. My first win came when he used that combo at like 1/8 and I just had to rush it. I always assumed it was a scripted moment and didn’t understand why everyone thought the fight was way too calm.
I'm actually not sure which annoys me more:
People who have never seriously played a Souls game, but still talk about how they are just misery and punishment, because memes,
or the "hardcore fans" who dismiss any and all criticism because Miyazaki can do no wrong, the cheese strategies were totally intended, and you wouldn't have a problem with this or that if you were good at the game.
Both seem to always be convinced that they are right, and you can't really argue with them either way.
I'm not so sure about that part about 1-4 in Demon's Souls. 1-3 is definitely locked until you kill an Archdemon, but 1-4 isn't blocked at all. I beat the game on PS3 yesterday and there was nothing stopping me from killing the False King as my third Archdemon. Maybe it's because I'm playing the unpatched version, I have no clue if they changed it later or not.
I don’t believe it was ever changed. The comment is just wrong. Though I also thought that till I entered 1-4 in the ps3 version early.
Should we expect an Elden Ring analysis? I'd love to hear what you have to say about this one
Definitely - I'm working on finishing Part 1 right now! I'm hoping in two or three weeks, I'll have the first part ready to post.
Man... Why I thought when the video started I was in the middle of hearing "Hey everyone, Goku here!"😅
i do think you should try Armored Core. you've gushed about how much you love Sekiro and honestly AC6 is a LOT more like Sekiro than any other SoulsLike
The first time I was on the asylum demon balcony I just stood there not knowing what to do. He jumped up and hit me. I did the same thing with the Taurus demon and he did the same. For the Taurus demon I was wondering what I should do after plunging onto him. Eventually I just climbed the ladder again and repeated the plunge.
If you ever get around to playing the older armored core games; I highly recommend getting a joystick Rom Hack of the earlier games. Even in the second generation the joysticks are not used, and it is very hard to get used to.
Anyhow I recommend starting with either armored core 6 or 4 answer. These games stand out in the series imo
I feel like the decision to make a fire themed refight with the cletix beast - as a callback to the similar repeats of the asylum daemon in dark souls, came before and independently to the decision to make that fight be lawrence. I don't object to the fight itself, it's interesting enough, but as lawrence, given his lore importance, it's a let down, and far less interesting than the previous fan assumption that the headless bloodletting beast in the chalices is lawrence, which is still my preferred interpretation.
I actually love ds2 lmao the vibe is immaculate
I second that. It captures the melancholic, destined atmosphere of 'Souls' more than any entry in the series.
Awesome vid, just a heads up Kabuki is a type of theater/performing not martial art.
OH NO.
My comment that was cited here was actually incorrect. I did go back into Sekiro, and double check Long Arm Centipede Giraffe because the name had been BOTHERING me. I fact checked myself, and honestly just got more mad lmao.
It would be LESS weird if his name was 麒麟 (Kirin). But nope, I double checked and his name is in katakana, which is a bit odd since its usually used for foreign loan words or foreign names. His name is written as 長手の百足 (Centipede of the Long Hand) then ジラフ which is in katakana and transliterates into English as Jirafu. The phonetic reading of Giraffe as a loan word, as opposed to the 'local' word that can also be used for giraffe. Sadly, without kanji, any estimations of what *else* could have been intended with Jirafu would just be overanalysis that leads to nowhere.
Another odd example of this occurring is with Emma who's name is written エマ (Ema).
So.
From Soft was just being kind of silly?
oh shit you used my comment, that's so cool
Always hated running aldritch with my friend on co op. If he opened with the great magic spear attack it would be perfectly timed to hit me right as i entered the fog gate and would just insta kill co op in general if it hit.
The 1-4 thing is false the commenter is wrong you never needed to fight the other archdemons first just the one to enter 1-3. I have the ps3 version and you can definitely enter 1-4 early.
Oh boy I hope he doesn't end his bosses analysis series with a whimper by complaining about Elden Ring's boss designs like Joseph Anderson, VG Matthew & a couple other RUclipsr "critiques" where most of their complaints are either factually incorrect, or just outright hilarious, I hope you understand the bosses well, because I think they're the best in the series by far when optimized, they prioritize heavily on players' positional awareness, complex combo branchings, delayed attacks that can be punished and/or can be used to replenish stamina, directional rolling, not just having to get the timing right like it was with the overwhelming majority of DS3 & BB bosses, and they force cautious aggression, bosses in ER attack so often that you have to study them at a much deeper level than you would with DS3 & BB bosses, yes ER bosses are harder & require much more nuance than before, they no longer have anywhere near as many "safe punishes" as previous Souls titles (there are many still), and there's nothing wrong with that, they only increased their difficulties, I feel it's mostly similar to Sekiro in someway, just because From Software adds a bit more complexity to bosses doesn't mean they're unfair, just because you have to learn/work harder in order to extract more punish windows doesn't mean they have less, are there some few questionable or bad attacks in Elden Ring bosses? Yes there are, like in any Souls game, so it's only fair to assume that it will get critiqued on those & not the overall boss design approach, that would only be unfair to the bosses mechanics and would mean that you lack good enough understanding of how they operate...And that's it as far as I'm concerned. Love your videos!
Elden Ring boss design is definitely a different beast - a lot of the more 'filler' bosses follow more classical boss design, but major bosses are built a lot more around players needing to create their own openings. I think some boss archetypes work extraordinarily with the change, I think a couple struggle a bit more. I'm glad I've gotten to play the game twice, because Elden Ring is definitely a game that it takes you a while to start to see the games in some of the movesets - especially in the late game with battles like Mohg, that can seem violently hectic on a first run and incredibly precise on later runs. I can understand a preference between the two design philosophies, and there are definitely a couple Elden Ring bosses that I'm ready to sharpen a spear for, but Elden Ring boss design more intentioned than first glance would suggest.
Glad you're enjoying the series!
@@TheAkasharose You’re awesome, man. Thanks for the long dedicated reply. I love your videos.
lol at the git good Easter egg. Thanks for that 😂
People angling for higher grades for bosses because you missed a lore description or little detail somewhere are being very silly IMO. If you missed something, 99% of players probably did too. And if a boss's presentation without extra lore pieces didn't make an impact on you, then that's a perfectly normal thing to grade it on. (Related: I'm biased because I really didn't like Orphan, and think it in no way deserves an S, hahaha.)
Dark Souls 2 has awful areas no matter what version of the game you're playing, it will always baffle me how many people think 2's reputation is attributed solely to Scholar when I was there, and saw how many people despised and made the exact same arguments people make today as to why DS 2 is lacking.
The only thing Scholar and original 2 change is which areas are truly terrible.
I say this as someone who doesn't even dislike 2, it's at the bottom of my souls list but it is still a souls game, I like and enjoy it, but the way people react to genuine criticism of the game will always irk me.
Blood Starved Beast isnt female, at least there are no evidence in the game regarding its gender so it could be either.
Half of this is like unconfirmed meme stuff. Iron golem music? Really?
Man, watching the Gael fight and other older bosses after playing Shadow of the Erdtree all day has made me realize what a shitshow the current bosses are.
Rellana is just so stupid compared to Gael. 15 spinny aoe with 30yd radii in a row with 1 second before another 15, all while sliding around the floor mid animation so they are always right in your fucking face. Just zero skill or strategy involved, either you can face tank the hits and get lucky rng with AI or healing, or you get 100-0'd.
Elden ring is easily tied with ds2 for most gimmicky and shit souls game imo. DS1 and 3 are just light-years ahead.