Was Dark Souls 2 the greatest game that From Software ever made?

[Young_Hollow]

imagine preferring the game where half the bosses are total push-overs

Imagine preferring a game that can't keep minimum framerate on recommended system specs.

 

[smaug]

imagine preferring the game where half the bosses are total push-overs

I'd prefer a diversity and gimmick boss variety like you know, in RPGs ?

Also DS1's bosses are not that hard especially when you play it properly on 60FPS.

 

[Lutte]

Tbh this is basically the only area where DS3 is superior. I think everything else about DS3 is worse than other From games, but when it comes to boss fights, it's the one game that entertains the most, and I did a lot of moderately fast speedrun types runs just for the sake of fighting the bosses again there. Going back to the older souls, most boss fights feel quaint and anticlimactic.

Still, DS2 manages to keep enough decent encounters to at least not pale in front of DS1 : NG+ Lost Sinner, NG+ Flexile (those two really should have been like than in regular NG rather than being NG+ exclusives), Smelter, Velstadt are decent encounters, while Darklurker is top tier material, as are Fume Knight, Sir Alonne, Sinh and Ivory King.

 

[Morenatsu.]

imagine preferring the game where half the bosses are total push-overs

I'd prefer a diversity and gimmick boss variety like you know, in RPGs ?

Demon's Souls is better if that's what you want. It is rather easy as well, but makes up for it in the absolutely everything else about it. DS2 is pathetic.

Also DS1's bosses are not that hard especially when you play it properly on 60FPS.

lmao. Playing a game with broken timings because muh framerate is the definition of improper.

 

[smaug]

imagine preferring the game where half the bosses are total push-overs

I'd prefer a diversity and gimmick boss variety like you know, in RPGs ?

Demon's Souls is better if that's what you want. It is rather easy as well, but makes up for it in the absolutely everything else about it. DS2 is pathetic.

Also DS1's bosses are not that hard especially when you play it properly on 60FPS.

lmao. Playing a game with broken timings because muh framerate is the definition of improper.

I don't disagree about most of DS2's bosses being pathetic, but I don't hate them as much because at least they are different and I do look forward to playing demon souls.

 

[Morenatsu.]

imagine preferring the game where half the bosses are total push-overs

I'd prefer a diversity and gimmick boss variety like you know, in RPGs ?

Demon's Souls is better if that's what you want. It is rather easy as well, but makes up for it in the absolutely everything else about it. DS2 is pathetic.

Also DS1's bosses are not that hard especially when you play it properly on 60FPS.

lmao. Playing a game with broken timings because muh framerate is the definition of improper.

I don't disagree about most of DS2's bosses being pathetic, but I don't hate them as much because at least they are different and I do look forward to playing demon souls.

It's okay, DS2 is still decent enough and fun game anyway, I greatly exaggerate my distaste for the Codex because complaining is fun. The thing is, the more unique bosses just aren't actually that interesting to play and mostly died extremely easily for me. DS2 only really works when it's about a big guy with big weapon dancing in the middle of the room. Otherwise it's like ‘look, I filled a room with a bunch of enemies, they'll either gang up on you and kill you instantly, or you'll swing your sword once and kill them all at once in five seconds’. I guess it's still cool if that's your first game, but coming off the originals, it's very wat.

Plus, the obviously disjointed nature of the game and lack of real feeling to the setting is a serious problem (not because of the overlapping maps, that's just autism, no really one cares), and the grafix iz sux ASS, cannot be overstated enough, literally releasing a game in fullbright mode r00flmaowtfbbqlgbtqia+

 

[Shrimp]

Honestly for each subsequent game I enjoyed the boss fights less. The area exploration is probably the aspect I enjoy the most when playing the games for the first time, but admittedly those don't really hold the same replay value as the bosses do on future playthroughs.

 

[Ravielsk]

No, simply by virtue of requiring a bimonthly thread here and elsewhere to "discuss" how great it is. A factually good game does not need regular "reminders" about it quality, that is the one thing that should be self evident. Clearly there is something wrong with the game if it needs regular cheer-leading sessions.

 

[Nathir]

Dark souls 1 is better because it has a better aestethic and visual design. This is true for enemies as well as levels. DS has incredible atmosphere, DS2 is ugly and janky with a world that does not feel like it makes any sense.

 

[Ravielsk]

DS2 is ugly and janky with a world that does not feel like it makes any sense.

I personally dislike this line of reasoning. Making sense is not the problem here. Plenty of games have entirely nonsensical game worlds and work just as well if not better than DS1. The real problem with DS2 areas is that they are almost universally bad. They are full of dead-ends and weird loops that serve no purpose narrative or gameplay wise. They do not work as self-contained experiences or as parts of a bigger world. My game time would be cut in half if I removed all the times I ventured into a pointless dead end or into a bizarre loop that seems like a leftover from a different level. The Vanilla game has easily some of the wort level design I have seen in a game period. The nonsensical layout is just a cherry on top, not the core issue.

 

[Nathir]

DS2 is ugly and janky with a world that does not feel like it makes any sense.

I personally dislike this line of reasoning. Making sense is not the problem here. Plenty of games have entirely nonsensical game worlds and work just as well if not better than DS1. The real problem with DS2 areas is that they are almost universally bad. They are full of dead-ends and weird loops that serve no purpose narrative or gameplay wise. They do not work as self-contained experiences or as parts of a bigger world. My game time would be cut in half if I removed all the times I ventured into a pointless dead end or into a bizarre loop that seems like a leftover from a different level. The Vanilla game has easily some of the wort level design I have seen in a game period. The nonsensical layout is just a cherry on top, not the core issue.

This is actually exactly what I meant with the last part, I know I didn't elaborate. It just has a bunch of random hallways and rooms leading into one another without any aestethic or functional sense. There is literally a door that opens into a cliff, the whole purpose being the player falling down there. In huntsmans copse there's a tree that you knockdown as a shortcut, and it has a bonfire on either side. The shrine where you offer the great souls, makes you bypass a pile of rubble on the road...

 

[The_Mask]

Dark Souls > every other title.

Except maybe Bloodborne, which I begrudgingly have to concede it might be an equal to DS.

Don't @ me.


Also Maiden in Black is pretty much THE standard in a female presence.

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

Dark Souls > every other title.

Except maybe Bloodborne, which I begrudgingly have to concede it might be an equal to DS.

Don't @ me.


Also Maiden in Black is pretty much THE standard in a female presence.

I dunno man, Shanalotte is pretty cute.

 

[SumDrunkGuy]

Dark Souls 2 is the best one. The only real drawback is soul memory which they should just patch out somehow. I understand why they did it, but they added the Agape Ring later on anyways to band-aid fix the error of their ways when they should just get rid of that shit entirely.

But in terms of replayability and build diversity, DS2 is the king. If you like PVP, DS2 is the best of them all. DS1 has to be the most overrated game I've played in the last ten years, I've no clue why this game gets so many free passes when the game itself completely falls apart after Anor Londo. The entire second half of the game is this gauntlet of pure shit when it comes to navigating it.

Past week I played DS1/in the midst of playing DS2 back-to-back and it's unnerving how much I prefer DS2. Everything about it is fun. The bullshit in DS2 is a lot less infuriating than DS1's bullshit. In some parts it's like the developers knew they were giving you some rough anal sex and would throw a bone like putting a bonfire there so you can bash your head against it repeatedly. DS1's bullshit takes away the player knowledge or is obsessed with pulling a fast one. Tomb of Giants is the worst area in all of the Souls games. It makes no sense why this area sucks so much cock when New Londo does what Tomb of Giants is trying to do but actually did it right.

Now DS2 does have its shit like grab attacks are given hitboxes that may as well be AOE but through all that I really do think it's superior. The DLC areas are way, way better that's for sure. Sunken City is one of the best dungeon delving experiences to this day, Fume Knight is superior to Artorias, and the greatest troll ever devised is in the Ivory King portion.

I'm not gonna bother mentioning DS3 because that game made me realize Miyazaki creatively peaked years prior and I'd sooner have the "B Team" make more games that are actually fun like DS2 was than trying to be some faggy art project like Miyazaki's direction goes towards. There are grown men, men with penises and testicles, that openly confess to weeping to killing Sif. LOL. Nigga I needed to kill that dumb ass dog for the Horny Ring. Told that retarded asshole that you hold a sword in your hands, not your mouth.

Oh yeah and when I went to Earthen Peak to Iron Keep I want every fucking DS1 fagboy here to know I masturbated on the elevator in joy to it. What are you gonna do about it, pussy?

Your taste in games is just as immaculate as my own. I fist thee, bro.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

As for art direction and stuff, I'd say they're about equal. The one thing that DS games have going for it that is true for DS1/DS2 is they do this very good job of showing you on the horizon what you're going to be conquering and you're greeted with some ominous or majestic shit you can't wait to take down. When you first approach Drangleic Castle it looks ornate yet foreboding and when you fight the Looking Glass Knight near the top of it during the apex of the thunderstorm in an arena that tells you this boss has clearly been fucking people up for a very long time, using his own sword as a conduit for the lightning, summoning in other phantoms and potentially other players with his shield, that bomb ass theme song that makes this sound like life-or-death, you know DS1 fans had to cryhump into their Miyazaki bodypillows that you're given a climatic boss fight and not something lame like the Iron Golem.

And I'd rather fight five Pursuers at once than have to see another boring as shit Vanguard/Asylum Demon reskin fight only this time they gave him random explosions.

 

[Machocruz]

Only things I didn't like about DS2 were in presentation. Looked like you had rickets when running, a lot of attack animations were awkward or lacked vigor, flat lighting, ugly texture work. Basically an eyesore on a technical level, while it had a lot of cool visual design otherwise.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

Also DS2 has the superior spider boss. Quelaag was a fucking JOKE. Such a massive disappointment because, like most big bosses, you just stay to the side and hack and slash and occasionally roll away if she does the big ass AOE thing or you are near lava pools.

Duke's Dear Freja not only looks cooler but can actually whoop your ass if you're not careful. Also has top tier spider boss fight music. Having a gargantuan spider call upon dozens of giant spiders to come rush your ass while the music sounds like you're going to have your spine ripped out is TEXTBOOK incline. Also reveals to gnaw on Seath's husk when nobody is around because Seath is bitchmade. Actually a heroic figure, this Freja. Saved us another brush in with that shitty "scaleless dragon." You know what a scaleless dragon is to any adventurer? USELESS. Can't make armor out of this nigga, what's the point.

As an aside a couple pages back there was some mention of spider enemies in From games and as much as I do want to take every opportunity on this Earth to ridicule and shit on Miyazaki I will give him props for providing some spiders in Bloodborne. Rom himself looks like shit, but the spiders that rain from the sky are pretty cool and there are also the ones in that church or whatever, I think it's in the nightmare realm. Too bad they only appear in that one area and never anywhere else to my knowledge but I only played BB once by borrowing a PS4 for a week.

 

[Shrimp]

Also DS2 has the superior spider boss. Quelaag was a fucking JOKE. Such a massive disappointment because, like most big bosses, you just stay to the side and hack and slash and occasionally roll away if she does the big ass AOE thing or you are near lava pools.

Duke's Dear Freja not only looks cooler but can actually whoop your ass if you're not careful. Also has top tier spider boss fight music. Having a gargantuan spider call upon dozens of giant spiders to come rush your ass while the music sounds like you're going to have your spine ripped out is TEXTBOOK incline. Also reveals to gnaw on Seath's husk when nobody is around because Seath is bitchmade. Actually a heroic figure, this Freja. Saved us another brush in with that shitty "scaleless dragon." You know what a scaleless dragon is to any adventurer? USELESS. Can't make armor out of this nigga, what's the point.

As an aside a couple pages back there was some mention of spider enemies in From games and as much as I do want to take every opportunity on this Earth to ridicule and shit on Miyazaki I will give him props for providing some spiders in Bloodborne. Rom himself looks like shit, but the spiders that rain from the sky are pretty cool and there are also the ones in that church or whatever, I think it's in the nightmare realm. Too bad they only appear in that one area and never anywhere else to my knowledge but I only played BB once by borrowing a PS4 for a week.

There's also this particular type of spider in BB:

Spoiler

 

[Lutte]

Bug sprays GGS

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

Also DS2 has the superior spider boss. Quelaag was a fucking JOKE. Such a massive disappointment because, like most big bosses, you just stay to the side and hack and slash and occasionally roll away if she does the big ass AOE thing or you are near lava pools.

Duke's Dear Freja not only looks cooler but can actually whoop your ass if you're not careful. Also has top tier spider boss fight music. Having a gargantuan spider call upon dozens of giant spiders to come rush your ass while the music sounds like you're going to have your spine ripped out is TEXTBOOK incline. Also reveals to gnaw on Seath's husk when nobody is around because Seath is bitchmade. Actually a heroic figure, this Freja. Saved us another brush in with that shitty "scaleless dragon." You know what a scaleless dragon is to any adventurer? USELESS. Can't make armor out of this nigga, what's the point.

As an aside a couple pages back there was some mention of spider enemies in From games and as much as I do want to take every opportunity on this Earth to ridicule and shit on Miyazaki I will give him props for providing some spiders in Bloodborne. Rom himself looks like shit, but the spiders that rain from the sky are pretty cool and there are also the ones in that church or whatever, I think it's in the nightmare realm. Too bad they only appear in that one area and never anywhere else to my knowledge but I only played BB once by borrowing a PS4 for a week.

There's also this particular type of spider in BB:

Spoiler

daydreams

 

[Morenatsu.]

Die, spider. You don't belong in this world.

 

[Lutte]

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

I promised my main nigga Verylittlefishes I'd not spit tobacco on DS1 completely so I'll list some stuff I like.

I like how you can easily break the early game with strong weapons. I'm a fan of doing the Catacombs death march to get into the Gravelord Covenant and get the free Gravelord Sword which proceeds to rape everything the second you can at least two hand this motherfucker. I also killed Pinwheel for one of the masks and the Lord bestowed me with the Child which I regarded as the best of the three. The very beginning is the only time Pinwheel feels like a real boss, btw.

New Londo Ruins, I like the area. It's a great area. The ghosts would typically be bullshit BUT the game does give you two Transient Curses before stepping foot in the place and they last like five minutes plus the ghosts themselves drop them often enough. I like Four Kings, I also really like when I realized I did all that work and forgot to put on the Artorias ring so I fell to my death into the abyss. That was very cool. Lack of bonfire actually gives this area some additional character and makes you play more cautiously knowing you'll have to do the run of shame if you get all big headed and full of spunk.

Undead Burg/Parish are also great areas, don't think they're as good as Boletaria Castle from Demon's Souls but it is a great introduction and I prefer it over Forest of the Fallen Giants.

For some reason my favorite NPC in all the Souls games happens to be Oswald. In a game where every bad NPC will say something in the most blatant manner telling you to kill them, Oswald is a creepy asshole but isn't really a creepy asshole. It's like he fulfilled some dickhead quota with the evil laughter but other than that he gives you the best gesture in the game, sells the invaluable "Whoops I fell into the basilisk pit" stones, and gets you off ignore lists. Great armor set too. DS2 has Cromwell but this guy sucks and doesn't have the KEH HEHEHEHEHEHEHE laugh which is integral to making an impression.

 

[SumDrunkGuy]

No, simply by virtue of requiring a bimonthly thread here and elsewhere to "discuss" how great it is. A factually good game does not need regular "reminders" about it quality, that is the one thing that should be self evident. Clearly there is something wrong with the game if it needs regular cheer-leading sessions.

Wtf is this spaz even talking about?

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

Wtf is this spaz even talking about?

I've no idea, just report him for being gay like I did.