Demon's Souls

[laurenhiya21]

Is there a Souls game that is better to start with than the others? I only have Demon's Souls but I'm not sure if it's a bad idea to play that one first or not.

[Exhuminator]

Demon's is kind of like Megaman. You start off in the Nexus which is the hub world where discovered NPC's end up finding their way, so it populates as you progress through the game.

Dark Souls is essentially what modern Castlevania should have become. It's pretty much the Metroidvania formula to utmost perfection. Completely interlinked into one seamless world, it makes for a different experience than Demon's.

It's interesting to me the dichotomy you're describing there. Because the first King's Field (Japan version) was hub-like as well, with a system of portals serving as the hub. But then King's Field II (or KF USA whatever) became metroidvania styled with one seamless world. History repeats itself.

"Obtuse" is what sums up Demon's for me. The story is very strange, the world is very strange, the music is very different, the design often archaic with unforgettable death traps and hilarious moments you'll never forget, weird game mechanics and some gimmicks that aren't even explained or work well, etc it's obviously rougher around the edges

Huh, what you just said there could easily describe the King's Field series as well.

And yeah, I can be that grump that mumbles it's a shame so many fans skip over on Demon's because it's a PS3 exclusive. It's easily worth owning the console for alone.

Ha ha, Demon's Souls was the FIRST game I bought for my PS3.

Also I watched the gameplay video you posted fighting that boss. Since I haven't played the game I can't critique your methods but it looked fun.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Flamelurker...defeated, a victim of his easily exploited AI...
Dragon God...defeated, after a relatively easy (but insanely cool) "battle"...
Maneaters...defeated...barely...after an incredibly intense battle and many failed attempts...
Old Monk...defeated...after just one loss to someone else who is actually still playing Demon's Souls in 2015...

I have all of my "base" stats where I want them; so, after farming some stones to upgrade my new Dragon Longsword, I am off to 5-2! Wish me luck!

[MrPopo]

Poor prfsnl_gamer. I predict the next several posts to just be a descent into gibbering madness.

[Tiduas]

I found 5-2 (valley of Defilement) to be quite easy compared to a lot of the other places, instead the hardest part to tackle was the insane boredom the level offered. The place really didn't fit my taste and it's easily my least favorite part of Demon's Souls. Good luck with it prfsnl_gmr!

[Xeogred]

I'm actually a big fan of 5-2 and yeah, nothing too hard about it. It can be a long trek if you mess up before unlocking the shortcuts though, but hey that's Demon's in general. Less of those cake walk Dark Souls shortcuts...

[prfsnl_gmr]

Thanks for the encouragement, team! I upgraded my Dragon Long Sword to +5 last night, and I think it will help me out when I get there. (All of the enemies in 5-1 were weak to fire, and I suspect that the same holds true for 5-2.)

[prfsnl_gmr]

The same held true for 5-2, and I crushed it. (The phantom in the swamp took me down once, but I quickly took revenge.) The boss was also incredibly easy, and I dropped it pretty quickly with my dragon sword. I then proceeded to murder Garl Vinland, and when I revisited the level, he was kind enough to show back up as a phantom so that I could murder him again.

I think I might be a bit over-leveled, and I will probably proceed to the end pretty quickly.

[MrPopo]

The other fun way to kill the 5-3 boss is to snipe the saint (you should be able to do so before Garl gets to you), then exit the level. When you return Garl will kill himself.

[prfsnl_gmr]

The other fun way to kill the 5-3 boss is to snipe the saint (you should be able to do so before Garl gets to you), then exit the level. When you return Garl will kill himself.

Nice! I will do that if I go forward with NG+. I am glad that I got to fight him, since: (1) it was a pretty tense fight; and (2) it added some emotional resonance to the game. (I feel awful about killing Garl and Madame Astraea, BTW.)