The End of Dark Souls Remastered!
Added 2023-08-16 17:01:12 +0000 UTCHere we go everyone! Thanks for the comments on these posts everyone, its so interesting to hear everyone's thoughts on how the games have evolved over the years and seeing the different opinions on DS2 especially. Thank you thank you thank you thank you for joining the journey of this one! Its a very charming and oddly relaxing game to play, it ended up giving me a nice break from the endless Zelda project which is not what I expected to happen at all! I went into this game fully expecting to struggle every episode! Kalameet and Artorias miiiiight have been my favourite fights overall. Sens Fortress and the Painted World were the most fun areas to explore for me.
I think the next few weeks may be a bit weird here, I cant really predict if its going to be quiet or busy in terms of gameplay videos but I am just going to try to focus on finishing up a few bits and bobs in my life outside of YouTube and then return with some new content for you afterwards! Going to film and edit ahead a bit to see if I enjoy the next few game ideas, and return to finish some past things on the shelf. See ya soon!
Comments
That Gwyn fight is just so emblematic of you and soulslikes in general. You're so good at them, but you underestimate your own abilities, while simultaneously giving yourself additional optional challenges to make it harder. You were fighting such circles around Gwyn that the challenge wasn't even to beat him; it was to beat him almost entirely by parrying his attacks, which is harder to do in DS than BB, *and* less rewarding because of how rarely bosses are parryable. Like it's the Princess Bride and you're Fezzik. "I hate for people to die embarrassed." And yet you're scared of him! It's so perfect. What a finish.
octopus for good
2023-08-26 02:06:05 +0000 UTCYou have the right of it @SpectR0nn, @Flukemarm is talking about the "Prepare To Cry Remastered" playlist, not the "Prepare To Cry" playlist. I already pointed her in the right direction in the regard, and I expect others have too, so, presuming she reads patreon comments, she should be good to go :P
TeddyBearBonfire
2023-08-24 12:38:14 +0000 UTCCongratulations. Praise the sun!
Nicol
2023-08-20 11:07:57 +0000 UTCI believe those are the remastered series no? There should be an older series that only covers DS1 itself.
SpectR0nn
2023-08-18 15:19:25 +0000 UTCWhile I agree with you on not revealing too much about gameplay elements, I honestly feel like it's fine to explain ADP, because frankly the game does a really bad job at explaining what it does.
SpectR0nn
2023-08-18 15:16:30 +0000 UTCI've been watching the VaatiVidya Prepare the Cry videos and you might have to skip around for some of them. He shows some Dark Souls 3 areas/enemies/npcs and I assume you want to go into the game blind.
Flukemarm
2023-08-18 00:44:12 +0000 UTCYup, I see that a lot too. I honestly can't comprehend it. Even if you find it lesser than the other souls games, it's still better than most non-DS soulslike games. Funnily enough, I've often found that a lot of the people who spout virtriol against DS2 have never actually played it—they're reciting the opinions of others. Not always the case of course, but there are so many sheep.
TeddyBearBonfire
2023-08-17 21:02:36 +0000 UTCThe cool thing about DS2's NG+ is the new enemy placement as well as some items you only get in NG+ A good alternative for something similar for DS1 is the "Daughters of Ash" mod. It changes enemy placement, item placement and even adds new enemies and different paths one needs to traverse to beat the game. Great for DS1 veterans looking to re-ignite that first-timer feeling. It's ALMOST as good as watching Amber play DS1 ;)
Gwynnbleidd129
2023-08-17 20:58:46 +0000 UTCMost of the hate towards it is fabricated, almost all arguments i’ve heard of why its bad usually boils back to the player complaining/misunderstanding elements. Online there seems to be a large push by a portion of souls community (i suspect ds3 hardcores but thats speculative) who go around spewing vitriol in the internet and actively try getting people who finish ds1 to actually skip ds2 completely.
Jack Mingle
2023-08-17 20:20:53 +0000 UTCI have played Bloodbourne, Elden Ring, Sekiro, and am now playing Demon's Souls. Watching this has inspired me to play Dark Souls.
Daniel
2023-08-17 14:15:36 +0000 UTCI do agree generally. I feel like from what she's said about DS2, she's already been biased a little towards the scepticism by the debate amongst the fans, so I'm leaning a little extra into providing preemptive tips against frustration than I ever normally would, since I feel it's a game that, yes, deserves criticism, but is undeservedly maligned to the extreme.
TeddyBearBonfire
2023-08-17 10:47:35 +0000 UTCGood tips, but I’m always skeptical about revealing to much gameplay wise as it can pressure people to play a certain way. I’d rather you just encourage her to really read everything the game offers especially in the menus. Letting her learn organically instead of potentially spoiling certain aspects. Not only does it fast track builds but also makes people overlook reading lore bits, or equipment descriptions (important). I’m mostly talking about ascetics and adp.
Jack Mingle
2023-08-17 10:27:05 +0000 UTCTo add on to the NG+ comment, ds2 takes it to the next level with ng+ And I recommend it highly, I consider dark souls 2 to be where story and lore design was at its peak.
Jack Mingle
2023-08-17 10:21:10 +0000 UTCCongrats on finishing the series! It was an amazing watch! Every new upload got me delighted. My favorite little tidbit about the Gwyn fight is that he fears the Dark so much that his boss theme is composed in such a way that ONLY the white keys on the piano are played. You definitely caught on to the theme of cycles near the end there. It doesn't really explicitly come up much in DS1, but they really start to explore that more in the subsequent games. It's one of Miyazaki's favorite themes and is present in almost all of his works in some form. I don't know too much about the NG+ cycles in gameplay terms, because I've only recently finished the game myself, but I do know that enemy attack power also scales up, which I did find out a bit further on in the game while I was dipping my toes in NG+ for a short bit. So you're still vulnerable. In terms of lore videos, I definitely recommend VaatiVidya's Prepare to Cry series. They all focus on specific characters and events. Other than that, definitely give Hawkshaw a watch too. He's a bit more in depth on specific things than Vaati is. I highly recommend you watch his videos on Solaire and Siegmeyer. They both give a super interesting perspective on those characters and their relationship to the director of the game and what he possibly wishes to communicate to players through them. I hope you'll click with DS2 if that is indeed what you're diving in next. As I said in a previous comment, it was definitely a rough start for me and I wasn't sure if I liked it initially, but I pushed through and learned to love it in it's own way eventually. It's a black sheep with it's own particulars that some people really love and other hate. I can kind of see both sides on this, but regardless I just always find it fascinating to experience these off beat sequels. Compare it to something like Zelda II or Majora's Mask for example, though I wouldn't say it's as radical a departure from it's series formula as those two games. I just got to the end of the game and will be playing the DLCs next, very curious about those since I heard many good things about them.
SpectR0nn
2023-08-17 09:23:47 +0000 UTCIt's been a fun series to watch, my favorite parts were probably you falling for the Mimic and the dwindling patience meter on the Capra Demon fight. Can't wait to see the lore reaction videos, it'll be good to hear your thoughts with a better understanding of the story. I hope you find another game like A Short Hike to help you de-stress about the Zelda behemoth.
Flukemarm
2023-08-17 04:48:58 +0000 UTCCongrats. You did It!......which begs the question; which character will you get a tattoo of and why is it Siegmeyer of Catarina? Hmmmm....hmm.....???
Suited For Gaming
2023-08-16 21:54:37 +0000 UTCThis series was awesome! Highlights for me were Artorius, Sif & the amazing chest shenanigans. Looking forward to whatever comes next!
mattbrush3pwood
2023-08-16 21:30:32 +0000 UTCTo me parts of Dark Souls II feels very Zelda (OTT at least). I am not saying it is a a direct 1:1 or anything, but for a channel that likes Zelda I think there is some good stuff in there. It does try for something different than DS!, and it does not always work, and the biggest failing in Boss quantity over quality I like its weird nonsense though. It has heart even if it misses some steps
Thomas Mc
2023-08-16 21:10:04 +0000 UTCSo, if you hadn't killed Gwyndolin before destroying the illusion of Gwynivere, he would have spoken to you during that seemingly pointless cutscene that played. You didn't miss much, it's just some generic "how dare you besmirch the gods" stuff lol
dialog_box
2023-08-16 19:12:05 +0000 UTCIn terms of non-spoiler Dark Souls 2 tips (these are tips about how the mechanics and game works that I think are worth knowing going in, and completely non-world/story spoilers at that, BUT if you think mechanic/design explanations constitute spoilers, IGNORE this comment); it's been a fair while since I've played, so small caveat emptor to go along with this, but: • the stats work a little differently for levelling up (that'll be obvious quite quickly; can't remember exact stat names but for example your max load and stamina are separated to different skills). • also quite important is to level up Agility (you don't directly level up Agility, it's more a stat that is raised by one of your main skills, namely Adaptability, and to a much lesser extent, Attunement)—it's really not obvious at all from the game IIRC, but it works by increasing your i-frames when dodging. When you first start the game, dodging is very unforgiving because your i-frame window is so small. I recommend aiming to get AGL to at least 99 over the course of your playthrough. Can't 100% recall how I went about it, but maybe alternate 1 level of adaptability with whatever else you want until you get there. You will also level up a lot more in DS2 than you did in DS1, so it might seem a lot of levels to throw into one stat, but as you're going to go through many levels, it's not quite as bad as it might seem. That said, if you end up feeling like you are comfortable with dodging with less Agility than 99, feel free to focus on something else (99 might be more where I like it as someone who enjoys PvP; might not be so necessary for someone PvE focused) • Also, DS2 has some of the absolute best DLC in the entire series (even many people who dislike DS2 praise its DLC, particularly the 2nd and 3rd of the 3). Unlike DS1, you *can* play the DLC after defeating the final boss in DS2 (you specifically choose to activate New Game+ in DS2 at a bonfire, instead of it being auto-started post final-boss). That said, there is *some* content that can be missed if you fight the final boss without doing it. I can't specify what that content is without spoilers though, so if you are concerned you can look that up. That said, there is a workaround to missing such content and still doing it in the same playthrough (in the next couple tips) • DS2 gives its trash enemies a certain number of lives before they stop respawning, so you can farm areas clean (IIRC it could be something like 10 to 20 lives, not sure—might be enemy-dependent). DS2 also has an item called a Bonfire Ascetic, whereby you can level up a bonfire and the area it corresponds to. Using the ascetic turns that area into the next game version (i.e. your NG area becomes NG+1, or if you're on NG+3, it becomes NG+4) with the increased difficulty to go alongside that—this respawns all associated enemies. It's not as bad as it sounds, but it's worth being aware of, because it CANNOT be undone. And it also affects any boss in the area corresponding to said bonfire, so beware of accidentally upgrading a hard boss to NG+. You are unlikely to do it by accident anyway, as you'll generally know an area well before you get to the point where you might consider using an ascetic. • On the other hand, this can be used to respawn and refight defeated bosses if you so desire (including the end-game boss), albeit at a step up in difficulty. • There are items (maybe just one, can't recall) that can be either used or burnt at bonfires, for *different* effects. Make sure you are using them the correct way for the effect you intend, or else you could end up wasting them. The items in question aren't exceedingly rare, but it can be a point of frustration to waste a few before figuring it out. • There is a torch item in the game, but its mechanics are weird. Picking up a torch adds 5 minutes to the torch counter, instead of adding separate, distinct torch items. The counter pauses when you put out the torch, but that one counter stays consistent throughout the whole game, so put out your torch when you aren't intentionally using it. • In DS2, hidden walls are mostly activated by pressing the A button (or whatever your "use" button is), instead of by hitting them like in DS1. • Also, parrying feels quite different in DS2 from DS1. The point at which you have to hit the parry key is different (I can't remember when it was again—maybe as soon as you see the enemy begin to strike, rather than right before the point of contact like in DS1). I always find it a bit disorienting going between the two games because it always takes me a bit to readjust to parrying. Once you get the knack though, it's pretty easy to be consistent. • Finally, DS2 tests a skill that DS1 doesn't really challenge you much with—Crowd control. There are many instances where you will be facing significant numbers of enemies at once. A lot of DS1 players struggle with this coming into DS2 (it's often a point of frustration). If you treat it as a skill/challenge of its own, you will much faster come into the mindset to make it a pretty surmountable part of the game. This is one of my favourite aspects of DS2, but many players never really click with it to the point of it being one of their most significant frustrations with the game. EDIT: • Bonus tip, applies to DS1 too, but just in case: Always remember that if an area feels too hard for you, it's quite possible there's somewhere more appropriate for you to be at that point.
TeddyBearBonfire
2023-08-16 19:03:45 +0000 UTCYay, Well done on completing the game Amber. Hope you get a bit of a break going forward & I will be gleefully looking forward to your next adventure.
J. P.
2023-08-16 18:47:27 +0000 UTCCongrats! I've never played any of the Souls games but they are fun to watch. Looking forward to whatever comes next!
Chris DePrisco
2023-08-16 18:39:41 +0000 UTCThis has been such a great playthrough to watch! Thinking about my own first playthrough, it's amazing how much you figured out on your own (that goes for the Bloodborne playthrough too, super impressive), and was really interesting to watch how much you enjoyed exploring and finding stuff. Looking forward to whatever comes next!
Flumpus
2023-08-16 18:09:56 +0000 UTCThis is the perfect mid-week pick me up! I completely agree with what was said above about this playthrough being refreshing. I haven't actually played this game or many others souls games, but have been warming up to them after your Bloodborne series and this one. Looking forward to the next one!
resonatrium
2023-08-16 18:06:19 +0000 UTCi'm gonna be leaving my current place soon, gonna start pursuing something that i actually want! thank you so much for the encouragement and the good wishes, it means the world <3
ChilledGricken
2023-08-16 17:57:18 +0000 UTCCongrats on your first Dark Souls completion! You've definitely made for IMO the best playthrough; it's refreshing to see someone just genuinely enjoy the game without playing up the rage (or worse, genuinely gamer-raging :P). I've never been the kind of person who gets significantly upset about struggling in a game, so it completely puts me off a playthrough when I see others do it. Btw, IIRC you mentioned being interested in doing a Vaatividya reaction? If I'm wrong, just ignore this (could be mixing it up with another recent DS playthrough), but the upcoming link is the appropriate Dark Souls playlist (Prepare To Cry, as the series is called) if you still have an interest (i.e. no DS2 or DS3 spoilers—there are other playlists that, setting aside DS2/DS3 specific ones, are for the series as a whole and therefore do include spoilers across the series). https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWLedd0Zw3c5RCXboUsPwHsZJlXB2CzCz There is a Prepare To Cry Remastered playlist, but that video incorporates information gathered from the series as a whole, albeit with a focus on DS1 characters, so despite seeming to be a remastered DS1 playlist, it does include spoilers. Keep in mind that a couple of these amongst the original playlist are amongst his oldest such videos and therefore their quality is a little lesser (mic audio IIRC), but aside from those couple, most of the playlist is perfectly good quality.
TeddyBearBonfire
2023-08-16 17:38:41 +0000 UTCThis has been a great playthrough. And though it has come to an end, I'm sure a great phoenix will rise from its ashes with the next playthrough - Symbalily plays: Lawn Mowing Simulator!! Or maybe something equally exciting 😀
Trolez
2023-08-16 17:27:56 +0000 UTCI'm so sorry to hear about work! I don't know what your job is like usually but if you need any encouragement: leaving a stressful and unhealthy workplace was the best thing I ever did, even if it was scary! I hope things wind down and get better for you soon. Seriously thank you for watching and supporting the videos for so long, likewise in that it always makes me smile when I see your comments, so thank you thank you thank you 😭😭
Sym
2023-08-16 17:26:53 +0000 UTCAll great things must sadly end 😥 This has been an absolutely fantastic series and you have been as entertaining and skilled as ever, but with the sadness of an end comes the excitement for what's next, really looking forward to whatever that may be and thank you!
Human#19138980
2023-08-16 17:12:55 +0000 UTCCongratulations! One dark souls done. I haven't played ds2/3 but if you do I might give them a try so I can watch your let's plays later (? I haven't played the video yet but I can already hear the plin plin plon in my head
Arkytior
2023-08-16 17:07:35 +0000 UTCWatching this immediately :D
Huib Gelling
2023-08-16 17:06:05 +0000 UTCthis came on the perfect day, thank you so much. i've had a hellish few weeks in work and i'm at my wit's end having an especially rough day and this notification actually made me smile which i really needed. thank you again for all your work and congratulations on finishing another amazing series <3
ChilledGricken
2023-08-16 17:04:28 +0000 UTC
