dont get me wrong - I enjoy DS2 for what it is. I'm not one to just **** on a game just to do it - i try to be objective about it.
Yeah I figured you were being objective and weren't trying to be disingenuous so no worries.
It's just upsetting to see DS2's world after DS1's, in many ways it feels like a step backwards and is just confusing to say the least.
It's understandable that would urk people since they are used to it from the first game. And I give DS1 credit where it's due. The interconnected world is a master class in design.
But I feel gameplay wise it doesn't add much in fact I would say it hinders it because they had to design the whole game around back tracking.
But it seems the intention was to have a world like DS1 in DS2 but see DS2 had a very troubled development and another director had to be brought in to clean up what the previous team started.
Here is a 10 min documentary about Dark Souls 2 development problems:
All things considered Dark Souls 2 came out really well considering how many problems it faced. A testament to the director who came and had to clean up the mess.
But what it seems like is if things went better the world design probably would have been better but they ended up having to slap things together to get ready for release.
A well built-believable world is very immersive and absolutely makes me want to play a game more.
See I imagine you are someone who enjoys the lore a lot and I can understand from that perspective the world design would only enrich the lore for you even further.
Makes sense and there is nothing wrong with that. But for me I could never really get into Dark Souls lore for the reason that it's so extremely ambiguous that you can believe whatever you want.
There just isn't much that is concrete about the lore. Almost everything is up for debate and I don't like that.
Don't get me wrong I don't need to be spoon fed every story in a game or movie, I like ambiguous and subtle elements in stories but with Dark Souls almost everything is ambiguous
so I find it hard to care about much of it. The reason I am saying all of this is because that is probably why I don't care about the interconnected world because the lore doesn't grab me
plus I think it doesn't provide much gameplay wise besides tedium.
the attacks dont feel like they have much weight to them in DS2
I felt the opposite, killing enemies felt much better in DS2 for me I think it may have been because of better higher quality sound effects.
But both DS1 and DS2 I would say have sound effect issues, they don't use enough sound effects for different materials, prime example is in DS1 with enemies that are made of rock or are really tough.
They play that same rock hitting sound effect and it sounds terrible, it's the same sound you hear when fighting Gwyn. Also why the hell is it when I am hit and I am dressed in full heavy armor
that it sounds like enemies are hitting my flesh in DS1? No matter your armor the hit sound effect is always a blood spurt and it makes no sense. At least in DS2 they made the "Player Hit" sound effect
more ambiguous so it sounds like you could have armor on but I don't know why they don't just use different impact sounds depending on your armor.
Also they ruined spears - my favorite weapon
I did a spear and shield build in both games and I can't say I noticed a difference but maybe you noticed something I didn't? Also DS2 has an AMAZING spear backstab animation.
You stab the guy in the back pick them up and slam them on the ground. It's the most glorious animation known to man.
i always found myself moving away from dex builds in DS2 in favor of the STR/END jsut cause they felt so much more powerful.
Interesting, I found the opposite to be true. In DS1 full havels with a Strength weapon and pumping endurance you would be pretty unstoppable.
I found dodging to be much more difficult for me to do even with a fast roll. While in DS2 dodging felt easy to pull off. But you have to invest in ADP and Agility.
Or else dodging is going to suck.
But STR and END is still pretty powerful in DS2 as well like you said.
I've heard this before - i think the second half of the game is fine
Yeah I feel about the same too, Demon Ruins certainly feels unfinished but it has a cool atmosphere. That is the communities consensus but I only partially agree with it.
Just figured I would mention it since DS2 doesn't have that reputation about it's own second half.
I dont mean in the very surface level character personality or attitude, but rather the gameplay mechanic function the character serves.
To be honest I never picked up on those kinds of similarities of gameplay and purpose. And I would wager most Dark Souls fans haven't either. Sure there is some similarities but they seem rather loose.
both characters are here in this land on a personal quest.
You could probably say that about a bunch of other characters.
both characters slowly lose hope over the course of the journey and end up going craaaazy.
Well... Sort of... Solaire can't find his glowing sunlight helmet thing and then goes over to where it is and gets a maggot stuck his head that mind controls him. While Lucaitel has been hollowing
for some time and ends up fully hollowing. With Solaire you can save him if you find his glowing helm before he does. With Lucatiel you can't save her, you can't do anything.
Plus almost all Dark Souls characters are crazy. Either that or they go fully hollow and they are nothing more than mindless zombies. So this trait of going crazy doesn't just apply to them.
then you have to fight them.
Do you mean the red phantom fight inside the keep? That is not her, you fight her brother. She just disappears from the game after the last encounter. The brother she has wears almost the same gear as her.
The arc was fun the first time around, we didnt need it again.
I mean, I didn't even notice the parallels, and I think the similarities are weak at best. But heck even if Solaire was somehow in DS2 with the exact same purpose and story I can't say It would bother me. I mean the NPC story lines
are far from great, I mean don't get me wrong I love Solaire and find him a lovable character but his little story was nothing spectacular, in fact I would say it was pretty weak to be honest.
I've already fought and conquered ornstein
I just liked that they gave him new attacks, it was a fun fight that's all I really cared about. Plus development issues could have played into some of that.
Also might I add that DS1 did the same boss 3 TIMES in the same game?
explored the failings of the witches of izalith
I mean that reference you mentioned earlier to "the bug in the dudes eye" is for a completely unique boss, a good boss I might add. They couldn't be anymore different, it's not like they copied and pasted
the Bed of Bullsh*t into DS2.
Also not sure what you know of DS2 lore but from what I know one of the themes of the game is how nothing goes away forever but rather it gets reborn. So powerful souls live on far into the future
which is why some of the bosses have passing references to DS1 bosses because the soul was reborn as them or some sh*t like that.
But yeah I will say the Orinstien thing is the most egregious reference but I don't see how a bug in the woman's eye is a problem. It's such a small passing reference that I don't see how someone could be upset over that.
Just seems like nitpicking.
and seen the crow demons form the painted world.
I only recall one in DS2 and it is the weapon smith you rescue. Not even an enemy, and I don't recall any of the Crows as friendly NPCs in the first game. Why is it so wrong to have a member of the species as a NPC?
Seems like another silly thing to be bothered by.
why would i want to do these things again?
But you aren't? Aside from Orinstien you aren't repeating anything you just mentioned, the crow is a completely new non hostile NPC (She just shares the same model) And the Bed of Chaos bug you mention isn't
even remotely the same boss fight.
DS1 is partly so beloved because it's such an original and inspired game
Have you heard of a game called Demon Souls? Now I don't know a whole lot about it but I know that the mechanics, setting and bosses are strikingly similar. Even the European style is almost exactly the same.
Heck I know Demon Souls also has it's very own Blighttown. I bet someone who knows a lot about Demon Souls could name even more things that Dark Souls either copies or makes reference too.
Sure DS2 probably does more pandering but it's in the same series and Sony owns Demon Souls so they couldn't reference it too obviously but they sure as hell did.
just out of curiosity - what do you look for in these games?
Well certainly not the lore or story. The Gameplay first and foremost, the build variety, satisfying combat, fun boss encounters, challenge and the leveling and character progression.
what do you get out of DS2 that DS1 or by extension DS3 doesnt have to offer?
Well I haven't finished DS3 yet and I'm unlikely to get to play BB anytime in the near future so I can't comment on those 2 games really. But as for DS2 VS DS1 it would probably be the better stat balance and
the build flexibility DS2 offers, I mean sure you can't start as a Pyromancer in DS2 but you can still get the glove pretty early on. The New Game plus exclusive items and new enemies make me want to keep playing.
Some areas also seem like better versions of DS1 areas. Like for example the Iron Keep is a better Demon Ruins (I like Demon Ruins though) and DS2 has a better version of the Catacombs. DS1 does have some better
area counterparts but overall I find I enjoy visiting DS2 areas more. DS2 also has more weapons and new weapon categories like "Ultra Great Swords" and weapons in each category for both Strength or Dex users.
Also the enemies in some cases seem to be harder in DS2, for example you can't circle strafe and backstab as easily as you could in DS1. Also I like that DS2 has FAR less areas that try to kill you with bottomless pits.
If you want me to elaborate on what I mean look at my earlier posts in this topic and I explain more what I mean but in short DS1 has a pit fetish.
But yeah it's possible DS3 could become my new favorite but I haven't finished it so I can't really comment on it.